Et tu, Sophie?
You know, the gorgeous and amazingly talented actress who brings Sansa Stark to life.
Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images
“It’s probably her best season yet. It’s her really coming into her own.” — Sophie Turner
Mark Ralston / AFP / Getty Images
It's probably her best season yet. It's her really coming into her own. She, this season, really commands the respect that she deserves and she grabs hold of it and she runs with it and it's really good.
HBO
Here are the biggest Game of Thrones news stories from the past week. First up, now that Season 6 is on the way, familiarize yourselves with what the Starks were up to at the end of Season 5.
Time for WiC Weekly. First, we catch up with the Starks—where are they going into Season 6? https://t.co/WyNcRGun78 pic.twitter.com/hdwCmVVWzF
— Winter is Coming (@WiCnet) January 31, 2016
Next, we analyze the three teaser trailers for the upcoming season. David wrote up the Stark trailer…
The Stark teaser for Season 6 implies that a certain important letter could be on the way. https://t.co/fgQzTZ3XM6 pic.twitter.com/c9Ir0RfIB1
— Winter is Coming (@WiCnet) January 31, 2016
…Ani took on the Targaryens…
Targaryen teaser: Is Daenerys really the "Queen of Nothing?" And if so, how can she recover? https://t.co/HA1HlQkPtK pic.twitter.com/B0jxJvkvHT
— Winter is Coming (@WiCnet) January 31, 2016
…and yours truly covered the Lannisters.
Lannister teaser: the Sparrows force Cersei, Margeary, and others to play a new kind of game.https://t.co/pZMlzTnddL pic.twitter.com/fuYkLcjNzl
— Winter is Coming (@WiCnet) January 31, 2016
Kit Harington has been hitting the interview trail to promote a new stage role, which means plenty of opportunities for outlets to ask about Game of Thrones.
Kit Harington said that Season 6 will be "very exciting…so I'm led to believe." Okay, Kit. https://t.co/08b0EpdAmI pic.twitter.com/4BQqbMV7Mm
— Winter is Coming (@WiCnet) January 31, 2016
During an interview with Digital Spy, Harington gave a new sound bite about Jon Snow’s fate.
And later, he weighed in on the million-dollar question. "Jon Snow Is Dead, Get Used to It." https://t.co/ggHbKOIpHz pic.twitter.com/YMkd6S7dH8
— Winter is Coming (@WiCnet) January 31, 2016
The Game of Thrones Season 5 boxset is coming in mid-March, and there’s a nifty new trailer for it.
Check out a new trailer for the upcoming #GameofThrones Season 5 boxset. Coming in March. https://t.co/tcEHYUalCS pic.twitter.com/Ym0csbkRCc
— Winter is Coming (@WiCnet) January 31, 2016
On the lighter side of things, Lena Headey stopped by Jimmy Kimmel Live! and hammed it up as Cersei.
Lena Headey reads insults from 'The Bachelor' as Queen Cersei. https://t.co/fwkWexnVPt pic.twitter.com/Xkh5L9aFRa
— Winter is Coming (@WiCnet) January 31, 2016
In a blow to pop culture tourism, the Dark Hedges, which stood in for a stretch of the Kingsroad, have been damaged.
An important #GameofThrones landmark has been felled by Storm Gertrude. Sadness. https://t.co/VYlGWqZgHV pic.twitter.com/iErXuxc4J4
— Winter is Coming (@WiCnet) January 31, 2016
Those following the behind-the-scenes goings-on this year know that a lot of old characters are coming back in Season 6. Will Brynden “the Blackfish” Tully be one of them? Clive Russell, who plays the Blackfish, looks back on his early days on the program.
Clive Russell (the Blackfish) talks about getting cast on #GameofThrones, and his return. https://t.co/mcoSZ2UKTI pic.twitter.com/fFA7DaGc8h
— Winter is Coming (@WiCnet) January 31, 2016
This week’s Small Council is hopping. Which dead Game of Thrones character do you miss the most? Vote if you haven’t already!
