Before coming on Game of Thrones to direct last night’s “The Spoils of War,” Matt Shakman was best known for his work on dramas like Fargo and The Good Wife, and for directing literally dozens of episodes of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Originally, “Spoils” was due to be directed by David Nutter, who directed the dragon-heavy “The Dance of Dragons” back in season 5. Unfortunately, Nutter ran into health problems, and Shakman stepped in. Fans could be forgiven for wondering if he had the chops for the job, but after last night, all doubts were put aside.
“It was an extraordinary directing from Matt Shakman, who came in with a lot of pressure on his shoulders,” showrunner David Benioff told Entertainment Weekly. “He’s never done a major battle like this. And it worked because of the massive planning he put into it and the crew really coming together. It’s very difficult to shoot a three-dimensional battle in terms of like the ground forces, the sky element … it was a lot to pull off.”
Showrunner Dan Weiss talked about the battle more generally, highlighting how it was different than what came before:
"It’s the first major battle we’ve ever done that has a cavalry and creature effects — and it happens to include lots of things catching on fire. We’ve never really blown s—t up like we’ve done in this episode."
Game of Thrones actually set a record number of people on fire in this episode, and after watching it, it’s easy to see how.
As for Shakman himself, he says that he wanted “to tell the story of what it would be like to be on the ground in the middle of a dragon attack, to see what it’s like; to be in a napalm attack, to see the birth of a new weapon.”
"And all of a sudden the Lannister army — which is a Roman army in a way, an army of order and precision, who can handle pretty much any obstacle — they encounter something they cannot handle and realize that war has changed forever. Jaime, especially, is a great soldier and realizes this is going to be a new era."
Shakman did a terrific job of putting us in the middle of the battle, particularly with that long take where Bronn was scrambling to get to the scorpion. And then there was that breathless moment at the end, where Jaime charged Daenerys in an attempt to take out the Dragon Queen and end the war for good. “There’s a point where we think someone is going to die — either Jaime or Dany,” Shakman said. “And when he charges it’s meant to be the most beautiful death you’ve ever seen. He’s charging through the ash and, in a way, tilting at windmills like Don Quixote. Then he’s obviously saved at the last second — from the dragon fire at least.”
Whether it’s fire or water, everything wants to kill Jaime. We’ll be on the edge of our seats waiting to see if he survives his brush with death when “Eastwatch” airs next Sunday.
Next: We break down the trailer for 'Eastwatch' shot by shot
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