EW Reveals 7 Season Plan

[Douglas Dubh]

See, I keep coming back to what Benioff and Weiss want. I think salaries, production expenses, ratings and all the other stuff that gets discussed around here only factor in if the showrunners actually want to have an eighth season, and from their comments lately, I get the distinct impression they would rather move on after a seven year run. Notably, whenever this subject is ever brought up in interviews, they never mention the increasing cost of producing the show or whether they have enough material for an eighth season or anything of that nature; it always comes back to them saying they do not want to overextend their welcome, they do not want to ruin something great and so on.

Well, they could always cut back a bit - they don't have to write and direct half the episodes each season.

[Ignorant Bog Woman]

Off-topic: http://collider.com/game-of-thrones-season-4-alex-graves-interview/#wejOujGM56sdxS51.99

Alex Graves: "Yeah, there's a battle in the tenth episode that is so VFX heavy and so complex, even on a feature level, that won't be done until June right before it airs."

Wow. There was separate news a few weeks ago about there being the biggest dollars-per-second scene they've done yet later in the season. These must be the same scene. But what can it be?

[kingofcombos]

Still holding out for 8 seasons. Setting myself up for disappointment? Maybe, but I don't care.

Also holding out for 2 Blackwater type episodes next season. Winterfell and Danys crew.

About the cost of actors. Likely a lot will die in the next book/season 6. I doubt most of them are going to make it to the end.

Off-topic: http://collider.com/game-of-thrones-season-4-alex-graves-interview/#wejOujGM56sdxS51.99

Alex Graves: "Yeah, there's a battle in the tenth episode that is so VFX heavy and so complex, even on a feature level, that won't be done until June right before it airs."

Wow. There was separate news a few weeks ago about there being the biggest dollars-per-second scene they've done yet later in the season. These must be the same scene. But what can it be?

Very interesting find. In episode 10? Lol, im clueless. Usually thats the season wrap up.

OH, maybe something with Greyjoys vs Boltons? but if they were to do a brawl between then why not earlier? Yep i got nothing. Probably Dany is doing something. This is really going to be an action packed season.

I just love the dedication. Working on visual effects till the day before it airs is amazing.

[Benjaario Starkharis]

Off-topic: http://collider.com/game-of-thrones-season-4-alex-graves-interview/#wejOujGM56sdxS51.99

Alex Graves: "Yeah, there's a battle in the tenth episode that is so VFX heavy and so complex, even on a feature level, that won't be done until June right before it airs."

Wow. There was separate news a few weeks ago about there being the biggest dollars-per-second scene they've done yet later in the season. These must be the same scene. But what can it be?

Yeah, what battle could that be? We know the entire battle of the Wall is in episode 9 and it's a huge fucking battle. What the hell could top it? And open battle between the Ghiscari and the Unsullied with the help of the dragons? A huge open battle between the Bolton forces and the Greyjoys? I have no idea.

[Ignorant Bog Woman]

Yeah, what battle could that be? We know the entire battle of the Wall is in episode 9 and it's a huge fucking battle. What the hell could top it? And open battle between the Ghiscari and the Unsullied with the help of the dragons? A huge open battle between the Bolton forces and the Greyjoys? I have no idea.

CGI-heavy implies a battle between children of the forest and wights.

That's the best I can come up with, outside of original content like you guys mentioned.

[Khal-a-bunga]

I'm guessing that Graves was actually referring to the ninth episode, since it will also air in June.

[kingofcombos]

I'm guessing that Graves was actually referring to the ninth episode, since it will also air in June.

It would be awfully weird for him to confuse episode ten with 9. For lots of reasons

-he was only talking about his episodes.

-pretty hard to confuse the last episode of the season you been working on for months with the 2nd last.

[Fez]

I'm guessing that Graves was actually referring to the ninth episode, since it will also air in June.

But Graves didn't direct the 9th episode, he directed the 10th (and the 2nd, 3rd, and 8th), and this is the second time he's talked about how expensive and big the 10th episode would be. I really can't imagine that he'd keep misspeaking or be mistaken about this.

My guess, in rough order of likelihood:

1) The Battle at the Wall extends into the 10th episode and gets even bigger than what Marshall is doing in the 9th episode

2) Bran has a lengthy vision of some battle in the past or future

3) Some made-up open revolt for Dany to deal with

4) The Iron Fleet raiding somewhere (which would also serve as a surprise introduction for Victarion)

5) D&D made some serious alterations to Dany's storyline and either Draznak's Pit or the Battle of Fire happens this season

[Ignorant Bog Woman]

But Graves didn't direct the 9th episode, he directed the 10th (and the 2nd, 3rd, and 8th), and this is the second time he's talked about how expensive and big the 10th episode would be. I really can't imagine that he'd keep misspeaking or be mistaken about this.

