Liam Cunningham and Aidan Gillen on easing themselves “off the heroin that is Game of Thrones”

Who Let the Dogs Out? The Many Trials of Sansa Stark

As we enter the ten-week run-up to Game of Thrones season 7, there comes a time to reflect on the characters we know and love — or in some cases, hate. How have these characters’ lives changed since they first appeared on our screens? What lessons have they learned? Most importantly, which character’s story has the greatest potential for comedy? These are the hard questions that haunt a small portion of our waking moments, and so we invite you to sit back, relax, and enjoy a super-serious* recap of one character’s journey, every week.

Last week, we stopped by for a goblet of wine with Tyrion Lannister and recalled his journey from a drunk dwarf peeing off the Wall to his run as the de facto of Meereen. This week, we visit his one-time wife, Sansa Stark, Lady of Winterfell and sewer of fabulous dresses, darling.

Factfile

Name: Sansa Stark

Occupation: Princess (via Jon), Survivor, Lady of Winterfell

Nicknames: Little Dove (by Cersei), Little Bird (by Sandor Clegane), My Lady (by Brienne), Alayne (by Littlefinger), Catel—I mean, Sansa (also by Littlefinger)

Current Status: Alive

Kingdom: DA NORF REMEMBERS

Relationship Status: Happily Widowed

Significant Other: Joffrey Baratheon (engaged, called-off), Tyrion Lannister (married, unconsummated), Ramsay Bolton (married, eaten by dogs)

Likely Catchphrase: “All I ever think about is what was taken from my family.”

Unlikely Catchphrase: “I’m so ready to start dating again.”

Family

Mother: Catelyn Stark (deceased)

Father: Eddard Stark (deceased)

Siblings: Robb Stark (deceased), Arya Stark (I’d like to see anyone try), Brandon Stark, Rickon Stark (deceased)

Aunts/Uncles:  Brandon Stark (deceased), Lyanna Stark (deceased), Benjen Stark (half-baked), Edmure Tully, Lysa Tully (deceased)

Cousins: Jon Snow, Robin Arryn, Unnamed boy by Edmure Tully

Nieces/Nephews: Unborn niece or nephew by Robb and Talisa Stark (killed at the Red Wedding)

Grandparents: Rickard Stark (deceased), Lyarra Stark (deceased), Hoster Tully (deceased) and Minisa Tully (deceased)

Children: None (really, none, so stop asking)

Pets: Direwolf, Lady (deceased)

Known Associates

Current Allies: Jon Snow, Arya Stark, Brandon Stark, Petyr Baelish, Brienne of Tarth, Theon Greyjoy, Tyrion Lannister, Lyanna Mormont

Current Enemies: Cersei Lannister

It’s Complicated: Petyr Baelish

Personal kill list: One mattress, Ramsay Bolton (via ravenous dogs)

Character Stats

Preferred Weapon: Sass

Notable achievements:

• Played a vital role in Jon Snow’s victory at the Battle of the Bastards by delivering the Knights of the Vale
• Escaped Winterfell in a free-falling extravaganza and didn’t even break a nail
• Murdered Ramsay Bolton with his own dogs
• Holds Littlefinger’s balls in the palm of her hand
• Endured years of unthinkable torture without being broken
• Smacked the shit out of that spoiled brat, Robin Arryn

Special Abilities:

• Mental stability — a rarer gift than you’d expect in Westeros
• Picking the wrong guys
• High-end fashion
• Dressmaking
• Unexpected zingers out of nowhere
• Uncovering the insecurities of whiny man-children and pointing them out to their faces
• Beauty shots
• Braids
• Maintaining poker face whilst receiving unwanted sexual advances
• Canine handling

Biography

Season 1

We first met Sansa at Winterfell, where she was working alongside her sister, Arya, in a medieval sweat shop. When the royal family visited Winterfell, Sansa met her first crush, Prince Joffrey Baratheon, a boy who didn’t know how to match his foundation to his skin tone.

Innocent and romantic, Sansa begged her mother, Catelyn, to let her marry Joffrey because he was already allowed to wear makeup and that’s way cool. Catelyn gently advised her to wait until she’d stopped believing in Santa before committing herself to a dude forever, but Sansa didn’t want to listen. Her mother resisted the urge to wring her neck.

Sansa’s father, Eddard, agreed to become Hand of the King in the place of the late Jon Arryn, and brought Sansa and her sister to King’s Landing with him. During their trip, Joffrey — now her betrothed — took her on their first date, where he pressured her to indulge in underage drinking and tried to cut her sister in half with a sword, which really puts that guy who ate with his hands into perspective, doesn’t it, ladies? Arya’s direwolf pup, Nymeria, tore a strip out of Joffrey’s arm, and she and Arya did a runner. Nymeria is the hero Westeros deserves, but not the one it needs right now.

Sansa and Arya were called before King Robert to rat on Joffrey, but Sansa pretended she’d been looking the other way the whole time. That earned her a black eye from her sister and a dead puppy, as Robert ordered that her direwolf, Lady, be killed in place of Nymeria, who was AWOL. Sansa was distraught but cheered up when she reached the capital, which had lots of shiny shiny things to distract her. Everything went swimmingly until Ned discovered that Joffrey, who had now replaced his dead “father” as king, was a product of incest. Ned tried to arrest Joffrey’s mother Cersei, but instead he got thrown into a dungeon, and Sansa became a hostage.

Sansa begged Joffrey to spare her father’s life. The new king was happy to oblige, but only if Ned agreed to admit to a treason he hadn’t committed. Ned agreed, and was promptly executed on Joffrey’s command. It came as a complete shock to Sansa because Joffrey had only ever been sweet and gentle, except for all the times he wasn’t.

Season 2

Season 2 wasn’t exactly a banner year for Sansa. With Ned dead and Arya on the run, she was alone in King’s Landing and still engaged to Joffrey. Like any supportive partner, he subjected her to frequent beatings whenever he remembered that he wasn’t well-endowed, which was most days. During one particularly brutal public beating, Tyrion turned up and escorted her from the room. He asked her if she wanted to end her engagement but Sansa was all, “I’m not telling you my damn secrets. What do you think this is, season 1?”

