The Game Revealed: Episodes 5 & 6

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The third part of Game of Thrones‘ docuseries The Game Revealed is now available online. Each chapter of the docuseries covers two episodes apiece of Game of Thrones season 6, with insights from the cast and crew and behind the scenes footage from the show.

In the latest edition, The Game Revealed focuses on notable scenes including Bran’s vision, the Cave Attack/the Door, the Braavosi theater, and Meera and Bran’s rescue in this week’s episode.

SPOILERS below the cut!

The video contains interviews with a host of people including Isaac Hempstead Wright, Ellie Kendrick, Kristian Nairn, Emilia Clarke,  Kae Alexander, director Jack Bender, showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, production designer Deborah Riley and more. We also hear from returning cast member Joseph Mawle, who made a big impression in his long-awaited return to the role of Benjen Stark.

The Game Revealed provides a lot of detail and some juicy soundbites from the people behind the show.

Of Bran’s visions from episode 6, David Benioff says, “Even though some of those images flash by in just a fraction of a second, each of them was very carefully chosen.” So we’re not overthinking things in analyzing these to bits!

“Today is about saving Bran, essentially- saving the prophet,” Joseph Mawle says in his interview from the set. The video shows some of the making of Benjen’s heroic rescue of Bran and Meera. Mawle says, “Nothing is gonna get between that kid and me ’cause I’m one bad motherfucker.” Hempstead Wright also chimes in about Benjen’s return and speaks of a mystical connection between Bran and Benjen now, due to their natures.

Jack Bender weighs in on Daenerys and Drogon’s sky-high moment from the end of “Blood of My Blood,” explaining his choices on how to present the scene, and he says, “At the end of the scene you should be somewhat roused by her…and a little horrified.” With a rather interesting choice of words, the director says, “She’s not Hitler at Nuremberg but she’s got the power.”

The complete video:

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

43 Comments

  1. Loved Benjen’s return, wonder what his role will be going forward and if he will be able to cross the wall with Bran.

  2. Can we get an animated story of Benjen’s adventures north of the Wall? His return was bad ass and worth the 5 season wait. Stark/Tully/Northern storyline back with a vengeance this season!!

  3. Amazing how it was broad daylight when they shot the Benjen scenes… the magic of post production, everyone.

  4. I love Joseph Mawle’s line that Benjen is a badass muthafucka. I agree and I can’t wait to see more of him.

    I also like that Jack Bender admits that Dany at the end of her rousing speech is supposed to be a bit horrifying. See, those of us who thought that there was a touch of madness in Dany at the end of the episode were not just being “haters”, etc.

  5. Hmmm. So we saw a clip of Cat, Robb and Ned being killed. Wonder what the significance of this is…

  6. BunBunStark:
    I love Joseph Mawle’s line that Benjen is a badass muthafucka. I agree and I can’t wait to see more of him.

    I also like that Jack Bender admits that Dany at the end of her rousing speech is supposed to be a bit horrifying. See, those of us who thought that there was a touch of madness in Dany at the end of the episode were not just being “haters”, etc.

    Of course you are not being a hater. Dany walking the line between hero and monster is one of the key tensions of the story going forward.

  7. Beeeeeennnnnjen… so nice to see you again!! And the fact that he has powers is going to be too cool. Loved the episode. As another poster mentioned in last thread the political ramifications of Marg & Tommen’s alliance with the HS was brilliant and I feel that this episode is much more complex then what we give it credit for. For me the first episode has been the weakest thus far.. the rest of the shows were amazing.

    Poor Hodor… was really sad to see his last performance and him hug Isaac. I think that his death was done more brilliantly than any other. Those few minutes of him dying will stay with me forever. Just loved the way it was directed and played out.

  8. BunBunStark,

    I concur 1000%. Joseph Mawle’s comment was ‘badass‘ and I’m guessing he’s going to have a LOT of badass scenes to come. He will now be the main protector of Bran since Hodor gave his life.

  9. How would you not be afraid/horrified about Dany though? The girl has 100k dothraki behind her + a big ass dragon. Bender did say she’s not the tyrant though. She’s just got the power.

  10. “Series wrap for mister Hodor !”

