Game of Throneshides its fantasy elements behind layers of historical violence, political intrigue, and fascinating psychological drama. The series features dragons, ice zombies, magic, and indigenous nature people, but it’s never about them. In-universe historians believe most fantasy creatures are extinct, but the adventurous heroes routinely find them in the untamed wild. Giants live beyond the Wall, but the books and series offer them different traits.
Game of Thronesopens seventeen years after a forcefuluprising called Robert’s Rebellion. The civil war uprooted a 280-year dynasty and created new conflicts for the fate of Westeros. The continent features thousands of years of previous human history, some shrouded in mystery by the lack of written languages. Those earlier eras could have featured endless strange and unique creatures beyond the imagination of modern citizens.
How do Giants appear inGame of Thrones?
Giants are towering humanoid creatures thought to be extinct by the modern people of Westeros.12,000 years beforeepisode one, humans crossed the land bridge from Essos to Westeros. Two species of indigenous humanoids occupied the continent. The diminutive Children of the Forest occupied the woods while giants migrated across continents. Humans waged war against the locals, eventually signing a peace treaty with the Children. The giants were omitted, but still ceased conflict with humanity. Some sayBrandon the Builderrelied upon giants to build the Wall. Their legends faded in the thousands of years after the Andals invaded. They exist in bedtime stories and mythology. The Free Folk who live beyond the Wall reference them as if they still exist. Jon Snow discovers that giants still live, though pushed beyond the Wall they helped construct.
Giants are roughly twice the size of the average person. They have the strength of a dozen warriors. They resemble large humans with rough facial features. Their hair and beards are long, and they wear furs and bones. Giants live among the Free Folk and fightin Mance Rayder’s army. The average citizen of Westeros denies their existence. Jon Snow is shocked when he sees his first at the Free Folk camp. When he reports back to Castle Black, alerting his Night’s Watch brothers that Mance Rayder has at least 100,000 soldiers and several giants, they laugh at him. Some officers acknowledge them before they assault Castle Black. They wield large bows and ride mammoths. Mag the Mighty, their strongest warrior, dies in the battle. Wun Weg Wun Dar Wun, better known as Wun Wun, is the most iconic giant in the series. He helps to defend Jon Snow and Tormund from White Walkers with a burning log. Their contributions are rare, but they’re fascinating in the show.
How do Giants appear inA Song of Ice and Fire?
The strangest thing about giants in the show is that they partially adapt incorrect information. The giants are described as looking completely different in the books. Theyresemble Sasquatch more thanany other fictional giant. They stand ten to fourteen feet tall and wield the strength of a dozen men, just like they do on-screen. Giants are covered in a thick fur pelt that eschews the need for clothing. They stand nude in the frozen land beyond the wall. Their feet are hardened, precluding the need for footwear. They have small faces and tiny eyes. They rely primarily on smell. The show dresses giants in clothing and boots, mirroring their description in Old Nan’s bedtime stories, but ignoring theirdepiction in the books.
HBO’sGame of Thronesdepicts giants wielding bows and arrows to assault Castle Black. The giants in the book are unable to use technology more complicated than rocks tied to sticks. They typically swing trees or stones around like rudimentary clubs.Jon Snow discovershis Old Nan’s stories are untrue when he meets the giants in the wildling camp. She imagined them wearing massive suits of armor and living in castles the size of towns. He discovered them living under much more humble conditions, demonstrating the power of harmony with nature. He describes watching one at war like this:
The two crossbows had gotten off a dozen quarrels as the giant struggled toward them. Then the spearmen must have come to the fore, stabbing through the bars. Still the giant found the strength to reach through, twist the head off Spotted Pate, seize the iron gate, and wrench the bars apart. Links of broken chain lay strewn across the floor. One giant. All this was the work of one giant.
Giants don’t do enough inGame of Thrones. They’re a fascinating primitive culture existing beyond the boundaries of Westeros. Wum Wum is a fun character who enjoys a bit of screen time and a few enjoyable gags. Though they look different in the show than they’redescribed in the books, they remain a unique aspect of the franchise’s history.
