“Last Night In Brooklyn” — A report from the Game of Thrones Epic Fan Experience

Last night, over 7,000 fans descended upon HBO’s “The Epic Fan Experience” in celebration of this year’s oncoming Game of Thrones season. In anticipation of the event, we sent none other than our very own Game of Owns co-host Micah Tannenbaum to experience the evening’s schedule and surprises, ending in a massive screening of “Two Swords” (the first episode in what we know to be a very exciting Season 4).

Enjoy!

Those who attended Game Of Thrones Epic Fan Experience in Brooklyn, New York, got more than just the premiere of Season 4.

The Bergenfield High School Marching Band got the night started right with their rendition of the Game of Thrones theme song. They proved a worthy opening act for Common, who took the stage shorty thereafter and got the crowd going, performing his new song The Ladder from Catch the Throne: The Mixtape.

Next up, our emcee for the evening – Kristian Nairn! Fan favorite Hodor got one hell of a Big Apple welcome and opened by thanking fans for their endless support of the show and letting everyone know that they were in for quite a few surprises. Perhaps the biggest was the introduction of author George R. R. Martin, who received a standing ovation from the more than 7,000 at Barclays Center. As fans took their seats, Martin gave a chuckling “I’m working on it,” which drew laughs and cheers from the crowd. He then said when he told his friends where he’d be tonight, several wanted to come along, he so happily obliged. Enter stage right Maisie Williams (Arya Stark), John Bradley (Samwell Tarly) and Sibyl Kekilli (Shae) for a Q&A led by Kristian.

Some notable moments from the Q&A:

Maisie Williams said that of any character, Arya would want to kill Joffrey the most and in the most humiliating way possible.

After John Bradley told a great story about Iceland that could only be replicated with his humor, he gave a very short answer as to what he likes most about working on Game of Thrones: Kit Harington’s big… brown… eyes.

George R.R. Martin on if he bases any of his characters off of people he knows in real life? Tywin off of Vladamir Putin (joking). Many of his characters and major events in the series are based on key historical events and figures, including powerful women. There are a lot of powerful women in history who don’t get the same level of recognition.

Maisie on learning to use a sword: She’s getting better at it, but she’s not quite as good as Arya (in the books). She joked about how she accidentally hits quite a few things on set, including people and cameras, to which she receives disappointed-parent looks from members of the crew.

George on if a stag could really kill a direwolf? [to Kristian] “Well, a stag does kill a direwolf. If you read the books, you’d know that!” He went on to say that it is very rare and the stag’s antler has to hit the exact right spot. But as far as what can kill a dragon? Well, not many things. But we do know… Dragons kill dragons.

Prior to introducing to the Season 4 premiere to the crowd, Martin had one last surprise up his sleeve. Well, actually it’s doubtful this one could fit there. One lucky Game of Thrones fan was going to have a chance to win their very own Iron Throne! Mike Ross from Hoboken, New Jersey, was proclaimed by Martin himself as King of the Andals, the Rhoynar and the First Men, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms, and Protector of the Realm. Mike then commanded Martin to finish The Winds of Winter before he left the stage.

Then it was time. Dim the lights. Cue the HBO static-like snow. Season 4 was about to begin for the thousands that had gathered in one of the largest living rooms to watch their favorite TV show.

As we want to keep things relatively Unsullied until April 6, below is a very generic overview of the episode. Fans were also treated to a full Season 4 preview at the end of the episode

Season 4, Episode 1

The title “Two Swords” appropriately bookends this episode and brings fans back to events of seasons past. Several loose ends are finally tied up. The map in the opening sequence reveals two new locations: one in the Essos and one in the Westeros. The Red Viper of Dorne makes as unique an entrance to the show as one possibly can and will easily be a fan favorite. With his arrival in King’s Landing it is clear the Lannisters are on notice. Speaking of Lannisters, this is one rough episode for Jaime: from Tywin to Cersei to Joffrey to Brienne. The guy just can’t catch a break. We’re reintroduced to the characters of Ser Dontos, Alliser Thorne and Janos Slynt while Tormund, Ygritte and the rest of their wildling crew meet an ally with a penchant for eating crow (literally). Jon answers for his crimes, while Arya and The Hound continue their adventures. Great humor and one-liners throughout the course of the show, but particularly with those two. And we can’t forget Daenerys. As she makes her way to Meereen, there are only three words.. oh my dragon(s)!

Let’s just leave it there.

OWN of the Episode:

Alliser Thorne: How is it you can always tell when someone is lying?
Aemon Targaryen: I grew up in King’s Landing.

-Micah

• Published on 03/21/2014 at 4:25 PM CDT
• Last updated on 10/21/2016 at 12:43 PM CDT