Game of Thrones is a globally celebrated phenomenon. It has built a fan following unlike any other. Based on the book series A Song Of Ice & Fire by George R.R. Martin, the 8 season series is readying itself for a prequel show. House Of The Dragon will take us to the yesteryears of House Targaryen as they rose to power in Westeros. While HBO is indeed planning multiple Game of Thrones spin-off series, we have a bone to pick with House Of The Dragon. House Forrester, a mysterious new noble house revealed in Telltale’s tie-in video game, could’ve been the follow-up prequel.
The last season of Game of Thrones, season 8, was met with harsh and unyielding criticism. Fans and critics alike unanimously claimed the final season looked rushed as heck. The Night King was killed in the early phases. The story looked extremely abrupt as mid-season approached. Many fan-favorite characters were not given the justice they deserved. HBO is hell-bent on the notion of leaving a lasting legacy for the greatest HBO Original series they have ever created. And so House Of the Dragon was announced. This prequel series will tell us the tale of the Valyrian rulers of Essos. Many other TV shows based on the Game of Thrones universe will soon follow.
House Of The Dragon Can Never Be As Successful As Game of Thrones
We just have one question to ask – if the idea is to create spin-offs, why settle for already well-known houses? We mean hasn’t Game of Thrones already shown us bits and pieces of all relevant history regarding the Targaryens?!?! Almost 80 per cent of their history is well-known. Making a show on a story that has surprisingly little to offer in the form of fresh and unique content does not make any sense at all.
Instead of House Targaryen, a Game of Thrones spin-off on the Telltale game series’ House Forrester is much more reasonable.
House Forrester – An Intriguing Tale Lost To Time
Based on the Telltale series of video games released between December 2014 and November 2015, House Forrester turned out to be possess quite a unique and intriguing history. The video game series was published under license from HBO and released in episodic format. Apart from new characters, many original Game of Thrones cast members also came back to voice their Game of Thrones counterparts. Peter Dinklage, Emilia Clark, and even Kit Harington returned to reprise their roles for the game series.
The Forresters are not game-only original characters. they have been a part of the books by George R.R. Martin. House Forrester was passively mentioned in the 2011 A Dance With Dragons, the fifth entry in the book series. But it was in the Telltale Game series that their history and key members were explored in depth.
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The head of House Forrester was Lord Gregor Forrestor. He had six children with his wife Lady Elissa. The four sons were Asher, Ryon, Ethan, and Rodrik. The two daughters were Talia and Mira. House Forrester’s seat was Ironrath, situated in the North. From Castle Ironrath, House Forrester dealt primarily in ironwood, their greatest export. The Forresters were the vassals of House Glover, which in turn served House Stark.
Rivalry & History
House Forrester had a pretty long-standing rivalry with another vassal house. House Whitehill were their sworn enemies. The Whitehills were loyal to House Bolton. So when Robb Stark was killed and House Stark survivors were forced into hiding, the Forrestors were no longer in good shape.
Now this is where it gets interesting. The Forrestors were forced to go through hell after the Red Wedding. Lord Gregor Forrestor was at the red wedding. So he was killed along with the other Stark loyalists. The eldest son Rodrik, was also presumed dead in the same infamous event. Asher was in exile in Essos. So the weight of leading the House fell on the 14 year old Ethan. Ethan did his best to be what it takes but he soon fell to Ramsay Bolton. Bolton then took the last Forrestor son – Ryon, and ordered the Whitehills to keep him hostage.
But wait, it gets even more engaging. The eldest daughter Mira was in King’s Landing, serving as Lady Margaery Tyrell’s handmaiden. Gared Tuttle, Lord Gregor’s squire, was sent to the wall and become a member of the Night’s Watch as punishment for killing a Bolton.
The Story Thickens
It is later revealed that all is not lost for the Forresters. Rodrik is shown to have survived the events of the Red Wedding. But he is in very bad shape. Mira is playing politics in King’s Landing. She tries to convince Cersei Lannister to provide aid to the Forresters. Although Cersei admires her courage, she ultimately refuses. As the conflict between the Whitehills and the Forresters intensifies, Sir Malcolm Barnfield is sent to Essos to bring back Asher, the now true heir to Ironrath. Gared Tuttle ventures beyond the wall, all the way to North Grove. There he discovers lord Gregor’s two bastard children – Josera and Elsera Snow.
The Ending Leaves the Doors Open For An Epic Continuation
Telltale Games always leaves the players to decide the course and direction of the story. Based on what the player decides, either Asher Forrester dies while returning. Or on the other hand, he becomes the new Lord of Ironrath but Rodrik dies in the process. Despite the choices, the story comes to a bloody conclusion with ironrath lost to the Whitehills and the death of Lady Elissa.
In King’s landing, Mira is either killed for killing a royal guard or forced to marry Rickard Morgryn. The latter is only marrying Mira to get his hands on the Forrester’s lucrative ironwood business. The story ends with Ironrath burnt to a crisp. The surviving Forrester heir – Rodrik or Asher, re-unites with Talia, the last remaining Forrester.
Together they would plot their way back to retrieving their ancestral lands and defeat the Whitehills. It was clear the second season of telltale Games’ House Forrester series would have happened in the backdrop of the Battle of the Bastards. The Forresters would have reclaimed their home and turned the tables on their Whitehill foes. But since the series was cancelled just before a season 2 was about to be released, we will never know what happened to the Forresters.
Such an intriguing tale requires further experimentation. Instead of focusing on a story that has been driven into the ground with eight entire seasons throwing it into the spotlight, giving us the tale of House Forrester would have been a better focal point for a prequel series set within the Game of Thrones Universe timeline.
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The series could be taking place between the Red wedding and the Battle of the Bastards. There’s so much of the Northern houses we still do not know of. We hope the execs at HBO are reading this article.
