Miguel Sapochnik, the director of the Game of Thrones episode The Long Night, has revealed why we didn’t get to see how Arya reached the Night King.
One of the biggest moments of Game of Thrones‘ season finale was when Arya appeared to all our surprise and killed the Night King. It was a shocking moment that not many saw coming. But why didn’t we get to see how Arya made it so close to the villain before lunging at him?
Well, in a recent interview with THR, director of the episode, Miguel Sapochnik explained the thinking. THR started by asking him: “What was your reaction when you read about Arya’s big moment, killing the Night King?.”
The director responded: “I questioned everything and we worked long and hard to find the right balance of credibility versus wish fulfillment. Then we shot it and reshot it and found that what was really important was rhythm.
“At one point there was an elaborate plan to have her fight her way into the Weirwood forest, but as we progressed we realized she’d already done that earlier in the episode, so it felt like a repeat. In the end, we felt it didn’t matter how she got there — what mattered was setting up that moment when the Night King catches her mid-leap and we think she’s done for, then she pulls her knife switch and takes him out. I loved Maisie’s performance post the takedown as well, sharing a moment with her brother, Bran. That weary smile. ‘Not today.'”
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It was certainly a big moment in the series and caught plenty of people by surprise. In hindsight, that’s what Game of Thrones was always about: doing the unexpected.
Originally published August 15, 2019. Updated August 16, 2019.
