Datasets:

Tuana

/

game-of-thrones

like 0

625b17208ff5d1b4ae00e365e882b36e

===Setting=== ''Game of Thrones'' is roughly based on the storylines of ''A Song of Ice and Fire'', set in the fictional Seven Kingdoms of Westeros and the continent of Essos. The series chronicles the violent dynastic struggles among the realm's noble families for the Iron Throne, while other families fight for independence from it. It opens with additional threats in the icy North and Essos in the east. Showrunner David Benioff jokingly suggested "''The Sopranos'' in Middle-earth" as ''Game of Thrones'' tagline, referring to its intrigue-filled plot and dark tone in a fantasy setting of magic and dragons. In a 2012 study, out of 40 recent television drama shows, ''Game of Thrones'' ranked second in deaths per episode, averaging 14 deaths.

text

cf02d4b36bf1f4e6aa420de3f2aad4ae

===Themes=== The series is generally praised for what is perceived as a sort of medieval realism. George R.R. Martin set out to make the story feel more like historical fiction than contemporary fantasy, with less emphasis on magic and sorcery and more on battles, political intrigue, and the characters, believing that magic should be used moderately in the epic fantasy genre. Martin has stated that "the true horrors of human history derive not from orcs and Dark Lords, but from ourselves." A common theme in the fantasy genre is the battle between good and evil, which Martin says does not mirror the real world. Just like people's capacity for good and for evil in real life, Martin explores the questions of redemption and character change. The series allows the audience to view different characters from their perspective, unlike in many other fantasies, and thus the supposed villains can provide their side of the story. Benioff said, "George brought a measure of harsh realism to high fantasy. He introduced gray tones into a black-and-white universe." In early seasons, under the influence of the ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' books, main characters were regularly killed off, and this was credited with developing tension among viewers. In later seasons, critics pointed out that certain characters had developed "plot armor" to survive in unlikely circumstances, and attributed this to ''Game of Thrones'' deviating from the novels to become more of a traditional television series. The series also reflects the substantial death rates in war.

text

dfe03901e633559a5ecf30fcf3aee01a

===Inspirations and derivations=== Although the first season closely follows the events of the first novel, later seasons have made significant changes. According to David Benioff, the series is "about adapting the series as a whole and following the map George laid out for us and hitting the major milestones, but not necessarily each of the stops along the way". The novels and their adaptations base aspects of their settings, characters, and plot on events in European history. Most of Westeros is reminiscent of high medieval Europe, from lands and cultures, to the palace intrigue, feudal system, castles, and knightly tournaments. A principal inspiration for the novels is the English Wars of the Roses (1455–1485) between the houses of Lancaster and York, reflected in Martin's houses of Lannister and Stark. The scheming Cersei Lannister evokes Isabella, the "she-wolf of France" (1295–1358). She and her family, as portrayed in Maurice Druon's historical novel series, ''The Accursed Kings'', were a main inspiration of Martin's. Other historical antecedents of series elements include Hadrian's Wall (which becomes Martin's Wall), the Roman Empire, and the legend of Atlantis (ancient Valyria), Byzantine Greek fire ("wildfire"), Icelandic sagas of the Viking Age (the Ironborn), the Mongol hordes (the Dothraki), the Hundred Years' War, and the Italian Renaissance. The series' popularity has been attributed, in part, to Martin's skill at fusing these elements into a seamless, credible version of alternate history. Martin acknowledges, "I take history and I file off the serial numbers and I turn it up to 11."

text

e68765fbb4d66285468fda92e2ab8f79

==Cast and characters== ''Game of Thrones'' has an ensemble cast estimated to be the largest on television; during its third season, 257 cast names were recorded. In 2014, several actor contracts were renegotiated to include a seventh-season option, with raises which reportedly made them among the highest-paid performers on cable television. In 2016, several actor contracts were again renegotiated, reportedly increasing the salary of five of the main cast members to $1 million per episode for the last two seasons, which would make them the highest paid actors on television. The main cast is listed below. Lord Eddard "Ned" Stark (Sean Bean) is the head of House Stark, whose members are involved in plotlines throughout most of the series. He and his wife, Catelyn Tully (Michelle Fairley), have five children: Robb (Richard Madden), the eldest; followed by Sansa (Sophie Turner), Arya (Maisie Williams), Bran (Isaac Hempstead-Wright), and Rickon (Art Parkinson). Ned's illegitimate son Jon Snow (Kit Harington) and his friend Samwell Tarly (John Bradley) serve in the Night's Watch under Lord Commander Jeor Mormont (James Cosmo). The Wildlings living north of the Wall include the young Gilly (Hannah Murray), and the warriors Tormund Giantsbane (Kristofer Hivju) and Ygritte (Rose Leslie). Others associated with House Stark include Ned's ward Theon Greyjoy (Alfie Allen), his vassal Roose Bolton (Michael McElhatton), and Bolton's bastard son Ramsay Snow (Iwan Rheon). Robb falls in love with the healer Talisa Maegyr (Oona Chaplin), and Arya befriends the blacksmith's apprentice Gendry (Joe Dempsie) and the assassin Jaqen H'ghar (Tom Wlaschiha). The tall warrior Brienne of Tarth (Gwendoline Christie) serves Catelyn and, later, Sansa. In King's Landing, the capital, Ned's friend King Robert Baratheon (Mark Addy), shares a loveless marriage with Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey), who has taken her twin brother, the "Kingslayer" Ser Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), as her lover. She loathes her younger brother, the dwarf Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage), who is attended by his mistress Shae (Sibel Kekilli) and the sellsword Bronn (Jerome Flynn). Cersei's father is Lord Tywin Lannister (Charles Dance), and she also has two young sons: Joffrey (Jack Gleeson) and Tommen (Dean-Charles Chapman). Joffrey is guarded by the scar-faced warrior Sandor "the Hound" Clegane (Rory McCann). The king's Small Council of advisors includes the crafty Master of Coin Lord Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish (Aidan Gillen) and the eunuch spymaster Lord Varys (Conleth Hill). Robert's brother Stannis Baratheon (Stephen Dillane) is advised by foreign priestess Melisandre (Carice van Houten) and former smuggler Ser Davos Seaworth (Liam Cunningham). The wealthy Tyrell family is represented at court by Margaery Tyrell (Natalie Dormer). The High Sparrow (Jonathan Pryce) is the capital's religious leader. In the southern principality of Dorne, Ellaria Sand (Indira Varma) seeks vengeance against the Lannisters. Across the Narrow Sea, siblings Viserys (Harry Lloyd) and Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) – the exiled children of the last king of the original ruling dynasty, who was overthrown by Robert Baratheon – are running for their lives and trying to win back the throne. Daenerys marries Khal Drogo (Jason Momoa), the leader of the nomadic Dothraki. Her retinue includes the exiled knight Ser Jorah Mormont (Iain Glen), her aide Missandei (Nathalie Emmanuel), the sellsword Daario Naharis (Michiel Huisman), and Grey Worm (Jacob Anderson), who leads Daenerys' army of elite eunuch-warriors, the Unsullied.

text

d8b7f165cc64c549532b74249cc692dd

===Conception and development=== Showrunners D. B. Weiss and David Benioff created the series, wrote most of its episodes and directed several. In January 2006, David Benioff had a phone conversation with George R. R. Martin's literary agent about the books he represented and became interested in ''A Song of Ice and Fire'', as he had been a fan of fantasy fiction when young but had not read the books before. The literary agent then sent Benioff the series' first four books. Benioff read a few hundred pages of the first novel, ''A Game of Thrones'', shared his enthusiasm with D. B. Weiss, and suggested that they adapt Martin's novels into a television series; Weiss finished the first novel in "maybe 36 hours". They pitched the series to HBO after a five-hour meeting with Martin (himself a veteran screenwriter) in a restaurant on Santa Monica Boulevard. According to Benioff, they won Martin over with their answer to his question, "Who is Jon Snow's mother?" Before being approached by Benioff and Weiss, Martin had had other meetings with other scriptwriters, most of whom wanted to adapt the series as a feature film. Martin, however, deemed it "unfilmable" and impossible to be done as a feature film, stating that the size of one of his novels is as long as ''The Lord of the Rings'', which had been adapted as three feature films. Similarly, Benioff also said that it would be impossible to turn the novels into a feature film as the scale of the novels is too big for a feature film, and dozens of characters would have to be discarded. Benioff added, "a fantasy movie of this scope, financed by a major studio, would almost certainly need a PG-13 rating. That means no sex, no blood, no profanity. Fuck that." Martin himself was pleased with the suggestion that they adapt it as an HBO series, saying that he "never imagined it anywhere else". "I knew it couldn't be done as a network television series. It's too adult. The level of sex and violence would never have gone through." The series began development in January 2007. HBO acquired the television rights to the novels, with Benioff and Weiss as its executive producers, and Martin as a co-executive producer. The intention was for each novel to yield a season's worth of episodes. Initially, Martin would write one episode per season while Benioff and Weiss would write the rest of the episodes. Jane Espenson and Bryan Cogman were later added to write one episode apiece the first season. The first and second drafts of the pilot script by Benioff and Weiss were submitted in August 2007 and June 2008, respectively. Although HBO liked both drafts, a pilot was not ordered until November 2008; the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike may have delayed the process. The pilot episode, "Winter Is Coming", was first shot in 2009; after a poor reception in a private viewing, HBO demanded an extensive re-shoot (about 90 percent of the episode, with cast and directorial changes). The pilot reportedly cost HBO US$5–10million to produce, while the first season's budget was estimated at $50–60million. In the second season, the series received a 15-percent budget increase for the climactic battle in "Blackwater" (which had an $8million budget). Between 2012 and 2015, the average budget per episode increased from $6million to "at least" $8million. The sixth-season budget was over $10million per episode, for a season total of over $100million and a series record.

text

8ca36351244577d242578bde6023550d

===Casting=== Nina Gold and Robert Sterne are the series' primary casting directors. Through a process of auditions and readings, the main cast was assembled. The only exceptions were Peter Dinklage and Sean Bean, whom the writers wanted from the start; they were announced as joining the pilot in 2009. Other actors signed for the pilot were Kit Harington as Jon Snow, Jack Gleeson as Joffrey Baratheon, Harry Lloyd as Viserys Targaryen, and Mark Addy as Robert Baratheon. Addy was, according to showrunners Benioff and Weiss, the easiest actor to cast for the series, due to his audition performance. Some of the characters in the pilot were recast for the first season: Catelyn Stark was initially played by Jennifer Ehle, but the role was recast with Michelle Fairley. Daenerys Targaryen was also recast, with Emilia Clarke replacing Tamzin Merchant. The rest of the first season's cast was filled in the second half of 2009. Although many of the cast returned after the first season, the producers had many new characters to cast for each of the following seasons. Due to the large number of new characters, Benioff and Weiss postponed the introduction of several key characters in the second season and merged several characters into one or assigned plot functions to different characters. Some recurring characters were recast over the years; for example, Gregor Clegane was played by three different actors, while Dean-Charles Chapman who played Tommen Baratheon also played a minor Lannister character.

text

272e02e52a04fda7f285e68c8165eeac

===Writing=== George R. R. Martin, author of ''A Song of Ice and Fire'', is a series co-executive producer and wrote one episode for each of the first four seasons. ''Game of Thrones'' used seven writers in six seasons. Series creators David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, the showrunners, write most of the episodes each season. ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' author George R. R. Martin wrote one episode in each of the first four seasons. Martin did not write an episode for the later seasons, since he wanted to focus on completing the sixth novel (''The Winds of Winter''). Jane Espenson co-wrote one first-season episode as a freelance writer. Bryan Cogman, initially a script coordinator for the series, was promoted to producer for the fifth season. Cogman, who wrote at least one episode for the first five seasons, is the only other writer in the writers' room with Benioff and Weiss. Before his promotion, Vanessa Taylor (a writer during the second and third seasons) worked closely with Benioff and Weiss. Dave Hill joined the writing staff for the fifth season after working as an assistant to Benioff and Weiss. Although Martin is not in the writers' room, he reads the script outlines and makes comments. Benioff and Weiss sometimes assign characters to particular writers; for example, Cogman was assigned to Arya Stark for the fourth season. The writers spend several weeks writing a character outline, including what material from the novels to use and the overarching themes. After these individual outlines are complete, they spend another two to three weeks discussing each main character's individual arc and arranging them episode by episode. A detailed outline is created, with each of the writers working on a portion to create a script for each episode. Cogman, who wrote two episodes for the fifth season, took a month and a half to complete both scripts. They are then read by Benioff and Weiss, who make notes, and parts of the script are rewritten. All ten episodes are written before filming begins since they are filmed out of order with two units in different countries. Benioff and Weiss write each of their episodes together, with one of them writing the first half of the script and the other the second half. After that they begin with passing the drafts back and forth to make notes and rewrite parts of it.

