HBO is in the midst of filming Game of Thrones season 8, and everyone is eager to know what’s going to happen. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, star Isaac Hempstead Wright said teased an ending worthy of the show:
"It won’t go the way some people want. It will be too happy for some people, or too sad, or too whatever. That’s the nature of an ending. Midway through a season, there’s always the idea that this is going to continue and somewhere along the way we’ll make up for it all. When it comes to a conclusion, this is the end. Nothing more is coming, and the certainty of it being over will definitely bother people. But overall, I think we’re going to smash it. (Laughs)"
So we should expect the unexpected in season 8. That’s what I’d hope for from a Game of Thrones ending.
The reality of the show ending has been crashing down around Wright and the other cast members for a while now, particularly when filming on the shortened season 7 got underway. “I think the fact that we were only doing seven episodes, in terms of the actual content and how far we were able to get the story to progress in that season, made us think: ‘This is definitely only part one,'” he said. “By the end of it, we were nowhere near resolution, but we’re definitely on the downward descent into what this conclusion must be. I think the fact that these characters are all so much closer together now really added to the feeling that we were at the beginning of the finale.”
As for why the last two seasons have fewer episodes than usual (season 8 has only six), Wright thinks it’s a by-product of the decision to focus on the storylines that matter most, although he noted that, in season 7, the same amount of money and time was spent on seven episodes that was previously spent on 10. “It’s so critical that they didn’t decide to just stretch this out for another ten episodes to make more money from it. The people making Game of Thrones are acutely aware of how they want this story to go. It’s not like they don’t have a big plan and need to bide their time with a few extra episodes.”
"I think it ends up being more fast-paced. When you’re heading into a finale, you don’t want to have any unnecessary episodes. You want to be going, “God, we didn’t have enough episodes! I want to know where it’s going next!”"
I know this is a divisive topic among fans, but when it comes down to it, I’d much rather Game of Thrones go out leaving me wanting more than wishing it would just end already.
Wright also responded to some of the criticisms leveled at season 7 — as for example, that “Beyond the Wall” was riddled with plot holes and inconsistencies. “Naturally, when anything is coming toward its finale, especially something as consistently brilliant as Game of Thrones…people are concerned about whether we can do this justice,” Wright said.
"Obviously, people will hold us to a higher standard: “That didn’t make sense!” Definitely more than other seasons. We step up so much now that it’s easier to find something that contradicts what was done earlier, seven seasons in. It’s fair enough that people are very antsy and concentrated on us making season seven absolutely perfect. Perhaps some things get read into too much. I find people getting obsessed with some little details that aren’t really relevant at all. I suppose Game of Thrones is its own worst enemy, then, because there are moments where these tiny details reveal so much about the plot and the future. But in general, I don’t think there were any glaring plot holes. I think it was a pretty incredible season."
But where did the Night King get those chains, Wright? WHERE DID HE GET THE CHAINS?
But seriously, I think this is a pretty decent explanation. He’s obviously not going to come out and lambast season 7 for its shortcomings — he’s part of the team, after all — but instead acknowledges that the show has set a high standard for itself and keeps his eye on the big picture. Let’s hope the plot hums along like a well-oiled machine in season 8.
And whatever niggles I had with season 7, it hasn’t dimmed my enthusiasm for the series, especially with the end in sight. It’s going to be odd when it ends, and that goes double for the people actually involved in making it, like Wright:
"When it actually finishes, it’s going to hit hard. We won’t experience it for a while, because we still have a lot of filming to do, and then there will be the whole whirlwind of the press, which will happen for a long time. I think it will be when we get to this time in 2019, when we’re usually expecting the phone call organizing flights for the next season, that it will be very sad and it will be very real: This doesn’t exist anymore. That’s going to be an interesting transitional period. There will be so many glamorous [events] and all of these fireworks as we celebrate the ending of the show — and then all of the sudden, it will be nothing. And it will be sad."
I’m gonna start stockpiling tissues now. You can read the rest of Wright’s thoughts here.
Next: The Game of Thrones season 8 director lineup, clarified
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