FAQ

The Valyrian Freehold was one of the greatest civilizations in the Known World, and the dominant culture on Essos for nearly five millennia. Starting from the city of Valyria on the southern end of the continent, the Freehold became extremely powerful nearly 5,000 years before the start of the series, after discovering dragons in the volcanoes in the Valyrian peninsula. They managed to tame them, and with the dragons, together with their talent for magic and manufacturing weapons, they greatly expanded their territory to the surrounding lands. They eventually got as far as Essos' west coast, where they put many colony cities under their rule. Their expansion got them into conflict with the Ghiscari Empire to the east, who declared war on them, but proved to be ill-equipped against their dragons in a series of five wars. The Valyrians finally marched on the Ghiscari capital and razed it to the ground, completely wiping out their civilization.

At its height, the Valyrian Freehold directly or indirectly controlled almost the entire continent, established great cities and constructed a huge network of roads. However, all this came to an end nearly 400 years ago, in an event called the Doom of Valyria. The volcanoes on the Valyrian peninsula suddenly started to erupt, and together with violent earthquakes, the entire peninsula was shattered, taking most of the city, its inhabitants, their dragons, knowledge and recorded history with it. In the wake of its capital's destruction, the Valyrian realm collapsed: its outlying cities and colonies split up into independent city states that battled each other for dominance, while Dothraki hordes, no longer impeded by Valyrian dragons, plundered and took back much of the interior land.

Of its people, one important group remained. The prominent Valyrian family of the Targaryens and their dragons had already moved to the Westerosi island of Dragonstone years before, and were thus spared when the Doom occurred. Although they had never shown much interest in Westeros before, the destruction of their homeland prompted the Targaryens to launch an invasion 100 years after the Doom, and unite the Seven Kingdoms under one King.

Little more remains of Old Valyria today than a series of ruins in the Smoking Sea, said to be cursed territory where no one dares to enter. Many of the original colonies continued to exist, such as the nine Free Cities on the west coast of Essos, and the cities of Slaver's Bay to the east. Although technically a dead language, High Valyrian lives on in scientific documents and has a limited number of speakers, such as scholars, Red Priests and Targaryen family members. High Valyrian also influenced many later Essosi languages, which are commonly known as Low Valyrian.

Another surviving element is Valyrian steel. When forged as weapons, it is renowned for its sharpness and durability, yet it is surprisingly lightweight, and apart from dragonglass, it is the only known substance known to be able to kill White Walkers. Unfortunately, the details of its manufacturing process were lost during the Doom. It is rumored that the creation of the steel requires specific spells or dragon fire, but this is not confirmed. Some blacksmiths can reforge it into new blades, but no one knows how to make new steel any longer. This has caused Valyrian steel to have become exceedingly rare and highly sought after.

Game of Thrones is an epic fantasy series set in the fictional land of Westeros where a number of individuals and noble houses vie for control of the "Iron Throne" which rules over the realm.

Much of the first season focuses on the Stark family, who rule "The North"- one of the "Seven Kingdoms" of Westeros. The head of the household, Ned Stark, is the best friend of King Robert Baratheon, who came to power in a coup sixteen years earlier which unseated the ancient Targaryen dynasty. The season also follows the last two surviving Targaryens- Daenarys and her brother Viserys, who have been exiled across the sea. The other plotline follows Tyrion, a son of the wealthy Lannister family who is socialliy ostracized for being a dwarf.

Yes, it's based on the series A Song of Ice and Fire written by George RR Martin and takes its name from the first book in the series.

So far five books have been published in A Song of Ice and Fire with a planned two more yet to be published. They are, in order:

1) A Game of Thrones 2) A Clash of Kings 3) A Storm of Swords 4) A Feast for Crows 5) A Dance With Dragons.

Several sample chapters for the sixth book, The Winds of Winter, have been released online.

"A Game of Thrones" and "A Clash of Kings" cover the first two seasons of the show respectively. The third season covers about the first two thirds of "A Storm of Swords", and the fourth season covers the rest of "A Storm of Swords". Seasons five and six cover most of A Feast for Crows and Dance with Dragons and even advances beyond them somewhat.

Each season is still titled "Game Of Thrones". In the opening credits of each episode it says "Based on A Song Of Ice And Fire".

Most of the cast are British (English, Scottish, Irish and Welsh).