text

850af5d97cce68184c61cc4259caabea

===Adaptation schedule and episodes=== After ''Game of Thrones'' began outpacing the published novels in the sixth season, the series was based on a plot outline of the future novels provided by Martin and original content. In April 2016, the showrunners' plan was to shoot 13 more episodes after the sixth season: seven episodes in the seventh season and six episodes in the eighth. Later that month, the series was renewed for a seventh season with a seven-episode order. Eight seasons were ordered and filmed, adapting the novels at a rate of about 48 seconds per page for the first three seasons. ''A Clash of Kings'' and some early chapters from ''A Storm of Swords'' About the first two-thirds of ''A Storm of Swords'' The remaining one-third of ''A Storm of Swords'' and some elements from ''A Feast for Crows'' and ''A Dance with Dragons'' ''A Feast for Crows'', ''A Dance with Dragons'' and original content, with some late chapters from ''A Storm of Swords'' and elements from ''The Winds of Winter'' Original content and outline from ''The Winds of Winter'', with some late elements from ''A Feast for Crows'' and ''A Dance with Dragons'' Original content and outline from ''The Winds of Winter'' and ''A Dream of Spring'' Original content and outline from ''The Winds of Winter'' and ''A Dream of Spring'' The first two seasons adapted one novel each. For the later seasons, its creators see ''Game of Thrones'' as an adaptation of ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' as a whole rather than the individual novels; this enables them to move events across novels, according to screen-adaptation requirements.

text

f5474a486ce0211c2192060764028e20

===Filming=== The Azure Window at Ras-id-Dwerja, on Gozo, was the site of the Dothraki wedding in season one. Principal photography for the first season was scheduled to begin on July 26, 2010, and the primary location was the Paint Hall Studios in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Exterior scenes in Northern Ireland were filmed at Sandy Brae in the Mourne Mountains (standing in for Vaes Dothrak), Castle Ward (Winterfell), Saintfield Estates (the Winterfell godswood), Tollymore Forest (outdoor scenes), Cairncastle (the execution site), the Magheramorne quarry (Castle Black), and Shane's Castle (the tourney grounds). Doune Castle in Stirling, Scotland, was also used in the original pilot episode for scenes at Winterfell. The producers initially considered filming the whole series in Scotland, but decided on Northern Ireland because of the availability of studio space. The first season's southern scenes were filmed in Malta, a change in location from the pilot episode's Moroccan sets. The city of Mdina was used for King's Landing. Filming was also done at Fort Manoel (representing the Sept of Baelor), at the Azure Window on the island of Gozo (the Dothraki wedding site) and at San Anton Palace, Fort Ricasoli, Fort St. Angelo and St. Dominic monastery (all used for scenes in the Red Keep). The walled city of Dubrovnik became King's Landing in season two. Filming of the second season's southern scenes shifted from Malta to Croatia, where the city of Dubrovnik and nearby locations allowed exterior shots of a walled, coastal medieval city. The Walls of Dubrovnik and Fort Lovrijenac were used for scenes in King's Landing, though, exteriors of some local buildings, for example, the Red Keep and the Sept of Baelor, are computer-generated. The island of Lokrum, the St. Dominic monastery in the coastal town of Trogir, the Rector's Palace in Dubrovnik, and the Dubac quarry (a few kilometers east) were used for scenes set in Qarth. Scenes set north of the Wall, in the Frostfangs and at the Fist of the First Men, were filmed in November 2011 in Iceland: on the Vatnajökull glacier near Smyrlabjörg, the Svínafellsjökull glacier near Skaftafell and the Mýrdalsjökull glacier near Vik on Höfðabrekkuheiði. Third-season production returned to Dubrovnik, with the Walls of Dubrovnik, Fort Lovrijenac and nearby locations again used for scenes in King's Landing and the Red Keep. Trsteno Arboretum, a new location, is the garden of the Tyrells in King's Landing. The third season also returned to Morocco (including the city of Essaouira) to film Daenerys' scenes in Essos. Dimmuborgir and the Grjótagjá cave in Iceland were used as well. One scene, with a live bear, was filmed in Los Angeles. The production used three units (Dragon, Wolf and Raven) filming in parallel, six directing teams, 257 cast members and 703 crew members. Ballintoy Harbour was Lordsport on the Iron Islands. The fourth season returned to Dubrovnik and included new locations, including Diocletian's Palace in Split, Klis Fortress north of Split, Perun quarry east of Split, the Mosor mountain range, and Baška Voda further south. Thingvellir National Park in Iceland was used for the fight between Brienne and the Hound. Filming took 136 days and ended on November 21, 2013. The fifth season added Seville, Spain, used for scenes of Dorne, as well as Córdoba. The sixth season, which began filming in July 2015, returned to Spain and filmed in Navarra, Guadalajara, Seville, Almeria, Girona and Peniscola. Filming also returned to Dubrovnik, Croatia. Filming of the seven episodes of season 7 began on August 31, 2016, at Titanic Studios in Belfast, with other filming in Iceland, Northern Ireland and many locations in Spain, including Seville, Cáceres, Almodovar del Rio, Santiponce, Zumaia and Bermeo. The series also filmed in Dubrovnik, which is used for location of King's Landing. Filming continued until the end of February 2017 as necessary to ensure winter weather in some of the European locations.

text

b97431a7e2b669789497be7cd2362dfe

===Directing=== Each ten-episode season of ''Game of Thrones'' has four to six directors, who usually direct back-to-back episodes. Alan Taylor has directed seven episodes, the most episodes of the series. Alex Graves, David Nutter, Mark Mylod, and Jeremy Podeswa have directed six each. Daniel Minahan directed five episodes, and Michelle MacLaren, Alik Sakharov, and Miguel Sapochnik directed four each; MacLaren is also the only female director in the entire series' run. Brian Kirk directed three episodes during the first season, and Tim Van Patten directed the series' first two episodes. Neil Marshall directed two episodes, both with large battle scenes: "Blackwater" and "The Watchers on the Wall". Other directors have been Jack Bender, David Petrarca, Daniel Sackheim, Michael Slovis and Matt Shakman. David Benioff and D. B. Weiss have directed two episodes together but only credited one each episode, which was determined after a coin toss.

text

d6420a34b7d4bfbea238a4d5064b663

===Technical aspects=== Alik Sakharov was the pilot's cinematographer. The series has had a number of cinematographers, and has received seven Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Cinematography for a Single-Camera Series nominations. Oral Norrey Ottey, Frances Parker, Martin Nicholson, Crispin Green, Tim Porter and Katie Weiland have edited the series for a varying number of episodes. Weiland received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series in 2015.

text

56ea61c19bb219e3c18f07bc44dc57bf

===Costumes=== The costumes of Ygritte, Jon Snow and Tormund Giantsbane reflect the harsh climate in which they are worn. Dresses worn at the royal court in King's Landing indicate their wearers' wealth and status. Functional weapons and armor, like Brienne of Tarth's (left), were manufactured for the series. Michele Clapton was costume designer for ''Game of Thrones'' first five seasons before she was replaced by April Ferry. Clapton returned to the series as costume designer for the seventh season. The costumes used in the series drew inspiration from a number of sources, such as Japanese and Persian armor. Dothraki dress resembles that of the Bedouin (one was made out of fish skins to resemble dragon scales), and the Wildlings wear animal skins like the Inuit. Wildling bone armor is made from molds of actual bones, and is assembled with string and latex resembling catgut. Although the extras who play Wildlings and the Night's Watch often wear hats (normal in a cold climate), members of the principal cast usually do not so viewers can recognize the main characters. Björk's Alexander McQueen high-neckline dresses inspired Margaery Tyrell's funnel-neck outfit, and prostitutes' dresses are designed for easy removal. All clothing used is aged for two weeks so it appears realistic on high-definition television. About two dozen wigs are used for the actresses. Made of human hair and up to in length, they cost up to $7,000 each and are washed and styled like real hair. Applying the wigs is time-consuming; Emilia Clarke, for example, requires about two hours to style her brunette hair with a platinum-blonde wig and braids. Other actors, such as Jack Gleeson and Sophie Turner, receive frequent hair coloring. For characters such as Daenerys (Clarke) and her Dothraki, their hair, wigs and costumes are processed to appear as if they have not been washed for weeks.

text

cd177470326613029ba20cad5c0d556d

===Makeup=== For the first three seasons, Paul Engelen was ''Game of Thrones'' main makeup designer and prosthetic makeup artist with Melissa Lackersteen, Conor O'Sullivan, and Rob Trenton. At the beginning of the fourth season Engelen's team was replaced by Jane Walker and her crew, composed of Ann McEwan and Barrie and Sarah Gower.

text

5096429a84d60b5621afd19e8e2f22c5

===Visual effects=== For the series' large number of visual effects, HBO hired British-based BlueBolt and Irish-based Screen Scene for season one. Most of the environment builds were done as 2.5D projections, giving viewers perspective while keeping the programming from being overwhelming. In 2011, the season-one finale, "Fire and Blood", was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Visual Effects. Because the effects became more complex in subsequent seasons (including CGI creatures, fire, and water), German-based Pixomondo became the lead visual-effects producer; nine of its twelve facilities contributed to the project for season two, with Stuttgart the lead. Scenes were also produced by British-based Peanut FX, Canadian-based Spin VFX, and US-based Gradient Effects. "Valar Morghulis" and "Valar Dohaeris" earned Pixomondo Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Special Visual Effects in 2012 and 2013, respectively. For season four, HBO added German-based Mackevision to the project. The season-four finale, "The Children", won the 2014 Emmy Award for Visual Effects. Additional producers for season four included Canadian-based Rodeo FX, German-based Scanline VFX and US-based BAKED FX. The muscle and wing movements of the adolescent dragons in seasons four and five were based largely on those of a chicken. Pixomondo retained a team of 22 to 30 people which focused solely on visualizing Daenerys Targaryen's dragons, with the average production time per season of 20 to 22 weeks. For the fifth season, HBO added Canadian-based Image Engine and US-based Crazy Horse Effects to its list of main visual-effects producers.

text

65c030d8e831aadacf0e7d37362f5dad

===Sound=== Unusual for a television series, the sound team receives a rough cut of a full season and approaches it as a ten-hour feature film. Although seasons one and two had different sound teams, one team has been in charge of sound since then. For the series' blood-and-gore sounds, the team often uses a chamois. For dragon screams, mating tortoises, dolphin, seal, lion and bird sounds have been used.

text

30e1debf57aa5c52244dba436c670851

===Title sequence=== The series' title sequence was created by production studio Elastic for HBO. Creative director Angus Wall and his collaborators received the 2011 Primetime Emmy Award for Main Title Design for the sequence, which depicts a three-dimensional map of the series' fictional world. The map is projected on the inside of a sphere which is centrally lit by a small sun in an armillary sphere. As the camera moves across the map, focusing on the locations of the episode's events, clockwork mechanisms intertwine and allow buildings and other structures to emerge from the map. Accompanied by the title music, the names of the principal cast and creative staff appear. The sequence concludes after about 90 seconds with the title card and brief opening credits indicating the episode's writer(s) and director. Its composition changes as the story progresses, with new locations replacing those featuring less prominently or not at all.

text

52165f822c74831a92b9bc408318ac59

===Music=== Ramin Djawadi composed the ''Game of Thrones'' score. The music for the series was composed by Ramin Djawadi. The first season's soundtrack, written in about ten weeks before the premiere, was published by Varèse Sarabande in June 2011. Soundtrack albums for subsequent seasons have been released, with tracks by the National, the Hold Steady, and Sigur Rós. Djawadi has composed themes for each of the major houses and also for some of the main characters. The themes may evolve over time, as Daenerys Targaryen's theme started small and then became more powerful after each season. Her theme started first with a single instrument, a cello, and Djawadi later incorporated more instruments for it.

text

bd8ebf3a8b0075e21f6535ae8b4b4d2b

===Language=== The Westerosi characters of ''Game of Thrones'' speak British-accented English, often (but not consistently) with the accent of the English region corresponding to the character's Westerosi region. The Northerner Eddard Stark speaks in actor Sean Bean's native northern accent, and the southern lord Tywin Lannister speaks with a southern accent, while characters from Dorne speak English with a Spanish accent. Characters foreign to Westeros often have a non-British accent. Although the common language of Westeros is represented as English, the producers charged linguist David J. Peterson with constructing Dothraki and Valyrian languages based on the few words in the novels; Dothraki and Valyrian dialogue is often subtitled in English. It has been reported that during the series these fictional languages have been heard by more people than the Welsh, Irish, and Scots Gaelic languages combined.

