The Game of Thrones directors-episode line-up for season 7!

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The directors line-up for Game of Thrones season 7 has offered something of a puzzle, as the official announcement in June provided only names, no details, this year. EW announced that Jeremy Podeswa, Mark Mylod, Alan Taylor and Matt Shakman would be helming episodes for season 7, but fans were left wondering which director would be handling which of the seven episodes. A few days ago, a source came through with a few more details, and today we’re happy to tell you, we’re able to fill out the rest of the list.

Without further ado, here is the director-episode line-up for season 7:

Episode 1: Jeremy Podeswa

Episode 2: Mark Mylod

Episode 3: Mark Mylod

Episode 4: Matt Shakman

Episode 5: Matt Shakman

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Episode 6: Alan Taylor

Episode 7: Jeremy Podeswa

As we reported last week, Podeswa, a Thrones veteran, is opening up and finishing out the season. That means there’s two episodes for the new guy Shakman (who I still think of as J.R. Lubbock but I’m hoping season 7 will change that), and two for returning Thrones director Mark Mylod, who handled two episodes apiece in seasons 5 and 6.

Alan Taylor, who helped develop GoT‘s visual style with his incredible work in “Baelor,” in the season 1 finale “Fire and Blood,” and in four episodes throughout season 2 is taking on just one episode. However it’s the ever-important second-to-last episode of the season.

Thoughts on the line-up this year?

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

235 Comments

  1. Surprised Podeswa is doing episode 1 and 7,
    but he did a great job with 1 and 2 for Season 6 (and I loved “The Gift” S05E07)

    Though I thought Alan Taylor would be doing the bigger episodes (though episode 6, being the second to last, might be a huge episode)

  2. Awesome! Thanks Sue! Really looking forward to Alan Taylor’s comeback. I’m sure he’ll do a masterful job.

    production spoilers (reported by WOTW)

    so it appears the ambush sequence will happen really early in the season; if indeed Mylod is directing it
  3. Cool makes complete sense.They are putting a lot of trust in the new guy but I’m sure he will do fine and yeah Alan Taylor will be getting that Emmy.

  4. Can’t wait to see how well these directors fare in the new shortened season.
    So does this mean

    The on definitely has a punch up with a fellow Iron Born in either the first or last episode?
  5. Excited about Taylor and Podeswa, dissapointed about Mylod and really really curious to see what Matt brings to the table !

  6. Reminder: You all need to cover spoilers in comments! There are no spoilers in the article- this is not an open spoiler/free for all comment section. 🙂

  7. Jenny:
    Cool makes complete sense.They are putting a lot of trust in the new guy but I’m sure he will do fine and yeah Alan Taylor will be getting that Emmy.

    Won’t be during next Emmy round. Due to the later premier GoT won’t be in the running.

  8. Disappointed that Alan gets to direct only one epispde..

    After seeing Matt in Zumaia many times..i do wondered he will be doing two episodes..so it does make sense

  9. Good stuff…

    I mean, I think at this point in the game, every episode is a big one…

    Im so pissed Miguel isn’t on this season. I don’t know much about Matt Shakman, and I love most GOT episodes so im not worried about Jeremy, Mark, and Alan. It would have been nice for Alan to get two.

  10. Shakman actually has a pretty extensive TV directing resume pre-GOT so I’m not really worried about him.

  11. Finally another non-spoiler post (I actually read one because it was so obvious to me). In case if anyone wonders, I haven’t forgotten about the site. As for the directors, I hope they do a great job. I wonder what would Podeswa bring with the final episode? He was usually the one who directed the more quiet episodes.

  12. Jay Targ,

    Yeah it will happen in episode 3 I guess ..
    And who knows maybe Mark Mylod may surprise us all( let me have this hope )

    That supposed scene is going to be a massive scene based on filming news ..it will be having more extras and shooting days than BOTB right.

  13. I wonder if there were logistical issues for why the same person couldn’t direct the first two episodes? Not that they haven’t had people direct non-contiguous episodes in the past, but the last few seasons had settled into a solid rhythm on that count.

    If Mylod is directing the ambush sequence that is happening in 2 or 3 and that takes a whole month, perhaps that’s why?

    Or possibly it’s because they want Taylor to direct the penultimate episodes and to be able to focus solely on that.

  14. Sean C.,

    I think they couldn’t get Alan to direct two episodes.
    So in that case they made Jeremy podeswa direct last one and gave matt extra episode..

  15. About Mylod directing 2 and 3, about what I speculated just a couple of days back. Anyway, it’s now good to get the roster all filled up.

    The Ambush is happening in 2 or 3 (I think 3) and Jon is coming to Dragonstone in late 2 or 3; I think the ambush is happening before or around the same time as Jon arriving; that’s why Daenerys and GW aren’t there to greet him and Davos.
  16. Jenny,

    It has to happen in episode 3 or 4 ..I think it will be happening in episode 3 before

    jon arrives at dragonstone and he may be ducking down from returning drogon with his mommy
  17. Ep06 should be the big one of the season since Alan directs (possibly the new Ep09)

    but since the ambush, as reported by WOTW in a previous post, is mid season, are we getting two big episodes this year? I can’t believe a scene with like 400-500 extras and 20days of filming won’t be big.
  18. Dee Stark:
    Lord Parramandas,

    BAAAH I am sooooooooo exciteddddddddddd… Not even the amazingness that is Westworld can get my mine off season 7…

    So far, I’ve only read one spoiler because it was so goddamn obvious and for me personally not such a big thing (contray to many other users). I currently have other TV shows in my mind but I definitely did not forget GoT and I’m sure I will rewatch season 6 somewhere in spring (or maybe the whole series if I would have time). So yes, the hype is real!

  19. dragonbringer,

    I don’t know about the extras, but the number of filming days is not more than BotB I think. The ambush is supposed to take one month to film and the BotB took 5 weeks. The two battles will be similar in scale I assume.
  20. Kargaryen,

    Season 5 gave us Hardhome and Daznak’s Pit back-to-back, so it wouldn’t be the first time the big budget event people were prepared to see was overshadowed by an even bigger event no one saw coming. That’s if we’re correct about Alan Taylor getting the new “episode 9” this year. Either way, it looks like there won’t be a dull moment this season.
  21. Kargaryen,

    Yup, that’s what it looks like.

    ep 3(?) and 6 will both be big episodes. With just 7 episodes next season, they can probably afford having two huge episodes
  22. Lord Parramandas,

    I’m excited to see what Jeremy Podeswa does with the finale – I think that he’s done some extremely strong work on the show the past two years, and his resumé is impeccable. That being said, I do agree that Podeswa’s GOT episodes to date have tended to be quieter, more character-focused hours (that’s not to say that he can’t handle action – it’s just the episodes that he’s been assigned).* With Alan Taylor set to direct only the penultimate episode this year, I fully expect that hour to be a massive affair.

    *Some people will always give Podeswa flak for the Water Gardens fight, but I’m inclined to associate that with the tight restrictions inherent to filming in the Real Alcázar (also, I really don’t think it’s that bad – merely subpar by the exceptionally high standards of fight choreography that we’ve come to expect). And I’ve made my admiration for what Podeswa accomplished with the wedding sequence in “Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken” abundantly clear many, many times. I think it’s masterful.

    It’s worth noting that for as much as people like to talk about GOT season finales being quieter episodes that tie up loose ends and set the table for next year, that pattern hasn’t really held true for a few years. The finales of Seasons 4, 5, and 6 – “The Children”, “Mother’s Mercy”, and “The Winds of Winter” – have all been massive episodes – nearly as big as the traditional Episode 9’s, if not more so. It’s possible that with Podeswa at the helm, we may be in line for a return to the more “traditional” Game of Thrones season-ender, in keeping with the finales of Seasons 1, 2, and 3. The last moment of calm before the great storm of winter finally arrives, if you will.

  23. I think there is no need to worry about Matt Shakman:

    the leaked scenes looked amazing even on blurry videos without a dialog, so we can only imagine the splendor of the final product.

    However, Mark Mylod is a tricky choice. “No-one” was the episode which received most of the criticism, but apparently he delivered exactly what D&D wanted him to deliver, if he is coming back.

    Moreover, Ep 2 or 3 will have to accommodate quite a lot of action sequences: IMO the big battle/wagon train ambush ending up at least with an injury of one of the dragons should be in one of these episodes, and before that Euron will have to take out Yara and the Sand Snakes (it’s hard to believe the naval battle is in the very first episode: first of all, Euron has to ally with Cersey; secondly, the Sand Snakes have to get into Yara’s ship, if they are supposed to be taken out by Euron; and there has not been any build up for that at all). Let’s hope Mark Mylod will handle that, though I am not impressed by his action sequences.
  24. Jenny,

    It could happen
    [ if it happens in episode 4 then

    then jon will pet the dragon when dany returns

    ghost of winterfell,

    Thank you ..

    I have to say I don’t have much hopes for this scene to be as big as BOTB or WoTW …it may be something like hard home but even that Iam afraid how they are going to pull this one out.
    Hope it ends like hardhome and not dance of dragons ..

