Changes underway at Italica for Game of Thrones filming

Italica
Photo: @GuiArteSVQ

We’re nearing the speculated dates of Game of Thrones shooting in the Seville region of Spain, and sets are taking shape nicely. Officials confirmed this week that Italica, a major new filming location for season 7, will be closed between October 17th and November 12th. In addition to Italica, GoT will be filming in other Andalusian locations including the Royal Shipyards of Seville (Las Atarazanas) and the Castillo de Almodóvar del Río, located in the province of Córdoba.

Thanks to an extras casting call, we know the extras are needed in Seville and Almodóvar del Río between November 1st and 12th. This gives us a time frame for the actual shooting period, with the weeks before November 1st probably consisting of prep work.

Last week, we showed the beginnings of GoT’s work in Italica, and today we have an update, giving us a better idea of what the site will look like for filming.

Photos and a news report from Spain show that the production staff have made progress at Italica, and are currently working to cover the wide central opening in the amphitheater. The narrow channels that lead to the central area remain open, and staircases (which we spotted in our initial photos last week) have been put in place leading from the channels to the central area.

These will give you a good view of the changing set:

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The covered surface:

Our previous spoiler reports have given us a good idea of what role Italica is playing. Revisit them if you want to be spoiled! The new images haven’t changed my mind. It’s a beautiful location and I can’t wait to see how it turns out when finished.

Thanks to WotW reader Luka Nieto for the help with this post!

Sue the Fury
Susan Miller, Editor in Chief of WatchersOnTheWall.com

105 Comments

  1. It´s going to look amazing. I guess the actors will be standing in that platform. 🙂
    Maybe the Atarazanas will be like the underground part of the pit.

  2. Luka you are da man!!! These pics and video are great! Please keep the pics coming if you can! Your time and effort are very much appreciated!!?

  3. Wow- the set is really coming along, and they have indeed used those metal beams to support the pit floor as I thought. I presume they’ll cover this over with sand closer to shooting. We only have a few more days before the close the site – I hope we get some more shots before that ?

    H.Stark,

    I agree that the Reales Astrazanas may be used as part of the Dragonpit set, as they look quite like the side corridors and antechambers at Italica.

  4. Everyone’s so informative on here. Reading your comments is so much better than watching a “thelastharpy” youtube video on why Varys is a mermaid or Jaime being a Targaryen. Keep up the good work guys and wotw!

  5. Hmm, I wonder if this is going to be the setting of a high profile execution or a trial by combat… against a dragon… or something like that.

    Because I just can’t fathom why they would show us the dragonpit and feature characters from other storylines unless they are scenes of some significance.

    If I remember correctly, a previous report suggested that there would be a large technical crew presence and they’ve obviously gone to great effort to choose and prepare this location. I find it hard to believe that they’d do that just for a few conversations between characters.

    Although, if the Red Keep is destroyed, I wonder if this is where Daenerys will hold court and demand the lords of Westeros come to pledge oaths of fealty in front of her and her dragons, before Davos and Brienne turn up and deliver the King in the North’s request for assistance.

    It’s so difficult to predict right now.

  6. My French is a bit rusty, but the article shown in Kargaryen’s Zumaia spoiler link also mentions

    a scene to be filmed in a grotto/underground cave at the base of the cliffs accessible only at low tide.

    Added thanks to Luka Nieto. Still hoping he’ll be cast as an extra.

  7. keltia,

    I wonder if that’s where the dragonglass is. Provided the location is Dragonstone. Thank you for the translation.

  8. i hate those off the wall theories that seem to be made just because there’s too much time between now and Season 7, like Jon marrying Lyanna Mormont. In the novels sure but on live tv seeing a grown man marry a 10yo isn’t happening in 2016. Imagine the pervs watching they ep.

  9. keltia,
    It could be where the sewers empty into the sea at Casterly Rock, accessible only at low tide, with Greyworm and Tyrion there to get into CR.

  10. Hi Luka…

    Have you received a reply yet as to whether you have been chosen as an extra when GoT films in Zumaia?

    We on WotW are all hopeful for you 🙂

  11. Black Raven,

    No, I haven’t, and I have seen no news of anyone else receiving a call. That said, I’m not so hopeful I’ll be chosen. There were plenty of men who were taller and more muscular than I am. Apparently they were at least partly looking for big bearded men… and anyone who has seen me knows my face is as soft as a baby’s. Unless they’re looking for a pretty face, I’m not very hopeful 😛

    Still, don’t despair. If they don’t call me, I’ll go there myself and try to get some footage, which I couldn’t possibly do as an extra.

  12. From the article in French about Zumaia:
    400 crew are expected, and they booked EVERY room in town, hotel or B&B…
    (ZUmaia has 9000 inhabitants they say)

    I hope that HBO learned their lessons from the Malta shooting in Season one, because a Zumaia official states that they promised to leave Zumaia’s protected geologic park absolutely pristine, identical to before they come in…
    Shooting the Dany & Drogo wedding had been a small ecological catastrophe and the controversy had shut down the possibility of returning to Malta for other seasons!

  13. keltia,

    Thanks for the extra info.

    with that in mind, if Zumaia isn’t used entirely as Dragonstone, at least that part you mentioned probably will probably be.
  14. According to the french article, Daenerys will land there. Dinklage is also expected to be part of it.

  15. Ramsay’s 20th Good Man,

    Assuming this set won’t be used until a late season episode, perhaps a coronation is possible as well… Aegon II held his coronation in the Dragonpit, but it wasn’t a rune at that time of course. Still, the Sept of Baelor is gone and if the Red Keep is damaged they may need to find a location. Daenerys may think doing her coronation in the presence of her dragons is a good idea.

    Heavy cgi could make this a pretty impressive location even if it is a wreck. I still think it’s a bit small in relation to the book description and for the purpose it was built, but they have to make due with what they have to use.

