Game of Thrones season 7 episode 5: Bosses on Arya, Littlefinger, more

Game of Thrones season 7 episode t proved itself to be a firecracker of an episode, one where there were all sorts of fascinating things happening at around every turn. While there was no enormous battle, we did get many opportunities in order to see characters coming together — including some that haven’t been around each other in years. (Gendry is back! How can you not be excited about that.)

After the episode, there was once more a look behind the scenes brought to you by executive producers David Benioff and D.B. Weiss. As we’re keen to do here on an almost-weekly basis, we are here to offer up some quotes from that segment. These should offer up a little more of a sense as to where some of these characters’ heads are at.

On Daenerys’ decision to burn people alive for not bending the knee – “The more ruthless opponent will often win. I wouldn’t say she’s acting like the Mad King because she’s rational. She’s giving them a choice … She’s not being insane in anyway. She’s being tough. That’s her perspective. Tyrion has a different perspective.”

On Littlefinger setting out a plan to attract Arya’s attention – “Arya is used to being more clever and more stealthy [than anyone she’s been around in a while] … [Littlefinger] is working [with his plan, leading Arya along] to keep that sister bond from developing further. The more that [bond forms], the more he will find himself on the outside of it.”

On the potential White Walker threat and Tyrion’s plan to bring one down to King’s Landing – “How will Jon Snow convince people to fight against an enemy they’ve never seen before? … Bringing [The White Walkers] down there was something that’d been thought about before, but it didn’t work … Like many of these situations on the show, the one who figures it out is Tyrion.”

On the circumstances surrounding the return of Gendry – “Gendry played an important part in the lives of more than one main character on the show. It wasn’t a question as to if to bring him back; it was more as to how to bring him back … He’s not going to lie to Jon about who he is, especially when telling him the truth will allow him to be a part of things, something that he’s probably wanted for the past few years.”

On the conclusion of the episode, where Jon walks out ready for battle with Tormund and others – “The end of [the episode], you [realize] that everyone has a reason to hate everyone else … All of these guys are [still] going to walk out into the wilds of the North together and try to do something extremely dangerous.

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