'Game of Thrones': A Behind the Scenes Gallery of the Galvanizing Season 7

Cersei (Lena Headey) and Jaime Lannister’s (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) scenes may be intense, but the actors still crack each other up. “Season 7 is mad,” Headey says. “Cersei wants to rule the world.” And she commissioned the floor map to prove it. “The map was not, however, painted by people on their knees, as in the premiere,” says graphic designer Jim Stanes. The design took six weeks and was constructed from fiberboard tiles that were assembled, painted and laid out.

Jorah Mormont (Iain Glen) got a new lease on life thanks to aspiring maester Samwell Tarly (John Bradley), who cut away the greyscale that was turning Jorah to stone. But shooting the gory scene wasn’t easy. “The prosthetics are cast in a silicone rubber gel and glued on with medical adhesive,” says prosthetics designer Barrie Gower. The entire process? Four hours.

“Daenerys Targaryen has sharpened her teeth and is ready to go,” says Emilia Clarke, sheltering from the sun on Spain’s northern coast, which stands in for Dany’s ancestral home of Dragonstone. Clarke credits costume designer Michele Clapton with giving her the extra ammo to attack her warrior-queen role. “The costume makes you feel like you mean business,” Clarke explains. “This year the shoulder pads give Dany some Unsullied soldierlike strength.”

Brienne (Gwendoline Christie, above) is sworn to protect Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner)—but even a great swordswoman sometimes needs a coffee break! Even if it’s outside in chilly Northern Ireland. “We spend a lot of time in a studio,” Turner says. “We’re stuck in these heavy costumes, cooped up in the dark, so it’s good when we finally get out into the light to laugh and chat.”

Destroying the fleets allied with House Targaryen got pretty messy for Euron Greyjoy (Pilou Asbæk). “The sea battle was shot over several days, so it’s a challenge to get the blood splatter the same every time,” says makeup designer Jane Walker. Her team uses continuity shots to keep track.