Season 4

Season 4 of Game of Thrones was formally commissioned by HBO on 2 April 2013, following a substantial increase in audience figures between the second and third seasons. However, significant pre-production work on the season had already taken place previously to this point, including the writing of at least six of the scripts (by March 2013), and the booking of some of the filming dates. It consists of ten episodes and began filming on 8 July 2013. It concluded filming on 21 November 2013. David Benioff and D.B. Weiss return as showrunners, having signed a new two-year contract with HBO prior to the commissioning of the third season.

The season premiered on April 6, 2014.

Season 4 is mostly based on the second half of A Storm of Swords, the third book in the A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R.R. Martin, but also some material was added from the fourth and fifth books (which run concurrently alongside the end of the third book and each other).

Plot
The War of the Five Kings is drawing to a close, but new intrigues and plots are in motion, and the surviving factions must contend with enemies not only outside their ranks, but within.

King in the North Robb Stark is dead, betrayed by his own bannermen the Boltons and Freys while he was a guest under the Freys' roof. Robb's mother Catelyn and his wife Talisa, along with most of the Northern leadership were also killed at the massacre now known as the Red Wedding, along with the entire Northern army.

Having already defeated the Baratheon threat at the Battle of the Blackwater and secured southern Westeros, House Lannister stands triumphant. The crazed boy-king Joffrey Baratheon gloats, though the victory truly belongs to his grandfather, Lord Tywin Lannister, Hand of the King and the real power behind the Iron Throne. As reward for their betrayal, Tywin has granted the Boltons rule of the North, and the Freys with nominal rule of Riverrun, though the castle remains under the command of "Blackfish" Tully.

Though the mainland of Westeros is mostly under Lannister control, there are still two factions defying them: the Greyjoys and the Baratheons. Ironborn occupiers remaining in the North are being hunted down by Ramsay Snow, bastard son of Roose Bolton. Ramsay holds Theon Greyjoy hostage, horribly torturing him at whim, but Balon Greyjoy considers his son as good as dead.

Stannis Baratheon, as the rightful heir to his older brother King Robert, still refuses to surrender, despite having only the remnants of an army. However, following the advice of Melisandre, he has focused his attention of the threat of the wildlings marching against the Wall.

The Lannisters only managed to win on the battlefield with the key support of House Tyrell of the Reach, which they won through promising a marriage-alliance between King Joffrey and Margaery Tyrell, daughter of Lord Mace Tyrell. Queen Regent Cersei fears - correctly - that just as the Baratheons became dependent on the Lannisters after Robert's Rebellion, the Lannisters are starting to become dependent on the Tyrells, who are already insinuating themselves into positions of power at King's Landing. A royal wedding is to be held between Joffrey and Margaery, which will confirm the future of the realm.

The only two kingdoms which have remained entirely aloof from the war so far are the Vale of Arryn and Dorne. While Lysa Arryn chose to remain neutral, former Master of Coin and new Lord of Harrenhal Petyr Baelish has been sent by Lord Tywin to woo her with a marriage proposal, now that he's a high lord and a suitable match for the Lady Regent of the Vale. Nevertheless only Littlefinger knows what Littlefinger is plotting.

For their own part, House Martell of Dorne has loathed the Lannisters ever since the Sack of King's Landing, when Ser Gregor Clegane raped and killed Elia Martell - sister of Doran Martell, the ruling Prince of Dorne - and Lord Tywin did nothing to punish him. During the War of the Five Kings Tyrion Lannister prevented Dorne from declaring for any of House Lannister's enemies by sending Princess Myrcella to Sunspear as part of her betrothal to Prince Trystane Martell, and in return, the Martells were promised a seat on the Small Council. To the consternation of the Lannisters, a large Dornish embassy arrives in King's Landing to claim their due - but instead of the elderly Prince Doran, his brash younger brother Prince Oberyn comes to claim the council seat. Oberyn loves the ladies, he loves the boys, but most of all he loved his sister Elia, and the Lannisters aren't the only ones who pay their debts.

