So, as I’m sure you know from it being…all over your social media, Game of Thrones is back.
Be careful, for this post is dark and full of spoilers.
During its final season premiere, Kit Harrington’s Jon Snow rode on one of Daenerys Targaryen’s dragons.
It did not go well for him.
As we know, Dany and Jon have a lot to do
Now that the final season is here, everyone is gearing up for their last moves before the throne is taken.
Dany and Jon hopped on her dragons, which I am kinda surprised they didn’t do before.
To quote Jon: “You’ve completely ruined horses for me.”
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The behind the scenes stuff is gold
HBO released a 17-minute behind-the-scenes look at the production of the episode.
It includes bloopers, looks at the special effects, and some truly hilarious footage of Kit and Emilia riding “dragons”.
The footage starts out pretty normally
Kit, Emilia, and the producers talk about shooting on location in Iceland.
There’s an otherworld-like quality to Iceland, which of course makes it ideal for Game of Thrones .
I, however, am cold just looking at it.
There’s lots of Kit and Emilia goofing around
They’re clearly good friends, and it shows.
In one shot, they’re perfectly in character as Dany and Jon. Just as Emilia goes to say her line, Kit trips in the snow and slides all over the place.
Like a good friend, Emilia just laughs.
Next up, they freeze their butts off in the snow
They all talk about how cold Iceland is.
If Dany and Jon look cold in the show, it’s because Kit and Emilia were cold in real life.
The beauty of Iceland obviously has some downsides, huh?
They had fun, however
Kit snaps pictures of a freezing cold Emilia getting her makeup touched up.
I would not be opposed to this shot becoming a new “You’re doing amazing, sweetie.” Every fandom needs their version of that meme.
Kit also had fun messing with Emilia
The producers discuss having to add in a waterfall to a big, climactic kiss between Jon and Dany.
Kit, on screen, breaks his kiss with Emilia and pretends to be sick.
It’s VFX time
In order to make Jon and Dany’s dragon-riding scene believable, the crew did overhead drone shots of Iceland.
They then added in the dragons, Jon, and Dany in post-production, which we see a glimpse of.
And now, we arrive at The Story
To appear like they’re really riding dragons, Kit and Emilia had to mount what looks like a bull riding mechanism.
For Emilia, this is just another day at work. Dany has been riding dragons for a while now.
For Kit, this was all new
But Jon’s first time on a dragon was a new experience.
Kit sums the shooting experience up succinctly: “You’re in a green box, and you’re on a buck.”
That does not look comfortable.
It was difficult
“Butt work is not easy,” Kit says, with a totally straight face.
It looks hard, however, especially because the handholds on the fake dragon look small. Both Kit and Emilia have to be pro horse riders now.
He laid it all out
“I think, what sums up the buck for me was…there was a bit where Jon almost falls off the dragon. Swings ’round really violently, like this.”
This story is overlaid with BTS shots of Kit being swung around.
His balls had a tough time with the dragon
“My right ball got trapped, and I didn’t have time to say stop.”
I…I feel like, if I was in that kind of pain in my groin area, I would at least try to say “Hey, I might lose one of my balls.”
His life flashed before his eyes
“In my head, I thought, ‘This is how it ends. On this buck. Swinging around by my testicles. Literally.'”
Kit’s commitment to his job is only equal to his commitment to tell that story with a straight face.
Even the BTS producers couldn’t handle this story
As he finishes the story, a silence descends.
Everyone starts laughing, including Kit.
“Sorry,” he says, laughing. “Probably too much information.”
I beg to differ. That was the exact right amount.