  16. Luka Nieto,
    Still have my fingers crossed for you, Luka! And so jealous either way that you are THERE! Thanks for including us nerds and making us feel like we’re there too. 🙂

  17. Ramsay’s 20th Good Man,

    My impressions too. IMO Cersei will take a lot of captives during the battle against Dany (Missandey may definitely be among them), and it’s easy to imagine them walking into the arena from the dungeons by the stairs they built.

    As for the grotto, IMO it’s where Viserion and Rhaegal will find shelter after losing their mom. We saw Drogon flying in Valyria in S5 after leaving Dany, so where would the two dragon siblings go, if they get lost in a storm or battle after seeing Drogon being taken out and their mom falling into the water? Dragonstone looks like the most appropriate location, as dragons seem to be attracted to their traditional habitats. And wouldn’t it be wonderful, if Jon found them there while searching for dragon glass or simply sense them due to his Targarian blood? And then Dany comes.
    Dany: Where are my dragons/children???
    Jon: Oh, I have adopted them…
    Dragons: We want papa and a normal family, not just a single mom!
    Of cause, I am jocking but something similar may happen.

  18. Clob,

    As far as I understand now the Dragonpit is a mass graveyard of the plague casualties – cremated but nonetheless I can’t imagine a more inappropriate place for coronation or any other celebration or joyful ceremony. The mass execution by the dragon (Drogon reanimated by Qyburn) looks like a far better guess.

  19. Inga,

    True, but eh, just sweep up a bit and good to go. 😛

    It has been nearly 200 years and open to the elements after the dome was destroyed so I imagine there wouldn’t be much ‘debris’ remaining. You’re right though, a joyful ceremony may be inappropriate… However, it is a remaining piece of the Targaryen reign in King’s Landing so she could use it symbolically.

    I don’t know, but I can’t agree with theories of executions by dragon in there or even trial by combat. Daenerys has her moments of ‘warriorism’ but she still doesn’t enjoy that type of violence.
    ————–
    I still haven’t seen proof that it’s Daenerys falling from Drogon into water. That was all speculation. Someone falls from a rather high point into water is about all we know for sure.

  20. Clob,

    Indeed. And seeing as there are reports that a Greyjoy may be taken captive next season (and did Gemma Whelan injure herself on set recently?), my immediate thought was that it could be Yara or Theon. And, falling from a ship could indeed be construed as falling from a height.

  21. Clob,

    Who’s talking about Dany? It will be Cersei – isn’t that obvious?

    Just think of it from the POV of the overall story: what are the roles of the big three assigned to them for the endgame? In case of Jon and Dany it is obvious: he will lead the war against the WW and she will save the day by bringing in dragons as an ultimate weapon capable of changing the course of war. But what about Cersei? No matter what crazy dude she allies with and how many secondary characters she kills, she’ll be only a minor nuisance in the grand scheme of things… unles she does something really BIG. And there is only one big thing she can do: incapacitating the ultimate weapon at the moment, when it is needed most of all.
    Of cause, the ultimate weapon can be incapacitated in different ways, but taking into account that Cersei has a crazy exmaester capable of zombiefying a man, its a good guess to assume that she will try to zombiefy a dragon too. Again, what’s the point of all that twist around Ser Gregor? He hasn’t done anything impressive and I don’t see him doing anything impressive in the future: certainly not more malicious than he was doing while he was alive. So, I guess he’s here for foreshadowing.
    And in general the loss of the dragon’s (real loss, not some short time disappearance) is absolutely necessary for Dany’s character growth. She has become so dependent on her Dragon Queen status, that she absolutely has to be stripped of that finery to rediscover who she really is and what she really wants (and she is a good person with a tender heart who wants home, not the Iron Throne for that matter). So, IMO she might lose Drogon for Cersei and two others for Jon (or rather sacrifice them for the War for Dawn). Of cause, things may go a slightly different way, but I am pretty sure about the general trend.

  22. Ramsay’s 20th Good Man:
    Because I just can’t fathom why they would show us the dragonpit and feature characters from other storylines unless they are scenes of some significance.

    There could be a simple reason. The two important, recognisable locations that we have seen so far from King’s Landing were the Sept and the Red Keep. The Sept is blown up. The Red Keep may be, and, at this point, it’s heavily linked to the Lannisters. They could just want to have a new, distinct, memorable location to associate with Dany.

    Inga:
    Clob,
    And in general the loss of the dragon’s (real loss, not some short time disappearance) is absolutely necessary for Dany’s character growth. She has become so dependent on her Dragon Queen status, that she absolutely has to be stripped of that finery to rediscover who she really is and what she really wants (and she is a good person with a tender heart who wants home, not the Iron Throne for that matter). So, IMO she might lose Drogon for Cersei and two others for Jon (or rather sacrifice them for the War for Dawn). Of cause, things may go a slightly different way, but I am pretty sure about the general trend.

    Uh, the stripping off of the finery and no-dragon situation happened last season. Dany has already discovered herself – and she is a person who combines a good heart with ambition. Ambition in a woman is not a negative thing, you know. 🙂

  23. Next seasons Dany arc seems really straight forward, although she will lose a battle it seems nailed on now she wins the war before heading North at the end of the season. At least I do expect Kings Landing to largely be in ruins when this episode takes place hence being in the dragon pit.

  24. Yaga,

    Ambition is a stick with two ends, be it in a woman or a man, and power corrupts. I’m not a fan of Dany becomming a mad queen theory, but we can’t neglect that she risks becomming a tyrant just like anyone else put into power posiotion in fictional or real world. That’s why I think that discovering values like home and family is so important. Family teaches people to accept differences and make compromises withought defeloping the feeling of defeat. And the best rulers I admire as a historian also managed to live a happy family life (at least as much as a family life can be happy at all). IMO it’s related to the ability to find a balance both on the big and on the small scale. That’s why I wish the same for Dany (and everyone else).