This week, we asked a big question: which dead #GameofThrones character do you miss the most?https://t.co/yMrTK2paS4 pic.twitter.com/59zCrBbjxa
— Winter is Coming (@WiCnet) January 31, 2016
How can dragonglass help humanity face down the White Walker threat? Dive into that corner of the show’s mythology.
Finally, dive into #GameofThrones mythology with a close look at dragonglass. https://t.co/OoMY9YRCSi pic.twitter.com/aCbydFw7mL
— Winter is Coming (@WiCnet) January 31, 2016
Before the SAG Awards ceremony last night, cast members of Game of Thrones hit the Red Carpet for some entertaining (though not exactly spoiler-heavy) interviews.
Sophie Turner and Hannah Murray answered some #SmartGirlsAsk questions tweeted from fans. Turner spoke of the impact her mum has had on her life.
#GoT‘s @SophieT tells us who influenced her as a lil’ smartie! Thx @InspiredByAmyP 
#SmartGirlsAsk #SAGawardshttps://t.co/2p8gAihofW
— AmyPoehlerSmartGirls (@smrtgrls) January 31, 2016
Murray discussed the best advice she’s ever received and how that’s shaped her outlook on her career.
.@GameOfThrones #HannahMurray shares the best advice she’s ever gotten. Thx @mynamemolly_! #SmartGirlsAsk #SAGawardshttps://t.co/aMRqt3QasK
— AmyPoehlerSmartGirls (@smrtgrls) January 31, 2016
Character mortality was a reoccurring theme in interviews.
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau discussed the possibility of a gradual Monty Python-esque dismemberment for Jaime.
Michiel Huisman also addressed the high-turn over rate for cast members, saying, “You’re always worried you’re going to die because that’s, you know, kind of what happens on our show.” He also promised a “bigger and better” show next season.
Gwendoline Christie discussed fashion, the award-worthiness of Game of Thrones and confirmed that Captain Phasma will appear in the next Star Wars film.
Emilia Clarke spoke to Entertainment Tonight about the persistence of questions concerning Jon Snow’s fate. Her response: “Tune in, in April.”
The post Game of Thrones cast members give interviews on the Red Carpet appeared first on Watchers on the Wall.
Game of Thrones has been nominated for three Shorty Awards, which honor the best in social media. Nominees are determined by the Shorty Awards Nominating Board based on their social media body of work in 2015. The criteria for award consideration includes social media innovation, quality and originality of content on all social media platforms, and impact and engagement with fans.
Winners are chosen through a combination of votes from the public, and scores given by the Real Time Academy, which consists of over 300 leaders in journalism, culture, and technology. Members of the Academy include Arianna Huffington, Instagram co-founder Mike Krieger, and Vine co-founder Rus Yusupov.
Thrones is nominated in the following categories:
Game of Thrones has previously won a Shorty in the Tumblr category for the “Beautiful Death Countdown” prior to season 4, and was nominated in the TV category for #RoastJoffrey, the first social media event of its kind in dishonor of the king.
The 8th Annual Shorty Awards ceremony will be held in April in New York City and will be live streamed internationally. Voting for the Shortys ends on February 18th at 11:59 EST so be sure to vote for your favorite Game of Thrones entries!
The SAG Awards were held last night in Los Angeles, and the Game of Thrones cast was on hand. The show has three award nominations to its name–Best Ensemble, Best Stunt Ensemble and a Outstanding Performance by an Actor nod for Peter Dinklage. Though Game of Thrones has taken home some surprising wins over this Awards season for last year’s Season 5, it was not to be this weekend, and Dinkalge lost out to Kevin Spacey in House of Cards, and the main ensemble cast lost out to the final season of Downton Abbey. The Stunt Ensemble, on the other hand, continued their streak, five years in the making now, of winning every single year they’ve been on the air.
Still, that doesn’t mean we didn’t get a good red carpet show from those who did attend. (Dinklage, perhaps guessing their hot streak was over, did not.) But we did get one surprise guest attendee!
Yes, Kit Harington, perhaps armed with the excuse that he’s promoting Doctor Faustus in April, finally decided to show face at an awards ceremony for what everyone claims was his final year on the show. We had a hint he might be attending when he was seen with Rose Leslie in LA earlier in the day (she was also at the SAGs, for Downton Abbey.) Good for him to finally brave the carpet and the barrage of disbelieving questions over his character’s death.
