Game of Thrones breaks the record for Emmy wins!

emmys
Photo: @TelevisionAcad

The show has ended and the dust has settled: the 68th Primetime Emmys have come to a close. It was a fantastic night for Game of Thrones, with the show wining three awards in major categories, including Outstanding Drama Series!

With the NINE Emmys from the Creative Arts ceremony last week, plus tonight’s three wins, that brings Game of Thrones to twelve, matching last year’s record total. It also brings the show’s total Emmys to 38- meaning Game of Thrones is now the primetime show with the most Emmys ever! Not bad for a nerdy fantasy show!

In addition to GoT winning the biggest prize of the night, Miguel Sapochnik took home the award for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series for his work on the epic “Battle of the Bastards.” The other nominees in contention for the director’s award were Downton Abbey, Homeland, Ray Donovan, The Knick- and another episode of Game of Thrones, “The Door” directed by Jack Bender.

Showrunners David Benioff & D.B. Weiss won the prize for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series, also for the episode “Battle of the Bastards. They won against stiff competition from Downton Abbey, The Americans, Mr. Robot, The Good Wife, and UnREAL.

Kit Andy
Harington presenting with Samberg; Benioff and Weiss accepting their writing prize.

Game of Thrones accepted the Outstanding Drama Series award, the last category of the evening, with Benioff and Weiss representing the show. They gave emotional thanks to people from the crew and their loved ones, and gave a big shout-out to Belfast, the show’s home base in Northern Ireland.

Unfortunately, GoT didn’t win any awards in acting categories this evening, with Maggie Smith of Downton Abbey and Ben Mendelsohn of Bloodline winning in the Drama Supporting categories.

Kit Harington may not have won his category but he turned up onstage anyway, presenting an award with comedian Andy Samberg. We also saw a GoT presence in the opening monologue with host Jimmy Kimmel “arriving” at the Emmys via dragon.

What a night! It would have been great to see the GoT actors win but Game of Thrones has been well rewarded and surpassed anything we could have dreamed of as fans, back when the show began. Congratulations to the cast and crew of Game of Thrones- we’re so proud of you!

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

165 Comments

  1. It’s unfortunate that having so many actresses in the category works against them. I love Downton and Maggie Smith but come on. This was Lena’s year. Ah well – great to see all the other wins!

  2. I predicted they’d likely sweep up all except the acting awards (because they still refuse to spread those out with lead acting nominations).

    And if they’d allowed nominations in lead AND supporting, I bet they’d have taken some of those too.

  3. Shout out to All the hard working Folks who Make Game of Thrones one of my favorite shows of all time, Brilliant show that never lost me as a viewer, Amazing characters, Writing, Directing, Acting, also Based of the Epic Song of ice and fire from the Brilliant George rr. Martin 🙂
    <3
    Also Shout out to the Watchers worrying for thrones during the Whole award Show 😀

  4. Wasn’t angry that Kit Harrington didn’t win supporting actor. I was more befuddled over who the heck Ben Mendelson was. However, I was fired up over the Supporting Actress ordeal. What does Lena Headey have to do to win that Emmy? She’s walked down a street naked for three fucking days!

  5. Brooklyn Ann,

    She really was. And so was Kit. And Kevin Spacey, WTF? The latter makes me really throw a side eye at the Emmys. That incredible man hasn’t won in four goddamn years. Rami is mediocre at best. I just don’t get it. Very glad Sapochnik won though. Well deserved.

  6. clouddragon,

    She really didn’t though lol.

    Anyway I am so happy for the show.They totally deserve it.I was skeptical of the acting categories chances so I didn’t get too upset but to get rid of the bitterness I just look at that Kit and Emilia picture lol.

  7. F*** the Emmy’s man…I never watch them but sat through 2 and 1/2 hours just to see Kit and Lena got snubbed. Thought for sure it would be a slam dunk really. I’m feeling pretty let down right now.

  8. Too bad for the acting categories. The multiple nominees in them were a disadvantage with the new voting system.

    But woohoo on winning the main awards. Battle of the Bastards won in every category it was nominated.

  9. I’m happy that Kit didn’t win – if I ever wanted any GoT actor to win it, it would have been Alfie, in past seasons.

    But Lena not winning was probably an exercise in why vote splitting is bad.

  10. ygritte,

    I mean it’s not totally the Emmys fault though.It’s like the best dramatic scene at Wotw awards.Jon has three scenes it’s probable fans of his will vote one of those three so none of them will end up winning.Same thing with the actors,voters who are fans of Game of Thrones voted one of the three ladies.And let’s remember that the three characters are all popular.Same thing happened with the guys so nobody ends up winning.

  11. GameofThrones EPs on S7: it will be bigger and it will better and it will be worse. But mostly better. #Emmys

  12. Ben Mendelsohn is an amazing actor (Animal Kingdom, Place Beyond the Pines etc) . He’s not very mainstream (although he missed the Emmys because he’s shooting Star Wars: Rogue One so maybe he will be) but he’s hugely admired by other actors. He and Tatiana Maslany’s against-the-odds acting wins were great. Maggie Smith winning just makes me sigh .. she’s great but she does that role on autopilot now. Oh well, GoT didn’t deserve the writing win so I guess it evens out. Very pleased for Sapochnik!

  13. AlexG:
    GeekFurious, Elaborate more,please

    The cast made the decision, I think way back in season 1, to only nominate themselves for supporting acting categories. I think it’s a sign of respect for each other (since by the definition of the lead categories, half of them could be nominated there). By doing that and getting multiple nominations, the actors on the show essentially cancel each other out, especially this year in the supporting acting category for the ladies. And when that happens, you end up with someone who received the most consistent support.

  14. So happy for Miguel Sapochnik’s win – especially after he was snubbed last year at nomination stage. This time I’m not sad for Dinklage not winning, because it wasn’t Tyrion’s season really, and he did not submit the dragon monologue episode anyway. I am sad for Kit who was great in BotB, but not having watched other series nominated for acting, I can’t say which actors were dealt unfairly.
    As for Lena, I think the only way she’d win is if GoT submit only her name for nomination.

