Another cast member joins Itálica shoot & The Mountain shows off his new outfit

Cersei 1

Oh, spoiler addicts, how fiercely are we longing for the days in which Game of Thrones filmed along the mountainous coast of the Basque Country, which offered bays, peaks and cliffs from which clever observers could oversee almost any filming. Conditions in Southern Spain couldn’t be more different, as the flat terrain offers no high ground and the locations in Seville and Itálica are tightly closed off anyway. Nevertheless, here at Watchers on the Wall we are still able to offer a few spoiler-light snippets.

Before getting into all the fun stuff, let’s take a look at Emilia Clarke‘s Instagram page. On her day off, Clarke had a loving message for the country of Spain and its people:

Now, let’s actually move on to the spoilers. This warning is a prerequisite, but the spoilers are truly minuscule today, so even spoilerphobes may want to read on:

Yesterday, yet another Game of Thrones actor was sighted in Seville. We may have believed the 17 cast members involved in the Itálica shot were more than enough, yet arriving to the hotel after a night out with Rory McCann and Daniel Portman there was Staz Nair, who plays Qhono, last seen vowing to Daenerys in “The Book of the Stranger.”

Introduced in season six, the Dothraki bloodrider only appeared in three episodes. Qhono’s brief arc consisted of going from mocking Daenerys to vowing to her. We have already been shown evidence that the bloodrider will have a larger presence this time around, and this only seems to confirm it. In season seven, Qhono could be the show’s “go-to guy” for Dothraki matters, very much like Rakharo in the first few seasons. In other words, we probably shouldn’t expect him to be a major character, but when Daenerys needs her Dothraki horde to do something she’ll likely talk to Qhono.

Today, things got a bit more exciting, as we got a glimpse into the hermetically sealed set thanks to a certain strongman. HJWeapon sent us the following screen captures of Hafþór Björnsson‘s Snapchat, which show Liam Cunningham in his usual Davos get-up (Why is everyone but Davos getting a new outfit? Poor man!), as well as Björnsson having his FrankenMountain makeup applied. Oh, and Ser Gregor is wearing new clothes:

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Presumably the new outfit will end up being largely obscured by the Kingsguard armor, so it’s quite a lovely inside look, especially as Gregor appears to be emulating his queen. The fabric is strikingly similar to the one used for Cersei’s new dress, seen at the top of the article —You know, the one she wore on the occasion of her unexpectedly explosive trial and ensuing coronation. Now the Mountain is following suit. Isn’t that cute!

As always, we encourage discussion in the comment section, as long as you remember unreported leaks must NEVER be discussed below. For that, please go to the forums.

82 Comments

  1. Morgoth:
    Hodor!

    I’m endlessly disappointed that the traditional first comment hasn’t turned into “Hold the door!” since season six. Come on, people. It just has to happen 😛

  2. I vote against a useless first comment of any sort. It’s just something to scroll past.

    More and more I’m thinking that the Dragonpit is going to be used for various meetings between different groups of people at different times and for different reasons.

    It’s an amazing location and could probably be re-dressed to serve as different sets as well.

    I’m also loving how Cersei and the Mountain are beginning to dress alike. They’ve grown closer and closer since she got that murdergasm from watching him crush a Sparrow. Maybe they’ll get married.

  3. Gotta say I’m seriously having spoiler withdrawal symptoms this week… we literally got bombarded with amazingness for two weeks so it’s hard going back into a normal routine! Where’s PAP4U when you need him/her? ?

    It seems from the makeup application that the Mountain will be wearing his helm. But looking at the small buttons on the collar- are those supposed to be Cersei’s face? They look like a woman’s face with short hair… or am I just seeing a face?

  4. Apollo: Gotta say I’m seriously having spoiler withdrawal symptoms this week… we literally got bombarded with amazingness for two weeks so it’s hard going back into a normal routine! Where’s PAP4U when you need him/her?

    The first paragraph was my way of acknowledging the spoiler withdrawal we are all suffering right now 😛

  5. If Quotho is coming back.. so be it…
    But pleaaase, give him a better wig and beard and we will be please

  6. When I saw that video last night I didn’t even recognize Staz, just thought that there’s a dang good looking guy. I mean, not as pretty as Rory, but…..

  7. It’s interesting that Hafþór Björnsson has grown a beard. The last we saw the Franken-Mountain (or Wight-Mountain), he was shaved and I don’t believe that walking dead gave their facial hair growing. So I join those who suggest that the Mountain will be wearing helmet in the Dragonpit scenes. On the other hand his costume implies that he might not be wearing his armor or at least that Cersei has developed a totally new armor for her guard(s).
    One way or another I believe that the Dragonpit will be the last place we’ll see the Mountain: with Sandor, Brienne, Jaime, Jon, and all the others around, Cersei’s champion has no chances.