  25. BOTB battle took a month to film with 500 extras and 4 camera crews and the battle itself was about 15-20 minutes of screentime. Same goes for Hardhome. It took like 3 weeks and lasted about 15 minutes. I expect

    the ambush to have a similar amount of screentime.So it’s likely to happen before Jon and Daenerys meet, because that meeting is just too big to happen early in the episode, it’ll be the big cliffhanger ending. The ambush happening sometime after the meeting makes little sense for why would Jon be left behind at the castle to roam around it doing nothing? Why would Daenerys let him stay there while she’s away?
  26. dreamshade,

    Why wouldn’t she?It’s not like he will be alone in the castle her people will also be there.And they don’t need to make it a cliffhanger they don’t need to pull tricks like that they rarely do.Jon and Sansa met at the beginning of an episode and it will be clear where he is going an episode before.Or he could arrive at the end of ep 2 to fit with your cliffhanger scenario
  27. dragonbringer,

    Another possibility is that the ambush closes out ep 3, and then the dragon petting happens early in episode 4. Shakman directed that scene. Or, if both Mylod and Shakman have been spotted in the area, they could be using it for more than just the ambush. Perhaps Mylod films the Lannister army on the road to Highgarden in ep 3, and then Shakman films the ambush on the road back from Highgarden in ep 4. We’ll find out soon enough.

    ghost of winterfell,

    The month that they’re spending in the Caceres region includes King’s Landing (and possibly Old Town) exterior filming, not just the ambush. We don’t know how long the ambush is expected to film for. Nikolaj, however, will be needed for both the fighting and the KL exteriors, so time has to logically be split between the two.
  28. Looking at everyone compiling timelines and figuring out the sequence of events makes me think the episodes themselves won’t be very long. Most will probably be short like “The Red Woman” and “Home”.

  29. dreamshade,

    You’re not using sufficient spoiler coding. Any mention of

    the ambush needs to be covered by spoiler coding. People who don’t read spoiler posts have no idea that’s coming so please cover up any mention of it! Thanks.
  30. I keep forgetting the next season is shorter. I’m confident they’ll pack it with exciting stuff though.

  31. Sue, is there any chance one or more of these episodes will be extra long? We’ve had eps stretch to 70+ mins in the past. With the shortened season I feel like it’s more likely than ever we’ll get longer episodes (and HBO has been pretty generous with the length of Westworld eps, so we know they’re open to it). Maybe we get an extra long finale or premiere?

  32. HyberNate,

    We haven’t heard anything to indicate that, so I wouldn’t bet on it. It wouldn’t really be a shortened season if the episodes were superlong.

  33. elybe,

    In the article on the Spanish filming dates, it is mentioned that

    filming at Malpartida will happen between 14th Nov to 15th Dec. I thought that was the location of the ambush itself? I am not very clear on what city stands for what, tbh.
  34. Jenny,

    And why would he stay behind while she and other major characters in that location go out? He’d stay with extras to do what? Eat lemoncakes and admire landscape? Why would she suddenly want to carry out an ambush at that time while she has important business to attend to at her castle, with KITN being there and all? That’s disrespectful to just cease negotiations because she has an impulse to attack a convoy. And why would she be trusting enough to leave him there unless she locked him up? Do you go out to run errands while hosting guests at your place? idk you might be big on this Jonerys rom com from the leak. Is that why you try to counter anyone who dares poke holes in the spoilers? Don’t worry your Jonerys will happen anyway.
  35. Inga,

    Since Podeswa apparently filmed the scene of the Ironborn wailing on Theon, I’d say Euron vs. Yara does indeed happen in the first episode.

    dreamshade,

    Jon wouldn’t have to be shown doing anything, if it’s one episode. We’d just follow Dany. And if she departs, I imagine it’s because she has received word that the Lannisters have sacked Highgarden, which would require an urgent military response. Jon can wait.
  36. dreamshade,

    Agree

    It didn’t make sense to me that they would have Dany and Jon meet and a minute later have Dany, Tyrion and the Dothraki all leave for a battle. Additionally, while Dany can travel relatively quickly with her dragons, it would take a least a month for everyone else to the Reach and back to Dragonstone. Having Dany arrive from the battle as Jon is arriving it also make it more interesting. At least to me.
  37. Dee Stark: I mean, I think at this point in the game, every episode is a big one…

    Im so pissed Miguel isn’t on this season.

    I agree that it seems like every episode should be rather big. There isn’t a lot of time for ‘fillers.’ I guess we don’t know for sure that some of the episodes won’t have a bit of an extended run-time. If they do just 53-54 minutes an episode that’s only around 6 hours and 20 minutes. It’s kind of depressing to think of it that way. As we’ve been thinking though, this season is the beginning of the endgame. All of the character’s storylines/arcs are going to start blending and clashing starting in episode one. All of those lengthy talks with the High Sparrow last season really slowed episodes for me, but he’s gone so hopefully that sort of thing will be too.

    I’m hoping Sapochnik won’t have conflicts for season 8 after the news that he’ll be directing that Sinbad movie.

  38. Sean C.,

    The doesn’t make sense tho, because Tyrion is there to greet Jon. But according to the spoilers Tyrion is also there with Dany at the ambush. It can’t be that urgent as it would take a couple of weeks to get everyone to the Reach
  39. moiaf,

    Urgent in the sense that they need to respond immediately, lest the Lannister army escape. Sure, they can’t attack the next hour, but they can’t just sit around.

    Tyrion greeting Jon and then taking him to Dany would fit with court protocol.

  40. Dee Stark: Im so pissed Miguel isn’t on this season.

    I am guessing, at this point, Miguel has replaced Neil Marshall? I mean that’s ok … I guess Marshall has been busy.

  41. Clob,

    I fully agree with everything you said.

    and I would’ve replaced some of the extra long sparrow scenes with a couple of jon scenes…. regarding the RESERRUCTION.

  42. Sean C.,

    In the two weeks (at least) it would take for Dany’s army including Tyrion to get ready and get to the Reach, the Lannister would almost be at King’s Landing if not already there. Sorry, but the logistic don’t make sense. It would make a lot more sense if they get an inclining in episode 2 of what’s happening, get themselves to the Reach by the beginning of episode 3. They are not quite on time to help their allies but are there early enough to organize an ambush/
  43. Clob: I agree that it seems like every episode should be rather big.There isn’t a lot of time for ‘fillers.’I guess we don’t know for sure that some of the episodes won’t have a bit of an extended run-time.If they do just 53-54 minutes an episode that’s only around 6 hours and 20 minutes.It’s kind of depressing to think of it that way.As we’ve been thinking though, this season is the beginning of the endgame.All of the character’s storylines/arcs are going to start blending and clashing starting in episode one.All of those lengthy talks with the High Sparrow last season really slowed episodes for me, but he’s gone so hopefully that sort of thing will be too.

    I’m hoping Sapochnik won’t have conflicts for season 8 after the news that he’ll be directing that Sinbad movie.

    Given how many characters were killed off in season six, I think that we will see the central characters on screen for as much – or even more – time as previous seasons in spite of the reduced episode count and lack of lengthened episodes. There are far fewer plot strands at the end of season six than there were at the beginning of it, and Cersei effectively single-handedly reduced the KL cast/story to her, Jaime, Qyburn, Frankenmountain and Bronn. This should hopefully mean that they still manage to fit in a lot of action over the seven episodes. I do think that at least one episode – probably seven – will be more than 60 minutes long. They need to do a good job of closing off season seven and setting up where the characters that make it to season eight will begin that season.

    Sidebar: No One may have been an unpopular episode in some circles, but the Riverrun scenes were stunning – particularly the Jaime/Brienne and Jaime/Edmure convos. Yes, there are issues with Arya’s departure from the Faceless Men, but there is also a lot of things in Mylod’s episodes from season six that were fantastic.

  44. ghost of winterfell,

    It could be, but they’re simultaneously going to be filming King’s Landing exteriors in Caceres City, which Nikolaj will also be needed for. I take L7R filming dates with a grain of salt until we get closer to the shoot, because they were misinformed on some of the Basque filming details, along with that water stunt scene which turned out to be for an entirely different show.

    Sean C.,

    We know that Jon meets Dany indoors and that this ambush takes place after that. We just do, whether people are ready to admit it or not. The ambush will probably be an episode-closing sequence, so there won’t be any reason to cut back to Jon on Dragonstone. I’m actually starting to think that episode 2 will close with Jon and Dany laying eyes on one another for the first time, and that episode 3 will open with the continuation and ensuing conversation and culminate in this ambush. We had a similar setup with The Gift/Hardhome.
  45. Considering Marks handle of his episodes last season I’m expecting his work to be shit again. Hopefully that won’t be the case. Does anyone know if Miguel S will be back for season 8 at least?

  46. Dee Stark:
    Alba Stark,

    I loved No One.

    It wasn’t my favorite episode of season six – that was Winds of Winter – but I see it getting a lot of criticism online, and that criticism is focused on Arya’s storyline. As I said, there are issues extricating her from Braavos and the Faceless Men plot, but so much of No One took place elsewhere and was fantastic. I loved Sandor Clegane’s reunion with Thoros and Beric and all the Riverrun scenes. This episode also featured the scene in KL in which Tommen announced that Trial by Combat had been outlawed, setting up the stunning sequence that we saw in Winds of Winter. So, yeah, I loved Mylod’s episodes from season six; the issues I had were with the writing in the Arya plot, and he had nothing to do with that. As such, I am looking forward to seeing what he does in season seven.

  47. I’m thinking with the shortened season, that Episode 7 might actually be the big episode this year (as opposed to typical penultimate episodes)…. I consider it basically a ‘mid-season’ finale.

  48. elybe,

    They could still cut to Dragonstone after Dany leaves for the ambush. We know that Theon and Jorah will make it to Dragonstone. Either of them could arrive there while Dany is away. I think Jon, Davos and Missendei were the only ones at the beach when Theon arrives? It could happen in ep 3.
  49. Alba Stark,

    yes. exactly everything you said.
    And to add to that… as someone who did not have much issue to how arya’s story ended, I thought that with story he was given to tell for Arya, he did a great job, especially the scene of arya arriving at her final spot with the candle, and cutting to the HOBAW….
    I thought it was excellent

  50. Re: episode spoiler leak…

    If the ambush happens before Jon’s arrival at Dragonstone then it would make sense that Dany arrives after Tyrion and her Dothraki. If Drogon is injured, as the leaks suggest, she would stay behind with him until he healed enough to fly back to Dragonstone. She could be arriving back when Jon and Davos are going up the stairs to the castle and that’s when Jon and Davos are seen ducking.
  51. a time ago, I read that people employ Alan Taylor just to kill relevant characters… and That time was when he directed Thor The dark world.. and he killed Thor’s mother… (for that time i wasn’t a fan of game of thrones).. will it be the case??