    As for the loss of the dragons in S6, it wasn’t a real loss as I have written already and besides that GOT will lose half of it’s appeal, if Dany just flies in and burns all the bad guys and ladies with the dragon fire. Of cause, it may happen still in order to make Jon an unsung hero who does all the dirty work but fails to get recognition, because someone else comes into the fray at the last minute and it’s a re reoccurring theme in GOT. However, Winds of Winter made the point that true heroes get their reward eventually, so I don’t think that Dany is here just to rob Jon of the spoils of victory. In fact, I would rather predict things happening the other way round.

  25. Inga,

    Making a zombie dragon might be kinda difficult considering they’re fire made flesh. Qyburn may get a lil burnt attempting that.

  26. Kay:
    keltia,
    It could be where the sewers empty into the sea at Casterly Rock, accessible only at low tide, with Greyworm and Tyrion there to get into CR.

    that makes sense, but didn’t they used this trope already to get into Meereen, or was it in the books?
    A cave only accessible with low tide does also sound like something smugglers would use. It could be a way into Dragonstone, the one Davos used to bring onions in during the siege.

  27. Probably for scene where Daenerys accepts Jon Snow,Davos,Brinne’s kneeling and spares starks, and agrees to help them

  28. Apollo,

    I do hope that Qyburn gets lit along with Cersei and Euron and I do hope that Dany manages to reach Drogon before zombification or whatever other control technique they are going to use comes into full effect. In the worst case Drogon coyld become something like Benjen Stark – dead but still fighting for the living which may become handy in the war against the WW. But as far as this season goes, my prediction is that Cersei will somehow get control over Drogon and Dany will got to the Dragonpit to rescue her child leaving two other to Jon and that such course of the events will lead to Cersei’s demise or at least dethronement in the finale.

  29. Inga,
    Family is important, of course, but I really dislike it when people seem to assume that there is a power-family dichotomy. It’s *such* a tired bromide. What next, would you advocate that Angela Merkel or Theresa May resign, and Hillary Clinton stop campaigning? Someone has to rule, and Dany actually has the potential to bring peace to Westeros.

  30. Inga:
    Yaga,

    Winds of Winter made the point that true heroes get their reward eventually, so I don’t think that Dany is here just to rob Jon of the spoils of victory. In fact, I would rather predict things happening the other way round.

    Once Dany learn about white walkers, she’ll start to call shots around. Dont think Jon thinks of this as robbing someone of his victory, he just wants to live. That’s his primary ambition.

  31. That simply won’t happen while I still suspect Dany is the ultimate villain the Starks are not going to kneel to her ever. Jon may form an uneasy alliance with her though and I suspect that will play out this coming season.

  32. Yaga,

    I don’t like power-family (or career-family) dichotomy either. Quite on the contrary, I think that family (and friends) are essential for anyone who intends to be a good ruler, because that’s what makes people happy. There is little joy in command, people on top are criticised by all and everyone and they never get compassion, if they fail. So, they absolutely need some sort of safe heaven to retreat in case of failure, because failures make people unhappy and unhappy people are always tempted to envy and hurt happier ones and when unhappy people find themselves in power positions (which happens quite often, because they always have illusion that power will make them happy), they turn into tyrians of smaller pr larger scale despite of their initial intentions to make the world a better place.
    That’s why I am so worried about Tyrion repeating to Dany again and again that loveless marriage makes a good ruler. Dany has a tender heart as Jorah once admitted, she needs to love and to be loved in return. If she will be forced to turn her tender heart into a piece of ice, she may become far worse than Cersey. And Tyrion is a bit selfish about all that: he admires Dany and he managed to win her admiration in return, but it looks like he thinks that anyone else being in Dany’s close circle would make a crowd: he advised her to banish Jorah and break with Daario, he even had a bit of issue with Greyjoy siblings. If Tyrion ends up marrying Dany off to Jon and steps aside – good, because Jon is exactly the type of the man that could make her happy. But if he continues his attempts to isolate her from all and everyone, that might cause problems.

  33. Geralt of Rivia,

    I wasn’t talking about Jon as a character, but rather about the fandom POV. Most of us love Jon Snow as a primary protagonist and want him win a well deserved victory himself, rather than to be pushed aside like Tyrion after the Blackwater Battle, though Jon might take it much easier than we would.

  34. Geralt of Rivia: Once Dany learn about white walkers, she’ll start to call shots around. Dont think Jon thinks of this as robbing someone of his victory, he just wants to live. That’s his primary ambition.

    I disagree. Jon will do whatever he thinks is required to save Westeros. He won’t just blindly do whatever Dany orders. If he disagrees with her, he will just do what he thinks is necessary.

    Seriously every thread is turning into a Jon vs Dany one-upmanship, it’s getting boring.

  35. Jon Snowed,

    If Dany were to become an ultimate villain, the showrunners would have taken out Cersei (which could have been easily done in the Winds of Winter by making Jamie to arrive five minutes earlier), but as they put Cersei on the Iron Throne there is no more time to turn Dany into a villain. And all she has to do to make Jon kneel is to steal his sword and lure him into some cave (and how convenient that there is a grotto in Zumaia!).

  36. Jon will not be Torrhen 2.0. You know why? Because he have dragon blood. The dragons will like Jon. So Dany will trust him, then like him, and finally love him.

  37. ghost of winterfell,

    Dany and Jon do share a lot of similarities and how they view world, Of course, she’ll ask him and others who knows more about white walkers but ultimately she’ll decide, as someone with the largest force available. Jon is man of compromise and willing to take a step back if needed to be. Doing something behind her back won’t help their cause and certainly their relationship.

    r-hard,

    He might earn trust other way than with dragons. Of course, it might even end up that they do fall in love, once his parentage comes out, he’ll break their relationship.

    Jon will even bend the knee if it help. He said this to Mance. Bend the knee and save your people.