  8. HotPinkLipstick:
    I vote against a useless first comment of any sort. It’s just something to scroll past.

    Well, scroll past it then! As long as it’s nothing harmful or hateful, I don’t see why you’d have a problem with first comments.

    Luka Nieto: I’m endlessly disappointed that the traditional first comment hasn’t turned into “Hold the door!” since season six. Come on, people. It just has to happen

    Hehehe! I actually have slipped a couple of “Hold the Door!” in previous posts, but just “Hodor” is a bit faster to type.

    Re: post. Thanks for the news. I’m really excited to see FrankenGregor again. Haven’t lost my hopes for Cleganebowl.

  9. Do we know what Almodovar del Rio will stand for? That starts shooting in a few days, right? Wednesday, I think.

  10. Aemon,

    We don’t know yet, sadly 🙁

    As far as I’m concerned, Almodóvar del Río is the greatest mystery this year, in terms of locations.

  11. Aemon,

    I see where you’re going with that. Highgarden or Sunspear would be my first choices, of course, except for the fact three out of the four directors were spotted scouting the locations with the showrunners. That points to Almodóvar being a recurring location throughout the season. Still, if we discount that, which is of course not definitive evidence, Highgarden or Sunspear return to the fore as the most likely options. Someone suggested it could also be part of the Citadel complex, which is a theory I like.

  12. Luka Nieto,

    I can think of ways in which Highgarden or Sunspear could stay relevant for the first 4 episodes or so (first 4 episodes = 3 directors).

    But yes, Oldtown could work too!

  13. Apollo:
    Gotta say I’m seriously having spoiler withdrawal symptoms this week… we literally got bombarded with amazingness for two weeks so it’s hard going back into a normal routine! Where’s PAP4U when you need him/her?

    It seems from the makeup application that the Mountain will be wearing his helm. But looking at the small buttons on the collar- are thosesupposed to be Cersei’s face? They look like a woman’s face with short hair… or am I just seeing a face?

    I don’t think those are buttons or studs. Looks like they are layering the perforated leather over chain mail on the piece around his neck.

  14. With Qhono also there, I fear Grey Worm is going to die in the battle/ambush. 🙁
    It would be cool to have Cersei and all his men wearing black.

  15. spoiler addicts ?
    that has a nice ring to it. I was really glad when Hafþór Björnsson stayed on as the Mountain after season 4, I grew tired of changing actors. I Love spoilers, makes the wait so much easier, along with Award shows, Black sails, WestWorld, and walking dead XD

  16. There is so much to look forward to next season, I can’t even begin to guess what I look forward to seeing the most :p

  17. Luka Nieto,

    IMO, Almodóvar de Rio should be rather Sunspear (or some othe Dornish castle), than Highgarden. As the Lannisters are supposed to take Dorne (based on the In Production Trailer), the show will need some location for an action sequence. And later that location might serve as a temporary base for the Lannisters’ army and/or Euron, cause it’s legit to expect his involvement in the Dornish offensive.

    As for the Queen of Thornes, her story may get wrapped in Dorne as well: that was the last place we saw her, and the showrunners can easily keep her there until Euron’s surprise attack (again IMO it’s the most probable scenario for the fall of Dorne).

    But I still wonder about the Trujillo castle: maybe in the show it will form the same location with Almodóvar de Rio? Or it might serve as the Red Keep? And who will be the female extras cast: slaves/war captives/Cersei’s detainees?

    (I am also wondering about the Trujillo Castle)

  18. Luka, thanks for all of the great reports! I have not read the leaks (and never will) so I appreciate the set photos and related spoilers.

    About the new costuming for Ser Gregor – I love the way the designers use fabric and other elements to show the characters’ relationdships. The perforated leather (with minor variations) has appeared in costumes for Tywin, Cersei, and now The Mountain. To me, this illustrates that Cersei is trying to emphasize that she is Tywin’s heir and his equal. But, as many have said, she is not as smart as she thinks she is! Can’t wait to see what happens.

  19. Inga,

    I don’t know that I would say he has no chance if it came to that. I mean dude is something to be reckoned with for sure. Would they let him kill that many main characters off? Of course not, but if it took 4 dudes and a sneak attack to take down Dayne, I’m thinking the mountain is safe until a huge battle where he can get overwhelmed by lots of ppl or wights. The sparrows weapon didn’t even fully penetrate his armor on that free shot.

