You may be familiar with hearing about the props that actors have taken from their time on various shows. When it comes to Game of Thrones, the souvenir spirit is also very robust. Some of the show’s cast members have already shared some of the ones they got to keep. However, Jason Momoa might have taken the most surprising.
Khal Drogo’s portrayer took a super gross memento from his time on Game of Thrones. It came from a Season 1 scene fans are unlikely to forget. It was the one where Khal Drogo ripped out the tongue of an aggravated member of his khalasar, via the man’s throat. Jason Momoa explained where the souvenir is today among other things, telling EW:
I’m a big fan of taking the things that I worked with. So I have the souvenir of the tongue and the throat. That’s just on my desk. I called up Dan and David. I think it was one of the first scenes that was never in the book, and George called me out on it, I think while we were doing the [Comic-Con] panel.
The look on people’s faces when they see those props for the first time is likely priceless. To his credit, Jason Momoa took something that is undoubtedly a conversation starter and an icebreaker, all in one. His former Game of Thrones co-stars took things that were not as graphic.
Kit Harington got to keep Jon Snow’s statue from the Winterfell crypts. Fans got a pretty good glimpse at it in a teaser for the final season. Maisie Williams, on the other hand, opted for Arya’s brown jacket.
There is only one prop I can think of that could top Jason Momoa’s souvenir in grossness. That would be someone taking home that faux heart Daenerys had to bite into in Season 1. Intense! Otherwise, he may have the record for grossest souvenir wrapped up.
So, what exactly led to the off-book scene where Khal Drogo took such violent action? Well, Jason Momoa played a pivotal role in the scene's development. He wanted to have some action as Drogo and Game of Thrones gave it to him. Telling the tale, Momoa said:
I always wanted to see [Drogo] go to battle. I didn’t want to do some elaborate fight scene. I think it’s [just as] intimidating to whisper in someone’s ear and go, ‘Stop that.’ You can just parry; I don’t need to do any fight moves. Then you just take the guy’s sword and slice his throat out. I was like, ‘We can get a chicken breast, and we’ll just cover my hand in blood, and that’ll do it.’ And then within days they had this fucking throat and tongue attachment, and it looked amazing.
No major fight choreography required. Just some incredibly realistic work by the special effects team. That scene ended up being a critical one for the series. Khal Drogo killed Mago, the rider who defied him. However, that did not happen until after Mago was able to inflict one deep cut onto Drogo’s chest.
That wound led to Drogo becoming critically ill. Eventually Daenerys agreed to let him be treated by a woman, who used blood magic on him. That ended up not being a good choice. Wanting revenge on Drogo, the woman ultimately put Drogo in a vegetative state and killed his and Daenerys’ unborn baby.
All of that came from that one scene. Everything on Game of Thrones always tends to lead to something larger. Time will tell if there is a grosser scene in Season 8. And if there is a prop that goes along with it that someone kept and cannot talk about yet. It is tough to imagine it topping Jason Momoa's.
The final season premiere of Game of Thrones is almost here. Season 8 starts Sunday, April 14 at 9 p.m. ET on HBO.