Gwendoline Christie was asked on the red carpet for Season 6 spoilers. “It starts in April!” She responded. Well, she did just have the “No spoilers please, we’re Star Wars” training a couple of months ago, so what did you expect? Now, can next time, she have a dress that’s finished?
Emilia Clarke seems to have finished attempting to dress up as the Mother of Dragons, and went with 80s bubblegum pink instead.
I shouldn’t complain, most stars fear bright colors. Hannah Murray does not. After all, it’s LA in the middle of the afternoon. Everyone will be wearing sunglasses, it will be fine.
Iwan Rheon, shilling for the pale and wan look in the LA sunshine. Perhaps it’s the sight of this not-quite-managing facial hair that keeps Kit from shaving?
Huisman is walking proof he shouldn’t be worried. Daario cleans up very nicely–someone should tell the Queen of Meereen.
Carice Van Houten’s white gown was a stunner. I love the simple silk coat over it too.
Alfie Allen is looking better this season. Sophie Turner spoke of his story line being one to watch this season. Let’s hope things finally are turning around for him.
Speaking of Sophie, as we reported yesterday, she said Sansa will finally come into her own this season. On the red carpet, Turner is also coming into her own. This black gown is making a lot of the Top Ten Best Dressed lists for this event.
Maisie Is still doing the playful look on the carpet, which I don’t see her giving up any time soon. I blame being stuck in boy clothes for three seasons straight on screen.
And finally, Nikolaj Coster Waldau. A Lannister always Looks his Best on the Red Carpet.
The cast of Game of Thrones has turned out in force tonight to support the show as it competes it at the Screen Actors Guild Awards. The show is up for three awards, including Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series, Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series, and the Performance by a Stunt Ensemble Award.
Before the ceremony even began, Game of Thrones won the award for Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Comedy or Drama Series. This means Thrones has won the stunt award for an astounding FIVE years running! Congratulations to GoT’s talented and hard-working stunt team.
Tonight, Peter Dinklage is nominated for the award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series. He’s up against Mad Men‘s Jon Hamm, Rami Malek of Mr. Robot, Bob Odenkirk of Better Call Saul, and House of Cards’ Kevin Spacey.
For the major ensemble award where the entire cast of Game of Thrones is nominated, they’ll be up against the casts of Downton Abbey, Homeland, House of Cards and Mad Men.
The ceremony started at 8PM EST on TNT and TBS, so tune in to support Game of Thrones!
Arriving on the red carpet tonight from the cast are:
Emilia Clarke (Daenerys Targaryen)
Sophie Turner (Sansa Stark)
After the ceremony, I’ll be… 
@SophieT #sagawards pic.twitter.com/B29m3wd1rm
— People Magazine (@people) January 30, 2016
Kit Harington (Jon Snow)
Maisie Williams (Arya Stark)
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Jaime Lannister)
Come join me @Nikolajcw #sagawards #GoT pic.twitter.com/hkGJMyZqJH
— People Magazine (@people) January 31, 2016
Gwendoline Christie (Brienne of Tarth)
Carice van Houten (Melisandre)
Carice van Houten describes new season of #GameofThrones in 6 words #SAGAwardshttps://t.co/1vR2Tebe5G
— Game of Photos (@gamofphoto) January 31, 2016
Michiel Huisman (Daario Naharis)
Hannah Murray (Gilly)
John Bradley (Samwell Tarly) and Liam Cunningham (Davos Seaworth), via FirstLook:
Iwan Rheon (Ramsay Bolton)
And with his girlfriend, actress/musician Zoe Grisedale
Alfie Allen (Theon Greyjoy)
Alfie with Finn Jones (Loras Tyrell)
Michael Condron (Bowen Marsh), Ian Beattie (Meryn Trant), and Aidan Gillen (Littlefinger):
Showrunner David Benioff and his wife Amanda Peet, star of HBO’s Togetherness (FirstLook)
Sophie Turner met up with former co-star Pedro Pascal and his date Sarah Paulson (FirstLook)
Pedro Pascal (Oberyn Martell) and Sarah Paulson posing for the cameras:
The post Game of Thrones at the SAG Awards tonight! appeared first on Watchers on the Wall.
