Writer Bryan Cogman described this episode as a "love letter to the characters". He explained that in most of the previous battles in the show, there were around 15 minutes of preparation and character-centered calm-before-the-storm scenes, with them taking stock of where they are in their lives before the battle breaks. Since the upcoming battle in the next episode (The Long Night (2019)) is the most central in the show yet and features almost every major character, this time, the writers decided to dedicate an entire episode for this kind of preparations, so the battle episode could "hit the ground running."
This episode was Gwendoline Christie's submission in the Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series category at the 2019 Emmy Awards, her first ever Emmy nomination. Apparently HBO did not submit her among her core co-stars and she sent her For Your Consideration application herself, ultimately gaining her the nomination with Lena Headey, Maisie Williams and Sophie Turner besides her in the same category.
This is the eighth episode directed by David Nutter, making him the most frequent director of the series. Nutter was previously tied with Alan Taylor who had directed seven episodes.
The first time Tyrion and Bran have interacted since Cripples, Bastards, and Broken Things (2011). Their off-screen conversation is referenced in the series finale, The Iron Throne (2019).
Tyrion mentions that Northerners might be suspicious of Daenerys because "they remember what happened the last time Targaryens brought dragons north". He most likely refers to three hundred years earlier, when Aegon the Conquerer, the first Targaryen king, invaded Westeros and brought his host and his three dragons to fight King Torrhen Stark. The North always had a strong sense of independence since they had successfully resisted the Andal invasion six millennia before, but seeing how hopelessly outnumbered his army was, Torrhen immediately surrendered and bent the knee. This ended the North's longstanding sovereignty, much to the dismay of his people, who nick-named him "the King Who Knelt" in response.