The final season of “Game of Thrones” is fast approaching, meaning that rewatches are in progress and the cast is knee-deep in talk show appearances. The cherry on top of the promo-ing, though, arrived last night in the form of the season 8 NYC premiere, where actors new and old and characters dead and alive walked the red carpet and made us all feel like we were in Westeros.
The event was, in truth, stacked with appearances, and everyone relevant to the last six episodes showed face (minus Lena Heady, who was too ill to travel), but there were still plenty of cast members that were dearly, dearly missed.
My biggest gripe? Richard Madden's absence.
All I wanted was to see the Stark family back together again, and Ned freakin’ Stark (Sean Bean) rose from the dead to show up -- why couldn’t Cat (Michelle Fairley) and Robb?!
In all fairness, Rickon (Art Parkinson) wasn’t there, either, but he was always a tad on the irrelevant side, anyway.
Not seeing Madden in a tux, bro-ing it up with Kit Harington and getting cheeky with his on-screen sisters is, to put it lightly, a disgrace. The death of Robb Stark was such a turning point in the show, and even though Madden has done great work since then (his Netflix show “Bodyguard” was met with wild success and he’ll play John Reid opposite Taron Egerton’s Elton John in “Rocketman,” out next month), Robb was a fan favorite and should have been revered as such at this final premiere event.
Remember your roots, Madden! The North sure remembers.
Those who did show up, though, showed 👏 up 👏.
The Oathkeeper
Starting with the obvious, Gwendoline Christie didn’t come to play. I’d give Brienne of Tarth the Iron Throne and my first born child if necessary after seeing this. Her couture Iris van Herpen gown was ice and fire incarnate and quite literally nothing else mattered.
Stark sisters
Sophie Turner, with an intense eyeliner look that proves Sansa isn’t here to play, and Maisie Williams sporting whimsical purple hair made the BFFs red carpet royalty. We’re so not ready to say goodbye to this duo.
Redhead Bronn!
Jerome Flynn is cute. There, I said it.
Oberyn is back to haunt the Mountain
Pedro Pascal and Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson came together to pay homage to their fateful scene together. This time, though, Oberyn stayed standing.
The Woman in Red...in white
Carice van Houten (Melisandre) is too gorgeous for words. The white dress with statement shoulders screamed “priestess.”
The couple to end all couples.
Who need no introduction.
Other favorites we would have liked to see again?
Finn Jones (Loras Tyrell) and his too-beautiful eyes and Michiel Huisman (Daario Naharis), possibly peeing on the red carpet, though just his presence would have sufficed.
Now to twiddle our thumbs for the next week and a half.