Through the Fire & Blood and The Book of Swords novels, author George R. R. Martin has given us more insight about the history of Westeros before the events of A Song of Ice and Fire, which inspired the highly-successful HBO television series Game of Thrones.
However, the TV show was notoriously unfocused on whatever took place before Ned Stark decided to head to King’s Landing to serve as King Robert Baratheon’s Hand. Aside from the brief flashbacks experienced by Bran as the new Three-Eyed Raven, Game of Thrones answered very few questions about Westeros’ past, even as the series came to an end. With the possibility of prequel series on the horizon, these are the 10 Questions We Need The Game Of Thrones Prequels To Answer.
WHO IS THE NIGHT KING?
The Night King was continuously built up as the strongest and most threatening antagonistic force in the Game of Thrones universe. So much so that the series’ very different characters – some with completely contrasting agendas – had to come together in order to defeat him and his army of White Walkers.
But who was the Night King, really? That is a question that neither author George R. R. Martin nor the HBO television show have answered yet. According to several reports, the main Game of Thrones prequel currently in development is tentatively titled The Long Night, and it is centered on the origins of the Night King and his White Walkers.
WHAT WAS RHAEGAR AND LYANNA’S RELATIONSHIP REALLY LIKE?
It is now canon in the Game of Thrones mythos that Jon Snow is the child of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark, not simply a bastard who was raised in Winterfell. We know that Rhaegar had been married to Elia Martell, meaning that his relationship with Lyanna was an extramarital affair that only a few knew about.
While Game of Thrones fans had already caught on to this fact years before the official revelation, seasons 7 and 8 explored a new fact about Rhaegar and Lyanna’s relationship: despite his reputation as the child of the Mad King, they were actually in love. A prequel series exploring the very complicated love story that brought us Jon Snow? Count us in!
WHAT HAPPENED DURING THE FIRST COMING OF AZOR AHAI?
The followers of R’hllor, also known as the Lord of Light, were all well-versed in the tale of Azor Ahai, who was hailed by his followers as the Prince Who Was Promised. On Game of Thrones, we heard about Azor Ahai time and time again from Melisandre, who was quite sure that his second coming was imminent.
While the A Song of Ice and Fire novels never outlined Melisandre as being always right, the HBO television series certainly positioned her as being very powerful, insightful, and quite often prophetic. Considering the fact that she mentioned Azor Ahai so often, it would definitely be interesting to understand exactly what happened during his first coming to Westeros.
WHAT IS WEST OF WESTEROS?
Arya Stark’s journey on Game of Thrones was perhaps one of the most interesting and satisfying ones. In the series finale, we learned about her plan to go West of Westeros, given that all of the maps drawn in this universe – including the one in the A Song of Ice and Fire books – only showed what was East of Westeros.
So what is West of Westeros, after all? Because a Game of Thrones sequel has been deemed unlikely by many, would it be up to a prequel to explore what exactly Arya will discover out West?
HOW WAS WESTEROS WHEN IT WAS INHABITED BY THE CHILDREN OF THE FOREST?
The now-called Children of the Forest were once the original inhabitants of Westeros, before even the First Men arrived at the continent. Given that HBO is exploring several prequels for Game of Thrones, what sounds better than going back to the very beginning, when these creatures ruled the land?
The actual origin story for the Children of the Forest is certainly a point of high interest among Game of Thrones fans. Even after certain details were revealed, a lot is still unknown about this race. Did they really live in perfect harmony before they were sent Beyond the Wall and became virtually extinct?
WHAT IS THE HISTORY BEHIND THE THREE WILD DRAGONS IN DRAGONSTONE?
The later seasons of Game of Thrones spent a considerable amount of time in Dragonstone, where Daenerys Targaryen devised her plans and Jon Snow gathered dragonglass in order to mass produce weapons to be used against the White Walkers.
One very interesting time in Dragonstone’s history took place when three wild dragons lived on the island, never being claimed by any rider, Targaryen or otherwise. These three dragons were named Cannibal, Grey Ghost, and Sheepstealer. Given that so much of the history of dragons in Westeros is tied to the Targaryen house, it would certainly be worth exploring how these three particular dragons took a different path.
HOW DID VISERYS LOSE THE DANCE OF THE DRAGONS?
The height of the existence of dragons in Westeros took place toward the end of Viserys I Targaryen’s reign as king. An estimated 20 dragons were alive during that time, many of which were claimed by Viserys and used in battle.
With all of that said, Viserys still managed to lose the war known as Dance of the Dragons, which sounds all too familiar to Daenerys Targaryen on Game of Thrones. After all, Dany somehow managed to lose the Iron Throne despite starting out with three dragons on her side. It would certainly be interesting for a Game of Thrones prequel to explore how audiences were perhaps a little oversold on the actual power of the Targaryen dragons.
HOW DID AEGON MANAGE TO CONQUER WESTEROS AND UNITE THE REALM?
If there is one thing that Game of Thrones made clear, is that uniting the realm as one is a very complicated task. However, Aegon I Targaryen did manage to do just that, uniting the Seven Kingdoms as one and setting up the Westeros as we know it today.
Given that no one person throughout Game of Thrones was able to conquer Westeros and bring unity to the Seven Kingdoms – even leaving it up to Sansa Stark to free Winterfell –, it begs the question: how exactly did Aegon manage to do it? Maybe we can all learn a little bit from this historic Targaryen figure.
WHAT REALLY HAPPENED DURING THE TIME THAT BRANDON STARK BUILT THE WALL?
Throughout eight seasons, Game of Thrones was heavily centered around the Wall, as we saw Jon Snow take up the Night’s Watch and develop himself as a fighter and as a leader. However, while we know that it was Brandon Stark – also known as Bran “the Builder” – who built the Wall in the first place, little is known about really happened during that period.
There are legends about Brandon Stark being assisted by giants to build the Wall. Other myths claim that the Children of the Forest were the ones who actually help Brandon. So what happened there, exactly?
HOW WAS WINTERFELL DURING ITS TIME OF INDEPENDENCE?
The series finale of Game of Thrones concluded with Sansa Stark freeing Winterfell from the Iron Throne. As her brother, Bran “The Broken” Stark, becomes king, he is now the ruler of the Six Kingdoms, rather than the Seven Kingdoms that the show spent so much time talking about.
After being built by Bran “the Builder,” Winterfell remained independent for a long time. It was only when Aegon I Targaryen united the Seven Kingdoms that Winterfell became part of the Iron Throne. While it is doubtful that we will see Sansa rule as the Queen in the North, it would certainly be compelling to learn how Winterfell was during its height of independence.