text

dd551aa9cfb4de0a3f014b5218e6349c

===Effect on location=== ''Game of Thrones'' is funded by Northern Ireland Screen, a UK government agency financed by Invest NI and the European Regional Development Fund. , Northern Ireland Screen gave the series £9.25million ($14.37million); according to government estimates, this has benefited the Northern Ireland economy by £65million ($100.95million). Tourism Ireland has a ''Game of Thrones''-themed marketing campaign similar to New Zealand's Tolkien-related advertising. Invest NI and the Northern Ireland Tourist Board also expect the series to generate tourism revenue. According to Arlene Foster, the series has given Northern Ireland the most non-political publicity in its history. The production of ''Game of Thrones'' and other TV series also boosted Northern Ireland's creative industries, contributing to an estimated 12.4-percent growth in arts, entertainment, and recreation jobs between 2008 and 2013 (compared with 4.3percent in the rest of the UK during the same period). In September 2018, after the filming had finished, HBO announced plans to convert its filming locations in Northern Ireland into tourist attractions to be opened in 2019. Tourism organizations elsewhere reported increases in bookings after their locations appeared in ''Game of Thrones''. In 2012, bookings through LateRooms.com increased by 28 percent in Dubrovnik and 13 percent in Iceland. The following year, bookings doubled in Ouarzazate, Morocco (the location of Daenerys' season-three scenes). ''Game of Thrones'' has been attributed as a significant factor in the boom of tourism in Iceland that had a strong impact on its economy. Tourist numbers increased by 30% in 2015, followed by another 40% in 2016, with a final figure of 2.4million visitors expected for 2016, which is around seven times the population of the country. However, the increase in tourism to Dubrovnik, with ''Game of Thrones'' estimated to be responsible for half of its annual increase over many years, had led to concerns on "over-tourism" and its mayor to impose limits on tourist number in the city.

text

1f70f8765b1d1f6eb2c0138993c47a03

===Broadcast=== ''Game of Thrones'' is broadcast by HBO in the United States and by its local subsidiaries or other pay television services in other countries, at the same time as in the US or weeks (or months) later. The series' broadcast in China on CCTV, begun in 2014, was heavily edited to remove scenes of sex and violence, in accordance with a Chinese practice of censoring Western television series to prevent what the ''People's Daily'' called "negative effects and hidden security dangers". This resulted in viewer complaints about the incoherence of what remained. Broadcasters carrying ''Game of Thrones'' include Showcase in Australia; HBO Canada, Super Écran, and Showcase in Canada; HBO Latin America in Latin America; SoHo and Prime in New Zealand, and Sky Atlantic in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

text

833d128b24163e5e622f6db125d92e11

===Home media=== The ten episodes of the first season of ''Game of Thrones'' were released as a DVD and Blu-ray box set on March 6, 2012. The box set includes extra background and behind-the-scenes material but no deleted scenes, since nearly all the footage shot for the first season was used. The box set sold over 350,000 copies in the first week after release, the largest first-week DVD sales ever for an HBO series, and the series set an HBO-series record for digital-download sales. A collector's-edition box set was released in November 2012, combining the DVD and Blu-ray versions of the first season with the first episode of season two. A paperweight in the shape of a dragon egg is included in the set. DVD-Blu-ray box sets and digital downloads of the second season became available on February 19, 2013. First-day sales broke HBO records, with 241,000 box sets sold and 355,000 episodes downloaded. The third season was made available for purchase as a digital download on the Australian iTunes Store, parallel to the US premiere, and was released on DVD and Blu-ray in region 1 on February 18, 2014. The fourth season was released on DVD and Blu-ray on February 17, 2015, and the fifth season on March 15, 2016. The sixth season was released on Blu-ray and DVD on November 15, 2016. The seventh season was released on Blu-ray and DVD on December 12, 2017. Beginning in 2016, HBO began issuing Steelbook Blu-ray sets which include both Dolby TrueHD 7.1 and Dolby Atmos audio options. In 2018, the first season was released in 4K HDR on Ultra HD Blu-ray.

text

b80eed738f508c4ab487e1101121d30e

===Copyright infringement=== ''Game of Thrones'' has been widely pirated, primarily outside the US. According to the file-sharing news website TorrentFreak, ''Game of Thrones'' has been the most pirated television series since 2012, which means it has held the record for six years in a row. Illegal downloads increased to about seven million in the first quarter of 2015, up 45 percent from 2014. An unnamed episode was downloaded about 4,280,000 times through public BitTorrent trackers in 2012, roughly equal to its number of broadcast viewers. Piracy rates were particularly high in Australia, and US Ambassador to Australia Jeff Bleich issued a statement condemning Australian piracy of the series in 2013. Delays in availability apart from HBO and its affiliates before 2015 and the cost of subscriptions to these services have been cited as causes of the series' illegal distribution. According to ''TorrentFreak'', a subscription to a service for ''Game of Thrones'' would cost up to $25 per month in the United States, up to £26 per episode in the UK and up to $52 per episode in Australia. For "combating piracy", HBO said in 2013 that it intended to make its content more widely available within a week of the US premiere (including HBO Go). In 2015, the fifth season was simulcast to 170 countries and to HBO Now users. On April 11, the day before the season premiere, screener copies of the first four episodes of the fifth season leaked to a number of file-sharing websites. Within a day of the leak, the files were downloaded over 800,000 times; in one week the illegal downloads reached 32million, with the season-five premiere alone ("The Wars to Come") pirated 13million times. The season-five finale ("Mother's Mercy") was the most simultaneously shared file in the history of the BitTorrent filesharing protocol, with over 250,000 simultaneous sharers and over 1.5million downloads in eight hours. For the sixth season, HBO did not send screeners to the press, to prevent the spread of unlicensed copies and spoilers. Observers, including series director David Petrarca and Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes, said that illegal downloads did not hurt the series' prospects; it benefited from "buzz" and social commentary, and the high piracy rate did not significantly translate to lost subscriptions. According to ''Polygon'', HBO's relaxed attitude towards piracy and the sharing of login credentials amounted to a premium-television "free-to-play" model. At a 2015 Oxford Union debate, series co-creator David Benioff said that he was just glad that people watched the series; illegally downloaded episodes sometimes interested viewers enough to buy a copy, especially in countries where ''Game of Thrones'' was not televised. Co-creator D. B. Weiss had mixed feelings, saying that the series was expensive to produce and "if it doesn't make the money back, then it ceases to exist". However, he was pleased that so many people "enjoy the show so much they can't wait to get their hands on it." In 2015, ''Guinness World Records'' called ''Game of Thrones'' the most pirated television program.

text

6da4ea083f495da20c3f1f09aba73b3

===IMAX=== Beginning on January 23, 2015, the last two episodes of season four were shown in 205 IMAX theaters across the United States; ''Game of Thrones'' is the first television series shown in this format. The show earned $686,000 at the box office on its opening day and $1.5million during its opening weekend; the week-long release grossed $1,896,092.

text

c6c0ff3dcbf4be26b31a63809914e181

==Reception and achievements== ''Game of Thrones'' was highly anticipated by fans before its premiere, and has become a critical and commercial success. According to ''The Guardian'', by 2014 it was "the biggest drama" and "the most talked about show" on television. A 2015 ''The Hollywood Reporter'' survey of 2,800 actors, producers, directors, and other industry people named ''Game of Thrones'' as their #4 favorite show.

text

c075e94f3d194d4fe8ad41b2bc8c524d

===Cultural influence=== Although ''Game of Thrones'' was dismissed by some critics, its success has been credited with an increase in the popularity of the fantasy genre. On the eve of the second season's premiere, according to CNN, "after this weekend, you may be hard pressed to find someone who isn't a fan of some form of epic fantasy" and cited Ian Bogost as saying that the series continues a trend of successful screen adaptations beginning with Peter Jackson's 2001 ''The Lord of the Rings'' film trilogy and the ''Harry Potter'' films establishing fantasy as a mass-market genre; they are "gateway drugs to fantasy fan culture". The success of the show led to a number of fantasy series being commissioned on television, including a retelling of the ''Lord of the Rings'' by Amazon Studios. According to Neil Gaiman, whose works ''Good Omens'' and ''American Gods'' were adapted for TV, ''Game of Thrones'' did help change attitudes towards fantasy on television, but mainly it made big budgets for fantasy series more acceptable. The success of the genre had been attributed by writers to a longing for escapism in popular culture, frequent female nudity and a skill in balancing lighthearted and serious topics (dragons and politics, for example) which provided it with a prestige enjoyed by conventional, top-tier drama series. The series' popularity increased sales of the ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' novels (republished in tie-in editions), which remained at the top of bestseller lists for months. According to ''The Daily Beast'', ''Game of Thrones'' was a favorite of sitcom writers and the series has been referred to in other TV series. With other fantasy series, it has been cited as a reason for an increase in the purchase (and abandonment) of huskies and other wolf-like dogs. ''Game of Thrones'' has added to the popular vocabulary. A first season scene in which Petyr Baelish explains his motives (or background) while prostitutes have sex in the background gave rise to the word "sexposition" for providing exposition with sex and nudity. "Dothraki", the series' nomadic horsemen, was ranked fourth in a September 2012 Global Language Monitor list of words from television most used on the Internet. In 2012, the media used "Game of Thrones" as a figure of speech or comparison for situations of intense conflict and deceit, such as US healthcare politics, the Syrian Civil War and the ousting of Bo Xilai from the Chinese government. In 2019, singer-songwriter Taylor Swift told ''Entertainment Weekly'' that several songs on her 2017 album ''Reputation'' were inspired by characters and plots of ''Game of Thrones''. "Khaleesi" became more popular as a name for baby girls in the United States. In the novels and the TV series, "khaleesi" is not a name, but the title of the wife of a khal (warlord) in the Dothraki language, held by Daenerys Targaryen. ''Game of Thrones'' has also become a subject of scientific inquiry. In 2016, researchers published a paper analyzing emotional sentiment in online public discourse associated with the unfolding storyline during the fourth season. The analysis purported to be able to distinguish discussions about the storyline of an episode from media critiques or assessments of a specific actor's performance. In 2018, Australian scientists conducted a survival analysis and examined the mortality among 330 important characters during the first seven seasons of ''Game of Thrones''. In 2019, the Australian branch of the Red Cross conducted a study using international human rights laws to determine which of the ''Game of Thrones'' characters had committed the most war crimes during the first seven seasons of the show.

text

8ea9245eda33459115bdf12570bc64df

====General==== ''Game of Thrones'', particularly the first seven seasons, received critical acclaim, although the series' frequent use of nudity and violence has been criticized. Its seasons have appeared on annual "best of" lists published by ''The Washington Post'' (2011), ''Time'' (2011 and 2012) and ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (2012). The performances of the cast were praised. Peter Dinklage's "charming, morally ambiguous, and self-aware" Tyrion, who earned him Emmy and Golden Globe awards, was particularly noted. "In many ways, ''Game of Thrones'' belongs to Dinklage", wrote Mary McNamara of the ''Los Angeles Times'' before Tyrion became the series' central figure in season two. Several critics highlighted performances by actresses and children. Fourteen-year-old Maisie Williams, noted in the first season for her debut as Arya Stark, was singled out for her season-two work with veteran actor Charles Dance (Tywin Lannister). Stephen Dillane has received positive reviews for his performance as Stannis Baratheon, especially in the fifth season, with one critic noting "Whether you like Stannis or not, you have to admit that Stephen Dillane delivered a monumental performance this season." The series has a rating of 89 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. First-season reviewers said the series had high production values, a fully realized world and compelling characters. According to ''Variety'', "There may be no show more profitable to its network than 'Game of Thrones' is to HBO. Fully produced by the pay cabler and already a global phenomenon after only one season, the fantasy skein was a gamble that has paid off handsomely". The second season was also well received. ''Entertainment Weekly'' praised its "vivid, vital, and just plain fun" storytelling and, according to ''The Hollywood Reporter'', the series made a "strong case for being one of TV's best series"; its seriousness made it the only drama comparable to ''Mad Men'' or ''Breaking Bad''. ''The New York Times'' gave the series a mixed review, criticizing its number of characters, their lack of complexity and a meandering plot. The third season was extremely well received by critics, with Metacritic giving it a score of 91 out of 100 (indicating "universal acclaim"). The fourth season was similarly praised; Metacritic gave it a score of 94 out of 100 based on 29 reviews, again indicating "universal acclaim". The fifth season was also well received by critics and has a score of 91 out of 100 (based on 29 reviews) on Metacritic. The sixth season was praised by critics, though not as highly as its predecessors. It has a score of 73 on Metacritic (based on nine reviews), indicating "generally favorable reviews". The seventh season scored 77 out of 100 (based on twelve reviews) and was praised for its action sequences and focused central characters, but received criticism for its breakneck pace and plot developments that "defied logic." Darren Franich of ''Entertainment Weekly'' gave the series a 'B' rating, stating that it was ultimately "okay", with both "transcendent moments" and "miserable phases", it was "beloved enough to be criticized by everyone for something". Franich described seasons 3 and 4 as "relentless", seasons 6's ending having a "killer one-two punch", while seasons 7 and 8 were "indifferent".

