Ahead of Game of Thrones season 8 - big guide

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Ahead of Game of Thrones season 8, we have started looking at all episode of the TV series, from the beginning. We are soooo excited! Here's a post for those who have followed the show but want to refresh their memory for the upcoming season, and for those who haven't seen the show and want a quick explanation of how it all works! Season 8 starts on 15 April on HBO and C More.

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Game of Thrones

Game of Thrones is an American television series based on the novel The Chronicles of Ice and Fire by author George R.R. Martin. Seven seasons have been shown so far, and the eighth and final season is about to begin. The series is considered one of the most popular series of all time and has won 38 Emmys.

The plot of Game of Thrones

Game of Thrones is set in a fictional world, with much of the action taking place on the continent of Westeros, where various kings fight for control of the 'Seven Kingdoms'. Once upon a time, the kingdoms were self-governing, but about 300 years ago they were conquered. Aegon Targaryen, from the continent of Essos, all the kingdoms with the help of their dragons.

At the start of the series, the Targaryen family has been ousted from power (Aegon has been murdered and his two children exiled to Essos) and Robert Baratheon is king. The first episode reveals that the King's closest advisor has been murdered, and he travels to the northernmost region to ask his old friend Ned Stark to come to the capital city of King's Landing to replace the murdered advisor. Moreover, after a decade-long summer, an even longer winter awaits ...

Inspiration from the War of the Roses

Although the TV series is fiction, it is not unrelated to the real world. Author Martin has said that he found inspiration from The Lord of the Rings, but even more inspiration has been found in history books. In particular, the story is inspired by War of the Roses - the civil wars fought over the English throne from 1455 to 1485.

The two great houses that fight each other in the Game of Thrones - Stark and Lannister - are represented in the real-life War of the Roses by the houses. York and Lancaster. Several of the main characters in the TV series are also considered to have been inspired by real people from this era, such as..:

• Cersei Lannister - Margareta Anjou
• Ned Stark - Richard of York
• Joffrey Baratheon - Edward of Westminster
• Sansa Stark - Elizabeth of York

Violence, sex ... and gender roles?

A lot of people have accused Game of Thrones of having a lot of violence and sex, and we can only agree. Is it necessary? Does it add anything? This is of course debatable, but both violence and sex scenes in the show often convey action and, for example, changes to the power structures. Although this is a fantasy series, it is essentially a series for adults.

There are a lot of classic structures, with male patriarchs and women in whorehouses. But there are also many characters who break the norms. The series is full of strong women and people who get ahead and make a career despite tough socio-economic conditions, foreign background, disability or transgender identity.

Continents in the known world

Since this is a travel blog, we thought we'd go ahead and travel to the world of Game of Thrones! It's perfect to be prepared for Game of Thrones season 8, isn't it?

In the 'known world' there are three continents. Much of the action takes place in Westeros, but there is also constant intrigue with people on the large continent of Essos to the east. South of Essos is the continent of Sothoryos, which plays the smallest role in the series. Seeing similarities with our real world is not so difficult ...

1. Westeros

• Geographical location: Westeros is the westernmost continent in the 'Known World'.
• Areas: Westeros consists of seven former kingdoms and two additional territories. To the north of the northernmost kingdom is a great wall that protects against the unknown on the other side, guarded by the Night's Watch.
• Capital city: King's Landing
• Similarity in reality: Britain and Ireland (the southernmost regions are similar to France and Spain).

2. essos

• Geographical location: Essos is considerably larger than Westeros and lies to the east of Westeros, across the Narrow Sea.
• Areas: The Free Cities in the northwest, Lake Dothraki (a 'lake of grass') in the centre, Slaver's Bay on the south coast and exotic areas such as Asshai and the Shadow Lands in the far east.
• Free cities in the West: Braavos, Lorath, Lys, Myr, Norvos, Pentos, Qohor, Tyrosh and Volantis.
• Similarity in reality: Rest of Europe and Asia

3rd Sothoryos

• Geographical location: Located south of Essos, on the other side of the Summer Sea (not shown on the map).
• Description: A large continent made up of jungle and desert. Apart from the northern coastal regions, the continent is little explored, but is said to harbour dangerous animals and plagues.
• Similarity in reality: Africa

Kingdoms in Westeros

In Game of Thrones they often talk about The 7 Kingdomsi.e. the Seven Kingdoms. This refers to the seven kingdoms that existed in Westeros when Aegon Targaryen took control of the continent 300 years ago.

