In a new Game of Thrones Inside the Episode video, showrunners Benioff and Weiss discuss the big developments in season 3, episode 6 “The Climb.”
In Sunday’s episode “The Climb,” Jon and Ygritte reached the top of the Wall, Theon was subjected to more gruesome torture, Sansa learned that she was marrying Tyrion, and Melisandre took Gendry away.
Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss take us inside the episode in this new video to talk about what happened:
They begin by discussing the scene where Ygritte tells Jon that even though she knows he’s still loyal to the Night’s Watch, “I’m your woman now. You’re going to be loyal to your woman.”
“Ygritte is smart,” Weiss says. “She probably has a better handle on what’s going on inside Jon than Jon does.” Benioff adds that he’s caught between his vows to the Watch, and carrying out Qhorin Halfhand’s plan.” And now he’s in love with Ygritte, that’s an even more dangerous situation for him.
Next up is the Tywin/Olenna confrontation. Tywin is genuinely concerned with the future of the Lannister line, Benioff explains, and he wants Cersei to bear more children.
Varys and Littlefinger have a chilling conversation by the side of the throne, and Benioff says, “Littlefinger wants it all.” “He’s patient,” Weiss adds, “he’s been biding his time for a long, long time to get what he wants.” So now he’s taking risks, risks he’s willing to take to get ahead in the game.
And of course, one of those risks was getting on Joffrey’s good side by handing over Ros and subjecting her to a horrible fate.
Actress Esmé Bianco has spoken to HBO about the death of Ros, and her thoughts on having been a part of Game of Thrones.
She talks about how her role turned into so much more than a one-off appearance, saying, “Just after they got the greenlight, I got an email from David and Dan and they said, ‘We love your character, we really like what you did. Would you consider coming back if we wrote you in?’ So they kept sending me scenes and it went from there.”
Bianco also acknowledges that there’s been mixed reactions to the character from the fan base. “Some love her because she’s not in the books and because she’s fresh and brings a different element in,” she says, “but lots of hard-core book fans… they hate her.”
In terms of the death scene itself, she says, “I like that you don’t actually see it happening. I think there’s more of a shock. I’ve seen stills and it looks absolutely beautiful, like a painting. Really, every scene she’s been in is like a Caravaggio. I’m just glad she didn’t get her head chopped off.”
Although we’ll never get to see it, the actress shares what she believes were Ros’ hopes for herself. “I think ultimately she would have liked to be independent of the men that ruled her, from constantly having to appease these powerful men,” she says. “She definitely wants more for herself, more of a ‘normal’ life—for Westeros. I think she wanted to settle down and have a family.”