Before the Tourney Our A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Warm-Up (ACOIAF #19)

Welcome to the Unreal Hour. Hi there, and welcome to our show. Glad to be back. And so we're here to cover a Night of the Seven Kingdoms season one aka The Head Night. That is right, and this is just a wee warm up episode before this season starts, which is in about four days. How excited. I'm so excited. And as usual, I was late to the party and I've only just listened on Audible to the book, which I've listened to the first part and no more so just the hedg Night, just the Head Night. I absolutely love that. I'm so excited. So, as you are fresh of the book, what did you think? No spoilers. Oh my god, I absolutely loved it. I loved it. I loved it so much. I listened to it at work and then the next day today listened to half of it again. Yeah. It's so good, It's so worth it. Yeah. So I first read the book. God, it was just after i'd binged the whole of A Game of Thrones for the whole Ice and Fire series for the first time, and a friend says, oh, there's these little novellas that are set in the same world, and I'm like, give me them. So read them maybe ten years ago or something, and then listened to them again twice in the last year. So so a little fun fact about me. I have had this book in my bookcase since Lockdown. I know, I remember because I was going on, have you read have you read The Head Night or I think The Night of the Seven Kingdoms and you're like no, And then you pulled this book out your SHELFY went, is it this one? Like? That's the fella, give it a read? First Lockdown in the summer. Yeah. I read Fire and Blood and didn't speak to a soul through the whole massive book. Yeah, oh that's a long book. Do not speak to anybody. My husband went to do some shopping and brought me back a Night of the Seven Kingdoms, thinking, oh, she'll love this, and I was like, oh, that's great, wonderful. However, it must have been an esthetic thing. I'm not a. Fan of a hardback, right, and I just read a whole massive hardback, right, so when yeah, I'm going to get to. That in a loving way, and never did it. Oh, oh my god, what waste? What waste. But it's now a bookcase book and it's not her reading copy. I was just going to say not her reading copy, as are most of the books on Emma's shelf. She wuys all these books and then does the audible version. Or a paperback that's very doggy eared and in a mess, or a kindle version, and that's fine. I love that. Do you know what I love these days that you can if you go into the kindle app and you have the audible version, you can do both at the same time. It's genius how the world has moved on since I was hiding on my covers with a torch reading books. Yeah, definitely. Please don't notice that I'm still awake, mum. This is why we are bespectacle these days. Yes, for sure. No, I have no idea where my spectacles are. But here we are anyway, moving on. So we both know the book very well now, I mean you're on a it's very fresh for you. I've you know, read it twice in the last year, so it's quite fresh for me. Not quite as fresh as you. But that's okay because over the weekend I'm going to do the graphic novel version because I've had it for a year now and I haven't actually opened it. But what if I don't eat it exactly. Actually, what I was thinking is that I could get the compendium and a hardback and that can be the not reading copy. Oh nice, Yeah, that's the way forward, because I cannot find a version off The Mystery Night anywhere online. I've been. I've tried to buy it about four times. And what's that? Is that the last that's the third one? Right? Okay? So I tried to buy it last year because my mum got me the The Head Night and The Sworn Sword graphic novel, and I tried to find The Mystery Night. I ordered a copy and then a month later I was like, where's my book? And they went, oh, sorry, here's your money back. I don't want my money back. I just want my damn graphic novel. So that was very rude. And yeah, I've not been able to find a version. I think if I actually outside the UK out when a US, I might be able to get it there, but I haven't gotten to got to that yet because I still have an open book one. So here we are. So let's talk about the trailer. Well, I first watched the trailer when you sent it to me, and you hadn't read the book and you don't know what you were looking at. So the first. Trailer that came out was it was great. It was very humorous and lighthearted, which I thought, oh, this is going to be great. I'm going to really enjoy this. And then the next trailer that came out was what I felt a bit more serious. Having now read the book, I got kind of weird about the trailer, like. That's not for Beata. No one barked, that's just me, and that's that's fine. It's going to be epic. It's going to be so good. Yeah, good. Bail and Breakspeare is exactly how I imagine him in my head. Yeah, that is how I imagine him in my head. So it is dunk. Yeah. Casting is really good. The casting is definitely on point. There's slight changes to the descriptions of people. I think you pointed out something about make Car with the beard and what I who I think was Maker, and the trailer didn't have that Arian Brightlame. It's got short hair in the show, but he was described as having longer hair and things like that. So there's slight differences to descriptions. But I'm definitely vibing like the casting still being really spot on, if that makes any sense, especially with ery On. I mean doesn't really do anything in any of the trailers