Over the course of the season, Sansa was brutalized, insulted, tormented and set upon by three rapists during a riot, only to be rescued by Sandor Clegane, who just can’t help saving Stark girls. “But I feel like her arc is missing something this year,” said David Benioff. “You’re right, Big D,” said Dan Weiss. “How can we make this worse? Let’s call George, he’ll show us the way.”

Boom. Sansa got her first period. Objective achieved!

Before long, Stannis Baratheon sailed to King’s Landing with an armada and tried to sack the city. Joffrey met with Sansa before the battle began and boasted about how he really wasn’t poorly-endowed and actually he was the best king who ever kinged, so there. “My brother Robb has a bigger dick,” said Sansa serenely, and Joffrey’s tiny manhood shriveled to the size of a raisin. During the battle, Sansa holed up with a bunch of highborn ladies and watched in silence as Cersei placed an IV drip full of wine directly into her veins. Stannis lost the battle, which was probably just as well for Sansa, or Melisandre would have had her up on a pyre faster than you can say, “King’s blood.”

After the battle, Joffrey officially announced that he and Sansa were through. Thrilled, Sansa decided to retreat to her bedroom and dance to “Single Ladies” until break of day, but was stopped by a vampire named Petyr Baelish who told her she was still in danger. So much for that.

Season 3

Sansa was still trapped in King’s Landing, but things weren’t as bad as before. Joffrey was too distracted by his his bride-to-be, Margaery Tyrell, to devote much time to torturing her, and Cersei was too distracted by hating Margaery to devote much time to thinly-veiled insults. And when Margaery suggested that Sansa marry her handsome brother Loras, it looked like things were finally starting to go her way.

Sansa liked Loras because he was beautiful and had an incredible sense of style. Loras liked Sansa’s…clothes. Oh, the fashion empire these two could have run.

Sansa’s dreams of a blissfully loveless marriage were dashed when Tywin Lannister forced her into a miserably loveless marriage with his youngest and smallest son, Tyrion. Their wedding was a disaster from start to finish, although it improved later in the night when Tyrion declared that she didn’t have to consummate the union. Sansa was relieved, on account of being 14 years old and far too young to be popping out children. Medieval society was nuts.

Still, it could have been worse. She may have been married to a Lannister, Bran and Rickon may have been presumed dead, and her father may have been executed, but at least the rest of her family were alive and… oh. Well. This is awkward.

Season 4

Not long after her marriage to Tyrion, Joffrey was poisoned at his own wedding to Margaery, dying and bringing unending delight to the living, the dead, and those yet to be born. In the confusion, Sansa was accosted by the king’s fool, Ser Dontos, whom Sansa had once talked Joffrey out of publicly murdering. Ser Dontos hurried Sansa out to sea, where Petyr Baelish awaited her on board his ship. “Fiddle de dee, Sansa,” said Petyr, elongating his vowels unnecessarily. “I will always protect you.” “But didn’t you plant the murder weapon on my neck?” asked Sansa. Suddenly, Petyr had to take an urgent phone call, and made a hasty exit.

Petyr brought Sansa to the Eyrie. There, Sansa met her aunt Lysa, who brought a whole new brand of crazy into this poor girl’s life. Lysa married Petyr that day, but was immediately jealous of Sansa because she knew how to breathe without flaring her nostrils wildly, and accused her of being pregnant with Petyr’s baby. Sansa tried to explain that vampires can’t impregnate human women, but Lysa was having none of it.

Some time later, Sansa went outside to play in the snow and reclaim a fragment of her shattered childhood, but Petyr sidled over and mashed his face into her face while Lysa watched in the shadows. I mean, whatever you’re into, but can we leave the kids out of it?

Lysa was so mad at Petyr for forcing himself on a child that she tried to kill the child. Right on. Before she could push Sansa out of the Moon Door, Petyr happened upon them and threw Lysa out instead. “I will always protect you,” he told Sansa. “But didn’t you bring this whole situation on by kissing me?” Petyr suddenly got an urgent fax, and quickly retreated. Shrugging it off, Sansa decided to experiment with Clairol.

Season 5

With Lysa Arryn dead and the Lannisters in turmoil, Sansa was finally free to…become somebody else’s punchbag!

Intent on wooing Sansa to his side, Petyr Baelish decided to push her into the arms of someone even worse than him — y’know, that old trick. Sansa was brought back to Winterfell and given to Ramsay Bolton as a new bride, or toy, depending on who’s perspective you’re taking. Before the wedding, she and Petyr had a chat in the crypts, where he made good on his promise to protect her by announcing his departure. “But how can you protect me if you’re not here?” said Sansa. Petyr suddenly remembered an urgent email he had to respond to, and scurried away.

To nobody’s surprise, Ramsay was an utter nutjob and began to abuse Sansa from the day they were married onward. Myranda, Ramsay’s vicious girlfriend, was jealous that Sansa was being beaten and raped while she was forced to suffer in silence on the sidelines, begrudging her own agency and freedom to give consent. Some people get all the breaks.

In the meantime, Brienne had followed Sansa to Winterfell and smuggled a message into the castle: “Light a candle in the broken tower and I’ll come rescue you. Unless I’m avenging somebody else, but what are the chances?” Sansa asked Theon Greyjoy, Ramsay’s battered, belittled, broken slave, to answer the message, but he dun ratted her out. Furious, she admonished him for his crimes against her family and learned that Bran and Rickon, whom Theon was known to have killed, were actually alive and missing. With newfound hope, Sansa escaped her room while her husband was out warring, only to run into Myranda and Theon.

Myranda was sick of Sansa parading around in her own damn house and decided to mutilate her. “Welcome to the 75th annual Hunger Games,” she began, but Theon flung her to her death because he’d been Team Gale the whole time. “I loved Gale too!” said Sansa, and they leapt off the battlements together. Talk about an exit.

