Watchers on the Wall reader Josh tipped us about this exciting reveal: a fan visited the Titanic Studios Game of Thrones sets in Belfast, Northern Ireland… and he wasn’t shy about sharing pictures of what he saw.
We don’t get one but two new throne rooms, one being an existing set which has merely undergone a crucial change and the other actually being completely built from scratch. As always, keep reading at your own risk, as there are mild spoilers below the cut!
The adapted set is quite impressive, but the new one even more so. Take a good look:
In case it’s not clear, the first picture shows the Red Keep’s throne room under new Lannister management. As Cersei Lannister is now queen regnant, above the Iron Throne a Lannister lion now adorns the long window, which has always been there, mainly to provide dramatic lighting and make the throne look appropriately imposing, though adorned with a seven-pointed star. After Cersei’s actions in last year’s finale, one can understand why she would decide to get rid of that particular ornament.
The most exciting picture must be the other one, however. If you don’t recognize the location, that’s perfectly understandable, because it’s an entirely new set. However, the flysch detailing reveals exactly what this is supposed to be: These rock formations perfectly match the real ones in Zumaia’s Itzurun beach that you can see in the picture above, as well as the props built locally to embellish the site further. Indeed, this is the Dragonstone throne room, which Daenerys will sit on just as her ancestors once did.
Hold the Door
Both Throne rooms look absolutely stunning 🙂
I’m literally stunned! The Dragonstone one looks so perfectly Dragonstoney, and I hadn’t even considered the Iron Throne room would undergo changes with the new dynasty but it makes perfect sense, and it looks great!
Wow!!! Those pics are a great find! And just Wow!! The one on the right of the “Dragonstone” throne room is amazing! Way to go with the comparisons to Itzurun beach cave, Luka. Have really been loving all the filming reports.
That moment at a party when you’re a bit late and only the most uncomfortable chairs are left…..
Love the flysch throne with the triangular (pyramids, anyone?) window behind it! I cannot wait to see this season!
Uh, that Dragonstone throne is fug, lol. Granted, we’re only seeing the throne and not the entire throne room, and I get what they’re going for, but it’s still ugly. Not surprised Cersei adds the Lannister lion to the KL throne room. Gods, she’s gonna be unbearable.
After the Great Pyramid and Dragonstone, Dany must be itching to install herself in a building with proper 90 degree walls and windows 😛
I really like the rock formations from Dany’s throne room, they look fantastic indeed. Not much of a fan of the throne itself though.
So that other spoiler post is true? With the Sansa rumor or what? Confused.
Anyways, Dragonstone looks great! Not regal at all but nice.
I totally understand why Cersei removed the SEVEN pointed star: can’t bring up good memories in her head, lol. I wonder where the new season will start? If it will take off right where season 6 ended, or if time has passed.
Nice!
Of course Cersei would remove the seven-pointed star!
The Dragonstone throne room looks very cool. Strangely modern, not all regal and scary, but accessible, and symbolic of the island. It is the seat of Daenerys’ Tragaryen ancestors before they even became Kings of Westeros. It looks like there will be a few indoor Dragonstone scenes with her holding court.
EDIT: Surprising that Cersei is keeping the Iron throne that Aegon fashioned, since she has no connection to the Targaryens. Shouldn’t she have made herself a new Chair? 😀
I don’t know… Sometimes their designs look quite contemporary, like the Citadel reception building or sometimes clothes as well IMO. Normally I don’t have a problem with it because it underlines the fact that it’s not a historically acurate representation of the Middle Ages, but a fantasy show, but this Dragonstone throne room looks like a mixture between an interior from The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and some brutalist church from the 50s…
Wow, the Dragonstone throne room looks amazing! I like the natural rock formation but I’m not super into the throne itself. Maybe they’re still working on it. Still pretty cool.
Moe,
lol no it isn’t.
I’m disappointed that they’ve decided to stick with the Ikea-style décor from Meereen for Dany’s throne room. Reminds me of the uncomfortable, chilly, sterile-looking Danish Modern furniture that was in vogue in the early ’60s. Very unmedieval-looking. But at least it doesn’t have an orange cushion!
More intriguing to me is the fact that the peak of the upper layer of flysch is shaped like an elongated dragon head.
I wonder if this throne is based on something from the books? I think it is pretty plain, but if there is a story behind it, I would be interested in reading/hearing it.
I wrote a very off topic, verbose post about Sansa and her quite different book to show storyline but I spared everyone and deleted it.
I just don’t see D&D writing in a Ramsay child with Sansa in a story arc that was a minor character’s in the books. It just seems like it would cause a domino effect on everything. They’ve already created a Sansa that has to be much different that she will be in the books by ‘making her Jeyne’ in season five and thus all of her words and actions in season six were based on experiences with Ramsay she doesn’t have.