    Also glad that Remi Malek won for best actor!

  15. I wanted the show and Miguel to win. They did, so I’m happy. Sucks for Lena, but it would have been bittersweet with her not being there.

  16. Jack Bauer 24,

    I’d have been thoroughly disappointed if a great season (with so many good episodes with only a few hiccups like No One) did not win while easily the worst season (S5) won for best drama.

  17. GeekFurious: The cast made the decision, I think way back in season 1, to only nominate themselves for supporting acting categories. I think it’s a sign of respect for each other (since by the definition of the lead categories, half of them could be nominated there). By doing that and getting multiple nominations, the actors on the show essentially cancel each other out, especially this year in the supporting acting category for the ladies. And when that happens, you end up with someone who received the most consistent support.

    Bean and Headey actually did submit as leads for Season 1, as I recall. The issue with them all submitting for supporting is less about respect than it is a recognition that nobody on the show gets enough screentime to be competitive as a lead actor; heck, most of them don’t get enough to even be competitive in supporting. The cast is just too big in that respect (which is why the SAG Ensemble award should really be perfect for them — and hopefully they’ll win it one of these days).

  18. Congratulations to Dan & Dave, Miguel Sapochnik, and the cast and crew for their awesome work being rewarding in winning Best Drama! I never would’ve thought back in S1, that our little fantasy show would blow up the way it has and would win best drama 2 years in a row.

    I loved seeing more of the cast on stage this year. Rory!! Emilia! Kit!! Iwan! Hannah! I’m sad there won’t be a GOT presence at the Emmys next year. Hopefully, in 2018 it will come back with a vengeance.

  19. AlexG,

    Yes they will. HBO would be mad not to at least attempt to continue to make money off it. Now I’m not saying they’d necessarily be any good or last, but I’m sure they’ll greenlight some form of prequel.

  20. orange:
    AlexG,

    Yes they will. HBO would be mad not to at least attempt to continue to make money off it. Now I’m not saying they’d necessarily be any good or last, but I’m sure they’ll greenlight some form of prequel.

    Yeah, if HBO doesn’t do it and lets the rights lapse, they’d get snapped up by another network in a millisecond. Continuing this is a pretty much a no-brainer from a business stand point.

  21. mau,

    Go ahead. Personally I don’t know anyone else besides Maggie Smith. ANd I don’t think she deserves award for the role she played in Downton last season. And Eileen from Seinfield back in the day. But never watched Veep. I’m in a tiny viewing bubble which is just GOT and Vikings. Other than that it is news, documentaries and reruns to go to bed with.

  22. Rayn,
    I´m 99 per cent sure those prequels will never be made…

    Don’t be. D&D might not want to, but HBO sure as hell does. The show makes them too much money. Prequels/spinoffs when done right are a way to mine more out of a quality property without beating a dead horse (think Better Call Saul/Frasier). Someone like Cogman in charge could give us DoD, RR, Aegon’s Conquest or the like without it being Joey.

  23. Yes, Lena was robbed (even though I love Maggie Smith!)

    Another amazing production member who was robbed was Ramin! I still don’t understand why he wasn’t submitted for composing and scoring.

    IMHO, “The Light of the Seven” would have taken him to an Emmy win and it was just silly to not even submit him for consideration.

    I love his work!!!

  24. Yaga:
    So, where are the (hopefully spoilerish) interviews at? Anybody got any links?

    Nothing yet. They’ve all been pretty tight lipped. Hopefully once the booze starts flowing in the after parties, someone will let something slip.

  25. ygritte:
    OK so does anyone know what Samburg was tlking about with the Masturbation joke directed at Kit??

    Do you mean Kimmel? In his opening monologue he said that there are certain scenes in GOT that viewers can masturbate to. Then the camera showed Kit in the audience and Kimmel said “that’s what I’m talking about” and “Jon Snow is my freebie”.

  26. Major kudos to the show again, and it’s nice to see that the voters are recognizing the quality of the story.

    GeekFurious: (because they still refuse to spread those out with lead acting nominations).

    It is tough to justify lead acting nominations for multiprotagonist stories. In a way, the actors for Thrones (and any story like this) are sort of hosed: there are too many leads to get the screen time for “best lead” but they also are not truly supporting roles.

  27. Rayn,

    They are in it for the story, and creating stories from pre-existing plot is almost impossible. That is why prequels usually fail to tell any sort of story at all.

    HouseMartellBitches: Don’t be. D&D might not want to, but HBO sure as hell does. The show makes them too much money.

    This show does, but prequels would not. The general audience will not be interested in stuff happening outside of this story: it’s the particular characters (Jon, Daeny, Tyrion, etc.) that hold them in thrall, not the world. (Yes, fans would watch it: but all of the B5 fans watched Crusade, and only about a fifth of the ratings that B5 did.)

  28. Ravyn: The SAG award for Best Ensemble would be ideal for GoT. Too bad the Emmys don’t have something comparable.

    I agree entirely. The Oscars needs this, too. (I remember this coming up in discussions of Lord of the Rings!) In a way, that is the ideal nomination for those groups of stories with multiple lead characters.

  29. ygritte,

    I couldn’t agree more with you!
    I feel my man Kit got snubbed and Lena too. The only reason I tuned in was for GoT. I’m happy though that Thrones won the other ones. And well on its way to make more award history.
    It’s been getting better and better. I’m gonna be sad to see it end

  30. Why is George Martin off to the side? He should be front and center with the HBO staff, given this is Martin’s baby and genius

  31. Emilia said she begins filming Tuesday in Belfast. Think she was one of the main ones we hadn’t seen in Belfast yet. She also said she’ll film until February, with Christmas off.

