Tonight I was fortunate enough to attend the season 8 premiere of Game of Thrones in New York City. The experience was unforgettable and, guys … episode 1 is spectacular.
I was invited by HBO and Magic Leap to ride the HBO luxury bus, the Dragon Wagon, from Boston to New York City.
After two hours of playing trivia games and rewatching some of Game of Thrones’ most pivotal episodes-
THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A FUN TRIP #DragonWagon @plhalbur #thanksfortheinvitation, @HBO & @magicleap pic.twitter.com/wF3p58G7Wp
— Watchers on the Wall (@WatchersOTWall) April 3, 2019
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-we stopped at HBO headquarters where food was served and Urban Decay artists offered us Thrones-themed “touch ups.”
We then headed for the red carpet at Rockefeller Center. While not every actor chose to greet fans, the vast majority did, including:
Kristian Nairn
Jerome Flynn
Isaac Hempstead Wright
Mark Addy
Jacob Anderson made a point to high-five every single fan present.
Liam Cunningham made a point to shake everyone’s hand.
Conleth Hill
Pilou Asbæk, who was friendly and engaging, even if the only good photo I took of him doesn’t indicate it.
Maisie Williams
Iain Glen
Charles Dance
Alfie Allen kissing my hand was a personal highlight.
Nathalie Emmanuel
Gwendoline Christie
Emilia Clarke
Peter Dinklage
George R.R. Martin
Nikolaj Coster Waldau
Sean Bean
Natalie Dormer
and Rose Leslie
Then, it was time to file into Radio City Music Hall to watch episode 1 of season 8.
So.
I’m not allowed to disclose plot details or anything even remotely resembling a spoiler. So, I’ll just say this: episode 1 is exactly what I hoped it would be. It wastes no time in giving us those moments we’ve been anticipating but it also artfully incorporates callbacks to earlier seasons, which serve as poignant yet thematically satisfying reminders that this is the beginning of the end.
Hodir for the throne
Thank you so much!
Congrats Petra!
The dresses were all awesome! Matched their personalities. So jealous of your hand, Petra! Can’t wait to see Ep. 1!
Amazing! So glad to hear ep. 1 didn’t disappoint. Not making the wait any easier for us though.. 🙂
Niceee, happy for you, what you can say about the soundtrack of the Episode? and the actors were great as always or even better?
And please do a ranking of every FIRST Episode since season 1 to 8. Where premiere season 8 goes?
Please be honestidade haha 😁
Awesome photo of you & Alfie! Hope you had a great time!
Btw, The Wrap said no episode title was given https://www.thewrap.com/game-of-thrones-premiere-nyc-season-8-world-radio-city-music-hall/
How exciting. Thanks for sharing! 😁
Petra, first off, your hair is amazing. I love it. What great photos! I’m so excited! Alfie and Charles were my favorite snap shots. All the ladies look like goddesses. Missing Lena for sure. Hope she feels better soon.
Thanks for capturing all the pics! What an awesome experience. Sooo hyped for this show.
No D&D on the red carpet??
They were there. Saw some pics.
Hibberd at Entertainment Weekly tweeted basically the same review of Ep 1.
I can’t imagine how much fun you had. My jealousy and envy cannot be measured. Lol. Seriously, congratulations.
I’m even more excited about episode 1 now by Petra’s no spoiler review. I watched most of the live feed that jack sent and now with Petra actually being there and posting this article, I felt closer to the action. Gwen’s dress looks amazing.
What a fantastic group of people. Thanks for bringing us along for the ride! 😊
No videos!? Kidding, your pics are great! What a great experience for you!
There’s been at least one minor leak/spoiler I’ve seen, but it’s not about the episode itself. Hopefully it stays that way.
Jack Bauer 24,
Nooooo! My wait continues!
I’m right there with you 😀 I thought they would hold off on the other titles until closer to the airing dates, but I am surprised the Red Carpet came and gone without the premeire title.
Thanks Petra for posting all the awesome pics!!!!
First off, congrats Petra. I don’t know many that deserve an honor of this magnitude, but you’re surely one of them. The entire event seemed very well orchestrated and fun.
