“I have to admit I’m still in denial,” says composer Ramin Djawadi on Game of Thrones getting over

Say what you will of Game of Thrones Season 8, the musical score was epic as usual. The man behind it is Ramin Djawadi, who recently sat down with Variety to speak about his experience scoring for the show and particularly the final season. Guess what’s his favourite piece from the season? The Night King, obviously.

And if you live in USA or Canada, chances are you will be able to hear it live in your city sometime in September-October 2019. Djawadi is leading the third Game of Thrones Live Concert tour in 20 cities. The Concert tours began in 2017 and originally featured music from Season 1-7. Now that Season 8 is over, classics like The Night King are being added to the repertoire.

The Night King debuted on the last few minutes of Season 8 Episode 3 ‘The Long Night’, overlaying the finals moments of the battle of Winterfell. A piano melody – starkly different from the chaotic background score of the rest of the episode – started playing as all hopes seemed lost for the Living Side until right at the crescendo Arya Stark plunged the Valyrian Steel dagger into the Night King’s heart. Djawadi says,

“In the episode, there is so much violence going on for so long we felt that it was a great way to kind of put the brakes on, reset, and start soft and just play it. It’s all over now, this is it.”

Djawadi revealed that this is only the second time a piano melody has been used in Game of Thrones. The first time was in ‘Light of the Seven’ from Season 6 episode Winds of Winter, another of Djawadi’s all-time favourites. There, it accompanied another scene of cold-blooded destruction – Cersei Lannister blowing up the Sept of Baelor with all the people inside it.

Djawadi is also excited for the Live Concert tour. In his words:

“It’s really for two kinds of people. It’s the super-fans that want to come and just relive the show and re-enjoy all their favorite highlights from the show. But then … if there are still a few people in the world that haven’t seen the show, they can come see the concert and get a quick crash course now of the entire seasons 1-8.”

He also shared his thoughts on the show coming to an end.

“I have to admit I’m still in denial. I feel like it’s not over yet. I can’t let go. I never expected this to be such a success in that it would have such an impact on people around the world. It’s been an incredible journey. I’m honored to just have been part of this.”