Season 6

Having survived their fall with nary a hair out of place, Sansa and Theon were chased by Ramsay’s guards, but Brienne and Pod came to the rescue. Theon decided to go home, so Sansa and her new friends travelled on to Castle Black. Jon was delighted to see her — finally, another attractive redhead who wasn’t Tormund! Dolorous Edd also developed a big old crush on her. He thinks we didn’t notice, but we did. We did.

Jon and Sansa’s Incredibly Happy Reunion was joyful but short-lived. While Jon wanted to lay down his sword and go on vacation, Sansa came here to drink soup and reclaim Winterfell, and she was all out of soup. The situation was exacerbated by Ramsay, who had never learned the art of writing a good congratulatory note. With Rickon’s life at stake and the Bolton bastard demanding Sansa’s return, Jon reluctantly agreed to fight for their home. Thus began Jon and Sansa’s Incredibly Fruitless Road Trip.

Elsewhere, Petyr Baelish transformed into a bat and flew all the way to Mole’s Town to offer the Knights of the Vale to Sansa. She turned him down because he’d sold her to her rapist like yard equipment on Craigslist. This left the Starks with limited resources, as most of the northern families refused to help them. Jon decided to press ahead with the battle anyway, and marched on Winterfell. Some people are so impatient. This is exactly why leaks happen on Reddit. Planning for the worst, Sansa wrote to Littlefinger and asked for assistance.

On the night before the battle, Sansa urged Jon to accept the fact that they had lost Rickon and to avoid falling into one of Ramsay’s traps. Unfortunately, what Jon heard was, “If Ramsay parades Rickon in front of you, it’s not a trap and we can totally get him back.” He promised to protect Sansa but she didn’t believe it. “You can’t even die properly,” she reminded him. “Live in the real world.”

The next day, they lost Rickon and Jon was immediately caught in a trap. Luckily, the Knights of the Vale arrived in the nick of time, and the Starks took Winterfell back. Sansa skipped the celebratory bender to visit Ramsay and settle the terms of their conscious uncoupling out of court. When Ramsay refused to sign the divorce papers, Sansa had him ripped apart by his own hounds. “It’s a dog eat dog world,” she said to herself as she walked away, kind of sad no one was around to hear her crack.

Sansa visited her daddy’s weirwood tree to enjoy some quiet reflection. Naturally, Petyr Baelish came clambering out of his coffin to put the moves on her. “You know it’s true,” he crooned in her ear. “Everything I do, I do it for ultimate power and the Iron Throne, but also for you.” Sansa swiped left. “You can’t tell me, it’s not worth fighting for,” Littlefinger sang sadly. To himself. Sansa had already left to get a mani-pedi or something.

Later, she joined Jon on the Winterfell battlements, remembering that fun time she jumped from them. “We can’t go on together, with suspicious minds,” he warbled, before planting a smacker on her forehead. All these dudes singing at her, man. Give her a break.

The Northmen gathered before Jon and congratulated him for avenging the Red Wedding, a task he’d managed to accomplish without killing any of the people who were directly involved in it. Really, guys? You’re going to give him credit for that? For real? Awkwardly, nobody pointed out that Sansa had brought the Vale into the fold, and left her sitting there like chopped liver. “The King in the North!” they all cried, and continued to do so until it petered out and got even more awkward. Because that worked out so well last time.

*not serious at all

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New Game of Thrones Pops! coming this July!

Just when we couldn’t possibly be more excited for Game of Thrones’ seventh season, Funko increases the hype! This July, they are adding three new characters and three updated characters to their Game of Thrones Pop! collection. The expansion also includes a new keychain and a Books-A-Million 2-pack exclusive.The characters receiving new looks are Jon Snow, Tyrion Lannister, and Cersei Lannister. Jon is sporting his new Stark attire, equipped with Longclaw (man bun included). Tyrion comes complete with beard, Meereenese clothing, and the ever-present wine goblet in hand.

Cersei is now short-haired and wearing her imposing black queenly raiment and crown.

Funko is also debuting Bran Stark (finally!), a sword-wielding Tormund Giantsbane (be careful keeping him around Jaime and Brienne), and everyone’s favorite giant, Wun Wun. The Wun Wun pop comes chock full of arrows and is super-sized – standing at 6” tall.  

 

The Jon Snow Pop! keychain will give you a portable version of the King in the North.

The Jon Snow and Bran Stark set will be exclusively available at Books-A-Million.What do you think of the new Pop! creations? Which one is your favorite?

 

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Video: Nikolaj Coster-Waldau talks Jaime’s perfect death, morality, and more

Gwendoline Christie makes the cover of Vanity Fair, and other Game of Thrones actor news

Baltimore Comic-Con’s Yearbook Returns in 2017 with Tellos

Continuing our tradition, the Baltimore Comic-Con Yearbook returns in 2017 for the sixth year, celebrating creators appearing at this year’s show. This year’s book of art features interpretations of characters from Tellos, sometimes in conjunction with the contributing guest’s own creations, in a celebration of creator-owned properties.

Beautifully designed by returning guest and Love and Capes creator Thom Zahler, the book comes in a standard and, for VIP ticketholders, a limited VIP cover edition.

Tellos is a high-adventure comic book series that, over the course of its 10 issue run, transports you to magikal lands from the farthest reaches of your imagination and introduces you to a cast of colorful characters you won’t soon forget. Created in 1999 by writer Todd Dezago and artist Mike Wieringo, Tellos unspools the tale of a young boy, Jarek, who, along with his sword-wielding Tiger-companion, Koj, find themselves thrust into the roles of reluctant heroes. Soon teamed with a young pirate captain named Serra, the three embark on a fantastic and mysterious mission to discover where Jarek’s strange new magikal abilities have come from. Oh, and part of that mystery…? Who is the dark and malevolent figure trying desperately to hunt them down and have those powers for his own.

