Though Game of Thrones spoiler-hounds such as ourselves would like to believe we know a lot about the upcoming final season, the truth is that, for the first time, we’re going into a new season with no source material or plot leaks. If you’re happy with that, this may be the time to peace out, as a full cast list for season eight’s premiere may have been released… semi-officially. Normally, that wouldn’t mean much, but there are a few surprises—if you want to go in completely blind, this is your spoiler warning!
People all over (thank you, D and Raven!) have been sending us the program details for the season premiere, though it’s not yet in the HBO schedule, by using the same method with which we once figured out the season seven running times—by looking for the already existing URL for a new episode, even before the schedule goes that far ahead.
Aside from providing us with a cast list, the program details claim the first episode is exactly one hour long, which fits the ballpark figures we got before, but is probably just as much of a generalization, or even a placeholder. Unless the season premiere is exactly 60 minutes long, I imagine we’ll get a more exact number in the coming weeks.
The cast list includes all the main stars everyone expected for the premiere, as well as a few others who we may have believed would skip the first episode, such as Jerome Flynn (Bronn); Kristofer Hivju and Richard Dormer (Tormund and Beric Dondarrion, last seen running away from the falling Wall), Carice van Houten (Melisandre, last seen heading to Volantis), and Gemma Whelan (Yara Greyjoy, last seen being imprisoned by Euron).
As for supporting and secondary characters, we have Anton Lesser and Hafþór Björnsson as Qyburn and the Mountain, the last remaining allies of Cersei; Pilou Asbæk as Euron Greyjoy; Rupert Vansittart, Bella Ramsey and Richard Rycroft filling in the northern court as Yohn Royce, Lyanna Mormont, and Maester Wolkan; Megan Parkinson and Harry Grasby as the totally doomed Alys Karstark and Ned Umber, the new rulers of Karhold and Last Hearth, the first lines of defense once the Wall falls; Staz Nair as Qhono, Dany’s main Dothraki bloodrider; and Ben Crompton back as Edd Tollett, who is, against all odds, the acting Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch.
So far, nothing shocking. However, the list ends with two pretty unexpected returns: Lino Facioli, who plays Robin Arryn, last seen in season six being manipulated by Littlefinger to march the Knights of the Vale north; and Tobias Menzies as Edmure Tully, who I believe we all gave up for dead (or forgotten) when Arya didn’t free him from the Twins in the season seven premiere, if he was indeed still there. I guess we’ll see!
We should say these cast lists have been known to be mixed up between episodes, but never between seasons. So, though it’s possible for some of these cast members to only appear later in the season and not in the premiere, the characters who have been absent for years in particular are unlikely to be accidental leftovers from way back in season six. Whether they appear in the first episode or not, to the best our knowledge this is as close to a confirmation as we can hope for that they will appear in season eight.
Notably, if this was supposed to be an overall cast list for the season, there are notable absences (such as Vladimir Furdik as the Night King and newcomer Marc Rissmann as Harry Strickland, Commander of the Golden Company), which may point to the list being what it purports to be: the full cast for the first episode of season eight.
Any word on whether or not we’re expected to see Meera this season?
Also, Hodor.
I knew about Robin Arryn from the leaks. Edmure Tully though it’s the first time I see it.
Alba,
There are no trusted season eight leaks, unlike in season seven, when we got a complete plot summary for season seven that agreed with things that were filmed after the leak was published. Every year people make shit up, so I wouldn’t necessarily trust just any supposed leak you see around, especially when it happens to agree with what we know from filming and other scoops, compounded by popular theories and made up stuff on top. Only trust a leak if it’s corroborated by something *after* the leak is published.
Khal-A-Bunga,
Along with Edmure (until today), Meera’s the other character whose return would surprise me. If this really is just for the premiere, there’s still hope for Meera… but I personally don’t hold much hope, to be honest.
I don’t care much about Meera, I want Howland. I also want Ghost, Nymeria, Ice Spiders As Big As Hounds and, most of all, Hot Kidney Pie (with peas and onions, obvs).
Hopefully all these people are in the first episode, this would seem to add weight to the idea that the first episode is going to focus quite a bit on all these characters meeting at Winterfell.
I’m hoping for some very unlikely conversations, for example, how would a casual conversation go between Tormund, Jamie Lannister, Bran and, say, Dolorous Edd? The opportunities are endless.
Any surprising omissions from the list?
Still holding out for Tom Wlaschiha (Jaqen H’ghar).
The only surprising omissions are the Night King and Harry Strickland. One would imagine that, if we’re seeing Euron, we’ll see him either meet with the Golden Company or already back in King’s Landing with them, so Strickland would be a shoe-in, and yet he’s not in the list. Maybe we’ll just see Euron talking about the Company, or with generic mercenaries around, and Strickland will appear later. After all, he’s only going to be in it for 2 episodes.
He did film something in Seville, as did the Waif actress… but it probably was interview footage. It’d be a nice surprise to have the Faceless Men back, though, if they give them a nice role! I’m happy with not seeing them again, as, from Arya’s perspective as a character, that chapter is definitely closed, but it’s true it seems unfinished from the perspective of Jaqen. We’ll see.
Where is Tim McInnerny (Robett Glover)?
from FEATURE LENGHT to over an hour to an hour… :/
Maybe he was busy. If so, it’d be a pity, because I’ve loved the actor as a comedian since I watched Blackadder, and his dramatic portrayal as Glover was perfect. The “I’ll regret it for the rest of my life” line in the season six finale always gives me chills, seriously. Hopefully he appears in a following episode…
Did you miss this? If that remains correct, at least in general, that’s two 1-hour long episodes, followed up by four lasting for 1 hour and 20 minutes each.
Whoop whoop! We get to see Dolorous Edd at least one more time! Tormund, Beric and Yara aren’t dead (yet)! Gendry’s done running (and rowing)!
All happy news, but I’m particularly pleased to know that Edmure’s arc wil get some sort of closure. For my money, having seen his spectacular acting as Black Jack Randall in Outlander – a villain who makes Ramsay Bolton look kindly by comparison – D & D kind of dropped the ball in terms of utilizing Tobias Menzies’ potential. I’m hoping the S8 script gives him something to chew on.
