You may not know it, but dozens of Game of Thrones shooting scripts are available to read at the Writers Guild of America West’s library, waiting for fans to peruse them. Just recently, the Writers Guild Foundation got the word out on its Instagram page, which inspired Vanity Fair’s Joanna Robinson, aided by INSIDER’S Kim Renfro, to head down and see what they could see.
They found some fun Easter eggs nestled in these pages. Let’s hit a few of the highlights:
- Yes, Cersei is really pregnant. Personally, I never got on board with the theory that Cersei was faking a pregnancy to manipulate Jaime — it always seemed real to me — but for those who grew suspicious, the script for “Eastwatch” clears things up. “She nods, it’s true. [. . .] Her happiness is contagious. They get another chance at family. This time with no one standing in their way.”
- Tyrion loves Daenerys. Here’re a few lines from the script for “The Winds of Winter,” the season 6 finale, when Daenerys makes Tyrion her Hand of the Queen: “He studies her face. [. . .] Dany is staring into the distance so Tyrion is able to watch her from up close. Goddamn but she is beautiful. [. . .] He watches her for a beat too long and turns away. Lost in her own thoughts, she doesn’t notice that he’s flustered.” And then a line from “The Spoils of War,” when Tyrion watches Jaime ride at Daenerys. “he brother he loves races towards his probably death at the hands of the queen Tyrion also loves.” Now, Vanity Fair interprets this as romantic interest, although I wonder if it’s that serious. You can be the judge.
- Speaking of “The Spoils of War,” Vanity Fair uncovers something interesting about the final scene, where Jaime sinks to what looks like his watery grave…only it isn’t, because Bronn saves him. Apparently, as originally conceived, we were supposed to see Bronn helping Jaime out of his predicament, but there was an emotional kicker: “Bronn holds them underwater. [. . .] Drowned men float alongside them. Jaime looks down and sees dead soldiers trapped on the river’s bottom, their armor weighing them down. Their eyes look up at Jaime beseeching him for help he cannot give.”
- And of course, there’s some stuff about the developing relationship between Jon Snow and Daenerys, like this bit from “Eastwatch”: “He’d like to keep looking at her, and forget about the world events weighing on his soul, but that’s just not the kind of guy he is.” And when they two are on their way back to Dragonstone after Viserion dies in “Beyond the Wall,” this: “She opens her mouth to speak but only tears come – – the tears she has held at bay until now, because people were watching, and she still had hope. Here with Jon and only Jon, she lets go of hope and poise, and weeps…Jon has truly never seen a girl like this before. Her beauty, her strength, her grief and the pain it makes him feel . . . they all push him to the realization that he loves her.”
You can read more insights here. We also did our own deep dive into the script for the season 7 finale, “The Dragon and the Wolf,” which is available to read online. There’s also a really interesting change from the script for “Beyond the Wall” that Vanity Fair doesn’t mention; it involves how Daenerys originally discovers Jon’s scars from his murder.
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Thanks to Robinson and Renfro for taking the time to sift through these, thanks to Game of Thrones showrunner Dan Weiss for donating the scripts, and thanks to the Writers Guild of America West for keeping them safe but not secret.
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