    … so, no wight-Hodor, apparently…

    By the way, I didnt know her, but Essie Davies is wonderful ! Lady Crane is totally one of my new favourite minor characters ! But I’ve always had a soft spot for artists in such stories, and she had me at “the next morning, I followed them on the road and never regreted it once !” (paraphrasing)

  11. Kargaryen: “She’s not Hitler at Nuremberg “—“, but she’s got the power.”

    Keyword that’s missing here is “YET”.. We’ve learned that power corrupts at various points in the story.

  12. I could watch 10 hours of those behind the scenes without getting tired. It’s amazing and you learn so much. I’m already wanting the season 6 blu-ray just for the special features.

  13. being powerful does not mean being mad. I think it all depends on how you use it. Daenerys has way more parallels with Aegon the Conqueror than she has with her father (I thinks Viserys is the one who would have ended like the Mad King). Daenerys is much more like Rhaegar, even Ser Barristan said so. I’m tired of people trying to find evil/madness in everything she does. With Daenerys it’s bad if she does it, bad if she doesn’t. And it’s all sexism. People used to love Stannis ffs! his very first scene was burning his friends alive because they refused to change their religion.Daenerys burned a man, who not only wasn’t her friend, but she just had lost her friend and probably the closest thing to a paternal figure she had at the hands of the masters, and she wasn’t smiling, she was just looking with a poker face, and people jumped at her saying she was crazy because she acted out of pain; same with the masters she killed because of all the children they killed to send her a message. She is all fire and blood with her enemies, those who murder innocent children, monsters that sell, buy and exploit human beings like they were things, and what people expect her to do? give them a pat on the back and make them promise they won’t do it again?. Jorah has said it many times, even Varys, Daenerys has a gentle heart, she doesn’t kill because she enjoys it. She wasn’t rised to rule, of course she would make mistakes, even with the best intentions, but she has come a long way, and learned a lot during her journey, so there is no reason for people to be so hard on her, more than they are with Ramsay, more than they were with Joffrey, sure nobody likes them, but I’ve never seen people devote so much time and passion to hate either of them as they do with Daenerys. Facts are facts, it is sexism, because if it weren’t like that we would see equal criticism for the same actions, but it is not the case.

  14. Gosh, this made me cry again for Hodor. Hold the door!!!

    Got new respect for Meera. She’s a total badass.

    “Nothing is gonna get between that kid and me.” Aww, Uncle Benjen.

    So hyped for the story of Bran “the prophet” (to quote Benjen) to unfold!

    Some people were complaining but I actually loved Dany’s facial expression in her speech scene. She’s so sure of herself now. And who wouldn’t be? She’s got a freaking mighty dragon to ride back to Meereen! 🙂

    The production of this show is unbelievable. Thank you GOT for this wonderful adventure!

  15. I have a new name for Meera.. and it’s Pubra.

    Because I was sitting in front of the tv going: “Pull the Bran! Pull the Bran! Puuuh da Bran! Puuh da Braaah!!! Puuh dabraaaah! Puuhbraaaaaa! Puubraa!! Pubraaa!! Pubra!!!”

  16. Ser Oromis Locke,

    Haha, yes! I was rewatching “The Door” with a buddy, and when they got to the door we started yelling “Open the door!” and “Push the door!”

    Which of course turned into Odor and Pudor.

  17. Ashara D: In Inside the Episode, Weiss called him Benjen/Coldhands.

    I’m thinking he said that to acknowledge the book characters were merged, and the details like the black hands are easter eggs for readers.

    My larger theory is that Coldhands was always just a wight that Bloodraven hijacked (or, I guess, now, one that he/the children prevented from fully turning). So when the cave goes down the same way in the books (which is very likely because of the Hodor reveal), Bran will still need saving and Benjen will show up at the same time, explicitly not Coldhands because Coldhands will have gone back to just being a corpse with Bloodraven’s death.

  18. LOL so this proves that dany is mad and villain..

    Has anyone ever denied that dany didn’t have that much power or how she will make morally questionable things ..
    She will become mad and a villain if she just stopped thinking and just kills everyone left and right .