text

a192f4f6f3de637e20cbeee3e36836fd

====Sex and violence==== Despite its otherwise enthusiastic reception by critics, some have criticized the show for the amount of female nudity, violence, and sexual violence it depicts, and for the manner in which it depicts these themes. ''The Atlantic'' called the series' "tendency to ramp up the sex, violence, and—especially—sexual violence" of the source material "the defining weakness" of the adaptation. George R. R. Martin responded that he feels obliged to be truthful about history and human nature, and that rape and sexual violence are common in war; and that omitting them from the narrative would have rung false and undermined one of his novels' themes, its historical realism. HBO said that they "fully support the vision and artistry of Dan and David's exceptional work and we feel this work speaks for itself." The amount of sex and nudity in the series, especially in scenes that are incidental to the plot, was the focus of much of the criticism aimed at the series in its first and second seasons. Stephen Dillane, who portrays Stannis Baratheon, likened the series' frequent explicit scenes to "German porn from the 1970s". Charlie Jane Anders wrote in io9 that while the first season was replete with light-hearted "sexposition", the second season appeared to focus on distasteful, exploitative, and dehumanizing sex with little informational content. According to ''The Washington Post''s Anna Holmes, the nude scenes appeared to be aimed mainly at titillating heterosexual men, right down to the Brazilian waxes sported by the women in the series' faux-medieval setting, which made these scenes alienating to other viewers. ''The Huffington Post''s Maureen Ryan likewise noted that ''Game of Thrones'' mostly presented women naked, rather than men, and that the excess of "random boobage" undercut any aspirations the series might have to address the oppression of women in a feudal society. ''Saturday Night Live'' parodied this aspect of the adaptation in a sketch that portrayed the series as retaining a 13-year-old boy as a consultant whose main concern was showing as many breasts as possible. In the third season, which saw Theon Greyjoy lengthily tortured and eventually emasculated, the series was also criticized for its use of torture. ''New York'' magazine called the scene "torture porn." Madeleine Davies of ''Jezebel'' agreed, saying, "it's not uncommon that ''Game of Thrones'' gets accused of being torture porn—senseless, objectifying violence combined with senseless, objectifying sexual imagery." According to Davies, although the series' violence tended to serve a narrative purpose, Theon's torture in "The Bear and the Maiden Fair" was excessive. A scene in the fourth season's episode "Breaker of Chains", in which Jaime Lannister rapes his sister and lover Cersei, triggered a broad public discussion about the series' depiction of sexual violence against women. According to Dave Itzkoff of ''The New York Times'', the scene caused outrage, in part because of comments by director Alex Graves that the scene became "consensual by the end". Itzkoff also wrote that critics fear that "rape has become so pervasive in the drama that it is almost background noise: a routine and unshocking occurrence". Sonia Saraiya of ''The A.V. Club'' wrote that the series' choice to portray this sexual act, and a similar one between Daenerys Targaryen and Khal Drogo in the first season—both described as consensual in the source novels—as a rape appeared to be an act of "exploitation for shock value". In the fifth season's episode "Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken", Sansa Stark is raped by Ramsay Bolton. Most reviewers, including those from ''Vanity Fair'', ''Salon'', ''The Atlantic'', and ''The Daily Beast'', found the scene gratuitous and artistically unnecessary. For example, Joanna Robinson, writing for ''Vanity Fair'', said that the scene "undercuts all the agency that's been growing in Sansa since the end of last season." In contrast, Sara Stewart of the ''New York Post'' wondered why viewers were not similarly upset about the many background and minor characters who'd undergone similar or worse treatment. In response to the scene, pop culture website ''The Mary Sue'' announced that it would cease coverage of the series because of the repeated use of rape as a plot device, and US Senator Claire McCaskill said that she would no longer watch it. As the sixth and seventh seasons saw Daenerys, Sansa, and Cersei assume ruling positions, Alyssa Rosenberg of ''The Washington Post'' noted that the series could be seen as a "long-arc revenge fantasy about what happens when women who have been brutalized and raped gain power"—namely, that their past leaves them too broken to do anything but commit brutal acts in their own turn, and that their personal liberation does not effect the social change needed to protect others from suffering. ''Time'' reported before the seventh season that "Even if Benioff and Weiss don't always admit it, the show has changed. Scenes in which exposition is delivered in one brothel or another, for example, have been pared back".

text

8b53f136e268bf53b3c0c7b80fb9a1fb

====Lighting issues==== The lighting, or lack of light, in darker scenes has been a recurring point of criticism since season 6 of the series. In 2016, ''Bustle''s Caitlyn Callegari listed 31 examples of scenes where the lighting caused viewers problems ranging from not being able to tell a character's hair color to not being able to see what was going on. Some reviewers have noted this is part of a wider trend among shows that are made by people who have experience working primarily on films, suggesting they "haven't grasped the nuances (or lack thereof)" of television as a medium, especially the differences between watching a scene on a television screen versus watching it on the big screen in a movie theater. In a 2017 interview, Robert McLachlan, a cinematographer working on the show, explained the lack of lighting as an artistic choice: "we're trying to be as naturalistic as possible". The criticism reached a high point during "The Long Night", the third episode of season 8. Barely minutes into the episode, viewers took to social media sites such as Twitter to express their discontent about the fact that they were having severe difficulties watching the battle and trying to figure out what was going on.

text

a176eb6b2c4a23848bc924751699e4f7

===Fandom=== In this manipulated image published by the White House in 2014, US president Barack Obama (a fan of the series) sits on the Iron Throne in the Oval Office with the king's crown on his lap. The popularity of the show in the country, coupled with its filming locations in Northern Ireland, led to the creation of a show-specific exhibit in the National Wax Museum Plus in Dublin. ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' and ''Game of Thrones'' have a broad, active international fan base. In 2012 ''Vulture.com'' ranked the series' fans as the most devoted in popular culture, more so than Lady Gaga's, Justin Bieber's, ''Harry Potter''s or ''Star Wars''. Fans include political leaders such as former US president Barack Obama, former British prime minister David Cameron, former Australian prime minister Julia Gillard and Dutch foreign minister Frans Timmermans, who framed European politics in quotes from Martin's novels in a 2013 speech. BBC News said in 2013 that "the passion and the extreme devotion of fans" had created a phenomenon unlike anything related to other popular TV series, manifesting itself in fan fiction, ''Game of Thrones''-themed burlesque routines and parents naming their children after series characters; writers quoted attributed this success to the rich detail, moral ambiguity, sexual explicitness and epic scale of the series and novels. The previous year, "Arya" was the fastest-rising girl's name in the US after it jumped in popularity from 711th to 413th place. , about 58 percent of series viewers were male and 42 percent female, and the average male viewer was 41 years old. According to SBS Broadcasting Group marketing director Helen Kellie, ''Game of Thrones'' has a high fan-engagement rate; 5.5 percent of the series' 2.9million Facebook fans talked online about the series in 2012, compared to 1.8percent of the more than ten million fans of ''True Blood'' (HBO's other fantasy series). Vulture.com cited Westeros.org and WinterIsComing.net (news and discussion forums), ToweroftheHand.com (which organizes communal readings of the novels) and Podcastoficeandfire.com as fan sites dedicated to the TV and novel series; and podcasts cover ''Game of Thrones''.

text

ca11f49aa8bf889baf73d9560bae8cdb

===Awards and accolades=== ''Game of Thrones'' has won numerous of awards since it debuted as a series, including 58 Primetime Emmy Awards, 5 Screen Actors Guild Award, and a Peabody Award; it holds the Emmy-award records for both most wins for a scripted television series, surpassing the record of 37 wins held by ''Frasier'' since 2004, and for most nominations for a drama with 161. In 2013 the Writers Guild of America listed ''Game of Thrones'' as the 40th "best written" series in television history. In 2015 ''The Hollywood Reporter'' placed it at number four on their "best TV shows ever" list, while in 2016 the series was placed seventh on ''Empire'' "The 50 best TV shows ever". The same year ''Rolling Stone'' named it the twelfth "greatest TV Show of all time". The 2011 first season received 13 Emmy nominations (including Outstanding Drama Series), and won for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (given to Peter Dinklage for his portrayal of Tyrion Lannister) and Outstanding Main Title Design. Other nominations included Outstanding Directing ("Winter Is Coming") and Outstanding Writing ("Baelor"). Dinklage was also named Best Supporting Actor at the Golden Globe, Satellite and Scream Awards. In 2012, the second season received six Emmy Awards from 11 nominations, including Outstanding Drama Series and Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (Dinklage). The 2013 third season received 16 Emmy nominations, including Outstanding Drama Series, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (Dinklage), Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (Emilia Clarke), Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series (Diana Rigg) and Outstanding Writing ("The Rains of Castamere"), winning two Creative Arts Emmys. In 2014, the fourth season received four Emmys from 19 nominations, which included Outstanding Drama Series, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (Dinklage), Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (Lena Headey), Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series (Rigg), Outstanding Directing ("The Watchers on the Wall") and Outstanding Writing ("The Children"). The 2015 fifth season won the most Primetime Emmy Awards for a series in a year (12 awards from 24 nominations), including Outstanding Drama Series; other wins included Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (Dinklage), Outstanding Directing ("Mother's Mercy") and Outstanding Writing ("Mother's Mercy"), and eight were Creative Arts Emmy Awards. In 2016, the sixth season received the most nominations for the 68th Primetime Emmy Awards (23). It won for Outstanding Drama Series, Outstanding Directing ("Battle of the Bastards"), Outstanding Writing ("Battle of the Bastards"), and nine Creative Arts Emmys. Nominations included Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (Dinklage and Kit Harington), Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (Clarke, Headey and Maisie Williams), Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series (Max von Sydow) and Outstanding Directing ("The Door"). In 2018, the seventh season received the most nominations at the 70th Primetime Emmy Awards (22). It won for Outstanding Drama Series, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (Peter Dinklage), and seven Creative Arts Emmys. Nominations included Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (Lena Headey), Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series (Diana Rigg), Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series (David Benioff and D. B. Weiss for "The Dragon and the Wolf"), and Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series (Jeremy Podeswa for "The Dragon and the Wolf" and Alan Taylor for "Beyond the Wall"). In 2019, the final season established a new record for most Emmy nominations received in the same year by any regular series with 32, breaking the 25 years long record previously held by ''NYPD Blue'', which had scored 26 nominations for its first season in 1994. Those nominations included Outstanding Drama Series, three nominations for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series, Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series and ten nominations for acting. Emilia Clarke and Kit Harington in the lead acting categories: Alfie Allen, Peter Dinklage, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Gwendoline Christie, Lena Headey, Sophie Turner, and Maisie Williams in the supporting acting categories; and Carice van Houten in the guest acting category. The series eventually won twelve awards, becoming the first series to win Outstanding Drama Series for an eighth season and tying its own record (previously achieved for season five) for most Emmys won by a series in a single season. It also tied the record for most Outstanding Drama Series wins, becoming the fifth series to reach four wins after ''Hill Street Blues'', ''L.A. Law'', ''The West Wing'', and ''Mad Men''; unlike all the other record holders, which had won for their first four seasons, ''Game of Thrones'' achieved the record with its final four seasons. Peter Dinklage broke the record for most wins in the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series category with his fourth win for the series; his nomination had also extended his record for most nominations in the category to eight (one for every season of the show).

text

527c5aa87bb86518f96c6e604457863e

===Viewer numbers=== The first season averaged 2.5million viewers for its first Sunday-night screenings and a gross audience (including repeats and on-demand viewings) of 9.3million viewers per episode. For its second season, the series had an average gross audience of 11.6million viewers. The third season was seen by 14.2million viewers, making ''Game of Thrones'' the second-most-viewed HBO series (after ''The Sopranos''). For the fourth season, HBO said that its average gross audience of 18.4million viewers (later adjusted to 18.6million) had passed ''The Sopranos'' for the record. By the sixth season the average per-episode gross viewing figure had increased to over 25million, with nearly 40 percent of viewers watching on HBO digital platforms. In 2016, a ''New York Times'' study of the 50 TV shows with the most Facebook likes found that ''Game of Thrones'' was "much more popular in cities than in the countryside, probably the only show involving zombies that is". By season seven, average viewer numbers had increased to 32.8million per episode across all platforms. The series set records on pay-television channels in the United Kingdom (with a 2016 average audience of more than five million on all platforms) and Australia (with a cumulative average audience of 1.2million).

text

918633620466aa445f4579190b6badd0

===Video games=== The series has inspired several video games based on the TV series and novels. The strategy game ''Game of Thrones Ascent'' ties into the HBO series, making characters and settings available to players as they appear on television. Behaviour Interactive is developing a free-to-play strategy game based on the series for mobile devices. ''Reigns: Game of Thrones'', a spin-off of the ''Reigns'' strategy video game series, is in development by Nerial, published by Devolver Digital, and set to release in October 2018.

text

f7df66b6d2d377ee90c355525936850

===Merchandise and exhibition=== ''Game of Thrones'' merchandise in HBO's New York City store HBO has licensed a variety of merchandise based on ''Game of Thrones'', including games, replica weapons and armor, jewelry, bobblehead dolls by Funko, beer by Ommegang and apparel. High-end merchandise includes a $10,500 Ulysse Nardin wristwatch and a $30,000 resin replica of the Iron Throne. In 2013 and 2014, a traveling exhibition of costumes, props, armor and weapons from the series visited major cities in Europe and the Americas.

