With each passing day, we inch closer to the premiere of Game of Thrones [1] season eight [2]. Of course, with the premiere not slated until sometime in 2019 [3], we still have quite some time. Luckily, a few choice details about the final season have started to trickle out courtesy of the HBO fantasy epic's cast. In addition to Sophie Turner's recent insight into the finale's script [4] and how much filming they have left [5], John Bradley — who plays Samwell Tarly — spoke to TV Guide [6] about the characters we'll see in season eight. Or rather, where we'll see them.
"These characters are so detailed and so rich, you can feel that you've got a pretty good handle on your character. You can predict how your character will react in any given circumstance, but when you place these characters in a new environment, it's always putting them under a microscope, and you constantly have to reexamine your character," Bradley said. "Each of the characters this year is placed in a completely alien environment at some point in the season that they've never been placed in before. The thrill is seeing how they react to it and how they respond . . . This season, I think, more than any other is stretching these characters."
The suggestion that the characters will be put in "completely alien environments" is what has us hung up — does it simply mean that we'll see Daenerys heading to King's Landing and that Jaime will make a trek up to Winterfell [7]? Or could it mean that we'll see some of our favorite, recently reunited characters — like Dany and Jon Snow [8], and Sansa and Arya [9] — separated once more? Bradley might consider that possibility a "thrill," but we're banking on the former.
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Regardless of how season eight shakes out, it seems like waiting an eternity for the premiere will be worth it.
"The stakes definitely feel ramped up," Bradley continued. "We know that we've got a real job to do. This has been a part of people's lives for so many years. This is our eighth season, and we are kind of feeling the pressure to get it right because we want to satisfy people. We want to give people a payoff that they're going to be happy with. We know how militantly passionate the fans of this show can be — in a good way — and we just kind of want to give them an ending that they deserve."