Drafted Q's & A's from the documentary [pls keep this private :D] (Patreon)

• ‘Superhero Faces’ GoT & Channel related Q’s for Mary Cherry

What are your earliest memories of being introduced to fictional stories?

My earliest memories of being introduced to fictional stories would have to be Scooby-Doo. I remember it was the first movie I saw in the cinema. I was 8 years old and I went with my friend and her mum.

When were you introduced to Game of Thrones and what about it stood out to you?

I was introduced to Game of Thrones in 2014. That was the year I decided to bleach my hair blonde. I was studying makeup at the time and I remember one of my classmates said to me, that I looked like 'Khaleesi' with my hair. Although I don't agree, I was definitely curious and had to find out who this Khaleesi was. The show stood out to me because it was like nothing I'd seen before in terms of it's many themes.

Was there a particular moment in which you knew you were hooked?/  At what point in the series did you decide to read the books and why do you think you made that decision?

I was hooked on the first episode. The moment Bran was pushed out of that window, I ended up binge-watching four seasons in the space of 3 weeks, and when I finished that, I needed to know more, so I started reading the books in December 2014 and finished all of them in March 2015. Books are always going to give you more details and insight into the characters' choices and what exactly they were thinking when they did a particular thing, so that's what I was initially after. I also knew that at the time, the books were ahead of the show, so that was of course really exciting. After I finished that I ended up rewatching the entire four seasons with my mum and she got hooked as well. 

Had you been a big fan of fantasy in the past?

I was a huge fan of ‘Charmed’ growing up and then a little bit later I became a huge fan of the Harry Potter books and movies. The release of those movies was always an event for me and my family. I read all the available books when I was in grade 8 and last year, I visited Edinburgh, so I was lucky enough to see the city that inspired JK Rowling to write the series.

At what point did you decide to start filming reaction videos to the episodes and what did you find was the response?

My very first reaction was Season 5 Episode 10. I was predominantly a beauty channel before that, and to be honest, I did not expect the flood of traffic my channel got for that video. I didn't even plan to do it, one of my friends suggested I do, because of my passion for the books and show and watching the show privately, I knew I always got worked up, so I thought I'd share that with the rest of the world. I remember crying so much because Jon Snow got stabbed in the season 5 finale and it wasn't until the next morning that I realised, I'm gonna continue making these reaction videos, come season 6 in 2016. 

How did Game of Thrones change the medium of television and where do you believe it ranks among the greatest shows of all time?

Game of Thrones is undeniably a cinematic masterpiece, without ever having been shown in the cinemas. It set the bar for quality in the world of television. I don't necessarily agree with the ending of Game of Thrones. I think towards the end, the showrunners and maybe the crew as well, were quite eager to be over and done with it all, and it really shows through the handling of the final plotlines- but that doesn't change the fact that it changed television. 

What are some of the factors that helped it become such a worldwide phenomenon (I love what you said about it appealing to a broad audience beyond fantasy)?

Game of Thrones is not just a fantasy fiction with dragons and ice demons. It appeals to a broad audience because of its many themes. When people ask me, I say it's a medieval political fantasy, with elements of romance, family, drama, mystery, and thrill. George RR Martin has stated that many events in history influenced his writing, so we can even say it mirrors history. It's humorous at times as well. Characters like Bronn, Sandor Clegane, Tyrion, and Podrik have often brought me many laughs. In a philosophical sense, nothing relates more to people than love and death. These are things we as humans all go through at one point in our lives. So that, along with the portrayal of such imperfect, grey characters or what I like to call, human characters, it is easy to see why Game of Thrones became such a worldwide success.

What has Game of Thrones meant to you personally?

Game of Thrones has been a large part of my 20s. People know me as the girl that's obsessed with Game of Thrones. My Youtube channel grew because of Game of Thrones- so I owe a lot to the series and for the characters, that felt like real friends to me. 

