This doesn’t entirely count as a Throwback Thursday, but it’s something I’m a little shocked I haven’t done yet — rank the Game of Thrones seasons.
This series — based on the books from George RR Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series — had a pretty serious grip on the world from the time it premiered in 2011 until it ended in 2019. Some of you may even be getting a low level form of PTSD just remembering its ending (which I can understand).
Since this series ended pre-pandemic it feels like it’s been much more than five years since the last episode premiered. Which is my extremely shaky reason for making it my throwback.
Game of Thrones is made up of multiple storylines weaved together, taking place in the fictional world of Westeros and multiple locations across the Narrow Sea in Essos.
The series begins years after Robert’s Rebellion, when the now-king and his allies unseated the Targaryens — former dragon riders who conquered Westeros centuries before and had ruled ever since.
Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clark). Daenerys and her older brother Viserys are the last known Targaryens who were taken from Westeros across the Narrow Sea following their father’s — Mad King Aerys II — death. Viserys is adamant he will return to Westeros and take the crown from the “Usurper King” Robert Baratheron (Mark Addy).
— Sir Jorah Mormont (Iain Glenn). Jorah is a disgraced knight of Westeros who fled to Pentos to escape conviction for selling slaves. He swears allegiance to Daenerys early on in her journey.
— Jon Snow (Kit Harrington). Jon is the illegitimate son of Lord Eddard Stark (Sean Bean), who brought him to the family’s home, Winterfell, following the war and death of King Aerys.
— Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner). Sansa is Ed’s eldest daughter and dreams at a young age of marrying a prince and living a fairytale.
— Arya Stark (Maisie Williams). Arya is the opposite of Sansa, wanting to be a knight and fight instead of bowing to the will of men.
— Bran Stark (Isaac Hempsted-Wright). Bran is crippled early in the series after witnessing something he shouldn’t have. His maiming causes a domino effect within the series and his own storyline.
— Cersi and Jaime Lannister (Lena Heady, Nikola Coster-Waldau), the eldest twin siblings of Lord Tywin Lannister. Cersi married Robert following his rebellion and Jaime became a member of his King’s Guard. The two have an… interesting… relationship.
— Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage). Tywin’s youngest child. Due to his dwarfism and his birth causing the death of his mother, he’s not very well liked and is written off as a drunkard and womanizer early on in the series.
There are WAY more characters than these, but they often are at the center of various storylines. If you want a complete cast list, Wikipedia has an entire page dedicated to them and even shows where they appear in the series.
