Game of Thrones Season 3: 11 Reasons To Be Excited

With the ending of the second season of Game of Thrones a couple weeks back, viewers were left with a haunting scene of an army of White Walkers creeping their way to the Wall and presumably even past it. Other storylines ended with Jon Snow peering over the cliffs to Mance Rayder’s vast army, the burning of Winterfell as Bran and Rickon head north for Jon, and the decision to finally set sail by Daenerys.  Without saying too much too soon, there are a whole lot of new issues that arise in the third book, A Storm of Swords, and viewers will be pleasantly surprised by the sheer amount of material that it holds. Of course the third book is going to be split into two seasons, but seeing as how the show took its liberties with many characters like Arya, Robb, and Daenerys, book readers should be looking forward to how the creators envision some of the series’ most memorable moments.

Non-book readers should note that the books are formatted in a way where the story is told from multiple points of view (POV) with the respective character’s name being the title of each chapter. The first book was told through the eyes of Eddard, Catelyn, Jon, Sansa, Arya, Bran, Tyrion, and Daenerys. The second book was told through Catelyn, Jon, Sansa, Arya, Bran, Tyrion, and Daenerys with new POV additions of Theon and Davos. This makes the books more focused as a whole because readers know who is important and who is ultimately a player in the game of thrones. The third book retains most of the second book’s POVs with the exception of Theon and with the addition of two new interesting choices.

Obviously, no one knows how much season 3 will cover in terms of the book, but there are definitely sections that would make a grand season finale. From a book reader’s perspective, here are 11 reasons to be excited for season 3 of Game of Thrones. There won’t be spoilers in the grandest of senses, but non-book readers should heed the warning that there are certainly hints of events to come.

 

11.  Jojen and Meera Reed

The Reed siblings are actually introduced in A Clash of Kings, which is of course second book.  Their father is a bannerman to the Starks and his children go to Winterfell to renew their pledge.  The Reeds are there for almost everything that happens to Bran in season 2 including when Theon took over Winterfell.  Meera Reed protects the children while Jojen Reed helps Bran with his visions.  How they’re going to be introduced in season 3 is still a mystery, but these two characters are pivotal in Bran’s story and give some much needed spice and sense of adventure as well.

10. The Whereabouts of Sandor Clegane (a.k.a. The Hound)

During the Battle of the Blackwater, Clegane fled King’s Landing and offered to take Sansa with him.  Although she denied him, his story is definitely not over.  He doesn’t get POV chapters though, so he reappears in another character’s storyline and is actually a welcome and frightening addition.  The interactions between this POV character and Clegane are “different” and are definitely worth the wait.

 

9. The Return of Barristan Selmy

In case viewers have forgotten, Barristan Selmy was the Lord Commander of the Kingsguards until Joffrey humiliatingly dismissed him.  He vowed to find the rightful king to serve and stormed off without ever being seen again…until now.  Without giving away too much, he certainly thought long and hard about who he was going to look for because his return is quite the surprise, even to the readers.  He actually returned much sooner, but was not revealed until book three through the eyes of a POV character who readers thought would never meet him.  Hopefully the show gives him the justice he deserves.

 

8. Where is Daenerys Sailing To?

If viewers thought she would be sailing to Westeros, they’d be downright wrong.  How could she take her rightful throne without an army?  She can’t and she knows this.  To be honest, her story in the second book was pretty dull in comparison to the first book and it does take some time for her to develop in the third, but it will be worth it.  Her endeavors in finding an army show her leadership potential and also show some obstacles she never saw coming.  The more she triumphs, the more problems arise and viewers should expect her to actually do something this time around.

7. Riverrun, Home of House Tully

In case viewers didn’t know, Robb actually didn’t have a POV in the first and second book.  His actions were viewed only through Catelyn’s eyes and he was never truly fleshed out as much as he was in the show.  Readers never saw his marriage to Jeyne (Talisa in the show) as he randomly came back early on in the third book saying he got married and has broken his promise to the Freys.

In the second book and the first half of the third, much of Catelyn’s story takes place in her home of Riverrun.  Catelyn’s uncle Brynden and her brother Edmure are very important characters so it was good to hear they were finally being cast.  Like Arya, Catelyn gets a lot of mileage in her story and being able to finally return home was a breath of fresh air.