Of the cast that is and was on the show:

American: Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister, Jason Momoa as Khal Drogo, Burn Gorman as Karl Tanner (though he grew up in England), Rosebell Laurenti Sellers as Tyene Sand, and Vladimir 'Furdo' Furdik as the Night King in Season Six and beyond

Danish: Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Jaime Lannister and Pilou Asbæk as Euron Greyjoy

German: Sibel Kekilli as Shae, Tom Wlaschiha as Jaqen H'Ghar, and Marc Rissmann as Harry Strickland

Dutch: Michiel Huisman as Daario Naharis in season four and beyond and Carice van Houten as Melisandre

Spanish: Oona Chaplin as Talisa Maegyr (though she grew up in Switzerland)

Norwegian: Kristofer Hivju as Tormund Giantsbane

Chilean: Pedro Pascal as Oberyn Martell (though he grew up in America)

Canadian: Roxanne McKee as Doreah (though she grew up in England)

Iraqi: Dar Salim as Qotho (though he grew up in Denmark)

Icelandic: Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson as Gregor Clegane in season four and beyond and Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson as Lem Lemoncloak

Russian: Yuri Kolokolnikov as Styr

Brazilian: Lino Facioli as Robin Arryn

Nepalese: Amrita Acharia as Irri.

Australian: Conan Stevens as Gregor Clegane in Season One, Keisha Castle-Hughes as Obara Sand, and Essie Davis as Lady Crane

Sudanese: Alexander Siddig as Doran Martell

Swedish: Max Von Sydow as the Three-Eyed Raven in season six and beyond

New Zealandic: Joe Naufahu as Khal Moro

The books, in order of publication, are

1. A Game of Thrones 2. A Clash of Kings 3. A Storm of Swords 4. A Feast for Crows 5. A Dance with Dragons

And coming soon.... The Winds of Winter

Most fans who have read the books first will advise people to start at the beginning. However, some fans who have seen the show first have found the the early books less exciting because they know all of the plot developments. Whether to start at the beginning or not is up to each individual. While the show follows the same plot as the books, there is more detail provided in terms of character and back-story in the books and they sometimes explain the reasons for some plot developments better.

Yes, Disruptor Beam has developed Game of Thrones Ascent, which is a web-based game based on the books and HBO series: http://www.disruptorbeam.com/games/game-of-thrones

Game of Thrones Genesis is an official licensed video game.

Also TellTale has release a multiepisode Game which is also officially licensed

In addition, there is an excellent board game, for three to six players, Game of Thrones: Second Edition, from Fantasy Flight Games. Here's the link: https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/products/a-game-of-thrones-the-board-game-second-edition/. A downloadable version of the rules is available there, so you can determine whether it suits you. I love it: power struggles, back-stabbing, alliances and treachery--just like the show.

American indie-rock band The National. The vocalist is their lead singer Matt Berninger.

Jon Snow is featured in Gared Tuttle's story line.

Cersei Lannister is featured in Mira Forrester's story line.

Tyrion Lannister is featured in Mira Forrester's story line.

Daenerys Targaryen is featured in Asher Forrester's story line.

Margaery Tyrell is featured in Mira Forrester's story line.

Ramsay Bolton is featured in Ethan and Rodrik Forresters Story line.

Drogon is featured in Asher Forresters Story line.

Viserion is featured in Asher Forresters Story line.

White Walkers (Also called 'The Others' in the novels) are an ancient race of beings that have not been seen for several thousand years by the time the series begins. They have icy blue eyes, wield swords made of ice, and have the ability to reanimate the dead to serve as their minions. They have also been known to ride undead steeds. Their undead minions are the Wights.

The Andals are the main ethnic group of Westeros. The king is officially styled "King of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men", or simply "King of the Andals and the First Men". As the name implies, the First Men were the first human beings to arrive in Westeros, about 12,000 years ago. They fought with the Children of the Forest, a non human race which lived in Westeros at the time, but eventually achieved peace with them. About 4,000 or so years ago, the Andals sailed to Westeros from Essos. They aggressively attacked the Children and the First Men and came to dominate most of Westeros, except for the North. The Rhoynar came from the area of the Rhoyne River in Essos about a thousand years ago and settled in Dorne.

Referring to Jorah as "the Andal" is referencing his Westerosi origins. Although technically this is incorrect, since Jorah is of House Mormont of Bear Island, a Northern house sworn to House Stark of Winterfell, making Jorah a descendant of the First Men. The Dothraki, not all too familiar with the long and complicated history of Westeros, refer to all Westerosi people as Andals.