Tellos is a magikal patchwork world made up of a myriad of different realms, populated by creatures of myth and legend. A fantastic land filled with adventure around every corner…and danger at every turn.

Once again, our popular scavenger hunt returns in 2017! When you buy the book, you’ll get a list of Yearbook contributors and their table numbers. If you succeed in your hunt, you can get your choice of bonus prints!

“I have been more than honored to be a guest at the Baltimore Comic Con since meeting the show’s illustrious and gregarious organizer, Marc Nathan, some…fifteen years ago,” quipped Tellos writer Todd Dezago. “One of my favorite people, one of my favorite conventions. So, here’s a cool idea. About six years ago, Marc and his first lieutenant, Brad Tree, create the Baltimore Comic-Con Yearbook, an annual treat that is both a showcase of comicdom’s top talents as well as an instant collector’s item. ‘Yo, Todd–what’s that all about?’, you say? Well, I’m glad you asked. Each year, the Yearbook spotlights a classic or independent comic book series and encourages some of the industry’s top artists to create for us their vision and version of these familiar characters; The Archies Gang, the colorful cast from Frank Cho’s Liberty Meadows, Stan Sakai’s wonderful Usagi Yojimbo, David Peterson’s fantastic Mouse Guard, and Matt Wagner’s Grendel. The book then becomes a map of the show as well, as convention-goers are then directed around the convention hall floor to meet and collect the autographs of the various artists. A fun time is had by all!”

“Tellos is such a unique property,” said Marc Nathan, promoter of the Baltimore Comic-Con. “It’s a fascinating story with gorgeous, unique, striking characters, and it was created by great friends of the show. I’m really excited to see what our guests will do with the Tellos characters, or how they’ll draw them to interact with characters of their own. This should be another fantastic-looking Yearbook that our attendees will love.”

Art created for the 2017 Baltimore Comic-Con Yearbook celebrating the characters of Tellos will be auctioned off at the Baltimore Comic-Con Art Auction on Saturday, September 23rd at 5pm. Fans and art collectors alike won’t want to miss this opportunity to win these one-of-a-kind items, only available at the Baltimore Comic-Con!

The book will be sold, and the art auction will be held at 5pm on Saturday, September 23rd in our Main hall, in the Exclusives Booth in the lobby. The book will be available at the Baltimore Comic-Con for $29.99.

from Baltimore Comic-Con http://baltimorecomiccon.com/2017/05/baltimore-comic-cons-yearbook-returns-in-2017-with-tellos/

Game of Thrones season seven finale to be “well over 1 hour” — what about the rest?

Rory McCann as Sandor Clegane in season seven. Photo: HBO / Helen Sloan

When the seventh season of Game of Thrones was announced to be three episodes shorter than that to which we are accustomed, there was worry, excitement and many questions, such as: would this affect the average episode’s running time in any way? Recently, we did learn the season premiere would be the longest first episode in years, but the question remained — what’s the deal with the season overall? At last, we know! As for the season finale, they are usually quite long… and this will be no exception!

EW reported on this very issue, giving the season premiere 58 minutes — which is what the HBO site originally claimed, before changing it to 59. I guess we’ll have to wait and see the truth. In any event, a minute here or there makes little difference, and EW has been able to confirm the average episode will not be significantly longer than usual. And the reason for that aligns with our speculation: the showrunners chose seven episodes (and six for the last season) because that’s what the story needed, and it allows them to devote more time and money on each episode. Hibberd raises another point: instead of making longer episodes, they would have just made more of them, not only because to do otherwise would defeat the point of making fewer episodes but because it would make little financial sense, as the cast and crew are largely paid per episode.

The EW article buries the lede a little bit, however: while it is true the average running time will not differ greatly from previous years, it is now confirmed the last episode will be one of the big ones: the season finale will run “well over an hour.” So far, the average finale is 62 minutes long, though the petite 52 minutes season one finale weighs down the average considerably. The four longest episodes ever are finales, including last year’s “The Winds of Winter”, at almost 68 minutes — the show’s record running time.

So, even at “well over an hour”, the season seven finale has some stiff competition. It’s now clear the episodes this year will follow essentially the same format as always, so if you were looking forward to super-sized episodes, you will be largely disappointed — the season finale is your only hope in that respect. If “well over an hour” means “more than 8 extra minutes,” it could still be the longest episode in Game of Thrones history.

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Game of Thrones cast choose which child Ned would be proudest of and Nikolaj Coster Waldau discusses Jaime’s ideal death

The Stark children have grown a lot over the past 6 seasons, some for the better, others … perhaps less so. Entertainment Weekly asked Kit Harington, Sophie Turner, Maisie William and Isaac Hempstead-Wright which Stark child Ned would be proudest of. Interestingly, nobody named any of Ned’s sons.

Kit Harington gave his vote to Arya but said that he doesn’t think Ned would be the sort of father to play favorites, a sentiment echoed by Isaac Hempstead-Wright.

Sophie Turner also chose Arya, “Just because he was always very, very supportive of her doing what she wanted and going against the grain and kind of being kind of being an independent young girl.”

In a predictable twist, Maisie Williams named Sansa for being the Stark child who’s developed the most since season 1. Turner then conceded that, yeah, Sansa’s her honest pick as well.

In other news, Nikolaj Coster Waldau gave an interview at Argentina Comic Con in which he painted a vivid picture of Jaime Lannister’s perfect death scene: dying of old age whilst professing his eternal love for Brienne  … though he also thinks expiration by dragon fire would be thematically fitting as well.

He also discussed his character’s ambiguous sense of morality, admitting that he never saw Jaime as a villain, even in his early days. He likened the character-defining decision to push Bran out of the window to refusing to allow a stranger’s child onto lifeboat that’s already filled to capacity by one’s own offspring. “There’s another option of course … you could just sacrifice yourself,” he added.

Good talk, Nikolaj.

