As excited as we are to have Game of Thrones back on our TV screens next week, with its return comes an air of melancholy. The eighth season is also the final season, and just as we head back to Westeros, we’ll soon be saying goodbye. But that’s nothing compared to what the cast is surely going through right now. Though they wrapped filming many months ago, they’re currently on a big promotional sendoff tour, which came to a head at last night’s premiere and afterparty in New York City.
We get one proper chance to say goodbye when the finale airs this summer, but the cast is getting a series of several drawn-out farewells. It must be both exhilarating and heartbreaking for a crew that has collectively worked on the show for a decade. Luckily, there are no signs of sadness just yet. Quite the contrary, in fact. From what we can glean off social media, the premiere was full of good-spirited fun. And everyone looked absolutely fabulous!
Case in point: Gwendoline Christie, who absolutely owned the red carpet like it was her job.
Brienne of Tarth for queen of the universe.
Sophie Turner also had some good fun, posing with Sansa’s formerly betrothed Joffrey Baratheon (Jack Gleeson) and her real-life fiancé Joe Jonas.
The Mother of Dragons herself also posted some fun snaps from the premiere after party, posing with her onscreen BFF Missandei (Nathalie Emmanuel), her ardent follower Grey Worm (Jacob Anderson), and her dead husband Khal Drogo (Jason Momoa).
The Stark siblings also posed with their dearly departed patriarch, Ned (Sean Bean), and no, we promise we’re not crying.
Now that it’s the morning after, everyone is in recovery mode, including Jaime Lannister himself, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, who posted this glorious image of himself.
If you’re interested in more images from last night’s shenanigans, we suggest checking out the #gotpremierenyc tag on Instagram and Twitter. There’s a lot of joy to be found, which will hopefully sustain us through the sure-to-be-grim final season of Game of Thrones, which begins next Sunday, April 14, on HBO.
Images: HBO
