The scripts had been sent. The inboxes were silent. And that silence nearly broke the Game of Thrones showrunners.
Season 8 of Game of Thrones already rattled fans, but turns out, it shook the cast too. One actor, after (not) reading the final scripts, freaked out the showrunners so badly they thought they messed up big time.
A still from Game of Thrones | Credits: HBO
The actor’s silence had them questioning everything they wrote. The chaos wasn’t just on-screen; it brewed in the writers’ room too.
Kit Harington’s silent reaction nearly sent the showrunners into panic mode
Kit Harington in Game of Thrones | Credits: HBO
David Benioff and Dan Weiss admitted they got seriously spooked after sending out Season 8 scripts to the cast. Kit Harington, the face behind Jon Snow, didn’t respond at all. During an interview with EW, Weiss recalled thinking, as anxiety brewed harder than wildfire:
F—. Does he hate it? If he hates it, does that mean we got it wrong?” We spent a lot of time thinking about his character.
Turns out Harington hadn’t even cracked the scripts open. He waited until the table read to experience the madness in real time. He told them
Oh, I haven’t read it. I want to experience it the first time in this room.
And just like that, their panic flipped into relief.
Sophie Turner, meanwhile, was the first to dive in. She speed-read all six episodes like it was a Westerosi race. Others took their time, or maybe needed it to process the finale arc fans still debate today.
Season 8 of Game of Thrones, which premiered in April 2019, wrapped the fantasy epic in six short episodes. Filmed from 2017 to 2018, it strayed from George R. R. Martin’s books and leaned heavily on notes he gave the showrunners about The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring.
Related“Who am I to argue?”: George R.R. Martin Considers 1 Game of Thrones Episode Perfect That Is Surprisingly Not ‘Battle of the Bastards’
While the Emmy count was record-breaking, the fan reactions were… not. Critics praised the performances and production, but roasted the pacing and plot choices. Even with 32 Emmy nominations and 12 wins, Season 8 became the show’s most divisive chapter.
And it all started with a quiet inbox that nearly sent the creators into a meltdown.
From Middle-earth to Westeros: Peter Jackson claims the Iron Throne
Peter Jackson added a serious flex to his fantasy empire: Game of Thrones’ Iron Throne. Per sources, the Lord of the Rings director dropped a jaw-dropping $1.49M at a high-profile auction last October to claim the 330-pound prop.
Peter Jackson. | Image by: Mike Walen, licensed under CCA-BY-SA-3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
But his identity stayed under wraps until now. The big reveal? Biotech company Colossal Biosciences used the throne in a dire wolf promo, where two genetically engineered pups, Romulus and Remus, posed like royalty. That’s when Jackson’s ownership came to light.
With both Middle-earth and Westeros under his belt, Jackson just crowned himself fantasy royalty. And honestly, it fits.
Related“That’s How a King Goes Hunting”: George R.R. Martin Is Not Wrong About His Least Favorite Game of Thrones Scene
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