I have no idea why HBO is keeping the episode titles so close to their chest. Maybe the titles are fairly spoilerific.
Gwendoline Christie’s dress deserves it’s own post.
My goodness.
I submitted what I thought was a legitimately decent list of guesses for the episode titles back when we were all posting in that particular thread… but in light of how quiet HBO is on this, I’m almost wondering if this is a better guess:
8×01: “Jon Rides Rhaegal and Tyrion Summons the Stark Ghosts to Join the Pending Battle”
8×02: “Cersei Suddenly Conquers Essos and Yara Kills Euron”
8×03: “The Battle Episode and Here is a List of Who Dies”
8×04: “Bran is the Lord of Light and So Is Hot Pie”
8×05: “The Other Battle Episode and Here is Another List of Who Dies”
8×06: “The Iron Throne Explodes and Jaime, Brienne, and Tormund Get Hitched”
Thanks, Petra, and congratulations!
I want an episode titled “Gwendoline Christie is Amazing”.
Just so you all know….there’s at least 3 people willingly violating the NDA from tonight. They can all confirm based on their pictures they were at the premiere and saw the episode so what they are putting online is probably legit. It’s going to be everywhere by the morning, and it’s going to be tough for 2 weeks to avoid it.
I don’t know why people have to be like this and desire to spoil things. But it is what it is I guess.
10 days is not 2 weeks, but yes your point still stands. I’m reading that there was no NDA though. They handed out these Varys pins that said “No Spoilers”, but that’s it.
That’s always going to be unavoidable with such large crowds. People just need to avoid the regular places that they’ll be discussing them – fortunately that isn’t here.
People that are going to immediately spill everything even when told not to shouldn’t be allowed to attend. Easier said than done I know, but maybe nobody other than those involved and most trusted should ever be invited.
Carice just posted on her Insta story a preview of the new theme. Wasn’t expecting that to happen.
Carice posted some of the intro on her IG story! https://instagram.com/leavecaricealone?utm_source=ig_profile_share&igshid=rl49xit4figz
Thank you for the fine photographs. “Ya did good, Kid! See. Real good.” I’m sure you were simply on cloud nine.
Nathalie Emmanuel is simply out of this world stunning in that exquisite red ruffled frock! My God. She is a vision of beauty and I love, love, love seeing her. Wow!
Yaass Petra, get it! So happy you had your moment with Theon and thank you for the pics!!
Also anyone else see Jason’s Insta story? 😂😂 “Khaleesi, I love youuuuuuu!!!”
I must preface this by admitting that I have zero interest in high fashion. In fact, as a feminist, I rather detest the fashion industry and its mission to make women feel bad if they don’t constantly replace perfectly serviceable clothes with brand-new ones because ‘Oh, that’s no longer in style.’ Screw fashionable. Forge your own style. Wear whatever makes you feel good, for as long as you want to wear it.
I am never one to go gaga over who’s wearing what on the red carpet. That said…by the Old Gods and the New, Gwendoline Christie knows how to rock a gown! And that may be the most amazing frock I’ve ever laid eyes on. Maybe it’s because she’s currently rehearsing the part of Titania, but she is so channeling the Queen of Faerie in that dress! Bonus: It even looks comfortable. And Gwen is a bona fide freaking goddess.
If Brienne of Tarth decided she didn’t want to have to choose between the men who truly appreciate her, who would gainsay her, really? She deserves anything she wants.
The ladies all look gorgeous!
The words on Emilia’s dress:
“Keep your door open for me; I might sleep walk into your dreams.” :O
Gwendoline Christie looks like she wants to carve you up and eat your liver.
To bad, now you have to wait 18 days ’till the next episode.
Awesome stuff. Less than two weeks to go…whoop whoop!
No one was more deserving to attend than one of our Watchers!!! Petra, I so love your posts, loved meeting you (albeit briefly) at Con last year, and am simultaneously gleeful for you and insanely jealous. SO happy about the moment with Alfie!!!
So Wonderful…..what an experience! So glad Iain made it
Wow that’s awesome! Thanks for sharing this excellent news (that the opener lives up to our expectations) and the photos. Who of the cast were you most impressed with in person (Alfie probably takes the top spot with the kiss 🙂 and did you see any others that waved or at least acknowledge the crowd?
