10 Interesting Facts About the ‘Game of Thrones’ Battle of Winterfell Episode (PHOTOS)
The Night is Dark and Full of Terrors
The whole battle took 11 weeks — 55 days — to shoot over nights in freezing temperatures which most of the cast and crew describes as miserable.
In the Trenches
During the sequences depicting the trench fires, real wood and metal logs were used for a realistic approach as well as a durable longterm solution since metal can be burned repeatedly and keep its shape.
Making the Dead
The casualties of the battle weren’t all plastic dummies, most of the piles included real extras as well as specially made discs that were molded of dummies in a pile so crew could move them more easily.
Tears of War
The scene where John Bradley’s Samwell is seen sitting and crying in the midst of the battle was actually improvised since there weren’t enough stunt people to attack him during that scene.
Bittersweet Kills
Kit Harington wasn’t shy about sharing how he felt about Arya’s killing of the Night King, “I was pissed that it wasn’t me killing the Night King,” he admitted.
Just Dropping In
Arya’s big surprise attack on the Night King was more involved behind the scenes as star Maisie Williams was hooked up to a harness to create the approach desired.
A Fitting Goodbye
Iain Glen revealed that his favorite scene to shoot was his demise in the battle as it required the most out of him compared to past seasons.
Kill Mode
For Arya’s fight sequences, Maisie Williams went through training and because she learned to fight with her left hand early on in the series they decided to showcase her dual abilities with both hands by introducing her special weapon that split in two.
A Giant Task
Lyanna Mormont’s death scene was filmed in two sequences, one with the giant actor and a doll, and another with Bella Ramsey in a mechanical arm which were then spliced together with special effects.
Dark Tales
The battle was split into three sections story-wise and visually with the story exploring suspense, horror and then acton, while visually there were three color concepts which included a hazy moonlight, a firelit red sky and a return to moonlight.
Game of Thrones fans waited years for the Battle of Winterfell, and it finally arrived in “The Long Night” episode, but there are a lot of behind-the-scenes details viewers never knew… until now.
After each episode of Game of Thrones airs, the show’s YouTube page is the spot to be for all of the info on how it came together in their “Game Revealed” videos. Longer than the post-show segment “Inside the Episode,” these videos go more in depth offering a better look at the mammoth task of pulling off the insane stunts, sequences and more.
For “The Long Night,” the special “Game Revealed,” was supersized and clocks in at 40 minutes. You can check out the segment below, but we’re breaking down 10 interesting facts in the gallery above, ranging from the toll of night shoots to how they pulled of that crazy Night King kill.
Click through the images above to learn some new things about one of the show’s biggest episodes.
Game of Thrones, Sundays, 9/8c, HBO
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