Despite thousands of Game of Thrones fans signing a petition to have the show’s eighth season rewritten, showrunners David Benioff and D. B. Weiss still nabbed an Outstanding Writing Emmy nomination for the series’ final episode, “The Iron Throne.”
One bonus outcome of this nomination? The Television Academy posts all of the nominated scripts online, so GoT fans — if they’re willing to revisit Westeros — can read the final episode, stage notes and all.
[Spoilers ahead, if that wasn’t obvious]
Perhaps the most interesting part of the script is that scene in the throne room, when Jon Snow (Kit Harington) kills his aunt/lover, Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke), and then her dragon, Drogon, proceeds to torch the place and melt the infamous Iron Throne.
When the finale aired, many fans speculated that Drogon destroyed the Iron Throne because he realized it (and desire for the power that came with it) really caused his mother’s death. But, nope. The script gives some insight into Drogon’s motivations, and they weren’t quite so profound.
Here’s what the script says:
“Drogon’s huge brow lowers and his pupils dilate as the worst is confirmed. His lips raise over teeth as long as short swords.
The dragon rises up on his hind legs, towering over Jon.
In a beautiful, terrifying tableaux, he roars to the sky, the embodiment of rage.
He looks down at Jon. We see the fire build up in his throat.
Jon sees it as well. He prepares to die.
But the blast is not for him. Drogon wants to burn the world but he will not kill Jon.
He breathes fire on the back wall, blasting down what remains of the great red blocks of stone.
We look over Jon’s shoulder as the fire sweeps toward the throne– not the target of Drogon’s wrath, just a dumb bystander caught up in the conflagration.”
Now, this is only a short excerpt from the 44-page script. Whether you’re gearing up for a hate-read or you loved the finale and want to experience it in a new way, you can check out the whole thing here.
And no matter how you felt about season eight, reading “End of Game of Thrones” at the bottom of the page is sure to make you feel all the feels.
Photo: HBO
