‘Game of Thrones’ season 3 spoilers: Meet Mance Rayder all over again

“Game of Thrones” season 3 may be shooting at present in northern Iceland, but for the latest edition of the Making of Game of Thrones blog, David Benioff and D.B. Weiss’ assistant Cat Taylor is giving us some insight into the first time in which the show filmed with a character at the Northern Ireland soundstages who is going to be an essential part of the story Beyond the Wall: Mance Rayder. When it was announced that Cirian Hinds was going to be playing the iconic role as the wilding king, there was excitement; with the way that Taylor describes the character, we may as well be falling out of our chair.

Be sure to savor the full description below:

“Nestled on the back of Stage B, on one of our new soundstages at the Painthall, is Mance’s tent. The Stage is pleasantly warm, but inside the tent fires burn while the takes are on, and every wildling is in furs and capes. Amazing for Icelandic glaciers, not so great for weight-loss-inducing sweat lodges in Northern Ireland.  It’s so hot in fact, that Edward Dogliani, who plays Rattleshirt has eschewed his namesake and is wandering around with no shirt of any kind (but a rather fetching pair of braces).

“It’s unusual that a new cast member’s introduction scene is the first scene we film with them, but that seems fitting for one of the season’s most anticipated new characters. Dan Minahan is at the helm, and in a small sub-section off the tent he watches as the scene comes to life.”

Based on the photo that Taylor shared, it appears as though this episode mentioned in the post is the second of the season, which means that it is not going to take Ygritte very long at all to drag Jon Snow to her king; however, what is still to be seen (at least for those who have not read the George R.R. Martin books) is just what is going to happen when a former member of the Night’s Watch meets someone who is filling a current role within the group (even if, with his capture, he is not doing a very good job at it).

Is Mance the new character that you are the most excited to see, or are you pulling more for a first look at the Blackfish or one of the Reeds?