BEND THE KNEE!!!!
Winter finally came to Game of Thrones last season! Then during the last episode of season seven, the Night King rode an undead Viserion into The Wall, burning it down and leading the Weights straight into the north. So begins the final season of Game of Thrones on Sunday, April 14th. In celebration (if we can all call it that as we collectively throw-up a little in our mouths) here is a Game of Thrones tag to get us ready for the painful inevitable.
Rules? This is Game of Thrones. Any rules will invariably be broken. Because some know Game of Thrones from TV, the Books, and/or Both, you can answer from your knowledge from any, all or a combination thereof. This is only fair being I haven’t read the books ????. All we really ask is that the creators: Novel Lives and Bemused Bibliophile be tagged.
1) Best Animal Side Kick
Because DireWolves (And yes, it is one word in the context of the books and the show) – And I’m still holding out that Nymeria hasn’t made her final appearance
Shiva- The Walking Dead (Comics/TV Show)
Shiva was the ultimate story of how King Ezekiel came to be. Caught in a zoo when the apocalypse broke out, they saved each other (Ezekiel was a zookeeper before the apocalypse). And when the group of survivors surrounded him, well no one else had this huge mother of a tiger. Leadership defaulted to Ezekiel and the Kingdom was forged.
From there King Ezekiel came to fruition, because that is what the people of the Kingdom needed him to be. From that time forward Shiva was a loyal, never a threat to residents of the Kingdom or the King. Always, at his side until his untimely death, saving Carl from the Saviors and Negan. Shiva went down a hero as he lived his life, by King Ezekiel’s side as a guardian of those under the King’s protection.
2) An extremely sarcastic and intelligent character
Because Tyrian Lannister
Nikolai Lantsov/Sturmhond- Shadow&Bones Trilogy/Crooked Kingdom/King of Scars
Truth be told, you could describe Nikolai and his alter ego, Sturmhond a million ways and they would all be right. Charming? Yes. Sarcastic with a sharp wit? Hell Yes. Intelligent and strategic? Most definitely (and the wherewithal to know when to hide the ability). Cunning? Yes. Self-Serving? More Sturmhond than Nikolai, I would venture, but yes. Loyal? More Nikolai, and to Ravka, but yes. Underneath it all, a huge softy with heart? Yes.
“I hope you weren’t looking to me to be the voice of reason. I keep to a strict diet of ill-advised enthusiasm and heartfelt regret.” – Ruin and Rising
3) Character ARCs you never saw coming—Redemption
Because Jamie Lannister
“The things we do for love” Cripples Bran–> Last episode of Season 7, walks out on Cersei
Spike: Buffy The Vampire Slayer/Angel (Comic/TV Show)
Ok in all honesty Spike could go in SO many categories I had a hard time choosing which one because it really kind of depends on the day. Sometimes he’s good, sometimes he’s bad. Sometimes he really wants to do good but his bad gets the best of his good. In the end I put him here because by the last season of Angel, he really is on the right side of the fight with Angel and who saw that coming?
For me the below will cover both #4 (Best/worst sibling dynamic) AND #9 (Character that is gravely misunderstood)
Because Gregor and Sandor Clegane (The Hound and the Mount #4)- Autumn and Ty
Because Rhaegar Targaryen (#9)- Ty
Depending on how you view my choice, how whether you apply empathy or take the situation literally, you will view this as the worst possible sibling dynamic or the saddest.
Ty and Autumn- This is Where it Ends by Marieke Nijkamp
Together Autumn and Ty survived the sudden loss of their mother to a car accident. One that Autumn, and Autumn’s father will forever blame Autumn for because it occurred as she was on her way to pick up Autumn from dance practice. Together Ty and Autumh survived the daily physical abuse that followed. They protected each other. Ty promised he would always take care of Autumn. Autumn always promised to be there for Ty, the outcast at school, always being different from everyone at their small-town high school.
Then Autumn got into dance school.
Then Ty had to accept that Autumn was leaving.
Then Ty took a gun to school and for 56 harrowing minutes trapped everyone in the auditorium and created an active school shooting that rocked the school.
Autumn tries to save everyone. Autumn tries to save her brother, knowing everything that led him here.
And let me be clear I will never excuse Ty for his actions. They are never excusable. Not ever. But that doesn’t make his actions and reasons behind them any less misunderstood. We don’t, as a country, tend to these abusive actions, family traumas and that makes them misunderstood.
5) A character whose death you did not see coming
Because Ned Stark
Ok, to be fair let’s all acknowledge that if you know Sean Bean’s career then you know he’s a walking spoiler but for everyone else lol…
At the end of the day Game of Thrones is really the Starks story and so to have the head of the Starks beheaded (see what I did there) at the end of season one? Well that’s a problem.
Matthias Helvar- Crooked Kingdom
Ok, everyone lean in close. I’m going to tell you a secret. I have not read or listened to that ½ page, 30 second chapter where Matthias dies since the first time, I read it and sobbed for the rest of the day. I couldn’t even look at, nor pick up and continue with the book for at least two days after the first time it happened. Because who saw that coming? DID YOU???? DID YOU???????????? I HATED LIFE. I HATED EVERYTHING.
6) A character you did not expect to fall in love with, but you did
Because Khal Drogo
Melanie- The Girl with all the Gifts
I’m saying as little as possible because I will NEVER say more than I have to about The Girl with all the Gifts. That would be to kill everything about the book. However, the ability to land between empathy and disgust for the main character is a gift that only M.R. Carey can yield. Bless his heart. Go forth and have insomnia for four days.
7) Characters that have leadership thrust upon them whether they want it or not
Because John Snow
Tomas- The Eyes of the Dragon by Stephen King
Oh, poor Thomas. Everyone knew he was the youngest, the weakest and NOT supposed to be king. He was not bred to be king, not strong enough to be king. His older brother, Peter was everything he was not. He was every bit his father. There was just one problem: Flag. Flag the magician. Flag was getting on in age. He had wormed his way in to manipulating the King and the King was getting old. He knew there was no controlling Peter and the second the King was dead Flag was gone. So, it was simple. Kill the King, frame Peter for the king’s murder, and make the weak Thomas King. Then go to work on him, make him need Flag. And that is exactly what he did.
8) A character you think is an epitome of loyalty
Because Jorah Momont
The Entire Cast of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
Once the shock of their collective 100,000 and Sting’s bar being lost in a fixed card game wears off these four childhood mates come together. And from there on in, there’s no stopping their dogmatic determination to save each other from a group of gangsters that are known to be the most ruthless in London. And even scarier even? Sting and his bar.
9 was done above and 10 I couldn’t quite come up with!
Ok there you have mine! I can’t wait to see everyone else’s…. SINCE this is the first ever tag I’ve buddy created, I’m going to leave it open for ALL Game of Thrones fans to partake! GET READY! GET YOUR DRINKS! Lord knows we will all need it!!!!!! LETS DO THIS THING!
Remember- you can go with books, tv, movies… take your pick and have fun with it!!!!! I just hope you enjoy it as much as we loved creating it!
Oh my god are you kidding! This was a blast! I am so grateful to have you to do it with! I never had the chance to do it before and it was wicked fun!! 🙂
I’ve never seen a Game of Thrones episode – but this blog post makes me want to. My curiosity is piqued….:-) Where do I watch it if I don’t have cable?
If you have hulu or Amazon prime you can get it through there. If not and you are good with finding things on the internet I would guess it is on there to be found.
It is also on DVD except this last season of course
I have seen very little of GoT but great tag 🙂