Flowers: The Reach (Home to the Tyrells and Tarlys)

Hill: The Westerlands (Home to the Lannisters)

Pyke: Iron Islands (Home to the Greyjoys)

Rivers: The Riverlands (Home to the Tullys and Freys)

Sand: Dorne (Home to the Martells)

Snow: The North (Home to the Starks, Boltons, Reeds, Karstarks, and Mormonts)

Stone: The Vale (Home to the Arryns)

Storm: The Stormlands (Home to the Baratheons)

Waters: The Crownlands (Home to the current royal family, includes the capital city of King's Landing and the surrounding areas. Though this may have been altered for the show. Gendry was born and raised in King's landing and he mentions his surname is Rivers)

The show adds a few years to the time between Robert's Rebellion and the opening of the series. This is presumably done to make the child characters a bit older, with most of them being two or three years older than shown in the novels. With some of the characters this is perhaps done to allow them to cast older actors to play them (for example, Arya Stark is nine at the beginning of the books, while the actress who plays her on the show was fourteen when the show started). Young child actors typically face more stringent labor laws regarding their working conditions and older actors may be perceived as having more maturity and skill. Daenerys Targaryen, born shortly after Robert's Rebellion, is thirteen at the start of the books. However, the first season begins with her being married off to the adult Khal Drogo and a lot of her storyline in the first novel and first season deals with her romantic and sexual relationship with him. Using an actor or character who was thirteen would have made many of the scenes difficult or impossible to shoot. Making Daenerys sixteen eliminates many of these problems. With her age increased, those of Jon Snow and Robb Stark, who were born during Robert's Rebellion, are increased as well.

The age of many of the adult characters were increased too. For example, Ned Stark was about 33 at the start of the first book, but Sean Bean was about 50 when the pilot was filmed. Most of the other adults are similarly older. This was probably done to make the characters more in line with our modern expectations for what their age would be. Many of the characters in the novel married in their late teens or early 20s and had children soon after. Casting older actors keeps the characters more in line with our modern idea that parents of teenage children should be middle-aged.

Winter is coming has several meanings - it's literal, in that a very long winter is ahead. It's the motto of house Stark, and it's a symbolic statement about the dark periods of life that inevitably happen to everyone.

Read more: http://screenprism.com/insights/article/when-exactly-is-winter-coming-in-game-of-thrones-what-does-that-even-mean

Series Level

In general the characters on the show are older than they are in the novel. For example, Ned and Cat Stark are both supposed to be in their mid 30s in the books, having married when they were around age 18. In the show the actors who portray them are in their 50s and 40s respectively. The show also adds a couple of years between Robert's Rebellion and the events of the series and ages the child characters appropriately. Tyrion Lannister is significantly more handsome than in the novels where he's described as having eyes of different colors and mixed black and blond hair. In the show Tyrion gains a scar across his nose at the Blackwater while in the books most of his nose is cut off, giving him an even more hideous appearance.

A few names are changed in the show from the books, presumably to avoid confusion or unwanted comparisons. For example, the "White Walkers" are more commonly referred to as "The Others" in the books. Presumably this was changed to avoid comparisons with the antagonists from the tv show LOST. Theon Greyjoy's sister Yara, is named Asha in the books. This was changed to avoid confusion with the Wildling woman Osha as their names would sound virtually identical when spoken. Lysa Arryn's son Robin was named Robert in the books (named after the King). The show changed his name to Robin, so the audience wouldn't get him confused with Robert Baratheon and Robb Stark.

The back-story of Lyanna Stark's death at the Tower of Joy and the promise she forced Ned to make are eliminated from the show. While these were a significant part of Ned's back-story and the mythology of the novel, they appeared mostly in the form of Ned's internal monologues and would have been difficult to represent on screen. However, over the course of the show, more and more of this back story have come to light.

The show adds several sex scenes, often as cover for exposition (jokingly referred to as "sexposition"), and invents the character of Ros, the prostitute who sleeps with a number of characters. Similarly, the show makes Littlefinger's ownership of brothels more prominent than in the novels, where they are just one of many moneymaking enterprises he owns.

The novels provide much more in depth information about the history, politics, and culture of Westeros.

Conversely, the show gives more of an in depth look at the White Walkers. For example, the scene from season two where Craster gives his son up to the Walkers is only implied in the books and the scene showing the White Walkers transforming a human into one of them is invented for the show.

Season One

The initial sex scene between Khal Drogo and Daenerys Targaryen is quite different between the novels and the show. In the novel, while Daenarys is worried that Drogo will assault her, they ultimately have consensual sex. In the show, the encounter is depicted as a rape with Drogo not seeking her consent and Daenerys weeping throughout.

The show invents a couple of scenes featuring Jaime Lannister, who did not become a point of view character until the third book.

The show invents a scene where Cersei visits Catelyn Stark at Bran's bedside and relates how she gave birth to a stillborn child. This was presumably done to make Cersei more sympathetic.

In the book, Daenerys is said to have violet eyes. In the show her eyes are green. Executive Producers, David Benioff and Dan Weiss said they originally had Emilia Clarke wear violet contact lenses, but felt that it detracted from her performance and so the contacts were discarded.