Thanks
A slugfest of bad haircuts by the woman cast, sorry but i have to mention it. Especially Gwendoline looked like an exploded vacuum cleaner, although she is great as brienne of f… tarth (or was it an unfortunate wind of winter the moment you took the photo). It seems the premiere was a big success. Premiere of episode 3 and 5 should be at former ground zero.
I thought I saw Esmé Bianco go by quickly on the red carpet , seems she got a short video(?) interview , then sort of vanished ….
(Video interviews ? Where did those go?)
There is a pic of Daniel Portman but I totally missed him on the live feed , maybe it was that pixelating , amateur(?) video?
Alas I guess no Ben Hawkey or Ben Crompton ?
Did not expect to see David J. Peterson on the red carpet , was he at the after party?
He did get to one in LA after season 3 , I think.
So a friend of mine sent me a screenshot, it didn’t have a title, I thought it was theories about what’s going to happen is Ep 1, turned out it was a screenshot of a famous website where someone who had attended the premiere, posted the spoilers!
I usually don’t have a problem reading spoilers, but since it’s just 10 days away, I didn’t want to know anything especially the entire outline of the episode! I feel so upset right now, really wanted to fully experience the surprises and shocks 🙁 I wish some people were more thoughtful about what they send others.
I’m not surprised to see you posted your update already, you must be walking on air. What an experience! It was exciting watching everyone arrive on the live feed so I can only imagine how everyone felt being there surrounded by that amazing cast! Congratulations!
Oh how I wish to have been there. Thanks for sharing, Petra.
orange,
I just don’t understand this.
I mean, you’ve been allowed to have this amazing opportunity and experience and the only thing you really have to do in return and out of respect to the people who make this show, is to have the decency to keep your mouth shut about it for 10 days. How difficult is that? Seriously!
Fantastic! Thank you for sharing!
I’m so glad you got to be there, Petra! Thanks for sharing your photos!
Kay,
Thank you for this! I came here to see if anyone with better eyes than me had seen what it said! 🤣🤣🤣Petra, thanks so much for sharing your photos and experience!
Yeah, Nathalie Emmanuel is a goddess. Absolutely gorgeous.
Thanks so much for the report Petra! I have one question I wanted to ask about the opening credits, which I hope wouldn’t be considered spoiler related. I have been wondering if any of the actors previously billed as guest stars, like Jacob Anderson and Pilou Asbæk, would be upgraded to the opening credits as main cast members for the final season. Is this something that you would be allowed to comment on, on the basis of seeing the opening titles when you saw the episode?
Any bets Dany going to pissed off in episode 2? Probably why she’s not at Winterfell when it falls. Jon will not lie. He’s going to tell her. Perhaps Bran should remind them of the pact of Ice and Fire. A princess was promised to House Stark. Is that the prophecy?
Lol,
The soundtrack had a few particular standout moments. I am really excited for the s8 soundtrack
Peter. Peter. We can find you a tailor.
Let me help you, please.
Here’s a non-spoiler review which makes the hype even bigger:
https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/game-of-thrones-season-8-episode-1
Most striking quote: “Winter is here and the end is coming but still, somehow, like an elite long-distance athlete, Game Of Thrones has found an extra gear in the final furlong. Even the credits have had a surprisingly major upgrade. Apparently, budgets were increased significantly for the final season – and the result is movie-quality TV.
This is the best season opener in GOT history
That’s not a title handed out lightly (who could forget Arya Stark and the massacre of the Freys from last series). But for the sheer speed and quality of storytelling, for the amount of unforgettable moments and surprises, this is easily the best of the eight first episodes. Forget just moving pieces into place and laying groundwork for later: this is a proper episode that can stand shoulder to shoulder with any other, packed as it is with truly momentous, series-defining scenes. Judged against the 67 episodes that preceded it, this is almost certainly going straight into the overall top five. It’s that good.“
Petra, have you figured out yet how to get through the rest of your life without washing the hand that Alfie kissed ever again?