Beyond that though, it feels like a very silly thing for them to have her be pregnant and not specifically make it known at least by the end of season six. Perhaps it’s only suppose to be a handful of months in their world but it’s still a lot to accept as a viewer if the last time it could have been conceived will be more than two years ago our time.
Amazing throne room. So rustic. Looking foward a scene between jon and dany there.
Great stuff
The Dragonstone one looks quite nice, will be interesting to see if she adopts a Crown too
Will be interesting to see what kind of Throne Jon Snow is placed upon and if there is a new WF set for it, as we never saw Robb in Winterfell obviously nor his crows
In the Wo5K with the exception of Renly they seemed to err away from giving non-KL claimants crowns – probably to emphasise Kings Landing as the chief seat of power – but it would make sense to do so now given both Jon and Dany are much more fundamental to the super-arc etc
Ghosts Lunch,
It won’t be anything fancy. Besides don’t think Jon is gonna sit on that chair for too long. He’s more of general, warrior type of King.
Oh wow .. the Dragonstone Throne takes my breath away, purely because I still can’t wrap my head around the fact that Dany will no longer be a Queen of Essos, but a Queen of Westeros indeed.
It’s gorgeous, strong but still delicately elegant and the white dragon scale-like traingles pointing down remind me of Dany’s dress pattern in S5 episode ‘The Gift’.
It’s so fitting for our Silver Dragon-Queen ! Literally brings tears to my eyes !
Thank you for the post Luka and thank you Josh for the photos !
That’s an ugly throne lol. Sorry Dany.
I’m excited for the Lannister sigil on KL in the opening intro.
Love Dany´s throne room!
It reminds me what they did in the Eyrie with the trunk.
aeris,
If you’re referring to the unreported leaks, that’s not really a fair comparison. It was more like WOTW reporting on and inadvertantly confirming several things talked about in them every day for 10 days running, not just one single spoiler being similar that swayed people on their legitimacy.
Problem is Dany’s vision had the Seven Pointed Star version. Is this a continuity mistake or are they admitting the vision was just a fever dream and not foretelling the future?
Interesting how fake looking these sets are in unnatural lighting and no filters. Im sure the final filmed scenes of the Dragonstone throne will look great.
SnowLives,
I’m pretty sure they were guided by the books at the point when they filmed the vision at the House of the Undying. Now that the series is passed the books, many of these aspects come as quite a surprise, especially Cersei being queen. D&D discussed the ending back when they were filming season 4, I don’t see how they could have known about the shift of events back in 2011-2012, unless George wanted a Lannister to sit on the Throne before even starting the Winds of Winter. If he did, then that either means it is a mistake from their part as a detail they overlooked or it’s intentional, to leave Cersei’s rule as an even bigger shock for the future.
I don’t think it cancels out the veracity of the Vision. I still strongly feel like it is a foreshadowing, a foggy one maybe but still a foreshadowing, of Dany’s future, just like Cersei’s encounter with Maggy.
aeris,
Sue answered that question above, quite succintly: “lol no it isn’t”. That should tell you everything you need to know sbout the legitimacy of that spoiler and the credibility of that site. When they aren’t publishing falsehoods, they literally copy our entire articles almost word for word.
SnowLives,
The real answer is probably that the set designer thought about this change only this year, and wasn’t aware of future plot developments back in season two. Even if she had known, It’d have been a pretty big spoiler to show the Lannister sigil above the throne.
Some people appear to be deadset on Cersei’s coronation being a show-only development… But I think that’s just because none of us predicted it. It seems like a pretty big deal to me. I’ll be surprised if TWOW doesn’t end (roughly) as season six did for Cersei.
Luka Nieto,
I remember how it was reported here that there would be known characters on Bolton crosses during BOTB, and we all saw how that turned out.
Clob,
No woman that had been abused the way she was would be jumping in the sack with another man for a very long time. And as you said, she didn’t marry Ramsey in the books so what would be the point now of her being forced to give birth to a monsters child.
aeris,
Lol you don’t need an inside source to know that Sansa being pregnant with Ramsay’s child at this stage is total BS.
aeris,
We already answered. What more do you want? Yes, I pinky swear we are not lying to you and are sure of what we are saying.
Oh Dany! Taking the seat on the throne before you even win the kingdom is not the wisest thing to do: contact with the reality may be too painful, when you fall down and hit the ground…
On a serious note, there’s quite an interesting pattern with the thrones and those who sit on them in GOT. The IT is the ultimate symbol of power, but kings are not the only ones who sit on it: I believe that during Robert’s rule his Hand Jon Arryn spent much more time on the IT than the king, and in the show I can’t recall Robert sitting on the IT at all – we only saw Ned sitting there in his absence.
Then we saw the throne of the Vale occupied by Lysa Tully-Arryn and her poor sickly boy: both of them looked like an abomination to the very concept of rule.