  32. Well too bad about the lack of acting award wins, this season all those nominated (and those not nominated as a matter of fact) outdid themselves and more! I thought that Kit Harrington and Lena Headey really shone throughout! Then again I am not really surprised…and it is for that reason, that for me the Emmys are pretty irrelevant…and becoming ever more so with each passing year.

    However, this is about the cast and crew of “Game Of Thrones” and I am glad for them! Congratulations! Well earned!

  33. Victoria of the Vale: Another amazing production member who was robbed was Ramin! I still don’t understand why he wasn’t submitted for composing and scoring.

    IMHO, “The Light of the Seven” would have taken him to an Emmy win and it was just silly to not even submit him for consideration.

    His work on GoT doesn’t qualify because he recycles themes/motifs from previous episodes/seasons. Scores have to be totally original each season in order to be eligible for the award. So no dropping in a few strains of ‘The Rains of Castamere’ every time a Lannister is in an ominous situation. It’s kind of a silly rule, but there you are.

  34. Congratulations Game of Thrones on winning the awards and now being the most awarded series ever!!

    Little bummed for the actors, but the fact that we got so many nominated I think is also really rewarding and says a lot about the acting on the show.

    So happy for the entire cast and crew for the Best Drama award. So deserved. And for D&D for winning Best Writing without a “bad pussy”! 🙂

    But I am most happy for Miguel Sapochnik for Best Directing! So much deserved! Kind of a shoe-in I think but still, if he didn’t win it would have been the biggest travesty!
    Juggling 4 camera-units for 25 days (which is actually 100 days of shooting) and all the crew members, extras and horses is no easy task. And all of that doesn’t even include Mereen!

  35. HouseMartellBitches: Don’t be.D&D might not want to, but HBO sure as hell does.The show makes them too much money.Prequels/spinoffs when done right are a way to mine more out of a quality property without beating a dead horse (think Better Call Saul/Frasier).Someone like Cogman in charge could give us DoD, RR, Aegon’s Conquest or the like without it being Joey.

    There’s already enough written about Dunk & Egg to start the pre-planning stage of a prequel series that would not require trying to find actors to play younger versions of characters already known to us (except Bloodraven). And I’d bet anything that George has sketches or outlines for additional Dunk & Egg novellas in his drawer, since he has been talking for years about there eventually being about a dozen of them. He could be a script consultant to the series without actually having to invest significant time in doing additional writing for it.

    Since the story is a loose conglomeration of adventures of a knight-errant and his young squire (who just happens to be a royal heir in disguise), it could unfold over multiple seasons without the showrunners even knowing much about the total arc, other than what we already know about Westerosi history and Egg/Aegon eventually ending up on the throne. There’s even a framing device ready to roll: Brienne finding the shield that once belonged to Ser Duncan the Tall stashed away at Evenfall. They could have her ask her father about it and find out that Dunk was her ancestor. Lord Selwyn could then relate Dunk & Egg stories to her by the fireside.

  36. Yaga:
    So, where are the (hopefully spoilerish) interviews at? Anybody got any links?

    Emilia said something about a big battle. Bigger than BotB.

  37. Firannion,

    Dunk & Egg is nothing special and revolutionary like GoT. And I think that the general audience would be very disappointed with such a simple story after GoT. They will expect more.

  38. GeekFurious,

    Apparently, GOT actors aren’t eligible for lead actor noms. Their onscreen time is split because the cast is so big, and if you don’t get a certain percentage of the show’s overall screentime, you don’t qualify for the best actor or actress nominations.

    It’s not a decision on the part of the show. It’s a technicality.

  39. Amazing! Congrats to everyone in the GOT family,

    What a trip it’s been… I remember reading and posting on the old site since 2009, and worrying about the show’s chances. Never imagined this type of success in my wildest dreams!

  40. mau:
    Firannion,

    Dunk & Egg is nothing special and revolutionary like GoT. And I think that the general audience would be very disappointed with such a simple story after GoT. They will expect more.

    Depends on what you mean by the ‘general audience.’ If anything, a Dunk & Egg series could actually appeal to a much broader public because it could be made family-friendly – like the kind of adventure mini-series that used to be shown on the Walt Disney TV program when I was a kid. I would love to watch such a thing. Don’t see why a prequel would need to be ‘revolutionary,’ necessarily.

  41. Sophie said she cried after reading the script. First she said she can’t answer the question, but she changed her mind.

    Bye bye Arya:(

  42. El-Bobbie,

    Its so weird to think about Emilia filming during February. The month which we used to get trailers ..

    Sophie on red carpet reminded me of Diane Kruger in one of the stills ..

    Grrm must be very satisfied with Emmys given his disappointment with Hugo’s

  43. LadyStark,

    Yeah I’ll miss it too 🙁 I am glad it won best drama of course, I actually didn’t even know that right away cause we were watching it at grandparent’s house and had to leave before the end, but when supporting actor/actress one right after another lost out I was ready to turn the whole thing off anyway lol. As much as I appreciate the show runners it’s a bit annoying to see them getting trophies and making speeches and the actors who make us able to connect to it all aren’t given the credit we’d like to see them receive.

    On a side note, I could not believe just how many people died this past year! I had no clue some of those were gone and had forgotten a few others like Rickman and Wilder.

  44. ghost of winterfell,
    Great find ! No one is immune to the unfathomable charm of those luscious locks… 😉

    Disappointed for Lena Headey but not entirely surprised : Maggie Smith is a legendary actress in the last season of a very popular show; that is typically catnip to academy voters.
    More taken aback by the male category : the “least obvious” candidate won. Which, to a certain extent, is lovely in and by itself.
    On a happier note, all the congratulations in the world to D&D and Miguel Sapochnik. They and the show deserved it, without the shadow of a doubt. Congratu-welldone, gentlemen ! And I am always happy to see George RR Martin out and about. This mischievous Santa Claus of a man consistently brings a smile to my face 😉

  45. Don’t want to be that guy….. But I told you they will win ”outstanding writing”, since the day after EP9.

  46. A fashion note: GOT’s female actors were all wearing fantastic attires in my humble opinion (Emilia sure showed the haters!), but as the group picture shows, male fashion is soooooo incredibly boring. There needs to be a revolution that abolishes the dated notion that a suit is the only way to go for males to look classy.

