Production
Writing
"Eastwatch" was written for television by Dave Hill, who had previously written two episodes for the series, "Sons of the Harpy" and "Home", as well as serving as a writing assistant since the show's second season. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly , Hill commented on the intentions of the characters' decisions, and the writing and storylines that were involved in penning the episode. In writing the opening sequence involving Daenerys, and Randyll and Dickon Tarly, Hill noted the difference between Daenerys and other rulers, in that she offered the men a choice, saying, "These lords disobeyed her and disrespected her in rebellion against the rightful queen. Then she gives them a way out and they don't take it." He also spoke about the effect on Jaime of being defeated by Daenerys, noting: "This was their first time facing [Daenerys] in the open field and they were so easily defeated and that's not something he's ever seen before. But as hard as it is to deal with [Daenerys] and her dragons, it's much harder to deal with Cersei." [3]
Regarding Jon Snow's departure from Dragonstone, Hill mentioned that Daenerys believes Jon is honest, and she "can't continue a war and still have Seven Kingdoms to rule after the war is done" as long as the White Walker threat remains. Hill's intention in writing the scene of Tyrion's secret meeting with Jaime was to open the interaction with "total antagonism and hatred", and eventually change it to the two "being vaguely on the same side." He notes that although Jaime may not believe Tyrion, it was worth exploring a possibility of a truce. [3]
Hill stated that the writers were uncertain on when Gendry should be reintroduced to the story. He noted that the writers always intended to bring Gendry back, and that they had originally planned to bring him back in the previous season. They eventually settled on bringing him back in "Eastwatch" in order to place him into the storyline he referred to as "the big mission" with Jon Snow beyond the Wall. Hill added, "It made sense that Davos would want to save this boy who's like a surrogate son." [3]
Casting
"Eastwatch" saw the re-introduction of Joe Dempsie as Gendry, the role he portrayed in the first, second, and third seasons. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter , Dempsie said about re-joining the cast: "In the intervening three years, I would always welcome the opportunity to come back to the show with open arms. I have so many friends on the show and have such a great time making it. I learn so much when I'm on that set." Dempsie also revealed that co-creators David Benioff and D. B. Weiss were unsure when he would be returning to the show, noting that he was told by them, "Look, your character is going to disappear for a while. We don't want you to panic. We're not trying to sack you. We like your performance and your character, but we have plans for him further on down the line." Dempsie learned of his return to the show shortly before Christmas 2015, during a meeting with his agent. [4]
Filming
"Eastwatch" was directed by Matt Shakman, who also directed the previous episode, "The Spoils of War". Prior to joining the series, Shakman served as a television director for several other series, including Fargo , The Good Wife , Mad Men , and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia . [5] In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter following the airing of "Eastwatch", Shakman described shooting his two episodes (the other being "The Spoils of War") for the season: "There isn't the same massive set piece, so it's really about establishing what's coming next for the season. It's a bit of a reset. There are some major character revelations and further development of relationships, especially the people who are reunited and are now seeing what's happening as they navigate their new relationships with the people they haven't seen in so long." At the beginning of the episode, Tyrion Lannister is shown walking through the aftermath of the "Loot Train Attack," which Shakman noted was intended to show Tyrion's internal conflict between serving Daenerys and seeing his own family's dead soldiers. He also stated about the scene, "We created things for him to look at that were evoking Pompeii, the aftermath of the dragon fire and what it does to the humans all around him, as well as the destruction of the actual wagons. We walked Peter through that, and let him react to what he was seeing. The effect is pretty powerful." [6]
For Daenerys Targaryen's return to Dragonstone, and the interaction between Drogon and Jon Snow, Shakman spoke about the process that went into creating the scene, saying that "half the time Kit Harington", who portrays Jon Snow, was "acting with a partial dragon snout", and at other times "nothing, or a tennis ball in order to establish a proper eye-line." A "pre-viz" was also created, "in order for Harington to see a visualization of what the scene would look like after post-production was completed and to understand the enormity of Drogon." He continued, "It's tremendous acting, to be able to invent your scene partner, and to be able to navigate a scene like that. Bravo to Kit Harington." [7]
Shakman also talked about directing Harington and Emilia Clarke, who portrays Daenerys, saying: "Even though they haven't interacted much on the show at all, except for this season, [Harington and Clarke] know each other very well. So there's a familiarity there that helps them as actors. They both have great respect for each other and are both very talented, so the scenes are relatively easy to craft due to the familiarity between them that works." [6]
Shakman also spoke about the direction for the scene between Samwell Tarly and Gilly at the Citadel, noting that despite the importance of the information that Gilly was revealing regarding Rhaegar Targaryen, his intent was to focus primarily on John Bradley as Sam, saying, "I knew the information was huge, and there's no need to underline it at all. I put all of that information off-camera and pushed in on John Bradley as he was dealing with the crisis of the moment, which was his frustration with the maesters and ultimately coming to the conclusion that he doesn't want to be a part of it anymore. The fact that it happens to be dropping a giant piece of information about Jon's lineage and his claim to the throne, I felt it was better to have that happen without any kind of underlining." He also disclosed that the effect of this reveal will be felt in future episodes as Daenerys and Jon's relationship changes. [6]
Additionally, "Shakman revealed that the meeting of characters at the Eastwatch ice cells at the end of the episode was shot all in one day, and that he hoped to have had more time to shoot the scene." He complimented the actors for their performances, however, saying: "there's just so much tension happening with everybody, and we're setting up this idea that this is a group of very unlikely comrades heading out to perform an impossible task. All of those actors are fantastic. Building the tension between each of them wasn't that difficult, given how smart they all are as performers." [8] For the closing shot of the episode, Shakman attempted to pay homage to director Sam Peckinpah, specifically by referencing the 1969 film The Wild Bunch , for which Peckinpah wrote the screenplay and directed. He noted the scene was "meant to evoke that image of the Wild Bunch walking into town before the big shoot-'em-up begins." [6]