except look intimidating but at the same time, but it's his total vibe advice there for sure. I loved that. When you said to me, like, that's like the book, you need to read it. I think you should get the audible version. Yes, because it's Harry Lloyd. Yes, it does it for I'm sure everyone knows who Harry Lloyd is. If you don't, he was Vice's Game of Thrones yes season one, and he was fantastic and he just embodies. Arsehole doesn't but he's so great at all the other accents and reader. Yeah, when he's when he's talking for egg, he sounds like a little boy, and when he's doing an old man, he sounds like an old man. And when he's doing a woman he's like he was really really good at voices, Harry Lloyd. I don't know if this is like his calling as a as a book creator, but wow, he is so good at so I really really love the audible version. So if those of you that haven't heard it, please go and have a listen. Harry's brilliant he's absolutely brilliant, such a good actor, and yes, I felt the series when he was doing any absolutely absolutely, He's like, hey, I played this character before. Nailed it is weak. Absolutely, I was the beggar king, you know. For sure. So yeah, the trailer's fantastic. The audible version, as we said, definitely going and check that out. So yeah, there's lots of little bits and pieces going around the internet at the moment about George has apparently given Ira Parker outlines for at least ten more story. Actually exciting, but at the same time, it's George admitting that he a, you. Can't do it, because he said that he wasn't going to do any more Duncan Egg books until he had finished Winds of Winter and he still has dream of Spring for after that. There is no way that like he's going to be in it. I can't see it happen. And he struggled so much with Winds of Winter, and I think actually handing this off to Ira, who has worked very closely with George, doesn't it. Yeah, Yeah, definitely handing this Duncan Egg stories off to Ira Parker and saying this is what I planned, this is where I wanted to go. These are the stages throughout their life that I want to highlight. And of course, for those of us that have read the World Book and stuff like that, we know where this story's going. I'm not going to get into that just now. We might talk spoilers closer towards the end, but I want to be like quite transparent when we're about to go into spoiler sections, so people that don't want to know can just step out. But for now, Yeah, there's definitely events to their lives that we do know off through the World Book, and it would be absolutely amazing to see them depicted on screen. So I'm very excited. The show is just it's not going to be like Game of Thrones. It's not going to be like House of the Dragon. It's all which is all big and flashy and lots of characters. Everything's going to be much smaller, more intimate, cozier. Even Yeah, there's it's all through the perspective of this character Dunk, who is so lovable. It's so relatable, it's so good, Dunk the Lunk. It's just such a normal little boy, isn't He's just like, Oh. I can't give anything away. I can't we'll get to the spoilers letter, but for now we will just look to the past. Awesome. So for a little bit of background history of well, actually is it background because. It's kind of in the yeah, and keeping with the time period. And keeping with the time periods. So we've got the Civil War, that is the Dance of the Dragons, which is set in one hundred and twenty nine to one hundred and thirty one AC. Then we have the future timeline of Game of Thrones, which we understand and the events of that happened in two eighty something, the year of the Fall Spring, the Tornate Haron Hall, et cetera, was in two eighty one, which is the events that kicked off Garden, which, yeah, which is kicked off Robert's rebellion of course, so which is about sixteen years before the Again of Thrown starts. So that's where we're at. So it's there, maybe actually one hundred and ten years from yeah, Dridden, let's not quibble, Yeah, exactly exactly, because I can't be bothered doing the maths right now, it's so simple. Master Anyway, moving on, I think I know nothing, yes for sure. So we have the Dance of the dragons, and this is about fifty years later, so we're looking at the descendants of the target us off that time. For those of you who don't know who wins the Civil War, we won't say, yes, these are the descendants off any particular characters from a House of the Dragon. But we're going to pick up with say, egg On the fourth. Egg On the Fourth is probably the most prominent targarian that has That sets up the story, I suppose. And he's yes, and he's he's he's egg On who we won't fat. Shame, No, we will not fat shame him, even though he died with bed sores and all that sort of nonsense. Horrendously. He died horrendously, didn't he. Yes, he did. Yeah, he was in a lot of pain and quite revolting, for want of a better word, the state that his body was in. It was, it was decomposing while he was still alive. It was he and he did have the claim to fame that he slept with nine hundred women. I think he said, yeah, I lost countselwhere along the way. But that's that's just shameful. It's it's not it is, yeah, it doesn't. It doesn't make me feel good about the man as much as he thought it was a claim to fame, so agon was slot for a better term. He would exchange lands and titles and things like that for for pleasures. If if you let me, if you let me bang your daughter, can I say that in a better way? If if, if he could have