Jon's direwolf, Ghost, is also completely mute in the books. In the show he whines, barks, and growls like normal dogs/wolves do. David Benioff and Dan Weiss said that originally it was scripted that Ghost was mute. However, during initial editing, they found it just didn't look/sound right having a silent dog and so they nixed the idea.

In the books, Robb sends a large contingent of his infantry to fight Tywin at the Green Fork, and takes a smaller cavalry detachment to Riverrun. In the show this is reversed, with Robb sending a small infantry detachment to the Green Fork and taking most of his men to Riverrun.

Season Two

The show is much more explicit about the sexual relationship between Renly Baratheon and Loras Tyrell, as well as the one between Stannis Baratheon and Melisandre of Asshai.

The show depicts Stannis Baratheon as learning of Joffrey's bastardry from Ned Stark. In the novels, Stannis had his own suspicions about Joffrey's legitimacy. In the novels, it was Stannis who sent Jon Arryn to try and find out whether Joffrey was legitimate.

Davos Seaworth is missing the fingers on his right hand on the show. In the book, he's missing the fingers on his left hand. This was done because actor Liam Cunningham is left-handed and would be more functional using his dominant hand.

Talisa Maegyr does not appear in the novels. Instead, Robb weds Jeyne Westerling, daughter of Lord Gawen Westerling- an impoverished, but proud bannerman to Casterly Rock.

The show invents the character of Alton Lannister to deliver Robb's peace terms. In the novels this is done by Cleos Frey who is the son of Jaime Lannister's aunt. Presumably this was done to avoid confusion since House Frey is an ally of the Starks.

In the show, Osha gains Theon Greyjoy's trust by sleeping with him. In the novels she does so by demonstrating her skill with a spear, although she does later sleep with one of Theon's men in order to gain his trust.

Arya's time at Harrenhall is different in the show than in the books. In the novels she serves as a common kitchen servant when Tywin is at Harrenhall. She is only elevated to cupbearer once Roose Bolton takes the castle. In the novels, Arya gives different names to Jaquen H'ghar. Instead of Tickler and Amory Lorch, she gives the names of Chiswyck, a follower of Gregor Clegane who boasts of taking part in a gang rape, and Weese, the cruel head of the kitchens. She uses her third name to name Jaquen H'ghar, as in the show, but instead of enlisting his help to escape, she blackmails him into helping free a group of Northern prisoners who help take over the castle. In the novels, Amory Lorch is fed to a bear after Roose Bolton captures Harrenhall.

The encounter in the House of the Undying is significantly different. In the novels, Dany goes there willingly seeking knowledge. In the show, she goes there to retrieve her dragons which have been stolen. The visions she sees are also different. In the novel she has visions of several characters who she does not recognize. However, on screen these would have been clearly recognizable to the audience and thus much of the mystery of the visions would be undermined.

In the show, Rakharo is not beheaded before Dany reaches Qarth, nor is Irri murdered in Qarth. Both characters are still alive in the books.

In the novels, Dany does not leave Xaro Xhoan Daxos for dead. Instead, he lives and makes another appearance later in the novels. However, his fate is still left ambiguous on the show and could re-appear if needed.

In the books, Dagmar Cleftjaw is a friendly man whpo likes and supports Theon. In the show he is more taciturn and skeptical of Theon.

The introduction of Ramsey Snow/Bolton is significantly different in the books. In the novels, Ser Roderick Cassell captures and hangs Ramsey for various crimes he has committed. They bring Ramsey's servant, Reek, back to Winterfell as a captive in order to serve as a witness to Ramsey's crimes to help placate Roose when he returns from the war. When Theon takes over Winterfell he frees Reek and takes him into his service. When Bran and Rickon escape, Reek suggests that Theon kill two other boys and substitute their bodies for the princes'. As Theon receives word that Ser Roderick is returning to Winterfell with an army to retake the castle, Reek suggests that he go to the Boltons and try to convince them to help the Ironborn. Theon agrees, and allows Reek to flee the castle. During the ensuing siege, a Bolton army arrives outside Winterfell and joins Ser Roderick's forces. However, their leader kills Ser Roderick and they slaughter the other Northerners. Theon opens to doors and allows the Bolton men to enter. Their leader then reveals himself to be the man Theon knew as Reek, who was actually Ramsey Snow in disguise, having hid his identity to escape execution and letting the real Reek die in his place. Ramsey then punches Theon in the face, shattering his mouth and his men take Winterfell.

Season Three

In the novels, Barristan Selmy initially comes to Danaerys disguised as "Arstan Whitebeard", an aged Westerosi serving as a squire to a warrior named Strong Belwas. He only reveals his identity towards the end of the third novel, explaining that he had wanted to observe Danaerys and discern what type of Queen she was before offering his services. This was likely changed because in the book, it could be a surprise to the reader when his identity was revealed. In the show, people would immediately know who he was or possibly be confused and think it was the same actor playing a different role.

