(Warning: the following article contains major spoilers about the season finale to “Game of Thrones.”)
Wrapping up its fourth season, HBO’s “Game of Thrones” has not just avoided toppling under the weight of its own story lines, it’s become a bona fide cultural phenomenon, with an audience larger than even “The Sopranos.” Going into the final episode of the fourth season, writers D.B. Weiss and David Benioff promised the show’s best finale ever.
Q. Who chose this season’s tag line, “All Men Must Die”? And was there a lot of “and we mean it literally” laughter in the meeting?
A. We suggested the tag line because the phrase has such resonance in the books (and, we hope, the series). Since we hopscotch between so many story lines in the show, it’s difficult to find a single sentence that’s relevant for all of the characters. “All Men Must Die” seemed appropriate for this bloody season.
Q. Throughout the series, Tyrion has been one of the few truly noble characters, in that he has tried to protect those less fortunate and never killed anyone out of malice or even vengeance. Although I was certainly happy to see Tywin go, I felt bad that Tyrion killed him, and I can’t even talk about Shae. How do you feel about the new Tyrion and how does his transformation affect the tone of the show?
A. As much as Tyrion tries to shield himself with self-deprecating humor, wine and faux cynicism, the events of this season have battered his psyche. We see him start to drop the facade during the trial sequence, where he is framed for a murder he didn’t commit. We see it in the scene with Oberyn, when Tyrion learns how his sister tortured him even as an infant. And finally we see his reaction when Oberyn, his champion, dies horribly, and Tyrion hears his own father sentence him to death. He’s a good man, but he’s been pushed too far, and his decision to seek vengeance in the finale shows this is not the Tyrion Lannister we first met in the Winterstown brothel.
Q. How did Peter Dinklage react to news of his upcoming rampage? Or did he already know?
A. You know what Peter calls a rampage like that? Tuesday.
We’ve been talking to Peter and Sibel (Kekilli, who plays Shae) about their final scene together for a long time. We would have talked to Charles (Dance, who plays Tywin) about his final scene, but we’re afraid of him. Just kidding, Charles.
Q. At this point, everyone has someone’s blood on their hands — Daenerys has grown a bit more ruthless, Arya loves to kill in a way that is a bit upsetting. Meanwhile, characters like Jaime Lannister and the Hound become more human. So what is the “Game of Thrones” definition of a hero?
A. The definition of a hero is the same in “Game of Thrones” as it is everywhere else; the problem is that heroes in “GoT” rarely survive for long. Ned Stark was a hero, so was his son Robb, so was Oberyn Martell. Courage, nobility and a refusal to compromise are admirable qualities — and generally fatal in Westeros. The characters who endure tend to be more adaptable, more willing to evolve to conditions in a merciless world. Daenerys has shown a ruthless side ever since the moment she unflinchingly watched her brother’s skull melt. As a queen, she shows great compassion for the powerless and a willingness to destroy anyone who stands in her way. To some she’s a heroine; to others she’s a foreign tyrant with messianic delusions.
Arya’s childhood was ravaged by violence. Everyone she loved and trusted has been brutally murdered: her father; her mother; her brother; even Yoren, who rescued her from King’s Landing. She has decided she will not be a victim. Her nighttime lullaby is her own personal hit list. She doesn’t care about being a hero: She cares about surviving and avenging her family.
The closest thing we have to a classic hero is Jon Snow, who always tries to do the right thing and believes in the lessons Ned Stark taught him. His inherent nobility is both a strength and a weakness and gets him in trouble time and again.
Q. I’ve been camping this week, and I have to admit my relationship to crows has changed significantly. Are there things about this story, or this experience, that have changed the way you look at or think about things?
A. No one invites us to weddings anymore. It all went exactly according to plan.
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