Game of Thrones season 7 showrunners on how *that* character won, even in death: "I just love how she goes out"

Deaths in Game of Thrones season 7 have been coming thick and fast, so much so that we’ve not really had chance to pause for breath (or lack thereof). The end of Game of Thrones season 7, episode 3, however, gave viewers and characters alike a chance to see a key character’s last key moments – and how they stuck the metaphorical knife in deeper than any murderous intent ever could. Spoilers follow…

Everyone who hasn’t seen the most recent episode of Thrones has gone, right? Last warning.

It may have been tough to say goodbye to Lady Olenna, especially being the foul-mouthed old stalwart that she is, but, as showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss explained to EW, her ultimate defeat at the hands of the Lannisters actually provided the Tyrell matriarch with a chilling victory.

“What I love about the way she plays the scene is that even though you leave the scene knowing she’s soon going to be dead shortly after you cut to black you still feel like she won,” Weiss says, “She’s probably the only character to win her own death scene.”

He’s not wrong. The poison may have taken her shortly after the episode’s end but the poison rattling around in Jaime’s mind after Olenna’s confession of her hand in his son Joffrey’s death will live long in the memory.

Jaime’s actor, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, was also full of praise for Olenna bowed out,“I just love how she goes out. She goes out with bite. She’s never going to beg. She did an amazing job. It was fun to be there and when we wrapped the showrunners came around and said a few words. She’s had a huge impact on the series.”

Olenna, though your time with us is over, we’ll always have your spiky wit and you dropping the C-bomb on Joffrey. 

Image: HBO

Bradley Russell

I'm the Senior Entertainment Writer here at 12DOVE, focusing on news, features, and interviews with some of the biggest names in film and TV. On-site, you'll find me marveling at Marvel and providing analysis and room temperature takes on the newest films, Star Wars and, of course, anime. Outside of GR, I love getting lost in a good 100-hour JRPG, Warzone, and kicking back on the (virtual) field with Football Manager. My work has also been featured in OPM, FourFourTwo, and Game Revolution.

Latest in Fantasy Shows
Dexter Sol Ansell as Egg and Peter Claffey as Dunk in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
HBO boss says new Game of Thrones spin-off's battles "match" the mainline series at a "fraction of the price"
Abubakar Salim in House of the Dragon
House of the Dragon season 3's opening battle is "beastly", according to one of the show's stars
Jamie Campbell Bower in Stranger Things
The Rings of Power newcomer Jamie Campbell Bower has 'revealed' his season 3 character – but it could be a Sauron-style misdirect
Jamie Campbell Bower in Stranger Things 4
Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 3 adds Stranger Things star and Eddie Marsan to cast
Jeff Goldblum in Kaos
Jeff Goldblum's fantasy series Kaos was Netflix's most-watched cancelled show of late 2024
The Wheel of Time season 3
The Wheel of Time showrunner teases future of the Amazon fantasy series beyond season 3: "My job is to do everything I can to get it to the end"
Latest in News
Stardew Valley Baldur's Gate 3 mod Baldur's Village
Baldur's Gate 3 director Swen Vincke gives his official approval to the Stardew Valley mod that brings the D&D RPG to Pelican Town
Kaitlyn Dever as Abby in The Last Of Us season 2
The Last of Us season 2's Abby star Kaitlyn Dever admits it's been hard to not look at character backlash on the internet
John Bernthal The Punisher
Jon Bernthal teases upcoming "dark" Punisher special: "It's the version that this character deserves"
Death Stranding 2
Hideo Kojima is still hung up on his ex, as Death Stranding 2 features a Metal Gear Solid doppelganger the director says is the spitting image of Solid Snake
Daredevil: Born Again
Elden Henson jokes that what happened to Foggy in Daredevil: Born Again went down because he ran over Kevin Feige's foot with his car
God of War Ragnarok
God of War turns 20 this month, but before you get too excited, Santa Monica Studio says "there are no planned announcements" at its celebratory panel