20 takeaways from Fire Cannot Kill A Dragon, behind the scenes of Game of Thrones

Image: HBO/Game of Thrones

16. Arya’s “Not today” line was the one David Benioff was proudest of writing

Between the passionate writers, excellent source material and wonderfully fleshed out characters, there’s no shortage of great lines on Game of Thrones. Early in Fire Cannot Kill A Dragon, David Benioff reveals his favorite line that he’d written for the show. Interestingly, he almost dodges claiming the credit for it, until his fellow showrunner calls him out.

"Benioff: “I was recently at dinner with my wife and my parents. My mom, who’s eighty-two, asked: ‘Who wrote [‘Not today’]?’ For a minute I couldn’t remember. I was like, ‘Oh, I think that was in the books.’ As I said that I’m like, ‘Wait a second…'” Weiss: “Take credit, especially for your mom.” Benioff: “I don’t remember what religious or quasi-religious impulse led to that line. I guess it’s sad that the line I’m most proud of writing was from the first season.”"

Whatever led Benioff to writing those words, it’s pretty safe to say that the show was much better off for them. They became a mantra for Arya Stark, first learned from her mentor Syrio Forel. (In the books, her repeated mantra is “Fear cuts deeper than swords,” which is also great but maybe not something you can easily repeat over and over on TV.) She used them again during her training at the House of Black and White, before finally being used one last time by Melisandre to steer Arya toward her eventual defeat of the Night King.

That payoff, by the way, was part of Benioff’s “proudest moment” during his long tenure as one of the masterminds behind Game of Thrones.

“Maybe my proudest moment from this show was when screening ‘The Long Night’ at the Mann’s Chinese Theatre,” Benioff said. “When Arya gets the Night King, the whole theater erupted. I was sitting next to my wife and her best friend, Sarah Paulson. My wife was grabbing my arm, and Sarah was screaming. I’ll never forget that feeling.”