  47. Tar Kidho,

    Emilia looked amazing. Even at the party before, loved her hair there…

    I do have a little crush on her so I may not be that objective, though!

  48. ygritte,

    Omg!! Yeah, it’s hard to say what she was doing there 🙂 .
    It’s good on Kit that he seems to have no qualms in standing next to or being pictured with women who tower over him. Not all guys would be ok with that.

  49. orange,

    nope…sorry,can´t see it happening…Got is a once in a lifetime event very much like The Sopranos was before…that´s just talking to keep audiences interested…once it ends,they´ll move to something else

  50. I was at the HBO post party tonight. Emilia is stunning in person. Gwendoline was in heels so she was a good 6’6″. Kit is very small. As is Maisie. Cool seeing them all

  51. I am thrilled with the awards they got.

    I don’t think any of the nominated GoT actors were robbed this year. None of them stood out to me. The one who deserved to win the most out of the GoT actors would be Lena Headey’s whose Cersei is memorable. But as is the case with Jon Snow I think that’s more about her character’s central storyline than with her actual acting.

    I hope they will submit actors for their actual acting and not just for them being popular or icons in 2018. But that probably will not happen.

  52. Masterofthrones:
    Sophie said she cried after reading the script. First she said she can’t answer the question, but she changed her mind.

    Bye bye Arya:(

    Eh, she earlier said that she thought the script was ‘beautiful’. So these were probably tears of joy.

    mau: Emilia said something about a big battle. Bigger than BotB.

    Oh, good if so. Dany deserves a battle with characters we actually care about (as, in, not in Meereen/Essos). She’s been shortchanged on these next to Jon.

  53. Congratulations to everyone who won! Great news about Miguel Sapochnik, who is sure to go down as one of GOT’s best directors.

    Alas, it wasn’t Kit’s year. At least he got some exposure through the nomination and presenter’s role. Fingers crossed for next year–for the others as well!

  54. Wait… Didn’t the series jump the shark? The voting system was definitely skewed or out of touch.

    Just kidding! Congratulations to everybody! This is definitely great news. A special mention goes to Miguel Sapochnik for his outstanding directing award and he definitely deserved it. It’s a pity that no actor won an award but we do not always get what we want.

  55. Masterofthrones:
    Sophie said she cried after reading the script. First she said she can’t answer the question, but she changed her mind.

    Bye bye Arya:(

    That’s nothing new. She often cries when she reads the scripts. She stated it in January 2015.

  56. Myname,

    LOL we literally saw Lyanna die after giving birth to Jon. Then HBO and the cast confirmed the father. Did he actually watch the episode himself? What a troll.

  57. icequinn,

    Lol he is just having fun.Plus is very possible Jon finds out about it next season and he doesn’t want to talk about it in fear of letting anything slip.

  58. Lord Parramandas,

    Also maise and sophie got the same tatoo. Sophie said in a interview the spoke about the tatoo for many years and they would love the get this tatoo at the end of the series, if both of them are alive in the series.

    Now they both got the tatoo. My opinion is one of them will die at the end. Arya has the most change of dying, but Sansa could be dead by mistake by LF or something.

    Interview here:

  59. clouddragon,

    I was rooting for KH, of course, but honestly didn’t think his performance this year was so much greater than any other season. I’ve always thought he was as good as Dinklage or any other actor on the show from the beginning. BUT Ben Mendelsohn was the only reason to watch that Bloodline show on Netflix. He really did deserve it more than Jon and Tyrion. I fully expected KH to win and then they said Mendelsohn and I was surprised but then quickly thought “He WAS great in that.” And was not nearly as disappointed.

  60. I was grinning ear to ear when the show won Outstanding Drama Series last night, and I’m still grinning now. Season 6 was phenomenal. The entire cast and crew deserve this recognition of their efforts!

    It’s a shame that the actors got shut out, especially Kit and Lena. But at least they get to share in the glow of the show’s overall victory. Judging from the post-ceremony photos I’ve seen so far, that glow is quite warm indeed! I was thrilled to see Benioff and Weiss win for writing again, and I pumped my fist when Miguel Sapochnik won for directing “Battle of the Bastards”. That was one of the locks of the night, yet it was SUPREMELY well-deserved. I love that he made sure to thank his DP Fabian Wagner as well. The shots that they pulled off together in that episode were sublime.

  61. ygritte,
    Ha ha ha ! There was a split second when I genuinely thought she was going to pick him up and cuddle him like a teddy bear. To be honest, there are many women and men who would, given the opportunity 😉
    On a side note, Gwendoline Christie has a truly remarkable laughter : it exudes sheer joy.

    I am not holding my breath for the interviews; I doubt we will get anything significant aside from “it is going to be a great season” and, perhaps, small comments about storylines / themes that were already introduced during season 6. But I’ll still keep my fingers crossed, just in case ^^

  62. Masterofthrones,

    Yes, they both have chances of dying. In case of Sansa, I still think she has to accomplish something before her death, such as being involved in LF’s downfall even at the cost of her own life. As for Arya, the actress repeatedly stated that we should be worried about the character’s behavior instead of cheering for her. Arya is nearly too far gone by now and I doubt she would be able to come back from it.

  63. Dee Stark,

    “If you think this has a happy ending, you haven’t been paying attention!”

    This is still GoT and I’m sure there will be more deaths of our beloved characters in the future.

  64. Dee Stark,

    “You’ll be sewing all through winter. When the spring thaw comes, they will find your body with a needle still locked tight between your frozen fingers.”

