HBO
I don’t know about you, but despite the fact that it’s quite literally been half-a-year since the Game of Thrones series finale, I am *still* not over it. Like, whenever Westeros is even mentioned, I feel my fists begin to white-knuckle. Every time I catch some news about the upcoming prequel series (multiple?), I dry heave a little bit.
What made the conclusion of Game of Thrones so painful was not it’s lack of quality but it’s fall from grace. Even at its worst, Game of Thrones was better than most shows, certainly in terms of production value.
But to know what the series was like at its peak — in the conversation of the greatest in the history of the medium — and then to see to where it ultimately ended up — widely vilified — is simply painful. In fact, perhaps Tyrion Lannister described it best: my Game of Thrones joy turned to ashes in my mouth.
All of this is just an incredibly over-elaborate and therapy session-esque way of saying that if the cast really did film the alternate ending that Tormund actor Kristofer Hivju is talking about, I surely would love to see it someday, as quite literally anything would be better than what we ultimately got.
In a recent conversation with Metro, Kristofer teased how viewers could’ve witnessed a completely different outcome, explaining: “Well, we shot an alternative ending. That was mostly for fun but I don’t know if I’m allowed to tell you about that.” He then refused to disclose what happened exactly, but added that “it was fun”.
The Norwegian native also weighed in on season eight’s surprises: “The funny thing is after season seven I had my theories, fans had theirs, everybody; the cast had their theories so there were thousands of theories.
“To choose one path would be difficult to say but there were many things I didn’t see coming; there was the element of surprise which I liked.”
[via Digital Spy]
At the time of season eight’s production, it was widely reported that Game of Thrones filmed multiple endings as a means to avoid spoilers. However, the way Hivju describes it, it sounds like this particular ending is one that could have potentially been used.
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Eric is a New York City-based writer who still isn’t quite sure how he’s allowed to have this much fun for a living and will tell anyone who listens that Gotham City is canonically in New Jersey. Contact him on Twitter @eric_ital or via email eric@brobible.com