GOT A-to-Z
Get up to speed with fantasy series Game Of Thrones before Winter and the final season 8 arrive on your doorstep.
Season 8 Mondays (from 15 April) M-Net (*101) 03:00/22:00
Time is up for the phrase “Winter is coming”, explains Game Of Thrones (2011- current) co- creator David Benioff. “Winter is here! We’ve spent seven seasons building up to this final fight to survive in the north of Westeros, as well as the fight for the Iron Throne down in the south of the kingdom. The Night King is riding on [now-zombified] Viserion and his unstoppable army of White Walkers are marching forward.”
David’s co- creator DB Weiss adds that the final season will be at a “frantic pace. We have grand, full-scale wars to wage. One of the battles is going to make everything we’ve done so far look like child’s play.” Don’t know anything about the world’s most-pirated series? Here’s a season 1-7 catch-up so that you can jump right in…
Everyone is fighting over the Iron Throne in Kings Landing, made from swords of the defeated enemies of the king of Westeros. A giant icy divider called The Wall splits the civilised region of Winterfell on the south side and the frozen tundra in the north, home to the White Walkers and Night King ( Vladimir Furdik). The siege on Westeros is about to begin in earnest after they broke through The Wall in the season 7 finale (2018). Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) aka the mother of dragons is the rightful heir to the throne – her father King Aerys II was killed by the usurper who banished her family. She has gone from season 1- child bride sold by her brother in exchange for an army, to bloodthirsty warlord with two giant dragons. Dany’s had heartbreak after heartbreak though, but she has found comfort (and a new lover) in Jon Snow (Kit Harington) as they head north to his home in Winterfell. But… Jon is her nephew! Yeah, gross! Jon was raised as the illegitimate son of Lord Eddard Stark (Sean Bean) but dead Ed kept a secret until his death in season 1: he was the only person who knew Jon’s heritage – his parents were Rhaegar Targaryen (older brother of Daenerys) and Eddard’s sister Lyanna, with Jon’s birth name Aegon Targaryen. Jon swore allegiance and celibacy to the Brothers Of The Night’s Watch but he died in season 5 (2015) and has been brought back to life. He is going north to help his family protect Winterfell from the White Walkers, but what will happen when he and Dany learn that they’re related? Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey) is still sitting pretty on the Iron Throne, sipping wine. She has seen her king husband die in season 1, her war-mongering dad Tywin (Charles Dance) murdered by her betrayer dwarf brother Tyrion (Peter Dinklage), and her twin brotherlover Jamie (Nikolaj CosterWaldau) lose his hand, his honour and his sex appeal. She’s cruel, cold, callous, evil, vengeful and every other superlative we can think of. Even her season 5 Walk Of Atonement was too good for her – she was stripped naked and shamed by the citizens of Kings Landing as she walked back to her castle. Now she wants blood… and to stay on the Iron Throne. Jon’s sisters Arya and Sansa Stark (Maisie Williams and Sophie Turner) are heading home to Winterfell after six seasons but with different ambitions. While Sansa prefers playing princess (she’s also learnt to be cruel from her ex-motherin-law Cersei), Arya has a sword and she isn’t afraid to use it. In fact, she is downright lethal, having been trained by the assassin group the Faceless Men. She’s a master of disguise, deadly with weapons and about as ruthless as the Night King and Cersei combined. And she’s got a kill list, checking off her enemies one by one as she kills them. Neither really wants the Iron Throne, which could actually make either of them perfect as the ruler of Westeros. So who will be perched on the seat of power when the last episode airs on 20 May? “We don’t know,” says Sophie. “The book that this season is based on isn’t finished, so the only people who know are DB, David and author George RR Martin!”