While Arya freeing her last surviving uncle would’ve been a sensible way of reintroducing the character, it would also work for Jaime to remember Edmure languishing in the Frey dungeons and spring him. Thoughtful of our honor-reclaiming soiled knight. He might also be thinking strategically: that the Riverlands still have surviving remnants of an army who might be led North. We might even get to hear Jaime admonish Edmure that winter is coming.
That’s been my theory for the last two years. Jaime can bring two things as a peace offering to the Starks: the Lannister army on the Riverlands, if he can make them loyal to him instead of Cersei; and Edmure, perhaps with Tully troops. If Jaime arrives in Winterfell in the first episode, as it seems to be the case, sadly I don’t think there’s much of a chance of him and Edmure rallying the troops, but freeing Edmure alone may remain a possibility. We’ll see…
Let’s make some guesses!
Do you think Jaime frees Edmure? That would be an amazing arc!
And what could “sweet” Robyn do to mess things up? Withdraw his army to protect him instead of his cousin? Sansa has been worried the whole last season that her army falls apart… Maybe the Lordsof the Vale need to follow Brienne (“Fuck Loyalty! This goes beyond houses!”)
🙂
What do you think?
And – that may just be all the actors involved in the “previously, in Game of Thrones,” opening sequence.
That’s not how it works. People in the “previously on” who are not in the episode are not credited, because the “previously on” is basically a promotional HBO addition; it’s not part of the episode.
Here’s an English as a Second Language mini-tutorial for Luka (and a mini-refresher for some native speakers): The idiom is ‘shoo-in,’ as in chasing chickens, not ‘shoe-in,’ as in footwear. Offered with the gentlest of intentions, as you have in the past expressed the wish to expand your already-impressive mastery of English.
It sounds like episode 1 won’t necessarily be 99% Winterfell and 1% KL like I previously assumed. We may get some time in Essos with Melisandre and the Riverlands with Jaime/Edmure.
I doubt the Tully troops would rally around Edmure anyway, since he gave away Riverrun, but who knows.
The leaked script for Season 7 Episode 4 said something like “Meera walks out of the room, out of Bran’s life, and out of the series”.
So I’d say no, we probably won’t see her again. I’m hoping I’m wrong though, I feel really bad about the way Bran just tossed her out.
I want closure on her character.
Firannion,
That’s perfect! A fun etymology, too. I don’t think I’d seen it written down before, hence the confusion. Thanks, I’ll try and remember it.
Luka Nieto,
Okay, thanks! I just hate getting all hopeful about things like this!
I don’t see why you expect Kristofer Hivju and Richard Dormer to skip the first episode? I’d expect to see them flee to Castle Black or Winterfell. Even if they died during the attack, I’d expect to see them as wights and head to Winterfell.
Jerome Flynn (Bronn) won’t do a whole season with Lena Headey since they don’t get along. Or she (or Quiburn) kills him off very quickly or Bronn will join Jaime. And if he joins Jaime, it will be before he arrives in Winterfell. Jaime in Winterfell will have other more important interactions.
I already knew about Lino Facioli’s return.
For some months now, I believe it was first rumored way back in late 2017.
Interesting about Edmure though. The last we heard of him, Jaime mysteriously didn’t keep his word about sending him to Casterly Rock, because in Episode 6.10 Walder tells Jaime “Edmure’s back in his cell”.
So that never sat right with me. Seemed like a pretty strange writing decision, followed by an equally strange decision to not have Arya free him. Given that she was posing as Walder for two weeks, and as a serving girl for some time before that, there’s no reason for her to have been unaware of Edmure’s presence.
Hopefully Season 8 will finally give some closure on Edmure.
As for the Night King, I really hope he won’t miss out on the premiere.
If we really are only getting 3 episodes of the WW invasion, they need to make each one count. I want to see WW taking over the North, slaughtering, etc…
If it’s just episodes 2 and 3 and then we’re done with the Long Night and the WW, I’ll be very disappointed.
The big battle in the North may be in episode 3, but the White Walkers and wights appear beyond that.
Nick20,
I think the problem was that the actor who plays Edmure didn’t have time to come back for filming because he had other filming projects (Outlander etc). But I hope he found some time to appear in season 8, even if it was only 1 scene.
Feature length is an entirely meaningless term, which the writers on this website have been repeating for months.
I want Howland Reed. And I have long thought David Thewlis would be perfect casting for the role. I choose to believe he will show up in season 8, until he doesn’t.
At least the wee she bear is listed in episode 1, I can’t wait.
I mean, if Mel is still in Essos in Season 8 Episode 1, I don’t know what to say.
She better be back in Westeros by now. We’re done with Essos.
I really hope so !
I’m doubtful about it, but I’ll be cautiously optimistic.
Nick20,
There’s still the image of a dragon flying over KL that hasn’t come to fruition yet. Of course, it could be Dany/Drogon, but it could also be the Night King.
I think the big battle that’s (allegedly) happening in episode 3 will end up with the AOTD victorious, forcing everyone to flee South, so there should still be some AOTD left to reach KL at the end.
…and what makes you so sure we are completely done with Essos?
Luka, do you expect that the first episode will only be about Winterfell? I do think they have enough material to fill the first episode with all kinds of scenes in Winterfell. But since we only have 6 episodes, I’d expect to see in the first episode also short reminders where all the rest is.
That’s just not true. Or rather, incomplete. It was the cast and crew who have repeatedly used the “feature length” line, and when we’ve used it here we have always given the proper context (i.e. feature length could range from 40 minutes to 2 hours, and they were just trying to say they’d be longer episodes.)
Nick20,
It wasn’t just a guess. We know a few characters will be battling wights in episode 4.
I mean, look at the cast list. We’re definitely checking up on King’s Landing, at the very least.
Luka Nieto,
I’m fairly certain Vladimir Furdik has thus far been officially credited as “stunt performer” in the closing credits and was never included in HBO’s programming schedule. That may explain his absence here.