    Doing questionable things does not make you a villain or mad ..it only males you grey like all the characters in the story..

    What’s new about people complaints …she was blamed to be arrogant and entitled when she freed slaves …she was again blamed to be arrogant and entitled when she wants to take back westeros for her ancestors.

    Was there anytime ever people did not complain about dany being mad or villain or antagonist or tyrant or whatever you want to call it ..
    It was the same when she did the noble things so this doesn’t surprise me one bit..

    Iam however sure that this time next year we will he seeing what really happens with dany and westeros.and which I think will be how someone who is viewed as antagonist becomes the savior and die for them.

    I find it interting that this comment by Bender has been talked and posted many times just after a day .when there was no one who pointed out that dany was called chosen one by benioff at the end 509 ..it has been a year and no one has spoken about that like they have done this comment..
    Why this negligence

  19. dragonbringer,

    It really is unbelievable man! Yes she’s going to be an antagonist to those who oppose her. And who’s going to oppose her in the show? The Lannisters? The Sparrows/Faith? The Tyrells (they’re the only ones that should cause controversy)? Once she defeats some houses that oppose her, others will swear fealty to her to not meet the same fate. Will Dany unsettle the realm? Well it is already in chaos! Westeros hasn’t been this divided since before Aegon’s conquest, and Dany is the one character that is set up to unite it. Seriously if not Dany, who? I have yet to hear a plausible alternative.

    She is conquering Westeros because she believes that it is her destiny and duty. But we, the viewers, know that her destiny lies in the War for the Dawn. Once she finds out about the Others, she will absolutely fight them. But at the moment she has no clue, and you can’t blame her for that. How would she know!? For a character that knows nothing about them, she sure has a lot of foreshadowing that she will fight them. I believe she will sacrifice herself for the realm.

  20. Isaac’s comment about Bran and Benjen having a “mystical connection” is interesting. He seems to be implying that the similarities are more than just both characters communicating with the TER? I hope they explore this.

    I dig having Benjen back but it was also slightly anti-climactic … we needed more in that scene (and yes, I’m one of the people who would have preferred this reveal or Arya rejecting the FM to be the end of the episode). I hope Uncle B doesn’t just pop up for a couple of episodes and then vanish again or die.

    The other thing that was interesting was Benioff noting that all of the things shown in Bran’s rapidfire vision were carefully and deliberately chosen.

    I’m pleased Bender mentioned that we’re supposed to be somewhat horrified by Dany. Unfortunately, having seen half a dozen similar Dany scenes before this one rather torpedoed the scene. Lots of shrugging and/or eye rolling in the reviews and responses I’ve read. That’s not Bender’s fault though and hey, at least the intention was there.

  21. Re. Jaime stabbing the Mad King. Maybe someone has talked about this but did they show two versions of Jaime in the vision – one current, one younger – doing the exact same thing? That’s what it looks like. Interesting …

  22. treehouse,

    Thank you! Tywin Lannister sacked a city, slaughtered the Targaryen children (on his orders), destroyed house Reyne, orchestrated the murder of Robb & Co, but he was called a warrior and a strategist and the most powerful man in Westeros.

    But psycho? Deranged? No one ever said that.

    But a woman gets a nice big chunk of power, she flexes HER muscle, and she’s “crazy”. Ooooooooookay.

  23. Someone else said it above, but I could also watch 10 hours of the BTS stuff. It’s so interesting to see how they put all the pieces together to produce such high quality on a TV show. Still blows my mind.

  24. I’m not sure I trust Benjen 100% yet. I mean, where’s he been all this time? He could have helped Bran reach the Three Eyed Raven in season 4. He could have been in the cave to protect Bran when the Night’s King attacked. Why didn’t he return to the Wall at some point to warn Jon? Why did the children of the forest save him, but not the two Nights Watch brothers who went ranging with him? Lo and behold he saves Bran and Meera just in the nick of time and now he’s saying that Bran has to go to the Wall. Why? What’s Bran going to do there that he can’t do anywhere else? We know the Night’s King marked Bran and that’s how the Walkers got in the cave. If Bran being marked also makes the Wall vulnerable then that’s the last place he should be going. I’m wondering if Benjen has already been turned by the Night’s King and is setting Bran up?