  20. TheLannistersWin,

    I believe the Mountain will be overwhelmed by the lots of people: a public revolt is a very probable scenario IMO. There has to be a reason why Mel said to Gendry that his blood has power to make kings and unmake them. And now we see the guy living in KL uncaught, and he has made himself a war hammer… I would be surprised if he misses a chance to avenge his father and half-siblings now, when odds are in his favor.

  21. Why is he wearing an expensive and elaborate costume if it is going to be covered by the armor?

  22. Haha!! I have to wonder though… who do you think changes Franken Mountain´s clothes?? Qyburn? Himself? Some unlucky bloke?? Questions that need answers 😉

  23. Jack Bauer 24:
    Why is he wearing an expensive and elaborate costume if it is going to be covered by the armor?

    Good point. He could very well wear his pajamas or bermuda shorts and a tank top. So my guess is that he’s getting out of that armor at some point.

    And could someone please ask Staz Nair to grow a real beard this time? Last season he kind of looked like someone dressing up as an orthodox priest for the carnaval (the wig+beard, not the rest of the outfit -otherwise so many people would turn to Orthodoxy!)

  24. Damn that makeup on the mountain must take forever to put on. I kinda want him to take off his helmet at the Dragonpit and see everyone’s reaction to him.

  25. I love that the actor who plays The Mountain has an instagram for his dog. Please tell me I’m not dreaming lmao.

  26. Apollo,

    Sigh, back to reality. This is my second year of following filming spoilers and last week was just incredible. Thanks Luka.

  27. Matthew The Dragon knightI Love spoilers, makes the wait so much easier, along with Award shows, Black sails, WestWorld, and walking dead XD

    And don’t forget: The first season of American Gods will be aired before GoT S7! I’m almost more excited about that.

  28. Mel:
    Damn that makeup on the mountain must take forever to put on. I kinda want him to take off his helmet at the Dragonpit and see everyone’s reaction to him.

    I wonder how they can do that without reminding us all too much of Darth Vader’s death scene.

  29. Calling it now.. Frenkengregor gets vaporised by one of the dragons. “Mountain blowing in the wind like leaves”…

  30. It is interesting to read reports of several different characters filming at the Dragon’s pit.
    Wonder what sh!t goes down there.. a siege (that would be amazing)? An amnesty?

    Perhaps we will find that it is a place of strategic importance, which is why so many characters end up there, like storing the royal armoury.. or more wild fire caches…

  31. Priscila:
    Luka Nieto,

    I also have the same problem, fairly often. Sometimes I open Wotw on my smartphone and there works just fine.

    Myself (and many others) have been having this problem ever since WotW moved onto a new server sometime ago. i.e. New posts sometimes don’t get shown. This BTW is with Firefox on a desktop PC.

    I found the only way to get around this was to clear the browser recent history and/or empty out the cache and then reload the page. It then works fine for a while until the cache maxes out again. A bit of a pain as I also have to re-enter name * and email * – but simply entering the first letter in the boxes finds the info. Its just something I accept now and have to live with.

  32. Apollo:
    Calling it now.. Frenkengregor gets vaporised by one of the dragons. “Mountain blowing in the wind like leaves”…

    You may be right about that!

  33. https://instagram.com/p/BMZPafBDagm/

    Kit yesterday filming in Seville. He’s wearing the same outfit as when he was at Dragonstone and when he left with Liam, Iain and Joe on that boat.
    Even though it’s a little bit odd that Iain went with them, I’d say it’s pretty safe to assume they were leaving for the Dragonpit right ?

  34. keltia,

    Are you from France, Keltia, or do you have strong ties there? I thought with your name you must be from one of the Celtic countries – though of course the Celts travelled over Europe before they ever settled Ireland and Britain….and I mustn’t forget Brittany which is in France. It’s a long time since I visited Brittany but I noted some of the place names are not that dissimilar to Welsh and (British) Cornish ones – Pont Aven though it would be Pont Avon in Welsh I think. Of course there is La Cournaille is Brittany too.

    Firannion,

    I don’t mind an occasional nod to another film or series – as long as it’s not laid on with a trowel, though I suppose Star Wars is a bit lowbrow to pay tribute to – though I did watch the first two films back in the day and liked them in a guilty pleasure sort of way. For all I know Han Solo could still be in suforzen.

