It’s here, it’s finally here! We are a few episodes into the third season of Game of Thrones, the season that David Benioff and Dan Weiss were determined to get to from the beginning. For those amongst you that have read the books, you know that Season 3 features some of the most game-changing, event-filled storylines to date. For those who haven’t…brace yourselves.

In Belfast, preparations have already begun on the next season, but before I get to that, let’s look back at some of the behind the scenes action for the three episodes that have aired so far. After every few episodes, I’ll be filling you in on some of what went on behind the camera and, hopefully, a few little extras you may have missed.

If you've been following the blog, the opening scene may have seemed a little familiar. An ending for us was the beginning for you—that opening was shot on the very last day of filming in Iceland.

Other travellers: The first time you see Daenerys, she is on the deck of a ship sailing over open water. In reality, the ship was built in Banbridge for a very different purpose. Because Production Designer Gemma Jackson and her team have super powers, you probably didn’t notice that ship spent a good deal of the Battle of Blackwater on fire. It was the only scene that Emilia Clarke shot in Belfast this season; everything else was on location in Croatia and Morocco. It took one day.

In the second episode, "Dark Wings, Dark Words," Bran has a dream in the woods. It was a two-splinter-units-in-one-location day, which always makes things crazy. That's a real raven Bran is chasing, brought in especially for the scene by our team at Birds and Animals. (From not quite as far as our white raven in Season 2— that bird had to be brought in all the way from Austria!) The main unit was just down the road in Gosford Castle, where we were filming a scene in Littlefinger’s brothel—one from this Sunday's episode. Daniel Portman (Pod) was having a very busy day indeed with several new friends, including the very bendy Pixie Le Knot. Two ends of the kingdom on a single driveway. What luck.