text

914f806e72fee4d4b396cba52f663a12

===Accompanying material=== ''Thronecast: The Official Guide to Game of Thrones'', a series of podcasts presented by Geoff Lloyd and produced by Koink, has been released on the Sky Atlantic website and the UK iTunes store during the series' run; a new podcast, with analysis and cast interviews, is released after each episode. In 2014 and 2015 HBO commissioned ''Catch the Throne'', two rap albums about the series. A companion book, ''Inside HBO's Game of Thrones'' () by series writer Bryan Cogman, was published on September 27, 2012. The 192-page book, illustrated with concept art and behind-the-scenes photographs, covers the creation of the series' first two seasons and its principal characters and families. ''After the Thrones'' is a live aftershow in which hosts Andy Greenwald and Chris Ryan discuss episodes of the series. It airs on HBO Now the Monday after each sixth-season episode. The Game of Thrones Live Concert Experience, a North American 28-city orchestral tour which performed the series' soundtrack with composer Ramin Djawadi, began February 2017 and concluded in April 2017. A second tour occurred in 2018 across cities in Europe and North America. Each season's Blu-ray and DVD set contains several short animated sequences narrated by the cast as their characters as they detail events in the history of Westeros. For the seventh season, this is to include the animated prequel series ''Game of Thrones: Conquest & Rebellion'', illustrated in a different animation style than previous videos. The series focuses on Aegon Targaryen's conquest of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros.

text

66dc07ae14fb9f417b314b7ae5171173

===Successor series=== In May 2017, after years of speculation about possible successor series, HBO commissioned Max Borenstein, Jane Goldman, Brian Helgeland, Carly Wray, and Bryan Cogman to develop individual ''Game of Thrones'' successor series; all of the writers were to be working individually with George R. R. Martin, who also co-wrote two of the scripts. D. B. Weiss and David Benioff said that they would not be involved with any of the projects. Martin said that all the concepts under discussion were prequels, although he believes the term "successor show" applies better to these projects, as they are not ''Game of Thrones'' spin-offs in the traditional sense. He ruled out Robert's Rebellion (the overthrow of Daenerys' father by Robert Baratheon) as a possible idea and revealed that some may be set outside Westeros. Later, he stated: "at least two of them are solidly based on material in ''Fire and Blood''." In September 2018, regarding the other four projects, HBO president of programming Casey Bloys said that some of them have been abandoned completely, while others remain as possibilities for the future. In May 2019, Martin stated that two other projects were still in the script stage, but are "edging closer". In April 2019, Cogman confirmed his prequel would not be moving forward.

text

7fad538b73f3f8ab238c247dce23abdd

==== ''Bloodmoon'' ==== On June 8, 2018, HBO commissioned a pilot to a ''Game of Thrones'' prequel series from Goldman as showrunner and Martin as co-creator. The prequel was to take place in the Age of Heroes, a period that begins roughly 10,000 years before the events of ''Game of Thrones''. Notable events of that period include the foundation of powerful Houses, the Long Night when the White Walkers first descended upon Westeros, and the Andal Invasion when the Andals invaded from Essos and conquered most of Westeros. Martin suggested ''The Long Night'' as a title for the series. On May 13, 2019, it was reported that the show had already begun filming in Belfast, under the working title ''Bloodmoon''. S. J. Clarkson was announced to direct and executive produce the pilot, while Naomi Watts was cast as the female lead playing "a charismatic socialite hiding a dark secret." Other series regulars were to include: Josh Whitehouse, Toby Regbo, Ivanno Jeremiah, Georgie Henley, Naomi Ackie, Denise Gough, Jamie Campbell Bower, Sheila Atim, Alex Sharp, Miranda Richardson, Marquis Rodriguez, John Simm, Richard McCabe, John Heffernan, and Dixie Egerickx. In September 2019, Martin claimed the pilot was in post-production but in October 2019, it was announced that HBO had decided to not move forward with Goldman's prequel series.

text

827ba42951d5f4b52d62e9437d567bf5

==== ''House of the Dragon'' ==== In September 2019, Nellie Andreeva of ''Deadline Hollywood'' reported that a second prequel from Martin and Ryan Condal that "tracks the beginning of the end for House Targaryen" was close to receiving a pilot order from HBO; the project is not considered an original sixth script, as it builds upon Cogman's idea from 2017. This prequel, titled ''House of the Dragon'', was picked up straight to series on October 29, 2019. The 10-episode series is to be based on material from ''Fire and Blood'', executive produced by Martin, Vince Gerardis, Condal, and Miguel Sapochnik; the latter two are to be its showrunners as well.

text

5a129d42af396fa4583013f9bfffa742

"'''First of His Name'''" is the fifth episode of the fourth season of HBO's fantasy television series ''Game of Thrones'', and the 35th overall. The episode was written by series co-creators David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, and directed by Michelle MacLaren. It aired on May 4, 2014. The title of the episode refers to a phrase used during Tommen Baratheon's coronation as king. A similar style is used by Daenerys Targaryen styling herself Queen in Meereen. Both are the first of their respective names to lay claim to the Throne of the Seven Kingdoms.

text

ee2a8a7cface223b75a1da663cd212dd

===In King's Landing=== Tommen is crowned as king. Cersei decides that Tommen will marry Margaery in fortnight. Tywin tells Cersei that the gold mines in the Westerlands have run dry and that the crown is deeply indebted to the Iron Bank of Braavos, but the union of the houses of Lannister and Tyrell will help rectify this problem. Cersei asks Oberyn to send a ship back to Sunspear as a gift for Myrcella.

text

9f92d00d5f3abb96a3e9c8d550075abe

===In the Vale=== Petyr and Sansa arrive in the Vale. At the Bloody Gate, Petyr tells Ser Donnel Waynwood that Sansa's name is Alayne, hiding her true identity as she is still wanted in King's Landing for Joffrey's murder. Lysa reveals that she poisoned Jon Arryn and accused the Lannisters in her letter to Catelyn for Petyr. Lysa tells Sansa that once Tyrion is executed, she will marry Robin.

text

cb2f182c1a44d5e0c67cdf4c8c49ea53

===In Meereen=== Daario tells Daenerys that his forces have taken the Meereenese navy. Jorah tells her that Astapor and Yunkai have fallen back into old habits. Daenerys tells Jorah that instead of sailing to Westeros, she intends to stay for now and rule Slaver's Bay.

text

6975d3f7f15dae375cfc76449cb7d6bd

===On the Kingsroad=== Brienne and Podrick ride toward the Wall, believing that Sansa is there with Jon.

text

432d76d99714cbe247197a569c6709bb

===In the Riverlands=== Arya reveals that Syrio was killed by Meryn.

text

c4539ac99e94f718fbced42b0ddda8c9

===Beyond the Wall=== Jon's group attack Karl's group at Craster's Keep. Locke tries to kidnap Bran, but Bran enters Hodor's mind and kills Locke. Hodor frees Jojen and Meera. Bran wishes to reunite with Jon, but Jojen tells him that Jon will stop their journey. Jon kills Karl. Counting the dead, Edd notices Rast is missing. Rast, having fled to the woods, is killed by Ghost. Jon burns Craster's Keep, at the suggestion of Craster's wives.

text

94251d19e5f7d9bca898bfcb71933c83

===Writing=== The episode was written by series co-creators David Benioff and D. B. Weiss. "First of His Name" was written by executive producers David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, based upon the source material, Martin's ''A Storm of Swords''. Chapters adapted from ''A Storm of Swords'' to the episode were chapters 68 and 71 (Sansa VI and Daenerys VI). It also covers part of the fourth novel, ''A Feast of Crows'': namely chapter 14 (Brienne III).

text

727bff1b73928e5eb020d72be8d015a5

===Casting=== Kate Dickie (Lysa Arryn) and Lino Facioli (Robin Arryn) make return appearances after an absence of several years (since the first season).

text

864381a4059ee43ddc1c8a07f5d6cb77

===Ratings=== "First of His Name" established a new series high in ratings, with 7.16 million people watching it during its first airing. In the United Kingdom, the episode was viewed by 1.643 million viewers, making it the highest-rated broadcast that week. It also received 0.082 million timeshift viewers.

text

6623f29f3e527dfbc6ce3f2512fd365f

===Critical reception=== The episode received universal acclaim from critics. Rotten Tomatoes reported that 100% of the episode's 40 reviews on the site were positive with an average score of 8.25 out of 10. Its consensus reads: "Only slow by ''Game of Thrones'' standards, "First of His Name" demonstrates how carefully constructed this show has been since season one." Matt Fowler of ''IGN'' gave the episode a 9/10 writing that the episode "gave us a much-needed look back at some past events on the series." He highlighted the revelation that Littlefinger's actions "put the story of the entire series into motion." Erik Adams of ''The A.V. Club'' gave the episode an A and praised the writers for their focus on the female characters.

text

fc5c297357f5a92dfa753b6f5a868c85

'''Tormund Giantsbane''' is a fictional character in the ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' series of fantasy novels by American author George R. R. Martin, and its television adaptation ''Game of Thrones''. Introduced in 2000's ''A Storm of Swords'', he is a renowned wildling leader and chief lieutenant of Mance Rayder, the King-Beyond-The-Wall. He subsequently appeared in Martin's ''A Dance with Dragons''. Although initially antagonistic towards Jon Snow and the Night's Watch, he later proves to be a crucial ally in their fight against the White Walkers. Tormund Giantsbane is portrayed by Norwegian actor Kristofer Hivju in the HBO television adaptation, for which he has received positive reviews.

text

8e2805625c32d336c25ed41ff1b46c14

== Character == Tormund, better known as Tormund Giantsbane or Tormund Thunderfist, is a famous wildling raider. On his massive arms he wears golden bands engraved with runes of the First Men, which have been passed down by his forefathers. Tormund is armored with heavy ringmail taken from a dead Night's Watch ranger. Like most of the wildlings, he is illiterate. He has four sons: Toregg, Torwynd, Dryn and Dormund; and one daughter, Munda. The often jovial Tormund enjoys food and drink, especially ale and mead, and likes cracking dick jokes. He is styled Tall-talker, Horn-blower and Breaker of Ice, Husband to Bears, the Mead-king of Ruddy Hall, Speaker to Gods and Father of Hosts. Mance Rayder named him Horn-blower for the power of Tormund's lungs, as it is said that Tormund can laugh the snow off mountaintops. Although Tormund is said to have slain a giant, he claims to have actually cut open the belly of a sleeping giantess and slept in her for warmth during a winter storm. Tormund claims the giantess, thinking he was a babe, then suckled him for three months in the spring. Tormund also claims to once have drunkenly slept with a bear. Tormund once thought to make himself King-Beyond-the-Wall, but he was defeated by Mance Rayder. He distrusts the men of the Frozen Shore.

text

1af66e7df5dd7e5f77bf53b948eab508

===In the books=== Tormund is not a point of view character in the novels, so his actions are witnessed and interpreted exclusively through the eyes of Jon Snow.

text

bf2e7557c26389fdbcda6f6e8b6b57d9

==== ''A Storm of Swords'' ==== When Jon Snow gets captured, Tormund is among those gathered in Mance Rayder's tent when Jon is presented to Mance. Jon is later attached to Tormund's war party, with Ygritte and Longspear Ryk joining as well. Tormund is friendly towards Jon, and Jon grows quite fond of him despite the distrust. Tormund joins in the singing of "The Last of the Giants", and advises Jon to sleep with Ygritte. During the battle beneath the Wall, Jon sees Tormund and two of his sons near a siege turtle. When Jon goes to treat with Mance for the Night's Watch, Tormund is the first to greet him. He brings Jon to Mance's tent and defends Jon's right to speak, and during the negotiation Mance threatens to have Tormund blow the Horn of Winter to bring down the Wall. When Stannis Baratheon attacks the wildlings, Tormund leads a triple line of spearmen but are flanked and routed by Stannis's knights. Tormund escapes capture but his son Dormund is killed by Ser Richard Horpe.

text

a400ba5e72f92a617d1da234f3fdaf8b

==== ''A Dance with Dragons'' ==== With Mance a captive at Castle Black, Tormund becomes the leader of many free folk beyond the Wall. He is forced to kill one of his sons, Torwynd, who dies from a chill and later rises as a wight. Tormund's daughter Munda marries Longspear Ryk, much to his chagrin. Jon Snow, now Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, and other officers expect that Tormund will besiege the undermanned Wall again. Jon sends Mance Rayder's sister-in-law Val to find Tormund and bring an offer of peace to him, who agrees to the terms and goes to the Wall. The free folk do not like the terms offered by the Night's Watch, but with attacks of the Others constantly decimating their numbers and their people's suffering only increasing, they consent to the terms. Tormund claims there are four thousand who follow him. Tormund has the free folk hand over their wealth and belonging to the Watch, along with a son as a hostage from their chiefs, which Tormund calls as Jon's "blood price". He is the first of the free folks to hand over his wealth, giving over his gold wristbands. Jon states he may keep them if he wishes, but Tormund refuses; he will not let it be said he made the rest of his people give up their wealth while he kept his. The peace means free folk warriors will garrison the abandoned castles along the Wall to help the Night's Watch defend it from the Others, while the non-martial free folk will be settled on the Gift and the New Gift. Jon re-garrisons Oakenshield as Tormund's seat, and takes Tormund's son Dryn as his page. Another son, Toregg, burns the dead to prevent them from becoming wights. When Cotter Pyke' Eastwatch fleet report back desperate situations at Hardhome, Jon asks Tormund to march with him on land to rescue the stranded people. However, Jon changes his plans when he receives a threatening letter from Ramsay Bolton, and calls for volunteers to march with him to Winterfell and confront Ramsay. After hearing the letter's contents, Tormund agrees to lead the ranging to Hardhome in Jon's stead. However, after the meeting, Jon is attacked and stabbed by mutineers led by Bowen Marsh.

