[TV] HBO Game of Thrones - Page 1598

On May 26 2017 07:24 andrewlt wrote:
Most people in the middle ages barely wore any armor. The nobles who were rich enough to afford what we in the present call real armor had a swordbearer, a spearbearer, a shieldbearer, an armorbearer, you get the point.

On May 26 2017 22:47 {CC}StealthBlue wrote:
Hope Littlefinger finally dies this season.

On May 27 2017 01:29 Scorch wrote:

That's generalizing too much. Someone going to war and expecting to fight would always wear the best armor they could possibly afford, since their life depended on it. The later we get in history, the more affordable armor gets. While it's not clear in which period Game of Thrones plays, it's safe to assume that at that time, pretty much everyone could afford at least a proper gambeson and helmet. The armies we see in Game of Thrones are mostly made up not of peasants, but professional townsguards, soldiers and mercenaries, so one could expect chain maille on them with padding underneath, or even breastplates.

By the way, a few more points about historical accuracy in pop culture (also generalizing): the dominant melee weapons on medieval European battlefields were polearms like spears, bills, pikes or halberds. Swords were usually sidearms, i.e. backup or self defense weapons you could conveniently carry around in a scabbard. And leather armor wasn't a thing.

On May 27 2017 07:44 Ernaine wrote:
Sansa can believe she can use Littlefinger. Rob on the other hand, is of no use to Sansa. They disliked each other strongly during childhood, and they tried to reconcile. But the writers clearly hint at more strife between them. They don't like each other. They don't respect each other. And their goals are different. Clearly, there will be more conflict between Sansa and Rob than between Rob and Sansa. Sure, Littlefinger will want to get rid of Rob. But the writers clearly suggest to us that Littlefinger knows he has to do this through Sansa. Not through some direct confrontation.

We know what Littlefinger wants. We know what Rob wants. But what does Sansa really want? To be save? Rob cannot keep her safe, in her mind. She will want more power. Rob doesn't offer her that.

On May 27 2017 07:31 andrewlt wrote:


Spears and pikes were the dominant melee weapons for most of history. Even in places like Japan that romanticize the katana, the samurai used spears in war. Swords were sidearms for them too.

Considering how much GRRM tries for as much realism as possible in a fantasy setting, I doubt he'd be using armor from the period after firearms become available in Europe. Even professional soldiers can only afford simple looking armor that wouldn't stand out much. I'm guessing GoT's time period is the British Isles right after the Norman invasion of England and before the introduction of gunpowder, right around the 12th-13th century.

On May 27 2017 07:31 andrewlt wrote:


Considering how much GRRM tries for as much realism as possible in a fantasy setting, I doubt he'd be using armor from the period after firearms become available in Europe. Even professional soldiers can only afford simple looking armor that wouldn't stand out much. I'm guessing GoT's time period is the British Isles right after the Norman invasion of England and before the introduction of gunpowder, right around the 12th-13th century.

On May 28 2017 08:52 B.I.G. wrote:

Spears were weapons for the poorly trained conscripts of armies because A) Easy, safe, effective (can keep distance, just point and poke, fuck up horses etc.), and B) they were cheap (90% wood with a small iron pokey bit on top). Polearms were later inventions that changed warfare because apart from poking they also had a hook or even a choppy part that could pull down horseman even by an untrained soldier, seriously damaging the efficiency of cavalry especially with the later addition of firearms. Swords (especially longswords as they use in GoT) were very refined weapons that were effective but hard to make and required a lot of training. They were not just sidearms for a simple spearman. Those guys were lucky to have a dagger on the side or something.

Armor and weapons were evolving side by side. Chainmail was fairly oldschool while the full metal armor we see knights depicted as wearing was the pinnacle of armor in the middle ages and didn't come into play until like 1300 ~ 1400 something.

On May 28 2017 08:52 B.I.G. wrote:

Spears were weapons for the poorly trained conscripts of armies because A) Easy, safe, effective (can keep distance, just point and poke, fuck up horses etc.), and B) they were cheap (90% wood with a small iron pokey bit on top).

Polearms were later inventions that changed warfare because apart from poking they also had a hook or even a choppy part that could pull down horseman even by an untrained soldier, seriously damaging the efficiency of cavalry especially with the later addition of firearms.

Swords (especially longswords as they use in GoT) were very refined weapons that were effective but hard to make and required a lot of training. They were not just sidearms for a simple spearman. Those guys were lucky to have a dagger on the side or something.

On May 28 2017 10:20 Ernaine wrote:


Spears were used because it wins you battles. Range basically trumps anything. Especially squad vs squad. Cheaper weapon means more soldiers. More soldiers trumps less soldiers.



Polearms are just less good more expensive spears that can do other things. Most specific polearm names can be linked to a certain tool being mounted on a pole. Yes, hooking horsemen was a thing.



How is a sword more refined than a metal halberd head? And any weapon requires training. In the case that it requires disproportionate amount of training, then maybe it is not an effective weapon?



Different unrealistic armor and weapons is fine. Plastic armor is fine. Cutting corners everywhere so you can have millions worth of zombi cgi that I will skip anyway; personally, I think that is a waste.

I loved the scenes with Alliser Thorne. But I basically found the The Watchers on the Wall episode unwatchable, as the only thing that happened was fighting.

On May 27 2017 16:15 TheFish7 wrote:
Littlefinger will be one of the last to die, if he dies at all. He and Varys have been orchestrating things from the very beginning.