How they shot Game of Thrones season 8 episode 4's crucial feast scene

Game of Thrones season 8 episode 4 was an emotional rollercoaster and - spoilers spoilers spoilers - the crucial feast scene was a chance for all those who survived the Battle of Winterfell to think about something other than dying horribly. In the latest look behind the scenes, the cast and director David Nutter explained how the 17-page-long party came together.

"That was really fun, the feast scene being one of the first scenes we shot," says Sophie Turner, who plays Sansa Stark. "We had a room full of cast and it was like coming back to school on the first few days when everyone is so hyper to be back."

Of course the party comes just after a mass funeral for all those who didn't make it.

"Of course it's horrible that so many people [have] died but still the show must go on, life must go on. You have to celebrate it somehow, so the only way is to get very drunk and to have a lot of fun," said Kristofer Hivju, who plays Tormund.

While it might have been a happy time for actors and fans, it wasn't an easy scene to put together according to Bryan Cogan, co-executive producer. "That feast scene in episode 4 , that was a bitch. That was a bitch to plot out, it was a real bitch to shoot. And it's because so much of the scene, like a lot of I think best scenes on Game of Thrones, are about what's not being said."

"If you turn off the sound on that scene, the hope would be that you're really following all of the emotional arcs through the looks that all of the characters give to each other, and that's very difficult to pull off. It takes a director of precision like David Nutter, it takes actors of extraordinary intelligence and empathy and patience."

You'll also hear about how everything from the camera shots to the lighting helped tell the story of the scene. With all that to think about, you can almost excuse them for accidentally including a Starbucks cup in this week's episode.

That's a pumpkin spice latte pic.twitter.com/fPThGIWJPWMay 6, 2019

Rachel Weber is the former US Managing Editor of GamesRadar+ and lives in Brooklyn, New York. She joined GamesRadar+ in 2017, revitalizing the news coverage and building new processes and strategies for the US team.