  52. HelloThere,

    Alan Taylor is an awesome director of the “BIG”. He directed several episodes of Rome and was just great. That’s were I first was turned on to him. I don’t believe he even storyboards his scenes but I may be wrong. I saw a “Making of” one of the scenes in Rome and he was just chill.!!

  53. Newbietothegame,

    It just kills me that just because they wanted more inclement wesather they won’t make the Emmy cut next year. I mean and then theres a shot of them making freakin’ snow!!!!

  54. ghost of winterfell,

    Shakman filmed Jon’s confrontation with Theon and Jorah’s arrival to Dragonstone, so those events happen in episodes 4 and 5. I’m thinking the Theon confrontation happens in episode 4 before Dany returns from the ambush, and the dragon petting shortly after. As for cutting back to Jon, this isn’t really a drawn out event so much as an impulsive decision followed by a quick strike. Once her army does strike, it would make no more sense to cut away to another location than it would have to cut away from Hardhome, Daznak’s, or BotB. You’re likely looking at an uncut sequence that will take up the final 10 – 15 minutes of the episode.
  55. the new guy Shakman (who I still think of as J.R. Lubbock but I’m hoping season 7 will change that),

    Matt Shakman played J.R. Lubbock on Just the Ten of Us??My mind is blown. First, because I didn’t think anyone but me watched or remembered that show. And second, because I had no idea the guy I’ve been seeing on location was the kid from my favorite show in the late 80s. Talk about a blast from the past, lol.

  56. Dee Stark,

    Not really, but I would be surprised if he’s not coming back… especially after winning an Emmy for S06E09.

    My prediction is that he will direct the two last episodes of S8.

  57. BunBunStark,

    Bizarre, right? I totally had a crush on him back then. ( I was younger than him, it’s not creepy.) I loved that show. Now I have to mentally turn that off and put him in the director box.

  58. I think Mylod is unfairly blamed for some of the flaws which actually fall to the writing and acting choices.

  59. Sue the Fury,

    I could’ve sworn I read something somewhere about D&D mentioning how many total minutes they had planned left, and with the reveal of 7+7 episodes, it ended up calculating out to a few much longer episodes

  60. Do you guys have any clue about who filmed the scene with

    Dany, Tyrion, Varys, Missandei, Greyworm and the Unsullied on the dragonstone stairs? October 22th (Gaztelugatxe)
    If he is Shakman as someone claims, then the scene in the caves (same costumes, as you noticed) cannot be Dany arriving in Dragonstone.
    Thank you.
  61. Jared,

    I have to agree with what you’ve said… Podeswa has done an amazing job (the fight at the Water Gardens notwithstanding). I particularly like the way he used the light in Jon’s resurrection scene and in Sansa’s wedding (not talking about the final scene, but when she’s marching towards the weirwood tree).

  62. dragonbringer,

    That’s exactly how I pictured it too !!!

    Oooh baby, I’m so excited to see Jon’s face when he witnesses that iconic moment .. the most incredible woman ever riding the most incredible creature ever !
  63. Jack Bauer 24,

    I don’t think it’s a coincidence that his episodes are among the lowest rated ones. And it doesn’t fall on the writing alone. The director has a lot to say in how the episode shapes up. He directs it. And it’s not like D&D deliberately give him bad material.

  64. Benjen,

    When D&D speak in minutes they’re using it as another way of saying hours, e.g., 180 minutes = 3 episodes. They would not have literally calculated the series in minutes.

    Sue the Fury,

    I agree with that. Mylod’s episodes have some of the poorer action sequences in recent seasons, but a lot of that results from things not his choosing. The Water Gardens fight was fatally compromised by where they chose to shoot, which wasn’t his call (or at least, not solely his call) as far as we know. The ridiculous Braavos chase (and Arya’s preceding stupidity) was also a script issue. Conversely, Jaime and Bronn fighting the Dornish patrol was a solid fight scene.

  65. It seems Alan Taylor is doing the big episodeand concentrating on that. We’ll see if he goes filming to Iceland. That will be this years big action set piece.

  66. elybe,

    In my mind, the order of the events will be the following:

    Dany ambush -> Jon arrives at Dragonstone -> is greeted by Tyrion and Missandei -> walks around with Davos for a little while -> Theon arrives -> Jon kicks Theon’s butt -> Dany arrives making her glorious entrance on her big baby -> They meet

    The pictures match what I said chronologically and after looking at which character appears in what scene. Besides, Jonerys meeting is a huge moment, I really think it’d be smart to let it happen a little later on !

    Thus being said, I’m excited about the directors lineup, particularry Shakman. His work on other series is really really good ! I’m curious to see what he brings to the table !

  67. Sean C.: The Water Gardens fight was fatally compromised by where they chose to shoot, which wasn’t his call (or at least, not solely his call) as far as we know.

    But that fight (I assume you were talking about S05E06) was directed by Podeswa and not by Mylod.

  68. Sean C.,

    No Jon can’t wait. He’s pressed for time. You’re forgetting WWs are coming. He won’t arrive to get dragonglass and maybe make an alliance only to stay there for a few weeks doing nothing while Daenerys is ambushing and burning people alive. You think it’d take a day or two to get everyone from Dragonstone to the Reach, set up an ambush, execute it and then return to Dragonstone? It’d be a month long affair or so.

    Jon arrives, meets Daenerys for negotiations, she leaves a complete stranger, a King with half of Westeros behind him, two minutes later at her base, with no one to keep parlaying with him on her behalf and he stays in the castle twiddling his thumbs for a month? That’s just too dumb for words. Which means it’d be so David and Dan. But my expectations weren’t that low for season 7. After the leak they’re at all-time lowest though.

  69. dreamshade,

    Man I’m glad you are not writing a tv show otherwise it would be terrible lol.What you call a month long affair it will literally be a scene but okay.
  70. Rhaenys Stark,

    Why? They’re public figures. They put their work out there. They subject themselves for judgement. Are we obliged to approve of everything they do?

  71. Geralt of Rivia:
    It seems Alan Taylor is doing the big episodeand concentrating on that. We’ll see if he goes filming to Iceland. That will be this years big action set piece.

    I thought the

    big action set piece is the ambush?

    mod edit: USE SPOILER CODING, JACK. – SUE

  72. Jenny,

    A scene as it happens on screen. Hence time jumps are a thing. But within the universe it’d take a few weeks. That’s where the issue lies. Or do you think everything that happens on screen happens in real time? Like Jon wasn’t dead for a day or two but for 70 minutes (less than 2 episodes)? In universe, Jon would have to wait a few weeks at a strange place when he’s pressed for time.
  73. Jack Bauer 24,

    In terms of scale ambush is the biggest one and bigger than BotB. Emilia said it. But in ep 6 is probably more important one in terms of importance. Usually, episode 9 is the big one and now it looks like episode 6 is the biggest episode of the year. Although, pretty much any episode will be huge because of leaked pics, news and videos.
  74. Funny… so many covered spoiler posts, but this time I have to restrain myself from uncovering them.

  75. Jenny,

    Do you also think Daenerys travels from Essos to Westeros in about 30 minutes (from the ending of 610 to sometime in 701). or actually several weeks as it’d take her within the context of the story?
  76. dreamshade,

    He’s at Dragonstone because Dany is their only hope. As far as he knows the Wall is protecting Westeros. He has to convinced her to help them and he’ll be there for probably 3 or 4 episodes. Even if it means waiting for he to go ambush Lannisters or arriving as she returns from it. I see you’re not liking her very much, do you?
  77. A Dornish Tyrell,

    Yeah, I put it there as soon as I realized. My bad.

    dreamshade,

    No. 3, 4 and 5. They’ll give them plenty of time to bond. Leaving probably at the end with Jorah, Gendry and Davos most likely going somewhere. Ep. 6 if by all means is something else up North.
  78. Nadia,

    Sure, but I still think he will be back for season 8… Hopefully he will be able to work around his schedule for next year.

  79. A Dornish Tyrell,

    LOL, you’re right, of course. I got mixed up on that point. The other Mylod-directed action sequence I wasn’t a big fan of was Barristan’s death (which, as with a number of episodes that season, didn’t do a very good job with the Unsullied).

  80. dreamshade,

    Actually I know perfectly well how time is portrayed in the show.I bet you were one of those who complained about jet packs though you seem like the type.As far as Jon knows the ww are as close as they have ever been the wall still stands he is not that pressed.Even if he was Dany is his best chance.He can get the dragonglass and fight with the ten thousand men he has.What good would that do to him?Or he can stay and convince Dany.The week Dany is away is not a big deal in the grand scheme of things and nobody will see it as such.
  81. Geralt of Rivia,

    No worries! I apologise if I sounded too harsh, but some of us are trying very hard to stay away from spoilers. I understand it’s exciting to discuss them and contrast them with the new information, just take extra precautions, people, please. 🙂

  82. Irina Stark,

    I disagree a little bit.