Luka Nieto,
This triggered me into doing some research. Apparently he wasn’t asked back, if these two interviews are to be believed (which I do, as they quote him):
https://www.express.co.uk/showbiz/tv-radio/1063103/blackadder-captain-darling-tim-mcinnerny-dead-comedy-never-to-return
“People kept asking me what the plot is, but the more I was in it, the less I knew.
“I was a fan, so it was great to be in it. But it was very, very, very hard work — stuck in the rain and cold of Northern Ireland in December and January. I’m just sorry I didn’t get to do another series.
“They’re kind of ruthless, they do just kind of dump you – without so much as a by your leave.”
And
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/oct/25/tim-mcinnerny-peterloo-mike-leigh-important-prince-regent-blackadder
“He had been in Northern Ireland, not for Game of Thrones but for a murder mystery for Channel 5. There was no violent death, no explanation, just no call from HBO about which he’s a bit cross. “It’s kind of disrespectful,” he says. “Not just to me, but to the audience. It’s like nobody will notice Lord Glover has fallen off the edge of the world.”
So that’s kind of meh. Great news about Tobias Menzies returning, though!!!
Khal-A-Bunga,
I’m surprised at the apparent lack of Glover, since I would have expected to find him acting as the voice of the xenophobic Northern rabble, the role he’s filled in recent seasons.
I think episode 1 will be more focused on getting everyone to the right places, but episode 2 will be more focused on the personal interactions before the AOTD comes knockin.
Will there be a cold open for episode 1? They like to do them for season premieres. They did it with season 1, 3, 4, 5, and 7, I believe. Perhaps it’ll be the AOTD marching, kind of like last year’s premiere. Though, I wouldn’t be surprised if they open with Beric and Tormund fleeing the Wall.
Dutch Maester,
I’d forgotten about that. A pity.
Luka Nieto,
I meant before you saw the cast list.
Interesting that Glover might not be in season 8 at all. Perhaps House Glover gets killed off screen?
Maybe Sansa tells Jon in episode 1 that Lord Glover left Winterfell the moment he heard that Jon gave the North to Dany. Then later on they hear a report that House Glover has been massacred by the AOTD.
I strongly support this. I’ve felt that when Jaime left the Freys in Season 6, he took Edmure Tully with him, and probably dropped him off at Ashemark or wherever, to be a hostage controlled by Lannister forces, and not the ridiculous Freys. Jaime did make promises when negotiating with Edmure, and would rather see him comfortably held rather than thrown in a Frey hole.
The idea of Jaime freeing Edmure as a peace offering is a good one!
I didn’t/don’t. Along with what Chilli wrote above I’ve been thinking it very likely they will be in the first episode. I still believe it’s very possible that Tormund and Beric are in the very first scene, as I’ve written several times, arriving on the Wall at CB. I also think the only thing that makes sense for Bronn is to catch up to Jaime on the road.
Strong agree. I assume the initial engagement vs the army of the dead will be a defeat for Team Breathing.
Just for the record, the cast lists on HBO Now for some of the past seasons also have characters listed that weren’t actually in the episodes. For example, season 6, episodes 9 & 10 list Roose Bolton & Ramsey as being in the episodes, which was impossible.
I don’t think Edmure’s and Robin’s return is that surprising really. The characters that would be surprising returns IMO are: Daario Naharis, Illyrio Mopatis, Quaithe, Salladhor Saan, Jaqen H’ghar and any previously dead characters coming back as wights.
Do we know what happened to Edmure’s wife and baby?
Were they killed by Arya? or assumed alive?
Theons Richard,
They’re living in a commune with Davos’ wife somewhere.
Lord Glover really is a shame. He’s the most memorable of the Northern lords, Lady Mormont aside…who is their to represent the older Northerners?
She didn’t kill any women or children, just Frey men.
That’s what he was saying. He was saying that the writers of this site have stressed that feature length is essentially a meaningless term.
Undead Elephant,
I thought they meant we were repeating the term, not that the term is meaningless. My apologies.
Branj70,
I already said that in the article, if you read it. Sometimes cast members are credited in wrong episodes, but never wrong seasons. So, whether Robin and Edmure appear in the premiere or not, the list does tell us they’ll appear in season 8.
Nice fancasting choice! Thewlis is quite a versatile actor, the right age, not too physically imposing to play the ‘little Crannogman’ who has put his warring days behind him.
Katharina,
I think Jaime will free Edmure, they will go north together. As for Robin Arryn I think he will arrive at winterfell looking for LF.
Euron and Yara in episode 1 but not Theon. hmm, hopefully in episode 2.
—
Just reading the books I’m at the house of the undying and they show a moment of the prince that was promised.
Viserys, was her first thought the next time she paused, but a second glance told her otherwise. The man had her brother’s hair, but he was taller, and his eyes were a dark indigo rather than lilac. “Aegon,” he said to a woman nursing a newborn babe in a great wooden bed. “What better name for a king?” “Will you make a song for him?” the woman asked.
“He has a song,” the man replied. “He is the prince that was promised, and his is the song of ice and fire.” He looked up when he said it and his eyes met Dany, and it seemed as if he saw her standing there beyond the door. “There must be one more,” he said, though whether he was speaking to her or the woman in bed she could not say. “The dragon has three heads.” He went to the window seat, picked up a harp, and ran his fingers lightly over its silvery strings. Sweet sadness filled the room as man and wife and babe faded like the morning mist, only the music lingering behind to speed her on her way.
Who do you think this is. Elia and Eagon, or Lyanna and Eagon/Jon?
Season 1 began with a shot of the gate in the Wall at Castle Black opening up to reveal the doomed ranging party. It would be lovely mirroring if they cold-opened the final season with a similar shot of the gate going up, but from the inside, with Edd holding a torch waiting to admit Tormund and Beric and their very bad news.
He’s pretty tall though and with furs on would look rather big… so not really matching his book description. How about Gary Oldman? 🙂
If they meet up before Jaime reaches the Twins, I wouldn’t be too terribly surprised if Jaime decides to leave Bronn in charge there. That would satisfy his ‘Now you owe me two castles’ demand. Plus, Bronn gets his pick of Frey widows. ‘Twould be a pity not to see Jerome Flynn’s fighting choreography again, but we can’t get everything we want in six episodes. And the war might still come to him.