  25. Kargaryen,

    She may not be the tyrant – but if she runs to Westeros and kills and conquers good people. She still isn’t a good at politics. She doesn’t know compromise. I do worry she will become a “villain” even if the show doesn’t want her to be.

  26. A Fall of Snow,

    I don’t think you need to worry about Benjen. In EW Isaac said “I think it’s much cooler to have him show up now instead of guiding Bran to the cave, because Bran already had Jojen and Meera for that.” They held off on bringing him back until Bran was desperate, only had Meera left and seemed doomed. It makes sense. Plus it meant not having to pay for an extra actor for a couple of seasons. 😉

  27. Stargaryen,

    She is not good at politics? She doesn’t know compromise? She could have sailed to Westeros seasons ago, even Jorah and Barristan advised her so, but she decided to stay and fight for a cause she believes in. She was wise enough to questioned herself that if she coudn’t control a single city, how was she supposed to control a continent. So she decided to stay in Mereen and learn how to rule, she got married with someone she loathed, reopend the fighting pits because she knew it was needed. Nothing about it points she will become a villain, it’s fans wishful thinking imo

  28. treehouse,

    It’s not sexism. Not even close. She is starting to like showing here power more though. And one can make the point the show is setting her up to burn those who go against her.

  29. As far as Dany goes, she is potentially now the baddest, most powerful person in the known history of Westeros. Far more powerful than even Aegon the Conquerer. She has over 100,000 of some of the toughest fighters alive, plus however many of Unsullied she has left – and they aren’t slouches in the fighting department either – plus three dragons. Even Aegon couldn’t bring Dorne to heel, it was over 100 years before they were part of the Kingdom. It seems to me Dany will be able to roll over everyone who may try to resist with relative ease

    GRRM has stated many times the best stories are those on the conflicts of the human heart. I think at some point in the future Dany will have that conflict – whether to keep on full bore Ghengis Khan, or bring back her humanity. I think the storyline is setting her up for this, and she is merely on the swing to the Conquerer side right now. I don’t see the hate, we all have those kind of conflicts in different ways, and sometimes we go too far, and have to learn hard lessons. Part of life, part of growth.

  30. Stargaryen,

    You do realize that her entire ADWD arc is about her being making one compromise after another ..

    Why do you think there was a line by darrio last season that everybody as choice and freed even the slaves but not you to dany ..its shows how she is bound to the compromise

    Not good at politics …she effectively did bring peace to meereen by compromising and setting aside her personal wishes ..its her story from ADWD that tyrion is having this season..

  31. MearaReed,

    Well, I respect your opinion, but I don’t see your point. The only time we’ve seen Denerys burnig someone was when the masters killed Ser Barristan, so for me it was obvious she acted out of pain, I think it’s only human to want revenge against those who murdered someone you love. She didn’t do it for fun, like the Mad king did. And when Drogon killed that kid, she put her dragons in chains, we know how hard it was her, but she put the safety of her people first. If she was this insane person who burns people just because, she wouldn’t have done that. I remember she agree with Ser Barristan about giving the masters a trial, instead of executing them. She could have burned all the master and get rid of them and the sons of the harpy, but she didn’t. I think she will use the dragons mainly against the WW. But she is a conqueror, and she going to war, of course she is going to kill those who opposed her, like Ned did, like Tywin did, like Robb did, like Jon did, that is what you do in war.

  32. treehouse,

    I agree, she is going to war and preparing for war. Two points though- the sexism is still missing. I didn’t hate Stannis- but I did after he killed his daughter. People aren’t seeing madness in Dany because she is a woman, it’s because the show is implying there may be something to that theory. Just like many of the other theories which have been hinted at over the years.

    However, that doesn’t mean those hints wills come to fruition. She very well be the savior.

    Second point- what if her love grows to the point where she loves all of her people? If someone attacks them what will she do? Yes it’s war, but she will presumably have a slight advantage in a fire breathing dragon. Will she burn an army? Most likely and that would be justified. What if the army were hiding among locals who are not her people?

    But like I said, maybe she will be the savior and burn all the WW.

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