Among fans of Game of Thrones and A Song of Ice and Fire, it’s common knowledge that George R.R. Martin based much of his tale on actual history. Devotees can probably rattle off some of the more prominent real-world inspirations: the War of the Five Kings is roughly patterned after the War of the Roses, the North is vaguely analogous to medieval Scotland, etc. In Winter is Coming: The Medieval World of Game of Thrones, author and scholar Carolyne Larrington explores these inspirations in greater detail, and sheds light on many others fans may not have considered.
For long-time lovers of A Song of Ice and Fire, the most interesting parts of Larrington’s book will be those where she goes off the beaten path. We’ve heard plenty about the historical underpinnings of Westeros, but less about the inspirations for people and places in Essos. Larrington fills in those gaps. For example, she draws parallels between the Faceless Men of Braavos and the Nizari Ismailis, an Islamic sect that operated out of Alumet Castle, a mountain fort, in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. In pursuit of their religious and political goals, members of this sect would carry out clandestine assassinations using daggers dipped in poison. Like the Faceless Men, they tried to avoid collateral damage.
It’s not a one-to-one comparison, but there’s no reason it should be—A Song of Ice and Fire is fiction inspired by history, not historical fiction. As a Fellow in Medieval English Literature at St. John’s College, Oxford, Larrington uses her vast knowledge of both history and literature from the time period to draw all kind of interesting comparisons. Whether they’re well-tread (there’s a lengthy section comparing the Dothraki to the Mongol tribes that united under Genghis Khan) or newly minted (she compares Daenerys’ difficulties in managing Slaver’s Bay to the difficulties of holding cities in the Holy Land following the First Crusade), the parallels provide a fun, engaging way to look into the past.
With a title like The Medieval World of Game of Thrones, you might think that the book concerns itself only with the HBO show, but it’s clear that Larrington is a fan of both the show and its source material. Since those two things are diverging more and more lately, she sometimes has to split up her analysis. For example, in A Feast for Crows, Margaery Tyrell is imprisoned after a singer, the Blue Bard, testifies under torture that he had sex with her. Larington examines how this parallels what happened to Anne Boleyn, the second wife of King Henry VIII, who was imprisoned and executed after musician Mark Smeaton, also likely acting under torture, gave evidence of her sexual affairs.
But in the show, Margaery is imprisoned after perjuring herself in front of a holy court while trying to protect her brother Loras. On TV, the Anne Boleyn parallel falls apart. With no more books to serve as a template for the show, you have to wonder if things like this are going to happen more often. If Larington writes a sequel to this book when the entire series is finished, she may have to divide it into “show-only” and “novel-only” sections.
But that’s not much of a factor when reading The Medieval World of Game of Thrones. Larington has an inviting style, and transitions easily because descriptions of the show or books, history lessons, and comparisons between the two. It’s a very thorough book that covers nearly every nook and cranny of the Song of Ice and Fire mythology, from the Night’s Watch and the Ironborn in the North all the way to Qarth and Asshai in the far east. Even superfans well-versed in the story’s historical bases will find plenty to chew on, and casual viewers who never bothered to think about it may find an entirely new way of looking at looking at their favorite show.
The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards will air tonight on TNT and TBS at 8:00 pm EST, and some of the attendees were stepping out at Entertainment Weekly’s pre-show party on Friday. Among those attendees was Sophie Turner, who turned the Game of Thrones hype meter up to 11 as she teased what’s to come this year.
On the one hand, Turner talked about the season generally, and echoed the “It’s gonna be huge” sentiments of costars like Emilia Clarke. “I mean this season there’s like so many shocks, it’s massive,” Turner said. “It’s the biggest season yet. And just like in terms of character development, so many people’s storylines, I’m so excited for. I’m so excited to see Alfie’s one this season. It’s going to be good.”
