13 Deep-Cut Game Of Thrones Facts That Will Change The Way You See The Show

As the chosen commander of the Unsullied, the slave-soldiers of Astapor, Grey Worm has a rockier time playing the game of thrones than most. Serving in an army that necessarily relies on subjugation and cruelty, he celebrates Daenerys' arrival as she frees the people of Slaver's Bay. Grey Worm is loyal to his queen after she seizes the Iron Throne and becomes the "mad queen." If it feels like it requires a truly superheroic level of mental gymnastics to stay on Daenerys' side after her heel turn, take a moment to consider how terrible everything must have been for the Unsullied before Dany showed up.

After Missandei is killed and Dany's brief reign ends, Grey Worm guides the Unsullied to the isle of Naath. This is in reference to something his love Missandei once said about wishing to return to her home after having been stolen from the island as a child. On the surface, Grey Worm's return to the isle is a tribute to Missandei and a promise to expel any violent forces that attempt to take more children as it once did to her. However, in the companion for "A Song of Ice & Fire" titled "A World of Ice & Fire," we are informed that the isle is home to something called the Butterfly Fever, which eventually kills anyone who wasn't born there. While it's assumed that this is not canon in the TV series as it's never brought up, it adds chilling context if the Unsullied are, rather than vowing to live life as protectors, actually sailing to their deaths.

"Winter Is Coming" — the "Game of Thrones" series premiere — remains an incredibly influential episode of television, but it's also the motto of House Stark. Issuing a warning to their enemies by ominously identifying a coming storm is very much in line with the family's legacy, and this episode is indeed where we are introduced to most of the characters who will become major players throughout the series. Perhaps more intriguingly, this is both the first and last time we see the Starks together as a family. Though much of the show is defined by the legacy of this wild clan of warriors, the Starks as we know them are relatively fractured due to consequences of fate that begin this very episode.

By the end of the series, Arya, Bran, and Sansa are the last Starks left standing. Their individual journeys are some of the most compelling in the franchise, making it feel right that Bran becomes the new King of Westeros while Sansa rules the North as its own kingdom and Arya departs on an adventure of her own. Yet, there's no denying that they each require quite a lot of buildup to go from who they are when we meet them at Winterfell to where they ultimately end up. Though they lose most of their family along the way, this is a trio of icons and it's nice to see them succeed, even if they go through a lot of grief to get there.

"Game of Thrones" might not pull off perfect continuity through its run and there are several little moments of confusion or plot points that are seemingly at odds with one another. But if there's one thing it stuck to its guns on from day one, it's that this was going to be Daenerys' "Joker" origin story. Though it's easy to sympathize with Dany as we watch the brutality of the game of thrones and the number it does on her mentally and emotionally, by the end of the line, we can pretty much say that's she's gone to the dark side in a way that even Anakin Skywalker might say goes too far. This is a woman that saw Cersei commit mass murder openly and said, "Hold my beer."

The intentionality of Daenerys' story was enough to give plenty of fans pause as they watched a woman who they'd come to care about fly fully off the deep end into the realm of war crimes. Yet, even in Episode 1, we see seeds being planted for her character trajectory. When Dany is perturbed and afraid that her brother is forcing her to marry Drogo simply to gain power, she goes to take a bath. Stepping boldly into hot water, she shocks the maid, who is afraid that she will be burned. This doesn't actually hurt Dany at all, which gives us a hint that she'll go on to quite literally walk through flames and live to tell the tale. While George R. R. Martin has noted that the Targaryens are not fire-proof, there is some indication that they are at least heat-resistant.

In the Season 3 episode "Kissed by Fire," Beric is resurrected after a truly epic battle with Sandor Clegane, perhaps better known as "The Hound." Having sentenced him to trial by combat and fighting him to a standstill with a flaming sword, Beric ultimately falls to Clegane, who taunts Arya. They are both surprised to realize the Beric has actually been resurrected by Thoros, who tapped into the power of the Lord of Light — a religion of which he is now a devout follower. He absolves Clegane, noting that since he fairly lost the fight, his opponent is now to be regarded as an innocent man, freeing him and allowing him to leave of his own accord.

