Help! We're Addicted To Game Of Thrones
Winter is coming! Well… Season 3 of Game Of Thrones is, anyway. Here's why we can't get enough of HBO's awesome fantasy series, Game Of Thrones. Including dragons. DRAGONS! And hot men. Always a clincher. The series returns to Sky Atlantic at 9pm on 1 April 2013.
Strong Female Characters
And not just in the physical sense, like Brienne of Tarth – the untouchable female warrior who leaves soldiers cowering in her 6ft3 wake. Women really do run things in Game Of Thrones, whether she be a Queen, like the Dothraki Khaleesi, or Arya – the plucky daughter of Ned Stark, who’s second-to-none sword skills and quick thinking see her worm her way out of situations grown soldiers would have fallen foul to. She’s one of our favourites, actually.
The Khaleesi
Not just because she’s a kick-ass dragon mother (DRAGONS!) and is played by the indisputably gorgeous Emilia Clark. But because we’ve never wanted to dye our hair white blonde so badly.
Hair-Spiration
If you told us that in the space of two seasons, we’d be deeply envious of medieval hairstyles, we’d have told you to do one. But then came Games Of Thrones. Now, we’re lusting after their tumbling, golden locks, intricate plaits and rich, autumnal tones. Take Cercei Lannister for example. Evil Queen who's fond of public decapitation, yes, but CHECK OUT HER HAIR. Jealous.
The Tundra
Which is our slightly obscure way of referencing the amazing landscapes Game Of Thrones is shot on. If they had post cards in, erm, pretend fantasy times, then almost every scene would be one. Interestingly, filming of the series spans seven different countries, including Northern Ireland, Malta, Croatia, Iceland, Morocco, Scotland and the United States.
Jon Snow
The mythical land of Winterfell knows none hotter than Jon Snow, played by the ridiculously phoar-worthy Kit Harington. Well. Except perhaps for his brother, Robb Stark, who is played by the equally delectable Richard Madden. So many fit men, so little time to rule them all.
Alfie Allen
Oh yeah! How could we forget Lily’s little brother, Alfie Allen? He’s pretty hot, too. His character Theon Greyjoy, however, not so much.
Khal Drogo
While we’re on the subject, we know his table manners and courting etiquette leave a little to be desired, but cop a load of Dothraki Warlord, Khal Drogo! He’s played by Jason Mamoa, who has been married to Zoe Kravitz’s mum, model Lisa Bonet, since 2007.
Hilarious Sex Scenes
Gratuitous. Abundant. Bit incestuous, occasionally. But pretty darn amusing.
Direwolves
Pretty terrified of big dogs, actually, but having a giant, savage wolf on your side in Game Of Thrones is a useful thing indeed.
The Endless Wine Drinking
Seriously. They're at it all the time. Never have we fancied a Cab Sav more than in the midst of a Game Of Thrones binge.
The Epic Battle Scenes
We’re talking Lord Of The Rings-style epic. Minus the walking trees. Plus wild fire.
Tyrion Lannister
Peter Dinklage = reason alone to commit to this series. The sharp wit, comedy timing and general awesomeness he brings to his character Tyrion Lannister is unrivaled.
Dragons
DRAGONS!
Nickolaj Coster-Waldau
He’s so, so bad, but Jaime Lannister (played by Nickolaj Coster-Waldau) looks so, so good. Definitely not one to bring home to mother. Definitely one to watch quietly on your own.
Magic
It doesn’t take much to channel our inner geek. Love it when a bit of magic is involved. It would be a spoiler to tell you what form this mystical power takes, but we’ll tell you about…
Wild Fire
… Wild Fire, this amazing, burns through anything, napalm-like chemical which glows blue and green and sparkles, but is NOTHING LIKE Katy Perry’s face in this series. We can’t show you a picture of it because it will spoil it for you (read: we don’t have any), so here’s another picture of Khal Drago instead. You’re welcome.
The Unpredictable Twists
All this magic makes for a pretty tense viewing experience, let us tell you. Anything could happen at any time, no matter how unlikely. Might not be such a shock if you’ve read the books already, of course, but hey.
The Hollyoaks Cameos
Never has the cry of, “Look, it’s her off of Hollyoaks!” been more frequently heard than on the Game Of Thrones battle field. Plenty more former soap stars to spot in Season 3, too.
The British Invasion
The majority of the Game Of Thrones cast are from our fair isles, making it a great showcase for British acting talent over the pond. Take legendary man of screen Sean Bean for example – he’s not seen this much horse action since Black Beauty!
The Ones To Watch
Some of the children in this series are incredible. Take young actress Maisie Williams, who plays Ayra Stark, for example. If she’s not Hollywood famous by the time she hits 20, we’ll eat our cloaks.
Ice Zombies
Like zombies, but colder. And nothing is more awesome than the inclusion of zombies in any series. Eastenders? Would be better with zombies. Mad Men? Also, markedly improved by the addition of zombies. However, these particular zombies are WAY SCARY, so instead we’ve included this WAY CUTE picture of Robb Stark. The wolf puppies aren’t bad, either.