    If Jon and Dany have to go from perfect strangers to allies who trust each other, the meeting has to happen sooner rather than later. I think Jon will arrive in DS either at the end of ep 2 or the beginning of ep 3, before Dany leaves.
    Besides, Theon’s arrival was filmed by Shakman, which means it will happen later than Jon’s.
  83. Geralt of Rivia,

    He’s there for dragonglass primarily. If he were smart, he’d take it and leave. But he can’t because Daenerys didn’t bother to give him back his boat and weapons before she left to play at war if the leak’s to be believed. Which means he’s basically a prisoner (it’s an island after all, he doesn’t have to be locked up in a room to be a prisoner). She takes away his freedom to leave at anytime he wants. She restricts his movements,
  84. dreamshade,

    I believe people here make an effort to understand the difference between offering constructive criticism of the choices the showrunners may make and outright bashing them and calling them names like you did on your post. There are other sites where they do this all the time and where you may find yourself more at home. As it is, we try to keep the toxicity levels at a minimum.

  85. Jenny,

    So ambush happens after Jon’s arrival? It would make more sense if it happens before he arrives or as he arives Dany is returning from the battle. Leaving Jon behind at Dragonstone is weird but I heard that bit. Mylod is directing ambush and it could be ep 2 or 3 just as he arrives.
  86. Rhaenys Stark,

    Yes, I’m doing so. I only read one spoiler post which was so obvious to me by the title (I’m sure you know which) but that one isn’t such a big deal for me.

  87. Geralt of Rivia,

    I think Team Dragonstone can head out to the Reach at the during episode 2 and be there for the beginning of episode 3. I mean what else is Team Dragonstone going to do throughout episode 2? I also think it’s weird for all of them to leave Jon alone in Dragonstone. At this moment I can’t see a reason. If they want Jon to spend time with Dany why interrupt it that way. What’s the purpose?
  88. dreamshade,

    Dany doesn’t have to let him take the dragonglass. She controls the island, and he presumably wants to negotiate an alliance with her, seeing as she has tons of men and, more importantly, three dragons.

    moiaf,

    You would expect that Missandei would still be there, if nothing else. Little point to her going on campaign.
  89. A Dornish Tyrell,

    I am usually really careful on this but this time. Many people visiting this site doesn’t want to know spoilers and I’d be ruining it for them. Dee or Mihnea for example. Again my apoligies to all.

    dreamshade,

    Jon is there to negotiate her help, not just dragonglass. It goes hand in hand. She took her weapons and boats as standard procedure. Stranger carrying weapons around would be a bit weird and boats has been taken to safety. Later on Jon is walking around freely and as he wants, even without guards, He can even approach Dany privately. He’s her guest later on by the look of it and it looks he wants to be there. He knows he has to convince her and it takes negotiations to do it. Dragons are needed for the fight against white walkers. Jon even took charge at some of these pics.
  90. Dee Stark:
    Alba Stark,

    I loved No One.

    I thought it was a pretty decent episode as well. Many people rate it the lowest for season 6, but I still think a lot of those were due to obsessing over the damn stab wounds. When I’m forced to rate the episodes in order I always end up putting “No One” somewhere in the middle. (Arya and Lady Crane had the great mother-daughter type scene in Lady Crane’s room, Ser Gregor ripping the Sparrow apart, the tension-filled announcement of trial by combat being abolished, all that Riverrun stuff with Jaime, Brienne, Edmure and the Blackfish, Masters begin attack of Meereen, Sandor & BwoB hanging, Arya-waif climax, Arya-Jaqen.)

  91. With the exception of Alan Taylor who directed season 1, episodes 9, (Baelor) and 10 (Fire and Blood), I am not excited by this lineup of directors.

    Matt Shakman, is best known for directing comedy type shows including, “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”, “Mad Men”, “Ugly Betty”, “Everybody Hates Chris,” and “Fargo”. Nothing on his resume suggests he has worked on an epic fantasy before so it will be interesting to see what he can do. I just hope his episodes don’t turn out to be unpleasant surprises.

    Mark Mylod has directed some of my least favorite GoT episodes, specifically, season 6, episodes 7 (The Broken Man), and 8 ( No one) which portrayed Arya as a moron with the superhuman ability to run and jump through the streets of Braavos, Terminator style, just after being repeatedly stabbed in the gut. Mylod also directed season 5, episodes 3 ( High Sparrow) and 4 (Sons of the Harpy), which had some of the most cringe-worthy Sand Snake scenes so far. I am certainly not thrilled that Mylod will be directing anything in Season 7, but, hopefully, he’ll turn out better work than his four previous turns at directing did.

    Jeremy Podeswa is a GoT veteran who improved his game after directing episodes 5 (Kill the Boy) and 6 (Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken). Season 5, episode 6 was, by far, my least GoT episode ever as it gave us the horrible fight scene between the Sand Snakes, Jaime and Bronn, and Sansa’s wedding to Ramsay. Thankfully, Podeswa’s direction of season 6, epsiodes 1 (The Red Woman), and 2 (Home), were better. I’m hoping he improves even more in Season 7.

    With just two seasons and 13 episodes left until the end of the series, I was hoping for the return of directors who gave us some of the best episodes of the series and in television in general, such as, Miquel Sapochnick who gave us “Hardhome,” “Battle of the Bastards,” and “The Winds of Winter, Alex Graves who directed, “The Mountain and the Viper” and “The Children”; Neil Marshall who directed, “Blackwater” and “The Watchers on the Wall,” David Nutter, who directed “The Rains of Castamere,” and “A Dance of Dragons,” or Jack Bender who directed “The Door.” I would certainly hate for the series to go out on a Dornish note.

  92. Jenny,

    I don’t know. Jon is relatively a stranger and she goes off to fight, then returns. Wouldn’t it be better to do it before he arrives or as he arrives when he ducked out along with Davos before dragons. So negotiations can be happening and not going off to fight and then return. But I guess, it could work out either way for them.

    moiaf,

    I read something about it what Jenny just mentioned but as you said more sense makes, after battle against Euron. Lannisters sacking Highgarden or some other place. Dasny takes revenge and Dothraki vs Lannisters. Tyrion doesn’t have to be there and he welcomes Jon. Then Jon meets Dany, as she arrives on her dragon. Why let them meet and then let her go elsewhere.
  93. A Dornish Tyrell,

    This is why I fear for the posts that are open for everyone.. where we can all discuss things together. Its going to be hard because people will forget to cover things.

    Rhaenys Stark,

    I WILL 🙂 and I have NO DOUBTS season 7 is going to kill allllllllll the past seasons.

  94. Geralt of Rivia: Geralt of Rivia says:

    October 31, 2016 at 2:39 pm

    A Dornish Tyrell,
    I am usually really careful on this but this time. Many people visiting this site doesn’t want to know spoilers and I’d be ruining it for them. Dee or Mihnea for example. Again my apoligies to all.

    Yes you are usually careful 🙂 I didn’t see anything 🙂

  95. Princessmaria: Mark Mylod has directed some of my least favorite GoT episodes, specifically, season 6, episodes 7 (The Broken Man), and 8 ( No one) which portrayed Arya as a moron with the superhuman ability to run and jump through the streets of Braavos, Terminator style, just after being repeatedly stabbed in the gut. Mylod also directed season 5, episodes 3 ( High Sparrow) and 4 (Sons of the Harpy), which had some of the most cringe-worthy Sand Snake scenes so far. I am certainly not thrilled that Mylod will be directing anything in Season 7, but, hopefully, he’ll turn out better work than his four previous turns at directing did.
    Jeremy Podeswa is a GoT veteran who improved his game after directing episodes 5 (Kill the Boy) and 6 (Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken). Season 5, episode 6 was, by far, my least GoT episode ever as it gave us the horrible fight scene between the Sand Snakes, Jaime and Bronn, and Sansa’s wedding to Ramsay. Thankfully, Podeswa’s direction of season 6, epsiodes 1 (The Red Woman), and 2 (Home), were better. I’m hoping he improves even more in Season 7.

    Arya’s story was 20 percent of the two episodes you are talking about from seasons 6, andddddddddddd they are NOT written by Mark Mylod. What about all the other good stuff that happened in eps 7 and 8 that had nothing to do with Arya?

    Sandsnakes scenes from season 5 eps 3 and 4, again, don’t have much to do with Mylod… that’s how they were WRITTEN and ACTED out… me personally I blame the weakness of these scenes to the acting… and the fact that they are sandsnakes who I don’t even care for lol.

    Same goes for your argument on podeswa… Sansa’s wedding to Ramsay and wedding night were beautifully directed… they were not written by Podeswa… and although its an event we may not like to see happen, its direction was outstanding!

    I don’t get these arguments! Maybe im wrong in how I think when it comes to direction.

  96. Dee Stark: This is why I fear for the posts that are open for everyone.. where we can all discuss things together. Its going to be hard because people will forget to cover things.

    Yes, that’s a risk that we, the new “unsullied”, will have to decide whether to take or not. 🙂

    Most of the time people are very careful and cover their comments, or fix it very quickly if they didn’t before (as Geralt of Rivia had). Others are much less careful though… and I have learnt a couple of things that I wish I hadn’t… But since I keep on coming to comment here, I have to take responsibility for my part. 🙂

  97. Irina Stark,

    That’s cool, to each their own. I’m still going with the ambush happening after Jon’s arrival, since that was the chronology provided by a source who’s been proven right by every single article posted here for over two weeks, but alternative theories are always worth considering so long there’s some room in the timeline. I think there’s more dramatic potential in Jon watching Dany fly off the handle shortly after he first meets her, but we’ll just have to see.
  98. It´s great to see some of the usual posters back! I often wonder where many have gone…I miss the nice debates and hate it when trolls come and try to ruin everything for the rest of us 🙁

  99. AlexG,

    hi!
    well I know for me, I stay away from any spoiler post!!
    but I get so happy when we get posts like these where we can all share a discussion.