Later, when Beric and Thoros are cracking wise about his many deaths (this being his sixth and penultimate death), Beric wryly notes that it's the "second time I've been killed by a Clegane." What? Did we miss something? Yes, we did. In fact, Beric's first death occurred during the Battle at the Mummer's Ford, which is never directly portrayed on the show. There, Beric was impaled through the chest by Gregor Clegane, although we know now that he lived to die another day. While this wasn't explained in the series, it is addressed on the "Game of Thrones" Blu-rays, on which an animated micro-series called "Histories & Lore" explains the history of the Brotherhood Without Banners, including Beric's chaotic history of violent deaths.

Much the same as it is in our world, the "Game of Thrones" mythos is fleshed out with countless legends and stories of great warriors in days gone by. One of those mythical figures is Ser Duncan the Tall, a commander of the Kingsguard before and during the reign of Aegon Targaryen. While he understandably never appears in the show, he is referenced by Old Nan, who offers to tell Bran one of her stories. Throughout this conversation, it's gently implied that Old Nan might have once been intimately acquainted with Duncan, but that's a story for another time.

As for Duncan's legacy, we're still piecing that together. Martin has indicated that Brienne is a descendant of Duncan, which stands to reason considering what a legend she is in her own right. We might not know the details around this yet, but chances are we're going to find out more with time. Meanwhile, HBO has announced a prequel spin-off titled "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight" that focuses on Ser Duncan. Though there isn't much information around this at present, one can suppose that it will draw reference from the novel of the same name, which follows the adventures of "Dunk and Egg," the nicknames given to the knight and his squire.

It's true that things don't exactly work out between Jon and Dany (to say the least), but to be fair, the pair have some pretty serious barricades on their path to a happy ending. Beyond the fact that Dany is Jon's aunt, there is the small matter that these two are simply from different worlds. Yet perhaps the greatest challenge in the relationship of these two lovebirds is that, well, Dany goes full power-hungry tyrant in the final episodes, reigning terror on King's Landing, burning the city to the ground, and openly promising to do it again in front of Jon, the Dothraki, and the Unsullied alike.

This is a rousing speech for those committed to following her to the bitter end, but it led to some confusion from viewers wondering why Jon seems ultimately inspired by what she says rather than mortified. It's simply a language barrier — Jon doesn't speak Dothraki or Valyrian, and therefore has no idea what she's saying outside of a few key words. When Jon later argues that the war is over despite Dany's promise to eradicate the North despite their allyship, it's because Dany is speaking in a language he doesn't understand, so we see him reacting only to the word "Winterfell" rather than her call for the outright genocide of her enemies. This is the exact kind of detail you want to be aware of, Jon.

Jaime's death in the penultimate episode of "Game of Thrones" remains among the more controversial choices the series made in its final season. After watching him grow from an arrogant, murderous knight to a broken, complicated man who suffered greatly and ultimately found love with Brienne, he runs back to his toxic relationship with his twin sister Cersei. That turns out to be the death of him, as they are both crushed under rubble during Daenerys' rampage through King's Landing. Holding Cersei, he says, "Nothing else matters, only us." This calls back to a seemingly minor line several seasons ago in the episode "Sons of the Harpy" in which he was asked how he wanted to die and replied, "In the arms of the woman I love."

For members of the Kingsguard, it's a great honor to be added to the White Book, and have their exploits recorded for future generations in painstakingly handwritten fonts. The handwriting of Jaime's entry gives a glimpse into his character, with his first paragraph being incredibly sparse considering his many great achievements in battle. The follow-up paragraph is equally brief, written in a different font, and reads, "Thereafter known as the Kingslayer." Brienne continues the entry, generously praising Jaime for his feats and closing, "Died protecting his queen." While we assume the first entry is written by Hightower or another commander and we watch Brienne write the end, the middle paragraph is under unknown authorship. Some have suggested that Jaime himself wrote it, which would add an extra element of tragedy to his life. Though he accomplished many things, the entry indicates that his view of himself is morose and uncelebrated.