Game of Thrones is coming to a glorious, violent, indulgent end much to the delight of all the fans.
The whole finale has been shrouded in secrecy. The cast themselves only received the scripts a couple of days before filming.
As for the shoot itself, well it’s been extensive to say the least. Which is what you want really. The more prep the better.
Last April a crew member revealed that Game of Thrones had wrapped 55 night shoots while filming a battle.
Media publications around the world ran stories saying the final season’s battle took twice as long as the 25-day shoot for season six’s climactic Battle of the Bastards. This wildly understated what really happened. The 55 nights were only for the battle’s outdoor scenes at the Winterfell set.
‘It’s brutal,’ Peter Dinklage said of the final battle, as per Entertainment Weekly. ‘It makes the Battle of the Bastards look like a theme park.’
Actress Sophie Turner, who plays Sansa Stark in the show, suggested last week the finale will split fans down the middle.
Speaking to IGN, the actress revealed her own reaction after reading the script for the last episode.
She said:
[There were] a lot of tears. I think, you know, as an actor it was really satisfying – I think for everyone, everyone’s storylines – to be able to act out the way that it all ends. It was really satisfying for us.
As for the fan reaction, she added:
Who knows if it will be satisfying for the fans. I think a lot of fans will be disappointed and a lot of fans will be over the moon, I think.
I think it will be really interesting to see people’s reactions, but for me reading the script it was just like heartbreaking to read at the very final page of the script it just says, ‘End of Game of Thrones’. That was really emotional.
Sophie’s character Sansa has, alongside Daenerys (played by Emilia Clarke), one of the most dramatic character arcs throughout the programme. Starting off as a young and naive little girl, she slowly comes into her own, becoming a strong and powerful woman by the end of season seven in which she is finally reunited with her ‘brother’ Jon Snow, played by Kit Harington.
During the interview, Sophie also hinted at what becomes of her character in the eighth series, saying:
She kind of takes ownership over who she is and what she stands for. Over the course of the series she’s been completely unaware of what she wants, where she wants to be, who she really is, and at the end of this season, I feel she is the most self-assured character in the show.
We can’t f***ing wait. Bring it on, baby!
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