Is there anybody in the series you wish you could be a bit more like at times?

I twice did the 16 personality test, once many years ago, and then again just about a month ago, and both times I got INFJ-T, which is the 'advocate' personality.  When you do that quiz, it shows you what well-known characters and famous people also share your personality, and Jon Snow also happens to be an INFJ-T! I can totally see that in both of us and it started to make sense to me, why I'm so drawn to him and absolutely love him as a character. We share the same values when it comes to minorities and equality.

What aspects of George R.R. Martin’s writing style or techniques do you believe contributed to its success? / George has a reputation for creating complex characters. Even the heroes have flaws. Is this something that stood out to you?   

I think writing from the perspectives of different characters and making those characters imperfect and 'grey' so to speak, made him successful and stand out in the fantasy arena. People are complex, no person in this world is perfect, no person in this world doesn't have a story or layers to them and experiences that shaped them into the person they are today. That really stood out to me as a reader.

His books are dense but he is truly able to plant entire worlds into the imaginations of billions of people around the world and that kind of writing is rare. I consider myself so lucky to be living at the same time as him.  

We’ve been asking people what their initial thoughts on Jaime Lannister were and if there was a point in which their feelings towards him began to change.

I hated Jaime Lannister when I was reading book 1. But reading his chapters, you slowly but surely get to understand that this man is undoubtedly and irrevocably in love with his sister. This love is stated in the first book in the chapter where Bran is pushed out of the window, "the things we do for love" became a famously known quote. As his chapters progress and he starts to grow as a person, mainly whilst separated from his sister and more so after losing his sword-fighting arm, he begins to redeem himself through various noble acts.

For anybody unfamiliar with Daenerys Targaryen, how would you summarize her story as far as what happened to her family and where and how she grows up as a result of it? 

Daenerys Targaryan is the third child of Aegon and Rhaella Targaryen. She was born in her ancestral home of Dragonstone during a severe storm, thus coining the name, Daenerys Stormborn. Her mother died right after her birth so Dany grew up an orphan.

She was still a newborn when she and her brother Viserys were smuggled out of Westeros to escape the wrath of the usurper, Robert Baratheon. 

The rest of her family, including her oldest brother Rhaegar’s children, were already killed by the Lannister forces, so their lives were endangered in Westeros.  

Thus they lived their entire lives in exile in Essos, a continent east of Westeros, but even still, the usurper would always have bounties on their heads, so they grew up moving around a lot in the Free Cities. 

What was it about Dany that resonated with so many fans? In what ways might these experiences have shaped her character?

Dany was mentally, emotionally, and physically abused by her older brother Viserys. 

Her brother even traded her to the Dothraki for the promise of an army. At the beginning of season 1, she is a very vulnerable character, even more so as Khal Drogo’s wife.

But Dany quickly learns that knowledge is power and her femininity is power.

This change is cemented through the symbolic hatching of the 3 dragon eggs which were gifted to Dany on her wedding by Jorah the Andal. She comes out of the fire that kills the witch, unburnt and with baby dragons. The entire Dothraki army bow to her and just like that, she has her first band of followers. 

What was your reaction to her final story arc and was that something you expected at all?

As we know, the show surpassed the books from season 6, so I made a lot of educated guesses as to where the show was going with certain characters and plotlines, but I can honestly say that I didn't see Daenerys turning because it just happened so quickly. I filmed my reaction for the final episode so I know exactly what I said and felt when I first saw that episode and I am still to this day shocked at the abruptness of it all.

We had a few stories regarding Robert’s Rebellion. First, what can you tell us about what took place at the Tournament at Harrenhal and why Robert Baratheon took issue with it? 

The tourney at Harrenhal was absolutely crazy. The rewards offered were 3x higher than that offered by The Lannisters aka the richest family in the realm, for the tourney to celebrate prince Viserys’ birth, years prior to the tourney at Harrenhal. This tourney was supposedly hosted by the Whent family who were not nearly as wealthy as the Lannisters. 

