Apr 29, 2016 - Season 6 is upon us, and now's as good a time as any to look back on one of A Game of Thrones' most prominent features - its armor.
I’ve always thought that television screens have a peculiar quality to them. They imbue anything that passes through them with some artificiality. No matter the production value of a show, I can’t help but be skeptical of it because it’s being broadcast on TV. Even with Game of Thrones, undoubtedly one of the greatest shows on television, I can’t shake that nagging feeling that it’s all a facade; a fanciful world made of little more than cardboard cutouts.It seems HBO wants to prove that’s not the case. The company is parading the spectacular props and costumes from Game of Thrones around the world in a traveling exhibition that will run through the fall.
I stopped by the show during its time here in New York, and it’s an eerie confluence of worlds. The exhibit is — very intentionally — laid out just like a museum.
Props are displayed in sealed glass cases as if they were centuries-old fragments unearthed from tombs by a team of archaeologists. The lights are dim as if to protect these precious goods from UV damage. The exhibit is very intentionally laid out just like a museumCostume designer Michele Clapton has said that 99 percent of the armor and costumes are made at the show’s studios in Belfast, Northern Ireland by a team of armorers, embroiderers, weavers, dyers, leather workers, and more.
They mostly use authentic materials like chain mail, hand-weaved fabrics, custom-made leather, and metals like brass and steel when making the show’s wonderful clothing and armor, and it shows. But all of that effort would be for naught if the costumes and props looked brand new. There’s a separate team with the sole task of wearing down the clothing made for the show. As Clapton last year, 'You spend two weeks breaking down, patching, dying, repatching. Then you trash it, age it, then trash it again and repair.' Beyond the truly intricate embroidery, the natural wear is perhaps what impressed me the most. Dyes were faded, armor looked as if it had gone through the toils of war, and even the wildlings’ tools looked as if they had spent an eternity in the snow-swept plains beyond the Wall.
Fittingly, however, Joffrey’s armor looks hardly used at all.Considering the effort put into all of these details, I couldn’t help but think of the nameless artists who carved the backs of their sculptures even though they were destined to sit atop the Parthenon, out of sight. With these costumes and props, which are so easily overlooked, there’s a similar sense of pride in doing the job right.
Even if we can’t see every link of chain mail and each incredible embroidery on screen, that attention to detail is what makes Game of Thrones what it is.Game of Thrones: The Exhibition will stop in Mexico City, Austin, Rio De Janeiro, Oslo, Toronto, Belfast, and Vancouver. The exhibit left New York last week, but following stops on the tour will be much larger. For more information, visit.The exhibit was laid out just like a museum, with sections for each of the main branches of the storyline.
It's the second year for the traveling exhibit — most of the gear shown here is from seasons three and four.The Hound (Sandor Clegane) has the most well-worn armor of all. After constructing the armor by hand, a separate team is brought in to properly wear it in. The armor makers go through this process twice: once for the actor and once for the stunt double.The particularly regal clothes of King's Landing shows off some of costume designer Michele Clapton's most impressive work.
From left to right: Tyrion Lannister, Sansa Stark, Margaery Tyrell, and Joffrey Baratheon.Costume designer Michele Clapton herself fitted the costumes, like Tyrion's, onto the mannequins used for the exhibit to ensure that they looked just as intended.The detail in the embroidery is truly breathtaking. This detail of Sansa's wedding dress shows just one portion of a band of embroidery that tells Sansa's life story. Here, the lion of the Lannisters battles with the a direwolf, the sigil of House Stark.Befittingly, Joffrey Baratheon's suit of armor doesn't look battle-worn at all.Even the banners — this one from House Lannister — have been worn in to give the appearance of age.The main event was ironically the only object at the exhibit that wasn't used in the show. This is actually a $30,000 replica of the iron throne made out of fiberglass. Surprisingly comfortable, and a cure-all for your Napoleon complex.Daenerys Targaryen actress Emilia Clarke is a very tiny person, if these dresses are anything to go. The pattern on the dress on the left is reminiscent of dragon scales, and the one on the right is prominently featured in the trailer for Season 4.Soaring above Daenerys' dresses is one of her dragons, Rhaegal. The dragons in the show are all computer animated, but models like this are used to help the performers act on set.Where's the third dragon egg?
It was given to author George R.R. Martin as a wedding gift.Some weaponry made for the show was also on display, including a crystal sword used by a White Walker (far left) and Jon Snow's sword (the smaller of the two in the middle).The weapons have a stunning amount of detail. Joffrey's crossbow perhaps more so than any.The helmet of the Unsullied, the army Daenerys frees from servitude in Season 3.Daario Naharis, who allies with Daenerys in Season 3, has an.
