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What happened in between?
Martins epic fantasy novels.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is the last of these, and one of the best as well.
Consider it Cogmans own farewell as he leaves the world of Westeros behind.
It was a nice respite from all the mayhem, he says.
The mayhem is important, and the mayhem is going to be incredible, you know?
But I was happy to go out on this note.
That made it, by far, the hardest script of the 11 that Ive had to write.
The final episodes of any show, but particularly this show, move at a breakneck pace.
Its like taking a breath.
The purity of Winterfell is very important.
As a place, its endured the same hardships as the family that inhabited it.
It was taken and turned into a nightmare.
For Sansa in season five, it was a hellscape to escape from.
Then it was a hostage in and of itself, a place to win back and free.
Winterfell belongs to everyone now.
So that was the idea.
Im pretty sure a lot of the viewers thought that the mayhem was going to start right away.
Maybe some would prefer that the mayhemhadstarted right away.
The mayhem doesnt mean anything unless you have some context.
I wanted a feeling of grace.
If its just the horror, the horror, the horror, thats boring.
I was a bloody mess.
It was a very important moment for me, for obvious reasons.
I wrotethe wedding night episodein season five, which was a huge turning point for Sansa and for Theon.
They both survived it.
Theyve both come through it.
They both have a very long way to go, but they know that they have each other.
I actually worked for a while on a dialogue scene between them where they talk all about it.
It felt like recapping something everyone had already seen.
The audience knows what they endured.
Those characters know what they endured.
Theyre drawing strength from each other even now.
Having them share that meal on what could be their last night in the world spoke volumes.
Moving to another Stark sibling, I wanted to talk to you about Bran and Jaime.
It was the least well-received first draft Ive ever turned in, in eight years of the show.
It read like a dull Wikipedia page.
The Bran and Jaime scene was the perfect example it was four pages where theyre just talking about everything.
The guys, God love them, hit me hard with it.
Its a question were wrestling with as a society right now.Absolutely.
The White Walkers are always have beenthe dread.
Why am I saying this?
And you better have an answer for me that makes sense.
I remember Steven keying in on it and going, Oh yeah,the dread.
And I thought,Yeah, thats it.
Its not just death, its the dread.
That little extended drinking misfit party sequence?
None of that works if the undercurrent of inevitable end is not there.
It informs all of it, right down to the bravado of Tormunds origin story.
Otherwise, its what people term fan service.
Its a term that I loathe, quite frankly.
I think its a lazy way to criticize something.
That said [laughs] this episode could very well have been fan service.
My first draft was fan service.
I dont think the finished product is.
You brought up Tormunds origin story …Which was from the books!
A lot of viewers did not know that.
That whole sequence is aGolden Girlscheesecake scene!
I completely wrote aGolden Girlscheesecake scene.
Oh, thats hilarious.
Fuckin hell, thats what it is.
But thats what people do, right?
Ultimately, people want friends.
People want to break bread with someone for a minute and have a connection.
And thats what that scene was about.
You have a quiet drink with another human being.
You tell a story.
You venture to have a connection.
You sing a song.
Its one of those lovely times as a writer where youre like,Oh, yes!
I know where this goes!
Theres the girl that he likes.
Uh oh, who is this dude?
This dude has a nickname?
Well, Ive got a nickname!
They were not privy to the stories that we were.
They only know what they know.
Shes thedriving forcefor getting it back.
Now shes being told, Its not yours, and its not the Starks anymore.
What part of Sansas reaction to any of this is irrational?
At the same time, if youre Dany, this is the family that stole your familys legacy.
Youre going tohelpthese people who destroyed your life and your familys lives.
You cant turn that off.
Im thinking about Arya and Gendrys scene.
Arya has been spending the last several seasons in a state of self-inflicted dehumanization to cope.
Being back in Winterfell amongst her family and humanity again has awakened a dormant humanity in her.
And in the end, shes a young person and young people grow up.
What I love about the scene is its sexy, its romantic, and its kind of funny.
Theres a playfulness that shes more than earned and deserves.
But again, we remember where weve been.
I made sure to script that moment and David shot it beautifully where Gendry sees those horrible scars.
Suddenly youre jolted back into,Oh boy, these people have gone through a lot.
They never speak about it.
They dont know that Shireen gave them the same gifts.
Ramin [Djawadi] weaved Shireens song into the score in that scene, in a very subtle way.
I was really happy with how that turned out.
In terms of the plot, the biggest conversation is Jon telling Dany the truth about who he is.
Hes avoiding her the entire episode!
But the problem is that Jons got no poker face.
Jon would admit this!
That makes me love him.
Whats he going to do?
Make up an excuse and walk out?
She opens that door.
She knows theres something on his fucking mind.
She starts talking about [her late brother] Rhaegar and this perception that Rhaegar is a rapist.
Jons got to do it.
Hes a fundamentally honest person and he loves her, so theres no other choice.
So yeah, bad timing.
Life is full of bad times.
He probably should have stayed in his room.
No one walks into that hall expecting that Brienne is going to be knighted.
Its not that at all.
No one knows whats going to happen that night.
What do you do?
How do you connect?
Finding all of these connections with each other, thats the core of the episode.
I dont know what the fuck it means.
No, we live our lives.
We take two steps backwards after taking five steps forward.
Theres no such fucking thing as a redemption arc.
I dont believe in it.
And I dont think Jaime is on one, necessarily.
Jaimes just living his life and changing.
Yes, his heart is being ripped in two.
But what I think hes really doing is ripping down walls.
For someone like Jaime Lannister, thats huge.
Thats a vulnerability that he doesnt allow people to see.
Its a process of allowing himself to love her, however you define love.
Im not necessarily talking about a romantic love just opening his heart.
The old Jaime flouted convention just because he could.
And Briennesmiles!I give full credit to David Nutter for that.
In the moment, shooting it, I worried it was too much.
Shes proud, obviously, and happy, but she can hold together.
And Imsooooglad they used the smile.
I couldnthave been more wrong.
Couldnt have been more wrong!
Like, they were right.
But thats the nature of this show.
Were collaborators, we support each other, with David and Dan as the leaders of this merry band.
That isGame of Thrones.
Thats the reason there wasnt a lot of turnover.
It starts at the top.
I dont think they get enough credit for that.
It was like your night-before-the-battle moment.That was it.
That was my swan song.
I can retire now.
Couldnt have been more perfect.
