Comic-Con 2013: ‘Game of Thrones’ Panel Reveals Behind-the-Scenes Clip and More on the “Red Wedding”

'Game of Thrones' left many a fan, especially those who were unfamiliar with the original George R.R. Martin novels, in tears over the bloody mess of the "Red Wedding." But that is just the tip of the iceberg. The hit HBO series dropped by Comic-Con 2013's Hall H stage to talk up the past season and what's coming next.

The panel almost too perfectly began with an “In Memoriam” montage of everyone who died throughout the three seasons, including “Mean Stark Soldiers #1-3.”

Two of the ‘Game of Thrones’ writers, D.B. Weiss and David Benioff, then introduced the panel, including Peter Dinklage (the first actor cast in the series), Michelle Fairley, John Bradley, Kit Harington, the “founder of the ginger liberation front” Rose Leslie, Richard Madden, Emilia Clarke and George R.R. Martin.

Because the season is still so early on in development, next to no new details on season 4 were revealed. The majority of the panel acted as a discussion of season 3, and, naturally, talk immediately turned to the “Red Wedding” episode.

“Killing a few characters, there’s always more. It gives more opportunities for other actors and actresses,” said Martin. “ We always knew they were all gonna die,” said Weiss, who along with Benioff, recollected how everyone cried on set during production. “I knew how many years I signed for, so I knew what was coming,” said Fairley, who also read the books.

As emotional as the "Red Wedding" was, the writing for the episode was nominated for an Emmy. “The look on [Catelyn's] face that she makes just before she cuts Frey’s wife’s throat, and that howl … we’ve been waiting for so long [to film the episode]," said Weiss.

“It’s like a piece of music. You have to work your way through it,” said Fairley. “There was one bit where they actually had the music ... there was a key change in the music and it was literally like someone walked over your grave.”

One of the unsung heroes of the series, said Benioff, was their composer, Ramin Djawadi, who developed the haunting melody that became the “Rains of Castamere.” Benioff originally suggested to use the theme song as the melody, but Ramin ended up developing something that stuck in peoples’ minds.

As for Martin, he decided there was no escaping the coming outrage to the “Red Wedding.” “I figured I might as well bunker down in Santa Fe,” he said, recalling how fans claimed to have thrown their books into the fireplace out of anger back when the book first came out.

Kit Harington was really the only one to offer up any sort of tease for season 4, though it was only regarding his character development. As he says, Jon Snow has been bouncing from father figure to father figure, but what's interesting about season 4 is that he gets sick of it and ends up becoming one himself.

While no new footage was revealed – because none exists at the moment – the crowd was treated to a deleted scene from season 3 between Tywin Lannister (Charles Dance) and Grand Maester Pycelle (Julian Glover) before the meeting of the small council. The interaction pulled the veil back on Pycelle's withered-old-man facade, but was cut because the writers couldn't make it fit in with the rest of the episode.

Concluding the panel was a short Q&A with the fans, during which George R.R. Martin discussed the possibility of continuing the book series with a prequel of sorts. "I don’t think it’d be about Robert’s rebellion. By the time I finish these next two books, you’ll know all about that," he said. "But I might go back earlier and write something on Agon and his sisters, and the Mad King.”

Ultimately, the only real surprise that came about was Khal Drogo himself, Jason Momoa, running out onstage, kissing Madden and shouting, “I’m not dead yet!”

Season 4  of ‘Game of Thrones’ will debut in spring of 2014.