A Guide to Game of Thrones

[jillian]

For the uninitiated or just confused, Ezra Klein's new website, Vox has published a virtual index card series to get everyone ready for the 4th season of Game of Thrones which started Sunday evening.

What is Game of Thrones?

In the three years since Game of Thrones premiered, phrases such as "winter is coming" and "valar morghulis" have permeated American dialect, leaving fans eager for the Sunday night show full of backstabbing, bloodletting, and fiery dragons. Sunday evening, the fourth season premieres. Whether you need a refresher on the insanity of the last three seasons, or if you haven't seen a single episode and missed every battle, we've got you covered. Read along to prepare yourself for the Iron Throne.

What is Game of Thrones? - Everything you need to know to start watching Game of Thrones today - Vox

 

[CrusaderFrank]

Frank's Guide to GOT

1. If there's a dynamic leading male, don't invest too much in his ultimate triumph. Martin kills them off like summer bugs flying around a bug lamp. Eddard. Drago. King of the North. That would have been 2 great books right there. But instead ahh, why waste words the Hitler Finds Out video covers all this

2. You'll need a notepad and a map because the list of obscure characters and places grows exponentially with each book. Remember Qarth? Remember Drago and the Dothraki? Well cross em off the list now they play no role. They were pointless backwater eddies to swirl your attention and fill pages. Remember Therion Greyjoy's Uncle Valerion's Red Sorcerer? Yeah, me neither but trust me he's Wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy more important than any of the Starks.

3. Dany and the Dragon are so Dreamy! She's their Mommy! And her people! They Love her! Love Her! OMG! I get all nipply and excited when I think of the trials she's been through. How many different countries? I lost count, but there 2 more books and probably a dozen more countries to Dany and the Dragons to Conquer

4. Remember how 2 seasons ago the White Walkers were marching? Well, they didn't have a map or GPS so they're lost and roaming endlessly north of the Wall.

6. Oh, I almost forgot. The only person who visits more countries and gets in more situations than Dany is Tyrion. Sure, he's fun and funny. But really?

7. Hodor

 

[jillian]

you might want to take note, [MENTION=19448]CrusaderFrank[/MENTION], that women get killed, too.

but seems you're spending a lot of time on a show you want to criticize.

p.s. I love tyrion and daeny is the awesome.

did I mention I have two guinea pigs named tyrion and daenerys?

 

[CrusaderFrank]

cough cough bump cough

 

[boedicca]

The GOT wiki is much better, and not managed by a whack moonbat.

Game of Thrones Wiki

 

[jillian]

The GOT wiki is much better, and not managed by a whack moonbat.

Game of Thrones Wiki

awww... cute. now game of thrones is political to rightwingnuts.

this wasn't intended as a wiki... it's an overview. but thanks for your *ahem* input.

and you probably shouldn't be watching since George RR Martin was a conscientious objector

 

[Katzndogz]

Anyone who has studied history already knows that Martin didn't dream up either the characters or the events. He lifted them from the real War of the Roses.

One can see that the "First Men" are roughly equivalent to the historical Celts. The Andals with their seven kingdoms are roughly equivalent to the historical Saxons and the seven kingdoms they established in England (Kent, Mercia etc...), and the Targaryens are roughly the Normans.

The direct historical parallels that can be clearly seen are:
•Tywin Lannister as Richard Neville, the Earl of Warwick.
•The Starks as the powerful Percy Family (Earls of Northumbria and rivals of the Nevilles)
•Margaery Tyrell as Elizabeth Woodville.
•Bran and Rickon Stark as the "Princes in the Tower"
•Cersei Lannister as Margaret of Anjou.
•Robert Baratheon as Henry Bolingbroke (Henry IV)

Even the famous Red Wedding was lifted from the Black Dinner that occurred just before the war started.

 

[jillian]

I think people already know that martin took his inspiration from history.

Every writer needs some inspiration and Martin is spoiled for choice in the blood-soaked annals of West European history. Many have observed how closely the War of the Five Kings in Game of Thrones resembles the War of the Roses in fifteenth-century England. Likewise, the cloak-and-dagger politics of King’s Landing could easily be mistaken for almost any medieval European court. To find the inspiration for the Red Wedding, undoubtedly one of the most shocking events of the series to date, Martin looked to medieval Scotland and the infamous ‘Black Dinner’ of 1440.

The Historical Inspiration for the Red Wedding of ?Game of Thrones?. | Fickle Fascinations

none of which diminishes one iota from the story since most stories are adapted from somewhere.

 

[boedicca]

Ezra Klein is political. It's clear that pillian is unfamiliar with his background, so in order to provide some illumination:

Ezra Klein - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


And one word: Journolist.

 

[cereal_killer]

Love this show! Thanks for sharing!

(btw moved to the TV Forum)

 

[CrusaderFrank]

Hodor

 

[DGS49]

I had never seen the program before two weeks ago, and I started watching an episode or two every night. Fantastic way to watch it.

But there are WAY too many characters and too much intrigue for my tiny little brain. I even made myself a Cheat Sheet and still half the characters who show up are new to me.

It reminds me of watching the movie Dune many years ago. Unless you had read the book it made no sense. So I'm reading the first book.

For anyone not familiar with the series I strongly recommend watching it from the beginning.

I started Season 3 last night. I will be disappointed when I "catch up."

 

[DGS49]

I'm now up to date, having watched all four seasons.

I checked a few discussion forums yesterday to see what was being said about Season 4 and what might be in store for next season. Not surprisingly, many of the most verbose posters had read all of the underlying books and their comments alluded to people who are not even in the television series.

Although I enjoyed watching this series, it is losing me with all of the gratuitous supernatural crappp. Zombie attackers coming out of a frozen lake? Dragons kept in a cave? Giants and other monsters? A prince who can inject himself into the bodies of both humans and animals?

Come on. Why is this necessary? It cheapens the whole thing, as far as I'm concerned. I will watch next year when Season 5 comes on, but I think it detracts majorly from the story.