  38. If Jon and Daenerys meet and she develops a high opinion of him, like so many others, and THEN finds out who he really is, I can’t see her requiring him to bend the knee or even allowing it. Dany might require that his true parentage be made public though as she can’t have all the other kingdoms pouting.

  39. lucy,

    When Kit Harington was asked about his evaluation of the season 7 after Emmys, he said that it is gonna be “sexy” and took a look at Emilia Clarke. Probably Season 7 will have a scene where The King in the North and Daenerys Stormborn have sex as part of political alliance.

  40. Geralt of Rivia:
    ghost of winterfell,

    Dany and Jon do share a lot of similarities and how they view world, Of course, she’ll ask him and others who knows more about white walkers but ultimately she’ll decide, as someone with the largest force available. Jon is man of compromise and willing to take a step back if needed to be. Doing something behind her back won’t help their cause and certainly their relationship.

    Uh no, we don’t know this. At all. They haven’t even met yet not even heard of each other, so there is no basis for such conclusions.

    In the past, even after kneeling to Stannis, Jon wasn’t afraid of defying him, first by mercy killing Mance Raydar and then by refusing his offer to be legitimised. So there is nothing to suggest that he will behave differently with Dany. He will do what he thinks or knows is right.

  41. There are evidences that producers of the show did a chemistry check between Kit and Emilia, they did it for a reason to find out if the love story between Jon and Dany would be looking good on screen.

  42. So the person who doesn’t know WW exist, hasn’t had any experience with them and, doesn’t know about their origins and creation (which is something Bran does btw, and he’ll be instrumental) will be calling all the shots?

    Lol k

  43. Inga,
    Yeah, but in addition to quotes about how you want Dany to realise that she wants a family, not a throne, you also have this really, really unpleasant bit: “I don’t think that Dany is here just to rob Jon of the spoils of victory”. This suggests to me that you believe that Jon deserves some “spoils”. So, all in all, this tells me that you believe that Jon deserves some “spoils”…. while Dany realising her ambitions would be “robbing” him. That’s insane, as far as I’m concerned. Jon does not deserve to be king in any shape or form more than Dany does. Narratively, as characters, they are pretty balanced; in-world, she has the far better claim of being legitimate, soon in possession of the throne, and having the superior army. Do you expect her to surrender this all to him, like a 1950s Stepford lady?

    For the record, I think that the most elegant solution to the silly Jon-Dany competition a lot of the fandom seems to be invested in is to simply kill them both in the final fight. That way, neither gets to sit the throne, and we also avoid that schmaltzy, viscerally disgusting idea of a marriage/romance.

  44. lucy,

    Who knows if she’ll ever know this. Also when because first of all Jon needs to know this. Don’t think she’ll demand for it to be made public, if it is known to her. She might push him to marriage, of course marriage is not already agreed or to rule with her. Jon might be opposed to the idea of rulling in KL. He might agree to marriage but be in the North. Many possibilities.

    ghost of winterfell,

    Angering her won’t help him. With Mance or Tormund, Jon is a man of reason. Of course he can disagree with her but she got the upper hand in having large force, dragons, which the North is depending on. Dany always take charge wherever she goes, not to say to the best effect. But hey, we have Tyrion here.

  45. Geralt of Rivia: Once Dany learn about white walkers, she’ll start to call shots around. Dont think Jon thinks of this as robbing someone of his victory, he just wants to live. That’s his primary ambition.

    LMAO So a character who has been isolated from the main narrative for 6 seasons will just swoop in and take the reins from the characters whose arcs have revolved around the main plot points since the very beginning? She has had nothing to do with WWs for 6 seasons and with only 13 episodes left and with her focus on the conflict with Cersei taking up at least 4-5 episodes in season 7, she will suddenly become the shot-caller for the last few episodes while the main characters who have been about WWs for years will be relegated to her sidekicks….LOL No way. Tone down you blatant Dany-fanboyism.

  46. And of course those newest foilers have spread like wildfire. This fandom never learns. It’s the same old shit year in year out.

  47. maeve:
    And of course those newest foilers have spread like wildfire. This fandom never learns. It’s the same old shit year in year out.

    Totally. I think we all need to hold our horses here.

    There is no indication (thus far) that Jon and Dany are even gonna meet next season, let alone bend the knee, have sex, buy a condo in the vale or kill each other. We have a report that he’ll meet Theon- can we just focus on what we know?

  48. Isle of Man:
    lucy,

    When Kit Harington was asked about his evaluation of the season 7 after Emmys, he said that it is gonna be “sexy” and took a look at Emilia Clarke. Probably Season 7 will have a scene where The King in the North and Daenerys Stormborn have sex as part of political alliance.

    I think your memory may be in error.

    What I recall is that the actors were asked to describe the experience of working on the show as a whole in one word.

    A few of them kind of called out where you couldn’t hear, but then Emilia stepped up and said “Amazeballs,” and next Kit said “Sexy.”

    Don’t specifically remember if he looked at her afterwards or not, but I’m quite sure the question was not specific to season 7.

  49. maeve,

    I’m not sure why some people are having such a difficult time accepting that the WW’s are and always have been Jon’s deal, that he’s a Targ for a reason, and that for six seasons he’s been unifying people and moving up in the world through his actions rather than through his name or title(s). I think a reality check may be in order if anyone thinks Dany will be driving the final arc after having zero connection to it for six seasons. You can draw a parallel between two characters that’s over-the-top on one side and understated on the other, but that does not make one character more significant than the other to the story. What it does is connect two characters who are on mirroring journeys and who perhaps share a destiny, for however long. People who think that GRRM and D&D are trying to create some sort of messianic pissing contest that will end with either Jon or Dany holding the other on a leash are kidding themselves.

    I also think that some people would be wise to remember that all we know for a fact so far is that Jon is travelling south and that his and Dany’s storylines will at the very least be connecting via Davos and Brienne. A storyteller who’s an architect may not necessarily be above using bullshit as a placeholder for incomplete materials, is all I’m saying.

