Game of Thrones, one of the biggest shows in television history, will come to an end with the last season, which starts on 14 April. And every fan is wondering about the Game of Thrones season 8 ending.
Based on the books by George RR Martin, the epic high-fantasy TV drama, which has garnered both critical and commercial acclaim ever since it started airing on 17 April 2011, is particularly noted for the continuous surprises it springs in each episode.
Fans are eager to know what happens at the end of the final season. Who gets to ascend the Iron Throne? Will it be Jon Snow or Daenerys, or will it be the Night King?
Hundreds of forums are busy churning out one theory after the other trying to ‘solve’ what can be described as the biggest riddle for TV viewers as of now.
But everyone knows that the only people who actually know how the story ends are the actors and the director, and perhaps some close crew members.
Actor John Bradley, who plays Samwell Tarly – Jon Snow’s best friend, was recently asked to comment on the level of secrecy that was maintained around the show.
While talking about it, Bradley revealed what the last line of GOT script says.
“I’ll tell you the bit that really affected me about reading these scripts: normally, at the end of every episode you get, at the end of the script, it says, ‘End of episode 1. End of episode 2.’ At the end of the final episode, it said, ‘End of Game of Thrones’,” Bradley said.
“You just think, ‘Oh my God, it’s the actual end of Game of Thrones.’ No matter what comes after with prequels and spin-offs, the core show is over,” he added.
“Everybody knows about the threat and everybody knows potentially how bad things could get. It feels climactic. Like the final act in a play where all the characters are suddenly on stage all at once,” said the 30-year-old actor who started his career with the show.
Commenting on the level of secrecy, Bradley said that the scripts are “password protected and they come on encrypted emails”
“It feels like sensitive information when you’re having to type in one password and then making sure your two-step notifications are on,” he said.
“Yes, a little bit like a spy,” added Hannah Murray, who plays Tarly’s wife Gilly in the show.
The two actors also reveal that their characters begin season 8 from where they left season 7.
“Sam decided that the Citadel wasn’t for him. He knows that he’s never going to be accepted by the Maesters or by the Night’s Watch. He realises that the most important people to him in the world are his family and Jon Snow,” Bradley comments about his character.
He adds that the characters of Tarly and Gilly are going to Winterfell “to hit like a bomb” because they are the only ones among all the living GOT characters who know who Jon Snow’s parents are.
Throwing light on their experience of sharing screen-space with the major characters from the show after a long time, Murray said, “I think also for us as actors and for us as humans, it’s just been so much fun to get to be this huge gang of incredible, weird, wonderful people.”
Murray said that though she had met Emilia Clarke, who plays Daenerys Targaryen on the show, at premiers, she was “starstruck” when she saw Clarke in character for the first time on the set.
“I think what’s happened with this show is that we still all feel like a family. Even when we weren’t on set together or when our characters didn’t encounter each other, we still felt like we were all on the same ship and all pulling in the same direction,” Bradley added.
Game of Thrones season 8 premieres in India on Star World on April 16 at 10 pm.