In the novels Robb does not plan to attack Casterly Rock. Instead, Robb gets word that the Ironborn are invading the North and decides to take most of his forces home to defend his people. This explains why most of the Stark forces are at the Twins for Edmure's wedding since the Twins are on the way to the North but not Casterly Rock.

In the novels neither Brynden "Blackfish" Tully or Robb's queen are present at the Red Wedding. This makes sense since Robb's marriage was the cause of the break with Walder Frey. Bringing his queen along would merely antagonize Lord Walder on what is meant to be a peacemaking trip. Robb's queen survives the Red Wedding in the books.

In the books, Robb's queen is not pregnant. In fact, her mother had been secretly giving her a birth control potion to prevent her from conceiving a child.

The show eliminates the character of Strong Belwas, a massive eunuch pit fighter who joins Daenerys' entourage in Qarth.

Gendry's role is expanded in the show. In the novels he is not kidnapped by Melisandre. Instead she intends to sacrifice Edric Storm, King Robert's only acknowledge bastard.

In the novels it is not Locke who cuts off Jaime's hand but rather Vargo Hoat, a mercenary originally hired by Jaime's father who switches sides and joins Roose Bolton.

Tormund Giantsbane is portrayed differently in the show than in the novels. In the show he leads the Wildling raid south of the Wall and is openly hostile to Jon. In the book Tormund is very friendly with Jon and stays north of the Wall. Instead it is another Wildling, Styr the Magnar of Thenn, who leads the raid and who is suspicious of Jon's motives.

In the novels we do not see any of Theon's torture at the hands of Ramsay Snow, just the aftermath of it. Similarly, the show is more explicit about Theon's castration, while the books merely imply it.

In the novels the slaves in Slaver's Bay are mostly depicted as being white, the same as their masters. Very few, if any, are said to be from the Summer Islands, the region where black people are from in the novels. In the show, the slaves are generally depicted as tanned, or dark skinned. This causes the "Mhysa" scene with Danaerys at the end of season 3 to have unfortunate real world racial connotations.

Season Four

In the books, Jaime and Brienne arrive at King's Landing after Joffrey is already dead.

In the book, Tickler, who was killed on the show in Season 2, was with Polliver in the Tavern when Arya and the Hound were fending off against Lannister soldiers. Also, on the show, Sandor Clegane was left in the Trident to die after losing a fight to Brienne. In the book, he was mortally wounded by Polliver and Tickler at the Tavern. In the show, Arya kills Polliver, but in the book, she kills Tickler while Sandor Clegane kills Polliver.

The show is much more explicit about Oberyn Martell's bisexuality while the books strongly hint at it.

While most of the action in season four comes from the third book, they do add in some of the plotlines of Bran and Theon from the fifth book.

In the books Theon's sister does not attempt to rescue him from the Boltons.

In the books, Jaime and Cersei's sexual encounter in the sept is depicted as consensual. In the show, Jaime rapes Cersei.

In the books it is Donal Noye, the blacksmith of Castle Black, who organizes the defenses against the Wildlings.

In the show, the Thenns are depicted as savage cannibals. In the books they are among the most "civilized" of the Wildlings, at least by Westerosi standards, having a high level of technology and a hierarchical social organization similar to the nobility of Westeros.

In the books, Jojen is not killed by the wights. Instead, he arrives at the Children's home with Bran and Meera although he is deathly sick by the time they get there.

In the book, Jaime secretly trains in sword fighting with Ser Ilyn Payne, who is discreet about it because he has no tongue. In the show, Jaime secretly trains with Bronn, who is discreet about it because he's paid to be. This was likely to allow some more dialogue and exposition and possibly just to give Bronn more screen time. It was also stated that the actor who played Ser Ilyn Payne was ill during filming and so he was unable to reprise his role. It's unlikely the character will return.

Tyrion's escape is significantly different in the books. In the books, Jaime admits to having lied about Tysha, Tyrion's first wife, who their father forced him to put aside. Jaime had originally told Tyrion that Tysha, who they had apparently saved from brigands on the road, was actually a prostitute who Jaime had hired so that Tyrion could lose his virginity. This is the story which Tyrion tells Shae and Bronn in season one. In the books, Jaime admits that this was a lie he had created to spare Tyrion's feelings and that Tysha had really loved Tyrion. Angered at this revelation, Tyrion tells Jaime about Cersei's serial infidelity to him and then goes to their father's chamber to confront him over a lifetime of betrayals. In the show, Shae draws a knife on Tyrion and Tyrion strangles her in self defense. In the books, Shae instead pleads for her life upon seeing Tyrion and he strangles her in cold blood. Also in contrast to the show, where Tyrion immediately apologizes for killing her, Tyrion in the books seems to show no regret for killing Shae. The confrontation between Tywin and Tyrion is largely the same but in the books it is Tysha who Tywin refers to as a "whore", which prompts Tyrion to kill him.