I was ref. to the reports from Fricki about the scene at Dragonpit. It’s the first person, and the only one, who said that Robin Arryn and Yara will be in that scene, final episode. The only scene filmed in Sevilla-Itálica (no action scenes, green screens or cgi)
He was specific about which characters where there filming, and which not. Not going to mention here to avoid spoilers.
I do not trust anybody 100%, until I see the episode actually. But they have been reliable in the past and this one sounds pretty good one to me.
Did they ever mention in the show that Davos still had a wife?
It can’t be Jon. Rhaegar was already dead by the time he was born.
kevin1989,
The man is Rhaegar, talking to his wife Elia Martell.
.
I do think a cold open of Tormund & Beric is a strong possibility. As I’d written in the past, that would kick off the season as a reminder and show us that we’re starting where we left off, as well as letting us know that T&B survived and now on a mission.
A while back someone mentioned a camera/scene flying along the length of the Wall. I like the idea of it starting over the AotD with a Viserion screesh, then over the destruction of Eastwatch and quickly along the top of the Wall past two running men to stop at the elevator above Castle Black as Edd gets off to meet the approaching T&B. *warning news dialogue – fear and shock faces* queue title theme.
kevin1989,
https://www.westeros.org/Citadel/SSM/Entry/15608
Alfie Allen is in the cast list.
HOLY SHIT EDMUREEEEEEE
Is it too much too hope that Jaime frees Edmure from the Twins on his way north . in ep 1?!
I hope not. Because I want that so bad… They were great together in s6.
Could also be later in the season I guess. But that would be my hope.
If Edmure does show back up, as we’re expecting now, I think I’d slide him up really high on my death list. I mean, he’s not that important and not really a fantastic fighter, so… 😛
* double post so I’ll edit this one *
So my order of somewhat major deaths is #1 Edd, #2 Beric, #3 Edmure.
🙂
Clob,
On a similar note, I wouldn’t mind at all if the NK made Sweetrobin fly. 🙂
That’s kind of what I’m hoping too.
After the battle for Winterfell is over, the AOTD will probably swarm over everything between WF and KL, including the Vale, and Robin will be the last person to have the distinction of flying through the moon door.
I was hoping we’d see Edmure! Whoo!!! Wish we’d see Roger Allam back! 😊 Oh, and a bit character played by a guy called Tom Wlaschiha would be nice….😉😍
Clob,
Yes, I remember her denying one of the women at the feast the fine wine she poisoned that all the men drank.
Here here! I was scanning the names leisurely. . . “There’s the usual bunch, we’re doing the season premier jumps showing where folks are and what their doing” and then I saw Tobias’s name and the Outlander fan in me squealed! Behold, BJR is in the house, people! Good looking guys name Jamie need to literally watch their behinds! haha
But, seriously, though, I am happy to see Edmure come back, even if it’s as the reanimated corpse of a wight. . . .blue eyes and all. . .
Firannion,
Thanks. Sometimes I forget small details, and it made no sense because Ned was there when Jon was born that I though it was Jon.
Luka Nieto,
I think I need my eyes checked. I totally looked over it.
Clob,
He needs to be lord of riverrun again. So maybe he survives.
Chance would be a fine thing!
He’s currently appearing in “Das Boot” – a remake of the 80’s U-Boat movie by Sky Atlantic. He’s now a member of the Gestapo and not a particulary nice character – reminds me of Littlefinger!
Strange to see Tom Wlaschiha in a suit and with short hair and mainly speaking in German 🙂
Khal-A-Bunga,
Per the script on the goodbye scene between Bran and Meera, it basically says Meera leaves Winterfell and the show forever. So i’m guessing no which unfortunately isn’t a good sign of Bran ever reverting back to himself since it shows it more in the books but Bran has/had feelings for her
Firannion,
Me too I was so disappointed Edmure wasn’t in S7, it was the perfect time for a comeback even a mention of him for gods sake and I would of being really disappointed if we got to the end of S8 if we never knew what happened to him, it would of put a sour taste in my mouth. Say what you want about Edmure but he is not forgettable
Luka Nieto,
Didn’t someone announce it ages ago I don’t exactly remember who said it but the actor who plays Harry Strickland would only be in two episodes, maybe three at the most?
Luka Nieto,
Yeah I have a feeling there will be a big battle EP3 in WF but they lose and head south and have another battle against them and Cersei probably EP5 going off the director of that EP all signs point to it. If they resolved it all in the north than the southerners would never believe the battle happened and we had bookDany have a dream of fighting the dead at the trident.
Nick20,
Mr Derp,
I think more likely we’ll see her on a ship with a fleet of ships coming back, she left in 703 so that should of given her plenty time to recruit reinforcements
kevin1989,
Well remember Euron made it seem like at the dragonpit he was going back to the iron islands but he was in fact going to Essos I imagine with Yara so Theon probably went to the Iron Islands not realising Euron had lied but maybe he gets more recruits there to help save Yara when Euron returns but they probably won’t show that so it’ll be a surprise that he has more than a handful of men
Good. They are closing the “gaps” so to speak with Edmure and Robin. Maybe Jaime meets with Edmure and sees him with all the Walders daughters. That being some big marriage or maybe Jaime gets the “Robb Stark” armor from the Twins.
Can’t wait to see this final season. Some serious s*** is happening in the first episode for sure when Tormund and Dondarrion are back too. Maybe the end of Night Watch…
If anyone is interested the actor who plays Robyn Arryn isn’t so weird looking anymore his actually grown into himself https://www.instagram.com/lino.facioli/ kinda cute now
I’m not quite finding who your referencing through the string of quotes but I’m thinking it’s Melisandre… Is that correct? If so I am (or would be) surprised to see her show up already in the first episode. I probably shouldn’t though since she will have been gone for quite a while. The timing just seems a bit off if she too is going to arrive at Winterfell with help. It feels like an episode 2 entrance to me. Still, I don’t care when as long as she brings a bunch of red priests/priestesses and the Fiery Hand along with her.