  65. ACME,

    Yeah, I don’t think we can count on anything spoilery at this early date so I’m not too interested in the interviews yet either. That said, what we have to keep in mind about Sophie’s comment with the script being “beautiful” and making her cry is that Ms. Turner most likely has a very different definition of “beautiful” than most of us do. Beautiful to her could very well mean something which would be sad or shocking for us. Remember how she talked about things in the past…how she would like to have a cool death because it’s no fun not to die in a cool way if one is on GOT (at least something to that effect.) I think she’s one of those actors who gets more enjoyment or challenge from being a villain.

  66. Dee Stark:
    Lord Parramandas,

    I know, but I think arya has a role to play in the final battle.

    I agree.
    Besides, we know from GRRM’s original outline given to his publisher that Arya was one of the characters meant to survive till the end. Of course he could have changed his mind later on, but he has also said that he had the ending mapped out in terms of the major points at least, when he began the series. So I feel it likely that Arya will survive till the end.
    At the same time, there has been so much focus on Sansa being a survivor, that I was betting on her surviving the series itself. There was also that line by Tyrion “Lady Stark may survive us all yet” or something like that which I had always felt was somewhat prophetic.
    Still if I had to choose, I think Sansa has a greater chance of dying next season than Arya.

  67. ghost of winterfell,

    First I also want to frame this lol.Second the more I watch the pictures the more I realize Emilia was absolutely stunning last night.She knocked it out of the park and she is so charming in interviews.In another unrelated note I really hope they get the SAG award this year.The cast really deserves it.

  68. ghost of winterfell,

    In original outline (which is by the way very different than the actual ASOIAF), Tyrion, Daenerys, Jon, Bran and Arya were supposed to survive the series. Now, I find it almost impossible for all these major characters to survive the series.

  69. ghost of winterfell,
    That quote is why I really hope that Sansa will survive until she gets to meet Tyrion again. I mean, how shocked must Tyrion be to learn that his erstwhile child bride fed her second husband to the dogs? I wanna see that reaction. I think, after learning about what kind of person Ramsay was, he would be even somewhat… proud.

    More importantly, Tyrion-Sansa can be an important bridge between Dany and Jon. It would be so cool seeing Tyrion and Sansa reforging that evil relationship Tywin forced both of them into, into a force for good.

  70. Yaga,

    If Sansa is destined to die, she still has to accomplish something great before her death, something that GRRM had in mind for her. She didn’t go through all this for nothing. The producers called her “the character we care about the most” and they moved her storyline to the North because they didn’t want her to stagnate in the Vale.

  71. Would have been great for Kit and Lena, but congrats anyway to all involved.

    12 Emmys for season 5, 12 Emmys for season 6. We’ll see what happens for season 7 in 2018!

    Really happy for Rami Malek and Tatiana Maslany.

  72. Yaga,

    Yeah I really want Tyrion and Sansa to meet once again. To see their reaction to how far the other has come would be great.

  73. It’s Lord of the Rings all over again. They will eventually have won every Emmy there is except for the acting categories (with the exception of Peter Dinklage). Could it be that voters on such awards think acting in a fantasy show is not very hard? Dunno why they would, but it seems that more often than not it’s the more “serious” (read: less fantastic) shows that get those awards.

  74. Lord Parramandas: It’s a line that Jon says to Arya in the first book after he gives her Needle. It may or may not indicate her fate.

    I think it was before he gives her Needle? He was talking about Septa Mordane forcing sewing lessons on her. Regardless, it does seem like foreshadowing of how Arya’a story will end. This also indicates that Arya will die only near the end.

  75. Masterofthrones,
    While I agree with you that Arya is more likely to exit than her sister, I think death may be a bit too much…

    Lady Crane felt like an opportunity for the youngest Stark daughter to reconnect with “normal” society, to have a real friend : she nursed her back to health, listened and talked to her without expecting anything from it. However, this one chance to move on and start anew was violently taken away.
    There was a beautiful symmetry between Arya’s arc with Lady Crane and the Hound’s storyline with Brother Ray. And it would make sense for it to continue with Sandor going north while his former apprentice decides to head south. If she does so, there will not be much opportunity (or time) for her to then go back to Winterfell, though anything is technically possible.

    However, the “west of Westeros” comment sticks with me. It was evocative of Arya’s wish for a departure from society, from the (known) world. It also presented the fact that she does not need to die to exit; she can simply leave. On her own terms. It would fit her self-determined character quite well, I believe. And it could happen at the very end of the series.

    In regards to Sansa dying, it is a definite maybe but seems unlikely as of now. The writers rushed her Vale storyline to get her to the North asap, which probably indicates that this is where her character will eventually end up in the books as well. She must have something to do there. As long as that has not happened yet, she is probably safe.

    ygritte,
    Oh I have no doubt about that ! There definitely is something to be extrapolated from the actors’ choice of words, depending on their respective sensibilites.
    To be honest, I sort of agree with Sophie Turner’s appreciation here. Many of the most beautiful scenes in Game of Thrones so far have been morally ambiguous or even downright shocking (there was great beauty in Tyrion’s final confrontation with his father; the “chaos is a ladder” scene had remarkable aesthetics on many fronts but was utterly chilling; Arya killing Walder and Sansa murdering Ramsay were strangely beautiful scenes because of their underlying horror; even the Red Wedding was gorgeous in its own gory, gothic way).
    So I fully expect for the cast list to have been shortened by the end of episode 7.07. Joy and happiness will have to wait for the last season 😉

    Dee Stark,

    Yes, it is a joke Jon told his little sister after she ran away from one of her sewing classes. Some readers speculate it may be prophetic.
  76. ghost of winterfell,

    Oh yes, my mistake. It’s been a while since I last read the book (and thanks to book purists from westeros.org, I lost my passion for it) This happens a couple chapters before he gives her Needle. But I know that Jon meant regular needle and not sword Needle.