Season Five

In the book, there were 8 sand snakes. This show only shows 3 of the sand snakes. However, near the end of the season, Doran gives Ellaria a reminder that she has 4 daughters, even though we saw 3.

In the book, the decision for command of the wall was between Jon Snow and Janos Slynt. It was decided by the Raven. On the show, it came down between Jon Snow and Alliser Thorne, and the swing vote came from Maester Aemon.

In the book, the conflict with Daenerys and the Harpy's began with the death of Stalwart Shield. In the show, it started with the death of White Rat.

Sansa does not marry Ramsay in the books. Instead she is still in the Vale with Littlefinger. The Boltons marry Ramsay off to a friend of Sansa's named Jeyne Poole, who they are claiming is Arya Stark. Also, in the show, Theon is forced to watch as Ramsay rapes Sansa. In the books, Theon participates as Ramsay forces him to perform oral sex on his new bride.

In the show, Stannis has Mance Rayder burned alive as a sacrifice for the Red God. The same scene occurs in the books, however, Melisandre later reveals to Jon that she had used her magic to disguise the Wildling leader Rattleshirt as Mance and that the real Mance is still alive. In the books, Melisandre forces Mance to lead a group of Wildling Spearwives on a mission to Winterfell to rescue Ramsay's bride.

In the book, Yezzan zo Qaggaz was described as a massively overweight man with an uncontrollable bladder and suffering from a deadly disease. Yezzan in the show is very scrawny.

In the book, Jorah and Tyrion were not present at the Fighting Pits when Daenerys flew off with Drogon.

Ser Barristan is still alive in the books and plays a major role in the events following Daenerys' flight from Meereen.

The show eliminates a major plotline from the fifth book where Tyrion travels much of the way to Slaver's Bay on a ship called the Shy Maid along with a group of Westerosi expatriots who are harboring a major secret.

The show eliminates the minor character of Penny, a female dwarf who becomes a reluctant companion to Tyrion on his travel in Essos.

Brienne does not travel to the North in the books but remains in the Riverlands searching for Sansa.

In the books Jon does not go to Hardhome to rescue the Wildlings. Instead he sends Cotter Pyke, the commander of the Night's Watch castle Eastwatch-by-the-Sea.

The show eliminates a plotline where someone is murdering people inside Winterfell, as well as one where a team of Wildling spearwives is sent to infiltrate the castle and rescue Jon's sister.

Stannis, Shireen, and Selyse Baratheon are all alive at this point in the books. In the books neither Selyse, Shireen, Melisandre, nor Davos accompany Stannis on his march on Winterfell. The three women remain at Castle Black while Davos goes to the Northern city of White Harbor to try and sway Lord Manderly to join Stannis' cause. The show also eliminates a plotline where Stannis captures the castle of Deepwood Motte from the Wildlings and takes Theon's sister prisoner.

The nature and reasons for the assassination attempt on Jon are different in the books than in the show. In the show, the conspirators lure Jon outside by claiming to have news about his uncle Benjen, who has been missing since early in season one. In the books Jon is distracted when a giant kills one of Stannis' men. The attack in the books is a chaotic mass attack by the conspirators, while in the show they leisurely take turns stabbing Jon. Their reasons are also significantly different. In the show, the conspirators attack him for allowing the Wildlings through the Wall. In the books there is a longer string of decisions which Jon has made which have angered more traditionalist Night's Watch brothers, including enlisting Wildlings, even spearwives, to help man the Wall. The final straw comes when John decides to lead a force of Wildlings to Winterfell to help out Stannis, a direct violation of his oath.

In the show the Faith looks to prosecute Loras for homosexuality. In the books they investigate Margaery after Cersei accuses her of adultery. In the books Loras is severely injured while capturing Dragonstone.

In the books Jaime and Bronn do not travel to Dorne. Jaime goes to the Riverlands to take care of the last remnants of rebellion there. Bronn marries a noblewoman in the Crownlands.

The show eliminates Arianne Martell, the daughter and eldest child of Doran Martell, who has a major plotline in the fourth and fifth books.

In the books Areo Hotah is from the Free City of Norvos. In the show he is depicted as being from the Summer Isles.

Myrcella is not killed in the books. Instead, Doran Martell's daughter Arianne tries to use her in a plot and Myrcella is wounded.

Jaqen H'ghar is not involved in Arya's training in Braavos in the books.