nuptchills with said lady. Yes, and that would give rights. Yes, So yeah, he would. He would. He would give lands and titles for sexual pleasure from. Nine that he claimed were his favorite through, one of which was. A blacksmith's wife. I think and he I think she was a blacksmith's wife. I only read this part in the World Book today. It's kind afresh. I think she was one of the first ones that he'd said, I want her, I'm having her. He had her for a few years. I think she had three daughters to him. I might be making this up, guys. Anyway, the gist of it is at the end of his time with her, he sent her back to her husband and the blacksmith beat her to death. Oh so that was that part. I forgot it. It's really really sad. It's only because I read it today. But yeah, so not a nice man No, he wasn't a nice man. He did sire some quite memorable characters, absolutely blood raven. Of course we know from the main story A Sea Star Share a Sea Star, the most beautiful woman in West Ross. Yeah, and there. Was a couple of mother and daughter situations that he had. Right again, I'm totally trusting this because I am just like, yeah. So it's fresh he did. This is awful. It keeps popping into my head that that video that I said this week, and I just went whilst reading it. It kept popping in my head. No, thank you, you're fat idiot. Because one of the last girls that he was with was she had sort of protested that he was a very that lying with him was was not safe. Yes, and the realm even considered that the I think it was shier a ce Star's mum that she was like how she could have like, oh yeah, in the last few years of his life when anyone had a choice, No, there was no choice, but like she must have been repulsed, absolutely, without a doubt he was, but terrified. Yeah. So there was one of the girls that he was with, not one of the women that he was with, and she was absolutely awesome and It escapes me where she was from, but she was a pirate and he kept going back to her ever after several years that. I don't think there was any children. Right that were that almost slipped by me. That he said that he legitimized, or if she did have any, he didn't legitimize them. So that's the big cool. She had her own ship and everything. She was cool. Yes, and she was the only lady of color, which was really awesome. Yeah. Interesting, So I think that's that. That's the main thing with Agone. He had all these bastard children and on his deathbed legitimized them, which was caused caused the Blackfire, which absolutely did cause the Blackfire Rebellion, which of the events leading up to the start of our story. The whole sword thing was quite prolific. Oh my, Yeah, that is probably one of the most shocking things that he did was when he handed the sword Blackfire, which is a symbol of Targarian rule, and he handed it over to a bastard son needed that way. He was twelve years old, that was long before he legitimized him. Yeah, so he gives over this sword, which imagine turning in her grave. Absolutely that's my brother's sword. And of course he also gave the sword Dark Sister to Blood Raven, and both are now missing, you idiot, exactly by the time of a Game of Thrones, the Blackfire obviously Damon Blackfire had their rebellions. He dies in the battlefield and the sword just goes missing. After that, Buttersteel picks it up and he fights Blood Draven, I believe, Yeah, he fights Blood Raven and at the end of the battle they all I'm saying, yeah. But I skimmed this section in the World book, yeah, because I was like, oh, no, this is a whole other thing to learn about. Yeah, I'm skinning. I'm skimming. I just need to know what's going on. It's about it's about succession and paternal and maternal lines. No, no, don't, don't. Don't get into the war. Don't talk about the war. But you know, the war is my favorite thing. I can't help it. I love the ship. So where was that you were black firing? Yes, Black Fires. So both these swords are now absolutely missing. The Blackfire sword is gone, and as we know, I don't think this is a spoiler. The Blood Raven went north of the Wall with the sword Dark sister later and was never seen again until Brand stumbles across him in a cave in the north. The True and Earth spoken like a Scott. Do you think Wirdlins are supposed to be Scott's? Possibly? Very possibly? Anyway, moving on, so where are we? So we've got all these ins and outs, and the Targanian family at this point has grown quite large, right, and that's not even including all the bastards that are out there. We were talking about the actual royal family dayreon Agon's son who takes over the throne after him, his legitimate son. He has four sons. Yeah, so we're trying at the point where the realm is a bit fucked off with the Targarians. Yeah, they are massively because the thing that made them so powerful is gone. Yes, the dragons, yes, and everybody people remember some people remember the dragons. The dragons still exist in memory. Yeah, but they're a bit. They're a bit of eggs or token gifts. And the last dragon to be seen is a bit we can whim pay and not not anything impressive like Bilerion. And no na Vegar. No, they're they're they're nothing to be feared at this point. They're they're kind of feeble representations of their their their forebearers. