The singular magic of Game of Thrones' cello

The return of Game of Thrones won't feel real until the cello drops

Emilia Clarke.
(Image credit: Illustrated | Pavel Naumov/iStock, Helen Sloane/HBO, Zoya_Miller/iStock)

The return of Game of Thrones won't feel real until the cello drops. This Sunday, when the eighth and final season premieres, thousands of fans will hum along at home with composer Ramin Djawadi's main theme, which, to date, has been covered by countless YouTube musicians, school choirs, Weird Al Yankovic, and cats.

But while the music of Game of Thrones has evolved over the past eight years, it has always been anchored by the cello, the heavy use of which singles the show out among fantasy scores and elevates it to a league of its own.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.