  35. Irina Stark,

    Don’t think it’s for dragonpit. They went North but where is the question. If they went to dragonpit, Dany would go with them, they’re on mission.

  36. Geralt of Rivia,

    Exactly .. besides why would Jorah go with them ? It’s just plain weird. I’m pretty sure Dany had a say in the matter of who goes and who stays but Emilia had the day off yesterday and Kit did not which kind of cancels out the Dragonpit probability. North is the better guess. The biggest problem we’ve got at the moment is sorting the scenes and the information we’ve got thus far chronologically, it’s really confusing for me.

  37. Irina Stark,

    It’s pretty tricky: Jon’s departure should be in Ep 5 (based on the fact that the scene was filmed by Matt Shakman); I can imagine it as closing sequence. But the Dragonpit sequence is confirmed for Ep 7, and hence there is a major question regarding what Jon and his team are going to do in Ep 6 (which is supposed to be epic).

    Moreover, the same question can (and should) be asked about Dany and her team too. The scene with the Ironborn beating Theon filmed by J. Podeswa can be in Ep 1, but it can equally be in Ep 7 (before the Dragonpit sequence). I am pretty sure that this scene will end up with Theon becoming the leader despite all the bashing. I imagine his arch as follows: he fails in the first half of the season (loses the naval battle and maybe even gets captured by Euron: Yara may simply get killed in the battle or commit a suicide – I can hardly imagine her as a captive, though anything is possible); then by Ep 5 Theon makes it to Dragonstone somehow (if he is captured by Euron, Euron may turn him into Reek and send to Dragonstone to deliver some message form Cersei, maybe even the invitation to the Dragonpit “parlay”); Theon will have a hard time at Dragonstone (we saw a bit of that), but it’s quite possible that he will arrive with a plan or develop it on the spot (if he assumes Reek identity in Euron’s captivity, it will be only a mask, because this time Theon will have that inner belief that he is fighting for the right thing) and he will sell that plan both to the Ironborn and to Dany.

    But if I am right, in the beginning of Ep 7 Dany will be still on Dragonstone. And therefore there is the question about her story in epic Ep 6. Maybe Ep 6 will be the ambush-battle? Dany’s failure to achieve decisive victory may serve as a set-up for the “parlay” in the Dragonpit: Cersei is also supposed to incur heavy losses after all, so a parlay (or a parlay-ambush) may be in her interests too. However, Tyrion’s suicide mission to KL implies that Dany’s situation will be dire already in Ep 5, so I don’t know. On the one hand this situation may be the result of Euron’s earlier attack and the loss of allies in Dorne and the Reach combined with Cersei’s threat to incinerate the city, but on the other hand I don’t know: some things just don’t line up and I really can’t wait to see how D&D are going to make them work.

    (Sorry for a long post and hopeless attempts to predict unpredictable, but it’s just so dull without filming spoilers).

  38. Irina Stark,

    Oh, it’s interesting that Emilia Clarke had a day off and Kit Harrington didn’t. If Dragonpit is a set for some action/fighting sequence (as I expect) that makes sense: filming of a fighting sequence doesn’t require Emilia’s presence all along, even if her character is supposed to be present; closer shots will be focused on Kit-Jon and other fighters; viewers (Dany and Cersey) can be filmed separately.

  39. Apollo:
    Calling it now.. Frenkengregor gets vaporised by one of the dragons. “Mountain blowing in the wind like leaves”…

    Huh! That makes a certain amount of sense! And gives my boy Drogon (I hope), something more to do! 🙂

  40. I am just popping in to say I can’t believe how much spoiler info is out this year. Well, at least it looks that way, I haven’t read any, but every time I visit the site there is an article that has “spoilers” or “major spoilers” attached to the title. I just wish for once you people could experience the joy of watching something for the first time and actually be surprised by it. But I also understand that you’re not as dedicated of fans of GoT as I am (especially LordParrandus), so I don’t begrudge you for it.

  41. Sorry to go a bit O/T but I just stumbled on this interview with Liam Cunningham, on 7 October this year with the Irish public broadcaster RTÉ late night talk show. Liam’s bit starts at about 00:47:00 and ends about 01:00:00. So about 13 minutes you need to watch.

    The host and Liam don’t actually talk about GoT at all, I think GoT is only mentioned when the host introduces Liam. Liam talks about his experiences visiting refugee camps and meeting the people.

    http://www.rte.ie/tv/latelate/20161007.html

    Yes, I know actors only play their characters, but that was Liam being pure Davos there. The common man with the true moral compass and compassion. Nina Gold did a brilliant job casting Liam Cunningham as Davos because in real life, he is a bit of a Davos himself. (And I love the salt and pepper beard!)

