In the video, Coster-Waldau spoke about shooting the scene and what they were possibly going to do differently. He said:
“The final scene of episode 1, we shot that in three different versions. One where I was butt naked up against the wall with this very sweet local body double, and then another one where I was on the ground, and a third one — I mean, it was various levels of nakedness. I think we ended on a fairly dressed version, which I think was definitely the right choice.”
I have to agree that it was the right choice because nudity during a scene that was already horrific might have pushed it over the edge. (Pun very much intended.) I’m not saying that because of the clear preference the series had for female nudity over male nudity (just show us all of it or none of it), though that is a pet peeve. It’s because this one act changed the lives of every character in one way or another. It set off major plot events like putting Ned Stark (Sean Bean) on the defensive, which ultimately led to his death, Bran becoming the Three-Eyed Raven, and turning a certain young man into Hodor (Kristian Nairn). Nudity would have distracted from the importance of this one moment for the rest of the series.
“Game of Thrones” is currently streaming on Max.