Alba,
Ah yes Friki is Spanish and he usually is accurate about scenes filmed in Spain because I think he has connections to the film industry and he has being right about the last two seasons so his more believable than fleakers and there have being hundreds of them for S8 lol but be careful as he mixes his own theories with his info as well.
Get a room! 😛
I’m glad Edmure will reappear. Jaime can’t very well show up at Winterfell empty-handed. They’ll kill him on sight if he does. As a matter of fact, I don’t think Jaime could have made it to Winterfell with the Lannister forces without war breaking out along the way! The North hates the Lannisters.
I’m feeling certain that Jaime will stop in the Riverlands to beg Edmure to travel together to Winterfell… kinda’ makes sense. And this show is nothing if not about eating crow, and about unlikely allies.
When Jaime shows up with the Tully forces, it’ll soothe tensions a bit.
Clob,
Yes that’s who i’m Referring to, if she is in EP1 than that’s what I see as a likely appearance of her, as her popping into WF the same EP as Dany and Jamie seems like a bit much but Luka could be right and these are just names of actors in the season not necessarily the first EP and in that’s the case than her first appearance would be more likely her popping into WF in EP2-3
Clob,
Haha lol, bit young for me but it did startle me when I saw what he looks like now considering what a weird looking kid he looked like, now this guy could actually attract some partners maybe Robin will too
I… literally say that in the post you’re quoting. Yes, 2 episodes.
Luka Nieto,
Lol sorry read all the comments at once, just knew I heard it when the actor was announced. So yeah definitely makes sense he wouldn’t be in the first EP, I imagine we’ll see him more when his actually attacking our heroes
Regarding Lord Glover’s absence, perhaps he’ll start Season 8 back at Deepwood Motte for some reason.
There were photos of the cast leaving Belfast after filming and Tobias Menzies (Edmure) was among them.
Since this will be the last premiere I wonder who will be at the post party?
A lot of former cast could be invited.
I remember that at one of the LA premieres that a number of unexpected people showed up at the party including David Peterson , who , I think, has not been at any premieres since, I guess?
It would nice if Natalia Tena was… there… seeing that her character got a Bum’s Rush exit from the show.
As I remember for season 5 we did not know that Thomas Wlaschiha was back until the premiere. As I remember he did not appear on the Red Carpet.
Yeah I feel the Faceless and Braavos has been left hanging, was hoping something would clarify. I don’t think Wlaschiha and Faye Marsay were just visiting the sets for 8, after all we do not know for dead sure what happened to the Waif.
Luka Nieto,
Finally, someone said it. Thank you!
Boojam,
I discovered Tom Wlaschiha was back for S5 quite a long time before the premiere- his agency put the info on his German CV. I reported it when we were back at the old site.
Sue the Fury,
That is true, my impression was he that he sure stayed out of sight season 5 even when it was known he was there. I remember his appearance at the season 5 premiere was a bit stealth too , I don’t remember his being on the red carpet, tho he may have been.
Glad to see a good chance for Edmure coming back. I don’t really care about the Faceless Men or Meera or the Iron Bank, they fulfilled their roles in the story and for me their arcs are closed. On the other hand, I was slightly annoyed by the abscence of Edmure news in Season 7. His story just doesn’t feel over. After Gendry’s return, he is the only real loose end for me. I have to give credit to D&D, they managed to close like a dozen of storylines, something that seemed impossible a few years ago.
Davos' Luck,
I was too, I would of being a bit bitter if they had never addressed Edmure’s fate in S8 as it is such a big plot hole that can’t be forgotten while on the other hand i’d Like to know to know why Jaqen just let Arya go but I won’t be bothered if we don’t find out
Yeah, I too was confused about Edmure being “back in his cell.” Jaime’s deal with Edmure to surrender Riverrun was expressly premised on Edmure (and his wife and kid) getting cushy accommodations at Casterly Rock. That peacefully negotiated conclusion of the siege was supposed to (I thought) demonstrate how the “honorable” Ser Jaime accomplished his objective without bloodshed. And yet he didn’t protest when afterwards Walder gloated that Edmure was back in his cell.
And if Edmure was still a prisoner when Arya hosted the Arbor Gold Wine Tasting Party, you’d think she’d free her Uncle Ed Tully. After all, she’s half Tully. and as Sandor reminded her in
S4e8, when they approached the Bloody Gate:
Arya: “You really think my aunt will pay for me?”
Sandor: “Aye, she’ll pay.”
Arya: “I’ve never even met her.”
Sandor: “Doesn’t matter. You’re her blood. Family, honor, all that horsesh*t. It’s all you lords and ladies ever talk about.”
So what happened to family, duty, and honor? Especially after Arya spent 6 or 7 seasons witnessing or hearing about all of her family members being killed or missing, you’d think she’d at least try to reconnect with (the last surviving Tully?) and free him once his Frey jailers were carved up. sliced up, or choked to death on their own blood.
How unASNAWP of her. Maybe there will be an explanation for Jaime failing to hold up his end of the bargain, and Arya strutting off after telling Walder’s stunned child wife to tell people “The North Remembers” and “Winter came for House Frey.”
P.S. Hypothetically, if all of Walder Frey’s heirs were dead, who becomes Lord of Riverrun? Edmure & Roslin’s toddler son?
COOL! Definitely some people I really wasn’t expecting to see in the first episode, but in certain cases hoped to (Meli!!, Yara, Tormund & Beric, Edd…although, in the case of T&B, they’ll probably either be in the very first scene or pop up later on as a “surprise.”)
Robin and Edmure, I did wonder whether we’d see again at all! And now I’m so very curious as to how and where and when everyone will appear. 8’D Hated Robin, but it’d still feel wrong to be left wondering “Hey, so what ever happened to…?” in the end. Totally agree w/ Ten Bears about Arya/Jaime/Edmure.
Glad it isn’t the overall season list, though. Wlaschiha and Huisman are a couple of names I’d like to see in there. ESPECIALLY Tom. I’m going on the belief that the Waif’s dead, but Jaqen’s role feels incomplete.
Basically I’d like some closure for pretty much every still-alive person who played any very significant role along the way (within reason.) HOT PIE is a MUST. B-| Meera would be nice, particularly after her unceremonious dismissal by Bran. As someone else mentioned, people like Illyrio or Quaithe or Salladhor Saan would be quite big surprises at this point. Especially the latter two.