WARNING: SPOILERS FORTHCOMING
“Alfie” would be Alfie Allen, who plays Theon Greyjoy, or Reek, depending on his headspace. Last we saw Sansa, she and Theon had leapt from the walls of Winterfell. Since both Turner and Allen have been spotted filming scenes for Season 6, it’s clear that they survive the jump. While it’s likely they’ll travel together for at least a little while, spoilers have it that they’ll split up eventually. Theon will head home to the Iron Islands, but Sansa’s destination has been less clear.
Wherever Sansa ends up, Turner is very excited about this leg of her journey. Here’s how she described it:
I mean this season is a really, really big one for Sansa. It’s probably her best season yet. It’s her really coming into her own. She, this season, really commands the respect that she deserves and she grabs hold of it and she runs with it and it’s really good.
Sansa spent the first half of Season 5 getting jerked around by Littlefinger, who let her believe she was in control of her own destiny, and the latter half locked away in a tower by her psychotic husband, Ramsay Bolton. It was a rough year for the character that inspired a lot of heated fan reaction, particularly after Ramsay raped Sansa on their wedding night. In Season 6, it sounds like Sansa is finally pushing back. According to Turner, fans are “finally getting that storyline that you’ve been craving for the past five seasons.”
It was amazing because the past five seasons, it feels like it’s been building up and up to that. You can only suffer so much before she finally gets her, the respect that she deserves.
Around a month ago, Game of Thrones director Jeremy Podeswa said that showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss were “responsive” to the discussion regarding Sansa’s Season 5 rape and changed “a couple of things” about Season 6 as a result. There’s no guarantee that any of those changes had to do with Sansa, but one wonders if they tinkered with Sansa’s storyline to make it more palatable for fans.
In any case, it’ll be good to see Sansa in fighting shape in Season 6. Lord knows she’s earned a break.
Game of Thrones cast members are arriving in Los Angeles for tonight’s SAG Awards ceremony, and Sophie Turner has offered up a few season 6 tidbits at a pre-awards party.
Last night at Entertainment Weekly‘s SAG Awards party, the actress spoke with the magazine about what’s to come on Game of Thrones this year.
Turner says this will be the “biggest season yet” with “so many shocks, it’s massive.”
As for her character, “I mean this season is a really, really big one for Sansa,” the actress teases. “It’s probably her best season yet. It’s her really coming into her own. She, this season, really commands the respect that she deserves and she grabs hold of it and she runs with it and it’s really good.”
According to Turner, viewers will “finally getting that storyline that you’ve been craving for the past five seasons.” She says, “It was amazing because the past five seasons, it feels like it’s been building up and up to that.[…] You can only suffer so much before she finally gets her, the respect that she deserves.”
Several of the show’s stars partied at the EW affair along with Turner. Pictured at the event:
Alfie Allen, Maisie Williams and Hannah Murray
Alfie Allen and Carice van Houten
Maisie Williams touching up her makeup:
Sophie Turner with her hand in the cookie- no, candy, jar
Maisie and Sophie also hit the red (okay, black) carpet to show off their outfits:
Tune in to the 22nd Annual SAG Awards tonight, which is aired live on TNT and TBS, starting at 8 P.M. EST/5 P.M. PST. Good luck to the cast of Game of Thrones as they compete for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series, and to Peter Dinklage who is up for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series!
The post Sophie Turner teases Game of Thrones season 6 : A “really, really big one for Sansa” appeared first on Watchers on the Wall.
Did you know that a lot of characters die on Game of Thrones? It’s true. This week, the Small Council discusses which of the fallen characters we miss the most. Is there one who went before their time? Would the show have been better off if a certain character had remained alive? The Small Council is in session.
DAN: A couple of weeks ago, I came across that clip from Season 3 where Jon Snow is showing Ygritte around the lands south of the Wall—you know, the one where she mistakes a windmill for a castle—and something odd happened. I realized that I really missed seeing Ygritte mix it up with the other characters. I missed her calling Jon out on his mopiness. I missed how she was extremely competent at hunting and fighting without making a big show of it. I missed how Rose Leslie brought an ease out of Kit Harington that hadn’t been there before. Ygritte is far from being the most most important character on the show, but dammit, I really missed what she brought to it!
