‘Mhysa’ Round-Up: All’s Fair in Love and War

Shock waves from the Red Wedding radiate through the kingdoms in Sunday’s Season Finale. Poor Arya Stark had a front row seat to the horror as she witnessed a parade featuring the head of Grey Wolf sewn on to her brother's body. See how the shocking scene was conceptualized in the storyboard below from HBO GO’s Interactive Features.

 

The heartbreak is enough to push Arya’s fantasies of revenge into reality. In an interview with HBO.com, actor Maisie Williams explains Arya’s decision to kill her first man: “She’s longing for a family and he’s talking about how he murdered her family. It really gets to her so she decides to give a little back.”

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Saying Goodbye: Behind the Scenes of Episode 309

By Cat Taylor

 

There are moments on 'Game of Thrones,' when you know something coming up in the filming schedule will be different. The apprehension in the days leading up to the filming of the Red Wedding was a palpable feeling – this scene, this moment was one that would shift the direction of so many of our main storylines, and for some, it was the coming of an abrupt end. Readers of the books have known the Red Wedding was imminent, but followers of the show would only know that something, something was reaching a climax.

Before we get to the filming days in the hall at the Twins, let me tell you a few facts from the episode you might find interesting. The Great Hall at the Twins, where Robb Stark holds audience with Walder Frey, was also the Council Chamber at Riverrun where Edmure claimed his victory at the Stone Mill – much to Robb's disgust in Episode 303. The set was completely reworked so that the light and airy rooms of House Tully became a dark, menacing and oppressive space; the walls were refinished, the Tully fish removed, the balcony added and the windows covered. Then Set Dec went to work to bring in the finished elements in just under two weeks, from start to finish.

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"The Rains of Castamere" Round-Up: Paying the Price for Honor and Love

“Just as you grieve if a friend is killed, you should grieve if a fictional character is killed,” author George R.R. Martin tells Entertainment Weekly about the grisly ‘Game of Thrones’ event known by book readers as the Red Wedding. In interviews with HBO.com, actors Michelle Fairley and Richard Madden share the grief they felt while filming the scene. “It’s incredibly emotional,” Fairley says, “We had a week to shoot the whole sequence, and we shot it chronologically so throughout the week, you knew we were coming to the end." Madden adds, “We went into that scene with heavy hearts.”  

The tides change for the Starks in attendance the moment the band begins to play “The Rains of Castamere,” the song commemorating the Lannister slaughter of a rebellious house. Richard Madden tells HBO.com that the sudden tragedy “is one of the best things that ‘Game of Thrones' does so beautifully, which is just rip these characters' hearts out in front of you.”

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Michelle Fairley Loved the Red Wedding

This season's major turning point – the wedding day massacre at the Twins – also happens to be Michelle Fairley's favorite scene of the past three seasons. The actress talks to HBO.com about filming the scene, Cat's issues with Jon Snow, and why she's always making those prayer wheels.

HBO: What was going through Cat's mind when the "Rains of Castamere" starts to play?

Michelle Fairley:  I remember shooting that and having to turn. She's thinking, "What is this music?" It says something ominous to her, like something has walked over her grave; her hackles are up. But she doesn't know what it is because she's an honorable human being. The last thing on her mind is that Walder Frey would use this occasion to seek his revenge.

Read the full interview with Michelle Fairley on HBO.com.

Leeches, Dragons and a Bear: Behind the Scenes of Episodes 307 and 308

By Cat Taylor

One of the things that I’m always amazed by when I watch the show is how easy it is to forget the amount of work that goes into creating each set. The tent in which Robb learns he’s about to be a father was actually built on ‘A’ Stage, one of two new sound stages at the Paint Hall Studio in Belfast. It was designed by Gemma Jackson and then decorated by Set Dec and the Props departments with fabrics and furniture brought in from as far away as India – each piece was specially chosen to reflect the feel and style of House Stark. The scroll Talisa is writing was actually written in the Valyrian language, translated by our wonderful language creator, David J. Peterson.

In the same way that so many departments are involved in a short scene, many locations are often used to tell a single storyline. By now you will have seen the spectacular Ice Wall climb in Episode 306 and so much of Iceland's stunning scenery in the wildlings' approach to it. But by the time we see Orell and Ygritte in the woods, we are back in Toome, Northern Ireland. The scene was filmed back in September, six weeks before we went north of the Wall.

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