That last epic Game Of Thrones battle might happen sooner than you think

Pity the poor Game Of Thrones actors between now and April. They can’t even make an offhand comment about needing to go to the bathroom without someone asking if that’s code for White Walkers killing Arya in the finale, or whatever. And if they actually reference the final season, regardless of whether it’s a slip of the tongue? God help them in the ensuing media firestorm. (Just ask Mark Ruffalo, who knows from saying things he’s not supposed to.)

But also too bad, because we are here for just such moments, doing our small part to contribute to the harsh and unforgiving global media hellscape in which casual asides are sniffed out like truffles by our piggish noses. And this latest snippet of news is a surprising one, indeed: According to Mashable, the Slovakian actor who plays the Night King has let it be known the massive final battle we’ve heard so much about—the one that reportedly took more than 55 days and nights to film, and cost more than the GDP of a small country—won’t be happening in the penultimate episode, as has been the normal practice for the series. (See: “Battle Of The Bastards,” “Beyond The Wall,” etc.)

Instead, actor Vladimír Furdík has revealed that the enormous, world-altering battle between the living and the dead will take place at the halfway point of the concluding six-episode arc. “In the third episode of the last season, there is a battle that the creators intended to be a historic moment in television,” he stated while appearing at a fan convention in Hungary, a pretty definitive announcement. (Mashable had a native speaker confirm the translation.) “Almost the full episode will be about the battle, it will take about one hour,” he added, which, yeah, that part tracks.

What will really surprise everyone watching the episode, we’re guessing, is when Gandalf rides over the nearby hill and saves the day. Game Of Thrones returns April 9, 2019.