Game Of Thrones Finally Returning To Pentos
Game of Thrones had done a good job of making sure Essos and the Free Cities across the Narrow Sea stay fresh in viewer’s minds, but lately that focus, when not on the cities around Slaver’s Bay, has been in Braavos, home of the Iron Bank as well as Arya’s friend Jaqen H’ghar. But as more characters make the crossing away from Westeros, the map of Essos will start to become as wide as its western counterpart.
To that end, it looks like the show will be returning to where we originally began in Essos back in Season 1: Pentos, the Free City on the Bay, and home of Illyrio Mopatis. Los Siete Reinos has a few pictures they claim are part of the return to Illyrio’s, this time by new Westerosi exiles. (Update: the pics were posted earlier at Watchers On The Wall).
More pics, followed by noted speculation and spoilers, below….
This is footage from Villa Sheherezade, a luxury hotel in Dubrovnik, which sources claim is where Illyrio’s house will be filmed this coming season.
If you think it looks a little different from Season 1, you’re right–in the original pilot, Morocco was used to stand in for Pentos, but by the time the show made it to air, most of it was reshot in Malta.
It looks like Illyrio’s house is getting a bit of an upgrade this season. This is probably because we’ll be seeing inside the house this time, as well as outside.
Filming Pentos in Dubrovnik makes sense after also having it stand in for Braavos. This also matches up with some of the pictures SeekNewTravel sent us over the course of filming last week. Though at the time, I thought everything was King’s Landing related (and it may very well have been) these outfits look rather Pentosi, don’t you think? Certainly reminiscent of what Illryio wears.
As for why certain fugitives from Season 4 would come to the House of Illyrio? Speculation below.
As you may remember, back in Season 1, the show clarified a later revelation from the books that Illyrio and Varys are have a connection. In A Dance With Dragons, when Tyrion turns up at Illyrio’s house, it almost feels like an irony that this is where he came, just as the Targaryens did. It’s not until close to the end of that book, when Varys (who has been AWOL since Tyrion’s disappearance at the end of A Storm Of Swords) emerges from the tunnels of King’s Landing and reveals he’s been working with Illyrio to put the Targaryens back on the throne, that his choice to send Tyrion there starts to make more sense. But since the show has been far more up front about this connection between the two men, it only make sense that Tyrion winds up here.
The question is, is this Varys’ destination? In the books, he does not. But at the end of Season 4, he’s clearly on the boat with Tyrion, ready to flee King’s Landing and the madness about to be unleashed with the death of Tywin Lannister.
It’ll certainly be interesting to see what happens with Pentos and the potential return of Master Illyrio.
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