  77. Lord Parramandas,

    It may be neither Sansa nor Arya who are destined to die but someone who dies for them, saving one of them I guess it could be Sandor fighting for Arya, their fate is linked, they have to meet again. And I as well believe that Sansa and Tyrion will meet before all is said and done.

  78. theGryfter,

    That’s inaccurate. HBO submitted Lena Headey and Sean Bean as leads in Season 1. Since then, they have chosen to submit them all in supporting because they believe they’ll do better there due to the spread out screen time, but this method clearly backfired this year.

  79. such a wonderful day, waking up and game of thrones won Writing, Directing, and Drama Series 🙂
    I was worried about The Writing awards, mostly because of the fierce competition, but they did it 🙂
    KING IN THE NORTH!!!!!!

  80. Next up are the Guild Awards.

    Producers Guild Awards are January 28th, which we won last year.
    Directors Guild Awards are February 4th, which we won last year.
    Writers Guild Awards are February 19th, which we lost last year.

  81. Congratulations to all the people involved in making GoT possible!!! From G.R.R. Martin himself to the last extra!!

    In a different note, I can see Arya dying in S7 (not that I want it though). However, I don’t see her dying battling the WW.

    Yaga: More importantly, Tyrion-Sansa can be an important bridge between Dany and Jon. It would be so cool seeing Tyrion and Sansa reforging that evil relationship Tywin forced both of them into, into a force for good.

    I like this idea very much!

  82. I don’t see Arya as “too far gone” as some mention. I’m not entirely certain what each of those commenters is implying though. Is it that she’s gone too wacko and won’t be able to stop killing? Is it that she won’t be able to live a normal life with those deaths on her hands? Personally I don’t think anything she’s done means she can’t live a normal life in that world, once she figures out what that is. She’s exacting revenge on those that have harmed her and her family, but several times she’s shown compassion and no ill will against anyone else. Sandor at one time, like others in the story, would kill anyone just for standing in their way. Arya isn’t like that.

    I’m anxious to see where GRRM takes her in his books. From the start through the TWoW sample chapter she’s probably had to go through more crap than anyone. To me it just feels like going through all of it her storyline might be one of the few that could have and deserves a brighter ending. *shrug*

  83. Jack Bauer 24:
    Next up are the Guild Awards.

    Producers Guild Awards are January 28th, which we won last year.
    Directors Guild Awards are February 4th, which we won last year.
    Writers Guild Awards are February 19th, which we lost last year.

    And to add to this the Critics’ Choice Awards are Decemeber 11th and the SAG Awards are January 29th.

  84. I was no fan of S6 but I’m still happy they won and was rooting for them. Make up call for not winning the big one for S1-4 like it should have (though I won’t ever argue with Mad Men winning Best Drama).

  85. Inazea,

    Of course. Sophie is also a big fan of LF and she could cry because LF dies next season. And in January 2015, she stated that she usualy cries when reading the scripts.

  86. A Dornish Tyrell: Yaga: More importantly, Tyrion-Sansa can be an important bridge between Dany and Jon. It would be so cool seeing Tyrion and Sansa reforging that evil relationship Tywin forced both of them into, into a force for good.

    I like this idea very much!

    Me too. Kindness is in such short supply in Planetos, and a pattern seems to be forming of characters learning to cherish it when it happens, as a result of having been to seven hells and back, instead of taking it for granted as they might have done earlier on. With Sansa, we’ve seen inklings of this in her reunion with Jon and her emotional parting from Theon, and it would be excellent character development for her to come out of her shell of trauma and self-pity far enough to learn to value Tyrion, even if only as a friend and ally and not a spouse.

  87. Anyone know who the guy with the amazing white beard to the right of Peter Dinks is? I think I’ve seen him before but can’t remember where? Was he best facial hair winner? 😀

  88. Lulus Mum,

    He is one of the producers…I believe his name is chris newman or something like that..

    You could see him in the behind the videos like a day in the Spain or 18 hours at painthall

  89. “You can’t go home again” and “Where it all began/Watching Troy burn” springs to mind with regard to Arya’s story, despite her closing words in “No-one”.

    I do expect some form of sweeping away the old and Winterfell might be ultimately doomed, perhaps being one “bittersweet” factor as (some?) younger characters survive but have to build the world and their society anew.

  90. Firannion: with Sansa, we’ve seen inklings of this in her reunion with Jon and her emotional parting from Theon, and it would be excellent character development for her to come out of her shell of trauma and self-pity far enough to learn to value Tyrion, even if only as a friend and ally and not a spouse.

    I totally agree… I’d love to see Sansa and Tyrion interacting again, not from a romantic point of view, but rather from a position of power (for both of them). They might have a role to play in bridging Jon and Dany.

  91. Did anyone notice Kit got a shout out when the producers and cast got up on stage? Some girl from the audience yelled “we love Jon Snow!” Haha I had to rewind and turn the volume up to hear what D and D were replying to. But I just realize who was missing besides Lena and it’s Liam C. Would have liked to see him up there too.

  92. Clob: I don’t see Arya as “too far gone” as some mention. I’m not entirely certain what each of those commenters is implying though. Is it that she’s gone too wacko and won’t be able to stop killing? Is it that she won’t be able to live a normal life with those deaths on her hands? Personally I don’t think anything she’s done means she can’t live a normal life in that world, once she figures out what that is. She’s exacting revenge on those that have harmed her and her family, but several times she’s shown compassion and no ill will against anyone else.

    It’s not unreasonable to worry that Arya’s experiences could incline her toward getting stuck in a pattern of callous, violent behavior. In the Middle Ages there were whole classes of career soldiers and mercenaries who would go home, loot and ravage their own countries in between wars, simply because they had no other skill sets and society had no other economic place for them – not to mention all the PTSD effects of battle. (Barbara Tuchman’s fascinating A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century goes into this phenomenon in some depth.)