Just like the early centuries of mankind on Earth, the rulers of Westeros & Essos employ armies to enforce their power. A powerful army means a powerful ruler, no one will dare defy a King with an unbeatable force. Throughout the seasons, armies have fought against each-other and very few now remain. Despite this, the ones that do remain are still a force to be reckoned with, although numbers are starting to dwindle. This list will rank the best armies in Game of Thrones and not just in Westeros. I’ll be focusing on armies that are currently ready to fight, rather than armies seen throughout history.10.
Hill TribesIt’s actually unknown how many fought for the Lannisters at the but it can be assumed there was enough to make an army. The clans were Stone Crows, Burned Men, Black Ears, Moon Brothers and Painted Dogs. You can safely assume this combined at least 1000 fighting men, who fought for the Lannisters against Robb Stark’s 2000 men. The battle was a victory for the Lannisters and hill tribes, with minimal losses for both.After these events, some tribesmen went down to King’s Landing with Tyrion Lannister. It’s possible some were killed during the but the bulk of the force should be in-tact. They returned home shortly after the battle, I wonder if Tyrion will unite with them again?9.
Army of the NorthI wasn’t sure what to label this entry, there isn’t a single large force from a northern house so I’ll mark it as the army of the North, under the command of King Jon Snow. It comprises troops of all the northern houses, which could be up to 10,000 as discussed.
I assume this includes the Free Folk too, which have around a third of the soldiers they had before the.This number sounds like a lot but you have to realise the state of these soldiers, they’ll be fatigued and inexperienced with most of the trained soldiers having died in recent wars.8. DorneWe’ve yet to see Dorne engage in war, with only minor appearances by Dornish soldiers in the series. This means the armies of Dorne have been waiting and training, they’ll be ready for a fight.
We have absolutely no idea how many there are, though. Reports suggest Dorne’s population is much, much lower than the rest of Westeros so their army size could be assumed to be around 5000. That’s still a lot of well-trained, fierce soldiers!7.
Second SonsA sellsword company makes the list, well they don’t really sell their swords nowadays. The Second Sons command 2000 competent soldiers, well versed in the art of warfare. They’re currently under the control of Daario Naharis, who is acting as regent in Meereen to keep the peace in Daenerys Targaryen’s stead. They will be badly needed for the and while I’m sure we won’t see Daario and his sons again, it’d be awesome if they arrived as help.6. Iron IslandsAs Euron Greyjoy has proclaimed, the Iron Fleet is the greatest armada Westeros has ever seen. Shortly after his crowning at the, he ordered his new subjects to build him a thousand ships.
They won’t have made that many, obviously, but he does command hundreds of vessels, all manned by men who can fight. If the Iron Islands actually produced half-decent soldiers, they’d likely be closer to the top 3 on this list.5. Vale of ArrynThe Knights of the Vale are famous for their chivalry and combat prowess, very few mounted knights in the known world can best them on the field of battle. As Westeros has been stuttering due to war, the Vale of Arryn have waited, building up their forces and staying in their mountains. Now, they’ve been unleashed.
Up to 2000 warriors came to help Jon Snow reclaim Winterfell from the Boltons, where they showed great ease in tackling the remaining Bolton forces.If the entire Vale was mobilised, they could potentially bring up to 5000 mounted knights to the fold. Such a force cannot be understated, only the armies below would stand a chance against them.4.
Lannister ArmyAs Tyrion described, Tywin knew exactly how to breed a powerful army. Lannister soldiers will be well trained, experienced and well armed. Their discipline is almost unparalleled, they can mobilise in the thousands even if they’re only given a few moments. As far as numbers go, it took 10,000 Lannister soldiers to with no real difficulty, although the Tyrell soldier garrison was barely a threat.
I’m saddened to see Cersei refuse to send her army up North, the Lannister forces would make a massive difference in the battle for the dawn!3. Golden CompanyWe’ve received different reports regarding the numbers the Golden Company have, in Season 3 they had 10,000 while in Season 7, Cersei says they have 20,000. That’s an insanely high amount of soldiers, I doubt many armies could even make a dent in their forces.
While the Golden Company is made up of sellswords, they’re definitely not poorly trained, they know how to fight. With elephants and horses at their disposal, next season is going to be incredible!2. UnsulliedAs I’m sure you’re aware, Unsullied are trained throughout their entire infant lives to be the best soldiers possible.
Best Game Of Thrones Armor Book Set With Jacket On
Their obedience is paramount, they’ll follow any order without question. Trained in all kinds of weaponry, there’s no situation where an army of Unsullied would be ineffective. There’s likely a much, much larger army of Unsullied than the one that follows Daenerys Targaryen but we haven’t seen any others, so the 8000 sworn to the Dragon Queen will have to make this list!1. DothrakiDothraki screamers are the most feared warriors in the entirety of the known world, their skill in battle is unbeatable and the intimidating screams demoralise enemies before they get slaughtered. As we saw in season 7, a well organised Lannister army of 10,000 soldiers were completely ripped apart by a Dothraki horde, granted there was 100,000 riders which is quite impossible to defeat. The greatest Khalasar ever seen makes the top spot on this list!