It’s odd that I felt that way, since I wasn’t particularly moved by Ygritte’s death when I first watched Season 4—I knew it was coming, and actually think the show would have done better to push it up a couple of episodes. Discovering that I’m wistful about a character’s passing years after they’ve passed is abnormal, and I think it speaks to how quickly and violently the show moves. A lot of people die on Game of Thrones, so maybe I didn’t fully absorb Ygritte’s death on the first go-round. Maybe I needed time.
Or maybe I’m not alone. I remember that, right after “Hardhome” aired, a lot of people spoke fondly of Karsi, a hard-bitten wildling mother who was confident, competent, and pragmatic. (Loboda: “My ancestors would spit on me if I broke bread with a crow.” Karsi: “So would mine, but fuck ’em, they’re dead.”) She wasn’t onscreen for more than half of an episode, but fans were upset when she died at the hands of a horde of wights. I think a lot of people saw a bit of Ygritte in Karsi, and it was a shame to lose it all over again.
So maybe I don’t miss Ygritte because of a slow relief grief valve built in to the show’s structure. Maybe I just miss her because she’s awesome.
LEXI: I’m a Stark loyalist so there’s no love lost when it comes to the Lannisters. But I do miss Tywin and Charles Dance’s exceptional portrayal of him. Tywin was never a king but was widely regarded as the most powerful man in Westeros, a title that isn’t given lightly. Whether strategizing at a war council or verbally sparring with his own family, Tywin commanded a certain attention during every scene he was in. Once he arrived in King’s Landing, he managed to keep the city from falling into chaos and was also somewhat able to keep Joffrey under control, a feat in itself.
I can’t help but imagine how Tywin would dispatch the High Sparrow and his followers. Of course, if Tywin was still around, they wouldn’t have risen to power in the first place, but it’s something entertaining to think about. The show itself would definitely be better if Tywin was still there. But like many other show deaths, his allowed for the progression of other characters’ stories. So I don’t necessarily think Tywin died before his time. I just miss seeing him and his sneer.
KATIE: Five seasons after the fact and I’m still hoping that Syrio Forel finds a way to water-dance his way back onscreen. Miltos Yerolemou brought spectacular energy and bite to his short-lived role, and I want little more than to hear him say “Not today” again.
While his death—or perhaps his mere disappearance—was necessary in furthering Arya’s arc, I maintain my stubborn camp in the “Syrio Forel lives” fort. Now that Arya has found her way to Braavos, I see no reason why he couldn’t pop back up and help her get back on track…unless he actually is dead but, again, I’ve pitched my tent and I’m not budging.
It seems to me that Arya has lost her way, because as triumphant as her slaughter of Meryn Trant was, it was equally disturbing to see her so emotionally detached while slicing and dicing the guy’s life away. She’s still a lost girl who needs her family, and with Syrio’s guidance, I believe that she could get back to being the swordsman and overall person she was becoming prior to both his and Ned’s deaths.
Yes, axing Syrio was all well and good at the time, but depending on where Arya’s story is taking her next, I think the show would benefit from dropping Syrio back into the thick of things.
RICHARD: I’m going to have to be careful here and separate the offed characters I liked the most as opposed to the offed characters I miss the most. At first blush I’d say I miss Ned and also Ygritte because I liked the characters so much. But when I think about it who I miss because I really enjoyed them when they appeared on screen, the focus shifts. Lord Tywin Lannister was a blast because Charles Dance was so elegantly dark and could command a room by simply walking into it.
But, in the end, almost reluctantly, I’d have to say I probably miss Joffrey Baratheon the most. Why? I mean, the kid was an arrogant, whining, dangerous psychopath. And he killed Ned Stark! But I had fun hating him. Jack Gleason did a fantastic job with the character, especially as he grew into him in Seasons 3 and 4, and every show needs a great villain. And I loved it when Tyrion smacked Joffrey and when Tywin would craftily bully him out of the way.
