Friday, May 18, 2012

Game of Thrones Mailbag #2




Gods be praised, it's time for another Game of Thrones Mailbag.

We blasted out three signals for white walkers yesterday, checking to see if there were any Thrones fans out there, who hadn't read the George R. R. Martin books, who had questions or concerns about anything they saw on the show that they thought needed further explanation. The point of this Q&A is not to spoil the story. We simply want to clarify the things that have already been presented on the show. You know the drill.

P.S. While there might be a few questions here that seem a bit facepalm-y, we're going to answer them. Simply because, well, we don't want this show to leave anyone behind. No matter how rudimentary the query.


So now we will answer your questions...WITH FIRE AND BLOOD!


Nerla asks: "What is 'The Brotherhood?' Who’s involved and has it been mentioned before?”

It Is Known: Before this season? No. The first mention of the Brotherhood was back in “Garden of Bones,” and then it resurfaced on last week’s “A Man Without Honor.” In both cases, Tywin is looking for the location of this group and now believes that they tried to assassinate him. And whereas he stopped The Mountain from torturing people for their whereabouts in “Garden of Bones,” he’s now given him full permission to raid villages and farms and burn them to the ground. I won’t say anything more about them except that the Mountain mentioned their full name: The Brotherhood Without Banners.

Nerla asks: “I count 9 major houses who presumably once were independent kingdoms: Stark, Greyjoy, Tully, Baratheon, Arryn, Martell, Targaryen, Lannister,Tyrell. So which are the Seven Kingdoms that are always being mentioned?"

It Is Known: Right now there are no kingdoms, only regions. The “Seven Kingdoms,” which is a term that basically means “Westeros South of the Wall,” refers to the Seven Kingdoms that existed pre-Aegon the Conqueror. Aegon conquered six of them (The North, The West, The Vale, The Riverlands (which then included the Iron Islands), The Stormlands and The Reach) while Dorne was later acquired through peaceful treaties.

Nerla asks: “What's Dany's full name? What's the deal with the ‘Stormborn?’ I know her mother died giving birth to her in a storm. (I have the blu-ray). Is it some sort of bastard name?”

It Is Known: Her true name is Daenerys Targaryen. The “Stormborn” part is just because, well, Westeros loves a good nickname. And the more names you can prattle off when you’re introducing yourself, the more important you probably are. She was born during a violent storm on Dragonstone and the folks back then liked omens. A lot. So yes, she is just called that. As well as, now, “Khaleesi,” “Mother of Dragons,” and “The Unburnt.”



Nerla asks: “Just to clarify, the ‘Mother of Dragons’ is the daughter of the Mad King? Also, the Starks and Barathions are not related but old comrades, is this correct?”

It Is Known: Yes, Dany is the daughter of Aerys Targaryen, the Mad King. Spirited off to safety right before the sack of King’s Landing. And yes, the Starks and Baratheons aren’t related. In fact, Robert wanted to finally join their Houses with the marriage of Sansa and Joffrey (little did he know about Joffrey’s actual lineage, ay?).

Nerla asks: “How is it that everyone, no matter where in Westeros, knows that Jon Snow is a bastard? Is it because of his last name?”

It Is Known: Yes. If your last name is “Snow,” you’re a bastard born to someone in the North. In the West? “Hill.” The Reach? “Flowers.” The Vale? “Stone.” The Iron Islands? “Pyke.” The Riverlands? “Rivers.” The Stormlands? “Storm.” The Crownlands (the area surrounding King’s Landing)? “Waters.” Dorne? “Sand.” Yes, you can always tell a bastard.

Nerla asks: “What are the names of the five wolves and what are their significance to each of Ned's children?”

It Is Known: They’re eventual payoff is yet to be determined, but since the wolf is the sigil of the Stark’s House, Jon thought their discovery was an omen. Jon’s wolf is Ghost, Robb’s is Grey Wind, Bran’s is Summer, Arya’s was Nymeria, Sansa’s was Lady and Rikkon’s is Shaggydog.

Ghost is off with Jon beyond the wall, Grey Wind is currently helping Robb win battles, Shaggydog is, um, around, Nymeria was chased away by Arya, Lady was executed by Ned, and Summer is acting as Bran’s protector. And it’s with Summer that we’re seeing the most connection to the Starks as Bran is currently dreaming that…he is Summer. And these are dreams so real and accurate that Bran even asked Maester Luwin about the stories he’s heard about “magical people who live inside stags and wolves” back in “What is Dead May Never Die.”  But that’s all I’ll say about it.

Nerla asks: “Does Tywin Lannister know that Arya Stark is not in King's Landing? Is he in the dark about her being missing?”

It Is Known: Oh yes. He’s in the dark. If Tywin knew that Cersei didn’t have Stark girls, he’d freakin’ freak out. No, Cersei definitely wants to keep that gem a secret since not only would Tywin be more pissed at her and Joffrey more than he already is, Jaime’s life would be in danger if the Starks found out that another one of their family was possibly dead. As far as most everyone knows, save for Cersei, Tyrion and a few other people, Arya’s at King’s Landing with Sansa.



Nerla asks: “Who's the Lady in the mask Jorah talks too? Character and actor name? And when was the first time he betrayed Dany? Did it have something to do with not telling her that Robert was dead back in Season 1?”

It Is Known: Since I’m not fully sure of how much the show will actually explain about her character, I’ll only tell you her name is Quaithe and she’s from a far-off, unmapped region called the Shadow Lands. She is played by Laura Pradelska and her character speaks in, sort of, prophetic riddles. Perhaps they haven’t said her name on the show because it’s too similar to Qarth itself. As far as your second question goes, that sounds like something that the show itself will answer so I won’t go into it here.

Nerla asks: “Why are they not pointing out the difference between Wights (more or less zombies) and the White Walkers (Humanoid beings made from the cold, and have control over the whites, and know as "The Others" in the books)?"

It Is Known: It is curious that we haven’t heard anyone use the term “wight” on the show and I know that’s led to some confusion. Yes, the White Walkers are different than the “dead that come alive.” If you go back to the first scene of the series itself, the White Walker is the giant thing that decapitates Gared. The reanimated little girl however is a corpse-turned-evil thing called a Wight. The thing that Jon killed at Castle Black was a Wight. White Walker’s haven’t been fully seen yet, but they seem to be Predator-tall. And it doesn’t necessarily take a White Walker to “create” a white. If you die Beyond the Wall, you become one. There’s a reason Ygritte wanted Jon to burn her body if he killed her.


A White Walker, y'all.


 Warning: No BOOK SPOILERS on the comment sections for our Game of Thrones reviews. Please do not post anything that will ruin the series for others. You will be banned. And for everyone who hasn't read the books, beware of trolling jerks.



Source : http://www.ign.com

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