When Beric Dondarrion pulled a Hodor (Hold the Door) in the latest episode, The Long Night, frenzied fans immediately bombarded the Internet with numerous memes of Beric’s “Bericade“.
Beric’s story began with a promise to Ned Stark in season 1, to dying during the fight with The Hound and then getting resurrected, to finally, saving Arya Stark as his final purpose in this episode. Life surely brought him full circle. The actor who played the wight animated by fire (as George R. R. Martin calls him), spoke with Hollywood Reporter about his role and the deaths and a scene of him that could not make the final cut.
“But it really was iconic! Watching it back, it was almost religious, wasn’t it? It was almost Christ like at the end. I suppose that’s what he was, wasn’t it?“, he says about his courageous death.
When he looked back at the final moment, when his character was limping back after having been stabbed numerous times, Richard says he could feel the pain for the man. For Beric, it was his ultimate purpose to get Arya safe. Despite the number of stab wounds on his body, Beric could still run and catch pace with her and The Hound, because Richard says he wanted to look into Arya’s face and ensure she was safe.
He says there was a final scene in which he was given one last word to speak to Arya before he collapsed. Unfortunately, that scene could not make the final cut. And that is a tragedy. Because when you read about it, it sure gives you gooseflesh. It is Beric’s entire life purpose culminating into one word. “Live“. Richard says even if the show cut that line, his entire life was a struggle with that one word – Living. Surviving. Beric was a true knight.
There are two moments in which Beric realises his true purpose of resurrection. One is when he takes the first stab for Arya and they exchange a look and another when he stops the wights from reaching her. Other than Arya, Beric also spends a lot of time saving The Hound. About this Richard has a fascinating thing to say.
“He knows that his destiny, Arya’s destiny and the Hound’s destiny have been tied up together from day one. In some ways, he’s also saving the Hound. He’s saving both Arya and he’s saving the Hound. He knows that the Hound can help fulfill another part of Beric’s destiny: kill the Mountain.”
Richard says he would miss the flaming sword and the costume and the moments he spent laughing with the crew. His words point to Cleganebowl so we know it’s probably happening. Despite everything he has been, Beric surely was a champion in his own way. May the Lord of Light be with him.
Game of Thrones boasted a great collection of some of the best villains in television history. An ambitious villain makes the viewers praise his motivations, while some are purely sadistic. Iwan Rheon’s Ramsay Bolton was a mix of both, though more sadistic than ambitious at times. Ramsay would make his victims think they have control and can escape from him. He would then chase them down and fed them to his hounds. Iwan Rheon appeared in a real-life video game, with almost the same grim settings, but his role reversed.
Rheon was seen as a playable character in Screamfest 4: The Kraken’s Revenge. The 35-year-old actor talked about his experience in the game with NME. “It was crazy,” he explained. “I had earbuds in and a screen in front of me which just gave me a list of commands. I sort of had an idea of where the game was supposed to go so I could sort of help steer the game a little bit. But it was completely different every single time so you’re just improvising.”
Some users thought it might be fun to try and kill Rheon’s character instead of helping him escape. “There were a few people who I suspected were trying to kill me, but it’s difficult to know cos sometimes you just don’t know whether it’s just that they’re not quite getting the commands right. But I think one person was definitely seeing if the monster would murder me, and I submitted in the end and just said: ‘Go on then, take me’.”
The actor responded to the instructions given by players immediately via a live video link. Check out the link here yourself, and tell us about your experience in the comments below!
The final season of Game of Thrones was a controversial one. Season 8 divided the fanbase into two, one loved it, and the other seeking to get it remade. The cast wasn’t far from the squabble, they too had different opinions about it. Welsh actor Iwan Rheon, well known for his infamous character Ramsay Bolton, opened up about his views on the show’s final season.
In an interview with the NME, the Game of Thrones star revealed he had no issues with the controversial season. In fact, The Long Night was his favorite episode. “It was always gonna be divisive,” Rheon said. “I don’t think it was gonna be any other way, to be honest. Obviously, you can’t please everyone. I felt that they made a very strong decision to where they thought the season would go and I think they went with it and told the story really well.”
He added, “I thought the Battle of Winterfell was an absolute genius, the best television I’ve ever seen. I thought it was really brave and they went for it.”
When asked about the fan petition to remake the final season, Rheon said it was hilarious. He joked, “Who was doing the petition – Jeff Bezos?” He also shared his opinion about co-star Charles Dance not liking the eighth season. Iwan said, “There’s always controversy and loyalty, but I guess at the end of the day he’s entitled to his own opinion, as any fan is. I’ve got no problem with him saying what he wants to say, and what should anyone? It’s his opinion.”
Iwan Rheon defends the final season of the show while steering clear of criticizing those who don’t like it. How do you feel about the controversial season? Tell us in the comments below.
When a well-known celebrity makes an appearance in your favourite TV show, it is always a pleasant surprise. The biggest TV show of the past decade, Game of Thrones, witnessed a lot of celebrity cameos. We can’t blame them, the series got so popular and addictive, every single fan wanted to be a part of it.
In an interview with Stereogum, The National frontman Matt Berninger revealed he’s “f***ing p****d” that he and his bandmates were not given a cameo on Game of Thrones.
Berninger revealed his band was on set during the filming of some of the episodes. He said, “The National’s been to the top of the Wall. We were in Belfast. We’ve been to Castle Black. We couldn’t post anything but there are all these great pictures of us at the top of the Wall at Castle Black.”
The indie rock band had recorded songs for the hit HBO series. In 2013, they released a version of the classic Game of Thrones song The Rains of Castamere. They also wrote Turn On Me for an album featuring music inspired by the show.
The frontman couldn’t hold back his frustration when other singers made cameos on the series, including Ed Sheeran, Sigur Ros and members of Coldplay. The singer vented, “You’re right. I’m p****d. I’m f***ing p****d, I’m p****d I never got to be in it. I mean, there are were well-known there and we all have beards and s***.”
Matt also revealed showrunner Dan Weiss was a huge fan of the band. His bandmate, Bryce Dessner, was close friends with Weiss. No wonder the musician is so disappointed. Would you have liked his cameo? Talk to us in the comments below!
