Fans got a little bit more of Game of Thrones thanks to Sunday’s two-hour documentary on HBO’s acclaimed fantasy drama.
Game of Thrones: The Last Watch, from British filmmaker Jeanie Finlay, chronicled David Benioff and D.B. Weiss’s final season of the show. The docu delves deep into what it took to make such an epically ambitious season, pulling back to curtain to give fans a look at the cast and crew’s final journey in the world of Westeros.
The Last Watch revealed that Kit Harington, aka Jon Snow, only discovered that he was to slay his love and Queen, Daenerys Targaryen (played by Emilia Clarke) at the table read for the final episode. The footage of that moment shows both actors get quite emotional of the fate of their on-screen love.
But what the docu really does is give us behind the scenes look at the unsung heroes of Game of Thrones – the costumes, hair, makeup, and special effects people.
According to production designer Deborah Riley, each hour filmed during the eight and final season of Game of Thrones cost $15 million or more. “All we were doing in seasons 4, 5, 6 and 7 were training for season 8,” Riley said.
David Nutter, who directed three of season eight’s episodes, said of the production’s immense creative team: “I’m a conductor of fine musicians who basically waves his arms around.”