    I believe that Arya needs to go through some experience that will shock her out of her pattern, beyond simply deciding that she is not No One. That’s why, in the books, I think that she is likely to cross paths with Lady Stoneheart and decide to give her the Gift of Mercy, and stop craving revenge following that catharsis. In the TV show I think they still need to put her through some such crisis of conscience before she can embrace a semblance of a “normal” life (presuming that she gets to live until the end of the tale). It might be something like coming very close to killing someone she loves, inadvertently.

  93. Firannion: It’s not unreasonable to worry that Arya’s experiences could incline her toward getting stuck in a pattern of callous, violent behavior.

    So far, she seems to have very good discernment between enemy and friend, though. Killing skills are just that: skills (and, in Planetos, often necessary for survival). Arya killing is not the matter. Arya killing for the wrong reason would be.

    I think it would be a very sad story if Arya somehow stopped doing something she’s good at because of… I dunno, moral panic that this particular assassin is a teenaged girl as opposed to a middle-aged man. Or an eunuch.

  94. Clob,

    I’m hoping the best for Arya but even in the books, Arya herself wonders if she’s too far gone. There’s a moment where she wonders if Jon would look at her the way he’s always looked at her if she were to tell him all the things she has done. She’s afraid that he won’t love her anymore because she’s aware that many of the things that she’s done are not really honorable. In the end, of course, she shakes doubts away and knows in her heart that Jon would mess her hair again and call her little sister no matter what.

  95. Seems like Lena was right to stay home and play with the kiddywinks or whatever she was doing. Is she destined to be always the bridesmaid and never the bride in her category? As folk have said Dame Mags is a UK national treasure but I can’t bring myself to have any enthusiasm for Daft-town Abbey and the Dame must have a house full of gongs and statuettes by now. I would have given the award to Lena but then I’m just one person and I don’t vote for the Emmys obviously.

    Not GoT related I know, but I’m glad Tatiana Maslany won something – I admire her ability to pull off the interpretation of so many different characters. To my ears her take on an English accent sounds reasonable though I have read some people saying they find it nails on a blackboard bad (mind you some folk complained about Maria Doyle Kennedy sounding “stage Oirish” and she’s from Dublin so maybe some people complain for the sake of complaining).

  96. Danny:
    Clob,

    I’m hoping the best for Arya but even in the books, Arya herself wonders if she’s too far gone.There’s a moment where she wonders if Jon would look at her the way he’s always looked at her if she were to tell him all the things she has done.She’s afraid that he won’t love her anymore because she’s aware that many of the things that she’s done are not really honorable.In the end, of course, she shakes doubts away and knows in her heart that Jon would mess her hair again and call her little sister no matter what.

    All together now:

    Hey little sister what have you done?
    Hey little sister who’s the only one?
    Hey little sister who’s your superman?
    Hey little sister who’s the one you want?
    Hey little sister shot gun!

    It’s a nice day to start again.

  97. It’s a bit “funny” for a show that’s been nominated for best drama for all of its seasons, and now winning the last two, that is has so few acting Emmy awards. I guess we can say that all of them do so well together as a team to produce the best drama. Still, one would think a couple others besides Peter would get a win.

  98. Clob,

    Tbh I don’t think it’s that weird.The format of the show doesn’t allow for much acting.All the perfomances are really good and on point but much too short.When I think of Aaron Paul winning a couple of years back and how much material he had it doesn’t even compare.Peter is the only one who checks most of the boxes for awards love so I’m not surprised he is the only one to win.It’s the nature of the show

  99. A Dornish Tyrell,
    Hey there, my friend ! How you doin’ ? 😉

    Yaga,
    That is one of the reunions I anticipate and fret over the most.

    Theirs was such an odd yet moving duo : Tyrion was one of the very few people in King’s Landing who showed heartfelt kindness to Sansa and she felt genuine respect for him (picking up the Purple Wedding cup so he wouldn’t have to crawl, asserting to Littlefinger her husband never would have killed Joffrey, etc). They did not get to say goodbye so their relationship is very much in limbo. It would be interesting just to hear them talk of each other : does Tyrion still refer to her as his wife ? Does she think of him as a potential ally ?
    On a purely legal note, is their marriage still valid ? They were married in the Faith of the Seven while the Bolton wedding was “celebrated” in front of the Old Gods. Does one cancel the other or do both religions not acknowledge each other’s sacraments (bigamy-friendly loophole) ?

    There was something of an opportunity for a recap session when Theon arrived in Meereen but chances are, he may not have known Sansa had been married to Tyrion (it happened while he was in captivity, I believe) and Tyrion would have had no reason to believe Sansa had reconnected with her family’s former ward. So we’ll have to wait for those two to hear of each other and, eventually (hopefully), meet again.

    As for them helping with a Jon/Daenerys merger, it seems probable but fraught. The North has many reasons to be suspicious of the Targaryen-Lannister team up in general and of Daenerys in particular. And the feeling may very well be mutual.
    The negociations are bound to be rocky…

    Clob,
    Arya is a very young woman, almost a child still, who has gone through an awful lot with little to no guidance and / or emotional support.
    The last time we saw her, she was showing the mutilated body parts of two people she had killed to their relative in order to torment him before cutting his throat. And she clearly enjoyed every single second of it. Such a display goes beyond the ruthless brutality utilised by the Hound or the single-minded but sober violence Jon usually mobilises, when he is not endlessly punching Ramsay’s face that is.
    On the show, the only two people we have seen do something similar are Ramsay (who tormented the Greyjoys by sending them Theon’s severed genitals) and Joffrey (who forced Sansa to stare at her father’s decapitated head)… Those are questionable footsteps to follow in.

    I doubt anyone is making the case that Arya is “evil”, no matter what that might mean. Nevertheless, it may be overly optimistic to assume she could easily slip back into “normal” life after such an experience. Revenge has been her only lifeline for years; her list is her compass.
    How does one let go of that ?

