‘Game of Thrones’ Creators Share Behind-the-Scenes Look Into Episode 2 of Season 8

Game of Thrones showrunners D.B. Weiss and David Benioff are taking fans behind-the-scenes of the second episode of Season 8 with a new “Inside the Episode” clip. Weiss and Benioff provide insight into the Winterfell-centered episode, diving into what characters were thinking in tense scenes between Dany and Jamie (and Dany and Sansa, and Dany and Jon…)

Ultimately, they said the episode focused on people facing down the end of days. They broached everything from the interplay between Brienne and Jaimie to THAT SCENE between Gendry and Arya. 

“For us, what was interesting about this episode was always that it’s our last night together and everyone, I think, would face the end in different ways,” Benioff said. “Some characters want to make love for the first time because they’ve never done it before. There are other characters who are getting drunk and singing songs and then there are characters who are just trying to find some human solace together. Everyone faces it in different ways.”

Actress Maisie Williams explained what Arya’s way of facing down probable death means for her character in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. 

“This is something she’s stayed away from, an emotion we’ve never really seen her engage with. David and Dan were like, ‘It’s the end of the world, what else would you have her do?’” she said. “This may be is a moment where Arya accepts death tomorrow, which she never does — ‘Not Today.’ So it was that moment where she says, ‘We’re probably going to die tomorrow, I want to know what this feels like before that happens.’ It’s interesting to see Arya be a bit more human, speak more normally about things people are scared of.”

All this talk of what’s coming is bound to build an appetite for the next episode. Luckily, HBO shared a clip teasing next week’s offering.