The TV series of Game Of Thrones is now well ahead of the series of novels written by George R. R. Martin and if we’re honest, we’re not sure if we are on board with the direction things have taken.
We can’t help feeling that lately (seasons six and seven in particular) storylines have been, well, dare we say disappointing and at times bordering on farcical?
We can hear you screaming, ‘It’s a fantasy series – what do you expect?’ But before you unleash your dragons on us – may we remind you that the thing about Game Of Thrones, both the books and arguably the first five seasons is that it never felt unbelievable or fantastical. It felt real – despite sitting firmly in the fantasy genre.
A large part of that grounding in reality was due to the tireless and meticulous attention to detail in setting up the magical world of Westeros, the characterisation of the key players and the immense time and physical journeys it took for these characters to get from point A to B.
This season it feels like we’re rushing to an end, and while the action has certainly picked up, we’re not sure if it’s such a good thing. Here are a few key plot points we’re still trying to get our heads around this season
How did Euron Greyjoy come up with 1000 ships in a matter of months?
If you cast your minds back to season six, Yara (Gemma Whelan) and Theon Greyjoy (Alfie Allen) escape the Iron Islands by stealing a large part of the Iron Fleet. Yet, this season when Euron (Pilou Asbaek) rocks up at Kings Landing to woo Queen Cersei (Lena Headey), he brags of having 1000 ships.
We’re very confused as to how this is possible considering last time we checked the Iron Islands weren’t exactly flourishing with flora. Then again, perhaps they were already hard at work and that’s the reason we couldn’t spot a single tree?
The Iron Islands – not a tree in sight.
Jon Snow’s speedy arrival in Dragonstone
Public transport has really picked up in season seven of Game Of Thrones. Jon Snow (Kit Harington) is summoned by Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) to Dragonstone from Winterfell and appears to arrive after a very short boat journey. Similarly, Lady Olenna (Diana Rigg) of House Tyrell hotfooted it across from High Garden to Dragonstone (on opposite sides of the country) to take a seat on Daenerys’ war council.
“Just popping off to see Dany – brb.”
Surprise Dothraki
In episode four “Spoils of War” the Dothraki army just came out of nowhere. We never saw Daenerys decide to leave Dragonstone. We only saw Jon Snow implore her not to burn ‘cities and castles’ like her father the Mad King. So was it really impeccable timing that Daenerys and her Dothraki army stumbled across the Lannister army before they made their way back to Kings Landing? It seems like a very happy coincidence.
In a hurry? Hop on a dragon.
Why does no-one discuss their mutual friends?
Gendry (Joe Dempsie), The Hound (Rory McCann) and Jon Snow have been spending some quality time together of late – so why aren’t they sharing stories of Arya (Maisie Williams)?
Also why doesn’t Jon tell Daenerys that he was close with her grand-uncle Master Aemon Targaryen (Peter Vaughan), who helped him become Lord Commander?
And why hasn’t Jorah (Iain Glen) mentioned to Jon that is was Sam Tarly (John Bradley-West) that cured him? We get that everyone’s been pretty busy – but what else do they gossip about over ale?
“Yo Jon, so I like used to be BFFs with your little sister.”
How fast can a raven really fly?
When Jon and the gang are surrounded by White Walkers Gendry makes a Usain Bolt-fast dash back to The Wall. He then instructs a raven to be sent to Daenerys in Dragonstone, who flies her dragons back to the wall in what seems like no more than a day? We’ll forgive the speed of Dragons (difficult to accurately measure), but we’re struggling to get our heads around just how Gendry and that poor raven managed to act so quickly.
Why didn’t Jon Snow take some Dragon Glass with him north of The Wall?
Up until they decide to track down a White Walker, Jon has been busy mining Dragon Glass – the only other thing that can kill White Walkers other than Valerian steel. So why didn’t they take some with them when they were heading north of The Wall to fight White Walkers? Rookie error, Jon!
Where did the White Walkers get all that chain?
Is there a Bunnings north of The Wall that we didn’t know about? Does the Night King have a Mary Poppins-style handbag that he can easily carry kilometres of chain in? Also, how did the White Walkers get the chains under the dead dragon in the lake? We have to assume they can’t swim as the White Walkers that fell in the water with Jon Snow must have drowned for it to be plausible for him to manage to get out of the water?
The bottom line is we have so many questions. And we’re not sure we’ll have all the answers after next week’s finale…