This is because the event was actually secretly funded by Rhaegar Targaryen. The prizes were so high because he wanted a huge turnout, and he wanted all the noble families to be there. He wanted the opportunity to meet with the high lords of Westeros to talk about removing his father as king in an unofficial Great Council.

His father was completely mad and paranoid at the time so he didn’t go anywhere. Rhaegar did not expect his father to come, but thanks to Lord Varys' whisperings, he came.

The tourney still went on and the events that unfolded were the catalyst to Robert's rebellion. Rhaegar wanted the alliance of several high houses, but by crowning Lyanna queen of love and beauty, this angered his wife’s family, The Martells, the Baratheon and Stark families as Robert and Lyanna were betrothed to each other, it also angered all of their alliances. 

What did many like Robert initially think as to why Rhaegar and Lyanna left and what he was doing to her?

Robert thought Rhaegar kidnapped Lyanna to rape her. This was a rumour that circulated quickly amongst the Seven Kingdoms and many fans theorise that it was Little Finger that started the rumour. This theory makes a lot of sense because he’d just lost a duel to Brandon Stark, who almost killed him and would’ve done so, had it not been for Brandon’s betrothed, Catelyn Stark, who persuaded Brandon against it. Little Finger was obsessed with Catelyn and would’ve done and said anything to get Brandon out of the picture. Because of this rumour, Brandon journeyed to Kings Landing and as a result was killed by the Mad King. 

What do we know now as far as the true reason why Rhaegar and Lyanna ran away?

We now know that Rhaegar and Lyanna ran away because they were in love.

Fans also theorise that Lyanna was the Knight of the Laughing Tree, an unidentified knight that dueled against 3 squires that bullied Howland Reed, a crannogman and Stark bannerman. 

After beating the 3 squires at the Tourney at Harrenhal, the Knight of the laughing tree mysteriously disappeared. Rhaegar was set out by his father to find this Knight and it is here where fan's theorise that Rhaegar found the Knight and the Knight was Lyanna.

At this point Rhaegar was obsessed with 'the prince that was promised' prophecy. He was impressed with her fighting abilities and her nobility for her cause to fight and he believed their union would fulfil the prophecy. So because of this, he later crowned Lyanna, queen of love and beauty, despite knowing that it would cause conflict in the realm. 

Who is Ned Stark and what is his relationship with Robert? / Why is Ned invited to King’s Landing and what does he discover about the Lannisters when arriving there?

Ned Stark and Robert grew up as brothers as Lord Jon Arryn's wards. So Lord Arryn was like a father to them both.

Ned was invited to King’s Landing after Lord Arryn died, seemingly of natural causes and he was the hand of King Robert Baratheon. When he dies Ned is the only other person King Rob trusts enough to ‘rule’ his kingdom. Ned soon finds out that his adoptive father was actually murdered by the Lannisters to keep Cersei’s incestuous secret from coming out.

For the final questions, we wanted to discuss what parts of the series might be applicable to our own lives. Were there aspects of the fictional universe you thought shared parallels to the world we live in?

George RR Martin took inspiration from European history when writing a song of ice and fire, so we can see many parallels from his world and our own. For example, the main plot is the fight for the throne between the Lannisters and the Starks. The Lannisters are based on the Lancasters and the Starks are based on the Yorks from the English War of the Roses. The famous red wedding was also based on The Massacre of Glencoe which occurred in Scotland in 1691.

And believe it or not, there was actually a real wall in the North of England. It was called Hadrian’s Wall and it separated England from Scotland. In this scenario, the Scots were the wildlings and the English were everyone South of the Wall.

Martin is a huge history buff, so it’s no surprise he looked to history for inspiration. You really can’t make some stuff up!