The fifth book has a significant plotline where Doran Martell's son Quentyn travels to Meereen to meet with Daenerys.

Season Six

In the book, Balons fall to death is still a mystery. On the show, he was thrown by his brother, Euron. The books imply that Euron hired a Faceless Man to assassinate Balon.

Harald Karstark is not mentioned in the book. He is a mix between Rickard's son Harrion and Rickard's brother Arnolf in the book.

In the book, Euron is referred to as the Crow's Eye due to him having one good eye and an eye patch on the other. In the show, he has both eyes.

At the Tower of Joy, Ned has five men alongside him on the show, whereas in the book he had 6 men. Gerold Hightower was the commanding Kingsguard in the book and considered a well-built soldier. But on the show, he is not as built as Arthur Dayne, nor does he seem to be giving orders. Also, Oswell Whent of the Kingsguard was missing from the fight in the show.

In the books Mance has an infant son. Jon worries that Melisandre will sacrifice the boy to work magic with king's blood and so he forces Gilly to substitute her baby for Mance's and take Mance's child with her when she goes south with Sam.

Neither Doran Martell, nor Areo Hotah, dies in the books, Both are alive and Doran has the eldest Sand Snakes imprisoned when they try to rouse the people to war in order to avenge their father.

In the books, Theon does not travel to the Iron Islands. Instead, after escaping Winterfell, he is captured by Mors "Crowfood" Umber, an ally of Stannis, who is besieging the castle. Crowfood sends Theon along to Stannis camp. In order to placate his Northern allies, Stannis plans to execute Theon for his betrayal of the Starks.

Pycelle was not killed by Qyburn in the books nor was Kevan killed in the wildfire, they were both killed by Varys in a plot to overthrow the Lannisters.

Smalljon Umber was not Lord of the Last Hearth in the book, he was killed at the Red Wedding. In fact, it was Hother Umber and his green boys who joined the Boltons while Mors aided Stannis. Also Greatjon didn't die in the war, he was taken captive by the Freys.

The show eliminates the character of Victarion Greyjoy, a major character in the fourth and fifth books. The uncle of Theon and brother of Euron and Balon, Victarion tries to claim the crown after Balon's death, but the Kingsmoot ultimately decides to crown his brother. Afterwards he reluctantly serves Euron, who commands him to take and Ironborn fleet to Meereen to meet with Daenerys.

The show eliminates a plotline where Westerosi exile Jon Connington leads an invasion of the Stormlands on behalf of a teenage boy claiming to be Aegon VI Targaryen, the presumed dead son of Rhaegar Targaryen.

This is due to the fact that the Baratheons actually do have Targaryen blood in their veins. Robert, Stannis and Renly's grandmother was a Targaryen. So when the main line of Targaryens were wiped out, Robert would become the best claimant to the throne. Though technically Robert did not usurp the throne. He won it by "Right of Conquest". The same way Aegon (Dany's ancestor) did. Except he managed to conquer all seven kingdoms instead of just six of them. However, several Targaryen loyalists, as well as Daenerys and Viserys themselves consider him a usurper.

She had a fictional disease called greyscale, somewhat similar to leprosy or smallpox. In children it often leaves survivors with scaly patches of skin. In adults the disease is always fatal and gradually petrifies the victim's body until they die. In rare cases, it doesn't kill them, but mutates them into feral, reptile-like creatures known as "Stone Men". Shireen was stricken with the illness when Stannis had bought a small wooden doll for Shireen that was infected with the illness.

The Wildlings are attacking because they need to get south of the Wall. They have been under increasing pressure recently from the White Walkers, who have become more aggressive in attacking them. This is why Mance has been able to unify all of the Wildling societies. They face an existential threat from the White Walkers and need to get south of the Wall for the protection it offers.

In the show we see a group of Wildlings climbing the Wall, but this is not a valid solution for all of the Wildlings. The show often refers to Mance's host as an "army" but this is not really true. The Wildlings are moving their whole societies. This includes, men, women, children, old, infirm, etc. The Wall is hundreds of feet high and climbing it is a heroic feat, even for those in excellent physical shape. Trying to climb the Wall would mean leaving behind all of those too old, too young, too weak, or too sick to climb it. It would also mean leaving behind anything which the Wildlings couldn't carry on their backs. So all of their animals, all their heavy tools, and much of their accumulated wealth would be lost. It would also take a very long time for all of the Wildlings to ascend and descend the Wall, even if they were capable. During that entire time they would be vulnerable to Night's Watch attack, and while the Watch only mans three castles, they send periodic patrols along the top and bottom of the Wall which would discover the Wildlings. The Wildings seen scaling the wall were liking doing so to raid and attack the Night's Watch men at the top in a sort of commando mission to weaken their forces.

