By Jamie Kennett
Whilst it may be one more day still until we (the UK) get to see it, season three goes live tonight stateside. We’re finally here, after all this time, and it’s merely a handful of hours until episode one and we can start to see whether or not I’ve been right in my predictions. As I’m sure you’re all aware, I’ve spent the last week covering as many of the major characters as my wellbeing would allow, but there is one particular lady I’ve yet to give a forecast for… Daenerys Targaryen is west-bound with a group of ships, a Dothraki 'horde', a former-knight-turned-slaver-turned-knight-again, and a trio of dragons the size of small dogs. She isn’t on a course for Westeros just yet, but she is slowly building the army she has often fantasised about. Here’s what I think she’s going to be up to in the near future…
Whilst it may be one more day still until we (the UK) get to see it, season three goes live tonight stateside. We’re finally here, after all this time, and it’s merely a handful of hours until episode one and we can start to see whether or not I’ve been right in my predictions. As I’m sure you’re all aware, I’ve spent the last week covering as many of the major characters as my wellbeing would allow, but there is one particular lady I’ve yet to give a forecast for… Daenerys Targaryen is west-bound with a group of ships, a Dothraki 'horde', a former-knight-turned-slaver-turned-knight-again, and a trio of dragons the size of small dogs. She isn’t on a course for Westeros just yet, but she is slowly building the army she has often fantasised about. Here’s what I think she’s going to be up to in the near future…
House Targaryen (or what’s left of it…)
At the end of the last season, Daenerys’ dragons had been taken hostage by the Qartheen warlock Pyat Pree and held in the near-impenetrable House of the Undying. His idea was to lure in Dany herself to try and rescue the dragons, and then capture her as well, as her dragons only ‘work’ (for want of a better word) when she is around them. This, in tandem with Xaro Xhoan Daxos’ coup d’etat of the Thirteen of Qarth, would have allowed the Warlocks and Xaro to gain complete control over Qarth and, subsequently, most of Essos. However, Pyat Pree’s plan fell through when Dany uttered the infamous ‘dracarys’ in the presence of her dragons and sent the warlock up in an inferno of dragonfire. After dispensing with Pyat Pree, she released her dragons and made for Xaro Xhoan Daxos’ villa. The remnants of Drogo’s khalasar, now loyal follows of Daenerys, looted his house whilst she locked him in an inescapable vault.
That was the last we saw of the exiled queen, but she has been rather busy since then. After dealing with Xaro and the warlocks, she hired a number of ships from one of Illyrio Mopatis’ trade fleets (Illyrio was the chap in Pentos back in season one, played by Roger Allam, who arranged the wedding between Daenerys and Drogo). With these vessels, she has left Qarth and is now sailing west. However, wind is little, the sea very large, and supplies running thin. Without any genuine assurance of actually reaching Pentos, Ser Jorah suggests they change course for the city of Astapor in Slaver’s Bay. As the name of its locale suggests, Astapor is well-known throughout the world of more unorthodox trading as a hub for slavers, pirates, and black market merchants. It boats the largest slave markets in the known world, and is the home of ‘The Unsullied’…
At the end of the last season, Daenerys’ dragons had been taken hostage by the Qartheen warlock Pyat Pree and held in the near-impenetrable House of the Undying. His idea was to lure in Dany herself to try and rescue the dragons, and then capture her as well, as her dragons only ‘work’ (for want of a better word) when she is around them. This, in tandem with Xaro Xhoan Daxos’ coup d’etat of the Thirteen of Qarth, would have allowed the Warlocks and Xaro to gain complete control over Qarth and, subsequently, most of Essos. However, Pyat Pree’s plan fell through when Dany uttered the infamous ‘dracarys’ in the presence of her dragons and sent the warlock up in an inferno of dragonfire. After dispensing with Pyat Pree, she released her dragons and made for Xaro Xhoan Daxos’ villa. The remnants of Drogo’s khalasar, now loyal follows of Daenerys, looted his house whilst she locked him in an inescapable vault.
