Game of Thrones Season 8 episode 2, “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” was a great episode. It had a lot of amazing moments that will forever be remembered by the fans of the show. In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, one of the showrunners of the show, who also wrote this episode, Bryan Cogman, broke down the episode. Read on!
Cogman described the episode as a love letter to the characters, and some calm before the storm. Speaking of Jaime’s trial, and Brienne coming to his rescue, Cogman said:
“What’s fun about Brienne’s testimony is she’s the only character who’s bore witness to the amazing changes Jaime’s gone through over the course of the season — apart from Tyrion who has his own reasons for loving his brother and knowing he’s different than how he’s perceived.”
He then discussed the two further, with the knighting scene and how it was a surprise for the fans:
“We wanted to take the audience by surprise. It’s not a ceremonial scene on a cliff at sunset with billowing capes. It comes out of a throwaway moment that even some people in the room think is a joke and then they quickly realize it’s not. It’s a monumental thing. It’s a moment of grace and beauty in the middle of a nightmare and the main reason I wanted to write this episode. The episode’s title, ‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms,’ refers to both Jaime and Brienne.”
Cogman also discussed Arya and her sex scene with Gendry:
“We asked ourselves what a lot of these characters would do on their final night. For Arya, there’s an attraction to Gendry and she’s like, ‘If I’m going to die, I might as well see what all the fuss is about.’ She executes that encounter and Gendry is more than happy to go along. We were very careful to make sure Maisie [Williams] was comfortable and everything was on her terms.”
Cogman also discussed the scene with Davos, Gilly, and the little girl, which was a callback to Shireen:
“The short little scene with Davos and Gilly tending to refugees streaming into Winterfell. They encounter a girl with half her face scarred who bears a resemblance to [Stannis Baratheon’s sacrificed daughter] Shireen. The name ‘Shireen’ is not said in the scene. But Shireen taught both Davos and Gilly how to read. This is an example of how brilliant [showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss] are. I wrote a scene where Davos and Gilly get on the subject of knowing how to read and then get on the subject of Shireen and how she taught them both. It was the right inspiration but it felt contrived. [With the showrunners’ notes it] evolved into this where the scene is absolutely about Shireen, but neither of them are aware of the impact she had on the other. It was a beautiful way of acknowledging all of these threads between all of these characters that many of them are not aware of and never will be aware of — only we as the audience have the privilege of being aware of them.”
He ended the interview discussing how the episode was almost like a play. Indeed it was. It was a great set up for the biggest episode of Game of Thrones, ever. Talk to us in the comments, down below!
Game of Thrones gained huge popularity worldwide due to its amazing story, beautiful scenery and perfect casting. Some of these castings were so spot on, the actors came to be identified as their roles in public. One of them was Pedro Pascal’s Red Viper Oberyn Martell.
Oberyn’s screen-time was less compared to many of the show’s leading characters. Pedro delivered the role so perfectly the audience couldn’t take him out of their minds throughout the series. He captivated the viewer’s minds with his charm, cunning and seductiveness as the Red Viper.
Showrunner David Benioff recalls how Pedro was cast into the show in an interview with Variety. “First of all, it was an iPhone selfie audition, which was unusual. And this wasn’t one of the new-fangled iPhones with the fancy cameras. It looked like shit; it was shot vertical; the whole thing was very amateurish. Except for the performance, which was intense and believable and just right.”
Pascal had landed the role after he convinced his good friend Sarah Paulson to send his audition to her best friend Amanda Peet (Benioff’s wife). Benioff continues, “He figures out who the character really is and then he portrays that man, scouring off all falsehood. Plus, he’s really f—ing handsome.”
The Game of Thrones showrunner further went on to praise the charismatic actor, saying he deserved more recognition. His performance was award-worthy. Benioff labels Pedro as ‘an absolute gem of an actor and a man.’
What do you think about Pascal’s performance on the show? Tell us in the comments below!
The final season of Game of Thrones remains one of the most divisive and controversial in TV history. The epic fantasy show came to an end with season 8, despite both HBO and George R.R. Martin wanting it to run for longer. The decision to end Game of Thrones was a risky one. The showrunners felt pressure because the A Song of Ice and Fire books were (and remain) unfinished, and they had to deliver a story within a short time. On top of that, bringing such an epic story to a close seemed like an impossible task due to the show’s popularity.
In the book, Fire Cannot Kill a Dragon written by Entertainment Weekly editor James Hibberd, showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss explain why they had to end the run early. Benioff said,
“We didn’t want to become a show that outstayed its welcome. Part of what we love about these books, and the show, is this sense of momentum and building toward something. If we tried to turn it into a ten-season show, we’d strangle the golden goose.”
He continued, “We wanted to stop when the people working on it and watching it wish we had [kept going] a little bit longer. There’s the old adage of ‘Always leave them wanting more,’ but also when you stop wanting to be there – that’s when things fall apart.”
Weiss said, “When we gave them the final outline, that helped. They were able to see why taking this and stretching it into another ten episodes would ruin this and make something that’s ideally powerful and affecting feel drawn out.”
There was even a petition to remake the final season. Would you have signed it? Tell us in the comments below!
Game of Thrones ended more than a year ago. The last season was shocking as well as controversial for many reasons for fans worldwide. One of them is the completely unexpected love-making scene involving Gendry (Joe Dempsie) and Arya (Maisie Williams) right before the Long Night.
Joe Dempsie, who played Gendry Baratheon on the show, talked to Digital Spy on how he felt about the controversial fling. “I think Gendry just lost his head a bit, didn’t he?” reflected Dempsie, “He’s so drunk on legitimacy and popped the question!”
He continued, “I think I’ve always thought that, actually, as wounded as he might have been in the aftermath, as soon as Gendry has time to sit down and think properly about it and rationalise everything, it’ll be pretty clear to him that probably the very reason he loved Arya was the exact reason she could never be with him.”
Dempsie’s deduction is in agreement with the faction of the fans who found Arya and Gendry to be an odd pair. The intimate scene was distasteful and shocking for some, though others had no issue as they were waiting for the impending battle in the next episode.
Joe explains further, “I know that Gendry’s not often been the brightest or the sharpest tool in the drawer, but I think he’s smart enough to know,” he said. “I think he’s perceptive enough to know that. It never would have worked.”
Dempsie is currently starring in Channel-4 drama Adult Material. How do you feel about the love-making scene? Let us know in the comments below!
