We are 41 days from the premiere of the final season of HBO’s “Game of Thrones.” Not that we’re counting, or anything. From there, the following six weeks will present weekly feature-length episodes that will no doubt be full of twists, turns, deaths, zombies, and yes, dragons. All leading up to May 19, when fans will find out who finally sits on the Iron Throne. However, as detailed in a new story on EW, one of those six episodes will be the bloodiest, most intense episode of ‘Thrones’ yet. Correction: it will be the most intense episode of TV ever created. Double correction: it will be the biggest battle ever committed to film, period.
“What we have asked the production team and crew to do this year truly has never been done in television or in a movie,” says co-executive producer Bryan Cogman. “This final face-off between the Army of the Dead and the army of the living is completely unprecedented and relentless and a mixture of genres even within the battle. There are sequences built within sequences built within sequences. David and Dan [wrote] an amazing puzzle and Miguel [Sapochnik] came in and took it apart and put it together again. It’s been exhausting but I think it will blow everybody away.”
We’ve heard hype about this episode already. Last year, on social media, crew members shared their gifts that they were given after the completion of the grueling 11-week, freezing cold night shoot that was all for one battle at the famous ‘Thrones’ location known as Winterfell.
“It was the most unpleasant experience I’ve had on Thrones,” actor Iain Glen says. “A real test, really miserable. You get to sleep at seven in the morning and when you wake in the midday you’re still so spent you can’t really do anything, and then you’re back. You have no life outside it. You have an absolute fucked bunch of actors. But without getting too method [acting] about it, on screen it bleeds through to the reality of the ‘Thrones’ world.”
As mentioned, the episode in question is directed by Miguel Sapochnik, who famously directed the biggest battle episode the series has seen previously, “The Battle of the Bastards.” And in preparation for this, potentially series-making, sequence, the director pulled no punches and spared no expense.
He researched the biggest battles ever filmed, including the famous Battle of Helm’s Deep from the ‘Rings’ trilogy. The filmmaker also insisted that all the sets be fully made and not piecemeal (stitched together in post-production). And more importantly, he (and the producers) figured out just how to make sure that a feature-length battle would not get boring.
“It feels like the only way to really approach it properly is take every sequence and ask yourself: ‘Why would I care to keep watching?’” says Sapochnik. “One thing I found is the less action — the less fighting — you can have in a sequence, the better.”
Another director who was hired to helm one of the final six episodes spoke about how the creators of the series have ensured that fans won’t be disappointed. “The fans will not be let down,” says director David Nutter. “There are a lot of firsts in these episodes. There’s the funniest sequence I’ve ever shot on this show, the most emotional and compelling scene I’ve ever shot, and there’s one scene where there’s so many [major characters] together it feels like you’re watching a superhero movie.”
Creators D.B. Weiss and David Benioff are probably the men that have the most to gain or lose by the final season of ‘Thrones.’ Will the series go down as one of the greatest achievements in the medium or will it have a monumental fall? One thing is for sure, one of the creators won’t be around the Internet to find out.
READ MORE: The 50 Most Anticipated TV Shows Of 2019
“From the beginning we’ve talked about how the show would end. A good story isn’t a good story if you have a bad ending. Of course we worry,” said Benioff. He continued by describing his plans for finale night, saying, “I plan to be very drunk and very far from the internet.”
Season 8 of “Game of Thrones” premieres on April 14. The finale will air on May 19.
Here are new first-look photos:
Game of Thrones