text

7150a4b7c274a00e9363e736c5bd29a4

===In the show=== Tormund is played by Kristofer Hivju in the television adaption of the series of books. He is one of Mance's top generals, fierce and terrifying in combat.

text

ee7acf3af3540ce3b83c7024a82e473a

====Season 3==== When Jon Snow first arrives in the Wildling camp, he initially mistakes Tormund for Mance Rayder, much to Tormund's amusement. Mance directs Tormund to lead a group of Wildlings including Jon Snow and his captor, Ygritte, south of the Wall to await the signal of Mance Rayder to attack the Night's Watch.

text

9ab82c45ad7639b5ed98180a90aa539c

====Season 4==== After joining up with a clan of the cannibalistic Thenns, Tormund leads the Wildlings in a rampage through the lands south of the Wall, including a sack of Mole's Town. During the Battle of Castle Black, he duels and severely wounds Ser Alliser Thorne, but is brought down by several arrows and taken prisoner. After his wounds are healed by Maester Aemon, Jon briefly approaches him, and he tells Jon that Ygritte loved him, citing Ygritte's apparent desire to kill him as proof. He asks Jon to burn Ygritte north of the Wall.

text

70c8eb244e987ec4c2758fa1a8753974

====Season 5==== Tormund is later present at Mance's execution, and is visibly saddened at his friend's death. He is eventually freed by Jon, whom he accompanies to Hardhome, where he attempts to convince the local wildlings to join the Night's Watch in the battle against their common enemy. As Hardhome is overrun by wights, Tormund ferociously fights them off and escapes to the boats with Jon. He later passes through the Wall and into the Seven Kingdoms along with the remaining wildlings.

text

d3205425af3747b0e17487b17b3ced6c

====Season 6==== After Jon's assassination by Ser Alliser and his mutineers, Tormund and the Wildlings are summoned by Edd Tollett to help capture them. Jon is later resurrected by the red priestess Melisandre, and Tormund tells him that some of the Wildlings believe him to be a god. Several days later, Jon's half-sister Sansa Stark arrives at the Wall fleeing her abusive husband Ramsay Bolton. Tormund becomes quickly attracted to Brienne of Tarth and attempts to court her, although she doesn't seem interested by his advances. After Ramsay sends a letter to Jon threatening to exterminate the Starks and the Wildlings if Sansa is not returned, Tormund accompanies Jon and Sansa in gathering men to fight the Boltons, persuading the Wildlings to fight for Jon in return for his assistance. Tormund later participates in the Battle of the Bastards, killing Lord Smalljon Umber, biting off his ear in the process. Following the battle, he is amongst those who declare Jon King in the North.

text

82c81a9418cef368443c4711dcc7de1d

====Season 7==== Jon sends Tormund and the wildlings to reinforce Eastwatch-by-the-Sea, the Night Watch's fortress closest to Hardhome. Some time later, scouts find the Brotherhood Without Banners and Sandor Clegane attempting to pass through the Wall, and interns them in Eastwatch's ice cells. Soon after, Jon, Davos, Jorah Mormont and Gendry arrive, declaring that they need to capture a wight in order to convince Daenerys Targaryen and Cersei Lannister of the White Walkers' existence. Although displeased at having to ally with Jeor Mormont's son, Tormund, the Brotherhood, and the Hound join Jon's allies beyond the Wall. The expedition is successful in capturing a wight, but are soon surrounded by the White Walkers and their army of wights. The group is on the verge of being overwhelmed by wights when Daenerys arrives with her dragons to take them to safety, but one of the dragons, Viserion, is killed by the Night King in the battle. Tormund remains at Eastwatch while Jon, Daenerys, the Hound, and Jorah travel to King's Landing. Soon after, the White Walkers and their army finally march on the Wall. The Night King, which has reanimated Viserion, uses the dragon to destroy Eastwatch and the section of the Wall behind the castle, allowing the army of the dead to march on the Seven Kingdoms and seemingly trapping Tormund and Beric Dondarrion on top of the remaining part of the Wall.

text

e2beed7bace5093e1872586980e14502

====Season 8==== Tormund and Beric are able to escape the Wall and retreat to Winterfell. Along the way they stop at Last Hearth, which they find has already been overwhelmed by the White Walkers, and encounter Dolorous Edd and the Night's Watch. Tormund realises that they must reach Winterfell to warn its defenders of the dead's proximity, and arrive on the eve of the White Walkers' arrival. Tormund participates in the ensuing battle, and is amongst the survivors when the Night King is finally defeated. He then tells Jon that he is returning his people north of the wall after the worst of winter has passed. Jon asks him to take his direwolf, Ghost, with him, saying he belongs in the North. Jon is exiled to the Night's Watch again after killing Daenerys, and is reunited with Tormund. Jon, Tormund, Ghost, and the wildings depart Castle Black to return beyond the Wall.

text

dfc27b9b5fd5ebae3944bfa2c6aed18a

==TV adaptation== Kristofer Hivju plays the role of Tormund Giantsbane in the television series

text

68a9bb6ae6c01207fc195442dd12e5eb

===Recognition and awards=== Norwegian actor Kristofer Hivju has received positive reviews for his performance as Tormund Giantsbane in the television series. He and the rest of the cast were nominated for Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series in 2014.

text

eed198b57423d2d9e93571b43de5a329

"'''Oathbreaker'''" is the third episode of the sixth season of HBO's fantasy television series ''Game of Thrones'', and the 53rd overall. It was written by series co-creators David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, and directed by Daniel Sackheim, his directorial debut for the series. Jon Snow is found alive by Ser Davos Seaworth; Ramsay Bolton is presented with the gift of Rickon Stark; Bran Stark, accompanied by the Three-eyed Raven witnesses the confrontation at the Tower of Joy, where his father attempts to rescue his sister, Lyanna; but Bran is ultimately prevented from entering the tower; Daenerys Targaryen arrives at Vaes Dothrak where her consequences for leaving the khalasar will be determined, and in Braavos, a blind Arya Stark gives up her old life and sees anew as "no one". "Oathbreaker" received high praise from critics who found the episode to have strong, forward-moving storytelling, although not presenting as many shocking moments, while also listing the Tower of Joy flashback as the highlight of the episode. In the United States, the episode premiere achieved a viewership of 7.28 million in its initial broadcast. Filming of the first exterior scene at Castle Black took place over the course of several months, as a result of a rock slide that occurred on the set. The episode earned a nomination at the 68th Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series.

text

fb2e72c6a02f540940db3e1a27ad3025

===In the Narrow Sea=== Samwell Tarly begins to feel seasick as he travels by boat to Oldtown with Gilly and her baby, Little Sam. Sam explains to Gilly that women are not welcomed at the Citadel and that he intends to leave her with his family at Horn Hill while he trains to be a maester. He tells Gilly that she and Little Sam are all that matter to him.

text

b31622a3850bfdf15a3d47159fcae00c

===Beyond the Wall=== Bran and the Three-eyed Raven observe a vision of a young Eddard Stark, Lord Howland Reed, and four other northern soldiers arriving at the Tower of Joy in Dorne's Red Mountains at the climax of Robert's Rebellion. Ser Arthur Dayne and Ser Gerold Hightower greet Eddard as he arrives. Eddard announces that Prince Rhaegar Targaryen and the Mad King have been killed and asks why Ser Arthur was not present at the Battle of the Trident. Ser Arthur replies that he has been ordered to stay at the tower. After Eddard demands to know where his sister Lyanna is, the battle begins. Eddard kills Ser Gerold, but Ser Arthur defeats most of Eddard's men by himself, and is about to kill Eddard when a wounded Howland rises and stabs Ser Arthur through the neck before Eddard delivers the fatal blow. When a woman's scream emerges from the tower, Ned and Howland begin to run inside. The Three-Eyed Raven explains that the rest of the vision is intended for another time, but Bran demands to stay and calls out to Ned. Ned turns for a second, seemingly having heard Bran's voice, but continues inside, before the Three-Eyed Raven pulls Bran out of the vision. Back in the cave, Bran demands to know what was in the tower. The Three-Eyed Raven does not attend Bran's demands, saying he will eventually have to leave the cave but first must learn "everything".

text

5a9c15db59e7be35a819a54a6ebb2584

===In Vaes Dothrak=== Daenerys arrives with Khal Moro's khalasar at Vaes Dothrak, and is escorted to meet with the Dosh Khaleen. The elder of the Dosh Khaleen tries to sympathize with Daenerys, saying she was once married to a great khal with whom she thought she would rule the world but met the same fate. She explains that the various khalasars have gathered at Vaes Dothrak to discuss which cities and towns to conquer. They have also met to discuss what to do with Daenerys; the elder hopes, for Daenerys' safety, that they decide to let her remain with the Dosh Khaleen.

text

7f9983cb4348251573f40539e1e8a077

===In Meereen=== Varys summons Vala, a woman allied with the Sons of the Harpy, to the throne room in the Great Pyramid. He accuses her of conspiring to kill the Unsullied and Second Sons, whom she denounces as foreign invaders. After Varys mentions Vala's son, Dom, Vala confesses that if she gives him information on the Sons of the Harpy they will likely kill her. Varys offers her and Dom safe passage to Pentos in exchange for information. Later, Varys explains to Tyrion, Grey Worm, and Missandei that he has discovered that the slave masters of Yunkai, Astapor, and Volantis have been financing the Sons of the Harpy. Grey Worm notes that the Unsullied have taken Astapor and Yunkai once before, but Tyrion warns him that marching on the cities will leave Meereen defenseless. They come to the conclusion that the only way to defeat the Sons of the Harpy is to hunt them down. Tyrion asks Varys to send his "little birds" to deliver a message to the leaders of Astapor, Yunkai, and Volantis.

text

aab000400ebba0421aa734483c4c2ab5

===In King's Landing=== Qyburn gives orders to the "little birds" that he has inherited from Varys as Cersei, Jaime, and the re-animated Ser Gregor Clegane arrive. Cersei orders Qyburn to put spies in the North, the Reach, and Dorne. Later, Cersei and Jaime interrupt a Small Council meeting at which Lord Kevan Lannister, Lady Olenna Tyrell, Lord Mace Tyrell, and Grand Maester Pycelle are present. Cersei and Jaime mention that Ellaria and the Sand Snakes have taken control of Dorne, and demand to sit in on the Small Council; when they refuse to leave, Kevan instead orders the council to leave the room. Tommen marches into the Sept of the Faith Militant with his Kingsguard, demanding to let Cersei see Myrcella's tomb. The High Sparrow explains she will be able to once her sins have been atoned for and she has faced trial. After telling their respective soldiers to stand down, the High Sparrow explains the importance of the Mother in the Faith of the Seven, showing Tommen his resemblance to his mother.

text

939f16569488e3863a139635cc068005

===In Braavos=== Arya trains using sticks with the Waif in the House of Black and White. In between sessions, the Waif questions Arya about who she used to be. Arya reveals all of her family members and reveals that she had taken the Hound off her kill list before she left him to die. The Waif questions who the other names were on the list, which Arya reveals as Cersei, Gregor Clegane, and Walder Frey. After she is finally able to parry the Waif's hits, Jaqen H'ghar takes Arya into the main chamber and offers Arya her sight back if she says her name. When she replies "a girl has no name", Jaqen offers her a drink from the poisonous well in the temple's entrance chamber. Arya drinks and closes her eyes, reopening them to reveal that her sight has been restored.

text

acff9e8ea2fbd0abb21ca7464a66e449

===At Winterfell=== Smalljon Umber meets with Ramsay and Harald Karstark. Despite his dislike of Roose Bolton and his refusal to pledge fealty to Ramsay, Smalljon wishes to ally with the Boltons to destroy the Wildlings Jon has let settle south of the Wall. To demonstrate his loyalty, Smalljon presents Rickon Stark and Osha as his prisoners, proving Rickon's identity by also presenting the severed head of Rickon's direwolf Shaggydog.

text

f6e9772f54d8d00167cc414234791f35

===At the Wall=== After awakening, Jon is greeted by Davos and Melisandre. Melisandre tells Jon that her religion prophesies the return of a heroic prince and suggests that this prince may not be Stannis, as she first thought, but Jon. Jon enters the courtyard to meet with the wildlings. He meets with and embraces Tormund and Edd. Jon presides over the hanging of Thorne, Olly, Othell Yarwyck, and Bowen Marsh. Thorne is unrepentant, declaring that he only did what was right for the Night's Watch, and gloats that Jon will still be fighting the wildlings' battles forever. After hanging the mutineers, Jon gives his cloak to Edd, declaring "My watch is ended."

