Remembering "Game of Thrones" before watching the prequel "House of the Dragon"

On August 21, the TV series "House of the Dragon" was released on the streaming service HBO Max. This is a prequel of the Game of Thrones project, which once broke all popularity records. But it was a long time ago, so it's worth refreshing your memory and remembering the storylines of the series. And at the same time, it does not hurt to learn some facts about why "Game of Thrones" is considered the cult series of all time.

There is an opinion that "Game of Thrones" is the most violent television show. In fact, 6887 heroes died in all seasons of the epic! It seems that the record cannot be surpassed, but, oddly enough, this series is inferior in bloodlust to another one — "Spartacus: Blood and Sand". Although the scope of the murders in "Game of Thrones" is impressive. A total of 4 thousand liters of blood were purchased for the filming of 8 seasons.

It is known for sure that the deadliest place of the series was the Winterfell location. In this territory, which belonged to the Stark family, 3,709 heroes died in various ways. Among them are such significant as  Ramsay Bolton, Petyr Baelish, the Scarlet Witch and the King of the Night.

Fans of the series from Australia Reidar Listad and Benjamin Brown came up with a special algorithm that allows you to predict whether a character will survive or die. They are sure that it is easier to survive for men of low origin, with a high level of loyalty. Those who often change their political views are also less likely to die.

There are thousands of actors and dozens of key characters in Game of Thrones. Naming the main character will not be easy even for the most attentive fan of the TV show. Therefore, to name this person, scientists used digital technologies. The third book of the novel "The Storm of Swords" was uploaded to a specially developed program.

The text was carefully analyzed for the frequency of repetition of the names of the characters. As a result, the computer decided that the main character of "Game of Thrones" is Tyrion Lannister. The author mentions him more often than others in the book, and besides, he interacted much more actively with other characters. In the series, Tyrion is present in 61 episodes out of 67.

"Game of Thrones" was filmed in 7 countries. Suitable locations were chosen for a very long time and eventually they were found in Spain, Croatia, Morocco, Iceland, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Malta. Most of the episodes were filmed in Northern Ireland. It was there that the scenes that took place in Winterfell and the ancestral castle of the Starks, as well as in the Black Castle of the Night Watch.

Northern Ireland has earned quite a lot, thanks to the project. In 2014, The Guardian reported that the economy of this part of the UK received $107 million (6.3 billion rubles) only due to the "Game of Thrones". Other countries that have allowed the filming of TV shows on their territory have not been left out. For example, crowds of tourists poured into Croatia, wanting to see with their own eyes the places where the legendary series was filmed.

Although it sounds strange, not all the events in "Game of Thrones" are a figment of the author's imagination. George Martin sometimes took historical events as a basis. He himself once noted that some facts are even more terrible and disgusting than the events of his novel. One of the most violent episodes of the entire series — "The Bloody Wedding" appeared thanks to two historical massacres: the "Black Dinner" of 1440 and the "Glencoe massacre" of 1692.

The events of "Game of Thrones" take place on the fictional continents of Westeros and Essos.  Westeros is divided into Seven Kingdoms. As in the real world, the peoples of this part of the land speak different languages. The main language is considered to be the language of the Andals — the most numerous nation of Westeros. This is an alien people who seized this land for another 6 thousand. years ago. The Andal language was invented by George Martin himself and called it "common". This means that it is not only the most popular, but also "international".

In order not to complicate the lives of readers and viewers, the Andal language is presented both in books and in the series, in English. There is also the Dothraki language and the Volarian dialect. They were invented specifically for the series by British linguist David Peterson. The books also mention that up to a common language on The language of the "first people" reigned in Westeros. Its bearers moved beyond the Wall after the seizure of the lands. The ancient language, in turn, is divided into several dialects.

On Essos, the set of languages is more diverse. They use high Valyrian, which was spoken by the Targaryens, low Valyrian with many dialects, Dothraki language, Qart and Asshai. Yes, there is also a hide — a way of communicating White Walkers. This is a set of sounds similar to a mixture of ice cracking with animal growling and screeching. It can only be called a language with a stretch.

It is known for sure that the Game of Thrones series is simply adored by pirates. From 2012 to 2017, it was illegally downloaded from a thicket of any other content. It was only in 2018 that the dubious record was finally broken. The new record holder was the TV show "The Walking Dead". By the way, before that he took an honorable second place. Experts believe that "Game of Thrones" has lost its leadership due to the fact that new series have stopped being released.

The long-awaited prequel of "Game of Thrones" — the TV series "House of the Dragon", based on the book by George Martin "Flame and Blood". Its author wrote in 2018. The book describes the events taking place in Westeros 200 years before those described in Game of Thrones. The plot revolves around a war between two branches of House Targaryen, known as the Dance of Dragons. Yes, there will also be Starks and Lannisters in the prequel, who will support one or the other opposing side.