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Friday, May 31, 2013

Game of Thrones Mailbag #3

Don't get all bent out of shape in a Meereenese Knot, it's time for another Game of Thrones Mailbag!

Game of Thrones Mailbag #2

With a big episode coming our way this Sunday, "The Rains of Castamere," we wanted to help clarify a few things that y'all might be scratching your heads over. Yesterday, we lit the biggest fire the North has ever seen and asked for you guys who haven't read the George R. R. Martin Game of Thrones books to submit any questions you had about the HBO series. The idea here is that, with all the new faces and places being introduced each season, we don't want anyone to get left behind.

Now, onto the questions...DRACARYS!

Night's Watch selfie.

Nii asks: "What's taking Alliser Thorne so long in delivering the weight walkers hand to king Joffrey?"

It Is Known: That is a mighty fine question considering that he was tasked with this back at the end of Season 1.  We can only assume, just having watched Arya try to make it even halfway back to Winterfell for two seasons that it takes a long long while to go from Castle Black to King's Landing and that Ned Stark's trek from Winterfell and Yoren trip from the Wall, back in Season 1, were sped along in order to get them to places at certain points in the story.  Also, there's been a war going on since the end of Season 1, so that could also account for Thorne's slow-ish travels.

Saleem asks: (from Twitter): "Do you know where Jon and the Wildings are going after having climbed over the wall? I guess it's Castle Black but I thought that was adjacent to the wall."

It Is Known: One of the things that I'm not sure the show has made clear is how long the Wall is, and how many Night's Watch castles are actually connected to it. The opening credits just show Castle Black, but that's just the castle right in the middle of the Wall. The Wall stretches coast-to-coast and there are actually 17 castles all along it.  But with the Night's Watch's numbers at an all time low, only a few of them are actually manned. So there are plenty of abandoned castles for the Wildlings to climb up next to, and then use to get down on the other side. Tormund actually asked Jon which castles still had people in them so that he could use one of the abandoned ones to go over the Wall. So they just came down in a different spot, to the side of Castle Black some ways out.

Thomas asks: "Is Ghost still with Jon Snow? We haven't seen him recently. Also, do the other members of the Watch know that he is under cover?"

It Is Known: The other members of the Watch do not know Jon is undercover. The last Watch member Jon was in contact with was Qhorin Halfhand, and then Jon killed him. Ghost is never far away from Jon, but he's also not "at his side." Ghost, being the only Stark direwolf to get behind the Wall, is taking advantage of his natural habitat and running around. The last person to see him was Sam; which might even suggest that Jon and Sam were close to one another at some point during Jon's travels with the Wildlings, or that Ghost sought out Sam after Jon scaled the Wall.

Vincent asks: "Theon's torturer? Who exactly is that guy, I don't really remember seeing him in previous seasons?"

It Is Known: I'll mostly avoid this question because the show will reveal his identity probably very soon. Why they've kept is a secret on the show? I'm not totally sure. Perhaps it's because they couldn't keep the secret that was a big surprise in the books, that Theon was tortured for a long time in cruel ways, because it would mean making Theon, and actor Alfie Allen, vanish from the show for seasons.  So, in order to still keep things somewhat mysterious, they've opted to keep the torturer's identity secret. He was referred to back in Season 2, but not by name.

"Now I walk into club like 'What up? I got a big flock.'"

Nerla asks: "What makes Dany think she will be a better Queen of the Seven Kingdoms? Yes, she freed slaves and that's a major achievement. But I wonder what happens after she leaves these cities? Maybe I'm over thinking it?!!"

It Is Known: This is also a question that I'll mostly dance around since it has to do more with Dany's internal motivations and less about details that people might have missed. She wants to be Queen because she feels it's her right, lineage-wise. She thinks she'll make a good Queen because...well, she's Dany. Of course, she is still in a big "trail and error" phase, but her dragons, and her ideals, give her extreme confidence. That being said, expect the show to kinda/sorta answer your question more concretely very soon.

Joe asks: "How many Dothraki are left at this point in the story with Daenerys? Do other Dothraki tribes exist and if so does she still control them? Are we to assume that only Daenerys’ inner circle are what’s left of her tribe or are there Dothraki fighting in her campaign."

It Is Known: The Dothraki totally still exist over in Vaes Dothrak and the Dorthraki Sea. The ones Dany has with her still are, yes, the few loyal ones who remained at her side from Khal Drogo's horde. There are still thousands of Dothraki out there, and other Khals even, that Dany doesn't control. In fact, they'd probably kill the self-proclaimed Khaleesi on site. Back at the beginning of Season 2, while lost in the desert, she sent out riders in different directions.The Dorthraki bloodrider she sent northeast, Rakharo, came back without his head and his braid cut off. Jorah presumed it was done by Khals Pono or Jhago to show their contempt for a female leading a Khalassar.

Har-el asks: "Will Dorne ever be featured in the series after being mentioned for the past 3 seasons?"

It Is Known: Dorne will most definitely be on the show, but probably not before we see characters from Dorne make their appearances. In fact, George R. R. Martin recently confirmed that Prince Oberyn Martell will be one of the new characters in Season 4. The Martells are the ruling family - ala The Starks - of Dorne.

The next Game of Thrones episode, "The Rains of Castamere," airs Sunday, June 2nd on HBO.

If you’ve read the books and want a spoiler-safe place to discuss your thoughts, please visit IGN's Game of Thrones wiki. While you’re there, feel free to contribute key differences you see between the TV and book version of the lore. If you comment on this article, please be mindful of others who haven’t read ahead and stick to discussion of what’s been aired. Thanks!

Matt Fowler is a writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter at @TheMattFowler and on IGN at mattfowler.


Source : ign[dot]com

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