
So You Want to Watch “Game of Thrones”
A guide for first-time viewers
Maybe your friends have been bugging you to watch the show for years, or maybe you want to enjoy the hype of the final season, but you’ve been waiting for the right time to catch up. Maybe you don’t like historical fiction, or fantasy, or anything that isn’t Law & Order. Maybe there’s just too many episodes and way too many characters.
There are lots of reasons not to watch Game of Thrones, but if you’ve been putting it off because you need a spoiler-free guide to help you get started, continue reading! We’ll go over the geography, major players, basic history, cultural context, and magical elements to get you up to speed for season 1. (And for those of you who aren’t put off by high-fantasy dramas, but do want some tips on how to be a savvy viewer, keep an eye out my next article, “How to Watch Game of Thrones.”)
The Geography of Thrones
Game of Thrones takes place in a world called Planetos, where the seasons are highly irregular. As the series opens, they’re reaching the end of a ten-year summer, which means the coming winter will likely be just as long.

Most of the action happens in Westeros, which is basically a stand-in for Europe. (There’s also Essos, which is a stand-in for the Middle East and Asia, but we’ll get to that later.) Westeros is often called the Seven Kingdoms because about 300 years ago, Aegon the Conqueror united six of the seven kingdoms on the continent at the time.
Currently there are nine regions of Westeros proper, plus the northern territory beyond the Wall. In the center of the realm we have the Riverlands, which is basically the intersection of the continent, and naturally where everyone ends up doing most of the fighting. To the northeast is the Vale, a mountainous area where the ancestors of most of the people of Westeros first settled. To the west are the Westerlands, which are mostly known for their gold mines. Off the west coast are the Iron Islands, home to the Westerosi equivalent of the Vikings. To the southwest is the Reach, the breadbasket of the continent, and the cultural center of chivalry and learning.
To the southeast are the Crownlands, created after the conquest to be the seat of the ruling family. King’s Landing, the capital, is an important port and religious center. South of the Crownlands are the Stormlands, mostly known for being stormy. Even further south is Dorne, which held out against Aegon’s conquest, but was later folded in as a semi-independent kingdom. Finally, north of the Riverlands, we have the North. It’s nearly as big as the other eight regions combined, but scarcely populated. It’s also the place that gets hit first whenever winter shows up, which is why their motto is “Winter Is Coming.”

The North ends at the Wall, the 300-foot ice equivalent of the Great Wall of China. It was built too long ago for people to remember exactly how or why it was made, but it’s considered important for keeping bad things from beyond the Wall at bay. Those bad things are mostly wildlings, who are considered savages by the people south of the Wall. It’s manned by the Night’s Watch, a sworn brotherhood that’s sort of like a cross between a monastic order and Border Patrol.
The Characters of Thrones
Westeros runs on a medieval-style feudal system. Each region besides the Crownlands is governed by a high lord who swears allegiance to the crown in exchange for being Lord Paramount of that region. In turn, the lesser noble houses of each region swear loyalty to their Lord Paramount. Each house has its own heraldry, with distinctive sigils and colors, as well as official and unofficial mottos.
When season 1 opens, there are four main houses. The first is House Baratheon, the current ruling family, originally from the Stormlands. King Robert and Prince Joffrey are the main members of this house, with the sigil of a stag and the words “Ours Is the Fury.”

Next we have House Lannister, the original house of Queen Cersei, as well as her brothers Jaime and Tyrion. Their sigil is a lion and their words are “Hear Me Roar,” although their unofficial saying is “A Lannister Always Pays His Debts.” This is a reference to their enormous wealth, as they own the largest gold mines in the Westerlands. The Lannisters are the real power behind the crown, courtesy of both their money and their marriage into the royal family.
Then we have House Stark, the family of Eddard, or Ned, with whom we begin our journey in the series. Ned has five children with his wife Catelyn, who’s originally from the Riverlands: Robb, Sansa, Arya, Bran, and Rickon. He also has a bastard son, Jon Snow (Snow being the surname for bastards in the North). Their house sigil is a wolf, and as previously mentioned, their words are “Winter Is Coming.” Their ancestral home Winterfell is said to have been built at the same time as the Wall.
For the fourth and final house, let’s go back to Essos and learn the history behind the Seven Kingdoms, and the backstory behind season 1.

The History of Thrones
Remember Aegon the Conqueror? He came from a peninsula in Essos called Valyria, where his people had already created an empire with the help of their dragons. A couple generations before Aegon conquered Westeros, the center of Valyria was completely destroyed in what’s called the Doom. No one really knows what happened, except that Valyria was reduced to a smoking ruin. The sociopolitical effect was similar to the fall of the Roman Empire: Their former territories fractured into small kingdoms, and a great deal of knowledge was lost to the world.
Fortunately Aegon’s family had already relocated to a small island in the Stormlands, thus avoiding the Doom. With a sudden monopoly on dragons, Aegon handily conquered most of Westeros. He also used dragonfire to melt down the swords of those he defeated to create the infamous Iron Throne. His family, House Targaryen, established a dynasty that lasted up until about 20 years before the opening of season 1, although their dragons died out for good more than 100 years before then. Their house sigil, a three-headed dragon, and their words, “Fire and Blood,” are pretty self-explanatory.
So what happened to the Targaryens? Basically, their family tradition of marrying their siblings made them inbred and prone to going insane. This happened with the last Targaryen monarch, King Aerys, also known as the Mad King. When his son Prince Rhaegar kidnapped Ned Stark’s sister Lyanna, Ned’s brother and father went to King’s Landing to demand justice, and the Mad King responded by burning them alive.

