School of Thrones, the ambitious webseries project tackling the Game of Thrones series, has just premiered on YouTube! Let us convince you why you need to check it out.
There are several obvious reasons why you might be interested in School of Thrones, the new webseries that has taken the characters from Game of Thrones and turned them into modern-day high school students battling for the title of prom king and queen at Westeros Valley High.
The actors, for one: Lizzie Bennet Diaries stars Mary Kate Wiles (Sansa) and Maxwell Glick (Stannis), as well as Starkid Joey Richter (Theon), are all members of this talented cast, and should draw in viewers who are familiar with their previous work.
The idea itself, too, should be enough to peak the interest of any Game of Thrones fan, as the webseries (aside from being hilarious) is sure to offer some new insight into the characters from the books, examining how they would react in this completely different context. (…Or maybe it’s not so different after all, considering all the backstabbing and scheming that actually takes place in high school?)
And following the release of the first episode, we have five more reasons to add to the list! Check out episode 1 below, and read the five things we loved the most about it:
5. Hipster Starks
Because their way is the vintage way, y’all. This episode opens with Sansa’s inner monologue, and we are introduced to the cliques from her perspective. Both she and Robb have trendy hipster glasses, and are clearly too cool for school – except for the fact that Prom is Coming, and Sansa plans to use this excuse to win over her crush, the wannabe-bad-boy Joffrey Lannister. Even the relatively alpha Robb indulges in his family’s hipster lore, but we can’t help but wonder if he’ll be lured over to the mainstream by a pretty girl later on.
4. “I am not adorable, I am Stannis!”
Maxwell Glick is hilarious in the role of Stannis Baratheon, the nerdy (and yes, adorable) brother of Renly the jock. In the first episode, Stannis has to suffer the humiliation of planning a party that flops before it even begins, and those indignant, puppy-dog eyes make it impossible not to sympathize with Stannis’ righteous frustration. But at least he has the gorgeous and equally zealous Melisandre at his side… even if, so far, Stannis seems totally oblivious to both her beauty and her interest.
3. The Greyjoys are waterpolo players
Because, duh, obviously the House with the kraken sigil will be drawn to water. And tiny little bathing suits. (That probably makes the Martells a beach volleyball team.) We suspect that we’ll be seeing a lot of those kraken-speedos in future episodes… and speaking of Greyjoys, we can’t wait for the epic Robb/Theon bromance we’ve been hearing so much about.
2. Jon/Dany is finally canon!
Book fans have been crying for this pairing for literally more than 20 years, and finally, it is (sort of) real! In the first episode of School of Thrones, Dany Targaryen transfers to Westeros Valley High and runs into Jon Snow, and it is love at first sight. As we all knew it would be. Of course, it still remains to be seen if biker dude Drogo is going to sweep Dany away on the back of his Harvey D, or if maybe Ygritte from the rival school of IceWall High will make a play for Jon… but for now, we’re pretty sure this odd couple will be sticking together! And maybe they’ll sing us a song of Ice and Fire, hmmmmm?
1. The intro credits
One of the things that first sucked viewers into HBO’s Game of Thrones series was the beautiful intro credits, which pan over a map of Westeros as cities grow and weirwood trees sprout leaves right before our eyes. And School of Thrones has done an amazing job replicating this effect, but using a pen and paper animation that has absolutely blown us away.
This webseries is shaping up to be a lot of fun, especially for those of us who know the story of Game of Thrones and can chuckle at how some of these characters are translated to high school students. Being only five minutes long, naturally there are still some characters that have yet to be introduced (Theon! Littlefinger! Varys!), and we wonder if the parents and younger siblings will ever make appearances, too. We’ll have to wait and see – the second episode will be released next Sunday at 12 PM PST.
What did you think about the pilot episode of School of Thrones?! Tell us in the comments! And be sure to subscribe on YouTube to be notified when the next episode is released!
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