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There is a lot to like (and a lot to debate over) about Game of Thrones, but if there is one element that is always consistently good, it's the practical effects. HBO is doing a great service to the forgotten, “below the line talent" (as they’re called) by creating these explanatory featurettes, and the latest one focuses on Prosthetic Designer Barrie Gower and his team. It’s truly astonishing to see the level of detail that goes into the prosthetics that the show uses, not just in the decapitations and scenes of bloodletting, but when it comes to the White Walkers, the Night’s King, and more.

In this latest video, Gower walks us through a day in the prosthetics department, showing just how time consuming and tedious it is to create these works of living art. There are the molds, the casts, the hair in particular, everything in their daily process that helps ground the show’s makeup and effects. He also mentions how long their days typically last, which adds up to something like 20 hours … not sure when they sleep, but what they create in that time is amazing. Check it out below:

Gower mentions the Season 5 episodes “Hardhome” specifically as being one of the pinnacles of their achievement on the series, and I would completely agree. It was an outstanding hour of television, but most especially when it came to those final sequences with the undead in such droves as we’ve never seen before.

As far as what’s to come in Season 6, who knows? HBO isn’t sending out any screeners this year, but we’ll have recaps and much more for you once the show returns Sunday, April 24th.

Check out all of our latest Game of Thrones coverage here:

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