# Game of Thrones 6.06 "Blood of My Blood" 5/29/16 \[Show discussion\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 30, 2016, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-6-06-blood-of-my-blood-5-29-16-show-discussion/756044 "2016-05-30T00:00:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 15
**Author:** ![Critical1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Critical1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Critical1)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2016, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-6-06-blood-of-my-blood-5-29-16-show-discussion/756044/281 "2016-06-05T00:03:02Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > No, you’re actively going out of your way to misspell almost all of them and then carry on with those misspellings even after you know they’re wrong. I don’t know why you’re doing that, but that’s something that goes beyond “not caring enough to bother”. No, you are assuming that I am going out of my way to misspell them. Something I am most certainly not doing. I haven’t read the books, I read or take part in nothing related to this show outside of these threads because I have no interest in getting spoiled. If you have an issue with the way I fail to spell some names that were misspelled in the first place much of the time then ignore me. ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_Rat)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2016, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-6-06-blood-of-my-blood-5-29-16-show-discussion/756044/282 "2016-06-05T00:58:01Z")
I’ve seen Hodor’s real name spelled Willis, Wyllis, Willys, and probably other y-centric variations, and that’s not even on this board. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2016, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-6-06-blood-of-my-blood-5-29-16-show-discussion/756044/283 "2016-06-05T02:08:37Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > I also understand that many of the spellings are a bit peculiar and if it just happened here and there it wouldn’t even be noteworthy. But when some posters, like **Critical1** , have had their repeated mistakes pointed out to them multiple times and _they still keep doing them_, that’s pretty obnoxious. This board has always strove for a higher standard than that and I see no reason to except idiosyncratic names. Personally, I find it much more obnoxious that you keep pointing it out. It’s really really really trivial. I really wish you would cut it out. It really serves no purpose. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2016, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-6-06-blood-of-my-blood-5-29-16-show-discussion/756044/284 "2016-06-05T08:27:17Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > (Actually, given Martin’s penchant for abitrarily sticking random “y’s” in names, I find myself spelling Robin as Robyn reflexively.) Wynter is coming. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_Prize](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d2c977/32.png) [@Sir\_Prize](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_Prize)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2016, 9:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-6-06-blood-of-my-blood-5-29-16-show-discussion/756044/285 "2016-06-05T09:36:23Z")
Medieval societies in our world had variant spellings for names. Why should their society be different? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2016, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-6-06-blood-of-my-blood-5-29-16-show-discussion/756044/286 "2016-06-05T13:05:31Z")
> [@Sir\_Prize](#): > > Medieval societies in our world had variant spellings for names. Why should their society be different? Not just medieval. The Bard’s name appears as Shakespeare, Shakespere, Shakespear, Shakspeare, Shackspeare, and Shakspere. He himself even signed his name differently on different documents. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2016, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-6-06-blood-of-my-blood-5-29-16-show-discussion/756044/287 "2016-06-05T13:20:47Z")
In any case, Martin’s names seem very arbitrary to me. The noble houses of Westeros originated from at least four different ethnic groups, including the First Men, Andals, Rhoynish (Dorne), and Valyrians. Yet I haven’t seen clear differences in the names from different regions, maybe except for the Valyrians. You would expect names in the North to differ from those in the south the way Scottish or Welsh names differ from those derived from Anglo Saxon. Maybe there are patterns, but they are not obvious to me. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2016, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-6-06-blood-of-my-blood-5-29-16-show-discussion/756044/288 "2016-06-05T13:53:59Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > In any case, Martin’s names seem very arbitrary to me. The noble houses of Westeros originated from at least four different ethnic groups, including the First Men, Andals, Rhoynish (Dorne), and Valyrians. Yet I haven’t seen clear differences in the names from different regions, maybe except for the Valyrians. You would expect names in the North to differ from those in the south the way Scottish or Welsh names differ from those derived from Anglo Saxon. Maybe there are patterns, but they are not obvious to me. From my understanding, many of the big names in Westeros are First Men names, even if the Andals later dominated the area and culture – the Lannisters, for example, are considered Andals but descend from the First Man (and the founder of the Kings of the Hills) Lann the Clever, even if the Andals married in later. On the other hand, the Arryns were an exclusively Andal name IIRC. The Baratheons descend from Aegon (the Conqueror) Targaryen’s best friend (and possible bastard half-brother) Orys Baratheon, which sounds just a tiny bit Valyrian. I don’t know if the Martells are Andal or First Man in origin – they have strong Rhoynish descent, but the Martells existed before the arrival of the Rhoynish (IIRC). Probably an interesting topic for a paper! ---
