Bryan Cogman, Game of Thrones writer and the man responsible for making sure the show’s mythology is consistent, has been live-tweeting his favorite episodes of the show during the lead-up to Season 6. He’s already done “Fire and Blood,” the Season 1 finale, and “Two Swords,” the Season 4 premiere. Now, he’s talking us through his #8 and #7 pics: Season 3’s “And Now His Watch Is Ended” (the one where Daenerys sacks Astapor) and Season 2’s “What Is Dead May Never Die,” which introduces us to Margaery, Loras, and Brienne. Let’s dive into Cogman’s appraisal of “And Now His Watch Is Ended.”
We begin w/ Jaime Lannister phase 2! Opening on that dismembered hand around @nikolajcw's hand was a nice touch. I imagine he's still
— Bryan Cogman (@b_cogman) March 30, 2016
finding mud in his hair from his time spent shooting this season. #AndNowHisWatchIsEnded #Got_BC_TopTen
— Bryan Cogman (@b_cogman) March 30, 2016
The Brienne/Jaime relationship was probably the most satisfying for me to track in the room, adapt, produce…
— Bryan Cogman (@b_cogman) March 30, 2016
So Jaime Lannister Phase 1 officially begins when he gets his hand chopped off. Makes sense.
This was the first episode directed by Alex Graves. Loved working with him – one of his strengths was that he was very aware/mindful of
— Bryan Cogman (@b_cogman) March 30, 2016
how his eps fit into the larger narrative. Always asking specific questions about moments, making sure he was setting up larger arcs, etc
— Bryan Cogman (@b_cogman) March 30, 2016
Graves went on to be one of the show’s rockstars in Season 4, directing episodes like “The Lion and the Rose,” “The Mountain and the Viper,” and “The Children.” Unfortunately, he hasn’t been back since.
This scene with Varys telling his 'origin' story was originally slotted for Season 2, as I recall. In one draft of 'Blackwater', we had 1/2
— Bryan Cogman (@b_cogman) March 30, 2016
him telling this story to Tyrion in the 'bells' scene as Tyrion is being suited up. But it was decided that it didn't fit there. 2/2
— Bryan Cogman (@b_cogman) March 30, 2016
Obviously, the nasty bit with the poor little man in the crate was added later when the scene was reworked for Season 3
— Bryan Cogman (@b_cogman) March 30, 2016
I always thought it was odd how, in “Blackwater,” Varys brings up the story of how he got cut, and then basically says “I’ll tell you later.” In any case, had he told the story there, we wouldn’t have gotten the wizard-in-a-box moments, which is nice.
Ah, Craster's Keep! Boy, that set is one of Gemma Jackson's greatest, but I don't miss it one bit!
— Bryan Cogman (@b_cogman) March 30, 2016
Yeah, that place is better off burned to the ground.
Ok, this is gonna sound strange – but I was kind of afraid to get to know Thomas Brodie Sangster on set! He couldn't have been nicer, but
— Bryan Cogman (@b_cogman) March 30, 2016
his Jojen creeped me out SO MUCH I was always unnerved when I talked to him! Sorry, Tom. Again, a very nice guy. He's just too good.
— Bryan Cogman (@b_cogman) March 30, 2016
RIP Jojen Reed.
Wow, I'm struck by how much mythology/exposition D&D threw into this scene — the Sept scene with Joff/Cersei/Olenna
— Bryan Cogman (@b_cogman) March 30, 2016
If I recall correctly, this the scene where Joffrey is showing Margaery around the Great Sept of Baelor and gleefully recounting all the horrible people who are buried there. It was a fun scene, and gave us a primer on some of the Targaryens of old.
Next, Cogman got into the scenes with Ramsay Snow (Iwan Rheon)—this is the episode where Theon thinks he’s escaped wherever it was he was being tortured, spills the beans about not really killing Bran and Rickon, and then gets led right back to the dungeons.
Iwan was a final contender for Jon Snow. When D&D conceived the show's version of Ramsay he was there first and only choice for the role.
— Bryan Cogman (@b_cogman) March 30, 2016
Aaaaand Theon realizes he's back at his torture chamber! Oof, that's fucked up. #AndNowHisWatchIsEnded #GoT_BC_TopTen
— Bryan Cogman (@b_cogman) March 30, 2016
Indeed.
Next, Cogman goes wide, and talked about the conception of the show changed a bit around Season 3, once the producers realized they actually had the momentum to complete the show.
When we realized, with Season 3, that we would probably be able to do this whole thing, this show became one big adaptation of the whole
— Bryan Cogman (@b_cogman) March 30, 2016
saga, as opposed to 'a book a season'. Splitting 'A Storm of Swords' into two parts freed us up a lot, but also created a lot of challenges
— Bryan Cogman (@b_cogman) March 30, 2016
Some characters had a ton of story, plenty for two seasons, but others had comparatively less. Fewer chapters (Bran, Dany)…
— Bryan Cogman (@b_cogman) March 30, 2016
And we also had a cast of characters we needed to service/create juicy stuff for — hence the expansion of this King's Landing 1/2
— Bryan Cogman (@b_cogman) March 30, 2016
Tyrell/Lannister wedding conspiracy subplot. 2/2
— Bryan Cogman (@b_cogman) March 30, 2016
I like these big picture looks into the thought process behind the show. I do wonder something, though: I know the writers want to create material for their actors, but if there’s not as much material for a character in the books, there’s always the option to downplay that character for a while. Creating new material for characters worked well in Season 3, but not quite as well in Season 5. Sometimes, letting a character recede into the background might be the best thing for them.
And we're back at Craster's. My bosses have managed to assign themselves to Croatia/Morocco/Spain duty every season. I get assigned night
— Bryan Cogman (@b_cogman) March 30, 2016
shoots at Craster's! When we burned the place down (in Season 4) I wanted to light the first match!
— Bryan Cogman (@b_cogman) March 30, 2016
David Benioff and Dan Weiss, those crafty showrunners…
Man, this episode is packed with incident. I think Season 3 was our peak in terms of characters/storylines to juggle.
— Bryan Cogman (@b_cogman) March 30, 2016
Just wait until Season 6.
I’ll just let Cogman go off on the final scene of the episode, which is still one of the best sequences the show has done.
And now we come to the final sequence – the taking of Astapor. This is, for me, one of the best realized sequences in the show
— Bryan Cogman (@b_cogman) March 30, 2016
Alex is very good about clocking every character's POV throughout
— Bryan Cogman (@b_cogman) March 30, 2016
I wasn't present for this shoot, but they only had two or three days to shoot the whole thing – which is madness.
— Bryan Cogman (@b_cogman) March 30, 2016
This was designed to be the scene that finally truly delivers on the promise of Dany's final moments in S1
— Bryan Cogman (@b_cogman) March 30, 2016
Season 2 was, by design, about bringing Dany down after the height of 'Fire and Blood'. This episode swings her back up
— Bryan Cogman (@b_cogman) March 30, 2016
Via http://winteriscoming.net/2016/03/30/game-of-thrones-writer-bryan-cogman-live-tweets-his-favorite-episodes/
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