  100. I have an announcement. *clears throat*

    I have no problem with any of these directors. ? *gasp*

    But holy balls, I have never seen such a gong show of people not knowing or not caring how to use spoiler coding. It is NOT THAT HARD. If you can’t take the time to read the very clear warnings or instructions on how to do it, then don’t post. Honestly wtf people. I couldn’t care less about spoilers, I love them, but I also like seeing Dee and Lord P being able to pop in from time to time without having to peek through their fingers for fear of a big plot jumping out at them. Please just have the courtesy to do it right. The mods do have lives outside of this site and shouldn’t be expected to babysit us posters 24/7.

  101. AlexG,

    I’m trying to avoid major spoilers this year, considering that GoT is completely past the books now, and I’m very busy at other (non-GoT) fansite. But I still come here when there is a non-spoiler post and I will definitely be back for my reviews when the season airs.

  102. “Sandsnakes scenes from season 5 eps 3 and 4, again, don’t have much to do with Mylod… that’s how they were WRITTEN and ACTED out… me personally I blame the weakness of these scenes to the acting… and the fact that they are sandsnakes who I don’t even care for lol.”

    ….think about the dialogue, and seriously ask yourself if *anyone* could have acted it better. It was just weird. Though to be honest most of their speaking lines that spring to mind where the Tyene actress acting weird (was this supposed to be funny? I don’t know).

    But I don’t blame the director, no.

    Heck, I don’t even blame Podeswa for the fight scene turning out so poorly with the Sand Snakes; from the extensive interviews he’s given, it seems his involvement was….really far down the pipeline. I mean he was ordered, given the order “film a fight scene in only a few days, in daylight, in a big open courtyard which makes it difficult to work in the stunt doubles”. It really sounded like a “fait accompli” by the time he was stuck with a bad situation ….plus he’s filmed so many other nice things that I really don’t see it as something he could have done. Similarly, the actual “fight coordinator” Irlam did such great work in other episodes that I think it was the scheduling people (someone seriously thought that giving the actors only a few days to train for what by their own admission was supposed to be a very complex fight scene…yikes).

    But no, I like all the current directors.

  103. moiaf:

    I think Team Dragonstone can head out to the Reach at the during episode 2 and be there for the beginning of episode 3. I mean what else is Team Dragonstone going to do throughout episode 2? I also think it’s weird for all of them to leave Jon alone in Dragonstone. At this moment I can’t see a reason. If they want Jon to spend time with Dany why interrupt it that way. What’s the purpose?
    Tyrion could stay with Jon at Dragonstone. We know that Tyrion tries to convince Jon that Dany is the right person for the iron throne. Maybe it is during this time when Tyrion tries to convince Jon. Tyrion might also be devising his plan of going to Kings Landing and talking with Jaime.
    We also know that Tyrion and Varys might be a bit concerned with the burning of the Tarlys. Dany usually listens to Tyrion, this is something she might do if he isn’t around to advice her.

  104. I’d love it if it turns out Matt Shakman ends up directing the two best, most acclaimed episodes of S7.

    🙂

  105. Rhaenys Stark,

    You know I think it is more difficult to try to figure out timelines in West World than it was for LOST. Watching scenes in West World often feels like that one magnificent time when we first meet Desmond in the hatch. Like, what in the world is going on? When is this?

  106. Princessmaria,

    with what you said, how does all this relate to the direction of the episode and not the writing ?

    Jeremy Podeswa did some brilliant work on all four of his episodes to date(as some have previously commected on). the fight scene in UUU was affected by limitation of the location.

    while we all would prefer Miguel Sapochnik directing an episode(s) this season especially the big fight sence for season 7, there must be a reason D&D ask Mylod to return.

  107. Pigeon,

    I join you in my ‘no issues with the lineup of directors’ although I would have liked to see Michelle MacLaren because I like her work and her perspective. Wanting to add a director does not mean I have a problem with any of the chosen ones. I think they’ll all do a great job.

    My only real issue is that the name “Matt Shakman” makes me think of a fraternity rush vice-chair and I struggle not to imagine him manning the keg.

  108. Dee Stark: Arya’s story was 20 percent of the two episodes you are talking about from seasons 6, andddddddddddd they are NOT written by Mark Mylod. What about all the other good stuff that happened in eps 7 and 8 that had nothing to do with Arya?

    Sandsnakes scenes from season 5 eps 3 and 4, again, don’t have much to do with Mylod… that’s how they were WRITTEN and ACTED out… me personally I blame the weakness of these scenes to the acting… and the fact that they are sandsnakes who I don’t even care for lol.

    Same goes for your argument on podeswa… Sansa’s wedding to Ramsay and wedding night were beautifully directed… they were not written by Podeswa… and although its an event we may not like to see happen, its direction was outstanding!

    I don’t get these arguments! Maybe im wrong in how I think when it comes to direction.

    I do understand the problems with the Sandsnake fight scene, it just seems like the the location and limited time was the biggest obstacle with this scene.

    But in my opinion it is not so easy to just give Mark Mylod a free pass. People are saying that the writing wasn’t good.
    Okay, but I actually want to see what was really written in that script, before passing my judgement.
    Did the script actually say that Arya should be stabbed viciously in the gut a few times and that the knife should be twisted, just to make sure people knew she was stabbed?

    I highly doubt that the script said that. When Jon was stabbed “For the Watch”, the one page from the script where it happened was published on EW. And the script only said that Jon was stabbed.
    Jon dies in that scene and the script only said that he was stabbed.
    Therefore, I am extremely doubtful that the script for Arya said stab her vigorously more then once and twist the knife.
    That one page that was published on EW actually shows you that the directors can make a lot of their own choices, there seems to be some leeway.

    Miguel Sapochnik didn’t follow the script exactly for the Battle of the Bastards. He asked the producers if he could change some scenes and they allowed it.
    The writers can write anything, but that doesn’t always mean it will work out in practice when they are actually filming and later on screen. Someone like Miguel Sapochnik obviously has the vision and drive to get things right even if he doesn’t follow the script.

    It is for these reasons that I believe it is fair game to criticise someone like Mark Mylod. That being said I dont think GoT has any really bad or terrible episodes. The show has generally always been of high quality.

  109. All the comments talking about the leaks or with information from them (even if just in comparison to other spoilers) have been deleted. Please, remember:

    You should move all discussion about the leaks to the forums 🙂

  110. It’s kinda weird that Podeswa is doing premiere and finale. Is it because Alan Taylor promised only one episode? Usually they do two episodes in a row. Mylod is having 2 and 3, Shakman 4 and 5.

  111. Hi to Dee, Lord P, Dornish Tyrell! Nice to hear from you, and be very beaware of spoilers!

    I don’t mind snippets from filming but I’d hoped to stay otherwise unspoiled going into S7. Unfortunately, since alleged script leaks from reddit a couple of weeks ago, too many commenters even here on WotW have been spilling all kinds of things (mostly accidentally – I don’t think they’ve been malicious, just careless). Fairly soon I gleaned the gist of the reddit leaks from un-spoiler-tagged posts here so now I don’t care, I click open almost all spoilers (I have no self-control, lol!)

    Anyway, being spoiled has never really impeded my enjoyment of this show, or any show or film that’s an adaptation of a book/books I might’ve read. I love seeing how differently they do it – case in point: numerous film/TV adaptations of Jane Austen’s work. I’ve read all the books, I know what happens, but I love watching how they do it.

    Heh, but none of us have read the final books in this series, so we’re supposedly all unsullied now. Except, I think book readers still have more pointers as to how the story might go, how it might end. Some hardcore book-fans rage (not on this site, on another one) about how D&D spoil (and butcher, lol) GRRM’s story – the one he hasn’t finished.

    I guess my point is that I don’t mind spoilers, they’re never accurate and the real thing is always better (and often surprising, because spoilers weren’t accurate) because you get the whole cinematography thing and music and the subtleties of acting and the costumes and everything. Sometimes knowing what’s coming makes watching even more compelling and scary because you know what’s coming. You get this sense of inevitable doom… I guess “surprise” isn’t that important to me.

    That said, I totally respect others who don’t share my take on spoilers and wish to remain totally (or as much as possible) unsullied and who enjoy surprises. I’ll try my best not to let slip anything but I think I already have a time or two in some comment threads, and might do again. Sorry.

    What really irks me is people who go off the deep end about patchy alleged leaks, take them for a fact and get into a froth because it doesn’t fit their headcanon about their favourite character(s). Then argue and wrangle with other characters’ fans. On and on it goes, makes me want to break the wheel, lol!

  112. Know a bit about directors/ direction. Mylod has made some bad choices that aren’t necessarily in the script, as most scripts don’t do extreme detail of all camera movements/ actor directions, esp action scenes. ( depends somewhat on script but normally only writer/ directors have detailed shot by shot info included ). I suspect he hadn’t watched the show ( or only cursorily) when he first came on board . Hopefully the critique will make him lift his game.

    Taylor is fab for ep 6, so that’s a critical ep with big action. Sapochik has no doubt requested a year off as the intensity of big battle shoots plus extended liaison with vfx etc would make the direction process VERY long . I am certain they will secure him for season 8 possibly an early and a late ep. I think final ep will be a quiet ‘Dream of Spring’ character based/ tying up storylines one.

    Bender is very hard to secure. Agree would have loved to see more of Neil Marshall & Michele mcclaren. Maybe Marshall is also on board for 8- there will have to be lots of action in 8.

    Good to come to a post I can read!! Great to get these snippets!!

  113. Luka Nieto,

    Oh, so for the last season. Still, this seems a bit off but maybe they trust Podeswa and he’s good. I expected Alan Taylor as returning to have two episodes but maybe episode 6 will be really huge. He’s kind of big director name.

