Nikolaj Coster-Waldau shares what Jamie Lannister thought upon seeing Bran Stark (Isaac Hempstead-Wright) waiting for him in Winterfell during the Game of Thrones season 8 premiere. HBO's juggernaut series is back after a long hiatus, and with its final season underway, lingering plot points that have yet to be addressed are finally getting the attention they need. Cue the parting moments of this year's first episode, where the Kingslayer is reunited with the Lord of Winterfell who was waiting for his arrival - a callback to the final scene in the show's pilot.
Game of Thrones season 8 premiere is light on the death toll compared to previous openers, but it got some things out of the way. For instance, Jon Snow (Kit Harington) is now aware of his real lineage courtesy of Sam (John Bradley). Whether or not he's the one to deliver the news to Khaleesi (Emilia Clarke) remains to be seen, nonetheless, that's already out in the open. Khaleesi is now in Winterfell and have met the Starks as they gear up for the battle against the Night King and the White Walkers. Meanwhile, Jon and Khaleesi's love affair continues with a tender moment between the two. But as the episodes roll, fans expect heightened drama and tension similar to how the latest outing ended.
In the aforementioned scene, the Kingslayer didn't have any line, instead, fans can only decipher what his reaction was thanks to the amalgamation of different facial expressions from the actor. Speaking with EW following Game of Thrones season 8 premiering, Coster-Waldau revealed what Jamie's thinking was upon seeing Bran. His answer was initially humorous, but he previews how this reunion will effect how he operates moving forward.
“First of all, I don’t think wheelchairs are a normal thing in Westeros. I think it’s like: ‘What the hell?’ and then, ‘Oh my god, that’s the kid.’ I think he knows Bran didn’t die, but he doesn’t expect to meet him.”
“His mission changes once again. It goes from: ‘I know my brother Tyrion is there and I’m going to fight the good fight’ to ‘I’m in deep sh– now.’ Because this is the Lord of Winterfell that I tried to kill and I’m sure he wants revenge. That’s what Jaime expects.”
The promotional photos and teaser for next week's Game of Thrones continue Jamie's narrative in Winterfell. From the looks of it, he'll quickly be discovered and presented to Khaleesi, and since he was the one credited for the murder of her father, it doesn't seem like it'll be an easy journey for him to convince them of his allegiance after learning that Cersei's (Lena Headey) troops won't be helping the North. It's uncertain if he's already had his one-on-one with Bran prior to his appearance before the Queen, but fans can rest assured that they'll have their moment together.
At this point, it's hard to gauge what Bran wants from Jamie. One might think that he might seek revenge as Coster-Waldau mentioned, but now that he's already the new Three-Eyed Raven it's curious how he's going to handle this secret link between him and the Lannister sibling. Reading into Coster-Waldau's comments, it seems like he's ready for his imminent confrontation with Bran, but whether or not this assumption changes his original intentions for being in Winterfell is something that fans will find out as Game of Thrones season 8 continues. Perhaps a love-scorned Tyrion steps up for his brother, and saves him from what's shaping up to be an unpleasant fate in the North.
Game of Thrones continues Sunday, April 21 at 9pm on HBO.
Source: EW