Jack Bender on Daenerys’ scary power, Summer’s death, Season 7, and more

Jack Bender, the man who directed the last two episodes of Game of Thrones, continues to be a treasure trove of information. The Lost veteran gave further insight into “The Door” and “Blood of My Blood” in a pair of new interviews with Vulture and Vanity Fair. Let’s break this up by subject area.

On Daenerys’ big speech

Recently, fans have been wondering if Daenerys is going to end up being an antagonist by the end of the show. Her big speech from Drogon’s back at the end of “Blood of My Blood” was rousing, but the things she’s talking about doing—invading Westeros and killing all opposition—is pretty militant. In an earlier interview, Bender mentioned Dany in the same breathe as Adolf Hitler, and while he didn’t give anything away, he said that he had discussions with the producers about the scarier implications of Daenerys’ actions.

"We certainly talked about the fact that this character has risen to this place and is feeling her power, but there is also something about that power—as we know from history and from the world—that can be, “Whoa, that’s a little intimidating.” It was just, let’s let this woman become powerful to the point where it’s real fiery power, and people take from it what they do and the series will go where it goes."

Yes, but where is that?

The play in Braavos

As someone involved in theater, Bender enjoyed mounting the play Arya watched over these two episodes, and the producers encouraged him to play up the comedy. “I confess, being a 14-year-old at heart, I always love a good fart joke, and I added more [than were in the script],” he said. Also, as regards that close-up of a penis in “The Door,” Bender says that it was written into the script, and that he didn’t have to do any special “penis casting” to find the right one. Good to know.

Most intriguingly, more of the play was shot than made it into the show. “David and Dan wrote more of the play than what ended up in the episodes. If it doesn’t wind up elsewhere, it’ll end up on the DVD, I’m sure, because a lot of it was really fun.”

The Night King’s attack on the cave and the death of Summer

Bender has already talked pretty extensively about his approach to filming the emotional finale of “The Door,” but he dropped some new knowledge about the death of Summer in Vanity Fair. As a dog person, Bender found it difficult, but soldiered on.

"My objective [with Summer] was not to take anything away either rhythmically or dramatically from what Hodor was about to do. As much as the direwolf sacrifice was upsetting, I didn’t want to spend too much time on it. I felt like we were building toward and literally racing toward Hodor. I felt it was very important to spend the time to tell that part of the story but not dwell on it."

So many direwolves dying recently—they need a win.

(And yes, we’re calling him the Night King now. The show is, and we might as well get on board.)

Did we see glimpses of the future in Bran’s visions?

We saw lots of imagery in the first few minutes of “Blood of My Blood,” as Bran absorbed the history of Westeros (click here for a full breakdown of what he saw). Bender confirmed that the stuff with the Mad King was shot especially for this episode, but was coy when it came to whether any of what Bran saw came from the future, either from a vision of the past he hadn’t seen yet or from the show’s actual future. “I have to confess, I don’t know the answer to that. I really don’t, because that is so much in the mythology and the specificity of what the show has been from the beginning and where it is going, and I don’t know those answers.” However, he did say that each vision was in the script for a reason, and that their order was carefully planned. “[T]hey all reverberate.”

Bender’s episodes seem to have been hits, and if he never returns to the show, he can leave with his head held high. Still, is there any chance he’ll return for Season 7?

"I don’t know the answer to that. They’re only doing seven [episodes], and they’ve got their regulars who have done it forever…If available and they wanted me to, I would love to do that."

So there’s further confirmation that Season 7 will indeed be shortened. More on that as it develops. You can head to Vulture and Vanity Fair to read more from the director.

Bender also mentioned a couple of things about the Kingsmoot, and specifically Euron’s ritual drowning. We’d seen Theon go through a similar ritual back in Season 2, but Bender really wanted to get a shot of the drownee’s head underwater this time. “I had a thought that he would open his mouth voluntarily, and let the water in,” he said. That’s how dedicated Euron Greyjoy is to getting the Salt Throne. We’re sure actor Pilou Asbæk was thrilled with that.

Speaking of the Ironborn, Gemma Whelan (Yara Greyjoy) stopped by the East European Comic Con. Daniel Portman (Podrick Payne) was also in attendance. The whole panel is fun, but the interesting bit comes around the 27:20 mark, when someone asks whether Yara and Theon will encounter Daenerys at some point in Season 6. After all, they had to go somewhere after fleeing the Kingsmoot.

“I can’t possibly comment. Nice try.” Does that say more than it seems?