Wow! That makes sense…yet even as an Honors English student, I don’t recall ever seeing “shoo-in!” For me the term always just created the image of something being kicked through a door. xD
Ten Bears,
Jaime proposed that Edmure deliver Riverrun and then be allowed to see his wife and child again and be sent to Casterly Rock. Edmure denied that deal, so the deal changed. Jaime then said that if Edmure delivered Riverrun, he wouldn’t murder Edmure’s child. Edmure accepted. As far as I know, Edmure’s child is still alive, so Jaime kept his end of the bargain.
Unless they screw with (ignore) how the FM and the faces work in ASoIaF then the person that was the waif is deader than shit. The waif killed Lady Crane wearing a young man’s face, removed it and then chased Arya as herself. Arya took the waif’s true face meaning she’s dead.
It would be seemingly possible for another FM to wear the waif’s face… but then, it wouldn’t really be the ‘real’ waif anymore…
You don’t get much more closure than having your face cut off and mounted on a wall.
I can see them ruining the Arya/Jon reunion with some poor and weird dialogue we’ve come to expect from the show. Then force some more when Dany (the most boring character in the show) has to meet everyone, all the while sidelining the more interesting characters who are portrayed by the better actors too.
What else. Oh the Ironborn arc. They decided to demote one of the main baddies, well as of the latest WoW chapter, the main baddie of the books to this caricature pirate just so Theon can redeem his character.. after he had already found redemption after saving Sansa.
So more predictable fan service, no twists, no consequences.. just pure watered down drivel. But at least the CGI and the production will be cool I guess.
kevin1989,
Yes, freeing Edmure is a chance for Jamie to show that he is now making amends. And gathering the Tully army would prove that he is in Team Stark now (at least until they have defeated the Night King). I just love that arc. Maybe the first set photos show Jaime smiling at Edmure… The last time they talked Jaime told him, that he wants to go back to Cercei no matter the costs. And now he has abandoned her.
I think it is Ellia. If it was Lyanna – who should be the thrid Aegon? Greedy Reagar!
🙂
kevin1989,
Yes, freeing Edmure is a chance for Jamie to show that he is now making amends. And gathering the Tully army would prove that he is in Team Stark now (at least until they have defeated the Night King). I just love that arc. Maybe the first set photos show Jaime smiling at Edmure… The last time they talked Jaime told him, that he wants to go back to Cercei no matter the costs. And now he has abandoned her.
I think it is Ellia. If it was Lyanna – who should be the thrid Aegon? Greedy Reagar!
🙂
Even for me as a German it is crazy to see him talk German!!! 🙂
I always think: Come on, tear off your face! Show them you are the manyfaced God! 🙂
Ten Bears,
Maybe Arya didn’t know that Edmure was there. That’s why she didn’t free him. She didn’t know of the dead Boltons and Sansa’s and Jon’s return to Winterfell. Hot Pie had to tell her about that. Maybe it’s “You know nothing, Arya Stark” now. 🙂
Will this be the first time Gemma Whelan has appeared , red carpet wise, at the premiere premiere?
Katharina,
IMO the main reason why Arya didn’t free Edmure was that the showrunners didn’t know what to do with him. Had Edmure been freed on screen he would have had to go to Winterfell and that would have messed the entire plot.
So, I guess we can assume that Arya despised he uncle for surrendering Riverrun to the Lannisters and provoking her great-uncle’s death and therefore decided that he deserved to remain in his cell. And I really hope that Edmure would be freed by his wife Roslyn: the Frey girls deserve some redemption, although it should be Jaime who turns him north.
I assume they will muster a joined Lannister-Tully-Frey army. The showrunners have already established that Lannister soldiers have no love to Cersei. When Arya said she was gonna kill her, they simply laughed – they thought that was impossible especially for a little girl but they had nothing agains the idea. Besides that, other Lannister soldiers showed interest in the box at the Dragonpit and in general the commons were shown to take the threat of the Great War much more seriously, than the elite (e it the nobles or the maesters). So, there’s a decent setup for the Lannister troops to follow Jaime, if he leads them agains the dead.
And Cersei is in a very difficult position now. She publicly declared that she was sending all her armies to aid the North; her gernerals received specfic orders from Jaime in her presence; if she takes a sudden U-turn by changing those orders, she risk an open rebellion. And I don’t think she ever planned to change those orders. IMO she simply planned to drag sending her armies to the North: that’s what she tried to tell Jaime. However, now, when Jaime demostrated his determination to honor their pledge, Cersei’s situation became even more complicated. Once again, she can’t risk issuing conflicting orders, she can’t reveal her plans, so, she might allow Jaime to use the Lannister army relying exclusively on Euron and the Golden Company. And that would create an interesting situation, cause Jaime and Tryrion might think that she chainged her mind.
All in all, I hope we’ll learn more about Cersei’s plans in the first episode.
I really hope to see Rosabell Laurenti Sellers return as Tyene. Bronn needs to rescue her before she succumbs to The Long Farewell. Then Elleria will sacrifice herself helping her daughter and Bronn escape.
Occasional misfire,
Euron isn’t the Big Bad in the books, he’s a cartoon villain. If Martin is trying to turn him into the Big Bad, that would be one of his biggest mistakes, and that’s saying something. In the show, Euron is a supporting antagonist, and that’s the way it should be.
I don’t think the Ironborn subplots are a zero-sum game. I do agree with you that they botched Euron’s book arc by turning him into a clownish braggart character, when there are many indications in the books that he is a powerful and sophisticated magic-user who will end up being one of the primary antagonists, on a level with Cersei. (There’s a very persuasive theory out there that he’s being set up to have a climactic magical battle with warging Bran, perhaps simultaneously with a dragon battle with the Night King at the God’s Eye.)
But I don’t see why you’d blame that demotion on a more fully realized redemption arc for Theon. There’s no reason both Ironborn characters couldn’t continue to be developed in parallel. And I’m sure I’m not the only one who would not have been satisfied with Theon helping Sansa escape as his wrap-up. That would have felt like a perfunctory end for such a complex character.