Meanwhile, across the Narrow Sea in Slaver's Bay, perhaps the greatest threat to Lannister rule is rapidly growing in strength. Daenerys Targaryen now commands not just three live dragons - who are starting to grow large enough to serve as decisive weapons of war - but also an army of eight thousand Unsullied warrior-eunuchs. For now, Queen Daenerys is carving a path through Slaver's Bay - not of conquest but of liberation. As functionally once a slave herself, Daenerys is determined to free the downtrodden slaves of the region. First Astapor and then Yunkai fell before Daenerys's forces, and hundreds of thousands of freed slaves now flock to her banner. Yet Daenerys must now face the last and greatest of the slaver-cities, Meereen - and unlike her previous victories, they have had time to prepare for her arrival.

Far to the north, beyond the politics and meaningless feuds of the south, the Wall and the dwindling Night's Watch are all that stand between the Seven Kingdoms and the horrors beyond. The White Walkers have emerged in force, leading their armies of Wights. The wildlings have rallied behind King-Beyond-the-Wall Mance Rayder in an attempt to flee south, knowing that as the White Walkers advance, anyone who remain in the lands beyond the Wall will die and become part of the undead host. Mance's wildling army now numbers in the tens of thousands, and is determined to force its way through the Wall to reach the safety of the south. All that stands between the Seven Kingdoms and this barbarian invasion is the Night's Watch, whose numbers and leadership were recently devastated with the deaths of a third of their number and that of Lord Commander Jeor Mormont. So far only Jon Snow and Samwell Tarly have returned to the safety of Castle Black.

Not only are the Night's Watch outnumbered and their remaining leadership fractured, but advanced raiding bands of wildlings have infiltrated behind the Wall by climbing over it, preparing to attack the weakly defended southern side of Castle Black. These warbands are led by Tormund Giantsbane and the fearsome Styr, Magnar of Thenn - as well as Jon Snow's ex-lover Ygritte, whom he betrayed when he revealed his true loyalty and returned to the Night's Watch.

Meanwhile, the Night's Watch faces threats within its own ranks, as new southerner recruits have been sent to the Wall, among them the power-grabbing Janos Slynt, one of the men who betrayed Ned Stark.

And throughout the Seven Kingdoms, while House Stark stands on the verge of extinction - and is believed to be just that by the realm at large - four "lone wolves" fight to survive: Sansa Stark remains a hostage of the Iron Throne and a forced marriage to Tyrion Lannister, Rickon Stark seeks the safety of Last Hearth and the fiercely loyal House Umber, Bran Stark and his three companions have crossed the Wall chasing a vision, and Arya Stark, having lost everything and forced to rely on the protection of a man she hates, clings to her thirst for vengeance, a Braavosi coin, and two words: Valar Morghulis.

Production
Primary filming for Season 4 continued in Northern Ireland. It has been confirmed that the production returned to Dubrovnik in Croatia, as well as Iceland. Another filming location added to the Croatia production unit's schedule was the coastal city of Split.

The Making Game of Thrones official production blog has confirmed that filming did not return to Morocco for Season 4. This decreases the number of countries that the TV series films in from four to three (Northern Ireland, Croatia, and Iceland). Morocco was used for the location filming of Daenerys's Season 3 scenes set in Slaver's Bay, specifically the cities of Astapor and Yunkai. Daenerys's storyline continues to take place in Slaver's Bay during Season 4, but other locations (apparently in Croatia) will be used to represent it.

For Season 3, apparently due to the increased workload of concurrent filming in four countries, the number of production units was increased from two to three. The first two units, organized since the beginning of the TV series, are "Wolf" unit and "Dragon" unit. The new third production unit in Season 3 was called "Raven" unit. Filming in Iceland actually began in Season 2. However, a post on the official Making Game of Thrones blog on September 25th, 2013, revealed that Season 4 would switch back to having only two units, and the extra "Raven" unit would be disbanded.