  50. r-hard,

    I doubt that will be it. Look at the hints in the book. Stark knees do not bend. The Starks are not going to be kneeling to anyone

  51. Yaga,

    You misunderstood me. I don’t think robbing Jon or anyone else of the spoils of victory would be in caracter for Dany. It might happen unitentionally, but I don’t see even that. What would be in caracter is giving Jon every available dragon and man along with her long pursued dream of the Iron Throne as soon as she learns about the White Walkers. And yes, I believe she will take the threat seriously: Tyrion was primed to believe it when he heard serious men talking about it seriously back in S1 and ever since; he just had too many other problems and his rule is one problem at a time. As for Dany herself she always tried to look with open eyes and she won’t go into denial to make herself comfortable. Quite on the contrary, she will see the War for Dawn as an opportunity for herself to leave the world better than she found it, because it feels good and her ambition is to be a savior rather than a conqueror.
    Of cause, that doesn’t mean that she won’t fight Cersei, and here Jon will be totally on board: for him Cersei in KL is as bad or even worse than Ramsay Bolton in Winterfell – he could have hoped for some reconciliation with Tommen, but now it’s out of question. So, their major problem will be distributing their limited resources for the war on two fronts, not some denial issues.
    As for the spoils of victory, they have to win that victory first. Of cause, there is a high probability that both of them or at least one of them will die. However, IMO allowing them to pass in the flames of glory would be too easy. I want them to survive and deal with the aftermath, including payment of the loan to the Iron Bank.

  52. TxanGoddess,

    but he did look at her afterwards and she was looking at him, they sustained quite a long contact. That Emmys were after all major actors got their copies of screenplays. Why would Kit, whose experience was fighting in a every season battle except for blackwater bay, say his experience was sexy. Maybe cave sex with Ygritte was enough. Or maybe after reading season 7 Kit as a professional actor got the experience of forthcoming season 7.

  53. maeve,

    Wherever she comes, she calls shots or tries to. Not always to the best effect, as we saw in Meereen. Never said anything that she will do everything alone. Nobody can beat white walkers on their own. Who is the most likely candidate for AAR, the prophetic figure to save the world, Dany in the books or the show. Also who literally has three biggest weapons to fight them or you think she just gonna handed them? That’s not me being a fan, so what we were presented.

    Apollo,

    At the very least meeting is likely. If they want to romance or some kind of bond between them, then they have to let them know each other. Especially with two of the three protagonists.

    Isle of Man,

    You’re reading way too much into this interview. They might have but this is not a hint to it. He was looking at her, than Emilia what he was saying and that was it.

  54. Hey, Watchers on the wall, how about opening a section of speculative predictive theories. Then when season 7 is live, we could compare two approaches: fact based and imagination based holistic fan fantasies. Something tells that two approaches can get viable results. First for submission in category of fan fantasies is Jon+Dany Heroic Love Story.

  55. Luka Nieto,

    Luka,

    The first comment I read on the fateful day when I stumbled on this site was written by you. It was so well thought out, and made such an impression that I spent the better part of several hours looking for and reading your posts.

    Needless to say, I am keeping my fingers crossed that the wise masters should see fit to cast you.

    Should they make an error in missing the value of a pretty face on the field of battle, as always, I look forward to your future posts and man on the ground coverage.

    Thanks for everything you are doing. ?????

  56. elybe:
    maeve,

    I’m not sure why some people are having such a difficult time accepting that the WW’s are and always have been Jon’s deal, that he’s a Targ for a reason, and that for six seasons he’s been unifying people and moving up in the world through his actions rather than through his name or title(s).

    This isn’t entirely true. His name has absolutely played a part in his moving up in the world. It’s the reason why Jeor Mormont names him his personal steward. It’s the reason why the Lord of Bones doesn’t kill him, and why he gets to meet Mance. And it’s the reason why Lyanna Mormont backs him as KITN. “I don’t care if he’s a bastard, Ned Stark’s blood runs through his veins”. I would agree that it’s mostly his actions, but his name (through the belief that Ned Stark is his father) plays a role in it.

    elybe:
    maeve,

    I think a reality check may be in order if anyone thinks Dany will be driving the final arc after having zero connection to it for six seasons. You can draw a parallel between two characters that’s over-the-top on one side and understated on the other, but that does not make one character more significant than the other to the story. What it does is connect two characters who are on mirroring journeys and who perhaps share a destiny, for however long. People who think that GRRM and D&D are trying to create some sort of messianic pissing contest that will end with either Jon or Dany holding the other on a leash are kidding themselves.

    But Dany has been connected to it since the beginning. From her dream in AGOT where the “icy breath” is chasing her, to the undying telling her to ” drink from the cup of ice . . . drink from the cup of fire”, to her dream in ASOS where she’s at the Trident fighting men armored in ice. The show also shows her going beyond the wall in the HOTU. There’s more examples but I think I touched on the gist of it. Though I agree that Jon and Bran are at the heart of it right now.

    I do agree with the rest of your post however. And it will definitely be interesting to see how it all plays out. My wish is that none of the characters (Dany, Jon, Tyrion, Arya, Bran, and Sansa) become “sidekicks”

  57. Inga,
    “What would be in caracter is giving Jon every available dragon and man along with her long pursued dream of the Iron Throne as soon as she learns about the White Walkers.”
    But that’s a horribly sexist attitude! Would you require Jon to give Dany command of, let’s say, the wildings? Probably not. So why do you expect the reverse? They can be cousins and allies; but, while Dany can be expected to hear Jon out, she definitely should not be obliged to “give” him anything.

    And especially not her own dreams. He is not entitled to the throne. She is.

    Seriously, why do you keep implying that Dany should give up on her own ambitions and, to put it in modern terms, “career”, for the sake of a man from her family? It really sounds like something from the 1950s. I should think that a trope-breaking show like this would not be so horribly regressive.

