by Jade Shannon-Turnstill
It may be June, but a dark and endless winter officially arrived at Riley’s in Haymarket on Monday night as guests poured in for the reaction screening of the Game of Thrones Season Five finale.
It may be June, but a dark and endless winter officially arrived at Riley’s in Haymarket on Monday night as guests poured in for the reaction screening of the Game of Thrones Season Five finale.
The room was abuzz as guests speculated over what the finale would hold as well as talk of conspiracy theories, favourite characters, highlights from the season, and heated debates over why Ramsay Bolton is just so much worse than Joffrey (FYI, Joffrey was an annoying mummy’s boy having a massive temper tantrum. Ramsay is just an absolute psychopath!)
The event treated the 100 strong crowd of press, bloggers and HBO UK representatives to a raffle with GoT goodies, a fancy spread, and themed cocktails including the ‘King Slayer’ and ‘Castle Black’, although my personal favourite was the ever sharp and sweet ‘Mother of Dragons’.
Everyone took to their seats in the darkened area at the back of the bar, a large ominous screen looming over us as the last 20 minutes of ‘The Dance of Dragons’ was aired; guests watched on as the Sons of the Harpy attacked the fighting pit in Mereen, and cheered as Drogon descended upon the arena, burning those who attacked Daenerys to a cinder. When the final countdown to ‘Mother’s Mercy’ began, there was a very noticeable change in the atmosphere – the chirpy and excitable chatter started to dull as a wave of nervousness settled, a general feeling of being emotionally unprepared for what was coming. We knew it was going to be big.. Why else would they be filming us, right?
Safe to say, we definitely weren’t ready.
This event was held to record a reaction video, a trend that became hugely popular after YouTuber’s posted clips of their absolute emotional breakdowns over the Red Wedding back in Season Three. These continuously heartfelt (and often hilarious) videos have prompted HBO to hold their own reaction screenings where they film the crowds as they watch the story unfold on a big screen; the video from last night can be viewed at the bottom of this page and I’m pretty sure that a lot of the expressions will resemble your own!
The event treated the 100 strong crowd of press, bloggers and HBO UK representatives to a raffle with GoT goodies, a fancy spread, and themed cocktails including the ‘King Slayer’ and ‘Castle Black’, although my personal favourite was the ever sharp and sweet ‘Mother of Dragons’.
Everyone took to their seats in the darkened area at the back of the bar, a large ominous screen looming over us as the last 20 minutes of ‘The Dance of Dragons’ was aired; guests watched on as the Sons of the Harpy attacked the fighting pit in Mereen, and cheered as Drogon descended upon the arena, burning those who attacked Daenerys to a cinder. When the final countdown to ‘Mother’s Mercy’ began, there was a very noticeable change in the atmosphere – the chirpy and excitable chatter started to dull as a wave of nervousness settled, a general feeling of being emotionally unprepared for what was coming. We knew it was going to be big.. Why else would they be filming us, right?
Safe to say, we definitely weren’t ready.
This event was held to record a reaction video, a trend that became hugely popular after YouTuber’s posted clips of their absolute emotional breakdowns over the Red Wedding back in Season Three. These continuously heartfelt (and often hilarious) videos have prompted HBO to hold their own reaction screenings where they film the crowds as they watch the story unfold on a big screen; the video from last night can be viewed at the bottom of this page and I’m pretty sure that a lot of the expressions will resemble your own!
The room sang along with the infamous theme tune as the season finale began before falling silent as it slowly led into the cold, eerie (and hugely one-sided) battle of Winterfell. The events’ guests were invited to be as responsive as they wanted during the screening and I think it’s safe to say, we were pretty full on. We shouted and cheered as Arya finally got her revenge on the heinous Meryn Trant, laughed at Tyrion’s attempted use of Valyrian or when Daario described Grey Worm as “the toughest man with no balls I’ve ever met,” while there were murmurs of disgust and outrage as Cersei was stripped down and attacked during her walk of atonement. Despite all of this, it was the final scene with everybody’s favourite Crow that got the biggest reaction. As expected, the Nights Watch’s attack on Jon Snow led to an eruption of gasps, shrieks, and a long list of profanities, alongside the sound of a hundred hearts breaking during that harrowing moment between Jon and his protégée Olly.
The episode was immense, and everybody knew it.
We finally saw the real Theon Greyjoy instead of Ramsay’s submissive pet Reek, Arya at her most badass, Cersei at her most vulnerable and Jon as, well, you know. Like many of you, I’m still struggling to come to terms with the losses in this episode while attempting to process everything that happened; following on from the epic White Walker uprising in episode eight, and the emotional wreckage that was episode nine (Poor little Shireen, what was Stannis thinking?!), it was hard to imagine what the big finale would bring but this blew up everything.
The only thing I know is that everyone in the room was left speechless, and the majority definitely didn’t see that coming.
Check out HBO's Reaction Video below, and keep your eye out for I'm With Geek's wonderful reporter!
The episode was immense, and everybody knew it.
We finally saw the real Theon Greyjoy instead of Ramsay’s submissive pet Reek, Arya at her most badass, Cersei at her most vulnerable and Jon as, well, you know. Like many of you, I’m still struggling to come to terms with the losses in this episode while attempting to process everything that happened; following on from the epic White Walker uprising in episode eight, and the emotional wreckage that was episode nine (Poor little Shireen, what was Stannis thinking?!), it was hard to imagine what the big finale would bring but this blew up everything.
The only thing I know is that everyone in the room was left speechless, and the majority definitely didn’t see that coming.
Check out HBO's Reaction Video below, and keep your eye out for I'm With Geek's wonderful reporter!
What Did You Think?
What was your reaction to the Game of Thrones finale?
What are you excited about for Season Six?
Let us know in the comments!
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