Among the real-life topics, we discuss being touched on by Game of Thrones are the ways migrants are treated… 

Migrants are not treated fairly or equally on Game of Thrones. Anyone North of the Wall is considered a wildling, a savage, and they are killed if found by anyone South of the Wall. To quote Theon Greyjoy “All wildlings are liars and savages with no loyalty to anything or anyone.” And that’s the kind of message spread to people from a young age, across an entire continent, about a group of people who are cast away for their different way of life.  

We know that the wall was created by magic and men to protect Westeros from the White Walkers. However, as time went on, and the last White Walker hadn’t been seen for thousands of years, the Night’s Watch were maintaining the defense of the Wall from all of the tribes north of it.

This kind of exclusion prevails in our own world in many forms. Donald Trump, the leader of the US constantly racial profiles, perpetuating an ‘us’ versus ‘them’ cycle of hate. The leader of Australia, Scott Morrison, proudly promotes being responsible for the creation of the detention camps in Manus Island and Nauru, separating fathers from their wives and children, with very little humanitarian aid. These refugees have been kept there indefinitely because they came via boat to seek political asylum from their dangerous and unstable countries.

We also see this in the under and misrepresentation of people of colour on all forms of media. We call this symbolic annihilation, which again, intrinsically oppresses people of colour and minorities through the most powerful means of communication, the media.

But, Game of Thrones doesn’t have a clean slate either. It has also been widely criticized for the under and misrepresentation of people of colour and minorities. 

We are getting better. 2020 has forced us to actively be anti-racist, we are moving, but we are still moving at glacial speed.

[...and the threat of climate change.] You mentioned you weren’t in an area heavily affected by the bushfires but were hoping you could share your experience in Australia (i.e. were you born there, where did you grow up) and what changes you saw as a result of them (i.e. the air quality and what happened to the sky)?

The threat of climate change is also a theme in Game of Thrones. Seasons work a little differently in Planetos. Winter doesn’t come once a year because single seasons can last years. Winter is a feared season because of the notorious Long Night. This was a time when White Walkers ruled Westeros and darkness cast the entire world. 

The entire premise of the books and show is the battle between ice and fire. Ice being Winter, Darkness and represented by the supernatural threat of the White Walkers, and fire being Summer, light and represented by R'hllor, the fire god. Both are bad and a middle ground is needed and alluded to with the title of George’s unwritten last book ‘A dream for spring’.  

Jon journey’s to King's Landing to beg Cersei for troops for the only war that matters, the war between the dead and the living. Cersei’s denial of this threat, in my eyes, is every Leader that denies climate change in our world.

Even when the proof was at her door, Cersei lacked any care for the impending threat. Cersei’s attitude reminds me of the current leader of Australia in his handling of the bush fires. There is currently a royal commission into this because the way he handled it has been largely criticized. 

The Australian bushfires began in September 2019 and ended in March 2020. I returned to Australia from 3 months of traveling in December last year to a completely unrecognizable country.  

The day after I landed, I went to Gordon's Bay in Sydney’s East, I remember that day distinctly because the sky was a light orange colour and it was meant to be a sunny day but the sun was completely hidden by the grey smoke, which I first thought were clouds, but apparently it wasn’t. When I went swimming, I was swimming in ash. This continued on for another 3 more months, making it the longest bushfire period in memory. 

It was different this time because the entire country was burning all at once. With previous outbreaks, it would just affect a town or a city, never the whole country, and never for six months. People were told to stay home because the air quality was 11x toxic than the deemed hazardous range. I remember seeing a lady from Canberra die because of the air. Over a billion wildlife were killed.

This changed a lot of peoples’ stance on climate change. Some of my friends that don’t normally protest, were protesting against climate change- which the leader of Australia continues to deny exists. So we are definitely headed in a more positive direction towards climate change, especially since in February we had flash flooding and were also mainly staying at home. The topic of climate change has essentially ceased since the outbreak of covid19 though and it’s almost so hard for me to believe that the fires and floods were in the same year.