More interviews with members of the Game of Thrones cast continue to come in from the outlet that interviewed the likes of Isaac Hempstead Wright (Bran), Ellie Kendrick (Meera), Maisie Williams (Arya), and Tom Wlaschiha (Jaqen H’ghar).
The video below is long, informative, and packed with familiar faces, including new stuff from all four of the people mentioned above. We’ve also got John Bradley-West (Sam), Hannah Murray (Gilly), Iwan Rheon (Ramsay Bolton), Michael McElhatton (Roose Bolton), Alfie Allen (Theon), Daniel Portman (Podrick Payne), Jonathan Pryce (the High Sparrow), Dean-Charles Chapman (Tommen), Liam Cunningham (Davos Seaworth), and Carice van Houten (Melisandre). Dive on in.
Here’s some takeaways from the video:
- Kendrick says we’ll discover some “exciting, new information about the world of Game of Thrones through Bran’s talents,” which Hempstead Wright seems to have a very good handle on. I’m sure there are fans who have ideas about what that information will be. (Also, Kendrick’s a book-reader—good on her.)
- Losing Sansa will have major repercussions for House Bolton, “particularly for Ramsay.” Seems that Roose is upset. That can’t be good for family harmony.
- Wlaschiha again mentions that Jaqen H’ghar isn’t as kindly as some fans have assumed, and drops the phrase “secret agenda” again. I can’t tell if he’s just made like a method actor and developed an agenda for Jaqen for his own purposes or if he’s hinting at something.
- Note that the video pairs actors whose characters have something to do with each other (Arya-Jaqen, Ramsay-Roose, etc). Keeping that in mind, pairing Jonathan Pryce with Dean-Charles Chapman is interesting. Are Tommen and the High Sparrow going to grow closer in Season 6? Also gotta love Pryce characterizing the High Sparrow’s quest as one “for world domination.” Finally, why does no one mention Loras? There’s an ill wind blowing is his direction.
- I like what van Houten says about finding out more about Melisandre’s “background” and how the show adds “more colors” to her character. She’s always been fascinating, but you can only subsist on ‘unknowably spooky’ for so long. Cunningham also hints that Davos might not have the reaction audiences expect when he finds out what happens to Shireen.
- Apparently, showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss told Hannah Murray that all the material for Gilly in Season 4 was off-book. Weirdly, it seems like their characters are actually drifting back towards their plots from the novels.
- The cast members spend a lot of time talking about the show’s relationship to the books, but don’t really say much. The gist seems to be that the show has broken from the source material.
- Murray and Williams both make a point of saying that making Season 6 felt very different from making the previous five. We’ll see what they mean soon enough.
Here’s a lengthier segment from the sit-down with Portman and Allen.
Allen’s comments about Theon’s state of mind are very interesting. The show is apparently bringing Theon back to himself, but as far as Allen is concerned, “he is still Reek,” and he affects a Theon-type persona he present to the world. Allen’s idea sounds way cooler than just having Theon get over his horrific stay with Ramsay.