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. I think that it's described in a Game of Thrones that the last dragon born was no bigger than a dog. So yeah, they were, And that's not a spoiler. We know we know this as fans because we've watched Game of Thrones, so so we know that. I mean, there's a lot of in his history, Yes, thank you, Joff. There's a lot of speculation out there that perhaps the you know, the Master conspiracy, that maybe the Masters did something to the dragons, to two pinder their growth or their life. But that's that's the big that's the big, one of those big questions that may never be answered, even if George finishes the books, it may never be answered. But there is definitely a lot of fan speculation about a Master conspiracy and that the mace because the Masters say something I think I can't remember which Master it is, but somebody says something in one of the the Song of Ice and Fire books, the hints that the Master's had a hand in ending the Dragons. But those pesky Masters, they're up to something. They're up to lots of things. They just want all the power for themselves, I think, and they can't have that with dragons in the mix. So Egon's sons and the well speaking about our timeline, son Darn. Is the oldest. He also has his He also has a sister, Denaries, and she I'm a. Bit sketchy, so who. There's an exchange between down here. So Darn marries a Dornish princess, yes, and Adornage prince marries his sister Denaries. Yes, and there's a which this is why Darron becomes Day on the Good. He absolutely pacified the realm, brought dorn in the fold, and was known by the small folk and the nobles alive as Dare on the Good. Yeah, he absolutely. Did, and he did kind of not in the same way that Jeharis the first did, but he did bring the realm back to a reasonable point after a terrible, terrible time. His father's Rainy. So we're at a point where things are not too bad. We're we're having a tourneys, there's no mad wars, no, things have calmed down with drn Things are okay. And we have sons now. So there's son has four sons. Yeah, he has Baylor ye Aries, yep, I don't know the third guy, but Maker and make Our is the fourth. Yes, Maker, and we will meet at least two of them in this story. Yes, that's where we're at. So in this story we're going to at the time of this tourney a Harron Hall. And then, as we said, the Targarians reputation is not what it once was. And I feel like that's why they turn up at this tournament with force, with force, the whore Riders, Yeah, the whole family and all they're onto rash turn up at this little in this little backwater tourney. This is the biggest spoiler you're going to get. Yeah, that's that's it, guys, that's all you're getting. That is it. It's a big entourage, which is not a massive spoiler because they're Targarians. Yeah, it's yeah. Go big or go home, Targarians. I have a question for me and for you, and it's a quick fire question. Okay, what's that. Give a trailer in three words for this season? One? Sure? You mean three words to. Draw people in? Yeah? Human? Mm hmmm, I won't count that as a word. Why you said, all right, okay, yeah, I thought you were talking about human there. I was like, that's the word. Am I speaking English? Okay? Human, human, chivalrous and intimate, much more intimate. Yours are so good. You are so like thot oh okay, and are kind of ship what you got a bald story to give to you know, to give you credit. Dunk is very tall and egg is very bald. Wow, like that was that was the opposite end of the scale. It's a tall tale, oh dear. Anyway, so we're where should we go from here? We can't really, there's not much more we can say without giving in too much away. No, So this was a shorty. It was just to get us prepped. Absolutely. We have not recorded for a while, so we needed a wee warm up before we get into it. And also just to remind you guys that we're here because next week we will be back with episode one. It's going to be so exciting. We're going to record on Wednesdays. Yes, so we're in the UK, it's out on it's out on Sunday the eighteenth in the US, we get first thing in the morning, Monday morning. In the UK, it's it's airing on Mondays. We're going to record on Wednesdays. That gives us a little bit of time of pres and do life stuff as well, because we have lives, grab lives, children's jobs. So yeah, Wednesday seems like a good good day to do this. So expect episodes from us on Friday. Yeah, we are your Friday night listening. Yes, unless when I have suddenly hit turbo mode and you may get it on a Thursday, but let's just say Friday. Keep it for Friday, guys, Grab yourself a bottle of wine, a beer, sit down, chill out, listen to us breakdown that episode. And it's a good midweek sort of breakdown as well. You've got your episode the beginning of the week. You'll get us towards the end of the week and then you can fire you up for the next episode. Get you all ready for the next episode. Absolutely, we'll be here with breakdowns. We will be here with lower news, news and definitely opinions, a large bottle of red, don't forget the piano r because we drink and we know things. That's our brand. So thanks for listening. So if you want to get in touch, head over to the unrelour dot com. You'll find all our episodes and social media links there. Give us a like follow, or subscribe. You can also leave us a voice message and we may even feature it on the show, or just email us at talk at the unrelour dot com. And if you love what we're doing here, you can support the show at Petreon dot com slash the Unrelour for ad free episodes, early access, and exclusive content, or. By is a coffee at buy Me a Coffee dot com Slash the Unreally Hour. Every bit helps to keep the show running. Thanks for listening. Until next time, keep it on real