GAME OF THRONES
Winter has finally arrived and so have our 12 things you need to know about the final season of GOT
1
Expect shock deaths of major characters and plenty of them. Game Of Thrones is hardly known for letting its characters die of old age, but now there’s nothing to lose. The spin-off pilot ordered by HBO is a prequel, so the cast is unprotected by plot armour.
2
Get ready for a fight sequence that promises to make the Battle of the Bastards look like a car-park punch-up. Filmed for 55 consecutive nights over 11 weeks in three locations, it involves over 600 extras, and will set King’s Landing on fire.
3
This is no rush job. While previous Game Of Thrones seasons took between five and six months to shoot, the final run was allowed nine months. That’s despite the fact that Season 8 only has six episodes.
4
The budget for each episode in the final season has gone from the usual $10m to a cool $15m. The shorter final run means longer episodes, bigger battles, new locations and a lorryload of pricey visual effects.
5
There will be way more visual effects than usual. Season eight has so many green-screen sequences in fact, that its production caused a national Irish shortage of green fabric that came perilously close to ruining St Patrick’s Day 2018.
6
Don’t expect any major new characters. Up to now, watching GOT has involved keeping a mental Post-it note on each new character, their enemies, allegiances, food allergies, and the likelihood they will end up on the Iron Throne. No more. The major players are all in place, and the Season 8 casting calls have been limited to ‘Northern Victim’ and ‘Grumpy Shepherd’.
7
Jaime Lannister is going to have a beard. A full-on Uncle Albert.
8
We reckon flashback cameos featuring returning favourites are afoot. Actor Wilf Scolding, who played Rhaegar Targaryen in Bran’s vision, was spotted in Belfast this year, and the wrap party, meanwhile, welcomed back Jason Momoa, Mark Addy and Sean Bean.
9
We’ll finally have closure on all those magical prophecies – The Prince That Was Promised, Daenerys’ no-children curse, the red comet… They’ll surely come to pass in the end.
10
Season 8 promises an exhilarating bout of dragon-ondragon action. In the red corner, Drogon and Rhaegal, undisputed dragons of the Seven Kingdoms. In the blue corner, Viserion the Wight, a reanimated rookie hoping to steal the title.
11
Comeuppances! Cersei is sure to realise betraying the Mother Of Dragons wasn’t her best idea. The Mountain knows who’s coming for him. The Night King deserves payback for that javelin throw. And as heir to the Iron Throne, Jon Snow can get revenge on anyone who ever called him a bastard.
12
We’ve been promised an ending that is unpredictable, bloody and bittersweet. Whatever happens in the denouement, it won’t be a fairytale, say the cast. LOUISA MELLOR