Do you think you know everything there is to know about the action-packed, critically acclaimed Game of Thrones? We’re willing to bet otherwise! We’re going to take a look at some of the best-kept secrets about this thrilling novel series and television show.
Game of Thrones is a saga with no protagonist – the series of interwoven stories involving each character’s attempt to rise to power will put you on the edge of your seat and keep you there. That’s what makes this such a fantastic show and book series. Let’s get right into the secrets!
- Getting the Show Going
- The Power of the Starks
- Viserys’ Golden Crown
- Tasting Strength
- A Familiar Face
- The Throne’s True Heir
- Getting Too Close
- So, Who’s the Real Mountain?
- Being Your Own Uncle
Getting the Show Going
This might be a little hard to swallow, but Game of Thrones and the producers of the show had quite a difficult time getting the ball rolling. In fact, the original pilot never even saw the light of day, and there are plenty of different stories that include so many different characters throughout the television show.
After the first pilot episode was created, the producers were given some very mixed feedback. Many of the complaints were about the dialogue and how the story was quite confusing. Benioff and Weiss were distraught about the comments they were getting, and they scrapped 4 years of work.
What’s more, they also had to completely rewrite the script and even recast several characters. After plenty of perseverance and hard work, the pilot we know and love was created, and it sparked the long run of one of the best television shows the world has ever seen.
The Power of the Starks
This is one of the more well-known secrets – all of the Stark children are wargs. Wargs are people that are able to enter the minds of animals and people and live their experiences exactly as they do. In the books, all of the Stark children can mentally control the actions of their wolves.
Bran Stark is the most powerful warg in the family, and not only is he able to control his wolf companion, but also his protector and friend, Hodor. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to see all of the Stark children’s full powers in the television show.
Still, we know exactly what they are capable of. We might even get to see them use their powers to take back the Throne at some point – the North Remembers! It’s a fun detail that was included in the show because it adds a fantastical element that elevates things.
Viserys’ Golden Crown
Viserys was one of the most hated characters in both the novels and the show, and he had an extremely unexpected death during the first season. We all saw it coming since someone as evil as Viserys would never survive with how malicious he was, especially to his sister Daenerys.
Viserys put his sister through the most, and in his mind, she was a pawn in his game to become a ruler. After Daenerys was wedded to Khal Drogo, things changed, and the Khal decided that his bride would no longer be a victim of Viserys’ malice.
Viserys had been demanding a crown from the Khal after he gave his sister to Drogo, and Drogo decided to give Viserys exactly what he asked for – by pouring molten gold atop Viserys’ head. Of course, this killed Viserys in one of the most satisfying deaths of the show.
Tasting Strength
Daenerys Targaryen has been through a lot to get to where she was when the show ended, and in one of her most grueling rites of passage, she had to eat the heart of a horse for Khal Drogo, the husband she didn’t ask for. During the stomach-churning moment, fans saw Daenerys struggle to eat the entire heart.
As fans, we all knew that the thing Emilia Clarke ate – the actress who plays Daenerys in the show – was not an actual horse heart. So what was it, exactly? Clarke was actually eating a gummy bear that weighed three pounds, which honestly doesn’t sound nearly as horrible as eating a heart.
Well, it turns out, it wasn’t that great for Emilia. The director wanted the actress to feel genuine disgust, so they filled the gummy bear with spaghetti noodles and fake blood. Emilia Clarke is a great actress, but she had a totally genuine reaction to eating that ‘heart’.
A Familiar Face
Tommen Baratheon once portrayed another Lannister in the television adaptation. Many fans actually did not notice this, though the actor that played the Baratheon – Dean-Charles Chapman – played Martyn Lannister in the third season of Game of Thrones. You might not remember Martyn since his role was quite small.
Martyn Lannister was a captive of the Starks in season 3 when Rob was in power at the time. One of Rob’s bannermen rushes into the room where Martyn is sleeping and stabs him. After that, Chapman receives the role of Tommen Baratheon.
Tommen Baratheon is the new king following the death of Joffrey Lannister. After the massive explosion in the show’s 6th season, Tommen ends his own life because he was not able to come to terms with the fact that his beloved was dead. This is quite an obscure detail, so don’t worry if you didn’t notice it.
The Throne’s True Heir
The rightful heir to the Iron Throne is Jon Snow. Of course, this is not a secret anymore since we know who Snow’s father and mother really are. Jon Snow is a favorite character in the show, and his honorable nature that was imbued in him by his stepfather makes him one of Game of Throne’s few good guys.
The fact is that Jon Snow is not a Snow at all but a Targaryen. Rhaegar Targaryen was his father, and his mother was Lynna Stark, which makes Jon a Targaryen instead of a wrong child. This came as quite a huge surprise to many fans of the show, but this was already obvious to folks who had read the novels.
We caught a glimpse of this revelation when he first encountered one of the dragons that Khaleesi commands, and he was able to touch it without any harm coming to him. It is known that dragons are kind to those with Targaryen blood in their veins, so this was a big clue.
Getting Too Close
Now that we know that Jon Snow is part of the Targaryen family, it’s obvious that he is in some way related to Daenerys. If you can remember one of the later episodes of the show, you’ll know that Jon and Daenerys begin to develop feelings for one another when things go amiss.
The honorable nature of Jon Snow and his willingness to sacrifice himself for his friends was enough to create a spark in the cold heart of Daenerys Targaryen. Of course, while we know that these two are definitely related, many fans are still confused as to exactly what their relationship is.
It turns out Daenerys is Jon’s aunt. Crazy, right? If they do end up having a child together, they’re going to be the most powerful child to walk the Earth. Targaryens are already destined to go crazy with power, and with a little Snow blood added to the mix, things are bound to get disastrous.
So, Who’s the Real Mountain?
There are not many characters in Game of Thrones that are quite as terrifying as the Mountain who Rides. This character looks like he eats steel nails in a bowl of dark oil every morning, and with his recent trip to the world of the living, he only looks more terrifying.
What’s more, The Mountain is one of the strongest characters on the show. One thing that you might not have noticed about this character is that he has been portrayed by three different actors. Conan Stevens played the first Mountain, but he left the show to take on a larger role in the Hobbit trilogy.
After he left, Ian White replaced him, who said that he did not have anything in common with The Mountain, so the producers gave the part to Hafpor Julius Bjornsson, a native of Iceland. Let’s hope all of the actors don’t have anything in common with The Mountain – that guy’s evil.
Being Your Own Uncle
Cersei and Jaime are twins! Many people don’t catch this little detail in the first episode since it does not present itself as a problem until we see that the siblings have a bit of alone time in the top floor of a tower. By this time, most people forgot that they were not only siblings but fraternal twins.
For some reason, because Jaime and Cersei Lannister are twins, it adds quite another layer of creepiness to a situation that was already quite horrific. They had been with each other in secret for years and have even had a few children with one another.
One of their children actually turned out to be a monster – what a surprise. But hey, when you are born of an incestuous marriage, it’s very likely that you are not going to be the most average child in the world. Nothing wrong with that, though!
Summary
Game of Thrones is a fantastic show and novel series with plenty of secrets for you to discover.
If you’ve never read the novels or seen the show, we highly recommend you get to binging!