Game of Thrones will return to the castle of [SPOILER] in season 8

In its eighth and final season, Game of Thrones will return to a location we thought we’d seen the last of. Which one? Read on, but beware SPOILERS, albeit light ones.

According to Spanish outlet Cordópolis, we will see the castillo de Almodóvar del Río in season 8. The castillo stood in for an important Westerosi castle in season 7: Highgrden, the former home of the Tyrells.

Atop a hill and surrounded by greenery, it’s hard to think of a better fit for Highgarden:

However, there’s a twist. According to Cordópolis’ sources, the crew isn’t going to shoot any new footage at Almodóvar del Río. Instead, we’ll see unused footage shot for season 7. That probably means they’re going to use establishing shots and/or aerial footage to remind us that the castle exists. We’re definitely not getting anything as elaborate as the scene from “The Queen’s Justice” where Jaime and the Tarlys march on Highgarden.

But why would Game of Thrones show us Highgarden again at all? One possibility is that it’ll be part of a montage showing the great castles of Westeros covered in snow, a way of driving home the point that winter is truly here, even way down south. Almodóvar del Río does look great covered in snow:

Another possibility is that we’ll see an establishing shot of Highgarden before cutting inside to watch a scene set in the castle but actually filmed on an interior set in Belfast. The most famous scene set at Highgarden is Lady Olenna’s death scene, but as with pretty much every other interior scene on the show, the crew didn’t actually film that scene on location — they built a set at Titanic Studios where they could have greater control over lighting and sound and whatnot, then made it look like it took place at the castillo de Almodóvar del Río.

And if we do get a scene inside Highgarden, what will it concern? Will the armies of the living be driven far south by the White Walkers? Or perhaps it’ll part of an epilogue, showing us Sam or Bronn or someone ensconced as the new lord of the place.

What do you think?

Next: Season 8 filming: The Dragonpit takes shape

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h/t Los Siete Reinos