text

99101fe5ffb0f8b4298b46f69feb4158

===Writing=== The episode was written by series co-creators David Benioff and D. B. Weiss. "Oathbreaker" was written by the series' creators David Benioff and D. B. Weiss. Some elements in the episode were based on the sixth novel in the ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' series, ''The Winds of Winter'', which author George R. R. Martin had hoped to have completed before the sixth season began airing. It also contains elements from the chapter "The Blind Girl" from ''A Dance with Dragons'' and several chapters of Samwell Tarly's voyage to the Citadel from ''A Feast for Crows''. The raid on the Tower of Joy was an event portrayed in a dream of Ned Stark in the chapter "Eddard X" of ''A Game of Thrones''. In the "Inside the Episode" feature for "Oathbreaker", showrunner Weiss stated of the Tower of Joy flashback that "One of the best things about being able to go back with Bran and look at the past is to be able to see the discrepancy between the received history, the things that everybody knows about the things that happened, and what actually happened." Benioff continued, "Every kid that grows up in Westeros, they all hear about this legendary sword fight that took place twenty years ago, and as far as Bran knew, it was just his father beat this legendary guy." Weiss also stated "Honor was so important to Ned Stark that it was worth losing his own life for, but he was completely ready to let go of that honor and excellence to do something that he really felt was more important. It could make a very, very strong defense for Ned doing what he did, and it certainly does puncture the mythology of Ned Stark that's running through this world, especially after his death." For the first scene of the episode, when Jon Snow arises from the table, Weiss stated that "Jon coming back to life was something in the first, first version we wrote originally had more talking. And as we saw it on the page written out, we realized it was just too much dialogue, we decided to just give the kind of awe of that moment its due."

text

200219a18a8808eddd9487be0cc0310b

===Casting=== Actress Natalia Tena returned to the series as Osha the Wildling. Actors Natalia Tena (Osha) and Art Parkinson (Rickon Stark), both of whom had recurring roles in the series until the third season, make their first return appearance in the episode. The episode was also the final appearance for a recurring character since the first season episode "Lord Snow", Ser Alliser Thorne, portrayed by Owen Teale. For the flashback scene at the Tower of Joy, actor Robert Aramayo was cast to play a young Eddard Stark. In an interview with ''Access Hollywood'', Aramayo stated that he was a big fan of the series, and that "it was an honor and a gift to be able to be a part of it." In regards to portraying the character similar to Sean Bean, who played Eddard Stark in the first season, Aramayo noted, "I didn't want to get too hung up on sounding like Sean because I think that would've sort of got in my way if I'd have just situated all my work in that place. I watched a lot of footage of him playing Ned in the first season again, repeatedly, especially one particular fight scene that he was in and I think that was the biggest help for me when creating this version of Ned – was watching what Sean did with Ned in the first season and trying to work out what a younger man's version of that is." In a separate interview with ''The Hollywood Reporter'' Aramayo spoke about auditioning for the role, stating, "The chance to audition to be on the show was a dream, even to audition. It was an absolute dream to me. I was very excited to audition, and landing the role was beyond my wildest dreams. Then when I found out the role was Ned, it was overwhelming."

text

435a397d038d62daf5cdd11e368a0888

===Filming=== Castle of Zafra in Guadalajara, Spain stood in for the Tower of Joy in the episode. "Oathbreaker" was directed by Daniel Sackheim. Sackheim is a first time director for ''Game of Thrones''; he also directed the subsequent episode, "Book of the Stranger". Filming of the first exterior scene at Castle Black and the final scene with Jon Snow executing the traitors of the Night's Watch took place over the course of several months, with the execution scene being filmed first out of the two. As a result of a rock slide that occurred on the set of where Castle Black is staged at Magheramorne Quarry, scheduling for the filming of the scenes had to be re-worked by executive producer Bernie Caulfield and producer Chris Newman, with showrunner D. B. Weiss saying, "It actually worked out for the best – some of the stuff we were shooting in that location benefited from the additional prep time the rock slide gave us." The Castle of Zafra in Guadalajara, Spain stood in for the Tower of Joy in the flashback scene involving a young Ned Stark and Ser Arthur Dayne, as witnessed by Bran Stark and the Three-eyed Raven. During filming of the scene, it was reported widely among media sources after a fan of the series had snuck their way onto a nearby mountain and filmed a small portion of the fighting scenes that occurred. Robert Aramayo (young Eddard Stark) spoke about the filming of the scene in an interview following the airing of the episode and stated, "We all went through a bunch of training, which continued through our three- or four-day shoot in Spain. It was intense. It was not easy. I did not find it easy to shoot that fight sequence. It's not an easy routine at all. And Luke Roberts, who plays Arthur Dayne, he's incredible, man." He continued, "If your move's getting blocked, you obviously can't know that, just like when you're playing a scene through dialogue. You can't know the response your scene partner gives you is going to be the response you'll get. You hope it is. Likewise, in a fight, if you're going to chop somebody's arm off or stab them in the gut — the intention is to chop that arm off or stab someone in the gut, and you have to play that intention fully. I didn't expect it, but it takes a lot of skill in terms of acting to play."

text

81cdb4129ace131c494a5e80fc984ec1

=== Ratings === "Oathbreaker" was viewed by 7.28 million American households on its initial viewing on HBO, which was nearly identical to the previous week's rating of 7.29 million viewers for the episode "Home". The episode also acquired a 3.7 rating in the 18–49 demographic, making it the highest rated show on cable television of the night. In the United Kingdom, the episode was viewed by 2.797 million viewers on Sky Atlantic; it also received 0.132 million timeshift viewers.

text

d80d623654179a7fcbfe6e52b7867128

=== Critical reception === "Oathbreaker" was very positively received by critics, citing the Tower of Joy flashback, the final scene with Jon Snow executing his assassins, and the storytelling as strong points for the episode. On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, who surveyed 48 reviews of the episode and judged 87% of them to be positive, with an average rating of 7.7/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "The most solid episode of season six so far, 'Oathbreaker' boasts no shocking reveals or breathless cliffhangers, just strong forward-moving storytelling." In a review for IGN, Matt Fowler wrote, "With Jon's final choice in "Oathbreaker," the show seemed to make a huge step forward into the endgame. One where we might see things that have been set up for a long time start to pay off. Not everyone's story is firing on all cylinders at the moment, Tyrion was actively bored while waiting for news this week, but enough is going on in the North and at King's Landing to carry the series right now." Likewise, Emily VanDerWerff of ''Vox'' wrote, ""Oathbreaker" is a crisp, lean, nicely paced episode of ''Game of Thrones''. It's one of those episodes where the characters are mostly being positioned for future episodes, but it's a solidly executed version of that basic template." Alyssa Rosenberg of the ''Washington Post'' wrote that she believed this was "The strongest episode of the sixth season of ''Game of Thrones'' to date." While Erik Kain of ''Forbes'' noted "The season has been full of revelations, but things are still building. That's okay. I love the tension and not knowing exactly what's coming." James Hunt of ''What Culture'' wrote, "Another week of table setting, and a very entertaining one at that ... It didn't quite reach the high watermark of last week's instalment, but there was still a lot of great stuff here." Steve Johnson of ''The Baltimore Sun'' noted, "Instead of the heavy action of the season's first two hours, Sunday's Game of Thrones, called "Oathbreaker," was more about putting pieces on the chess board into place." Sarah Larson of ''The New Yorker'' wrote in her review, "Last week, we saw Jon Snow re-enter life; this week, we may have been in proximity to him entering it, the first time, in the usual way." Tim Surette of TV.com called the episode, "Exhilarating".

text

dd66730d4c1447c07cfefc8ca34967a3

===Accolades=== Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series

text

6086274a0e5fda1683b5e4a00348fba1

'''Ramsay Bolton''', previously known as '''Ramsay Snow''', is a fictional character in the ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' series of fantasy novels by American author George R. R. Martin, and its television adaptation ''Game of Thrones''. Introduced in 1998's ''A Clash of Kings'', Ramsay is the bastard son of Roose Bolton, the lord of the Dreadfort, an ancient fortress in the North of the kingdom of Westeros. He is subsequently mentioned in ''A Storm of Swords'' (2000) and ''A Feast for Crows'' (2005). He later appears in Martin's ''A Dance with Dragons'' (2011). Ramsay is an amoral and vicious sadist who strives to be legitimized as a true Bolton by his father. He is directly responsible for several atrocities in both the novels and television show, including the brutal torture of Theon Greyjoy; however, his role as a primary antagonist is greatly expanded in the television adaptation. Ramsay is portrayed by Welsh actor Iwan Rheon in the HBO television adaptation. Rheon has received critical acclaim for his performance, although his character's reception has been more polarized; he is widely considered to be one of the show's most brutal and hated villains. In 2016, ''The New York Times'' referred to the character as "arguably the most hated man on television" and "the signature ''Game of Thrones'' villain". In 2019, the Red Cross conducted a study using international human rights laws, and determined Ramsay to be the ''Game of Thrones'' character who committed the most war crimes, with seventeen violations.

text

a79f244e03afac956775234eb56f5945

==Character== Ramsay Bolton is not a point of view character in the novels, and remains mostly in the background. His actions are witnessed and interpreted directly through the eyes of Theon Greyjoy, and indirectly from stories heard by Bran Stark and Davos Seaworth.

text

887bfac6ec82b03315827547618bb23d

===Background=== Ramsay is the product of rape. While hunting along the Weeping Water, Roose Bolton saw a miller's wife and decided to illicitly practice the banned tradition of 'the first night', wherein a lord had the right to bed a commoner's bride. He hanged the miller under a tree for not informing his lord of his marriage to the woman and raped her beneath his swaying body. A year later the woman arrived at the Dreadfort with the newborn Ramsay. Roose nearly killed her and the babe, but when he saw the child had his signature pale, cold eyes, the taboo of kinslaying stayed his hand. The woman claimed her husband's brother had stolen the mill and cast her out. Angered by this, Roose had the man's tongue removed so he would not tell the truth to Roose's liege lord, Rickard Stark. Roose then gave the woman the mill along with a pig, several chicks and a bag of coin every year on the condition that she never reveal to Ramsay the truth about who his father was. Ramsay's mother arrived at the castle years later claiming she needed help in raising Ramsay, who had grown up wild and unruly. Roose sent Ramsay a servant known as Reek. Reek, despite taking constant washes, always smelled bad due to some "unknown birth condition" that caused his skin to reek, thus his nickname. Giving him to Ramsay and his mother was actually a cruel jest by Roose, but Ramsay and Reek soon grew inseparable. Roose would later reflect on whether Ramsay had corrupted Reek or whether Reek had corrupted Ramsay, even though Reek would follow Ramsay's orders quite faithfully; Ramsay mentioned once that Reek knew better than to deny him. Despite Roose's instruction to Ramsay's mother, either she or Reek eventually informed him of his true parentage. Roose believes that both Reek and Ramsay's mother were urging Ramsay on, and constantly reminding the increasingly violent bastard of his "rights". Roose's elder, trueborn son Domeric attempted to forge a sibling connection with his half-brother. Domeric would soon die of a mysterious sickness, and Roose believes that Ramsay poisoned him in order to rob his father of his trueborn heir. Ramsay earned the enmity of House Dustin in the process, as Lady Barbrey Dustin was fond of her nephew, Domeric. Two years prior to the beginning of the War of the Five Kings, Roose brought Ramsay to the Dreadfort as he had no other sons, trueborn or otherwise. It is there Ramsay learned to read and write. Ramsay is accompanied by Dreadfort men called the Bastard's Boys, who are just as cruel and depraved as he is but who ultimately serve his father.

text

667b37e700625d13e889e59b611c92ae

===Appearance and personality=== Ramsay is described as ugly and fleshy, with the sloping and big-boned body of one who will be fat later in life. His skin is blotchy and pink, with long, brittle black hair. His two most distinctive features are his eyes - small and close-set, pale and icy like his father's - and his mouth, consisting of two fleshy, wide lips that form a 'wormy' smile. The armor he wears in battle is red and black and resembles a flayed man opening his mouth to scream. He carries a flaying knife wrought of yellow bone. Ramsay is a vicious, savage sadist that enjoys rape and torture. He practices the Bolton custom of flaying his enemies alive and keeps a pack of female hunting dogs that he uses to hunt young women down before raping and killing them; he names his dogs after women he has killed and brings back their flayed skin as a gruesome trophy. Despite this brutality, Ramsay is not unintelligent; he is a cunning and capable manipulator who is good at thinking on his feet and being charming when he needs to be, a brutal form of a tactician. He is nonetheless described by his father as at times rash and foolish, whose 'amusements' would make him a poor ruler in the North. Ramsay is a capable fighter but was never properly trained and thus uses a wild and aggressive fighting style, wielding his sword 'as if it were a butcher's cleaver'.

