The ‘Game Of Thrones’ fandom prepares for battle

The eighth and last season of ‘Game Of Thrones’ is underway — here’s how some settled into their own iron throne and are indulging in the regalia and gore

April 15, 2019 07:10 pm | Updated 07:10 pm IST

Five-hundred-and-ninety-four days; 14,256 hours; 85,5360 minutes. That’s how long the world had waited to see something new from Game Of Thrones since the August 27 finale in 2017 that garnered 16.5 million live viewers. From red weddings to whitewalkers, the HBO show has amassed a cult-like following.

What’s the beat?

Bengaluru, Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Chennai have left no turf untouched this month. Dress-up parties aren’t new, but Thirsty Crow and Vault in Chennai, LIT and Resign The Sky Bar in Hyderabad and GutsyTribe in Bengaluru have all hopped on the bandwagon and opened air-watch parties and quiz competitions to see which fans are the most devout.

Jatin Varma, Head of Comic Con India, says, “I love seeing how Game Of Thrones has taken root in India as part of mainstream entertainment. When people become so emotionally attached to such a show, that translates into cosplays, merchandise appreciation, and more, at the Comic Cons over the years in different parts of India!”

Sameer Bundela’s cosplays for Game Of Thrones’ premiere party in Mumbai “Winter is here!! Attended the premiere of the last season of game of thrones with these amazing people”

Sameer Bundela’s cosplays for Game Of Thrones’ premiere party in Mumbai “Winter is here!! Attended the premiere of the last season of game of thrones with these amazing people”

Mumbai-based cosplay champion Sameer Bundela has been busy with dozens of props that have been commissioned for upcoming GoT parties. While he’s currently keeping these projects under wraps, he’s excited that there are more watch parties being organised in homes. “We’ve been having our set-ups so far. Through watching each episode, we’ve developed the detailing in props and costumes of the cosplays.” For the premiere party in Mumbai, he and his friends also unveiled their costumes.

Want to make your watch party a little more chic than everyone else’s? Last year, fashion designer Masaba Gupta announced she snagged an official license to design a lineaptly titled ‘ Game Of Thrones x Masaba’. The line was unveiled on Star World this past weekend alongside the Game Of Thrones season premiere. We’re thinking lovely gilded details and some badass silhouettes, knowing Masaba

Samyra Ruheen’s House of Stark pie

Samyra Ruheen’s House of Stark pie

Closer to home, Hyderabad’s culinary community is definitely celebrating. Chef Sabasachi Gorai put out a feast of a lifetime, Lannister-style at Gylt. In a more private ceremony, home-baker Samyra Ruheen baked a themed pie for her family. “I love Arya Stark — my husband says I’m quite like her — and my father reminds me of Ned Stark in that he always talked about the importance of keeping one’s word.”

And don’t worry, if you’re going to be stuck in the office, corporates such as Google Hyderabad have Lannister-ed up their canteens and lobbies for your slaying pleasure; tapestries from different clans from the show offers up a Medieval feel.

Hear the throne?

Even Spotify is uniting the world through a compilation of other-worldly music curated by its Head of Rock, Allison Hagendorf and GoT ‘s producers D.B. Weiss and David Benioff. Among the tracks included in the new playlist are Her Black Wings by Danzig, Sleep Now in the Fire by Rage Against The Machine, and Girl from the North Country by Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan.

“We were looking for songs that made us feel the way the show made us feel,” the creators explain, in a blog post for the streaming site. Before you cheer “Hodor”, keep in mind the legal battle between Warner Music and Spotify. So, our version of this international playlist is going to be a little shorter than the rest of the world’s.

But when you’re organising your at-home watch party, do keep in mind that some online hosts have malware and ransomware hidden in these downloadable files. The last thing you want is your watch-party interrupted by a virus... and no, we aren’t talking about greyscale.

Catch-up edition

New to the GoT universe? Thanks to executive producer Bryan Cogman’s summarised version, here’s a catch-up edition to bring yourself up to speed.

Season 1: Winter Is Coming (Episode 1), The Kingsroad ( Episode 2), Baelor ( Episode 9), Fire and Blood ( Episode 10)

Season 2: What Is Dead May Never Die (Episode 3), The Old Gods and the New” (Episode 6), Blackwater (Episode 9)

Season 3: Walk of Punishment (Episode 3), And Now His Watch Is Ended (Episode 4), Kissed by Fire” (Episode 5), The Rains of Castamere (Episode 9)

Season 4: The Laws of Gods and Men (Episode 6), The Mountain and the Viper (Episode 8), The Children (Episode 10)

Season 5: Hardhome (Episode 8)

Season 6: The Door (Episode 5), Battle of the Bastards (Episode 9), The Winds of Winter (Episode 10)

Season 7: The Queen’s Justice (Episode 3), The Spoils of War (Episode 4), The Dragon and the Wolf (Episode 7)

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