You were warned that winter is coming, and now it's almost here. The eighth and final season of HBO's epic fantasy series Game of Thrones premieres on April 14. That means if you're planning on rewatching the previous seven seasons, you better get started. Go ahead, stay home from work and binge-watch. If your boss calls, just say "Valar morghulis."
The final season will be six super-sized episodes, and nobody knows what's going to happen, unless you've hung out with a drunk Lena Headey. HBO, that tease, has slowly trickled out information - the first photos, 20 more photos, the first teaser, and the first official trailer, which just dropped this morning.
The trailer shows tantalizing images of the Stark children reuniting at Winterfell, watching Daenerys' astonishing dragons fly over their heads. We also see Cersei Lannister sipping wine alone at King's Landing, wrought with emotion, possibly because nobody came to her birthday party. And of course, the trailer hypes up the final battle between the dead and the living, which is said to be so epic it takes up an entire episode.
Of course, many viewers are anxious to see what happens to fan favorite character Arya Stark, the stubborn tomboy turned vengeful assassin - they grow up so fast! 21-year-old actress Maisie Williams recently spoke to Entertainment Weekly about shooting the final battle, and revealed it left her 'broken.'
"I skip the battle every year, which is bizarre since Arya’s the one who’s been training the most," said Maisie. "This is my first taste of it. And I’ve been thrown in at the deep end. Nothing can prepare you for how physically draining it is."
"It’s night after night, and again and again, and it just doesn’t stop," she continued. "You can’t get sick, and you have to look out for yourself because there’s so much to do that nobody else can do. There are moments you’re just broken as a human and just want to cry."
Well, sounds like Arya will see her fair share of action in the final battle. Will she be slaughtering White Walkers, or hunting down the remaining names on her "To Kill" List? That list currently includes Cersei Lannister (alive), Melisandre (alive), The Hound (alive but Arya thinks he's dead), The Mountain (alive...ish), Beric Dondarion (alive) and Ilyn Payne (alive).
In case you don't remember, Ilyn Payne was the mute knight who executed Ned Stark in front of Arya at the end of season one. After season two, the character was phased out of the series due to the actor, Wilko Johnson, getting diagnosed with terminal cancer. But in a pleasant twist of fate, Johnson made a full recovery and announced he was cancer-free in 2014!
In 2016, Johnson said he'd love to return to Game of Thrones, yet the character hasn't been mentioned since season four. I hope Payne returns in the last six episodes - how could Arya just forget about the dude who cut off her father's head? That would leave a loose end, no? If Gendry returned after a three-season rowing trip, so can Payne.