Francesca Orsi, HBO's senior vice president for drama, has given some major hints about what viewers can expect to see in the last season of the hit fantasy drama series "Game of Thrones." It seems that some dramatic events are due to happen, and that multiple characters may lose their lives during the season. Even though the show is ending, fans still have the spinoffs to look forward to.
Variety reported on "The Best of HBO" panel at the INTV Conference, which was held in Israel. Orsi was one of the panel speakers, and she spoke about the challenges of producing HBO's television shows. One of the shows she spoke about happened to be "Game of Thrones," and she revealed much more than what the business side of the show's production is like.
Orsi was present during the table read for the season's episodes. "It was a really powerful moment in our lives and our careers," she said, adding, "None of the cast had received the scripts prior, and one by one they started falling down to their deaths."
It is unclear what exactly Orsi meant by her statement. It is possible that she meant that the characters in the show were dying one by one, but she also could have meant that the actors had an intense reaction to the events in the story.
Either explanation could actually be fitting. "Game of Thrones" is known for its high character mortality rate, and even its heroes and protagonists are not spared from getting killed off on the show. Since season 8 is the last season, it is also likely very dramatic. Season 7 also built up to a massive war in season 8, so it is possible that the final season will indeed be full of deaths.
"It was amazing," Orsi said, describing the episodes of the show's final season. It seems that those present at the table read were very moved by the show's final episodes. "By the very end, everyone looked down and looked up and tears were in their eyes."
Actor Kit Harington, who plays Jon Snow in the show, also revealed back in October of last year that he did indeed cry when he read how the show will end. Thus, it is entirely possible that fans of the show will have an emotional time during the series finale.
However, it seems that the series finale will not be the end of the "Game of Thrones" universe, at least not on television. Orsi also spoke about the production of up to five "Game of Thrones" spinoff shows, though she did not elaborate on them. All she said about the spinoffs was that "we're going big."
