Let’s look at empty Game of Thrones filming locations and feel sad

WARNING: MINOR SPOILERS FOLLOW

When HBO was filming scenes for the final season of Game of Thrones, intrepid photogs snapped pictures aplenty, giving us up-close looks at sets that were full of activity, some of it quite surprising. It was an exciting time to be a Game of Thrones fan/shameless onlooker.

That’s all over now — the show wrapped on shooting weeks ago — but some of the sets still stand, only now they’re empty and devoid of activity. Some of those photogs still shoot them, though, just as we still look at them, waiting fruitlessly to see if they’ll spark to life, giving us hope and purpose again.

…That went to a place. Anyway, let’s look at the sprawling, enormous King’s Landing set in Belfast from a distance and feel melancholy:

Those drivers are commuting past history.

One of the most persistent Game of Thrones photogs was A Red Priestess, who brought us image after wonderful image of King’s Landing in various states of distress; the set took quite a beating over the weeks, and we can expect the city itself to go through it come season 8. She returned to the set recently to photograph what it looks like now. “So empty… so lonely… so sad.”

The King’s Landing set is built on a backlot at Titanic Studios. It’s interesting that HBO, or whoever is in charge of the set now, hasn’t fixed it up yet. There are plans to leave the set standing as a tourist attraction, and why not; it’s huge and impressive. But I’d assume they’d want it looking like King’s Landing in its glory days, not King’s Landing after dragons or White Walkers or hurricane season or whatever takes a bat to it.

I sigh the weary sigh of a guy who has an indeterminate number of months to wait before I can see the fruits of HBO’s labors.

Anyway, we may not have to wait too long until Westeros returns to Titanic Studios; HBO programming president Casey Bloys has said it would make sense to shoot the upcoming Game of Thrones prequel series there. Until then, I’ll just haunt the place in spirit like a restless ghost. Don’t mind me.

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