When the series starts, there are actually nine regionsalthough all are ruled by a common king. There are also the exiled Targaryen family and the Night's Watch, who guard the Wall in the North. Here is information about the seven kingdoms, the two additional territories, the Targaryen family and the Night's Watch. Great for those who want to know what to expect in Game of Thrones season 8!

1. The North - House Stark

• City/village: Winter coat
• Motto: Winter Is Coming
• Characters: Ned Stark (Lord of Winterfell), Catelyn Stark (Ned's wife) and their children Robb, Sansa, Arya, Bran and Rickon as well as Jon Snow (Ned's son) and Benjen Stark (Ned's brother)
• Names of bastards: Snow

• Good to know: The Stark family ruled the North for thousands of years before the Targaryens took control of the 7 Kingdoms. The family is known for their sense of duty. Theon Greyjoy of the Iron Islands grows up with them as a hostage.

2. The Vale - House Arryn

• Town/City: The Eyrie
• Motto: As High as Honour
• Characters: Jon Arryn (former Lord of the Eyrie and Hand of the King, now dead), Lysa Arryn (Catelyn's sister) and her son Robert (Lord of the Eyrie).
• Names of bastards: Stone

• Good to know: Jon was formerly Hand of the King, but was poisoned. House Arryn has the small castle of Eyrie, located on top of a mountain in the Vale. Now the young son Robert is Lord, with the help of his mother.

3. Iron Islands - House Greyjoy

• Town/City: Pyke
• Motto: We Do Not Sow
• Characters: Balon Greyjoy (Lord of the Iron Islands) and his children: Theon Greyjoy (raised by the Stark family) and Asha Greyjoy.
• Names of bastards: Pyke

• Good to know: Ten years before the series began, Balon Greyjoy led an unsuccessful rebellion against King Robert, after which he was forced to give his son Theon to the Stark family in Winterfell as a hostage in order to gain control of the Iron Islands.

4. Westerlands - House Lannister

• City/village: Casterly Rocks
• Motto: Hear Me Roar!
• Characters: Tywin Lannister (Lord of Casterly Rock) and his children Cersei, Jaime and Tyrion. Cersei's three children (fathered by Jamie): Joffrey, Myrcella and Tommen.
• Names of bastards: Hill

• Good to know: The Lannisters are the richest family in Westeros because they have gold mines. Twin siblings Cersei and Jamie are secretly in a relationship.

5. The Stormlands - House Baratheon

• Town/City: Storm's End, but also Dragonstone
• Motto: Ours is the Fury
• Characters: Robert Baratheon (King of the 7 Kingdoms) and his two brothers: Stannis Baratheon and Renly Baratheon.
• Names of bastards: Storm

• Good to know: King Robert leads both the 7 Kingdoms and the Stormlands. Renly is Lord of Storm's End and Stannis is Lord of Dragonstone.

6. Highgarden - House Tyrell

• Town/City: Reach
• Motto: Growing Strong
• Characters: Mace Tyrell (Lord of Highgarden), Olenna Tyrell (Mace's mum), Margaery Tyrell (Mace's daughter) and Loras Tyrell (Mace's son).
• Names of bastards: Flowers

• Good to know: House Targaryen made the Tyrell family Lords of Highgarden after the King of the Reach was killed. The women of the Tyrell family are known to be strong leaders.

7. dorne - House Martell

• Town/City: Sunspear Castle
• Motto: Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken
• Characters: Doran Martell (Prince of Dorne), Oberyn Martell (Doran's brother) and Ellaria Sand (Oberyn's mistress).
• Names of bastards: Sand

• Good to know: House Martell resisted House Targaryen and was the only kingdom to retain its independence. They supported the Targaryens during Robert's Baratheon's Rebellion, but then swore allegiance to Robert when he took the throne. House Martell keeps its distance from the other houses, as they do not get along with House Lannister.

