Game Of Thrones Shot Three Different Versions Of Jaime Shoving Bran
With "House of the Dragon" recently airing its first season on HBO, it feels like "Game of Thrones" never left our televisions. It's hard to believe that it's been 12 years since those who'd already read the George R.R. Martin's books the series was based on had to keep their expressions neutral as their friends watched it all unfold. We saw events like the Red Wedding, the death of Jon Snow (Kit Harington), and the big moment from the very first season when Jamie Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) pushed 10-year-old Brandon Stark (Isaac Hempstead-Wright) out of a tower window, paralyzing him. Why would Jamie be so needlessly cruel? Little Bran, who liked to climb walls, just happened to peer into a tower as Jamie and his twin sister Cersei (Lena Headey) were getting it on. Cersei kept insisting that Bran saw what they were doing, and Jamie figured the death of a kid was worth it to keep the secret. That remains gross, no matter how much time has passed.
That particular scene took some consideration to get right, and according to a 2019 video from the official YouTube channel for "Game of Thrones," there was one thing they had to try a few different ways. It wasn't the angle of Bran's fall or the delivery of the lines. It all had to do with the wardrobe.
'I was butt naked up against the wall'
In the video, Coster-Waldau spoke about shooting the scene and what they were possibly going to do differently. He said:
"The final scene of episode 1, we shot that in three different versions. One where I was butt naked up against the wall with this very sweet local body double, and then another one where I was on the ground, and a third one — I mean, it was various levels of nakedness. I think we ended on a fairly dressed version, which I think was definitely the right choice."
I have to agree that it was the right choice because nudity during a scene that was already horrific might have pushed it over the edge. (Pun very much intended.) I'm not saying that because of the clear preference the series had for female nudity over male nudity (just show us all of it or none of it), though that is a pet peeve. It's because this one act changed the lives of every character in one way or another. It set off major plot events like putting Ned Stark (Sean Bean) on the defensive, which ultimately led to his death, Bran becoming the Three-Eyed Raven, and turning a certain young man into Hodor (Kristian Nairn). Nudity would have distracted from the importance of this one moment for the rest of the series.
"Game of Thrones" is currently streaming on Max.