    Btw do we have exact date of filming at Iceland or still unsure when?

  114. Geralt of Rivia: Btw do we have exact date of filming at Iceland or still unsure when?

    We have no idea, to be honest. We should expect them to begin in late-December or early-January, and end sometime in February. No real dates yet. We don’t even know anything about specific Icelandic locatons yet.

  115. People who are concerned about directors and big battles etc., I think that each director will get some kind of a big battle, lol! This is Season 7. Forget all you have learned from past seasons. I am expecting at least a naval, land and an air battle – perhaps more, all in the same season! And this is simply my speculation based on Season 6, for all those avoiding spoilers.

  116. Luka Nieto,

    Directors in GOT have always directed back to back episodes, with the only exceptions being Alan Taylor and Alex Graves when they were given 4 episodes each (during seasons 2 and 4).

  117. Kay:
    People who are concerned about directors and big battles etc., I think that each director will get some kind of a big battle, lol! This is Season 7. Forget all you have learned from past seasons. I am expecting at least a naval, land and an air battle – perhaps more, all in the same season! And this is simply my speculation based on Season 6, for all those avoiding spoilers.

    You bet, with only 7 episodes a lot of ‘differences’ need to be resolved before the ‘final battle’ so to speak. Every year I ask myself how can they top these episodes, and they never fail.
    I wonder if we get any news out of Iceland one filming starts there. Luka mentioned we don’t even know locations yet.

  118. Luka Nieto: We have no idea, to be honest. We should expect them to begin in late-December or early-January, and end sometime in February. No specific dates yet. We don’t even know anything about specific Icelandic locatons yet.

    I’m just thinking about daylight in Iceland in winter. I live well south of Iceland but even here the sun doesn’t rise until after 9am and sets shortly after 3pm and hangs very low on the horizon all day in December, so I think December filming in Iceland is out. Early January wouldn’t be much better but daylight rapidly increases in late January, early February.

    I think the production team (showrunners, directors, DoPs, actors) all said, when they filmed scenes for S3 in Iceland in October/November that they only had like 3 or 4 hours of effective daylight for filming purposes each day.

    Of course, they might film in December in Iceland if they want gloomy dusk/night shots with lots of real snow and ice… The Long Night is coming again to Westeros… Though, from a DoP perspective, it’s easier to film “dusk” and even “night” shots in full daylight with filters.

  119. I’d say Podeswa is really REALLY unfairly maligned because of that one scene in the Water Gardens which, as many have stated, probably turned out the way it did because of things beyond the director’s control.

    I urge everyone to carefully re-watch both Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken and Kill the Boy, Podeswa’s two Season 5 episodes, with an eye toward camerawork, atmosphere, cinematography, and generally director’s role in them. I think you will find a very talented director producing some fantastic material.

    Kill the Boy boasts several expertly shot scenes, but I’ll only mention my two favorites. Bolton+Sansa family dinner could easily be overlooked, but it is a masterclass in building tension and dread during what is ostensibly a simple dialogue scene. The other one is of course the episode’s ending in the ruins of Valyria. The mood, the images, everything in there is worthy of praise. Also pay attention to the aftermath of the Stone Men attack when Jorah and Tyrion find themselves washed up on the shore. It looks like something out of a painting, one of the more visually arresting scenes in a show known for them.

    As for Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken, for me it always comes down to the wedding in the Godswood as well the scenes directly before and after it. Podeswa pulls off a stunning gothic fairytale (I called it such right after the episode aired so I was very happy when I heard Cogman’s DVD commentary where he used pretty much the same words), with what is in my humble view among the best scenes in all 6 seasons of GoT.

    Long story short: I don’t think Podeswa is going to be a problem!

  120. Good that Mylod is directing ep 2 and 3 – by the end of season 7, we’d have gotten enough time to recover from whatever debacle he conjures this time (I’m still not over Waifinator). I really liked the Riverrun scenes he directed (barring the off-screen death of Blackfish), so with good writing and quality actors who know their characters well, he can do a good job – let’s be optimistic.

  121. aabe: (barring the off-screen death of Blackfish)

    Yeah I’m sure that was in the script but he didn’t bother to film it 😛

    Some things simply aren’t in the purview of a TV director.

  122. Sapochnik can’t come back for S8 if he’s doing the Simbad movie. This big-budget films take years to make, and he’s schedule won’t allow him to direct even one episode.

    But Podeswa is a great choice, as is Mylod. Shakman will probably be great too. As for the final season, now that Graves and Sapochnik are busy, they’re probably gonnan invited Taylor back again, and maybe Marshall. Hopefully Bender or Sackheim. Just please no Nutter, please.

  123. talvikorppi: Anyway, being spoiled has never really impeded my enjoyment of this show, or any show or film that’s an adaptation of a book/books I might’ve read.

    Hi talvikorppi! How are you? I agree with you that watching a film adapted from a book I’ve already read never prevented me from enjoying that movie. But with GoT is a little bit different. I watched seasons 1 and 2 in a row. Back then I didn’t have any idea of the existence of GRR Martin’s books. I was completely mesmerised by the TV show. After season 2, I wanted to know more, so I started looking for more info about the characters on different sites and I accidentally spoiled myself the Red Wedding… I still very much enjoyed it (as much as you can “enjoy” that massacre, that is…), but I remember watching season 3 with the constant expectation of “is it going to happen now?”, which kind of prevented me from fully appreciating other stories. After season 3 was over, I devoured the books (I’m fully aware that this sounds contradictory, but I couldn’t refrain myself from wanting to know more). So I entered season 4 knowing full well what was going to happen and I still enjoyed it very much… And then seasons 5 and 6 came and they started to further diverge from the books and I loved it even further, because things were different from what I knew. And now I feel like being back again to my “season 1/season 2” self and I really like it… That’s why I try to remain spoiler-free, even though I have already spoiled myself a bit.

    Anyhow, that’s me… still, I kind of am jealous of you guys for enjoying long debates and speculations of the things to come in season 7.

  124. Newbietothegame:
    talvikorppi,

    Oh wow, I think I would need to be on antidepressants all winter long. I need sunlight.

    Nah, we Nordics take it as a time of semi-hibernation “cozyness”. A respite from the frenzied spring, summer and autumn activity. We even have words for it in our languages, which are hard to translate into English. Think of fairy lights in the garden, candles indoors, good hearthy food, chocolate, mulled wine, family and friends gathered on sofas, wrapped in cosy woollen blankets, wearing woolen socks (around a fireplace, if possible). And there are winter activities like skiing, skating, snowshoeing in the bracing, fresh weather. And clearing the snow off the driveway… I love winter and snow!

    Yeah, the weather forecast here is snow the day after tomorrow (Wednesday) and at least 10 days of freeze after (WINTER IS COMING), so I must change my car’s tyres tomorrow. It’s compulsory to have winter tyres between 1 December and 31 March and when conditions and weather warrant it (in practice, from November to April). Most drivers in my country have winter tyres with studs to cope with the ice and snow.

    Is it any surprise I feel an affinity with the Starks and the North in the GoT univrse? 😀

  125. Danny:
    Rhaenys Stark,

    You know I think it is more difficult to try to figure out timelines in West World than it was for LOST.Watching scenes in West World often feels like that one magnificent time when we first meet Desmond in the hatch.Like, what in the world is going on? When is this?

    Hahaha true. God I miss LOST. I loved the first 3-4 seasons, then I gradually started losing interest. Westworld is complex, clever and confusing in a similar way. And I love it! xD

  126. aabe,

    True story: last year I dreamed I was walking down Broadway in mid-town Manhattan and all the pedestrians and drivers were pointing at me and shouting, “Hey, there’s that guy who says he doesn’t mind all that much that Blackfish’s demise wasn’t shown!” Luckily for me Bronn was by my side or things might’ve gotten out of hand.

    The Chantix I was taking at the time to (successfully) quit smoking, which is infamous for having the side effect of extremely vivid dreams, might have had something to do with that nocturnal nuttiness.

    And I really didn’t mind Blackfish being offed off screen. 😉

  127. If, as you suggest, directors are not to blame for weak scenes, as they are the fault of the writers or actors, then directors shouldn’t receive credit for the brilliant scenes.

    Obviously this is not the case as directors have a great deal of input in the performances actors give, and how scenes are shot, and Mylod himself stated in an interview with IGN that he decided –yes, HE decided– to depict Arya’s stabbing as a result of her making a mistake and simply letting her guard down, which, in my opinion, was out of character for her.

    Furthermore, I am not alone in my opinion that many of the episodes I listed are some of the least liked of the series. While the blame does not rest on the shoulder of the directors alone, I was hoping to see directors in season 7, who made episodes I enjoyed more. However, that being said, it is my sincere hope that we will be treated to 7 magnificent episodes next season.

  128. Mr Fixit,

    I wholehartedly agree.

    I get the feeling that many watchers and fans of the show are confused as to what directing actually is. For me, directing is a lot about the pictures. The light, camera angles, shots… Just to pick a couple. Arya’s anguished face and cut to the birds flying off in the sky. Dany in Astapor, in blue, with the yellow fire behind her. Jon’s “pieta” scene on the slab. Achingly beautiful.

    Some directors get unfair criticism because fans don’t like what happens to their favourite character and it doesn’t fit their headcanon.

    There have been some poor directorial choices (Arya vs. the Waif springs to mind), and some fans then discount all of a director’s work because of missteps like that. Might I remind people that that particular episode also had a very good scene between Jaime and Brienne and a brilliant scene between Jaime and Edmure. Old gods and the new, that was a brilliant scene, one of the best the show has ever had. Nikolaij Coster-Waldau and Tobias Menzies were amazing, and the way it was lighted and shot… Okay, it was a bit “in-yer-face” to have half of Jaime’s face in darkness and half in light but that was the story point.

