The final episode of Season 7 delivered the reunions and revelations that were eagerly-awaited not only by GoT fans, but by the actors as well. Below are some insights the cast shared on the significant moments from “The Dragon and the Wolf.”
Arya has moved on.
The Hound was clearly pleased to hear Arya was back home in Winterfell, revealing an affection rarely seen in Clegane. Maisie Williams, who plays Arya Stark, believes Arya feels similarly toward her old companion. “I don’t think there’s any hard feelings anymore,” Williams offers. “What Arya experienced in Braavos took a far worse toll on her. The feelings she had about the Hound were very immature, and I feel like she’s grown up since then. If they met again, she’d hopefully just be an effective killer with him, rather than against him.”
Euron may be a bit out of his league.
When asked about the Euron/Cersei conspiracy plot-twist, actor Pilou Asbæk says, “I didn’t see it coming. The way I acted it is, ‘It’s gone. I’m out. See you guys. This is the most scary stuff I’ve ever seen, and I’m going back to my island, and you should go back to yours.’ I f**king meant it. Euron is blinded by Cersei.”
Loyalty and winter may not go hand-in-hand for Bronn.
The walk to the dragonpit gave Tyrion and Bronn a chance to exchange their version of “pleasantries,” and actor Jerome Flynn was happy to have the two back together. “Personally, my fantasy is for Bronn to end up fighting alongside Tyrion and the others, against the White Walkers,” actor Flynn shares, “But I’ve got a feeling Bronn might not be so keen. He might think, ‘Okay, you guys go sort that out. It’s time for some early retirement now.’”
Theon is ready to deal with the past.
The abduction of Yara and his reunion with Jon Snow required Theon to confront several of his demons this season. “It brings Theon back to the man he once was, and makes him realize who he is now, how much time has passed, and how [he and Jon] have both changed,” Alfie Allen, who plays the young Greyjoy, explains. “Things are very different. Theon’s definitely been humbled, to say the least. I would say going after Yara is an easy decision for him to make; and one that he wants to use to rectify his position in the world.”
Bran may have “seen” Littlefinger’s end coming, but Isaac Hempstead Wright didn’t.
“We didn’t get those last scripts until shortly before we started filming, so I remember reading it and thinking, ‘Oh my god! Littlefinger’s done it again. He’s managed to pit the sisters against each other,” shares Bran actor Isaac Hempstead Wright. “I was really expecting we’d lose one of the Starks, which would have been devastating. It was quite a nice twist, that the underdogs manage to pull it together. It was such a nice way of rounding it off with all three of them working together: Bran doing the research, Arya doing the dirty work and Sansa presiding over it all. You’ve literally got your judge, jury and executioner all right there. It was a proper kind of explosive return for the Starks I think.”
Samwell has met his intellectual match...
“There are a lot of similarities between Sam and Bran; mainly in that they’re dismissed physically,” explains John Bradley, who plays Sam. “People think they don’t have what it takes to survive. What they’ve got to offer is unique; something that no one else can bring to the table. There are thousands of men who can shoot an arrow and swing an axe, but Sam knows he and Bran possess skills nobody else will ever get. That makes this such an interesting partnership.”
...and there’s going to be a bit of explaining to do.
“No matter how difficult it’s going to be, how awkward it’s going to be, they have to let Jon know he’s a legitimate Targaryen and Stark,” Bradley continues. “Of all of these hundred of characters we’ve seen, Jon is the link. They know it’s absolutely going to change everything for everybody. That’s how powerful it is. They have to introduce this knowledge as soon as possible.”
The only thing crazier than seeing a wight dragon, is having to imagine one.
During that terrifying final moment at Eastwatch, all Beric Dondarrion is thinking, actor Richard Dormer says, is: “‘It’s finally come. This is it.’ He knew it was going to happen. I think they all knew the army had come. The dragon was a surprise, and the giants. That’s a major gamechanger...Everything is green screened, so it was just me and [Kristofer Hivju, who plays Tormund] on top of a platform looking over an empty studio: We had to imagine a dragon coming, the walls shaking and all that. It was good fun.”
Hivju adds, “This is what we’ve been waiting for the whole time. The wight dragon is probably the most horrible sight you can ever get; it’s not good news, so it was an intense sequence. But running around the set was amazing.
More from "The Dragon and the Wolf":
- Go Inside the Dragonpit with the GoT Cast and Crew
- To Dress a Queen: The Season 7 Costumes of Daenerys and Cersei
- Text Revelations: See the Signficant Letter and Diary From Episode 7
- Maisie Williams Thinks Arya Went Hunting for Trouble This Season
- The Cast Debriefs on the Union of Ice and Fire
- Did You Catch This Thrones Throwback From "The Dragon and the Wolf"?
- Nikolaj Coster-Waldau Confesses Which Jaime Moment He's Been Waiting For