My guess, in rough order of likelihood:

1) The Battle at the Wall extends into the 10th episode and gets even bigger than what Marshall is doing in the 9th episode

2) Bran has a lengthy vision of some battle in the past or future

3) Some made-up open revolt for Dany to deal with

4) The Iron Fleet raiding somewhere (which would also serve as a surprise introduction for Victarion)

5) D&D made some serious alterations to Dany's storyline and either Draznak's Pit or the Battle of Fire happens this season

I think 2) is more likely than 1). Where does my suggestion sit on your scale?

[Fez]

I think 2) is more likely than 1). Where does my suggestion sit on your scale?

If Bran has a vision, I think it probably would be a Children/Others battle, the battle for the dawn actually.

[Colonel Green]

It could be a souped up confrontation between Bran's party and some wights/White Walkers on the way to the cave, with the Children of the Forest (hence, the title) showing up to save the day or something like that.

[Khal-a-bunga]

But Graves didn't direct the 9th episode, he directed the 10th (and the 2nd, 3rd, and 8th), and this is the second time he's talked about how expensive and big the 10th episode would be. I really can't imagine that he'd keep misspeaking or be mistaken about this.

The first time he talked about the finale (the posted interview being the second) he made no mention of a battle, just stated that it was an episode with a lot of huge moments. No mention of a battle, whatsoever. And even in the interview above, it doesn't seem like he's speaking about something he himself shot... Time will tell, but I highly doubt there is going to be any big battle in the tenth episode, though I'm sure there will be a ton of big moments.

[Faint]

While some characters had more story to tell in the gap, necessitating its abandonment, I don't think that Bran and Sansa have less story tells us anything about characters intersecting.

I am not quite as confident in assuming as much as you do. I think it quite possible that the reason a character like Bran had his last chapter occur in the middle of A Dance with Dragons is because other point-of-view characters had to reach a certain place in their story before Bran could have another chapter.

To use some speculative examples, many on this forum theorize that Bran will soon enter the Theon and Asha storyline or, alternatively, the Jon Snow storyline. If either of the the two scenarios prove true, or if both do, then obviously Bran cannot have another chronological chapter until Jon has been assassinated or Theon has been captured by Stannis.

This goes back to my point about Benioff and Weiss perhaps being limited in advancing the story for someone like Bran. While he does not have a lot of material in the past two books (i.e., 3 chapters), there is a possibility that they are prevented from reaching into his storyline from The Winds of Winter ahead of other characters because the way his story is structured necessitates the need to wait for other, more expansive storylines.

[Fez]

The first time he talked about the finale (the posted interview being the second) he made no mention of a battle, just stated that it was an episode with a lot of huge moments. No mention of a battle, whatsoever. And even in the interview above, it doesn't seem like he's speaking about something he himself shot... Time will tell, but I highly doubt there is going to be any big battle in the tenth episode, though I'm sure there will be a ton of big moments.

He didn't mention a battle the first time. But he did mention that the finale had the most expensive scene per second of film that the show has ever had; which implies a lot of VFX.

[Sun]

It's probably Bran and his gang under attack by White Walkers/Wights

[Abaddon]

Well, they could always cut back a bit - they don't have to write and direct half the episodes each season.

They direct one episode each season... and they write more than half. They also brought on a new writer for S5, although it remains to be seen what that will translate to.

[Abaddon]

I really can't imagine what he is referring to being anything but the Battle of the Wall. Giants, Mastadons, Wargs, etc... it will be LoTR level CGI required to really pull that off. (And maybe better, albeit not nearly as much, since at this point LoTR is a bit long in the tooth). I can only hazard a guess that he said "Episode 9" and the interviewer maybe thought he meant 10 or something. Which is weak conjecture, but it doesn't make sense to create a huge Battle of the Wall and bring in Neil Marshall and then upstage it in Episode 10. There are at least 3-4 "oh shit" moments that Episode 10 should have but nothing that makes sense as a battle...

Then again:

But actually I had a battle this year where we wanted to have some of the cameras flying, and my son shoots a lot of stuff with a GoPro and I was looking at the GoPro and I was like, “You know what? let’s get a GoPro on this horse. Let’s put a GoPro on this deer.” And we actually started doing some amazing stuff that worked out really well.

I can imagine a horse in Mereen, it sounds like that could be Daario vs the Champion, but a deer?

[Moondancer]

Deer - Summer's prey? It looked like fawn, actually.

[Khal-a-bunga]

We've already seen the GoPro camera shots in several of the trailers, and it is indeed used when the champion of Meereen is riding towards Daario.

[Mr Fixit]

We've already seen the GoPro camera shots in several of the trailers, and it is indeed used when the champion of Meereen is riding towards Daario.

Episode 3 it is then.