That was the last we saw of the exiled queen, but she has been rather busy since then. After dealing with Xaro and the warlocks, she hired a number of ships from one of Illyrio Mopatis’ trade fleets (Illyrio was the chap in Pentos back in season one, played by Roger Allam, who arranged the wedding between Daenerys and Drogo). With these vessels, she has left Qarth and is now sailing west. However, wind is little, the sea very large, and supplies running thin. Without any genuine assurance of actually reaching Pentos, Ser Jorah suggests they change course for the city of Astapor in Slaver’s Bay. As the name of its locale suggests, Astapor is well-known throughout the world of more unorthodox trading as a hub for slavers, pirates, and black market merchants. It boats the largest slave markets in the known world, and is the home of ‘The Unsullied’…
The Unsullied are a famed army-for-hire made up of eunuch slave soldiers, captured in childhood and trained as ruthless warriors. Fierce, fearless, and undeniably loyal, these soldiers make a formidable and practically unbeatable force when in great numbers. Anyone can have them, granted they have enough coin, and Daenarys has just acquired a great deal of the most valuable possessions of what was the richest man in Qarth. Jorah demonstrates the soldiers’ usefulness by recounting the tale of The Three-Thousand of Qohor; an army of Unsullied which held off against an onslaught of more than twenty-thousand Dothraki horsemen in an attempted sack of the Free City. Daenerys, realising she has the perfect opportunity to assemble a massive army that could easily contend with the various forces in Westeros, obliges, and they change course for Astapor. From there, she and her newly-purchased mass of slave soldiers march to Pentos, where she visits Illyrio Mopatis and proceeds to make plans for an eventual invasion of Westeros. She will, of course, have to wait for the show’s budget to increase further so that her dragons can grow to a more formidable size…
As one might expect, however, there are obstacles in her path, and no doubt her plan won’t be realised quite as easily as she’d wish. There emerges some awkwardness between her and Jorah during the journey to Astapor, and enemies both old and new crop up along the way and throw several spanners in the works. In season two, it was prophesied that Dany would be betrayed three times; once for power, once for money, and once for love. Being that she has already been betrayed twice, it only remains for someone to double-cross her one more time, but there is no end to the amount of possible characters that might do it. Whatever happens though, I’m sure Dany will be able to deal with it; she has a ruthless army, three dragons, and the Targaryen blood that made so many of Westeros’ kings and queens.
As one might expect, however, there are obstacles in her path, and no doubt her plan won’t be realised quite as easily as she’d wish. There emerges some awkwardness between her and Jorah during the journey to Astapor, and enemies both old and new crop up along the way and throw several spanners in the works. In season two, it was prophesied that Dany would be betrayed three times; once for power, once for money, and once for love. Being that she has already been betrayed twice, it only remains for someone to double-cross her one more time, but there is no end to the amount of possible characters that might do it. Whatever happens though, I’m sure Dany will be able to deal with it; she has a ruthless army, three dragons, and the Targaryen blood that made so many of Westeros’ kings and queens.
Jorah Mormont
Son of Jeor Mormont (Lord Commander of Castle Black on the Wall), the disgraced knight Ser Jorah had been in the service of Viserys Targaryen (and then Daenerys) for a long while. He has grown to have an immense loyalty towards Daenerys, but in a bit of a twist this loyalty is beginning to develop into love. He has hinted at it several times already, but on their trip to Astapor he thinks it a simply capital idea to make his move on Daenerys when she’s nigh-on completely nude in her cabin. There’s an awkwardly ensuing moment between the two of them, but Daenerys simply raises the inappropriateness of a man such as Jorah kissing his future queen. Whilst Jorah apologises, albeit staring at her breasts for a great deal of time, and the situation between him and Dany is made clear, there is an unmistakable tension between them from thereon in and it is sure to boil over again at some point.
Son of Jeor Mormont (Lord Commander of Castle Black on the Wall), the disgraced knight Ser Jorah had been in the service of Viserys Targaryen (and then Daenerys) for a long while. He has grown to have an immense loyalty towards Daenerys, but in a bit of a twist this loyalty is beginning to develop into love. He has hinted at it several times already, but on their trip to Astapor he thinks it a simply capital idea to make his move on Daenerys when she’s nigh-on completely nude in her cabin. There’s an awkwardly ensuing moment between the two of them, but Daenerys simply raises the inappropriateness of a man such as Jorah kissing his future queen. Whilst Jorah apologises, albeit staring at her breasts for a great deal of time, and the situation between him and Dany is made clear, there is an unmistakable tension between them from thereon in and it is sure to boil over again at some point.
So there you have it chaps. I hope you’ve all got a fairly good idea of what to expect from the many members of the many houses of Westeros and Essos in the weeks to come. Just in case you missed it the first time around, check out the latest, full trailer below.
Don’t forget to tune in to Game of Thrones, Season 3, Episode 1 tomorrow night, at 9pm on Sky Atlantic.
Don’t forget to tune in to Game of Thrones, Season 3, Episode 1 tomorrow night, at 9pm on Sky Atlantic.
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