We never saw Renley at Storms End, but when he was holding a tournament, he was siting on an elevated platform, so I guess it counts as a throne as well (and we know how it ended).
Stannis never sat on a throne or anything like that: he sat at the table and I think we saw him standing more than sitting.
In Dorne the throne was replaced with a wheel-chair which was moved around and the whole arrangement of the Water Gardens which stood for the throneroom was rather informal.
And last but not the least, the North had nothing close to the throne or the throneroom whatsoever. There was just a table, the rulers sat at the head of that table, but that’s all. There was no specific chair and there was no crown too (at least in the show). As for now, it looks like the KITN (be it Jon or Robb) is the only king in the Seven Kingdoms which can afford going on barehead and not attached to any chair. So, yes – back to the roots: it’s not a crown or a throne that makes a king – it’s a sword used for defense of the realm.
Omg again with the Sansa bullshit.She is not pregnant find something else to troll with.I don’t know why this one refuses to die.Appart from there being no logic,they are not going to reveal she is pregnant in season seven when she was last with him in season five she would already given birth by now.It’s not happening.
SnowLives,
It’s probably a slight continuity issue. The vision Dany saw in season 2 in the HOTU was repeated in Bran’s visions in season 4 and season 6. So, it is probably real but they couldn’t use the lion and give the plot away.
SnowLives,
The showrunners didn’t plan that far ahead when they filmed the sequence. Also, the lion would be a major spoiler.
ghost of winterfell,
Not Ramsay’s child of course, that was just a stupid guess from the site. Of course the father would be someone else then.
Rob,
There is no mention of throne room in Dragonstone in any of the books. It seems the most important room in DS is that with the painted table. No mention about any chair in DS even in TWOIAF. It is quite a surprise for me.
On the other hand, each Lord should have a place to sit, shouldn’t they? lol
Jenny,
Jesus no one’s saying it’d be Ramsay’s.
aeris,
Do you really think that Sansa, after what happened to her, would sleep with someone like LF??, since I cannot see any other daddy option. Sorry but that’s just as ridiculous.
And even if for some crazy ridiculous reason she did, Sansa would be smart enough to take precautions like, you know, moon tea.
The most logical answer is: any Sansa pregnancy talk is BS.
Kay,
I think Cersei always wanted to be a Targaryen. Her dream was to marry Rhaegar, which she tought was the most beautiful man in the world, and sit on the Iron Throne. She gave up on her dreams and is now living as Tywin.
SnowLives,
The thing is… Bran had the same vision of the iron throne in season 4.
Irina Stark,
Pretty sure dany’s vision of the iron throne is real since bran saw it too. https://youtu.be/8gh0-4hOzyw?t=76
befitting throne for Daenerys Targaryen the most powerful person ever appeared in game of thrones, the queen of essos and westeros
Anybody else notice that the Dragonstone floor seems to have hexagonal slabs.
An elongated hexagon is used as a symbol/marker of the Rh’llor faith and/or Asshai in the show. Mel’s magic necklace, Quaithe’s mask, other red priests/priestesses’ necklaces, detailing in rh’llorists’ clothing…
I’m not saying this means anything, it’s not the same shape hexagon, but it just jumped at me.
talvikorppi,
Well….the Targaryens came from Essos originally so…
Ellie,
Don’t chide someone for their opinion about a character. Not everyone has to be in love with Daenerys, Tyrion or some other characters.
Daenerys’ throne looks very symbolic of dragons, and it emphasizes her as a dragonqueen.
To me, it’s just showing that her vision was not 100% crystal-clear and accurate. That it was murky and she was wise to turn away from the visions of the throne room and her husband/child both, and return to the reality of her dragons calling her. On the other hand, when Melissandre swore up and down that she saw herself at Winterfell, she assumed that it was Stannis who had secured victory, and she therefore had Shireen burnt. Of course, her vision was right AND wrong to different extents, but because she was such a believer in her visions, Shireen had to die the most horrible death possible.
aeris,
In theory, who then? It doesn’t make any sense. Literally nobody would make sense based on timeline, characters or possibility.
BunBunStark,
Sort of like our real life male counterpart? Hope the wildfire gets contained
Green Apple Fossoway,
Another thing is, if there has always been a throne at DS, why didn’t Stannis sit on it while he was there? He is not the kind of guy who would feel shy about sitting on a throne he thought he was entitled to.
Inga,
Inga, why would Daenerys not sit upon the throne in the place she was born. Her family’s seat? She was Princess of Dragonstone long before she became a Queen in Essos. That is her rightful place, after all.
aeris,
Interesting!
Gotta say I agree with you- really not blown away with the DS set. I was really looking forwards to seeing Dany’s new throne room too. Still, it’s only a small party of the set- maybe the rest will be as impressive as the others.
