George R.R. Martin recently revealed that HBO shelved a Game of Thrones spinoff centered on Braavos, and this series could have done one underwhelming storyline from the original show justice. There are a number of Game of Thrones spinoffs in development at HBO, along with a new Game of Thrones movie in the works from Warner Bros. House of the Dragon is proof that the fantasy franchise can succeed beyond the original story, but not every attempt to expand it has seen the light of day.
Several planned Game of Thrones spinoffs have been scrapped already, including Bloodmoon and the Jon Snow sequel series. Martin’s recent comments reveal that HBO also decided against a TV show set in Braavos, which is somewhat disappointing. After all, Braavos is an underutilized location from the original show — and it’s one that has a lot of unrealized potential. While Arya travels there in Game of Thrones season 5, her visit doesn’t do the location justice. A spinoff set in this city could finally rectify that.
Game Of Thrones’ Scrapped Braavos Spinoff Could Finally Have Done The Faceless Men Justice
It Could Have Spent More Time On The Guild & Its Ideology
One of the most intriguing things about Braavos is the Faceless Men, the assassin’s guild that resides in the city’s House of Black and White. Arya first comes into contact with one of the Faceless Men at the end of Game of Thrones season 1, and Jaqen H’ghar later helps her survive and escape Harrenhal. When he gives her a coin that can secure passage to Braavos, it’s clear she’ll head there at some point during the series. When she does, she briefly joins the Faceless Men — but this storyline isn’t as exciting as you’d expect.
A series set in Braavos could have spent more time on its mysterious Faceless Men, following more permanent members of the guild and unpacking their ideology.
Given Jaqen’s impressive assassination skills and Arya’s compelling revenge story, viewers were excited for Game of Thrones reunite them in Braavos. Unfortunately, their reunion and Arya’s assassin training turned out to be pretty underwhelming. Season 5 doesn’t explore the organization Jaqen is a part of in nearly enough depth, but the planned Braavos spinoff could have fixed that. A series set in Braavos could have spent more time on the mysterious Faceless Men, following more permanent members of the guild and unpacking their ideology.
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A spinoff taking this approach to the organization could add context to Game of Thrones season 5’s story, giving viewers the narrative they were originally hoping for. It would have the opportunity to show how more experienced Faceless Men operate, as Arya spends much of her time in Braavos training. She’s not privy to the inner workings of the group, nor does she interact with many of the assassins within it. A Braavos series could go deeper into the guild and its members.
Why Game Of Thrones Season 5’s Faceless Men Story Was So Underwhelming
Arya’s Perspective Doesn’t Offer Many Answers About The Organization
There are a few reasons Game of Thrones season 5’s Faceless Men storyline is underwhelming, the biggest being that the series doesn’t offer enough answers about the organization. The concept of the Faceless Men is a lot more interesting than the execution, especially since we don’t see many of them in action when Arya goes to Braavos. For a narrative that Game of Thrones commits an entire season to, we don’t learn much about their powers or the Many-Faced God either. The gaps in this story arc make it fall flat.
George R.R. Martin expressed a desire to write a story about Braavos in his
Not a Blog
post.
Arya’s time at the House of Black and White obviously pays off in interesting ways, as it’s the reason she’s able to enact revenge on the Freys and defeat the Night King. It’s a necessary part of her story, but her season 5 arc doesn’t do nearly enough world-building in Braavos. It’s a shame HBO’s Game of Thrones franchise can’t expand on the location in hindsight. Perhaps we’ll visit Braavos in a future spinoff or sequel instead.
Game of Thrones
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Game of Thrones is a multimedia franchise created by George R.R. Martin. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire is the basis for the award-winning HBO series Game of Thrones, which lasted for eight seasons. After the incredibly divisive final season of Game of Thrones, the series was followed up by the prequel series House of the Dragon, which also received critical acclaim.
- Cast
- Emilia Clarke , Peter Dinklage , Sophie Turner , Kit Harington , Lena Headey , Maisie Williams , Nikolaj Coster-Waldau , Iain Glen , John Bradley , Alfie Allen , Conleth Hill , Liam Cunningham , Gwendoline Christie , Aidan Gillen , Isaac Hempstead-Wright , Rory McCann , Nathalie Emmanuel , Jerome Flynn , Rhys Ifans , Matt Smith , Graham McTavish , Fabien Frankel , Steve Toussaint , Eve Best , Emma D’Arcy , Matthew Needham , Olivia Cooke , Milly Alcock , Emily Carey