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Check out three new character stills from Game of Thrones season 7

Over the weekend, the Los Angeles Times posted an article about how, coming up on season 7, Game of Thrones has become “an unlikely tale of female empowerment.” It’s an interesting article, and concerns subject matter we’ve tackled on WiC before, but for the purposes of this post, we’re interested in something else. Along with the commentary, the Times posted three new stills from the upcoming season, each of them featuring a different character: Sansa, Daenerys, and Arya. Let’s take a look.

None of these shots are revelatory, but this one of Sansa is probably the most interesting because it gives us a closer look at her outfit. In Season 7, the lady of winter will be rocking black fur, black leather, some badass direwolf clasps at her throat, and a chain. It’s as close to a heavy metal look as the show has gotten.

Dany is also wearing black. It’s gonna be that kind of season.

This shot looks like it’s from the same scene we’ve glimpsed in the trailer and previous images: Dany and company (notice half of Varys on the left side of the frame) arriving at Dragonstone. As of this image, they are still gobsmacked.

Finally, we have another shot of Arya in a cloak sitting somewhere with warm colors. We’ve got an idea where she is, but we won’t drop any potential spoilers here.

Let’s see what else the internet delivers before season 7 debuts on July 16.

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New stills from season 7 released include new look at Sansa Stark and other heroines

New stills from season 7 have been released, offering a closer look at where we’ll find Arya, Daenerys and Sansa come this July.

An article in the Los Angeles Times analyzing the increasingly prominent and empowering role women are playing in Game of Thrones included a gallery that featured three new stills from the upcoming season.

The most interesting of the three features Sansa, presumably Winterfell, sporting the long-sleeves-and-chains style of dress that appears to be all the rage in season 7, albeit with some distantly Stark adornment.

The other two stills are of Arya and Daenerys are similar to photos released in April but taken from different angles.

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The final episodes of Game of Thrones will not be supersized…for the most part

The surviving Stark kids answer a question: Who would Ned be most proud of?

Entertainment Weekly is continuing to blast us with wonderful tidbits from its Game of Thrones cover story. Today, it posted a video featuring Kit Harington (Jon Snow), Sophie Turner (Sansa Stark), Maisie Williams (Arya Stark) and Isaac Hempstead Wright (Bran Stark) answering a vital question: If Ned Stark could see his kids now, who would he be most proud of?

Their answers:

• After quibbling at the beginning over how Ned wouldn’t want to show favoritism, Harington breaks down and picks Arya. “I think Arya has shown the most sort of tenacity.”
• Turner agrees. “I think he’d probably be most proud of Arya, just because he was always very very supportive of her doing what she wanted and going agains the grain and being an independent young girl.” But then, in a Game of Thrones-like shocking twist, she reveals this was all a smoke screen. “I’m so biased and I think he’d be the most proud of Sansa, but I didn’t wanna say it because I don’t wanna offend anyone.” Twist!
• Williams, meanwhile, shows some sisterly solidarity and picks Sansa: “I think she’s…They’ve all made changes, but I think she’s made the most shocking change.”
• And Wright was the only one to remain diplomatic: “I don’t think Ned Stark would be proud of any one Stark over another. I think the Starks are their own unit and Ned would be proud of all of them.”

Long live the Starks! We’ve reunited Jon, Sansa, Arya and Bran for our #GameOfThrones covers this week: https://t.co/Wqk8xvjesu pic.twitter.com/5qUJz1kJ9d

— Entertainment Weekly (@EW) May 25, 2017

EW’s Game of Thrones preview issue is on shelves now, and features more delightful images like the one above. There are five collectible covers going around:

Game of Thrones – Starks reunidos na capa da revista EW.

Estreia dia 16 de Julho/2017. #GameofThrones #Stark pic.twitter.com/IKd0MjU9oR

— Popcorn Station (@PopcornStation1) May 25, 2017

@Maisie_Williams @SophieT @Isaac_H_Wright New Game of Thrones promotional pictures of Maisie Williams as Arya Stark on the cover of Entertainment Weekly pic.twitter.com/SBVQcdvFaS

— best of maisie (@bestofmaisie) May 25, 2017

Our arresting Sansa Stark cover…. pic.twitter.com/B2CyTSin9z

— TWD Colombia (@Amarel0422Ana) May 25, 2017

#GameOfThrones EW cover with Jon Snow #KitHarington pic.twitter.com/9jngspW7Sg

— reena (@ReenaMJSingh) May 25, 2017

He finally got some love pic.twitter.com/lJQ5AvPZFW

— dragon's daughter (@yeahclarke) May 25, 2017

It’s good to see the kid’s back in fighting shape. We’ll see exactly what they get up to when season 7 debuts on July 16.

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Game of Thrones Season 8 will likely be filmed in Andalusia, Spain

Who’s had the most successful post-Game of Thrones career?

Actors like Sean Bean came into Game of Thrones as stars. When Ned Stark died in season 1, Bean went back to his old life of appearing in high-powered movies and TV series.

Many other characters have followed Ned Stark into the grave, but unlike Sean Bean, few of them were played by established stars. However, the buzz surrounding Game of Thrones is so great that many of them are now well on their way to long, memorable Hollywood careers. We thought we’d look through the ranks and see which cast members have done the most with what they’ve been given.

No, not all the actors on this list have left the show. The scary fact is that Game of Thrones is close enough to being over that we can forecast some of the future careers of the current cast members. Whether their characters died years ago or they’re just now preparing for a life after Thrones, the future looks bright for pretty much everyone who’s touched this show.

Next: Fan favorites turned superheroes

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Artist recaps major Game of Thrones deaths in fun video

There has been no shortage of deaths over the past six seasons of Game of Thrones. Some are shocking (Catelyn, Robb), some are tragic (Shireen, Hodor), and some are downright satisfying (Joffrey, Ramsay). The show has been even more bloodthirsty than the books as far as killing major characters is concerned – so much so that “valar morghulis” should be the official motto.

