Games of Thrones Returns

BY DANA REESE
Editor-in-Chief

 
Anyone with a connection to the outside world has likely heard of HBO’s popular series, “Game of Thrones”.  Based on the series by author, George R. R. Martin, the series takes place in Westeros, a fantasy world engulfed in war and unrest reminiscent of late antiquity and early medieval periods in Europe.

On March 31, the show will return for its third season, which will be primarily based off of the third book in Martin’s in-progress seven book series.

“A Feast for Crows” is the book title of number three, and is held as a fan favorite so far.

The book jumps to multiple subplots and new narrators that have previously played somewhat minor roles.

How will the new season deal with handing the focus to some new faces, and will some of the more lovable but less scheming narrators, such as Samwell Tarly (John Bradley) leave narrators hooked or bored?

As well as characters, the season jumps continents a lot more than the previous, and the war scenes will begin to truly take there tolls.  Characters will die, wed, die while being wed, and show sides the more unexpectant viewers might not be ready to face.  Any fan should be ready, because death is coming (and winter, as well).

Assuming the season follows the book as much as possible, this should be the best season yet with conspiracies unraveling, traitors stepping out from the shadows and armies beginning to emerge from beyond the Narrow Sea.

New characters will take the stage in this next installment to a greater degree than ever before. Brienne of Tarth (Gwendoline Christie) will be seen on her travels with a dirty and disheveled Jamie Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) on their way to King’s Landing. The role of Edmure, the Tully brother to Catelyn Stark will be played by Tobias Menzies and Ciaran Hinds will take up the role of the king beyond the wall, Mance Rayder.

Most viewers, however, are interested in who is going to die, and who is going to get to sit on the sharp points of the iron throne.  While no one but Martin and the few people he’s let in on the secret know who the final victor will be (two of those trusted secret-bearers are executive producers Benioff and Weiss, who admitted that they had been told at the open-panel discussion on March 19), fans are quick to promote their favorites and scorn those they hate, particularly the infamous Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey).

Fans of the past two seasons and the books know Martin and the screen writers have a talent for killing off loved characters, and this new season is not going to offer any change.

At the open-panel, Martin admitted that even those who have kept up with the book series might be in for some surprises, saying “David and Dan are killing some characters who are still alive in the books! Their body count is higher than mine.

When they say no one is safe in the series, that’s literally true. There are characters in book five—and who are going to be in book six—who are dead on the TV show.”

While some fans of the books have the advantage of knowing who’s more than likely to go in this next series, it’s not clear, then, who is truly safe anymore.  While the sixth book has yet to be released, Martin was willing to talk about his progress.

“I am working on it,” Martin said.  “It will be a long time coming. I have many, many more pages to do, but I have some great stuff planned for it: a lot of blood and fire and death and devastation and ravens coming home to roost.”The season premiere  is set for Sunday, March 31 at 9 PM on HBO.

Email Dana at:
dmr3170@live.esu.edu