The Wildlings cannot also, realistically, go around the Wall. While the show has focused exclusively on Castle Black, there are two other manned Night's Watch castles: The Shadow Tower on the western end, and Eastwatch-by-the-Sea on the eastern end. While Wildlings do sometimes sail around the Wall to raid or trade with Westeros, they could not do so with the massive fleet which would be required to smuggle all of their people south. The Wildlings, in their small boats, would be easy prey for the Night's Watch sailors who guard the sea approaches.

Ed Skrein, who played Daario in season three, was cast as the lead in the new Transporter film, so scheduling conflicts arose. Though in a recent interview, Ed Skrien implied that he wanted to return for the role, but "politics" prevented it. But he wouldn't go into more detail than that. The part has been recast with Dutch actor Michiel Huisman who fans might recognize from the role of Sonny on Treme and Liam on Nashville.

No, Oberyn is not related to the King. His title of Prince relates to the history of how Dorne, his homeland, entered the realm. Westeros was unified about 300 years ago when the Valyrian nobleman Aegon Targaryen (afterwards known as Aegon the Conqueror) laid claim to the continent and set out to conquer it with his two sister-wives, their three dragons, and a small army. The various kings of Westeros, such as the King of the North and the King of the Riverlands, either bent the knee and became lords under Aegon Targaryen, or were killed and replaced. Within two years Aegon had conquered the entire continent, except for Dorne, the southernmost portion. Aegon had been successful due to the use of dragons, which could destroy castles and whole armies. The Dornish, however, managed to escape the wrath of the dragons by resorting to guerrilla tactics, abandoning their castles and dispersing into the countryside, only to attack the invaders when they could. The Dornish repelled the Targaryen forces and maintained their freedom, although the Iron Throne still claimed sovereignty over Dorne. Over the century and a half there were a number of attempts to conquer Dorne, some temporarily successful, but all ending in defeat.

Dorne was finally brought into the Kingdom about 150 years before the main story when King Baelor Targaryen and his successor Daeron conclude a number of marriage pacts between the Targaryens and the Martells who ruled Dorne. Since Dorne was never conquered their rulers are allowed to keep their old title of Prince, instead of being referred to as Lords, such as the rulers of the other regions are.

A thousand years before Aegon's conquest, Dorne was still a coalition of Andals and First Men, without a noble house strong enough to unite the land. Across the Narrow Sea in Essos, the city-states of the Rhoynar, situated along the river Rhoyne, waged war on the Valyrian Freehold. The Rhoynar could not withstand the fury of the dragonlords which forced Princess Nymeria, leader of one of the last surving Rhoynish cities, to lead the remainder of her people across the narrow sea into Dorne to find refuge. There she allied herself with house Martell by marrying Lord Mors Martell. Together they then proceeded to unite the land of Dorne under the banner of house Martell. They met fierce competition from other great houses of Dorne, the greatest among these, house Yronwood. After more then ten years of civil war, Nymeria was able to defeat the opposing houses, making House Martell the overlords of Dorne. House Martell adopted many Rhoynish customs. Among these customs are equal inheritance laws for male and female heirs and the use of the title of ''Prince'' or ''Princess'', which the house still uses to this day.

Beric Dondarrion-Debuted by Michael Scott in Season 1, recast with Richard Dormer in Season 3

Daario Naharis-Debuted by Ed Skrein in Season 3, recast with Michiel Hisman in Season 4

Gregor Clegane-Debuted by Conan Stevens in Season 1, recast with Ian Whyte in Season 2, recast with Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson in Season 4

Rickard Karstark-Debuted by Steven Blount in Season 1, recast with John Stahl in Season 2

Myrcella Baratheon-Debuted by Aimee Richardson in Season 1, recast with Nell Tiger Free in Season 5

Tommen Baratheon-Debuted by Callum Wharry in Season 1, recast with Dean-Charles Chapman in Season 4

Rattleshirt-Debuted by Edward Dogliani in Season 2, recast with Ross O'Hennessy in Season 5

Three-Eyed Raven-Debuted by Struan Rodger in Season 4, recast with Max Von Sydow in Season 6

Leaf-Debuted by Octavia Alexandru in Season 4, recast with Kae Alexander in Season 6

Lothar Frey-Debuted by Tom Brooke in Season 3, recast with Daniel Tuite in Season 6

The Night King-Debuted by Richard Brake in Season 4, recast with Vladimir 'Furdo' Furdik in Season 6

Aggo-Debuted by Niccolai McKinsky in Season 2, recast with Chuku Modu in Season 6

Dickon Tarly-Debuted by Freddie Stroma in Season 6, recast with Tom Hopper in Season 7