text

ab41d6191cc80db7bbffe206d3a24e6f

==== ''A Clash of Kings'' ==== While his father is at war in ''A Clash of Kings'', Ramsay is named castellan of the Dreadfort. After Lord Hornwood and his heir are killed fighting for Robb Stark, Ramsay forcibly marries Lady Hornwood to claim her lands, before starving her to death. He escapes justice by switching places with his servant Reek, who is killed instead; Rodrik Cassel brings Ramsay, in the guise of Reek, back to Winterfell, intending to have him testify to Ramsay's crimes before being executed. However, Theon Greyjoy and the Ironborn capture Winterfell and release Ramsay in exchange for a vow of service to Theon. When Theon's hostages escape, Ramsay murders two peasant boys and convinces Theon to present the corpses as those of Bran and Rickon Stark. As the Northerners move to take back Winterfell, Ramsay persuades Theon to let him ride to the Dreadfort to gather reinforcements. He returns with an army of Bolton soldiers and massacres the Northern relief force, but then proceeds to kill the Ironborn, burn Winterfell, and take Theon prisoner.

text

fc56eb160221cbdc74d223383680dbeb

==== ''A Storm of Swords'' and ''A Feast for Crows'' ==== Prior to the Red Wedding, Roose Bolton presents Robb Stark with a piece of Theon's skin, revealing that Ramsay has been flaying him; though disgusted, Robb acquiesces to Theon's further captivity, as Theon's father Balon has recently died and Theon's absence presents a succession crisis for the Ironborn. Following Robb Stark's death, King Tommen Baratheon legitimizes Ramsay as a Bolton. The Lannisters pass off Jeyne Poole as Arya Stark and send her north to be betrothed to Ramsay, with only the Lannisters and Boltons aware she is not the real Arya Stark.

text

a21fe7c04f3b3a5c1f45c03ec708d055

==== ''A Dance with Dragons'' ==== In the dungeons of the Dreadfort, Ramsay has savagely tortured and mutilated Theon until he is so broken and in fear of Ramsay that he has adopted the identity of Reek. Ramsay coerces him to assist in lifting the Ironborn siege of Moat Cailin, subsequently reneging on his promise of safe passage to the Ironborn by having the garrison flayed. After Stannis Baratheon's capture of Deepwood Motte, Ramsay's wedding to "Arya" is moved from Barrowton to a rebuilt Winterfell. Following the wedding, Ramsay repeatedly abuses Jeyne. Shortly after the wedding, Jeyne and Theon escape with the help of Mance Rayder. Jon Snow later receives a letter from Ramsay claiming that he has captured Mance and killed Stannis Baratheon (who was besieging Winterfell), threatening to destroy the Night's Watch if Jon does not deliver Theon, Jeyne, and several other members of Stannis' court to Ramsay as captives. It is not revealed how much of the letter is true or if Ramsay was its actual author, but the contents are enough to enrage Jon enough to decide to seek out and kill Ramsay instead, though he is stabbed by his own men before he can leave Castle Black.

text

864f449cc984a3662f034e87bb67cecf

==== ''The Winds of Winter'' ==== In a released sample chapter, Stannis is revealed to be alive and preparing for battle against Roose and Ramsay, contradicting Ramsay's letter. Theon, who is now Stannis' prisoner, warns Stannis not to underestimate Ramsay or even call him "Ramsay Snow", but Stannis, who does not fear Ramsay, brushes Theon's warnings aside.

text

aff59da09663b0895fba8cd6c983fae3

== TV adaptation == Iwan Rheon played the role of Ramsay Bolton in the television series. Ramsay Bolton was played by Welsh actor Iwan Rheon in the HBO television adaption of the series of books, who received critical acclaim for his performance. Rheon had previously auditioned for the role of Jon Snow, which he lost to Kit Harington. Ramsay is first mentioned in the show's second season and first appears onscreen in the third, though Rheon is credited as "Boy" until his true identity is revealed in the third-season finale "Mhysa". The circumstances of Ramsay's conception and acknowledgement do not change in the show, although in the show Ramsay's childhood is never examined. His mother died when he was young, but she did raise him initially, just like in the books. When he is torturing Theon Greyjoy, Ramsay recounts “My mother taught me not to throw stones at cripples. But my father taught me to aim for their head!” He also recounts how At the age of eleven, he first encounters the Dreadfort kennelmaster's daughter, Myranda, and is drawn to her fearlessness, eventually taking her as his mistress. He tells her that he plans on wedding her but after his legitimization, he dismisses such promises. Ramsay's dog appears to be a Cane Corso.

text

83c35d661f1345a66bb2e9b0a3754c6a

====Season 2==== After Theon Greyjoy and his forces capture Winterfell, Roose Bolton offers to Robb Stark to have Ramsay and the men left at the Dreadfort lift the occupation. Robb agrees, with orders to spare the Ironborn if they surrender, but to bring Theon to Robb alive. The Ironborn subdue Theon and present him to Ramsay, who takes Theon prisoner, but Ramsay then proceeds to sack Winterfell and flay the Ironborn garrison for his own amusement.

text

6a305e1f8e13a21b182ee0cd1d61a78f

====Season 3==== Ramsay sends word to the Stark forces at Harrenhal claiming that the Ironborn sacked Winterfell and fled before the Bolton forces arrived. In the Dreadfort dungeons, Ramsay's men gruesomly torture Theon while Ramsay watches on in the guise of a cleaning boy. Claiming to be a servant of Theon's sister Yara, he sets Theon free before sending his men after Theon, only to follow and kill them when they recapture Theon. Theon confesses that during his conquest of Winterfell he used two farmer's boys to fake the murders of Bran and Rickon Stark, as Ramsay pretends to lead Theon to Deepwood Motte, the castle Yara holds. In reality, Ramsay leads Theon in a circle back to the dungeon and reimprisons him, tormenting Theon with the revelation that he was the architect of his suffering all along. After severing Theon's pinky, he has Myranda and another servant seduce him; however, this is only intended to taunt Theon before Ramsay severs his genitals. He sends Theon's penis to his father Balon, threatening to further mutilate him and to flay the other Ironborn invaders unless they flee the North; Balon refuses, as he now has no use for Theon. Theon begs Ramsay to kill him, but Ramsay states that Theon is more useful alive. Noting Theon's stench, he dubs him "Reek" and beats him until he responds to his new name.

text

b1a864e78c41b2b0b784d7dd6fc02919

====Season 4==== When Roose Bolton returns to the Dreadfort, he reprimands Ramsay for having overstepped his boundaries as castellan by mutilating a valuable hostage and sending terms of surrender to the Greyjoys. Infuriated, Ramsay demonstrates his brainwashing of Reek by having him reveal that Bran and Rickon Stark are still alive, and having Reek shave him without harming him, even after revealing Roose's murder of Robb Stark. Impressed, Roose orders Ramsay and Reek to lift the Ironborn occupation of Moat Cailin. Yara and her men infiltrate the Dreadfort and try to rescue Theon, but he refuses to go with her, fearing another of Ramsay's tricks, and Ramsay chases the Greyjoy soldiers away with his hounds. Pleased with Reek's loyalty, Ramsay has him pose as Theon to convince the Ironborn holding Moat Cailin to surrender, with promise of safe passage, though Ramsay reneges on his word and flays the entire garrison. As reward for his success, Ramsay is legitimised as a Bolton. He then accompanies the rest of House Bolton in moving to Winterfell.

text

b6aca68778c50c4859424a022763ace7

====Season 5==== Ramsay draws the ire of Roose after flaying the family of a Northern lord who refuses to pledge fealty. In order to placate the other Northern houses and to solidify the Boltons' hold on the North, Ramsay is betrothed to Sansa Stark, publicly believed to be the last living Stark. Though he initially feigns kindness to Sansa, after Myranda shows her Reek in the kennels, Ramsay uses Sansa's contempt for Reek as psychological torment, by having him apologise for "killing" Bran and Rickon, having him give Sansa away at the wedding, and ultimately forcing Reek to watch as he rapes Sansa on their wedding night. When Sansa begs Reek to signal for help, Reek instead warns Ramsay, who flays a maid who had tried to help Sansa. With Stannis Baratheon's forces camped and ready to march on Winterfell, Ramsay persuades Roose to let him and twenty men infiltrate his camp and destroy his supplies. The plan succeeds, ultimately causing most of Stannis' army to desert him. The remnants of the Baratheon army march on Winterfell, but the Bolton cavalry, led by Ramsay, defeat them with ease. In the chaos of the battle, Theon kills Myranda and flees with Sansa.

text

61efebb3f1cd591c6fcfee4d4ddd2149

====Season 6==== After mourning Myranda, Ramsay is warned by Roose that he faces being disinherited if Sansa is not recovered and Roose's unborn child is a son. Ramsay sends his best hunters after Sansa and Theon, though they are all killed by Brienne of Tarth. After Roose's wife Walda gives birth to a boy, Ramsay promptly murders his father and has his hounds maul Walda and his newborn half-brother to death, securing his position as Lord Bolton and the official ruler of Winterfell. Ramsay is approached by Smalljon Umber, who asks for his help in defending the North against the wildlings Jon Snow has offered refuge to at the Wall. To secure their alliance, Smalljon presents Ramsay with Osha and Rickon Stark, who were previously under the protection of Smalljon's now-deceased father, the Greatjon. Ramsay kills Osha when she tries to assassinate him, and throws Rickon in Winterfell's dungeons. He then sends a letter to Jon Snow at Castle Black, threatening to exterminate the wildlings and have Rickon and Jon killed if Sansa is not returned to him. Jon Snow responds by leading an army of Wildlings and assorted Stark loyalists on a march towards Winterfell. As the Stark and Bolton armies prepare for battle, Jon and Ramsay parley, during which Jon offers to settle their differences with one-on-one combat and Ramsay offers Jon surrender terms, but both refuse. On the day of the battle, Ramsay releases Rickon and tells him to run to his half-brother before killing him with an arrow. With Jon having charged out in a futile attempt to save Rickon, his forces follow behind and are drawn out of their position. The Bolton phalanx quickly surrounds the Starks, but the Knights of the Vale arrive and overwhelm the Boltons. Ramsay flees to Winterfell, and kills the giant Wun Wun when he breaches Winterfell's gate. With his men slain, Ramsay finally accepts Jon's offer of one-on-one combat, but is quickly overpowered by Jon, who brutally beats him and orders him locked in the kennels as a prisoner. That night, Ramsay is visited by Sansa, who watches as his hungry hounds eat Ramsay alive. Ramsay's death marks the end of House Bolton and its rule in the North.

text

bbcb394a991cab6a7f8c18e5a294452f

===Recognition and awards=== Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series

text

4306db20bb96a8d34f49c52585819032

== References == * 50px Content in this article was copied from Ramsay Snow at A Wiki of Ice and Fire, which is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 (Unported) (CC-BY-SA 3.0) license.

text

40405609ab7cb779397bf89584abe09e

'''''A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying''''' is a role-playing game published by Green Ronin Publishing in 2009.

text

1022a9f2200277dfa137593e7304bf0b

==Description== ''A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying'' is an adaptation of the ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' novel series. The game uses Green Ronin's "Chronicle System".

text

d3652455947e58e6193fe3b640344034

==Publication history== On 24 April 2007, it was on George R.R. Martin's website that Green Ronin Publishing was producing a new line of ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' RPG products, unrelated to the earlier Guardians of Order ''A Game of Thrones'' effort. Robert J. Schwalb designed the ''A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying'' game, which was previewed in 2008 and published in 2009; this was his last project for Green Ronin before he moved over to Wizards of the Coast. The Green Ronin game, titled ''A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying'' (''SIFRP''), went on sale on 10 March 2009: it uses a custom game system and does not contain rules from either the d20 or Tri-Stat dX systems.

text

fb7434c5de2093a73647f1751eacbf46

==Reception== ''A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying'' won the 2009 Silver ENnie Award for Best Rules.

text

f9493a6ef69e3029d4a30c852ce588d7

"'''A Man Without Honor'''" is the seventh episode of the second season of HBO's medieval fantasy television series ''Game of Thrones''. The episode is written by series co-creators David Benioff and D. B. Weiss and directed, for the second time in this season, by David Nutter. It premiered on May 13, 2012. The name of the episode comes from Catelyn Stark's assessment of Ser Jaime Lannister: "You are a man without honor," after he kills a member of his own family to attempt escape.

text

db4129f90cb18b095bea582dde8f42e3

===In King's Landing=== Sansa awakens from a nightmare to find she has had her first period, meaning she can bear Joffrey’s children. Shae tries to help conceal the blood, but discovers the Hound has seen the sheet. Cersei tells Sansa it will be impossible to love Joffrey. Tyrion tells Cersei his doubts about Joffrey's plan to repel Stannis’ fleet. Cersei confesses her belief that Joffrey is punishment for her incest with Jaime.

text

179c0b81a66a405436c5e7d3c9564a20

===Beyond the Wall=== Jon searches for his companions, and captive Ygritte tells him life would be better with the wildlings. She teases his sexual inexperience, but he rebuffs her advances. Ygritte escapes, and Jon is unable to find her until she reveals he is surrounded by wildlings.

text