Season 8 filming: Big things going down at the Winterfell set, this time during the day

What a difference a week makes. Not so long ago, things seemed fairly quiet on the Game of Thrones set. But starting at the end of last week, they’ve sprung to life.

Before going any further, know that this post contains SPOILERS. If you’re okay with that, read on.

This past Friday, photos and video from the Winterfell set at Moneyglass, Northern Ireland emerged. They showed what looked like a Winterfell in crisis, as fires burned, armed extras gathered, and a chorus of men chanted something in unison (around 0:45):

Now, Facebook’s own Marie McClenaghan has captured new images and video of the site, this time during the day. Check them out below:

The first video is the most interesting, and not just because Marie’s kids (I assume) are asking if they can get closer. There are some incredibly bright lights and a whole lot of smoke, which suggests that there’s a fire of some kind blazing at the castle. We got this idea from the nighttime images as well. If this is the case, whatever is making the smoke lasts from night into day, or day into night. It burns for a while, is what we’re saying.

We know that there are over 200 extras on site and that this shoot involves some kind of battle, although we’re not sure of the parties involved. The obvious answer is that White Walkers are involved, but the chanting in the nighttime video muddies the waters — it almost sounds like a group of guys is trying to batter down a gate.

Whatever’s happening here, the production is certainly getting its money’s worth out of the refurbished Winterfell set. What do you guys make of this stuff? And thanks to the reader who pointed us toward the images and video!

Next: Emilia Clarke and Kit Harington are in Iceland

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