Game Of Thrones Season 7 Gave Nikolaj Coster-Waldau His Most Fun Moment As Jaime
This article contains spoilers for "Game of Thrones."
If we put Jaime Lannister's (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) ending out of our heads for a bit, he would have one of the best character arcs in television history. In "Game of Thrones" season 1, he pushed a little kid (Bran Stark, played by Isaac Hempstead-Wright) out of a high window for catching Jaime having sex with his twin sister Cersei (Lena Headey). He was cruel and full of himself, with his only redeeming quality being his love for his brother Tyrion (Peter Dinklage). By season 7, he'd met Brienne (Gwendoline Christie) and fallen for her ... or at the very least, developed deep feelings for her. He'd also formed strong friendships, was humbled after losing his hand, and turned into a character to root for. (The less said about his return to Cersei at the end, the better.)
Coster-Waldau enjoyed his time playing Jaime, and in a 2019 video posted to the series' official YouTube channel, he spoke about his favorite scene to shoot, which was in season 7, episode 4, "The Spoils of War." He also delved into the Matt Shakman-directed episode and what he loved about it.
Knight versus dragon
If you recall, the episode began with Cersei trying to convince the Iron Bank that she has the funds to pay them back while Jaime is on a wagon train, heading into King's Landing with the gold they got from Highgarden. He gives his loyal buddy Bronn (Jerome Flynn) some of the gold as a reward, but Bronn wants the castle he was promised. In comes Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) on her now-giant dragon Drogon, swooping in to attack the wagon train and destroying it.
During the ensuring scuffle, Bronn injures Drogon, who is forced to land. While Daenerys gets off to help him, Drogon toasts Jaime with fire. Bronn dumps him in the water and his armor starts to pull him under. It's a huge set piece that was full of action, and when you bring a dragon into the mix, it just makes everything better. This was an edge-of-your-seat episode, and it looks like a blast to shoot.
'I don't think you could find anything bigger'
Here's what Coster-Waldau had to say about the scene:
"I think the most fun scene we shot was season 7, we shot this big sequence, the loot train attack. And we shot that in Spain, outside — just outside a town called Cáceres. It was such a beautiful location, and there was something about being outside every day and being on horseback. I love riding. It was just — you know, over the years, this show has grown, you know, it's so big now. I don't think you could find anything bigger, even if you went to feature movies. It's so ridiculous. But the last year, in Spain, you had the grandness, but it was still — it still felt intimate. And yeah, you do feel lucky when you get to experience those."
He makes an interesting point about this feeling big enough to be a feature. While it worked beautifully for most of the show's run, leaving audiences riveted by the incredible production value, this sort of commitment to a huge show very much fell off by the end. I won't rehash the common criticisms of the final season, but in my head canon, this all wrapped up in season 7, back when Jaime still felt like the character we'd watched go through so much.
"Game of Thrones" is currently streaming on Max.