GET AHEAD OF THE GAME
Don’t know your Daenerys from your dragons? As one billion worldwide tune in for the final series of Game Of Thrones, here’s TOM LEONARD’S armchair guide (and killer facts) to get the most from the gripping gore-fest
THE medieval realm of Westeros is governed by Robert Baratheon, who has seized the Iron Throne from the dragon-riding Targaryen dynasty after the then king went mad. Robert, a bombastic soldier with little interest in administration, recruits his old friend Ned Stark, Warden of the North, to advise him.
But King Robert is mysteriously killed, and Ned soon has his head chopped off after standing up to the scheming Lannister family, which includes King Robert’s widow Cersei, her twin and secret lover Jaime, and their dwarf brother Tyrion. At the moment, Cersei rules Westeros. OVER the seven seasons, the Stark family is split and many of them killed. But Ned’s daughters Sansa and Arya, as well as their adopted brother Jon Snow, are still alive. The sisters have finally joined together in their home of Winterfell after being separated for many years, and are awaiting their brother’s return.
Meanwhile, Daenerys Targaryen, who escaped the massacre of her family when Robert Baratheon seized power, has gathered an army (and dragons) and sailed to Westeros to reclaim the throne. NOT any time soon. Everyone has suddenly realised that while the Starks, Lannisters and Targaryens were jostling for power, another enemy was amassing beyond a colossal wall of ice in the North — an army of zombies led by terrifying White Walkers and their ruler, the Night King. And they are marching south. THE Starks and their allies in the North are getting ready. But Cersei sees a chance to turn the threat to her advantage. As things stand, Daenerys has agreed to put her plans to seize the throne on hold and has teamed up with the Starks to fight off the undead.
PERHAPS a little too much. The leader of the Northern forces, Jon Snow, has fallen for Daenerys.
But last season it was revealed Jon — raised as Ned Stark’s illegitimate son — is actually the son of Ned’s sister, Lyanna, who had a dalliance with a Targaryen, meaning Jon and Daenerys are actually related...
Yet it doesn’t look like there will be much time for their romance to blossom. Thanks to the undead army, the last battle for mankind is on the horizon.
HISTORY LESSONS
WITH dragons, magic and legions of the undead, Game Of Thrones (GoT) has much of the staple fantasy fare. But creator George RR Martin has also been inspired by the history of the British Isles — mainly the Wars of the Roses.
The powerful factions vying for the throne in Westeros after the last king went mad has parallels with the late 15th-century struggle that broke out after Henry VI similarly went insane.
Even the names of the two main opposing camps are similar: the conniving House Lannister (Lancaster) and the honourable House Stark (York).
Among many characters with Wars of the Roses parallels, Lannister’s Machiavellian leader Cersei is a dead ringer for the beautiful and ruthless Lancastrian Margaret of Anjou. Daenerys, returning from across the sea to claim her throne, smacks of Henry Tudor, sailing from France with an army to challenge Richard III.
Martin also modelled the Wall, the huge ice barrier separating the untamed northern lands from civilisation, on Hadrian’s Wall. The Red Wedding massacre — in which many Starks were murdered by their hosts — has parallels with the Scottish Glencoe Massacre of 1692, in which more than 30 members of Clan MacDonald were killed by government troops billeted with them.
Martin is also accused of pillaging ancient history, including Colosseum-like gladiator arenas and the Colossus of Rhodes, recreated in Westeros as the Titan of Braavos statue.
Robert Baratheon’s stream of successors echoes Ancient Rome’s Year of the Four Emperors in 69 AD — when four claimants vied for power.
MADE IN IRELAND
MUCH of GoT was filmed in Northern Ireland with a touring exhibition opening in Belfast last Thursday. It combines costumes, authentic props and majestic settings from all seven seasons.
Two never-seen-before sets — The Winterfell Crypt and Dragon Skull Pit — can also be seen.
Strengthening the Irish bond, Liam Cunningham plays Davos Seaworth, Aiden Gillen plays Littlefinger and Sara Dylan appears as Bernadette. In fact, more than 100 Irish actors have appeared in the seven series — though many have been in nonspeaking roles.
