Westeros ... a land of kings & queens, lords & ladies, knights & tournaments; a land where summers can span for years and winters can last for a lifetime. Consisting of seven fiercely independent and warring realms that was forcibly united by the dragons and magic of House Targaryen 300 years ago under the Iron Throne; it is a land in turmoil with the recent collapse of the Targaryen Dynasty and resulting in a series of dynastic wars and petty struggles between the noble houses and forces who vie for control through the sword and politics. It is a land where ambition reigns, lusts are indulged, and naked power rules over all. Where in this Game of Thrones, only the strongest and most cunning will survive and the rest shall die!
But unbeknownst save a small few, while the nobles play their games of power; an ancient supernatural threat in the Lands of Always Winter is stirring to bring about the death of all of mankind and an age of unending cold and snow. And the only ones who might be able to stop this threat are too busy squabbling against each other.
Who shall reign over Westeros?
Game of Thrones was a long running and multiple award winning American produced fantasy-drama TV series. It achieved a record setting 59 Primetime Emmy Awards, 3 Hugo Awards, 8 Screen Actor Awards, a Golden Globe, and a Peabody Award during its series run. Game of Thrones or GoT featured a vast ensemble cast including Sean Bean, Lena Headey, Peter Dinklage, Emilia Clarke, Kit Harington, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, and Charles Dance among others.
GoT is an adaptation of George R.R. Martin's New York Times best-selling series of book series, "A Song of Ice and Fire". The main focus of in the book is about the relationships between the great houses of the land (a la Earth's Middle Ages) and how they get along (or don't) under one unified king after thousands of years of ruling themselves with supernatural fantasy and magical aspects interwoven into the story as an "adult Lord of the Rings".
Notable Characters[]
The Baratheons are a relatively new, yet prominent house. Robert Baratheon is currently the king of Westeros, and resides in King's Landing. He is married to Cersei Lannister thanks to an arranged marriage after he gained the throne. They have three children, the crown prince Joffrey, Myrcella, and Tommen. Robert has two younger brothers, Stannis, the lord of Dragonstone, and Renly, the lord of Storm's End. Their sigil is a crowned stag. Their official house words are "Ours is the Fury".
The Lannisters are widely known as the wealthiest house in Westeros. Residing in the family's home of Casterly Rock, Tywin Lannister is the Warden of the West. He has three children, twins Cersei & Jaime, and Tyrion. Their sigil is a lion. Their official house words are "Hear me roar!". Unofficially, the saying "A Lannister always pays his debts" is widely known and sometimes mistaken as their official words.
The Starks ruled the North from their home castle of Winterfell for many thousands of years, and were the last house to submit to Targaryen rule. Ned Stark is the Warden of the North and is married to Catelyn (a Tully by birth). They have five children together, Robb, Sansa, Arya, Bran, and Rickon. Ned has a sixth, bastard child, Jon Snow. Benjen Stark, Ned's younger brother, is the First Ranger of the Night's Watch. Their official house words are "Winter is coming".
The Targaryens conquered and unified Westeros over 300 years ago. Due to Robert Baratheon's rebellion, there are only two surviving members of the house, Viserys and Daenerys. They are currently exiled in Essos, the land across the narrow sea. Their sigil is a three-headed dragon. Their official house words are "Fire and Blood".
Jon Arryn is the current Lord of the Eyrie, and also the Hand of the King to Robert Baratheon. Jon is married to Lysa Tully, Catelyn Stark's sister. They have a young son, Robin. Their sigil is a white moon and falcon. Their official house words are "As High as Honor".
House Greyjoy is led by the Lord of the Iron Islands, Balon Greyjoy, who rose up in rebellion against King Robert Baratheon's rule approximately 7 years prior and was defeated by King Robert and Lord Eddard Stark. His son Theon is a ward of House Stark as collateral to prevent any further revolts. Their sigil is a golden kraken with a black field. Officially, their house words are "We Do Not Sow".
Led by Lord Commander Mormont, the Night's Watch is a sworn brotherhood that protects the northern border of Westeros from the dangers beyond the Wall. In order to join the brotherhood, one is required to take up "the Black", which is an oath of celibacy and sworn exile from your previous life. Ned Stark's bastard son, Jon Snow, takes up the Black and joins the brotherhood in the hopes of becoming a ranger.
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In the commentary on the DVD of a Game of Thrones episode, the producers admitted that one of the heads on a spike in several scenes was that of former US president George W. Bush, albeit with longer, brown hair. The producers said in that commentary that it wasn't a political statement--they just were reusing old props. This event offended many people, who saw it as incredibly anti-patriotic. HBO quickly released a complete apology. It read:
“We were deeply dismayed to see this and find it unacceptable, disrespectful and in very bad taste. We made this clear to the executive producers of the series who apologized immediately for this careless mistake. We condemn it in the strongest possible terms and have halted all future shipments of the DVDs, removed it from our digital platforms and will edit the scene for all future airings on any distribution domestic or international.” The scenes were first cut from all future copies and broadcasts of the show, and then later digitally reedited so as to no longer show Bush's features.
Brandon Stark deleted scene
In one of the early trailers for the series, one of the scenes briefly flashed seemed to depict the death of Brandon Stark, Ned's older brother. Brandon was killed while his father was burned alive in his armor. Brandon, a notorious hothead, was set up to watch his father die with a leather rope tied around his neck. A sword was placed just out of reach and Brandon strangled himself to death trying to reach it. The picture shows an unknown actor with a rope around his neck with the Iron Throne in the background. The scene was deleted, but did not appear in the DVD or Blu Ray, meaning it could possibly appear later in the show's run. As these events pre-date the first book, the scene would likely have been a flashback.