Riverlands - House Tully

• Town/City: Riverrun
• Motto: Family, Duty, Honour
• Characters: Hoster Tully (Lord of Riverrun) and his son Edmure. Daughters Catelyn and Lysa are married off to Houses Stark and Arryn.
• Names of bastards: Rivers

• Good to know: Hoster Tully is the father of Catelyn Stark and Lysa Arryn. This region was never an independent kingdom, but part of The Stormlands.

The Crownlands - Ruled by the King

• Town/City: King's Landing
• Characters: Robert Baratheon is king when the series starts.
• Good to know: The Crownlands were never a separate kingdom, but were governed by the Riverlands or the Stormlands before Aegon Targaryen conquered Westeros.

House Targaryen

House Targaryen has no territory, but has ruled all of Westeros for 300 years, with the help of its dragons, which later died out.

• Town/City: In exile, but has ruled all of Westeros.
• Motto: Fire and Blood
• Characters: Aerys II Targaryen (the mad king, now murdered) and his children Viserys and Deanerys, and Aemon Targaryen in 'The Night's Watch'.

• Good to know: Aerys II Targaryen was the last king of the Targaryen family, who ruled all of Westeros. He was murdered by Ser Jamie Lannister, and Robert Baratheon assumed power. Viserys and Deanerys were exiled to the continent of Essos.

The Night's Watch (The Night's Watch)

The Night's Watch is a kind of order that guards Castle Black and the huge wall that separates the seven kingdoms from the icy world beyond. Wildlings (free groups of people) live out there, and there are stories from the past about white walkers (dead people who rise up and fight the humans). But nobody believes those stories anymore... or do they?

Where was Game of Thrones filmed?

Game of Thrones was filmed mainly in Northern Ireland, but also in Iceland, Spain, Croatia, Malta and Morocco. Would you like to visit a filming location for Game of Thrones season 8?

1. Northern Ireland

Around 75 per cent of the series was filmed in Northern Ireland. We saw several of these locations during our motorhome tour, such as Castle Ward (Winterfell) and Dark Hedges (Kingsroad).

2nd Iceland

Many of the scenes that take place north of the wall were filmed at the Centre. Icelandincluding around Vatnajökull and Svínafellsjökull. Here are some more filming locations in Iceland:

• Fog castle - Mance Rayder's camp
• Grjótagjá vid Mývatn - The cave where Jon Snow meets Ygrette
• Þingvellir National Park - The entrance to Eyrie

3. Spain

Several of the scenes set in the kingdom of Dorne were filmed in Spain. Here are some filming locations in Spain:

• Alcázar of Seville - Water Palace and Water Gardens in Dorne
• The Roman bridge in Cordoba - The Long Bridge in Volantis, Essos

4) Croatia

I Croatia the capital city of King's Landing is mainly modelled on Dubrovnik, but there are other locations as well.

• Dubrovnik - King's Landing
• Kaštel Gomilica - The free city of Braavos, Essos
• Lokrum Island - Qarth, "Queen of cities" at Essos

5th Malta

Malta was mainly used as a filming location in the first season, when the old capital Mdina was the model for the capital King's Landing.

• Mdina - King's Landing (only in season 1)
• Gozo - Location of the wedding of Daenerys and Khal Drogo

6. Morocco

Morocco has been a fitting location for many of the scenes set in the more exotic continent of Essos. Here are some filming locations:

• Aït Ben Haddou - Slaver's Bay and the Free Cities of Essos
• Essaouira - The town of Astapor on the southern coast of Esso

Ready for Game of Thrones season 8?

We are currently watching all the episodes from the beginning, to be fully prepared for Game of Thrones season 8. 15 April is the big day! The eighth season is the last one, and then the series is over. Will you be following slavishly, or is this not your thing at all?

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