FAME IS CALLING
As a result of appearing in the show, many unknowns have been catapulted to fame, including: He played ‘King in the North’ Robb Stark, Ned’s eldest son. His character is long dead, and the 32-year-old Scot has claimed he wasn’t paid much for the role, moaning that he received ‘f*** all’. But he hasn’t done badly out of it. Since then, he has been Prince Charming in the 2015 live action Disney film Cinderella; played Romeo in a West End staging of Romeo and Juliet, directed by Kenneth Branagh; and, most recently, took the main role as the dour sergeant David Budd in the acclaimed BBC drama Bodyguard. Emilia Clarke: The 32-year-old Londoner, who plays would-be queen Daenerys, hasn’t had a quiet moment professionally either. She starred in the romantic drama Me Before You, as Sarah Connor in the latest Terminator film and as Qi’ra, Han Solo’s first love, in the Stars Wars film Solo. There has also
been lucrative commercial sidelines, such as a Dolce & Gabbana ad campaign. Kit Harington: The baronet’s son, 32, stars as Jon Snow, the show’s obvious hero. Last year, Harington married Rose Leslie (who played a Northern savage in GoT). He has since played Gunpowder Plot conspirator Robert Catesby (his ancestor) in the BBC drama Gunpowder. Maisie Williams: After being cast as Arya aged 12, Williams admitted she ‘gave up’ life as a ‘normal teenager’. While her mother attracted some criticism for letting Williams leave school aged 14, the actress, now 21, has since starred in Doctor Who and will appear in the X-Men spin-off film, The New Mutants, due out this summer.
NAME OF THRONES
UNFORTUNATELY for thousands of children, the bizarre names of characters have inspired expectant parents.
In England and Wales in 2017, 343 baby girls were named Arya — presumably after pint-sized assassin Arya Stark — and 76 were named Khaleesi, the title used by Emilia Clarke’s character. Three were called Daenerys, while 11 boys were named Tyrion after the wise Lannister.
WARRIOR WOMEN
UNLIKE Lord Of The Rings, Game Of Thrones stands out for the large number of women in powerful roles.
Two principal armies are led by women — the ruthless Cersei Lannister, played by Lena Headey, and the dragon-taming Daenerys Targaryen — and Arya Stark is possibly the single most lethal character in the series. Off-camera, despite wider Hollywood complaints about equal pay, women are treated the same, too. Emilia Clarke and Lena Headey are two of five key cast members who get the top salary of $500,000 (€440,000) per episode. (The others are Kit Harington, Peter Dinklage — who plays Tyrion Lannister — and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, as Jaime Lannister). Sophie Turner, Maisie Williams and Isaac Hempstead Wright (who plays another Stark family survivor, Bran) all receive $175,000 (€155,000) an episode.
TRIAL AND ERROR
FOR those who have followed this epic TV series since it first aired eight years ago, it hasn’t always been smooth sailing.
Full of violence and gratuitous nudity — the first episode had a raunchy incest scene — early episodes were widely condemned.
Some dialogue was too silly for words, some acting was painfully wooden, and the creator’s penchant for regularly slaughtering the goodies got a little wearing.
At points, many complained the brutality — particularly the vile rape scenes — had gone too far. But patient viewers were rewarded. As it became vastly popular, producers apparently felt less need to pack it with ratings-friendly sex and gore.
However, some deaths — such as the moment sadist Ramsay Bolton is beaten to a pulp and fed to his hungry hounds — have remained toe-curlingly grisly.
That said, he deserved it.
WHO WILL WIN?
GIVEN that GoT has killed off major characters with abandon, it’s anyone’s guess as to who will end up on the Iron Throne.
Aware that Martin doesn’t like to do the obvious, the bookies currently give two lesser characters the shortest odds.
Ned’s disabled son Bran Stark — who can see the future — is the favourite at 5/6.
Next, at 4/1, comes his sister, Sansa Stark. Once pampered and naive, she’s been hardened by extreme adversity and has emerged as an astute leader.
The main ‘good’ leaders — dashing Jon Snow and dragonriding Daenerys Targaryen — have to make do with 5/1 and 12/1 respectively.
It seems a little cruel after all the effort they’ve put in, but given the blood-spattered course of this series, they may count themselves lucky just to come through it alive. O GAME Of Thrones is on Sky Atlantic from 2am Monday.