Why Jeremy Podeswa is poised to direct a great Game of Thrones episode

Game of Thrones Season 7 will have seven episodes, each of them directed by one of four men: Alan Taylor, Jeremy Podeswa, Mark Mylod, and Matt Shakman. When HBO released those names to the public, some fans reacted with trepidation. To start, they were upset that the show’s most recent directing star, Miguel Sapochnik, was left off the lineup. Understandably, everyone wants more from the guy who directed “Hardhome,” “Battle of the Bastards,” and “The Winds of Winter.” In fact, with the exception of Alan Taylor (who directed “Baelor” and “Fire and Blood” back in Season 1), the list lacks anyone who’s directed a show-stopping episode. David Nutter (“The Rains of Castamere,” “The Dance of Dragons”) is also a no-show.

And what about the other directors? Shakman is a Game of Thrones newbie known for his work on Fargo and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. It’ll be interesting to see what he brings to the table. Mylod, meanwhile, has directed four episodes of the series. A couple of them were poorly received, particularly “No One,” aka “The One With Arya’s Magically Healing Gut Wound.”

And then there’s Jeremy Podeswa. Like Mylod, he’s directed four episodes: “Kill the Boy,” “Unbowed, Unbowed, Unbroken,” “The Red Woman,” and “Home.” And like Mylod, his episodes have been criticized, particularly “Unbowed,” which is currently the lowest-rated episode of the show. (And yet it earned Podeswa an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Directing—go figure.) But whatever his shortcomings, Podeswa has shown more care and craft than Mylod, and could be on the verge of directing a great episode of Game of Thrones. Let’s look at why.

For one thing, Podeswa has shown initiative. For example, before Season 5 started shooting, the show was running into budget problems and planned to scale back on its initial conceptualization of the Hall of Faces. Podeswa, however, found a way to use angles and effects to make the place seem vast without breaking the bank. “I had a lot to do with the design of that and how it was going to be conceived and shot,” he said to Gold Derby. He was going for a “magical, otherworldly quality.” I think he nailed it. Had Podeswa not stepped forward with his ideas, Arya’s scenes in the Hall of Faces could have been far less effective.

Podeswa also put a lot of thought into the sequence from “Kill the Boy” where Jorah and Tyrion encounter the Stone Men. Here he is talking about getting their look right:

"The theory was they’d gone mad from their disease. But then again, we didn’t want them to be like The Walking Dead, or identifiable as anything that’s been done. There was discussions with choreographers and movement people to give them a certain character."

These anecdotes are very encouraging. They show that Podeswa, like Sapochnik, thinks deeply about what he’s shooting, and brings his own ideas to the table.

He also shot several great scenes for Season 6, including:

• Brienne and Pod rescue Sansa and Theon from the Bolton soldiers. The one-on-one fights in this sequence, particularly the ones involving Brienne, were very intense, and show that Podeswa can shoot action well. And the moment where Sansa takes Brienne into her service, framed by the falling snow, is beautiful.
• Melisandre reveals her true face. Podeswa shows off his talent for setting a mood here. He takes his time, using long, unobtrusive takes that let us absorb the revelation about Melisandre’s age.
• Tyrion unchains Viserion and Rhaegal. This scene was remarkable. I know the dragons are digitally inserted after the fact, but this sequence could make a guy second guess himself. Obviously, much credit goes to the show’s special effects team, but Podeswa deserves accolades for his imaginative directing. With this sequence, he proved he knows how to direct special effects scenes.
• Jon Snow’s resurrection. Like the earlier scene with Melisandre, this one has an eerie, morose mood. Podeswa is terrific at these sorts of scenes.

Now, I know what you’re thinking: if Podeswa is so great, why were some of his past episodes disliked? I think much of it comes down to the scripts. For example, many fans criticized Sansa’s rape scene in “Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken,” but there was no way for Podeswa not to film it. It was on the page. I also maintain that Sansa’s wedding to Ramsay was wonderfully shot, and yet another example of Podeswa’s ability with mood. He created at atmosphere thick with dread, which was what the scene called for.

The fight between the Bronn, Jaime, and the Sand Snakes in the Water Gardens also gets a lot of flak. That one’s harder to defend. Simply put, it was sloppy. The Sand Snakes looked silly rather than threatening when fighting against Jaime and Bronn, and the overarching plot was riddled with holes.

Again, it’s hard to come down on Podeswa for the plot—any blame there lies with the writers. The fight itself could have been shot better, but writer Bryan Cogman has said that there were serious restrictions on what could be filmed at the Alcázar of Seville, which stood in for the Water Gardens. Considering some of the good stuff Podeswa has given us, I’m inclined to give him a pass here on account of production difficulties beyond his control.

And he has given us some good stuff. With any luck, his gifts will flower in Season 7, and we’ll have a new director to celebrate.