While the most iconic deaths have been officially memorialized in the “Beautiful Death” series, fan artists have their own unique interpretations. Artist Hannes Sommer (HansoArt) posted a video yesterday featuring his take on 35 of the major character deaths in Game of Thrones to date. Featuring hand drawn images and some fun interaction, Sommer states in the description that the project took around 150 hours to complete. That’s dedication!

Be sure to check out the rest of Sommer’s art on Instagram and Facebook.

Which of these characters was your favorite?

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Game of Thrones keeps driving tourism in Northern Ireland and Iceland

Although it films all over the world, Game of Thrones does much of its shooting in Northern Ireland, at Titantic Studios in Belfast and at several scenic areas elsewhere in the country. The local tourism authorities have taken advantage of this. Of late, they’re drawn fans to Northern Ireland through the Journey of Doors campaign, which encourages visitors to travel around the country to visit a number of elaborately carved doors modeled after different episodes from Game of Thrones season 6, and to check out the filming locations nearby.

Owen’s pub in Limavady, Co. Londonderry

According to the Belfast Telegraph, Tourism Ireland has entered into a new licensing agreement with HBO that will pay off during the airing of season 7, so the country’s GoT-related tourism efforts are by no means over. “We are able to capitalise on a huge audience,” said Tourism Ireland chief executive Niall Gibbons. “Game Of Thrones is the hottest ticket in town in relation to Northern Ireland just now.”

Gibbons wouldn’t reveal the nature of his organization’s season 7 marketing push, but it’s probably going to be good. Recall that, before the Journey of Doors campaign, Tourism Ireland mounted a series of Game of Thrones-themed stunts around the country, including one that involved a bunch of White Walkers freezing a public fountain:

This week, Gibbons is hosting a delegation of travel agents from China, and will be taking them to several Game of Thrones filming locations. It’s a good time to be in the GoT tourism business.

Meanwhile, NBC News reports that Game of Thrones has been part of what’s driving a massive increase in tourists to Iceland — the number of visitors there has grown from 500,000 in 2010, the year before Game of Thrones came on the air, to an expected 2.4 million this year. (The eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in 2010 helped, too.) Game of Thrones hasn’t spent as much time in Iceland as in Northern Ireland (predictably, Iceland has mostly been used for scenes beyond the Wall), but even a passing association with the show is enough to nab visitors.

You’ll be able to see more of both Northern Ireland and Iceland when season 7 debuts on July 16.

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Who was missing from the Game of Thrones season 7 trailer, and what could it mean?

Warning: Contains SPOILERS for season 7 of Game of Thrones

The first full trailer for season 7 was released last week, and all of us at WiC have spent the time since freeze-framing our way through every available shot, desperately trying to cobble together a full loaf from a handful of breadcrumbs. Did we finally catch a glimpse of Casterly Rock? Who will triumph in the battle of the giant maps? Most importantly, what was Arya looking for under that bed? Her keys? A discarded face? Gendry? Answers on a postcard, please.

While it’s delightful to finally see some footage from the upcoming season, the trailer was marked by quite a number of notable absences. We check in with some of the characters who didn’t make the cut, you know, just to check that they’re doing okay, and aren’t feeling too left out. Poor souls.

The Sand Snakes

Has another image ever summed up how the majority of us fans feel about the Sand Snakes than the one above? I personally identify with Obara’s face — that’s how I always look when I’m watching two Sand Snakes attempt a conversation.

Although we saw Ellaria Sand getting up close and smoochy with Yara Greyjoy (does Gemma Whelan’s contract obligate her to kiss someone in every trailer now? I’ll let you guys decide), we didn’t see hide nor hair of Obara, Tyene and Nymeria Sand, Oberyn Martell’s bastard daughters. But where Ellaria goes, the Sand Snakes are bound to follow, and they’ll no doubt be doing everything they can to assist her as she seeks her heart’s desire: bloody revenge.

Last season, the show seemed to demonstrate some self-awareness when it featured the Sand Snakes in only two of 10 episodes, and ensured that they were hastily silenced by a grieving Olenna Tyrell. Could season 7 be the moment when the Sand Snakes escape their confines and finally impress us? Probably not, but it can’t hurt to dream.

Bronn and Podrick

Has another image ever summed up how the majority of us fans feel about Bronn and Tyene Sand’s weird flirtation than this one? We are all Podrick Payne in this picture.

As we know, the most loyal squire in Westeros is currently in the service of Brienne of Tarth. While we saw the good lady herself in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it shot at Winterfell, faithful Podrick was nowhere to be seen. What does it mean? Probably nothing, and it’s likely that Pod is standing guard just out of shot, but part of me — the part that knows how much Thrones loves to squeeze our hearts for every last drop — immediately started to worry that Podrick is soon to meet his maker. Could it be? The whores of King’s Landing would mourn from dawn to dusk.

As for Bronn, a minor character who has enjoyed a surprising amount of longevity on the show considering his lack of overall importance, he was also a no-show in the trailer. However, we all know that Bronn’s current meal ticket is Jaime Lannister, and as Jaime’s time in the trailer was spent entirely by Cersei’s side, it’s no surprise that our favorite cutthroat didn’t make an appearance.

The one thing Podrick and Bronn have in common is that they’re both outlier characters who are very popular among fans, so while we could lose one of them this year, I’d be very surprised if both bit the dust.

Jim Broadbent’s Mystery Character

Not too long ago, Jim Broadbent revealed some details about the character he’s playing in season 7. He confirmed that he will be taking on the role of an archmaester in the Citadel of Oldtown, that he appears in five episodes, and that he shares a number of ‘major’ scenes with Samwell Tarly.

It sounds like Broadbents has a meaty role in the upcoming season. As Sam will no doubt be on the lookout for information that can help Jon Snow in the impending fight against the White Walkers, it could be that Broadbent’s as-of-yet unnamed character holds the key to a massive, helpful discovery. In any case, we’re excited to see this decorated thespian thread the boards in the biggest show in the universe.

