“A girl has no name…”
Familiar words to the Game of Thrones faithful. And yet, for those on set during the production of season 8, Jaqen H’ghar himself (Tom Wlaschiha) would have been in attendance as part of HBO’s ploy to throw everyone off the scent.
Indeed, such smoke and mirrors didn’t stop at the Faceless Men of Braavos; rather, the Powers That Be also welcomed the return of the Waif, an old nemesis to Arya Stark, and the Night King – Arya’s ultimate triumph, as it turned out. All was revealed during last night’s documentary, Game of Thrones: The Last Watch, in which the show’s entire creative team pored over the final script and its many intricacies.
They also confirmed that Tom Wlaschiha (Jaqen H’ghar), Faye Marsay (The Waif) and Vladimir Furdik (The Night King) all made a surprising return when filming on “The Iron Throne” began in earnest, which surely would’ve ruffled a few feathers among the core cast – particularly the Night King’s presence, who died only a few episodes prior.
Filming fake scenes is a common tactic for a production of this scope. Much like Avengers: Endgame, Thrones has spent the past decade composing a vast and intricate storyline, so it’s only natural that HBO would want to protect it at all costs.
And make no mistake, Thrones season 8 was a monumental endeavor for everyone involved, as cast and crew fought bitter-cold night shoots and homesickness to make HBO’s series finale the best it can possibly be. In fact, production designer Deborah Riley confirmed that the show’s budget often exceeded $15 million per hour due to those eye-popping visual effects and actor salaries – so you can imagine just how expensive “The Bells” and “The Long Night” proved to be.
What comes next? HBO’s first port of call will be a Game of Thrones prequel series set some 10,000 years before A Song of Ice and Fire, which effectively rules out that Arya Stark spinoff that was doing the rounds.
Published: May 27, 2019 02:36 pm