  42. talvikorppi,

    I adore Liam. I’ve always liked him, but that bit with Conan O’Brien at ComicCon a couple of years ago sealed it for me. ? He, Maisie, and Lena seem to be very invested in humanitarian causes.

    Not related but I had the most bizarre dream last night – Lena and I were at University (?!) and I couldn’t find the right room for my class. I finally got there, and she was making hamburgers. Sometimes I really wonder about my dreams! ?

  43. Irina Stark,

    Emilia had the day off two days ago and the picture with Kit is yesterday so that doesn’t tell us anything.Oh and also Jon is wearing those clothes all season so that doesn’t mean anything either.

  44. Dame of Mercia: For all I know Han Solo could still be in suforzen.

      Qu

    I think I changed by mind from “suspended animation” and then changed it to “frozen” – or was supposed to. I can always notice other peoples’ mistakes better than my own!

  45. Pigeon,

    haha, sounds like a nice dream. Last night I dreamt of my mum (a professional artist), my art teacher from junior school and my art teacher from high school, all yelling at me to use this or that medium, and all the while I was grinning and sharpening my artist quality coloured pencils. Weird.

    OK, I’ve been drawing a big map of Westeros, the Narrow Sea and western parts of Essos, to be framed (50 cm x 70 cm) and presented as a Christmas gift to a near and dear one. So uses of coloured pens and pencils have been on my mind. I’m quite pleased how the Frostfangs and the Mountains of the Moon turned out on my map. They look like proper mountains, like on atlases.

    I’ll link pictures to my great map after. After I’ll have coloured in everything. Even now, it looks great. Very much like the maps in my school atlases in the late 1970s, early 1980s. Topographical and colourful. Pointedly NOT political.

  46. talvikorppi,

    Ah great, I would love to see them! I used to do ancient art replicas freehand (vase paintings, wall paintings, sculpture) for our Museum of Antiquities on campus, and I was never happier than when sitting on the floor between thousands of years old artifacts, mixing colours to make the perfect red figure match. Good times.

  47. Pigeon:
    talvikorppi,

    I adore Liam. I’ve always liked him, but that bit with Conan O’Brien at ComicCon a couple of years ago sealed it for me. He, Maisie, and Lena seem to be very invested in humanitarian causes.

    Not related but I had the most bizarre dream last night – Lena and I were at University (?!) and I couldn’t find the right room for my class. I finally got there, and she was making hamburgers. Sometimes I really wonder about my dreams!

    Haaa 😀 😀

    I hope it was a quarter pounder with cheese !

  48. Pigeon:
    talvikorppi,

    I adore Liam. I’ve always liked him, but that bit with Conan O’Brien at ComicCon a couple of years ago sealed it for me. ? He, Maisie, and Lena seem to be very invested in humanitarian causes.

    Not related but I had the most bizarre dream last night – Lena and I were at University (?!) and I couldn’t find the right room for my class. I finally got there, and she was making hamburgers. Sometimes I really wonder about my dreams! ?

    Personally, I would not eat any hamburger made by anyone resembling Cersei Lannister. No way of knowing who’s in it.

    I’ve been out of college for 41 years now, and I still have those nightmares about not being able to find my classroom. Usually it’s like April and I’ve just realized that I’ve forgotten to attend class since February. The guilty conscience never goes away!

    Very much agreed about Liam, though. I love that he is so politically engaged, and that he is using the financial freedom that being in a successful show gives him by actually traveling to places like Syria and seeing for himself what’s going on, talking to the people who are affected. He’s the real deal.

  49. ygritte,

    Always happy to oblige.

    Some of you might have noticed I wasn’t a fan of S6, but I’m hoping S7 blows me away. With 3 less episodes and 2 extra months of writing time, I think D & D will come through.

  50. Dame of Mercia,

    Thank you for your interest. I’m sorry that it’s a full day after your comment, but, en bref, my maternal grandmother was Welsh. I lived in France for a few years and spent many holidays in Brittany. drinking Chouchenn (a fermented apple & honey drink like mead), singing Breton songs and dancing on the beach.

  51. keltia:
    Dame of Mercia,

    Thank you for your interest.I’m sorry that it’s a full day after your comment, but, en bref, my maternal grandmother was Welsh. I lived in France for a few years and spent many holidays in Brittany. drinking Chouchenn (a fermented apple & honey drink like mead), singing Breton songs and dancing on the beach.

    Hugs from France !

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