Game of Thrones Arya/Sansa Reunion Was ‘Weird’ For Stars

WARNING: This post contains spoilers for Game of Thrones episode “The Spoils of War”

–

Game Of Thrones’ Arya Stark and Sansa Stark actresses, Maisie Williams and Sophie Turner, found it ‘weird’ filming their reunion scene for Season 7 Episode 4, “The Spoils of War”. They aren’t the first pair of actors to find shooting a scene strange this season; Kit Harington and Emilia Clarke expressed similar sentiments after HBO aired their first shared scene as Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen.

With Game Of Thrones racing towards its final season, things are really heating up. That fire pun was intended, of course, given that “The Spoils of War” served up the show’s first ‘dragons versus Lannisters’ battle, which finally gave the fans what they’ve always wanted to see. The battle was a brutal and unpredictable one, with the fate of both Dany’s dragon and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau’s Jaime Lannister totally up in the air as the credits rolled.

But for the show’s northern segment, the Stark sisters’ reunion was the episode’s biggest talking point. And filming it wasn’t easy for the two actresses involved. They haven’t shot a scene together since Season 1, and have developed a strong real-life friendship in the intervening years. In an interview with EW, Turner and Williams discussed what it was like shooting the scene:

Turner: “Our first scene together was our reunion scene and we f—ed up so many times. We couldn’t keep a straight face! Our relationship is so close, but it’s only that fun side, never the business side. I was nervous. It just terrified me. It’s like performing for your mom. When somebody is watching you don’t do it quite as well.”

Williams: “It was the weirdest thing when we shot our first scene together. We were both embarrassed to do our thing in front of each other. It took a few hours for us to get serious and actually do it. Later it was fine on set and we could concentrate, but it was so hard to get into character with Sophie in front of me.”

Williams also chimed in with the following statement, explaining how she sees her friendship with Turner as a positive thing for their work together:

“But in the long run I think it benefits us because we can be free with each other in our acting. We’re not afraid to go there with each other because we feel so comfortable around each other.”

And, as it turns out, these characters reuniting is just as exciting for the actors involved as it is for the fans. “I was so overwhelmed by [Bran and Sansa and Arya] meeting again,” Turner recalled, talking about the first time she heard about the scene. “So I was sitting in the corner going, ‘Ahhh!’ and everybody there was fans of the show and going ‘What is it?!’ And I rang Maisie up and was like, ‘Can you believe it? It’s amazing!’”

Next up on the Starks’ agenda must be Littlefinger. Bran knows that he isn’t to be trusted, so can Petyr Baelish survive season 7? It seems unlikely, to be honest. And with Jon off making powerful new allies, you could argue that the Starks don’t need The Knights of the Vale anymore. Of course, we’ll have to keep watching to see how it all plays out.

MORE: Game of Thrones Costumes Are Made from IKEA Rugs

Game of Thrones continues next Sunday @9pm on HBO.

Source: EW