 

6. Mance Rayder’s Army

His name was generously mentioned over the course of the season 2 and it was no different in the books.  The former sworn brother to the Night’s Watch has raised an army of wildings beyond the Wall, but for what?  What is Jon’s role in Mance’s grand scheme?  Will Jon remain a wilding after he broke his vows?  Though Jon’s story was not something to look forward to in the second season, like Daenerys, he finally gets going again and readers simply cannot wait.

5. The White Walkers

Let’s just spoil it and say that Samwell does indeed live.  In fact, he lives so much that in the third book, he is one of two characters to get a new POV.  After all, the readers do need to know what’s going on in the Night’s Watch with Jon off playing with the Wildlings.  Samwell fits this role perfectly especially since he was so close to Jon to begin with.

Being the last thing viewers see in season 2 shows that the White Walkers mean business.  Especially since they’re presumably heading for the Fist of the First Men where most of the Night’s Watch is currently at.  From what viewers know so far, only fire can kill them so being surrounded by snow and ice probably isn’t going to help the Night’s Watch’s cause.  The ensuing chaos is sure to remind them why they protect the realm to begin with.

 

4. Jaime and Brienne’s Adventure to King’s Landing

Wait, there’s no previous POV character here?  So which of these two is the other new POV besides Sam?  It may be shocking that Jaime Lannister is the one who gets fleshed out and his addition is more than welcome.

Why is this important and why should viewers be excited?  For the first two books, Jaime was seen as a villain.  After all, he has incestuous relations with his sister, he killed the king he was sworn to protect, and in the show, he killed his own cousin for crying out loud!  So why does a villain of somewhat meager importance get his own chapters?  The answer is not obvious at first, but will become so sooner than never.  His adventures with Brienne, the taciturn warrior, prove to be among the favorites among book readers because of “changes” that occur.  With readers finally able to get into the mind of the Kingslayer, his story unravels quite elegantly.

3. Arya and the Brotherhood Without Banners

Many praised Arya’s storyline in the season 2 and though they changed it quite a bit, she still ended up in the same place; she’s traveling with Gendry and Hot Pie in search of her mother.  Arya by far gets the most mileage in her adventures and the third book is no different.  She meets a strange group of people along the way called The Brotherhood Without Banners led by Beric Dondarrion who was briefly mentioned in season 1.  This group proves to be extremely important in the overall story so viewers should take note of their introduction.

 

2. Sansa

She denied Sandor Clegane when he offered to help her escape and she denied Littlefinger when he asked if she wanted to go home, so why should viewers be excited for Sansa?  It’s because in the third book, her story truly takes flight.  After all, she’s a highborn girl who is being held captive by the very people who killed her father and branded her family a traitor.  She was kept alive because of her previous betrothal to Joffrey, but now that she’s been released from that duty, what next?

From a book reader’s perspective, Sansa is the one to watch.  Not because of anything she does in particular, but because of what happens around her as a POV character who is in the middle of a violent storm.  Viewers will be shocked.

1. RW

Readers have been waiting for this moment since the announcement that these books were being turned into a TV show.  The creators of the show even said their goal was to at least have this moment happen and they would be happy.  They got their wish and season 3 will more likely than not have this near the end or at the end.  Much of the previous reasons above to be excited all culminate to this moment.  In fact, it would seem like season 2 was setting up for this moment as well.  Needless to say, viewers will not know what is waiting for them in the shadows.

Notable mentions:

Some important characters didn’t make it to the list because of a variety of reasons.  Namely Tyrion, who is undoubtedly, a fan favorite.  His story actually ties in to at least two of the aforementioned reasons, but he’s not the focal point in them.  Don’t expect him to just sit around though.

Another character is Stannis (who readers see through the eyes of Davos).  Spoilers!  Davos lives and his story with Stannis is…underwhelming to say the least.

The third book relies heavily on the number 1 reason this article mentions and the following aftermath of it as well.  In fact, since no one knows where season three will end, it could very well include the memorable moment that happens after RW.  In that case, reason 1.5 would be the aftermath of RW.  That’s right, the third book has a second moment which readers have been looking forward to as well.  Season 3 is probably going to blow viewers out of Blackwater, just like Stannis.

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