  129. talvikorppi,

    Your very interesting comment reminds me of something the wondrous director Orson Welles once said,

    Style is knowing who you are, what you want to say, and not giving a damn.

    😉

  130. Rhaenys Stark: Hahaha true. God I miss LOST. I loved the first 3-4 seasons, then I gradually started losing interest. Westworld is complex, clever and confusing in a similar way. And I love it! xD

    LOST was the first serious drama series I watched. I watched it in 2011 from January till June. Unlike you, I never started losing interest (season 5 is actually my favorite and its last episode my favorite overall, followed by series finale) and I absolultey loved every last bit of it. The series left me with feelings I cannot properly describe. That never happened to me with any other TV series, not even GoT and TWD which are my second and third favorite ones. And when I rewatched it three years later, all those feelings returned. On top of that, I encountered LFU fansite a couple months ago and sometimes I cannot believe such a friendly place exists. Yes, he had very serious trouble there two months ago, but it bonded us together even more.

    I will definitely try “Westworld” but I’m not sure if I should wait if it gets renewed for another season. I don’t want to get disappointed if it gets cancelled.

  131. A Dornish Tyrell,

    Ah, Dornish Tyrell, I empathise with you so much. It’s lovely hearing how you got into the show and books, not dissimilar to my voyage. 😀

    I got into the GoT/ASoIaF world after some people had been telling me GoT is excellent, so I binge watched S3 over two nights when it was shown on a freeview channel in my country, a couple of months before S4 premiere on HBO paychannel.

    Yeah, it was a bit confusing, like who are all these people and how do they relate to each other and what is this Blackwater they keep referring to. The first time I saw Jaime was him being pushed through a hedge by Brienne and I immediately fell in love with him and her as characters. I had no idea of the Bran thing and didn’t know I was supposed to “hate” Jaime. Oh, and I came to the Red Wedding totally unsullied and unspoiled. Old gods and the new, that was brutal. I’d grown to love the Young Wolf and Catelyn and the North by then, and then that happened. Oh gods.

    Watching S3, I was able to piece together some of S1 and S2, so when I got the S1-S3 boxed set DVD, I already knew Ned’s going to die. I still hoped he might live, I got so involved with the story, lol!

    After watching S1-S3, I read the books, so I watched S4 and everything after that as “sullied”. But now I’m entering “unsullied” territory again. Spoilers don’t really matter to me, I’ll enjoy the show regardless.

    However, I totally understand that many watchers do not want to be spoiled, and I respect that and try to think of them when commenting. Sorry if I sometimes fall short of this ideal.

  132. I hope the directors for season 8 are:

    1. Alex Graves – episodes 1&2
    2. Neil Marshall – episodes 3&4
    3. Miguel Sapochnik – episodes 5&6

    Alik Sakhorov if any of the above aren’t hired for season 8

  133. talvikorppi,

    It’s great to know how you got into the show and books!! As you’ve mentioned, our paths are not too different. 😀

    Here’s to keep on enjoying the show/books (when they finally come out) and exchanging ideas/thoughts/theories/speculations/explanations/etc. in this site!!

    talvikorppi: However, I totally understand that many watchers do not want to be spoiled, and I respect that and try to think of them when commenting. Sorry if I sometimes fall short of this ideal.

    No needs to apologize! As far as I’m concerned, you have been very careful in your comments. 🙂

  134. talvikorppi: What really irks me is people who go off the deep end about patchy alleged leaks, take them for a fact and get into a froth because it doesn’t fit their headcanon about their favourite character(s).

    I know I’ve been guilty of this once or twice, and it is quite embarrassing when you take a step back, read what you’ve written and realize where it is coming from – exactly, head canon.

  135. Not to nag, but maybe any possible spin-off might consider hiring a woman director? That would be neat, especially for a “franchise,” pardon that yucky show biz term, that has so many kick arse female characters.

    Until then, I’ll shoot a sharp salute to the brilliant work of cinematographer Anette Haellmigk, who’s lensed ten episodes.

  136. Nikolaj, Gwendoline and DB Weiss (and probably David Benioff) were dining out in Seville tonight. There are a multitude of Twitter photographs.

  137. Catspaw Assassin:
    talvikorppi,

    Your very interesting comment reminds me of something the wondrous director Orson Welles once said,

    “Style is knowing who you are, what you want to say, and not giving a damn.”

    Yeah, I agree with Orson Welles. Not that I’m comparing myself to him but I had a glimpse of that feeling last weekend.

    My mother, an artist and a retired teacher at the most prestigious art college (university) in my country was giving a one-day course on live model drawing to the local art club. She was desperate for models, so I agreed to be one and go there (about 250km away). She also roped in my dad and my teenager niece, and then at the last minute got four young local dance school ballerinas. So I didn’t have to pose all the time. In fact, very little of the time, and when I wasn’t posing, I drew.

    Charcoal on grey paper, add white chalk, later one colour. Croquis fast drawing, later maybe 10 minute poses. The other amateur artist scribbled something small on A2-sized papers but I tore generous pieces from our roll of paper, folded them in half to make two A1-sized “faces” that I could flip when the poses changed. I hadn’t properly drawn in maybe 20 years but by gods it felt good! To have that charcoal in my hand. The chalk, the one colour pastel. I got into a zone. Drawing starts at the shoulder, it’s all about looking, seeing. Capturing. Feeling, which makes your hand light or heavy as required.

    I didn’t care I was the odd one out who got papers twice the size the others. I used my left hand to do some of the tutu because my right hand wasn’t able to get the right angle, the relaxed, easy curve on that side.

    It was the process I enjoyed.

    Later, we all laid our drawings on the floor along the corridor. The granny of one of the young ballerinas wanted to buy my 5 minute drawing of her grandchild! I had no idea of prices so asked for 50 euro, she grumbled a bit but then gladly paid. Whoohoo!

    Only later, back at home, mother confessed that I was absolutely the best drawer among that amateur group, she couldn’t say so at the course (instructor’s daughter wiping the board, it would’ve been embarrassing) and that she hadn’t realised I was such a good drawer. D’oh! If she’d ever thought about what I did as a kid and a teenager when I still lived at home, she should’ve known… Only, I surprised myself. I didn’t know I was that good at drawing, lol. I just got into a zone, relaxed and let rip.

    I think all artists, be they drawers, painters, writers, actors, directors of photography, directors, costume designers, whatever, get in the zone. Have a vision and do it. It’s hard to explain it afterwards because the “zone” experience during the process is key, even more important than the end product to many craftspeople. That is not to say that the end product isn’t important, of course it is. But the creators probably, while enjoying the end product, think more fondly of their work and process to bring the end product about. People who don’t work in creative industries maybe have a hard time understanding this.

  138. talvikorppi,

    Cool. My own parents were working class folks who worked their way up from literally nothing and were quite sophisticated artistically. My mother, who raised six kids while waiting tables and plying her trade as a superb seamstress, was a pretty good painter with her own original voice, and my dad, who spent a third of his life in the Air Force, another third driving a school bus, and a final third kicking back and enjoying life, was an avid art aficionado. Meself, I’ve been painting, or at least attempting to, for over forty years, and I agree, the process, or as I like to call it, The Getting To, is what’s it’s all about.

  139. Boudica,

    Okay soooo if Arya was stabbed, but there was no twist, then you would all be okay with how the rest of it played out?

    No.

    Writers write – Arya walks out in the open. Arya gets stabbed by the waif, jumps to hide, meets Lady Crane, sleeps for a few days, then a long chase ensues

    People hated this no matter what… so I don’t see how Mylod made it worse than what it was written.

    And in my humble opinion, the commenter I was responding to was criticizing Mylod and Podeswa for their direction based on scenes/events they didn’t like because I KNOW that most people around here hated: 1)Sandsnakes 2)Sansa Marriage to ramsay and wedding night 3) Arya’s ending to the faceless men.

    So my point was that I think their criticism and “worry” for their direction in season 7 was not reasonable.

  140. Mr Fixit:
    I’d say Podeswa is really REALLY unfairly maligned because of that one scene in the Water Gardens which, as many have stated, probably turned out the way it did because of things beyond the director’s control.

    I urge everyone to carefully re-watch both Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken and Kill the Boy, Podeswa’s two Season 5 episodes, with an eye toward camerawork, atmosphere, cinematography, and generally director’s role in them. I think you will find a very talented director producing some fantastic material.

    Kill the Boy boasts several expertly shot scenes, but I’ll only mention my two favorites. Bolton+Sansa family dinner could easily be overlooked, but it is a masterclass in building tension and dread during what is ostensibly a simple dialogue scene. The other one is of course the episode’s ending in the ruins of Valyria. The mood, the images, everything in there is worthy of praise. Also pay attention to the aftermath of the Stone Men attack when Jorah and Tyrion find themselves washed up on the shore. It looks like something out of a painting, one of the more visually arresting scenes in a show known for them.

    As for Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken, for me it always comes down to the wedding in the Godswood as well the scenes directly before and after it. Podeswa pulls off a stunning gothic fairytale (I called it such right after the episode aired so I was very happy when I heard Cogman’s DVD commentary where he used pretty much the same words), with what is in my humble view among the best scenes in all 6 seasons of GoT.

    Long story short: I don’t think Podeswa is going to be a problem!

    THIS infinity times

  141. Dee Stark,

    He had Arya be stabbed multiple times and then do parkour. Could have had be stabbed once, missing vital organs, then be PUSHED in to the water. The healing and parkour would’ve been much better then. Though Arya letting her guards down was bad writing.
    His visions were just not working.