Dutch Maester,
I enjoyed this snippet as well:
Guest star Ian McShane famously said the show’s defining characteristics were “tits and dragons”. The predictable news for purists is that both make multiple appearances in episode one. Without getting too deep into spoiler territory, let’s just say the former are more numerous than the latter
Oooo! Mr. …Blackwell! Ouch! LOLOLOL
it makes me sort of happy that this community got honored with access to the probably most impatiently awaited red carpet in tv-history. hope you had a blast!
my thoughts about the leaking douchebags who could not keep themselves from acting like total pricks: they had a privilege and they abused it. still, i want them to have even more GoT related privileges…
the first is a meeting with Samwell Tarly.
the second is the use of GoT requisites. in this case, all of the grayscale crust Sam scratched from Jorah’s body (as far as not already eaten by someone at the Crossroad Inn). Sam himself will apply the yummy to their faces.
the third is a meeting with Septa Unella. Another Septa will do, if necessary.
the forth is the right to reenact one of Cersei’s most famous scenes in public, using Cersei’s original scene costume. as these losers are probably completely unexperienced in acting, practicing is scheduled until april 13th. the public is welcome to watch any time…
the fifth is the shooting of their big scene just prior to the tv premiere millions are waiting for.
the sixth is the joyful step into the light of glory: the scene will be featured among the extras of the season 8 DVD.
the nature of greedy and swell-headed oxygen abusers: they have something special, and still they want to fuck up the normal thing for others. get fucked by Toby, leakers!
I’d find it very, very funny if HBO took down r/freefolk. I’m actively looking forward to it! Acting like an oppressed minority because you read and spread leaks, good god…
Petra,
I bet you woke up this morning pinching yourself to make sure that last night wasn’t a dream! What an amazing time it must’ve been. The show will only last 8 years, but those memories will last a lifetime. Thanks for sharing the experience as much as you could!
Ser Shiz of Renia,
Check Gwendoline’s other pictures from the premiere. You’ll see she’s absolutely stunning! One could never believe she’s playing Brienne of Tarth.
https://i.redd.it/j9t5g6izu4q21.jpg
Quinton O’Connor,
THIS COMMENT.
Made my morning. Thanks for the laugh!!!
(For some reason I missed it last night.)
https://twitter.com/skyatlantic/status/1113560357707108352
There is another premiere next Friday in Belfast.
The only thing funny about that would be that they waited till the end of series to do it.
All hail the non-kneelers!
Anon,
You are what’s wrong with the world.
That’s harsh! She’s not a professional photographer. She’s a fan with a cellphone reacting as quickly as possible to a moving flow of people. I wish I got anywhere near as many nice shots of passersby when there’s a parade or something similar in my town.
Petra, pay no mind to the naysayers – ya done good and we are grateful to you for sharing your insider’s view.
Uh-oh. ‘Speed’ does not bode well. I don’t want the CliffsNotes version of the story. I don’t want visual bullet points. I want the narrative to have room to breathe, to sink in.
Not sure if this has been posted yet, but here’s a hilarious video of Jason Mamoa and Emilia Clarke from the after-party 😂
https://twitter.com/yeahclarke/status/1113617151724859392
Anon,
You do realise the actors on the red carpet aren’t waiting until everyone there has taken the best possible picture. At such moments, you only have a few seconds to take a picture while the actors are passing by close enough before other people are blocking your view.
It’s different with the pictures inside where the actors are all posing a few moments to give the professional photographers the chance to take a professional photo.
Can’t believe they’re still holding the title of 801, it is so unusual..
Firannion,
That doesn’t necessarily mean the pacing is rushed. It merely means that they are literally leaving time for no filler. Which is favorable.
One observation: The red carpet real-time arrival blurb-interview-with-GoT-cast-memeber by some chuckle-head is gone forever , I don’t remember it at season 7 , maybe season 6 too? (I know the individual ‘network’ interviews are still there.)
Edward,
Why “literally”?
death by chickenfire,
“get f*cked by Toby, leakers!”
______
✅
🚱🚱🚱🚱🚱🚱
I was wrong Gemma Whelan was at the season 7 red carpet.
Ten Bears,
A misplaced modifier at best. What I mean to say is that they’ve actively trimming any fat since we’ve only got six episodes to end this beast. So I don’t mind if the premiere (which are commonly regarded as slow, and table setting in the television medium) is a little on the fast side.