Sam, Gilly and Little Sam

From one maester to a maester-in-training, I was sad to see that the trailer didn’t offer us any insight into the adventures of Sam, Gilly and Little Sam as they traverse the strange land of the Citadel. Sam heads into season 7 in a very precarious position — although he’s settled in the Citadel as a trainee maester, he also stole his father’s beloved sword, Heartsbane, from Horn Hill on what turned out to be a flying visit. If we know Randyll Tarly, he won’t take Sam’s insubordination lying down, and may decide to ride to Oldtown and confront his eldest son.

Aside from a potential run-in with Lord Tarly, what we’re most excited for Sam to do is discover more about the White Walkers, and potentially Jon Snow, who with his royal father and recent resurrection is the current hot favorite to snag the title of ‘Prince that was Promised.’ Keep reading, Samwell Tarly, but don’t forget to check in with us next time.

Euron Greyjoy

The King of Ugly Crowns may have been absent from the trailer, but his presence was definitely felt. We got our first glimpse of the imposing black sails of his infamous ship, the Silence, which is manned by a crew of mutes. It all sounds vaguely Pirates of the Caribbean, but George R.R. Martin got there first. Poor show, Bruckheimer.

As we and many other sites have already pointed out, shots in the trailer include a burning ship and a very concerned Theon Greyjoy standing before what looks like a large fire. With Euron rankled by his niece and newphew’s escape, and desperate for vengeance, is it possible that we’ll see a Greyjoy vs Greyjoy sea battle as Daenerys Targaryen’s fleet makes its way towards Dragonstone? Watch this space.

Olenna Tyrell

Oh, Lady Olenna. We last saw the wonderful Queen of Thornes in Dorne, where she was understandably upset, and not just because she was in Dorne. With Mace, Loras and her beloved Margaery dead, Olenna is on the warpath and determined to make Cersei suffer for her crimes against her family.

I have to admit, I was really hoping to see Olenna in the trailer because one of my pet dreams is that we’ll get to see a conversation between her and Jaime in the upcoming season. I’d love nothing more than to see Olenna tear through Jaime’s unaffected façade and hit him with some hard truths about Cersei (honestly, anything to send him running away from King’s Landing and into Brienne’s arms), but the trailer was completely Olenna-free, which is never a good thing. Come on, D&D, there are only two seasons left, and we need as much Olenna Tyrell as we can get.

Bran and Meera

Who’s missing the cutest couple North of the Wall? I know I am. When the first trailer for season 6 aired last year, I was so glad to see Bran that I did a happy dance. That dance was, sadly, denied to me this year, as neither Bran nor Meera were anywhere to be found in that 1:49 adrenaline fest. Also, because I was sitting on a bus when I watched the trailer. Dancing would have been difficult.

Of all the absences in the trailer, Bran’s absence is the most notable. When we last left him in season 6, he was the sole owner of a truth bomb more shocking than any you’ve seen on the Maury Povich show. Ned Stark, you are not the father, but only young Brandon knows. As for Meera, she joined the most illustrious of clubs last year when she killed a White Walker with a dragonglass spear. These two make for an impressive pair.

Bran approaches the Wall with the potential to be the most powerful man in Westeros, as he possesses the ability to tap into the world’s most valuable commodity: secrets. With only seven episodes to get through and a whole lot of greenseeing to be done, it’s possible that Bran will spend most of his season plugged into a weirwood for some high-def downloading. Let’s hope he manages to fit in some family time.

The Night King (and the White Walkers)

The Night King and his cold, blue eyes have been omnipotent in almost all of the promotional material we’ve seen for season 7 so far, from the crumbling sigils promo to the official poster released by HBO. Yet he was a complete no-show in the new trailer. How strange.

Well, maybe it’s not so strange. As with most terrifying villains in fiction, the key to the White Walkers’ gift for terror is mystery. Currently, we know that they can be defeated by Valyrian steel and obsidian, but otherwise, we have precious little information to go on, which only heightens their power for the audience. Though the Night King and his generals were never on screen in the trailer, like Euron, their presence is felt, with several shots focusing on a group of people, led by Jon Snow, wearing wildling gear and apparently north of the Wall.

It is likely, though not guaranteed, that HBO has one more trailer up its sleeve before the season debuts on July 16, which means there’s still potential for all of these characters to show up for a sneak peak before the action begins. If not, there are only eight weeks left, even though the wait seems longer than a Westerosi winter.

What absent character (or characters) would you have liked to see in the trailer?

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WiC Weekly: May 21-27

So…this week in Game of Thrones news. This was a big week in Game of Thrones. Absurdly big, even. Let’s dive in.

First, what happened this week? What was it? Oh, yeah. THE TRAILER FOR GAME OF THRONES SEASON 7 DROPPED! Watch it!

Let's go over the week in #GameofThrones. Top story: THE SEASON 7 TRAILER IS OUT! Watch it watchh it watch it! https://t.co/XZJpvLci7t pic.twitter.com/NCvXgJfmHn

— Winter is Coming (@WiCnet) May 28, 2017

Because we’re obsessed, we went shot by shot through the new trailer and analyzed every moment. Enjoy:

We took screenshots of every moment in the new #GameofThrones trailer and dredge them for clues about season 7. https://t.co/nuWBGjS6Np pic.twitter.com/1BaeN5PX4M

— Winter is Coming (@WiCnet) May 28, 2017

And the trailer wasn’t the only thing HBO gave us this week. It also released some very impressive photos.

HBO releases gorgeous photos from #GameofThrones season 7, including this one of Daenerys riding Drogon into battle. https://t.co/iWUirVzihf pic.twitter.com/ctbFD4oT7n

— Winter is Coming (@WiCnet) May 28, 2017

Let’s pivot to SPOILERS for a minute. What are these new photos really telling us about season 7?