  58. Isle of Man,
    Won’t work, I’m afraid. The thing about stories is that, until the last word is written or the last scene is shot, there can always be more twists to come. So, until then, everyone is able to interpret things as they see fit.

  59. elybe,

    You may be right, however I don’t see any other possibility for Jon to meet Theon somewhere south from the North, than Jon taking Dragonstone for dragonglass (and certain other reasons) and Theon bringing Dany there to regroup after the defeat. Think of it: if Dany’s war agains Cersei goes smoothly, Jon wouldn’t have any reason to leave the North; he would send envoys and forge an alliance on mutually acceptable terms same way as Yara. However, if Dany loses, it will be a big problem for Jon and he will have to find a way to help his little auntie, because “Targarian alone in the world is a terrible thing” (yes, he heard Maester Aemon too). Therefore, taking Dragonstone would become a good idea not only because of dragonglass, but also as creating a jumping-ground for Dany’s new attack. Some of the northern lords might not be on board and Littlefinger could make something out of that, but Jon is a king now and a king can order.

  60. Inga:
    Isle of Man,

    Totally on board. My input into fanfiction would be a Zombie-Drogon or Franken-Drogon or whatever you call that.

    I don’t agree with most of your theories but this one and your getting to that point is really ridiculous to me. Hey, congrats to you if this were to happen, I just think it’s super SyFy channel silly.

  61. Yaga,

    Yoy are a sexist yourself. Tell me one thing: is this show about ambitions or about priorities? And what’s the problem regarding Jon and Dany establishing a diarchy or a triumvirate with Tyrion? Do you realize how feudalism works and that all kinds of diarchies and more complex arcies were a rather regular practice in Medieval Europe?

    As for what Jon could give Dany in exchange for dragons, of cause he woudn’t give her wildlings (what would she do with them?). However, it looks like he’s giving her Davos and Brienne, and the BwB and Sandor and Arya may fit in here too. As for the dragons, you should remember that Dany can’t ride anyone else but Drogon, whereas Jon has a potential to mount one of the other two. So, why should she play a dog on a hay? And she has to learn to share and sacrifice things, if she is to become a worthy ruler or co-ruler. So, why you want your favourite caracter to put her supposed ambitions above the interests of her realm? I can’t get it.

  62. Clob,

    If our gueses will prove to be wrong, you will have a perfect opportunity to laugh at us long and happily ever after the season airs. We are simply having fun with these speculations, don’t you get it?

  63. Inga,

    Yeah, I get it. I just think that frankendragon is silly. I’m speculating as much as anyone so I can be included in the “we.”

  64. Clob,

    OK, Franken-dragon is silly, but what abouth wight-dragon or Dragonbinder-controlled-dragon? I mean do you totally rule out the possibility that Dany might lose at least one of her children? Just asking.

  65. Inga,

    Jon is certainly not giving Davos or Brienne. Brienne is Sansa’s sworn sword and not Jon’s. They’re just an envoy from for negotiations.

    Why should Dany sacrifice something for Tyrion? He’s her Hand and he serves her. She could give him Casterly Rock, which he wanted and that’s about it. Don’t think Jon would even care that much forn rulling and especially South. To make triumvirate wotjh Jon and Tyrion. You know how impractical that is and silly on top of it.

    There might be other riders but Dany was effective with them at Slaver’s Bay and didn’t even needed other riders.

  66. Jay Targ,

    I agree that there is some foreshadowing in the books to indicate Dany’s participation in the final battle, but still nothing remotely close to the level of foreshadowing or involvement that is present in Jon’s story. I expect Jon and Dany to team up as co-leads, but he is explicitly the central character of the WW conflict, as stated by GRRM himself. The remaining living characters will all need to unite to address this threat, and each of them will have a vital role to play (Bran perhaps more than anyone), but this has primarily been Jon’s fight from the very beginning, and Dany has no more business calling the shots here than Jon would in telling her how to conquer.

    Inga,

    I haven’t ruled out Jon meeting Dany in the south, although I’ll admit that I originally thought their stories would merge at Winterfell. I’m just pointing out what we know so far, and that sometimes knowing the what and the where doesn’t preclude using bullshit to fill in the finer details. We’ll just have to wait and see what comes out of Spain.

  67. Inga:
    Clob,

    OK, Franken-dragon is silly, but what abouth wight-dragon or Dragonbinder-controlled-dragon? I mean do you totally rule out the possibility that Dany might lose at least one of her children? Just asking.

    I definitely don’t rule out the possibility or the probability that she lose at least one dragon. I also don’t rule out a wight dragon. I think he’d have the power to raise one if one was killed in in his presence. What he does is true magic.

    I find it unbelievable that Dr. Qyburn Frankenstein would have the access, time or ability to raise a large, dead dragon. Gregor was also not completely dead. He was poisoned but kept alive in a lesser mind capacity by Qyburn’s concoctions. You must remember also that The Mountain in his state continues to serve the one(s) he did before his injuries. Who’s to say that this dragon wouldn’t then continue to obey Daenerys?

    I do absolutely HATE the idea of the Dragonbinder. I think it’s a stupid plot device that George introduced in the books and I’m hoping beyond hope that D&D keep it out of the show, especially since it’s far too late in my opinion for it to just suddenly appear. However, I’d still accept even that before wanting to see Qyburn make whatever you’d call it.

  68. Nicola,

    The Starks kneeled to Aegon, Bran kneeled to the Ironborn, Ned kneeled so they could cut his head off. But hopefully they’re done with that.

  69. Flayed Potatoes,

    Based on the guy’s earlier tweet, I assume these are from the week after the Emmys, like all the others. If so, I don’t get how he wasn’t able to sell photos of Isaac or Sophie and ended up posting them for free on his Twitter.