The original reason that production expanded to location-shoots in Iceland in Season 2 was apparently to accurately portray the rugged frozen vistas of the lands beyond the Wall, i.e. when Jon Snow, Qhorin Halfhand, or Ygritte are walking on an actual frozen glacier with rugged mountains in the background, without the need for special effects shots to fill those details in (which it was feared would look fake). However, the location scouts found other areas in Iceland which they felt would be perfect for scenes from the other storylines. While scenes beyond the Wall were filmed in Iceland during the winter, they production team realized that during the summer melt, Iceland has many pristine landscapes and lush valleys suitable for filming other locations in Westeros. The wilding raiding party containing Ygritte and Tormund filmed in Iceland during the winter for their scenes north of the Wall: in Season 4 they have returned to Iceland but in the summer, to depict the somewhat warmer lands of the Gift immediately south of the Wall. Arya Stark and Sandor Clegane's storyline, as well as Brienne of Tarth's storyline, will also include some scenes filmed in Iceland (representing parts of the Riverlands, etc.).

Adaptation
As David Benioff explained talking to EW.com, the producers were very excited to film Season 4, and the last three episodes in particular are scenes that - like the Red Wedding - they had been waiting to film since production on the first season began. Generally, the TV show has aimed to adapt roughly one book as one TV season, though the producers have also said they are adapting the story as a whole and thus parts will spill over into other seasons (i.e. Jaime Lannister didn't have much to do in the second novel, so they moved up some scenes he had from the beginning of the third novel into late Season 2). The third novel, A Storm of Swords, was so long that the decision was made to split it into two seasons. One of the reasons the Red Wedding was so shocking to book readers was because it didn't happen near the end of the third novel, not at the point readers would expect such a climax. However the decision was made that Season 3 needed to have a climax and it would better suit their needs to make it the climax at the end (as opposed to putting in in the fifth episode out of ten, for shock value, similar to how abruptly Renly Baratheon died in the fifth episode of Season 2). Season 1's climax was Ned Stark's execution, Season 2's climax was the Battle of the Blackwater, thus the Red Wedding fit in as a good climactic point for the end of Season 3. Therefore, Season 3 was only the first half of the third novel, while Season 4 will adapt the second half - the half with the actual climaxes from the end of the third novel. Many storylines are left irrevocably changed by the end of the third novel.

Although the A Song of Ice and Fire novels were originally planned as a trilogy, to be titled A Game of Thrones, A Dance with Dragons and The Winds of Winter, eventually George R.R. Martin realized his plot of "book one" would have to be expanded into three novels ​(A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings and A Storm of Swords), which effectively means the first three books are one very long novel. In fact, the climax of A Storm of Swords concludes many of the plotlines begun in A Game of Thrones. Martin even initially planned to make a five-year time jump between the third and fourth novels, to emphasize how much of a chapter-break the climaxes of the third novel were to the overall story (though the time jump was later abandoned). Thus, David Benioff said he was very confident about Season 4, because it contains many climactic scenes which not only ended the third novel (to a greater extent than the Red Wedding), but concluded storylines begun in Season 1.

Cast

 * Main article: Season 4 cast

Starring cast

 * Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister (8 episodes)
 * Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Ser Jaime Lannister (9 episodes)
 * Lena Headey as Queen Cersei Lannister (9 episodes)
 * Emilia Clarke as Queen Daenerys Targaryen (8 episodes)
 * Kit Harington as Jon Snow (8 episodes)
 * Aidan Gillen as Lord Petyr Baelish (5 episodes)
 * Charles Dance as Lord Tywin Lannister (7 episodes)
 * Natalie Dormer as Lady Margaery Tyrell (6 episodes)
 * Liam Cunningham as Ser Davos Seaworth (4 episodes)
 * Stephen Dillane as King Stannis Baratheon (4 episodes)
 * Carice van Houten as Lady Melisandre (3 episodes)
 * Alfie Allen as Prince Theon Greyjoy (3 episodes)
 * John Bradley as Samwell Tarly (7 episodes)
 * Jack Gleeson as King Joffrey Baratheon (3 episodes)
 * Isaac Hempstead-Wright as Bran Stark (4 episodes)
 * Rory McCann as Sandor Clegane (6 episodes)
 * Sophie Turner as Lady Sansa Stark (7 episodes)
 * Maisie Williams as Lady Arya Stark (6 episodes)
 * Gwendoline Christie as Brienne of Tarth (7 episodes)
 * Jerome Flynn as Ser Bronn (4 episodes)
 * Conleth Hill as Lord Varys (6 episodes)
 * Kristofer Hivju as Tormund Giantsbane (5 episodes)
 * Sibel Kekilli as Shae (4 episodes)
 * Rose Leslie as Ygritte (5 episodes)
 * Hannah Murray as Gilly (3 episodes)
 * Iwan Rheon as Ramsay Snow (3 episodes)
 * with Iain Glen as Ser Jorah Mormont (7 episodes)

