Fantastical Musings

So, a little while ago, I started writing a blog post about matching ASOIAF characters with Disney characters. I got about half way through, but then I stopped  because  it felt a little forced to me (although I might still publish it because I'll compare  Game of Thrones  to anything). It just didn't seem like the Disney characters really exemplified the ASOIAF characters; it seems a bit cliched. I mean, I just feel like a lot of people write articles about which Harry Potter houses  Game of Thrones  characters would be in and what Arya would look like if she was Lilo from Lilo and Stitch (cute, that's what she would look like). Well, that's all well and good, but I just wasn't feeling it. I thought to myself, Disney characters don't really represent the personalities of  Game of Thrones  characters. You know what represents the personalities of  Game of Thrones  characters? Jelly beans. Let me explain. I like je...

So, I recently  I read this an article  which calculated the most important character in  Game of Thrones  using math. Based on a bunch of algorithms and equations and a whole bunch of other stuff I don't understand, they concluded that Tyrion Lannister is the most important character in the  Game of Thrones   TV show. That's a neat theory and everything, the only problem is that it's wrong. The most important character in ASOIAF is clearly Ser Pounce, King Tommen's cat. Don't get me wrong, I like Tyrion; he's a good character -- he's just not the most important character. Now, I know what you're thinking: Ser Pounce is mentioned like twice in the books. I'm aware of  that. This is because George R.R. Martin is trying to hide him in plain sight, a clear sign that he's an important figure. All the battles and political machinations in the books are just a clever rouse designed to distract the viewer from paying attention to Ser Pounce and hi...

So, I'm not really a fan of New Year's resolutions. To me, it just seems sort of silly because I never stick to them. However, I do think your New Years resolutions say something about you. So, I got to thinking, if  A Song of Ice and Fire  characters made New Year's resolutions, what would they be? Luckily for you, I have the answer. Daenerys Targaryen:  Learn how to train my dragons. Jon Snow:  Figure out this whole Lord of Light resurrection thing. ( Ghost:  Munch. Crunch. Lick. Run.) Arya Stark:  Cersei Lannister, Walder Frey, Ilyn Payne, Thoros of Myr, Beric Dondarrion, the Red Woman... Looks like he needs a hand. Tyrion Lannister:  1) Get wine. 2) Drink wine. 3) Join Daenerys Targaryen. 4) Meet a dragon. 5) Get wine. 6) Drink wine. Jaime Lannister:  Invest in prosthetics research. Cersei Lanninster:  1) Kill my brother Tyrion. 2) Take vengeance. 3) Drink some wine. 4) Laugh manically. Sansa Stark:  1) Get lemons. 2...

While you wait for the long-anticipated release of the Winds of Winter , you can get your Westeros fix with A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms , which was released earlier this year. George R.R. Martin's latest novel is a compilation of the Tales of Dunk and Egg, a set of three novellas that were written between 1998 and 2010. I've been looking forward to reading this book since it came out (although college got in the way until now). It takes place about one hundred years before the events in  A Game of Thrones and follows the story of Dunk, "Ser Duncan the Tall," and Egg, Aegon Targaryen. (For context, "Egg" is  Aegon V, the grandfather of Daenerys Targaryen's father -- making him her great-grandfather.) Although this book is not the sweeping, epic drama that the ASOIAF series provides, it is a well written jolt of light hearted entertainment and a glimpse at the history of the ASOIAF world. The stories bypass great battles and crises, instead cent...

So, with father's day this weekend, a lot of people are taking to the Internet to share lovely, heart warming stories about their fathers. I think that's great, but those stories can get a little boring after a while. To quote Tolstoy: "Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." So, in honor of father's day tomorrow, I thought I would offer a tribute to the most disastrous fathers in the A Song of Ice and Fire universe. This is a big category, so I've narrowed it down to ten: 10. Eddard Stark - Ned is arguably one of the best fathers in the ASIOF universe. He's generally fair and caring, however, he has managed to put his kids in extremely perilous positions. Let's not forget that it was Ned's obsession with honor that caused him to be executed, therefore starting the War of Five Kings, which led to Robb's death. Furthermore, he put Sansa and Arya in a ton of danger by bringing them to King's Landing --...

Obviously, not natural As you know, I have strong opinions about eyebrows , so let's not dance around the issue here: Daenerys has weird eyebrows. Look, Dany looks great in almost every episode and she's gorgeous and beautiful. However, we all know that she has weird eyebrows. I know it, you know it, and I'm pretty sure that the showrunners know it too. Now, I say that Daenerys has weird eyebrows because Emilia Clarke has rather lovely eyebrows. The only problem is that Emilia Clarke's eyebrows do not match Daenerys Targaryen's hair. I'm not sure if the makeup and hair people on Game of Thrones are aware of this or not, but eyebrow color tends to match hair color because eyebrows are -- *wait for it* -- hair! Therefore, If Daenerys has white hair, she should have white eyebrows. The fact that she doesn't have white eyebrows makes her look really weird and not in character. The combination of dark eyebrows and white hair just screams wig . Now, obv...

