Game of Thrones: A Massive Fight is Coming

5 minute read

Jorah (Iain Glen) is in a fight for his life — in more ways than one.

In Sunday’s Game of Thrones, he must convince his former queen Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) to welcome him back into her good graces. He made a dramatic return to Meereen in the previous episode, winning a gladiatorial match and delivering Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) to her. But when Jorah last saw Daenerys, she banished him and threatened his life for spying on her for the previous King, Robert Baratheon (Mark Addy).

If that’s not enough, the seasoned warrior is also facing a potential death sentence after being infected with the deadly greyscale disease a few episodes back.

In a chat with The Hollywood Reporter, Glen reveals just how dire things are for Jorah and teases a “massive fight” to come.

Is it safe to say you have more fighting to do this season?

Without giving too much away, it was a kind of prequel — what you saw — where suddenly and unexpectedly the queen was there in the kind of pre-fighting, before the main gladiatorial contest. There’s still a massive, massive fight to come.

How much of your own stunts did you do in last week’s big fight sequence?

I got to do all of it myself. When I trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art a number of years ago, it was always a big part of the training there. Ralph Fiennes and myself were very keen on it. They would invite directors to come and judge students, who would pair off. Usually you would cobble something together a week before it, but Ralph and I had been working thoroughly on it for about a year-and-a-half because we were so keen on using swords.

What is it like when Tyrion finally gets to know Daenerys?

My journey with Peter was one where there was a fair degree of antagonism. During the course of our travels together, he’s been enlightened to the degree of my loyalty and just what it is about Daenerys that is worth following. She’s one of the few pretenders to the throne who has humanity and would become a benign leader. Peter is going to start going on that journey as well when he witnesses her firsthand.

What does Jorah’s greyscale mean for his future?

It’s a new complication. He didn’t need more motivation to win back Daenerys’ favor, but in some ways Jorah feels there is a death sentence over him. He was always willing to lay down his life for Daenerys. But this time his life feels finite to him. He’s willing to put everything on the line because of the greyscale.

Jorah must convince Daenerys to let him back into her good graces. How does that go?

Daenerys discovered that at the time when I first met her, I was trying to earn the good favor of Robert Baratheon by telling him her whereabouts. But minutes after I first met her, I grew to adore her and respect her and then spent four seasons trying to protect her. I’m hoping to show that I’m worth a second chance.

Things have been going badly for Daenerys in Meereen. What does Jorah think when he learns this?

In spite of everything, they have worked very well with each other and Jorah’s advice over the years has been good advice. She recognizes that. Things have gone somewhat pear-shaped since his departure. So he’s a wise voice that is worth listening to. Maybe that will be part of the reason why she might entertain him again. Realizing that she had been in a better place with him beside her. That’s my hope.

You’ve gotten a change of pace by working with Peter Dinklage this year. What has that change meant for you as an actor?

The journey of this season had a very different feel. It’s taken forty or fifty hours of screen time to start having these very disparate storylines collide, and that’s what’s going to happen more and more as the main principles start vying for the Iron Throne. As a leading player in any series, you set the tone of the piece on and off the set, and Peter has been a fantastic lead throughout. There’s no fuss. There’s no bother with him. And he just wants to tell the story as best as he can.

Game of Thrones airs Sundays at 9 p.m. on HBO. Stay tuned to The Live Feed for more from the series.

 

This article originally appeared on The Hollywood Reporter

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