Has the show suffered because Joffrey drank the poisoned wine? I’d say not. Kings don’t last in Game of Thrones, and Joffrey really had it coming. His death makes the whole situation at King’s Landing more precarious, with the even more inexperienced and vulnerable Tommen in the big chair, and that is always good for the drama.
I guess I hate that I miss Joffrey so much. And I love that I do.
ANI: Which dead character do I miss the most from Game of Thrones? Good lord, that’s a lot of people to choose from. One might go with the obvious and say Ned Stark, but for real? Ned was an idiot. He was in way over his head in King’s Landing. There’s a reason the Stupid Ned Stark meme was born halfway through the first season, a bitterly funny set of images if there ever was one, especially since those who seemed to promote it the most were the ones who had no idea what was coming. (Spoiler: It wasn’t Winter.) In the same vein, Robb Stark was also a fool and deserved death, even if the way he went was just utterly horrific. That it took out Cat was just bonus money, since without her interior monologue, her actions seemed a lot more selfish and less easy to understand.
Things might have been different if Joer Mormont have lived, but his death was necessary to push Jon Snow into power so he could learn the hard way that leadership requires convincing those who are following you to come with. As for missing Jon Snow, how can I do that if he won’t go away?
No, you know who I miss? Ros. I know, it seems odd. After all, she was a character created from whole cloth, based off of a girl who Theon was sort of in love with but not really at the very beginning of the series. But that’s why I miss her. Unlike every other death in the series—from Ygritte to Joffrey to Syrio to Tywin—her’s was not preordained, and did not serve a larger purpose to move the story forward. Even characters whose deaths were pushed forward in the timeline—Shireen, Stannis, Barristan Selmy—died for a reason. Barristan died to create a space on Dany’s council where Tyrion will fit just nicely, for example. But Ros? Her death carried nothing forward. Her presence was always a surprise, and you never knew what odd Mary Sue-type feat of derring do she’d pull off next. I would love for her to have lived, providing an extra set of eyes on the Lannister’s fall, or slipping in to whatever Littlefinger plan was cooking up this time, all with a side of sexposition.
RAZOR: She was only on-screen for roughly 20 minutes, but boy did she have an impact: Karsi the wildling from Season 4, Episode 8, “Hardhome.” Birgitte Hjort Sørensen—who, by the way, killed it in Pitch Perfect 2—perfectly encapsulated what I imagine George R.R. Martin had in mind when he created the spearwives of the wildlings. Strong and fiercely independent women who could more than hold their own in a fight, spearwives were often better than the male warriors that fought beside them…and Karsi embodied the spearwife perfectly.
I cared more for Karsi during her brief stint on Game of Thrones than I have for most of the major characters that are still alive and well. My only frustration with her character doesn’t lie with her, but with the writers who designed her death. Karsi sliced and diced her way through hundreds of wights as she fought alongside Jon Snow, but as soon as the creep children showed up, she folded like a house of cards and gave up the ghost.
Perhaps that’s the beauty of Karsi. She lived as she died: loving her children, and unable to raise her weapons against another mother’s children, despite them being dead.
CAMERON: For once, I’m a bit of a traditionalist: Catelyn Stark. I didn’t realize until she was gone just how much I appreciated her matriarchal wisdom and patience, especially as it contrasts with two other significant mother figures on the show—the ruthless Cersei Lannister and the inexperienced Daenerys Targaryen. She was a perfect counterbalance, and her death locked in the eventual destabilization of the other two. This is further proof that the Red Wedding was simultaneously one of the most brutal and most necessary events in the story.
Our pals over at Entertainment Weekly recently constructed a comprehensive Game of Thrones quiz to get you ready for Season 6.
From the name of Arya’s sword (Needle) to the location of the Iron Bank (Braavos), the many languages used on the series, and the even greater number of character deaths, there are enough facts and trivia items about the HBO series to fill a book — or, as it were, an entire series of them.
