Anyone who knows me knows that I am a total geek girl when it comes to Game of Thrones. Mischief Management put together the third Con of Thrones, held at the Music City Center in Nashville last weekend from July 12-14. And of course, I had my flight booked since last November for this! The Mischief Management team brought back Hannah Murray as a guest this year.
Hannah Murray starred as wildling girl Gilly in seasons 2-8 on Game of Thrones. She worked closely with John Bradley, who portrayed Samwell Tarly. Bradley was originally scheduled to attend Con of Thrones but unfortunately had to cancel. Hannah Murray’s panel took place last Friday July 11. Kim Renfro of INSIDER moderated the panel.
Surviving Season 8
Moderator Kim Renfro brought up the fact that Gilly is one of a handful of characters to survive from start to end on the show. Gilly first appeared in the season 2 premiere episode “The North Remembers.”
The Season 8 Table Read
Renfro asked Hannah Murray about the infamous season 8 table read. Fans got to see a little bit of the table read through scenes from the Game of Thrones documentary from director Jeanie Finlay. The documentary, Game of Thrones: The Last Watch, aired the week after the series finale on HBO.
Renfro also asked Hannah Murray what surprised her the most in the season 8 scripts.
Let’s go back to the beginning
How did Hannah Murray get her start on Game of Thrones? Murray previously starred on the hit UK teen drama series Skins. She had auditioned before for casting director Nina Gold.
Looking back on it, no one could have predicted how big the show and fandom would have grown. Murray explains the two occasions when she realized the show had grown massive.
Shooting for Season 6
Fan Q&A
Souvenirs from the set?
Fans asked plenty of interesting questions for Hannah Murray. One of my favorite things about attending panels like these at conventions is hearing what others have to ask. Some questions are pretty standard like “what did you take from the set?” BUT they do generate a variety of responses. Murray took a pair of water-proof socks, since they were very high-tech and she often shot in wet climates.
Filming with the babies
When it comes to filming with babies, Murray explained that there were usually four babies to portray little Sam. However, as little Sam aged in the show, they only had two babies to portray him. Murray recounts dealing with the two crying babies inside a carriage scene.
The crypt scene
In the third episode of season 8, “The Long Night,” Gilly stayed in the Stark crypt during the battle against the dead. A fan asked Murray how she reacted to that scene. Most fans thought it was ridiculous to have the women and children and non-fighting men stay in the crypt, where the dead can easily rise if the Night King willed it.
Who did you think would end up on the throne?
Murray explained that she thought Daenarys ending up on the throne would have been the easy option and she secretly hoped the writers would somehow work the story to get Sansa on the throne. But hey… Sansa did get a throne. 😉
Stay tuned for more articles recapping Con of Thrones!
Featured image credit: HBO
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