Where do White Walkers come from? An Average White Walker This is an often asked question in the ASOIAF universe that has never been answered to my satisfaction. An Average Stone Man The most obvious origin of the White Walkers, of course, is magic. But, as easy as it is to write the White Walkers off as an inexplicable creation of a fantasy world, that's never really been George R.R. Martin's style. In the ASOIAF universe, magic is not unconquerable and it's not an excuse for miraculous, crazy, and inexplicable things to happen. Magic exists, but it has consequences, problems, and failings. For example, Melisandre, the Red Woman, can give birth to a magical shadow baby who can kill Renly Baratheon, but she can't magically put Stannis on the throne. Similarly, Dany can receive magical prophecies in the House of the Undying, but that doesn't mean she can interpret or understand them. Similarly, I don't think White Walkers are just superna...

So, if you watch  Game of Thrones , you know that last season everyone was really excited because King Joffrey was killed off (book readers were excited about that too, but, since that happened in A Storm of Swords, which came out 15 years ago, it's not so exciting any more). Everyone was like, "finally! we got rid of the most sadistic, horrible person on the show." That's cool and everything, but did you? Did you really? Like, Joffrey was a bad dude and everything, but are we forgetting the guy who likes to flay people alive and the mad scientist who's making a zombie strong man? Joffrey was definitely the face of the psychopath community in  Game of Thrones (and in the books), but he certainly wasn't the only sadistic, evil, mentally disturbed character. So, in case you were looking for a new crazy person to worry about, have no fear; I'm here to provide you with a list of the top ten psychos in  Game of Thrones / A Song of Ice and Fire . 1. Ramsay Sn...

Lyanna Stark I saw the new trailer for the new season of Game of Thrones the other day (the best thing about spring is the new seasons of TV shows), and it got me thinking about the origins of A Song of Ice and Fire . If you only watch Game of Thrones and haven't read the A Song of Ice and Fire books, you're missing a HUGE chunk of the plot. There's a huge pre-story that informs the action of the show in monumental ways, and all that begins and ends with Lyanna Stark -- the single most important character that never appears in any of the books or the TV show. In case you're unfamiliar with the pre-history of A Song of Ice and Fire , Lyanna Stark is the younger sister of Ned Stark. Before the start of A Game of Thrones she was 'kidnapped' by Rhaegar Targaryen and taken to the Tower of Joy, causing the start of Robert's Rebellion. She late dies at the Tower of Joy. I say 'kidnapped' because everything that's insinuated about Ly...

So, the other day I was listening to some 'best of 90s' playlist on YouTube when I'm Too Sexy came on. As soon as I heard it, I was like: "Oh, this is Jaime Lannister's song". While I think this may have had more to do with Prince Charming singing this song on Far Far Away Idol from Shrek 2 then anything else (come on, Prince Charming and Jaime look exactly the same!), I still decided to do a list of Game of Thrones character theme songs. Because, apparently, that's the sort of person I am. Arya - Hungry Like the Wolf by Duran Duran:   Arya is on the hunt and she's after you. Well, she's after you if you're on her list, which is getting longer every day. She's got a needle and she's not afraid to use it.  Robert Baratheon - Immigrant Song by Led Zeppelin and Sorry for Party Rocking by LMFAO: Robert is one of many characters who really needs two songs because he changes so much. Before the series starts, Robert i...

A lot of people seem to be asking this question: who will ride Dany's dragons? There's no doubt that whoever gets a chance to ride one of Dany's dragons is going to be a hugely important to the series. That is, of course, provided that the dragons don't all develop grey scale and die (because GRRM would do that) and that every dragon has a rider. Although there seems to be some disagreement about this out on the forums, I am of the opinion that each dragon will only have one rider - if they have a rider at all. It's been pretty well established in the books that the bond between dragon and rider is very special; each dragon has only one rider and each rider has only one dragon. Which, of course, means that both Dany and Drogon are already spoken for (which is interesting because Drogon's name comes from Drogo, as in Khal Drogo, Dany's husband; which has profound implications for the intensity of their relationship; I see what you did there, GRRM). I...

If you've read A Dance with Dragons , this question has probably been on your mind: Is Aegon/ Young Griff the real deal? If Aegon Targaryen did, in fact, survive the sack of King's Landing it would create some ambiguity as to who is the true heir to the Iron Throne. As the son of Rhaegar, Aerys' heir, Aegon has a better claim to the throne than Daenerys Targaryen. Of course, there have been many theories put forward stating that Dany with rule jointly with the other two heads of the dragon, but it seems that Dany's ascension is GRRM's endgame. Conversely, the supposed "Aegon" may just be a red herring to throw reader's off. There is significant evidence for both arguments. Personally, I want to believe that Aegon survived, but at this point, there's just not enough information to go on. Let's start with the evidence that supports Young Griff as Aegon: 1. Young Griff looks like a Targaryen; although not all Targaryens have the trademark wh...