'Game of Thrones' marks ten years since its premiere on April 17th and, to honor the successful series considered by many to be the "greatest of all time", the Technology Refugee made a guide for those who have never watched the HBO production or for those who stopped halfway and want to resume.
The series created by David Benioff and DB Weiss, inspired by the books by George RR Martin, aired in 2011 and had its last season in 2019. From the first episode, the work was successful and made the whole world stop to watch. In all, there were eight seasons and 73 episodes of a unique narrative, different cores, protagonists, wars that recall medieval times, political conflicts and fantasy elements, dragons and “frozen zombies”.
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So, if you are someone who is interested in starting the series now, or has stopped in the middle of the period in which the production was shown on HBO channels, here is a “beginners guide” basic questions about the story, cast, in addition to information about and where to watch 'Game of Thrones'.
- Where did 'Game of Thrones' come from? Is it based on books?
Exactly! 'Game of Thrones', or 'GoT', is based on the fantasy novel series 'A Song of Ice and Fire' by author George RR Martin. The first book was published in the United States (USA) in 1996 and is precisely called 'A Game of Thrones', that is, the 'War of Thrones'.
So far, George has written five of the seven promised books, leaving HBO with the responsibility of finishing the story before him. The franchise has sold more than 90 million copies worldwide, according to the New York Times.
And even though the series ended, the last two parts of the story in book form still do not have a release date.
- What is the story of 'Game of Thrones'?
So many intrigues, battles and wars, 'GoT' is a perfect reference to politics in general. Many of the conflicts for power parallel world history and international management.
In addition, the trajectory introduces us to several supernatural elements, animal control, connection to sacred trees, time travel (don't exaggerate, relax), as well as witches, grotesque creatures and possibilities for resuscitation.
The plot of the series takes place in an era equivalent to our Middle Ages, in a region called Westeros. The place is the largest in the entire fictional continent, formed by Seven Kingdoms: the North, the Iron Islands, the Valley, the Meadow, the Western Lands, the Lands of the Storm and Dorne (calm, you don't need to decorate it now).
Until the beginning of the work, everything was relatively calm in Westeros, all these nations ruled by King Robert Baratheon. But on a visit to the North, ruled by House Stark of Winterfell – one of the most important in the plot – he requests that the person responsible for governing the region, Eddard 'Ned' Stark, be his adviser.
In the midst of all this, Ned's wife, Catelyn Stark, receives a letter warning her that the Lannister clan - from King Robert's wife - may not be trusted. Queen Cersei, known for being a zealous mother and relentless organizer, maintains an extramarital affair with her own twin brother, Jaime, and shows reasons for distrust of her family.
Even under warning, Ned Stark goes to the capital of the Seven Kingdoms, called Porto Real, and discovers secrets from the Lannisters, who will unintentionally unleash wars, murders and plot twists. All information, in addition to the death of King Robert, starts the “game” by the Iron Throne.
Fun fact: the Stark-Lannister axis is the key point for the beginning, but it is not the main point of the series. Still in the first season, it is shown that other Houses, the Targaryen, Greyjoy, Tyrell and Martell, want and try to rule the Seven Kingdoms.
- What is “the winter is ing”
There is a real climate issue in Westeros that is important: the seasons last for years. After more than a decade of summer (the longest in memory of the series), winter was slowly arriving. Therefore, the phrase “the winter is ing” (“the winter is coming”, in the literal translation) is something that marks when watching 'Game of Thrones'.
Along with climate change, the impact phrase marks the political disputes and the danger of the “White Walkers”, a horde of ice undead (an incredible frozen zombie dragon, including) that threatens all kingdoms. These beings, also called "The Others", live in unexplored regions beyond the Wall - structure that protects the North and all of Westeros. They have the powers to freeze the places they pass and the goal of killing humans.
In this context, one of the central characters of the series is presented, Jon Snow, which is the Wall walker. He has the important task of defending Westeros from these creatures and, over the course of 'GoT', tries to convince the other kingdoms that there is a threat in one that they all need to face... which is not an easy thing to do.
And we already said: are you the type of person who gets attached to a certain character? So, get ready! Over eight seasons of 'Game of Thrones', several kings, beings and important figures in the universe - almost protagonists because they have a lot of prominence - died (or were killed).
- Is there a difference between the books and the series?
Several, but it is not possible to know if they are superficial or not, since the series had an end before the history of the books. In order to make the narrative narrower from one platform to another, producers David Benioff and DB Weiss cut and merged several characters, simply abandoning entire plots to fit the production of HBO.
When the fifth and last publication so far of 'Game of Thrones' arrived in 2012, entitled “A Dance with Dragons”, the producers of the work on TV began to improvise on top of a general line passed by creator George RR Martin. Only those three people knew the ending until the final episode was released in 2019, but it was never clear if it will be the same as it will be in the books. It's wait and see.
- Where to watch 'Game of Thrones'?
Ready to face the challenge? Cool, but then, watching 'Game of Thrones' these days? For now, the best way to access all seasons and episodes at once is to subscribe to cable TV with HBO, or the HBO Go streaming service. Both alternatives offer the possibility of accessing the channel's content on demand, that is, you can watch it whenever and wherever you want.
But be quick! In June 2021, the channel's new streaming service, HBO Max, will arrive in Brazil and Latin America. The platform will discontinue work on HBO Go, which will no longer exist.
That is, if you want to see all the seasons of 'Game Of Thrones' in streaming, it will only be possible by subscribing to HBO Max or checking reruns on the HBO Signature and TNT Series channels.
Currently, HBO Go offers a trial period of seven days, in which it is possible to use the service for free, and after that, the user pays BRL 34,90 monthly. The service can be accessed by cell phone, putador and transmitted to the TV by Chromecast. But what up, let's watch 'Game of Thrones'?