Using our knowledge of SPOILERS, we detail when the new #GameofThrones photos occur in the season 7 timeline. https://t.co/VfgsojiHVr pic.twitter.com/535KNlSael

— Winter is Coming (@WiCnet) May 28, 2017

This one got to us…all the remaining Stark kids gather for a photoshoot.

Entertainment Weekly releases beautiful photos of the remaining Stark children together and happy. #TheFeels https://t.co/lFeqdiAuna pic.twitter.com/oy92otNFxn

— Winter is Coming (@WiCnet) May 28, 2017

And on top of all that, we also got a poster for Game of Thrones season 7, featuring the Night King looking spooky.

HBO also released an official poster for #GameofThrones season 7! Our cup runneth over this week. https://t.co/0l3n6X6Eov pic.twitter.com/pWoT3Vo7MK

— Winter is Coming (@WiCnet) May 28, 2017

And on top of THAT, the cast and crew members started teasing the coming episodes. What did they have to say?

According to the #GameofThrones cast and crew members, season 7 will have a much faster pace than we're used to. https://t.co/wk14iyMMp4 pic.twitter.com/l0qjhbWisG

— Winter is Coming (@WiCnet) May 28, 2017

Daenerys has been trying to get to Westeros for six seasons. Now that she’s finally arrived, it sounds like we’re in for a big shift in tone, in addition to a shift in pace. The show’s just gonna be different, and I’m here for it.

#GameofThrones writers tease season 7: "Dany in Westeros makes Game of Thrones a new show." Should be good. https://t.co/e9izYk2EbJ pic.twitter.com/n37OY3wgF3

— Winter is Coming (@WiCnet) May 28, 2017

Continuing with the interviews, the cast and crew members gave us some good news and some bad news.

It's official: #GoT season 8 only has six eps. However, we'll actually see MORE of our fav characters than before. https://t.co/xUG1VjvnQc pic.twitter.com/DZk90xzZQX

— Winter is Coming (@WiCnet) May 28, 2017

Man, what a week. We talk through it all on a new edition of the Small Council.

How did you like the @GameOfThrones season 7 trailer? Tell us in our roundtable discussion, and vote in our poll! https://t.co/QEzjD8gYh7 pic.twitter.com/qQKExkO71m

— Winter is Coming (@WiCnet) May 28, 2017

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Easter Eggs in the Game of Thrones season 7 trailer: Cersei’s killer and Arya’s dagger

HBO recently gifted us with a new trailer for Game of Thrones season 7, and the fans responded in droves, watching the trailer a record breaking 61 million times in the first 24 hours. With all those eyes on the trailer it seems impossible that something might have been missed, but here we are with all the parallels, callbacks, Easter Eggs and little “oh, I didn’t notice that” moments. Enjoy.

First up, we have these shots of Catelyn Stark and her eldest daughter Sansa, looking just like her mother. Pass the tissue please.

im crying pic.twitter.com/xVIJXIYpyD

— lauren (@AMANlTACAPLAN) May 24, 2017

One of the more satisfying moments of the trailer though, was the moment Jon slammed Littlefinger up against the wall of the Winterfell crypts by his throat.

Jon slamming Littlefinger against the wall! love it! #GameOfThrones #GoTS7 pic.twitter.com/h4p6qhMco3

— Night's King (@WightsKing) May 24, 2017

Which reminded us more than a little of the last time that happened. That’s right, Jon Snow’s adoptive father manhandled Littlefinger in much the same fashion way back in season 1. Same throat slam and everything. It seems the hatred of Littlefinger runs in the family. Or everyone just hates Littlefinger.

Hopefully Jon doesn’t suffer the same fate at Littlefinger’s hand as Ned did. And one more look at it, because Littlefinger get smashed can never happen enough and we’ve all given up the pretext that Ned was Jon’s father right?

Elsewhere, in the trailer’s creepiest moment, we see a greyscale covered arm extend its way out of what looks like some sort of cell. Of course, only our favorite Lord of the Friendzone, Jorah Mormont currently has greyscale on the show, but if there was any doubt gaze upon the thumbs in the two pictures. Thanks to this Reddit thread for breaking it all down for us.

Finally, this one might be a bit of a stretch, but this epic shot of Cersei and Jaime Lannister poised over the coolest map of Westeros we have ever seen, might just confirm Cersei’s ultimate fate. Spoilers follow from this point on.

Cersei is standing upon a portion of the North known as the Neck. The Neck is named because the continent narrows down between the Riverlands and the North, forming a sort of “neck” between the North and the rest of Westeros. Not that interesting on its own, but Jaime is standing very closely to a portion of the Vale known as the Fingers (Littlefinger’s home).

This becomes important when you factor in the the book prophecy of the Volonqar. We saw portions of this prophecy  in a flashback at the start of season 5, when young Cersei meets with a witch. The portion that was left off screen, from the novels by George R.R. Martin, reads thus “the valonqar shall wrap his hands about your pale white throat and choke the life from you.”

Volonqar means “little brother” in High Valyrian. Jaime is technically Cersei’s younger brother, as Cersei was born first. And the “Neck” and the “Fingers” sounds an awful lot like “hands” and “throat” no? Now our heads are spinning.

It wasn’t the only major spoiler to come out of the week, as eagle eyed Reddit fans (including this author) also caught a certain dagger attached to Arya’s hip from her Entertainment Weekly photos. Take a look.

That’s too close of a match to be anything other than Littlefinger’s Valyrian steel dagger from season 1. When last we saw the dagger, it was being used by Littlefinger to capture Ned Stark in the throne room of the Red Keep. Littlefinger and the City Watch betrayed Ned Stark to the Lannisters, which of course led to Ned Stark losing his head (and basically the whole series).

So what is Arya doing with it? Assuming Littlfinger maintained possession of it until Arya somehow acquired it, that could mean Littlefinger’s betrayal might have finally come to light. The dagger is a symbol of Littlefinger’s betrayal, so there would be some irony involved if Arya uses it to finally off Baelish and his terrible accent. We have so many questions, not the least of which is how much longer until season 7?

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