A video has emerged that shows Kit Harington and Emilia Clarke’s reaction to the moment they find out that Jon Snow delivers the fatal blow to Daenerys Targaryen in the final episode of Game of Thrones. With the show now over, fans can gain insight into the journey of the cast members themselves, as they discover the crucial fates of their characters in the season that drew Game of Thrones to a close. And it’s fair to say that the final scenes of Jon and Dany came as some of the most shocking.
The final episode of the series that became a phenomenon aired last week, with the title “The Iron Throne.” As usual, it was an episode that delivered many shocks, perhaps the biggest being the moment that Jon Snow killed Daenerys. In the scene, the two embraced for a kiss in front of the Iron Throne, before Jon plunges his dagger into his queen’s heart. It was a moment that shocked many, and none more it seems than some of the cast members.
Fan of the show, Tee Franklin has tweeted the moment the actors found out their fates, in a video that shows the first time the final moments of the epic story were divulged to the cast. Taken from the documentary, Game of Thrones: The Last Watch, the video shows the cast sitting at a read through of the script that brought the show to an end. The large ensemble of cast members can be seen sat around tables while writers D.B. Weiss and David Benioff read through the scene that shocked fans of the show. The read-through reveals the news that Dany finally comes to a bloody end in her story, at the hands of the man she loves, and in front of the throne that she has coveted for so long. Flanked by fellow actors Peter Dinklage and Sophie Turner, Harington can be seen visibly shocked and tearful as he takes in the news he will be responsible for the death of the Mother of Dragons, while Clarke herself sits opposite, smiling, seemingly resigned to her character’s fate. You can see the video here:
The final season of Game of Thrones has been an incredibly divisive one, resulting in plenty of backlash from fans for the way that the last episodes were handled, with everything from incomplete plotlines and rushed story arcs, to character inconsistencies being cited as reasons Game of Thrones season 8 did not live up to fans’ hopes and expectations. And this didn’t go down well with some of the cast members themselves, with Turner and Harington both weighing in on the debate, calling the criticism disrespectful as they were obviously both aware of the amount of work that went into to creating a series finale that was unprecedented in terms of its production value when it comes to TV programming. The Last Watch documents some of this, detailing the gruelling work that goes into producing the type of battles scenes, and CGI shots that include the decimation of a city by dragon fire that we witnessed in the show.
Though the final episodes of the epic series have definitely divided fans, and left many disappointed, it is clear to see there were many others in front of and behind the camera who were just as highly invested in delivering a season that could do justice to a show that has changed the face of TV. And with such huge expectations placed on their shoulders, the stress of such a production is evident in the documentary. While there will be plenty of time of dissect the final hours of Game of Thrones now that it’s over, The Last Watch is an important reminder of how huge the show was and how hard cast, crew and creators worked on its delivery. There were certainly issues with the final season, particularly on terms of its pacing, but a show on this scale was unprecedented. Game of Thrones changed the expectations of TV audiences, raising the bar for years to come. Whatever the negatives, the show and its creators were pioneers. Their watch is now over, but we will doubtless be enjoying Game of Thrones for years to come.
Source: Tee Franklin/Twitter