Anon,
Do you really think in the heat of the moment of a Thrones premiere, a fan is going to be focused on taking the perfect photo? Most of the photos are fine for what their purpose is. Which is simply to report on who attended. If you want professional photos by people who were PAID to do as such, you’ll find plenty online.
Re “Anon”
There’s no cure for being a cunt.
The photos are authentic – so what?
I like them, feels almost as if I was there too.
There are enough of trimmed and sterilized and rendered photos all around. I’m tired of them.
Thanks, Petra! Very happy for you to have that experience, and very grateful for you sharing it with us!
Cool to see Charles Dance!
busmans,
Thanks for posting that pix. I saw it somewhere else on the internet and just love it! Gwen, the dress, and her hair look fantastic. Love the “wings.” Thanks again for post!
(For more fashion photos, EW has a slide show on their site. It also gives a good look at who was there. I’m not good with linking things, sorry…)
Thank you Petra! Your photos are great and capture the energy and joy of being there!
Anon,
Sure, problems of the world won’t disappear, but one deaf tone remark less that’s trying to “objectively point out some camera faults while everyone else is just trying the enjoy Petra’s amazing experience” would make the thread so much better for this community – according to all the responses you’ve been given!
So you see, it’s really not about you. Never was. Only you are about you.
Thank you Petra for posting all of this. Now you just need to learn how to wash around that hand kiss mark :p
Good heavens. Spoilers are coming… We just need to stay off the net now.
cosca,
Supporting the big corp against the small community freefolk?! where’s the anti establishment, down with the rich, anarchy for all dude I came to know?! Lol
1. Did ASNAWP go from pink hair to purple hair?
2. Another commenter pointed out that MW has been rocking the “harajuku fashion.” (I had to look it up.) She certainly is!
3. I wonder what’s next for the Many-Faced Goddess/style icon?
It just feels weird this time because the Red Carpet was early. The first 3 episode titles for Season 7 were announced 8 days before the premiere, but the Red Carpet was 4 days before the premiere. We’re 10 days out now, so at least the premeire title should be announced by early next week. 8 days will be Saturday, but they probably won’t announce that on a weekend.
TormundsWoman,
I don’t get it. What’s (supposedly) wrong with Petra’s pictures? They look wonderful to me. 😍
Thanks for sharing your special never forgotten night, you lucky lovely #$@%;
I watched some livestream and enjoyed Indira and Pedro’s haming for the paparazzi and most definitely Jack, Sophie and Jonas addlib moment. Sean actually looks younger than his 1st season, and I can’t believe how all the GoT women are everyone of them goddesses period, throw in Mrs Momoa to boot.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2019/04/04/game-thrones-season-8-episode-1-first-look-review/
Never mind.
orange,
I was there. All I will say… the only significant “spoilers” for this episode are relatively insignificant. So whoever broke the rule… they’re a jerk, but HBO must have assumed it would happen and figure “oh well” having seen the episode…I’m already excited to see it again April 14th, so the few spoilers there are…won’t ruin it for anyone.
Damn that sucks! Please warn us with the name of website spilling the beans so we can avoid!
Great photos, Petra! Omg, what a dream experience – and thank you so much for posting these the night of!!
Omg that is beautiful!!! XDDDD
I don’t know if this has already been posted but this vid here is a lovely reunion of the Lannister family… looks like it was maybe shot in hell 😉 Omg, Charles Dance.
Also, the other videos from this photobooth (via the gameofthrones instagram link) are <3!!
Chilli,
I just saw red carpet photos on EW.com.
I like Petra’s better. 🙂
LOL Yes, Hot Pie is Lord of Light and Gravy. Let us pray.
https://youtu.be/JBhZOkJ2WtA
Good interview with Dormer. It’s interesting he says
I don’t know if he unintentionally spoiled or not but he said
Jack Bauer 24,
Only if they film in chronological order
I just looked at all the EW pics. Was Lena really not there???!!!
Wow, my post got moderated and it was merely a quote from the show, nothing else!
How ridiculous.
Yeah I realized after I posted that they don’t film chronologically.
