Phillip Lowes (Ser Mountain Goat on the A Song of Ice and Fire forum) has provided an incredibly detailed report from his time attending the signings and moots in Belfast and Dublin. That report, and others, can be found here. He’s also proposing that plans begin to be made for a Game of Thrones event next year.
Among the interesting bits that seem new is his report of his discussion with Paul Hardwyck, who advised the production on medieval weaponry and played a role in choreographing the training fight of Bran Stark and Tommen Baratheon. Hardwyck, also a member of the forum as Knight of Redemption, notes that initially the producers wanted to differentiate the Lannisters from the Starks by giving them curving swords. He also feels that the weapons are “too showy” for his tastes, though his perspective is that of someone deeply immersed in the study of historical swordsmanship.
Comments
Curved swords? Are you fucking kidding me? Just when I thought these guys knew what they were doing…
Well, to be fair, it was an idea they abandoned. I can’t help but think that early on they were considering emphasizing the fantastical aspects (and make recognition of different groups easier) in superficial ways like different kinds of weapons. So I don’t blame them myself! I’m just glad they decided otherwise. ;)
I do suspect we’ll see a lot less variety of heraldry among armored troops—a lot of the westermen will wear predominantly crimson, say, with small touches perhaps nodding to their house affiliation. But I could be wrong. I think that’d be a shame (what with running the Citadel’s Heraldry page and all!), but I can see why they might choose to do that.
Yeah, I read the whole article and noticed (with great relief) that the idea was jettisoned (and came from HBO suits and not the producers themselves). House colors and heraldry cover telling the factions apart, so I don’t see a problem there (or with simplified heraldry). But playing up the fantastic elements against the historical is a big mistake, in my opinion. This show will sink or swim depending on how such matters are handled—go with LotR/Rome-style grittiness, as opposed to Zena/Sword of Truth fantasy. After all, this is supposed to be a series for grown ups, right?