To conclude that one Ironborn (other than Victarion) was sacrificed to pump up the other is connecting dots that, to my mind, simply don’t go together.
I dont care for those those theories. They contradict what the author has said in interviews about Dark Lords vs. white heroes. He says point blank he’s not interested in juxtaposing good guys vs. bad guys.
Come through, Sweetrobin!
Firannion,
Occasional misfire,
If Euron was made more clownish in the show, that’s not because of Theon but rather because of Cersei. Show!Cersei is much more intelligent and formidable than Book!Cersei who looks just like a selfentitled and paranoid fool and who definitely needs a darker partner to boost her evilness. Meanwhile, show!Cersei is a vilain in her own right, so it makes sense that she gets a lighter jocker-trickster parner. And all in all, we haven’t seen the last of Euron, yet: he may still surprise us exactly because he doesn’t look like a serious threat.
Nickelhead,
While that would be nice, I think way too much time has passed for that to happen.
I think there are legit leaks out there.
I’m about to crash and won’t be able to read this thread for at least 24 hours… but I’m thrilled about Tobias Menzies!!! And not remotely surprised, tbh. I’ve written about it before, and will repeat myself: I’ve been looking forward to a Jamie-and-Edmure reunion. I really didn’t think they’d just leave that hanging with no resolution.
Ten Bears,
Presumably one of Walder’s child-sons or child-grandsons. The men were killed, but no boys, of which there must have been some as he was permanently popping out heirs, or rather, getting a poor teenager to do it. I doubt Edmure’s boy was the first boy after that long line of dead Frey men. A boy Lord Frey is the most likely explanation – one who will be too inexperienced, young or frightened to be any real force to be reckoned with.
This is good news! 🎉I miss Tobias, he’s a highlight for me every time he graces the screen no matter how small the scene is and his Edmure exchange with NWC’s Jaime was superb.
Che,
Ten Bears,
There’s been no indication on the show of any trueborn sons of Walder Frey other than Black Walder and Lothar, neither of whom were indicated to be married or have children of their own.
Even if there are young children of cousins or bastards out there, none of them would have as strong a claim to Riverrun, The Twins and the Riverlands itself as the trueborn grandson of Hoster Tully and Walder Frey.
There’s a reason why Walder demanded Edmure as the only acceptable alternative to Robb for Roslin’s hand in marriage. Because any offspring would grant him and his family more legitimacy over the Riverlands.
And I think at this point in the show we should be adopting the Occam’s Razor approach. There’s no need for unnecessary complexity at this stage. If Edmure returns and we know for a fact that his son exists, then his son is most likely to be considered the legitimate heir to the Riverlands.
I’m not sure if they would have gained control of Riverrun itself, since that appeared to be under Lannister jurisdiction last time we saw it and there were still Lannister soldiers in the Riverlands last season keeping the peace. But I think it’s safe to assume that Edmure’s son would be shown to have the strongest claim, if Edmure himself is unable to unite the Riverlands.
And bear in mind that he’s the cousin of the Stark kids and Robin Arryn, which presents opportunities for politicking and alliances that some random Frey kid doesn’t.
How thrilling Edmure is back. I had given up on that because there was no mention of Menzies except at a party. He has a relationship with Jaime by now, so I hope Jaime releases him from wherever he’s been pent up. Since Edmure has been a prisoner since Season 3, probably with less than kindly treatment knowing the Freys, I hope make-up shows him as a ravaged pale shadow of his former self. D&D may yet spring Howland on us. He’d be middle aged and mystical by now so probably they could age up Leo Woodruff (the actor from the ToJ scene in S6). Maybe they’d even bring back Meera as his protector and traveling companion.
Maybe not by name, but I just rewatched the S1 episode in which Walder complains bitterly to Cat about how he had all these sons and daughters whom he needed to marry off, and House Tully didn’t consider them good enough matches.
And a grandson is specifically mentioned as being betrothed to Arya as part of the deal for Robb’s army to cross the bridge.
Firannion,
It was a son, Waldron, that Arya was supposed to marry “when they both come of age”. I think we can assume that if Arya is now old enough to murder all of the Frey men, then Waldron was probably old enough to be murdered.
As you say, nobody was interested in matches with the Freys. So the likelihood of there being many trueborn grandsons that would outrank Edmure’s son is low.
GRRM will probably concoct a more gruesome way of definitively clearing out the Riverlands line of succession if he goes down a similar route in the novels.
You misunderstood me. I was saying that you guys have made the point several times that the term “feature length” can mean anything, and that we should take it with a grain of salt.
I didn’t say that you were the ones using the term.
Arya only killed the men who were at the feast. She did not kill any children or women.
You’re right, that may be the way the show is playing it. It’s weird though, because in the novels, the interaction goes down pretty much the same way, with Jaime eventually threatening to catapult the baby over the walls, yet when Edmure gives in, Jaime does let him go to Casterly Rock.
So the deal didn’t really change, in the books.
I’m guessing they changed this in the show because they knew that in early Season 7 they’d have Casterly Rock being captured by Unsullied. So they just didn’t know what to do with Edmure in that situation.
She was posing as Walder for two weeks, and as a serving girl for some time before that.
We know this from dialogue in Episode 1 of Season 7 where Arya, as Walder, mentions it’s been two weeks since the previous feast, the one Jaime attended, after which Walder was murdered by Arya.
So after that much time, there’s no way Arya doesn’t know.
Luka Nieto,
Actually there is another explanation:
This quote was from a 1928 article, tho the chickens being ‘shooed in
sounds right too.
English is a frustrating language, but fascinating as well!
Absolutely. And knowing Arya, there is no way that she didn’t release Edmure IF he was there. It would be like her to go after the feast and open the dungeons and freed everyone. Jaime had intended to hold Edmure in Casterly Rock, but in 6.10 WAlder told Jaime Edmure was back in his cell, which implies he’s at the Twins. Who knows? Maybe Jaime, appalled at how idsgracefully the Freys had treated Edmure, had him sent to Casterly Rock afterwards..
Stark Raven’ Rad,
Given that Edmure is quite clearly a traitor for trying to hand over the Blackfish to the Lannisters, she’d be as likely to cut his throat or let him rot as to set him free.
