Critics of Games of Thrones have generally had the same responses. It’s a good show, but it’s too slow. Now according to some of the stars of the upcoming season 7 that has changed.
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, who plays Jamie Lannister, told Entertainment Weekly that “I feel like I’d been lulled into a different pace. Everything happened quicker than I’m used to … a lot of things that normally take a season now take one episode.”
Kit Harington, who plays fan favourite Jon Snow agreed with Coster-Waldau, telling EW “This season is really different than any other season because it’s accelerating toward the end, a lot of stuff collides and happens much much quicker than you’re used to seeing on Thrones … it’s so different than what everybody is used to. It’s quite exciting.”
That the pace has changed may not be too much of a surprise though. After all the season was cut to seven episodes from its usual 10, and the 8th and final season will be just 6. Another possibility for the quicker pace could be that the story is getting close to the end of being told. Things typically pick up in speed the closer the climax of the story gets. And season 6 did end with Daenerys and her army sailing toward Westeros and the Night King and the army of the dead coming down from the North. We also saw the Starks take back Winterfell and Cersei Lannister claim the iron throne for her own. The season ended with all four armies looking ready to clash, just as winter finally arrived.
Season 7 is set to begin airing on HBO on July 16th.