It does seem early, they used to do like , what?, two or three ‘premiere’s , like there was a London and US one, one year, not sure about last year and I suspect no more this year ?
Wolfish,
She reported on Instagram that she was incredibly under the weather and that she was gutted to miss the premiere. She was truly the only thing missing from the epic night.
Oh, Petra is just a fan? I didn’t know that. I thought she was a photo-journalist.
Sky Atlantic said there’s a premeire in Belfast next Friday the 12th. Two days before the premeire https://twitter.com/skyatlantic/status/1113560357707108352
Edward,
They probably are still deciding what the better title is I think.
Or maybe they know that the reveal of the episode title can be used as marketing. And it will be revealed when they think it’s best to be revealed.
orange,
I don’t want to know, I think what Petra said is the best information I could get.
Firannion,
+1 Those pictures are amazing, 10x better than I ever could.
Firannion,
Speed is not something bad, it all depends how it is depicted. for instance, Dark Knight is very fast but worth every minute, TWD season 1 was pretty fast and worthwhile, the latest took their time too breath and those are horrible.
Don’t forget the story is pretty streamlined now if you compare it to season 2 for instance. So I expect we will feel the speed but it’s not really fast. I mean we can have a perfect scene with Arya and Jon interaction. But I expect it to be max 3 minutes, more is overkill and would destroy the meetup.
Anon,
She’s just a moderator of a fan-site. She does not work for a photograpical company in service of HBO. So if HBO will put shitty pictures on their site please blame them but not Petra.
Yes you can blame if she put in a stupid horrible blog that is written wrong. But she never did such thing. Her stories and blogs here are always a delight to read.
I don’t think you meant it mean, so if you’re smart I would apologize to Petra, I think you understand what we are trying to say.
Anon,
Is this Time magazine? Knock it the hell off with the trolling.
Anon,
Petra is one of the contributors who regulary writes articles for Watchers on The Wall. And she was so fortunate to be invited for the premiere.
I like these shots better than some of the others I’ve seen because they aren’t just posing. It makes me feel like you’re close up enjoying meeting the amazing cast.
Also thanks WotW for being a place I can go to still get news without having to worry about spoilers.
YES ✅✅✅✅✅✅
kevin1989,
“I mean we can have a perfect scene with Arya and Jon interaction. But I expect it to be max 3 minutes, more is overkill and would destroy the meetup.”
______
Three minutes is all it’d take. I don’t think their S1e2 farewell scene was longer than that, and it was perfection.
JS: “I’m going to miss you.”
(Okay. Prove it.)
Absolutely! Gwendoline’s a stunning woman under any circumstance, but when I saw that now-famous shot of her in that dress, my jaw legitimately hit the floor. Absolutely breathtaking!
Jack Bauer 24,
No. It is very rare that the final scene an actor shoots is his/her final scene of a film or show.
Or…. you already knew that ! 😛
Edward,
Thanks!!!
It would have been nice to see the rest of the Starks too, though…
This must have been such an amazing experience! Can understand they would make everyone sign an NDA because there has been virtually nothing about it the press and I’ve only seen the one speculation/spoiler out on the net. I still don’t understand why they never shared the premier title but I’d guess we get that very soon anyway.
They wouldn’t do it, but I think it’d be hilarious if the title was “Untitled”. Dany might not, though. 🤪
Wow thanks I’ve struggled to see many reviews or teasers out there on social media other than one Jack B posted from the Telegraph. This one definitely builds the hype although concerning it hints at the death of Tyrion which keeps coming up now – he’s one of my favourites so I really hope this doesn’t happen.
orange,
The community on reddit are simply doing what wotw used to do which was get and share spoilers. as long as people who want to remain unspoiled don’t go to that subreddit they should be fine. But I’m alright with people wanting and sharing spoilers personally as long as they respect that there are viewers who don’t want it. I honestly don’t believe spoilers will reduce viewer numbers at all. (It sure didn’t for last season which was entirely leaked long before it aired)
Pigeon,
haha that made me 😀
olli,
It’s just that infamous subreddit .
*squeals like a thirteen year old girl but in high valyrian*
Maisie Williams has become the anime character she was always meant to be 😀