Guess who’s getting a redemption arc!
YOU get an arc! YOU get an arc! YOU get an arc!
costello,
Exactly. We can safely assume that Arya was too angry of her uncle to free him. And plotwise, Edmure couldn’t be sent to Casterly Rock, otherwise the Unsullied would have freed him and brought to Dany or Jaime would have taken him along, when he was preparing for the attack. Eitheir way, Edmure would have had to be brought to King’s Landing, where he would have been an unwanted complication to the plot. On the other hand, Edmure being left in his cell by Arya serves the plot very well. It sets a similar arch to Edmure as Theon had last season: both of them know that they are cowards despised by their own kin but both of them will find courage to overcome their weekness for the loved ones.
No, we can’t! That’s a huge leap to make.
First of all, Arya did not see the negotiation handing over Riverrun as we did. The only version of how that all went down that she’s likely to have heard is the Freys’ version. After all she has experienced – and especially having seen and been very troubled by the mummers’ twisted dramatization of what happened to Ned and Sansa at Kings’ Landing – Arya is not going to take any story she hears at face value. Remember, unreliable narrators and false conventional wisdom are core themes of this saga. Learning from hard experience to spot them is key to character development here.
Even if she did have access to a verifiable account of the story, why should we assume that Arya would side against a member of her own family for making a politically expedient choice when his baby was being threatened? She is on a mission to right the wrongs done to her family and to rejoin those who survive. She did not condemn her father for making a false confession to save Sansa. She has seen people tortured. She knows that good people can make bad choices when put in untenable situations. So why would she jump to the conclusion that her uncle is a traitor and should rot in a dungeon?
Moreover, we have no reason to believe that Arya has any preference for the Blackfish over Edmure, or indeed any reference to her ever having met either of them in her life. At most, she’d have heard affectionate reminiscences about Brynden from Catelyn.
Even if Arya were somehow persuaded by what she overheard from the Freys that Edmure behaved badly in that situation, it would suit her character much better to set him loose on the condition that he come to Winterfell with her and answer to the rest of the family. The idea of her cutting the throat of a family member for a dubious political choice seems absurd to me.
He didn’t want to hand over Blackfish to the Lannisters, and the Lannisters were not intending to kill Blackfish.
Edmure was the Lord of Riverrun, he simply ordered his men to surrender, and he did it to protect his son.
Blackfish just chose to die.
Also, I don’t know how Arya would know any of this.
She was not in the tent with Jaime and Edmure.
Arya wouldn’t know anything about what happened during the siege of Riverrun.
And in any case, Edmure didn’t surrender the castle out of cowardice, but out of love for his son.
Arya can understand that. Also I doubt she actually cares that much about Riverrun being surrendered, she’s never even been there.
As for Blackfish, she never met him, and he stupidly chose to die, so Edmure cannot be blamed for that.
Young Dragon,
You need to re read the books my friend. I’m sure GRRM has it covered.
The main story was naturally coming to an end, with Jaime clearing up after the war. Dany is also no closer to invading Westeros.. until the Kingsmoot chapter when Euron gives Dany a feasible route to Westeros. After the Kingsmoot everything is shook up again. Reach gets invaded. Then in the WoW chapter of the upcoming battle of blood, Euron becomes the main antagonist as needed after Tywin’s death. The story is becoming more and more fantasy driven, so the likes of Twyin, LF and Ramsay don’t quite fit. Bran also needs an antagonist. Euron fits the bill.
Inga,
They could have powered up Cersei and still had a decent Euron (who was a secondary villain). But the writing is just poor on the show. It is not just Euron and the Ironborn.. we’ve seen it with Dorne, Jon Snow, Stannis and Jorah.
As the show became more of a fantasy, IMO, they need more than just a silent zombie King and they need more than Cersei. Especially going against overpowered Dany with a massive army, fleet and until recently in the show 3 dragons.
Firannion,
Nick20,
You haven’t been paying attention. I agree that Edmure was driven by love but so was Sansa when she wrote that letter. And look what Arya made of that. She’s a strong person who despises weekness. She wanted Sansa to behead the northern lords for a small rant over the fact that their king was going on a suicide mission to persuade Cersei that the threat was real – the very least, she wanted Sansa to scare them to death for “insulting Jon”. In her eyes showing understanding was totally unapropriate. So, the same standards apply to good-for-nothing uncle Edmure, I guess. After all, he was really weak. A stronger person would have killed himself to avoid being used as a tool against his family: he could have starved himself to death instead of simply rotting in the cell or he could have fallen of that knife the Freys held at his throat or he could have jumped off the stool when he was standing with a noose on his neck, etc. He didn’t. So, Arya had every right to leave him in his cell.
Besides that, at that point she knew nothing about the Battle of the Bastards and that her familly reclaimed Winterfell. Had she known, she might have acted differently, but she didn’t. So what would have been the point of freeing uncle Edmure in such circumstances? She was on her way to King’s Landing planning to take out Cersei: she couldn’t burden herself with a good-for-nothing uncle and there was not other place Edmure could go. So, it was pretty reasonable to leave him where he was and give hime a chance to work it out himself. After all, Edmure has a wife and Roslyn can free him as effectively as Arya if she deems him worthy. BTW, I really hope that Roslyn does that: the Frey women must be given a chance to proove that they are better than the Frey men.
Occasional misfire,
Overpowered Dany managed to lose all her Westerosi allies thanks to Tryrion. She doesn’t need an overpowered antagonist with a Hand like that:)
But sure we can agree to disagree, if you like book!Euron. I found him distasteful, so I don’t miss him.
Inga,
Yeah tbf she did lose her allies, but at the same time there seems to be no real consequences for any of the main characters. She still has 2 dragons and a pretty powerful army. It is just boring tbh.
I’m actually team Cersei at this moment in time. At least Lena Headley can act to make up for the god awful writing.
Firannion,
Really? I never knew that. I always thought it meant like forcing an ill-fitting shoe onto a foot, using a shoe-horn. Meaning to force the issue.
Yours makes much more sense to me. Thanks 🙂