It’s not enough that season 3 of Game of Thrones is adapting the most popular book – the first 5 polls I found all listed A Storm of Swords as their favourites in the series- or that season 2’s standout episode ‘Blackwater’ demonstrated that Game of Thrones had the studio’s artistic and financial backing to show the grand scale that is sometimes depicted. With fewer than 100 days until Game of Thrones’ third season starts, I look at some of the subtle signs in the show that bode well for more fervent fans, from throwaway words to added scenes.
Here there be spoilers.
I’ve been hearing hundreds of requests for yet more Game of Thrones material – my painkillers are just that good. High five, Cocodamol (with ‘high’ being the operative word)! Predicting how A Song of Ice and Fire will be adapted is something that’s been on my mind, though I’m aware of how easily those predictions can be thwarted: fans’ knowledge of the books may have made them giddy at the incusion of Marillion, essentially an extra in the first book with a key role in the conclusion of the third. ‘Yay and W00t! David Benihoff and Dan Weiss are laying the groundwork for three seasons already!’ You may have hooted, before going from owlish to sheepish when the same character had his tongue cut out in King’s Landing in the first season finale, thereby almost certainly ruling out his role in the Vale.
Similarly, the numerous references to the House of The Undying in Dany’s storyline, outnumbering even her calls for boats and dragons led to much anticipation: We’ll hear the prophecies! Will the omens be too obvious? Will we see Rhaegar? Will they include extra clues about Azor Ahai? No, Nope, ‘fraid not and alas no: The House of the Undying was featured, but the sequence focused entirely on Dany’s current personal motivations, though the shot of a burned out, snow filled throne room could be literally or symbolically foreshadowing the end of the series. Regardless, fans didn’t get their Rhaegar cameo, even if the sequence shown was more satisfying within the context of the series. So, let’s be cautious even as we’re excited when we consider…
5. A promising plural!
Fan favourite and Emmy honoured Peter Dinklage’s Tyrion puts Theon Greyjoy’s pretensions into perspective, drops some exposition and promises fans a treat by mentioning the Starks’ crushing of his uncles early in season 1. That plural promised at least 2 of the canonical 3 uncles, Aeron, Euron and Victarion Greyjoy. We may already have seen Aeron blessing Theon in season 2 and, though some predict a more budget friendly amalgamation of Victarion and Euron, this paves the way for their more interesting rivalry. The line could simply have been ‘didn’t the Starks crush the greyjoy fleet’, so explicitly mentioning ‘uncles’ caught my fangirlish attention.
4. Ser Beric ‘Blatantly due for Recasting’ Dondarrion
Appearing in Season 1 Episode 6, portrayed by an extra but still appearing, the later-to-be ‘Lightning Lord’ Beric Dondarrion was dispatched by Ned Stark to capture Ser Gregor Clegane, because Sean Bean is so accustomed to dying that he can no longer empathise. There was no need to show or even name Dondarrion, but the show committed themselves to that storyline, as they did with 2 mentions of Thoros of Myr, thus making canon 2 key characters in the Storm of Swords seasons. Fan excitement paid off when both characters were confirmed in preview casting videos, including footage of the predictably recast Dondarrion’s flaming swordfight with Sandor Clegane safkhbdhghskjnt
They sent this extra to capture an 8 foot tall dude known as The Mountain. Maybe he wasn’t recast, but regenerated?
3. A Song of Malice and Fire
You saw the spoiler warning above, right? Seriously, spoilers. Tyrion enters the small council meeting in season 2’s premiere whistling a little ditty that would be well known, ‘The Rains of Castamere’, which would be later sung in episode 9 and explicitly called a Lannister song, before its full dirgeful glory was played at the end of that episode. It works on its own, adding to the moral grey area surrounding reactions to the battle’s resolution: I’m glad that a child wasn’t poisoned… but Cersei has been saved. But the citizens won’t be massacred! But… the Lannisters are still in charge… But at least the merciless Stannis won’t be in charge… although it means Joffrey still is… Oh.
The Rains of Castamere recounts the massacre of the Reynes by the Lannisters and is sung to quell any who would doubt their power. Playing it as an ominous victory song is clever within that episode, but also sets up future usage: knowing that it’s a Lannister song, we are primed to collectively panic when we next hear it during a gathering of Starks, knowing it is completely out of place, even treasonous there. Including the Rains of Castamere in season 2 sets up the Red Wedding, which we know will break our hearts in season 3.
2. Mentions of Volantis, Tyrosh and not Mereen.
In the books, something of a dust-up occurs around Jeyne Westerling, a daughter of a minor Lord. In the series, the same appears due around Tulisa (yes), a mysterious character who provides one of the series’ classic Socratic explorations of power that we all tune in for, as opposed to the shaving scenes. She casually mentions coming from Volantis, setting up a certain character’s visit there in what will likely be season 5, as well as the issues of slavery that will be relevant to Dany’s storyline. An extra point of view on the issue should enhance the inevitably amalgamated Astapori and Yunkish storylines, freeing up Dany to do more exploration of the prophecies, or any exploration of the prophecies or to just cuddle up to her bearish Ser Jorah.
1. Expanding the Universe
Conveying internal thought processes via necessarily third person visual media is difficult, especially if you don’t resort to narration. Trimming down large novels to 10 episodes is also difficult – as such, much is liable to be chopped out. Surprisingly, in many scenes the series went in the opposite direction, explicitly creating scenes to demonstrate minor aspects of the series. Loras and Renly’s occasionally discussed, never confirmed relationship was beautifully, explicitly confirmed in season one: the show included innuendo initially, but in expositing their motivations, Loras and Renly were able to show their love as well. The same motivations could have been explained in an aside during a banquet, or another non-sexual scenario, but the show explicitly made its gay characters visible. Likewise, in including Margaery Tyrell, the show skipped the first few novels hearsay and politeness and showed directly what a brilliant politician Margaery is, meaning she is likely to be formidable in future seasons. Might we see both sides of the struggle between her and Cersei in season 5?
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