  100. Danny,

    There’s no scene like that in the books. At most she worries that Robb and Catelyn wouldn’t want her back after everything she’s done, but she also worries that Catelyn would be mad because of her dirty appearance. Yet when it comes to Jon, she thinks that he wouldn’t care about any of that and would want her “even if no one else does”. And in any case, Arya herself says that she’s not a little girl anymore. Of course she’s not going to be the same exact way she was before she and Jon parted.

    There’s a line in ADWD where she thinks that even Jon wouldn’t know Blind Beth, but I wouldn’t use that as proof that she thinks herself too far gone, only to show the extent of how her disguises have progressed under the faceless men. She’s not just Arya with a different name and a shorter haircut, but actively looking and acting like someone else. One of the main reasons Arya wants to stay with the faceless men is to get away from the pain of the hole in her heart, which is because of her anguish over her family’s death, not because her sanity’s slipping.

    In any case, this is why I hate all sorts of discussion about Arya in this fandom. It’s so lazy. There are so many different ways her story could go yet the only thing people want to discuss is how fucked up and crazy she is and how quickly she’s going to die. Every other character actually has effort put into speculating what’s going to happen next except for her. Just look at the interview that people used was proof Arya is going to die. The interviewer specifically asked Sophie if she cried after reading the script and Sophie lightheartedly joked that she did. It’s not as if she spontaneously talked about how she poured her eyes out because of heartbreaking it was.

  101. Jack Bauer 24:

    They won’t be at the Emmy’s next year. That’s going to be really strange.

    Wow, that’s right! That’s going to be very strange indeed. Perhaps a few will still go to the ceremony, just to put in an appearance.

  102. Parker Peter,

    I have to check the books when I get home but I do remember Arya having that thought about what Jon would think of her. Jon is my favorite character so I grab onto anything that mentions him in the novels so I don’t think I’m making it up. Arya is either my second or third favorite character, she moves up and down depending on how irritating I find Tyrion at a particular time. Book 5 Tyrion was not easy to love. Anyhow, might continue the conversation after I find that passage in the books, unless of course I only imagined it.

  103. ACME,

    There was something of an opportunity for a recap session when Theon arrived in Meereen but chances are, he may not have known Sansa had been married to Tyrion (it happened while he was in captivity, I believe) and Tyrion would have had no reason to believe Sansa had reconnected with her family’s former ward.

    Theon does know about Sansa and Tyrion. If only because Ramsay mentioned the marriage on their wedding night while Reek was in the room.

    He joked about her still being a virgin because she was afraid of dwarfs and Sansa says that Tyrion was kind and gentle and never touched her.

    I do feel like the sort of exposition scene that you mention are the kind of scenes we need more of, but will probably see even less of in the final shortened seasons.

    I would really like to see Theon and Tyrion discuss Sansa and the Starks and their relationships.

    I’m holding out hope that we’ll see a bit of a roundtable discussion next season between Daenerys, Tyrion, Varys and the Greyjoys where they talk loyalties, allegiances, potential allies, the past, etc etc. in which they can join all the dots. Daenerys has to find out about Jon and what’s going on in the North at some point.

    From a practical perspective alone Daenerys will need to know that Tyrion and Theon will have her back if she’s forced to crush the Starks and that there would be no divided loyalties.

    I’m hoping we’ll get a broader discussion of where everybody stands rather than just a couple of name-drops.

  104. Yaga: Eh, she earlier said that she thought the script was ‘beautiful’. So these were probably tears of joy.

    Oh, good if so. Dany deserves a battle with characters we actually care about (as, in, not in Meereen/Essos). She’s been shortchanged on these next to Jon.

    At this point anyone can cry about any character being shortchanged. Not enough Jon, not enough Danny, not enough Cercei, not enough Ghost, not enough Tyrion.
    This is what happens when you only have an hour with so many storylines and locations. To think some people want more added characters from the books to the mix.

  105. Ramsay’s 20th Good Man:
    Theon does know about Sansa and Tyrion. If only because Ramsay mentioned the marriage on their wedding night while Reek was in the room.

    Oh you’re right ! I had forgotten Reek was already in the room by that point. Silly me !

    As for the recap sessions, I concur wholeheartedly. They have the potential to provide great insight into the characters’ stances, perceptions and motivations. Considering the whole universe will contract next season, with everyone coming together and coagulating, so to speak, into a single, cohesive storyline, there is good reason to hope for the type of scene you describe.

    It will be all the more necessary due to the fact that each camp has invisible fracture lines coursing through it and threatening its very structural integrity : could Tyrion oversee the crushing of his sister and/or brother, especially if he finds out that the Sands, his Queen’s allies, murdered the beloved niece he had sent to Dorne to be protected ? As you mentioned, can Daenerys trust either Tyrion’s or Theon’s fundamental allegiance given their links to Team Ice (she still has two treasons to go, after all) ? If and when Jon’s true parentage is revealed, could the Northern lords question whether his perception of Daenerys is influenced by his lineage ? May Sansa’s Lannister identity (and respect for Tyrion) come back to discredit her further in the eyes of her fellow Northeners ? And so on and so forth…

    Even with a shortened season, I have good hope. Given the circumstances, strategy will have to play a huge part in the way characters interact, both within each camp and between teams, and we will very probably get a handful of scenes with people debating around a map. Furthermore, since Daenerys and Jon are eventually due for a meeting, their respective crews will have to prepare and discuss beforehand, which should be enlightening.

  106. Congratulations for all the Emmy’s! I feel so proud (even though it’s NOT my show)!

    As to the Best Actor/Actress categories, Lena should have really taken it this year. She was so outstanding. The problem is always that you have Oscar winning people turning to television series jobs. Of course, they’re going to nail the awards! I don’t watch Downton Abbey, but Maggie Smith has always been an incredible actress in everything she does. Unfortunately, she was up against Lena who deserved it more for her “Emmy” winning performances.

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