Ned Stark, suddenly the head of his family, rebelled against the crown alongside Robert Baratheon, who was engaged to Lyanna at the time, and their longtime mentor Jon Arryn, who ruled the Vale. Robert killed Rhaegar on the battlefield, and Jaime Lannister, who was part of the kingsguard, betrayed the Mad King and killed him as the rebel forces marched on King’s Landing.
Unfortunately, Lyanna died soon after Ned rescued her at the end of the war. So after Robert became king, he married Cersei Lannister instead. Tywin Lannister, Cersei’s father, had turned against King Aerys at the last minute, sacking King’s Landing and murdering Rhaegar’s Dornish wife and two young children. King Aerys’ own sister-wife Queen Rhaella was in hiding at the family home in the Stormlands, and died in childbirth. Her young son Viserys and infant daughter Daenerys were smuggled to safety in Essos by Targaryen loyalists, and the two have been in exile ever since. When the series opens they’re living in the Free City of Pentos, across the Narrow Sea.

This massive upset in the power structure of Westeros informs every aspect of the story as it unfolds in season 1. The aftermath of Robert’s Rebellion made Robert king, put the Lannisters in power behind the crown, and continues to influence Ned’s relationships and actions.
The Cultures of Thrones
Like Britain, Westeros has endured successive waves of colonization and conquest over several thousand years. This adds layers of history and regional diversity to the continent. The Andals are the majority culture, whose influence is reflected in the feudal system and knightly culture of the South. They also established the state religion, the Faith of the Seven, which is what Christianity might be if it had a pantheon of seven gods.
Before the Andals invaded several thousand years ago, the First Men were the only humans in Westeros. People living in the North are considered to be their descendants, and they keep to the Old Gods of the Forest, a tradition they inherited from the earlier inhabitants they had displaced. Northerners tend to be more straightforward and loyal than Southerners, traits necessary to survive their unpredictable and unforgiving winters.
These characteristics are even more apparent in the peoples north of the Wall, known as the Wildlings. While similarly descended from the First Men, they are generally considered uncivilized by the feudal, farming societies to the south. Instead, they live under a clan system, with small groups hunting, fishing, and foraging in the various climates in between the Wall and the frozen tundra of the Lands of Always Winter.

Off the western coast live the Ironborn of the Iron Islands, who formed a distinct culture from both the Andals and the First Men. They’re often compared to the wildlings because they like to raid their more sedentary neighbors. This rather disruptive tradition makes them a thorn in the side of realm, and the Ironborn resent outside rule because of the irreconcilable cultural differences that are pushed on them. A proud people, they’re prone to fighting for independence whenever the crown weakens its hold.
In the south are the people of Dorne, which joined the Seven Kingdoms only 100 years before the opening of season 1. The Dornish are descended from the Rhoynar, who migrated from the western part of Essos now ruled by the Free Cities. They are more relaxed than the Andals about rules surrounding marriage and bastards, and take pride in their distinct heritage and semi-independent status. This divide has widened recently because their beloved princess, who married into the old royal family, was murdered at the end of Robert’s Rebellion.

Finally, we’d be remiss not to discuss the impact of Targaryen rule on these disparate peoples of Westeros. Aegon’s conquest united six very different kingdoms, but with the exception of the Iron Islands, it didn’t fundamentally change their way of life. Instead, the terror and destruction of their dragons left a more psychological impact. The mythos of the Targaryens as the last descendants of the Valyrians — and the last dragonriders — reminded the people that the royal family were a house apart and above the rest of the realm. 20 years after Robert’s Rebellion, their memory still inspires fear and awe.
The Lore of Thrones
Although the series draws from fantasy, most of the magical elements we encounter are presented only as echoes of the past. We see this most clearly in the North, which preserves the traditions of the Children of the Forest, the original elf-like inhabitants of the continent. They are said to have carved the faces in the weirwood trees as part of their worship of the Old Gods. They are also believed to have allied with the First Men to end the Long Night, a generations-long winter brought by the mythical White Walkers. Afterwards they supposedly helped to build the Wall, whose physical reality lends some weight to the legends of both the Children and the Walkers.

Outside the North, most of the magical elements we encounter come from Old Valyria. Most notably is their famed Valyrian steel, stronger and sharper than regular blades, whose forging process was lost in the Doom. As a finite resource, it’s extremely rare and valuable, and only a handful of smiths can even reforge the material. Valyrian blades are often passed down through noble families, such as Ned’s sword Ice, which is the ancestral blade of House Stark.
The Stark family itself is strongly connected to the old stories of the North. Most of their legendary heroes were said to be Starks, including the man who led the building of the Wall. The Stark sigil is not only a wolf, but a direwolf, a giant species found only beyond the Wall, and the family considers guarding both the Wall and Winterfell to be almost sacred duties. Most of the symbolism and foreshadowing in the show focuses on the various members of House Stark as they deal with the circumstances that unfold in season 1.

The Fandom of Thrones
That’s it for the tour! You’re now ready to start watching Game of Thrones. And however deep you want to dive into the fandom, theories, and analysis of the show, remember to be always vigilant for spoilers! The Game of Thrones Wiki is an excellent resource, but we recommend avoiding the ever-spoilery infoboxes and character summaries. Although, to be fair, learning that someone will die at some point in the series isn’t that much of a spoiler — this is Game of Thrones, after all. People die so frequently there’s a whole series of artistic posters commemorating the most memorable deaths of every episode.
That said, you don’t have to stop here! If you’re a cinematography nerd, or you just like finding extra clues hidden onscreen, you can read part 2 of this guide. You can also enjoy YouTube playlists of official Game of Thrones bonus content. To learn more about the different houses and characters, watch the feature videos produced for season 1. You can also watch a season 2 guide to the various religions of Westeros. And for even more background info, watch the Histories & Lore specials produced for the season 1 Blu-ray set.