On another note…
Castillo Almodovar del Rio has LANNISTER flags!! In addition to Lannister guards and Greyworm on site.
pic.twitter.com/lbB7WuPHOc
So- will this be Casterley Rock or a fallen Highgarden, or other castle?
Why would he sit on the throne in Dragonstone as an independent King when he was the subject of his brother, Robert? He wasn’t King of Dragonstone. There hasn’t been one for 300 years or so, ever since Aegon’s conquest, only a PRINCE of Dragonstone. But before Aegon’s conquest, for about 100 years or so, the Targaryens ruled DS independently, and must have had a throne room. Now Daenerys has claimed DS as an independent ruler, so she is using the throne, as an actual THRONE, and not just as somewhere to sit on.
Looking forward to see the throne room of dragonstone in a completed form ..iam sure it will be great .
And Another one of continuity error from show runners with KL room ..
Kay,
After Robert’s death, he considered himself to be the king of all of Westeros and Dragonstone was his seat (S2 and 3). I really doubt he would have felt shy of claiming the throne at DS for himself. Plus, as far as he knew he was the only person with Targaryen blood alive. Which would have given him another incentive to sit on that throne.
If you’re referring to the Kingslaying flashback last season, in which the throne room looked like it does now instead of how it looked during Robert’s reign; When Joffrey rebuilt the throne room in season two, he strongly implied he was merely returning it to its original state, “fit for a conqueror”.
But after Robert’s death, Stannis wanted the IRON THRONE at KL. As for DS, we didn’t see Stannis holding court at DS; he may have been using it as a seat offscreen to conduct affairs related to DS as a vassal. He was battle-planning, strategizing, and so was in the map room. I don’t know, to me, it’s not a big deal that we will NOW see the throne room, because Daenerys has “conquered” DS, and will be receiving others while there, like King Jon Snow of Winterfell. So it’s actually a THRONE, and not a vassal seat. Anyway, as I said, it’s not such a big deal to me.
Just like how Dany also wants the IT at KL, but still doesn’t mind holding court at the Throne Room at DS.
It doesn’t bother me much either, even though it is a bit weird to have not heard of this throne room so far. Maybe they will provide an explanation on screen, even if they don’t it’s fine, I was just making an observation.
Still, I don’t see much difference between Dany and Stannis’ position at DS, tbh. They both claim/ claimed the right to sit the IT and DS is/was their temporary seat.
jdtargstark,
Yes, you’re right. I absolutely love that scene, it’s the only thing in this series that has always raised a question mark in my mind that I can’t find an answer to. What does it all mean ? So many interpretations, so many bits and pieces I find so difficult to put together, especially since it doesn’t present the book scene in it’s entirety, but I still think it’s pivotal for her future.
Kay,
ghost of winterfell,
Does it really matter ? He was a brilliant military commander and maybe he just didn’t care about the DS seat, he had more important stuff to do, like leading a huge army.
Stannis is dead af anyway, just let it go. He was a piece of sh*t anyway, killing that wonderful, little girl.
It’s all about Dany now and she can’t call the Lords of Westeros for a meeting in the tactical map room, can she ?
Luka Nieto,
I mostly missed. Dragon skulls in that scene..it would have been nice to see them..
And I believe having lion sigil in day’s vision Would have been spoilery
Are you sure that these photos of the thrones are legit? When I compared the Iron Throne photo at the top of the article with the one from the software designer, I could see that the images are reversed.
A CLASH OF QUEENS!
The seven-pointed star might be a continuity mistake, but I would also consider:
– it might simply have been the quicker and cheaper option to leave the set with the star when filming the visions, even if they already knew Cersei would have changed the decorations in the future;
– it might be a wider symbolism. The total destruction and de-legitimisation of an institution based on kingship and on the Faith of the Seven (we all know by now that the Seven do not exist, and that the “Old Gods” and the “Lord of Light” are something else from what we expected). If we got to see the Lannister lion, it would seem like whatever is coming would only wipe out the Lannisters.
Moe,
Clob,
I imagine It would of taken quite a few months for them to get ready to fight the Bolton’s travelling around the North, then it skipped time again from Dany’s fleet painting their flags of like 1000 ships to her sailing, it’s also gonna take a few months for all those ships to make it to Westeros. So unless Sansa is close to bursting in the first episode, which I doubt. I’d say you don’t need to worry. People all claimed that Sansa was pregnant last season too, all because in a picture Sophie had just ate and was a little bloated in her costume. It’s just like people claiming every year for about four seasons that Lady Stone Heart would be in it.
I’m not sure about the geology of Dragonstone, here. Isn’t it supposed to be a volcanic island covered in obsidian? That’s where they mine it, anyway. The flysch looks cool, but as a sedimentary rock it doesn’t seem quite right to me.
SnowLives,
thank you! i’ve had similar thoughts.. does that make daenerys visions untrue?