  70. Finally, Sophie #Hairwatch2016 can be put to rest. As far as wigs go, hers looks top quality just like Emilia’s and Lena’s but unfortunately it still looks like a wig. The view from the back makes it look a bit too full and in need of conditioner. It’s jarring to see Sophie/Sansa in that after seeing her natural hair for 6 years. I hope once it’s down it doesn’t look as awful as Margaery’s wig from last season.

    I love the picture of Liam, Gwendoline, Daniel, and Bella together. Liam looks like he’s telling Bella to keep up and she’s just amused with him. That pic also seems to be from around the time where the cast was handing over their scripts…so this was at the end of the day perhaps?

    Either way, these latest (final?) batch of photos seem to finally confirm that the “high stakes scene” involves pretty much everyone with a speaking part in Winterfell. This scene is going to be amazing.

  71. BunBunStark,
    Heh. Your grief over a wig is amusing. Are you a professional hair-dresser? (Personally, I never notice wigs. Was thinking of going Ancient Egyptian style – bald with different wigs – for some time myself.)

    Inga,
    Whoo boy. I’m a sexist for daring to claim that a woman may want to keep her base of power to herself instead of offering it to the male co-lead? That’s so warped.

    What’s so wrong with fighting together as an alliance – each keeping their strengths and forces, as equals – anyway? FDR and Churchill somehow managed. If that’s not fictional enough for you, so did Luke and Leia.

  72. Sean C.,

    As I said before, he’s likely been trying to drum up some hype by dripfeeding what he has in the hopes that one of the tabloids picks up what he still has up his sleeve. It nearly worked with the The Daily Star who almost ran some last week.

    Will be interesting to see what he still has.

  73. Please stop this garbage, there is no way the Starks are just going to kneel to Dany. Yes she’s invading and yes they need her support but no way it goes down like that.

    I expect Dany to lose to Cersei/Euron at first then turn it around before speaking with Davos/Brienne to negiogiate some sort of alliance against the white walkers.

  74. Jon Snowed:
    Please stop this garbage, there is no way the Starksare just going to kneel to Dany.Yes she’s invading and yes they need her support but no way it goes down like that.

    I feel like this insistence on ‘kneeling’ is due to people not understanding a. Dany’s character and b. the fact that mores on the show change. Dany’s a much more egalitarian person than, let’s say, Robert or Ned were. And the further we get into the story, the more discrepancies are between this fictional world and the historical Middle Ages. For one thing, Westeros is now going through a major period of female enfranchisement, which in our world happened only in the early 1900s.

    The Starks are going to request help from Dany, but I don’t think she will request them to kneel in return for that – she will want to help because she is a savior, a good person. It is possible that they will kneel to her freely afterwards, of their own volition. Or maybe she will let the North go its own way while uniting the core lands. It seems large and bothersome anyway.

    Or maybe the North won’t exist after the final battle. Who knows?

  75. For me at least Dany is a conflicted character on one side she generally wants to do good but there are signs she could also follow her father. I don’t see her current character her forcing the Starks to bend the knee however I don’t expect her to welcome them with open arms etiher and a more uneasy alliance is needed especially as I suspect there will be some friction once she learns Jon is a relative and potentially a better claimant to the throne than she.

  76. Sean C.,

    Probably because some of the other actors are wearing the same outfits here as in other pictures that were sold, which lowers their value.

    SerNoName,

    These pictures are probably from the same set with Podeswa. If he’s directing the first two episodes, then maybe we can hope for some scenes in the later episodes. Maybe.

  77. Yaga,

    Exactly. The very fact that she never demanded this of the Greyjoys is a clear indication she won’t expect Jon to kneel either. Granted, it could’ve happened offscreen but if it had, it would’ve been onscreen if it were significant to the story.

    Dany was more than willing to hear the Greyjoys plea and offered them independence as part of their mutually beneficial arrangement, so I see no reason why the same will not happen with the North. Especially if they are in opposition to Cersei (which they are) and moreover in light of the greater threat to come.

  78. Jon Snowed,

    Some just want to see the remaining four Starks humiliated. Like they haven’t been through enough crap already….

    I guess they forgot the last book was supposed to be called “A Time for Wolves” or Jojen saying that “the wolves will come again”.

  79. It’s certainly possible that Jon does die but not this season at the very least he will lead the human forces against the White Walkers. By the end it may happen but with all teh Azor Ahai/Prince that promised foreshadowing and his parentage potentially giving him the best claim to the throne I suspect he will end up ruling even though he does not want too. Equally Dany has foreshadowing of her death, it’s clear she will support the fight with the white walkers but after that does she simply accept Jon, will thehe people of Westeros support her?

  80. I don’t think there will be any kneeling.
    I always think of this passage of the books when I try to figure out how the Dany-Jon interaction will be at first. Just replace Aegon and his war for the Throne with Jon and his war for the Dawn.

    “I told you, I know our little queen. Let her hear that her brother Rhaegar’s murdered son is still alive, that this brave boy has raised the dragon standard of her forebears in Westeros once more, that he is fighting a desperate war to avenge his father and reclaim the Iron Throne for House Targaryen, hard-pressed on every side … and she will fly to your side as fast as wind and water can carry her. You are the last of her line, and this Mother of Dragons, this Breaker of Chains, is above all a rescuer. The girl who drowned the slaver cities in blood rather than leave strangers to their chains can scarcely abandon her own brother’s son in his hour of peril. And when she reaches Westeros, and meets you for the first time, you will meet as equals, man and woman, not queen and supplicant. How can she help but love you then, I ask you?”
  81. Yaga,