Selected guest starring cast

 * Pedro Pascal as Prince Oberyn Martell (7 episodes)
 * Jacob Anderson as Grey Worm (7 episodes)
 * Ben Crompton as Eddison Tollett (7 episodes)
 * Nathalie Emmanuel as Missandei (7 episodes)
 * Ian McElhinney as Ser Barristan Selmy (7 episodes)
 * Daniel Portman as Podrick Payne (7 episodes)
 * Mark Stanley as Grenn (7 episodes)
 * Josef Altin as Pypar (6 episodes)
 * Dominic Carter as Lord Janos Slynt (6 episodes)
 * Julian Glover as Grand Maester Pycelle (6 episodes)
 * Michiel Huisman as Daario Naharis (5 episodes)
 * Dean-Charles Chapman as Prince Tommen Baratheon (5 episodes)
 * Owen Teale as Ser Alliser Thorne (5 episodes)
 * Diana Rigg as Lady Olenna Tyrell (4 episodes)
 * Indira Varma as Ellaria Sand (4 episodes)
 * Roger Ashton-Griffiths as Lord Mace Tyrell (4 episodes)
 * Ian Beattie as Ser Meryn Trant (4 episodes)
 * Thomas Brodie-Sangster as Jojen Reed (4 episodes)
 * Ellie Kendrick as Meera Reed (4 episodes)
 * Yuri Kolokolnikov as Styr (4 episodes)
 * Kristian Nairn as Hodor (4 episodes)
 * Peter Vaughan as Maester Aemon (4 episodes)
 * Paul Bentley as the High Septon (3 episodes)
 * Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson as Ser Gregor Clegane (3 episodes)
 * Lino Facioli as Lord Robin Arryn (3 episodes)
 * Tara Fitzgerald as Queen Selyse Baratheon (3 episodes)
 * Kerry Ingram as Princess Shireen Baratheon (3 episodes)
 * Finn Jones as Loras Tyrell (3 episodes)
 * Noah Taylor as Locke (3 episodes)
 * Tony Way as Dontos Hollard (3 episodes)
 * Luke Barnes as Rast (2 episodes)
 * Kate Dickie as Lady Lysa Arryn (2 episodes)
 * Michael McElhatton as Lord Roose Bolton (2 episodes)
 * Joel Fry as Hizdahr zo Loraq (2 episodes)
 * Burn Gorman as Karl Tanner (2 episodes)
 * Anton Lesser as Qyburn (2 episodes)
 * Ciaran Hinds as Mance Rayder ("The Children")
 * Octavia Alexandru as Leaf ("The Children")
 * Andy Beckwith as Rorge ("Mockingbird")
 * Paola Dionisotti as Lady Anya Waynwood ("The Mountain and the Viper")
 * Mark Gatiss as Tycho Nestoris ("The Laws of Gods and Men")
 * Ben Hawkey as Hot Pie ("Mockingbird")
 * Gerard Jordan as Biter ("Mockingbird")
 * Andy Kellegher as Polliver ("Two Swords")
 * Lucian Msamati as Salladhor Saan ("The Laws of Gods and Men")
 * Struan Rodger as the Three-eyed raven ("The Children")
 * Rupert Vansittart as Lord Yohn Royce ("The Mountain and the Viper")
 * Gemma Whelan as Yara Greyjoy ("The Laws of Gods and Men")

Producers

 * David Benioff: executive producer.
 * D.B. Weiss: executive producer.