  142. Abbie,

    I really don’t want to get back into the stabbing discussion after there being so much of it after those episodes… I do understand why they would want to make it look life threatening and I had zero problem with it. I was surprised that so many people couldn’t accept a “Hollywood injury” recovery when just about every action movie/show has characters hardly hurt from things that would kill anybody. They didn’t have time to show a lengthy recovery period, and probably didn’t desire too since that’s not very exciting stuff at the end of a season. Still, the amount of time she was at Lady Crane’s before the waif found her was kept as unclear as possible when having to rush to tie up that arc before the big episodes 9 & 10.

  143. Dee Stark,

    It’s funny to me how easily can certain people get frustrated by a minor flaw… Almost every series has them. And yes, many things can be filled with a bit of imagination. In my opinion, there is no bad episode of GoT and it is the only series where I never rated an episode below 7.

  144. Clob,

    I do take issue with the amount and depth of the stabs… and particularly with the twisting of the knife (which I understand it was made to show that the Waif was disregarding Jaqen’s advice not to make Arya suffer). It could have been handled differently in my humble opinion*… However, I agree with you regarding the amount of time Arya spent with Lady Crane: we simply cannot be sure how long she was there recovering.

    *ETA: I do believe people had blown out of proportion this otherwise minor flaw.

  145. A Dornish Tyrell,

    Clob,

    Sorry guys. It was utterly garbage writing.

    Viewers shouldn’t have to make the effort to deliberately overlook or dream up explanations for such things. Dismissing it as a “minor flaw” or a “Hollywood injury recovery” doesn’t cut it, because most fans have come to expect better from this show.

    It’s bad enough that viewers have had to suspend their disbelief over the increasingly glaring inconsistencies in characters’ ability to travel all over “Planetos” (which I’m generally okay with, although it is becoming more grating).

    But if they have to start concocting justifications for characters miraculously recovering from what should be fatal injuries from one episode to the next then that’s just a sign of really crappy writing.

    There’s no ignoring it.

  146. Ramsay’s 20th Good Man,

    To you maybe, but to others, its considered a minor flaw or Hollywood whatever… it doesn’t make you right or others right… so you cant ignore it, and some can.
    To me it was a minor flaw and bothered me the least bit, and sure as hell doesn’t lead me to judge episodes 7 and 8 as horribly directed, OR even written LOL

    and OMG
    “It’s bad enough that viewers have had to suspend their disbelief over the increasingly glaring inconsistencies in characters’ ability to travel all over “Planetos” (which I’m generally okay with, although it is becoming more grating). ”

    For realz?

    Thankfully, no one here works for the show hahaha

  147. Dee Stark,

    If you can’t recognise it as bad writing, even just within the context of the rest of the writing on the show, then I’m extremely thankful that you don’t work on the show.

  148. Reading some of the comments here, I get the impression that most people watch the show because it’s JS is sooooooo handsome, and OMG dany badass moment, and soo coool, FREAKIN GOOSEBUMBS U GUYZZZ!!!!

    That doesn’t mean that you can’t love it, but when you’re willing to dismiss any flaws because it’s you’re favourite show at the moment is exactly what leads to decline in quality. When the writers don’t have to make any effort to impress the viewers, they won’t. And one flaw doesn’t mean the entire show is bad, but I wonder how did this show become this popular in its firt couple of seasons, if Season 6 the best they’ve done according to mainstream audiences. Because S6 was full of flaws, and no amount of CGI can make up for it, and was a major disappointment in many regards.

    This is isn’t directed at anyone in particular, but in general. We just probably have different expectations for the show, but I like it for its intricate story and complex characters. Half of Season 6 delivered these, the other half…just a few people deciding to take back their home…and then actually doing it, and that’s it. Very creative,

  149. Reading those final comments, I really wonder what I am still doing here…

    I watch GoT because I want to enjoy it, not to dissect it and search for flaws, or thinking how it could have been better. I came to this site because of positivity, because I wanted to see people who enjoyed it as well and that’s why I really appreciate people like Dee on this site.

    Feel free to express your opinion about the flaws and things you were disappointed, but at least leave us “happy fans” alone because we actually don’t want to get frustrated and merely want to enjoy the show for what it is. I notice the flaws as well but I will not allow them to take away my enjoyment. Also, when it comes to one of my favorite shows (a second favorite in this case), I would never use a term like “complete and utter garbage” because I actually want to show some respect towards the show and its producers.

    And when it comes to “flawed” season 6 who was according to certain people a “major disappointment”, my major complaint about GoT is that it really lacks tender moments, the moments that would give me “special feelings”, and thus I cannot “bond” with the characters. But season 6 is my favorite, because those things actually happened. I got chills in many scenes, Sansa/Jon reunion was one of the most emotional scenes for me and because of the tender scenes with Tyrion and ser Jorah, I even started to like Daenerys. The show has come to the point when I can actually start to “root” for the characters and wanting them to survive till the end. That’s why season 6 remains my favorite, despite a couple flaws.

    I will surely be back to write my reviews because I know certain people appreciate them (despite the significant amount of positivity and “lack of criticism”) but if every post becomes so negative, I don’t think I will be on a lot.

  150. Lord Parramandas:
    Reading those final comments, I really wonder what I am still doing here…

    I watch GoT because I want to enjoy it, not to dissect it and search for flaws, or thinking how it could have been better. I came to this site because of positivity, because I wanted to see people who enjoyed it as well and that’s why I really appreciate people like Dee on this site.

    Feel free to express your opinion about the flaws and things you were disappointed, but at least leave us “happy fans” alone because we actually don’t want to get frustrated and merely want to enjoy the show for what it is. I notice the flaws as well but I will not allow them to take away my enjoyment. Also, when it comes to one of my favorite shows (a second favorite in this case), I would never use a term like “complete and utter garbage” because I actually want to show some respect towards the show and its producers.

    And when it comes to “flawed” season 6 who was according to certain people a “major disappointment”, my major complaint about GoT is that it really lacks tender moments, the moments that would give me “special feelings”, and thus I cannot “bond” with the characters. But season 6 is my favorite, because those things actually happened. I got chills in many scenes, Sansa/Jon reunion was one of the most emotional scenes for me and because of the tender scenes with Tyrion and ser Jorah, I even started to like Daenerys. The show has come to the point when I can actually start to “root” for the characters and wanting them to survive till the end. That’s why season 6 remains my favorite, despite a couple flaws.

    I will surely be back to write my reviews because I know certain people appreciate them (despite the significant amount of positivity and “lack of criticism”) but if every post becomes so negative, I don’t think I will be on a lot.

    Very well said!
    I never understand the negative attitude towards something you like. I’m not blind to mistakes and flaws (which every movie, series, book… has), but I don’t let them to ruin my enjoyment of watching and rewatching the show.
    And if I don’t like something because I think it’s full of flaws, I just don’t spend time talking about it, or making negative comments online about it.

    And please, do come back for your reviews!

  151. Mr Fixit: The other one is of course the episode’s ending in the ruins of Valyria. The mood, the images, everything in there is worthy of praise. Also pay attention to the aftermath of the Stone Men attack when Jorah and Tyrion find themselves washed up on the shore. It looks like something out of a painting, one of the more visually arresting scenes in a show known for them.

    Podeswa did Valyria? LOVED Valyria, from beginning to end, writing and directing. Such different perspectives on Jorah and Tyrion. Tyrion seeing Drogon for the first time was totally memorable, even now. I didn’t have much to say about Unbowed…etc., because I couldn’t believe the story was going in the direction of putting Sansa anywhere near Ramsay, and I grumbled at the tv the whole time. I don’t even think I saw THAT scene at the end the first time it aired because I was in the kitchen grumbling. But he, Podie, did a great job with Valyria imho

    Rhaenys Stark: We don’t bash the showrunners here.

    Hmmmphh … I don’t make a habit of it, and try to say as many good things as I can about their work, which is mostly excellent. But if they need tweaking, I will tweak. The chase scene was … oh well, it’s been hashed before.

  152. Ramsay’s 20th Good Man,

    I never said it wasn’t bad writing. Of course it could’ve been better, but nothing is perfect in this world. But it was minor TO ME. Your words of “utter garbage” are words I would never use towards the show, which is what I was trying to say. But hey, youre entitled to do so. Like I said, thankfully, you don’t work for the show either, or we’d be seeing lots of travel scenes!

    Lord Parramandas,

    Very well said, Lord P. Look forward to your reviews next season 🙂 ill be around for those and for Oz. c’est tout

  153. Northop,

    Agreed with everything here. Please no Nutter next season. I hate how many people think Nutter is the shit in these places. He directed some of the most significant events so I get why people are enthusiastic about his episodes. But those episodes are good in spite of him. Really, he directs his episodes in a competent, obvious TV manner. The Red Wedding was good enough to work but I’m *sure* that someone like Taylor, Graves, Podeswa, Bender or Sapochnik could have infused that scene with more poeticism and tragedy and elevated it to another level of gothic horror. There is no elegance to Nutter’s direction at all. He has no vision or precision as a director. He adds no distinctive atmosphere. He doesn’t storyboard or plan his shots – he even says it himself. He covers his scenes from every angle and shoots piles of footage and then lets the editor sort it out. And it shows. The shots are dull and plainly framed. His episodes move in the most obvious manner possible with no artistry which also might be why people like his episodes so much – they’re easy to grasp (like a generic studio film but with worse composition) because he simply crafts the words on screen and doesn’t add any meaning or use any subtlety with his shots.

    He’s a TV director through and through and I mean that in the derogatory way. I’m quite fine with seeing him direct generic trashy network shows. I even watch some of them. But Game of Thrones has aspired to and is capable of so much more, as other directors have demonstrated. There’s no excuse for them to use someone as sloppy as Nutter.

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