    Let’s make it clear.
    1) I don’t believe Jon is a bastard, because I don’t believe that Lyanna Stark could go to bed with Rhaegar without a wedding ring on her finger. Her major concern about Robert was that he would continue his adventures with other women after marriage, so no way she would have agreed to become a whore of an married man.
    2) If Jon is a legitimate child, he is also a legitimate heir to the Iron Throne, if the line of succession follows the English tradition according to which underaged Richard II inherited the throne against Jon of Gaunt (though it would have been other way round in some other countries). And that means that Dany will have to step aside, if she intends to answer injustice with justice. If she doesn’t, she won’t be better than Renley.
    3) As someone coming from the country in which a diarchy was a norm for one and a half century, I really believe that Jon and Dany will end up as co-rulers or at least co-leaders in the War for Dawn, if they are to die during it. My country had a similar example in the mid 14th century: two brothers (the older and the younge one) decided to dethrone their middle brother, cause he was about to make a deal with an enemy, and it happened so that the older brother did not make it to the capital in time, and the younger brother had to do all the dirty work by himself; so afterwards the older brother offered him the throne, but the younger brother refused on the grounds that he was younger, and they ended up as co-rulers and ruled succesfully for over 20 years (btw, the middle brother was pardoned and given a position in the system of government too). That’s how generous people fix things, when the fate of the realm is at stake.
    4) As for sexism, call me sexist, if you want, but as a woman with some experience in real fray, I know too well that women are of little use, when it comes to close combat. Of cause, sometimes you have to go and fight disregarding “whether you are a week woman, or an underaged child”, but trust me, in such cases, you are very happy with a privilege to stand in the second rank (cause it really hard not to fall when you get a punch in your guts, even when you fully realise, that if you fall, the defence line will be broken). I can agree that women can be efficient at riding dragons or pushing buttons, but a real war cannot avoid a close combat even in our modern world, so it would be stupid to put equal rights over the interest of your country. And I never saw any of the gard-core femminist on the baricades, though I saw revolutions in spades. Not a single activist of Femen baring her breasts on Maidan of Kiev after Berkut stripped a man off his clothes and marche him naked at -10, though men stood naked to the waist in solidarity… So, don’t blame me for beeing a bit sceptical about all the feminism and equal rights. If I were a westerosi facing the choice between Jon and Dany in the wake of the War for Dawn, I would choose Jon without thinking twice: Dany is good, but I can’t see her being able to beat the Night’s King with her bare hands – if it comes to that Jon still has more chances.

  82. Luka Nieto:
    Black Raven,

    No, I haven’t, and I have seen no news of anyone else receiving a call. That said, I’m not so hopeful I’ll be chosen. There were plenty of men who were taller and more muscular than I am. Apparently they were at least partly looking for big bearded men… and anyone who has seen me knows my face is as soft as a baby’s. Unless they’re looking for a pretty face, I’m not very hopeful ?

    Still, don’t despair. If they don’t call me, I’ll go there myself and try to get some footage, which I couldn’t possibly do as an extra.

    Still keeping my fingers crossed for you Luka! Thank you so much for the time and effort you put in to getting the photo’s. I know we all appreciate it! They are wonderful and the conjecturing can begin full force now:)

  83. lalla,

    Oh, god! When GRRM gives you such a beautiful picture, expect the real course of events to be exactly the opposite.
    However, I still can’t see how the Dany we know could refuse to answe the call for help. Of cause, we had some foreshadowing in the show: the Blackfish refused to help Sansa, the North was unwilling to answer to the last surviving Starks. And Dany will be definitely shocked, when she finds that someone has a better claim to the throne. I can see her hesitating, and I can see that hesitation causing major losses both for her and for Jon. However, I believe that eventually she will find strength and courage to make the right decision. If not the Seven Kingdoms are doomed.

  84. Inga,

    Daenerys is the rightful ruler of 7 Kingdom as official Heir Of Viserys third of his name, The last targaryen King, and she is reconquering 7 Kingdom from usurpers

    If Jon Snow refuses call then he is traitor and rebel, If Jon Snow honorable as he says then he should bend the knee to Dany the one true monarch of 7 kingdom after Viserys

  85. I’m sorry but whilst Dany certainly believes this to be her destiny, Jon potentially has the better claim by birth right at least being Rhaegars son. Either way there is no rightful ruler by bloodline as the Targs took it by conquest regardless.

  86. Jon Snowed,

    Rhaegars line was disinherited aside from Jon being bastard,

    Yeah Dany should execute him if he refuses to kneel. unification of realm should come before some rebel bastard relative

  87. But none of us know if Jon is a bastard or not we just know he’s Rhaegar and Lyannas son.

    I just cannot believe for a moment Dany killing Jon fulfills the bittersweet ending GRRM has promised.

  88. Inga:

    Oh, god! When GRRM gives you such a beautiful picture, expect the real course of events to be exactly the opposite.

    oh, it will, with Aegon, because he’s a dick. 🙂
    But not with Jon. He’s much more focused on his duties as a ruler than on his rights.
    Dany is the same and in that aspect I think they’ll see each other as equals.
    It wouldn’t even matter if he’s legitimate or not.

  89. lalla,

    Agreed: I was writing the same all around.

    However, it wouldn’t be fair to expect Dany not to experience any frustrations, when someone with a better claim to the IT appears. After all, the IT has been her idee fixe and she believes that it’s the only thing that could bring her home and happiness for six seasons (which is exactly why this false belief has to be shattered for her own sake). But adjusting to a new reality won’t be easy.

    As for Jon, he can also be expected to have doubts. Just think how Littlefinger could brief him about her: 1) provoked her husband to kill her brother who was the true heir to the throne; 2) murdered her husband with her own hands as soon as he became a liability; 3) pretended to free slaves to make them serve her personal interests; 4) sold herself as a whore to get the Second Sons; 5) crucified her potential opponents; 6) fed her potential opponents to the dragons; 7) tried to force a Meereen nobleman into marriage while publicly sleeping with the captain of the above mentioned Second Sons (poor Hisdahr was happy to be stabbed before that humiliation took a full turn); 8) burned a bunch of the Dothraki Khals whose only fault was that they wanted her to follow the tradition of their tribe, 9) allied with the Sand Snakes who brutally murdered their own prince and his family, etc. So, quite a record for the bride-to-be, isn’t it? Jon will hardly be fascinated, before he gets to know Dany in person.

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