As you may expect, the series finale, “The Iron Throne”, has become the most-watched series finale for any program in Sky, the United Kingdom’s subscription broadcaster for Game of Thrones. But there is a twist! Another episode was the most watched overall…
It has often been stated that Game of Thrones would not have worked if the child actors had not been spot on, given the many major plotlines that focused on children. Among the many child actors throughout eight seasons of television, you would be hard pressed to find an actor who made a stronger impression on the fanbase than Maisie Williams.
Game of Thrones may be over but with the prequel-spinoff filming starting, a new adventure has begun. It’s been quiet of late, but news has started to trickle out of Northern Ireland. So it’s time to shed those post-season glums and dive back into filming-season glee!
Rumors are still flying about the title of the new show- it’s unconfirmed whether the title will really be Bloodmoon, or if that’s a production code name, or if that’s entirely a fan fabrication.
News that’s more firm: Local sources tell us that people have been coming and going to Titanic Studios, but production activity is light overall in the area. The large cliff/wall set that’s been in progress for months on the lot is still being worked on, we’re told.
Actors cast in the spinoff have also been spotted in the country, and have been helpfully sharing it on social media!
A Game of Thrones Virtual Reality Experience based on classic Season 7 episode Beyond the Wall has been released for Viveport Infinity.
So this is it, the last post in a long journey of posts.
Let me start with the end before I end with the beginning: I am leaving you all, gentle readers. This is my Watchers farewell.
It’s been real, it’s been fun; sometimes it’s even been real fun! But all good things must end. Valar Dohaeris, yes, but ultimately Valar Morghulis. I regret nothing.
The ending of any story is equally steeped in the ending itself and a contemplation of everything that came before it. It is why such a heavy weight is imparted upon the conclusion of a story. Not only does it have to carry itself as an episode of television but it also has to sufficiently honor the narrative foundations that led to its creation in the first place. It is a tricky balancing act and few series, if any, have ever achieved that perfect ending. Whether or not the ending to Game of Thrones accomplishes both critical beats is going to be debated for quite some time, in part a consequence of its legacy as a true pop culture phenomenon.
Author George R.R. Martin himself said recently that, given the days-long conversations about the ending he had with showrunners Benioff and Weiss years ago, the end of Game of Thrones wouldn’t be “that different” from what he has planned for future books in A Song of Ice and Fire. However, some who disliked the controversial ending held out hope for a different endpoint altogether, not just a different execution. One of these contentious points was Bran becoming king of the now Six Kingdoms; a twist that, according to Isaac Hempstead Wright (Bran Stark), comes straight from Martin!
Game of Thrones is over but you can relive it all over from beginning to end, as Season 8 is now available to own on Digital Download. In addition to the series’ last-ever six episodes, the purchase includes the extraordinary two-hour documentary Game of Thrones: The Last Watch, directed by filmmaker Jeanie Finlay, and two bonus featurettes: “The Long Night” and “The Final Season”.
There have been many post-mortems about Game of Thrones since the series finale aired, some by the cast members themselves. Today we bring you what I believe are two particularly strong interviews with Sophie Turner and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, in which they reflect on the end of not only an era of television but of their lives, and defend two controversial choices made by their characters, Sansa and Jaime, in this final season.
The old adage is never work with children or animals, but with a character like Bran Stark, Isaac Hempstead Wright had to be both! He might have been one of Game of Thrones’ most unlikely players, but here’s to the actor who took us all on his journey from curious child, to Three-Eyed Raven, to ultimately being the king of Westeros.