You can head over to EW and take the quiz, but be sure to come back here and boast of your mental prowess where your knowledge of all things Westeros is concerned. Of course, if you don’t come back with 17 out of 17, then don’t bother coming back at all…
Speaking of Game of Thrones trivia, according to a posting on Amazon, Fantasy Flight Games is putting out a brand new Game of Thrones trivia game, slated for release on May 31, 2016. The game runs a cool $42.99, and you can pre-order it now. Game of Thrones: The Trivia Game includes:
Interesting that you can adjust the game to not spoil it for anyone who hasn’t seen the show…though why would you play a game based on a show that you haven’t seen? Seems a bit asinine to me.
It’s a commonly known pastime of Star Wars fans to argue passionately about the proper order in which to watch all six (now seven!) films. There’s release order, chronological order, the contentious Machete order, and other jumbled ways you can experience the original sextology. A Song of Ice and Fire fans now have something similar: knowing with certainty that A Feast for Crows and A Dance with Dragons were originally intended to be one book, how can we combine the chapters from both books into one coherent experience? The folks over at Game of Owns, a Game of Thrones and A Song of Ice and Fire podcast, have drafted their own version, entitled A Feast for Dragons.
This combined order kind of seems like a response to the most famous Feast/Dance reading order currently out there, from Boiled Leather. Boiled Leather’s list attempts to put the many chapters at issue in a rough chronological order without ruining the structure of either book (since George R.R. Martin did attempt to allow both books to stand as individual pieces in the story by breaking them geographically). In contrast, Game of Owns focuses more on theme and narrative. Here’s BryndenBFish, one of the fans who put together the A Feast with Dragons, on what they were going for:
[W]hat we attempted to do was to marry up chapters with close narrative dovetails or parallel thematic poignancy. For instance, on the narrative, ADWD, Tyrion I occurs right after AFFC, Cersei I as they both interplay strongly against each other with Cersei’s nightmare and search for Tyrion coupled with Tyrion drinking his way across the Narrow Sea…Thematically, we rolled the ADWD Prologue together with ADWD, Jon I as the Prologue gives us a how-to on warging, and we open immediately next to Jon warging Ghost.
You can read more about the thought process behind this order over at Watchers on the Wall.
In my mind, nothing sells this order quite like the ending. The Dance epilogue is actually shifted ahead of the last Barristan chapter, allowing Daenerys’ last chapter (in which she and Drogon eventually wind up surrounded by a Dothraki khalasar) to be the ending of the books. Sam’s final chapter from Feast also shows up later than it does in Boiled Leather, adding extra dramatic oomph to the one-two-three punches that Dance provides in its dying moments.
The list has its own website with a neat color scheme to clearly differentiate between chapters from the two books (something that was a personal pet peeve of mine when I scribbled down the Boiled Leather list a while ago). It’s worth a shot, as the care given to the parallel themes and narrative structure here is very similar to what D&D have attempted—sometimes successfully, sometimes not—in the television show.
It’s funny to think of places in a magical fantasy kingdoms having real life landmarks. But for a show like Game of Thrones, which is filmed on location all over Europe, it’s a fact of life. There are areas in Croatia, Spain and Ireland which proudly bill themselves to tourists as different locations in Westeros. And one of the most famous is the copse of trees that has served as the place where the King’s Road meets King’s Landing.
The location was already a locally well known Irish landmark called Dark Hedges, located in County Antrim (a county where several Westeros locations are filmed.) But last night, the extreme weather event known as Storm Gertrude took it down. The storm, which had ripped through Ireland and Scotland in the last days, with 90 mph winds, causing massive power losses in the Scottish Highlands, flood warnings across the UK and disrupted the country’s public transport systems, was the second major storm in the last few months seen by the islands.
According to the Belfast Telegraph, three of the 200 year old beach trees that made up the famous tunnel of branches were ripped up by the roots during the storm.
Already one of the most photographed natural landmarks on the island of Ireland, the tourist attraction recently achieved global prominence after it appeared on the hit HBO series… The beech trees were planted in the 18th century by a local family, the Stuarts, with the intent of creating a grand entrance to their nearby Georgian mansion, Gracehill House.
The road is likely to be closed to traffic for the remainder of Friday as Northern Ireland’s Roads Service works to remove three fallen trees.
The area was one of the major Game of Thrones tourists stops on the official Ireland tour. They will be missed.