‘Game of Thrones’ season 4, episode 8: Pedro Pascal on the joys of Oberyn Martell

Tonight on “Game of Thrones,” we’re going to reach the culmination of the Prince Oberyn Martell storyline courtesy of his showdown with The Mountain in the trial by combat. He’s wanted to kill this man all along, and he’s going to get the opportunity to do so in one of the most epic battles imaginable.

We’re not going to say a thing about what is going to happen with this character tonight, mostly because that would kill the excitement around the role. However, we will say that this is a part that Pedro Pascal is going to cherish almost the rest of his life. Speaking as a part of a live Q&A session this weekend with HBO Connect, he spent a little bit of time explaining just what he likes about the role:

“It’s the best character I’ve ever played and I’m no spring chicken. That’s a testament to how great of a character Oberyn it is. It starts with the brilliant character GRRM created in the books and David Benioff and Dan Weiss in their adaptation to make him a supreme badass on so many levels. Of all of his strengths, I find his unpredictability the most exciting. He has a short fuse and can go off in any moment, but can surprise you by writing poetry and aligning himself with the underdog.”

“Game of Thrones” also has a much longer shelf life than any other series, meaning that regardless of what happens to Oberyn tonight, Pedro could make plenty of money going to conventions around the world or talking about the character. We see this time and time again with actors from other fantasy / sci-fi shows like “Supernatural,” “The X-Files,” or “The Vampire Diaries.”

You can preview Sunday’s showdown further by heading over to the link here, and we will have a full review up for it a little later tonight. Meanwhile, you can sign up to grab some additional TV updates via our CarterMatt Newsletter.

Photo: HBO