Writers

 * David Benioff & D.B. Weiss: episodes 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 9 and 10
 * George R.R. Martin: episode 2
 * Bryan Cogman: episodes 4 and 6

Directors

 * David Benioff & D.B. Weiss: episode 1
 * Alex Graves: episodes 2, 3, 8, and 10
 * Michelle MacLaren: episodes 4 and 5
 * Alik Sakharov: episodes 6 and 7
 * Neil Marshall: episode 9

Media release
Season 4 of Game of Thrones will be released on DVD and Blu-Ray in the United States on February 17th, 2014. The set will include all ten episodes of the season and a number of extra features. Features on the DVD release include: The Blu-ray release with Digital Copy includes all of the features on the DVD set, plus:
 * Behind the Battle for the Wall – a 30 minute documentary exploring the behind-the-scenes challenges the cast and crew faced putting together the Battle of Castle Black.
 * The Fallen: A Roundtable – Writer Bryan Cogman sits down with a few of the many cast members who meet their demise in Season 4. From first learning of their deaths to shooting their final scenes, this 30-minute feature sheds light on what it's like to live-and die-in the Game of Thrones world.
 * The Politics of Power: A Look Back at Season 3 – a retrospective on the storylines of the first three seasons, leading up to Season 4.
 * Bastards of Westeros – Showrunners David Benioff & D.B. Weiss and author George R.R. Martin discuss the role bastards play in the Seven Kingdoms (this video has been released publicly).
 * Deleted/Extended Scenes – Two deleted scenes.
 * Audio Commentaries – Commentaries with cast and crew including showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, A Song of Ice and Fire author George R.R. Martin, Sophie Turner (Sansa Stark), Maisie Williams (Arya Stark), Pedro Pascal (Oberyn Martell), Aiden Gillen (Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish), and more.
 * In-Episode Guide – In-feature resource that provides background information about on-screen characters, locations and relevant histories.
 * Histories & Lore – A full hour of animated featurettes explaining the mythology of Westeros as told from the varying perspectives of the characters themselves.

While the first three TV seasons had an "In-Episode Guide" feature on the HBO GO service, but this was discontinued in Season 4. Instead, starting in Season 4 all of the extras that used to appear in the In-Episode Guide started appearing in the HBO Viewer’s Guide webpage for that episode (such as the bonus videos with the cast, crew, and writers) or on the MakingGameofThrones.com webpage (mostly the costume and props closeups). Therefore it isn't exactly clear what the "In-Episode Guide" on the Blu-ray release will contain, though it will probably be a combination of the Season 4 interviews and videos posted on the HBO Viewer's Guide and MakingGameOfThrones.com.

Awards
Game of Thrones Season 4 received 20 Emmy Award nominations, including:


 * Outstanding Drama Series
 * Outstanding Supporting Actress – Lena Headey (Queen Cersei Lannister)
 * Outstanding Supporting Actor – Peter Dinklage (Tyrion Lannister)
 * Outstanding Guest Actress – Diana Rigg (Olenna Tyrell)
 * Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series – David Benioff and D.B. Weiss ("The Children")
 * Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series – Neil Marshall ("The Watchers on the Wall")
 * Outstanding Casting for a Drama Series - Nina Gold and Robert Sterne
 * Outstanding Music Composition For A Series (Original Dramatic Score) - Ramin Djawadi
 * Outstanding Art Direction For A Contemporary Or Fantasy Series (Single-Camera)
 * Outstanding Cinematography (2 nominations): Jonathan Freeman ("Two Swords") and Anette Haellmigk ("The Lion and the Rose")
 * Outstanding Costumes for a Series ("The Lion and the Rose") - Michele Clapton
 * Outstanding Hairstyling for a Single-Camera Series ("The Lion and the Rose")
 * Outstanding Makeup For A Single-Camera Series-Non-Prosthetic ("Oathkeeper")
 * Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup For A Series, Miniseries, Movie Or A Special ("The Children")
 * Outstanding Sound Editing For A Series ("The Watchers on the Wall")
 * Outstanding Sound Mixing For A Comedy Or Drama Series – One Hour ("The Watchers on the Wall")
 * Outstanding Special and Visual Effects
 * Outstanding Stunt Coordination For A Drama Series, Miniseries Or Movie
 * Outstanding Interactive Program – Game of Thrones Premiere : Facebook Live and Instagram

The winners will be announced at the Emmy Awards ceremony on August 25th, 2014.