**Author:** ![thirdname](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@thirdname](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdname)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2016, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-6-06-blood-of-my-blood-5-29-16-show-discussion/756044/289 "2016-06-05T14:08:08Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > From my understanding, many of the big names in Westeros are First Men names, even if the Andals later dominated the area and culture – the Lannisters, for example, are considered Andals but descend from the First Man (and the founder of the Kings of the Hills) Lann the Clever, even if the Andals married in later. > > On the other hand, the Arryns were an exclusively Andal name IIRC. The Baratheons descend from Aegon (the Conqueror) Targaryen’s best friend (and possible bastard half-brother) Orys Baratheon, which sounds just a tiny bit Valyrian. I don’t know if the Martells are Andal or First Man in origin – they have strong Rhoynish descent, but the Martells existed before the arrival of the Rhoynish (IIRC). > > **Probably an interesting topic for a paper!** I’m going to use this as a thesis topic for my degree in Imaginary History. ---
**Author:** ![Rucksinator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/898d66/32.png) [@Rucksinator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rucksinator)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2016, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-6-06-blood-of-my-blood-5-29-16-show-discussion/756044/290 "2016-06-05T14:21:24Z")
This is a bit off topic, but you reminded me of something that I had been thinking of that probably doesn’t warrant its own thread. Did G.R.R.M invent languages out of whole cloth for the Dothraki, Valerians, etc…? If so, why didn’t he (and Tolkien) simply use existent languages? He used English as “The Common Language”, so he could have used a Germanic language for the (basically Barbarian) Dothraki and an ancient language like Latin or Greek for Valerian. Not only would this save him time, but the uber-nerds who spend time learning these languages would actually be learning something useful. ---
**Author:** ![Pasta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@Pasta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pasta)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2016, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-6-06-blood-of-my-blood-5-29-16-show-discussion/756044/291 "2016-06-05T15:59:19Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > In any case, Martin’s names seem very arbitrary to me. The noble houses of Westeros originated from at least four different ethnic groups, including the First Men, Andals, Rhoynish (Dorne), and Valyrians. I recall an interview where Martin explained that names that have survived since the First Men tend to be simpler (_e.g._, Stark). Subsequent rounds of immigration and the passage of time brought more complex names (_e.g._, Lannister). And Valyrian names more often have the “ae” and “y” sorts of exotica. It’s a separate question as to how well that holds up in practice. ---
**Author:** ![Telperion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telperion/32/509_2.png) [@Telperion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperion)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2016, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-6-06-blood-of-my-blood-5-29-16-show-discussion/756044/292 "2016-06-05T16:03:25Z")
> [@Rucksinator](#): > > This is a bit off topic, but you reminded me of something that I had been thinking of that probably doesn’t warrant its own thread. > > Did G.R.R.M invent languages out of whole cloth for the Dothraki, Valerians, etc…? If so, why didn’t he (and Tolkien) simply use existent languages? He used English as “The Common Language”, so he could have used a Germanic language for the (basically Barbarian) Dothraki and an ancient language like Latin or Greek for Valerian. Not only would this save him time, but the uber-nerds who spend time learning these languages would actually be learning something useful. That’s more or less what he did with the names, to be honest. [Lannister](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Lancaster) [Stark](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_York) [Tyrell](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Tyrrell) [Martell](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Martel) [Valyria](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valeria,_Spain_(Roman_City)) And so on. You don’t have to look too hard to find his inspiration for some things. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2016, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-6-06-blood-of-my-blood-5-29-16-show-discussion/756044/293 "2016-06-05T19:23:40Z")
> [@Mr\_Shine](#): > > Also, either the mummers are minor characters just for this plot point that will make no further appearances or Bianca is not guilty. If we revisit the troupe, then it’s clear Arya used some threadbare evidence to finger her. I agree. Especially since we have… > [@up\_the\_junction](#): > > Richard E Grant hamming it up like only he can. I think he is the one who wants the actress dead. We even see him pissed at her for criticizing his writing, and he seemed quick to anger on that point. Perhaps he’s heard similar comments from her before. I don’t think you hire someone like Grant for a throwaway role. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2016, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-6-06-blood-of-my-blood-5-29-16-show-discussion/756044/294 "2016-06-05T19:46:01Z")
Just had a funny thought waking up : NEXT WEEK, on Game of Thrones, find out how Bran mucking up with time travel powers messed up cousin Orson ! Smash the beetles, kuh, kuh, kuh ! ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2016, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-6-06-blood-of-my-blood-5-29-16-show-discussion/756044/295 "2016-06-05T21:56:10Z")
Found this picture of The Waif (Faye Marsay) online. I assume it’s from the show but we haven’t see it yet so I’m spoiler boxing it. Nothing specific revealed. [The Waif looking much more interesting.](http://ia.media-imdb.com/images/M/MV5BMTQ4MzYyMTgzNl5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwMzI1NzgxMDE@._V1_UY1200_CR585,0,630,1200_AL_.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2016, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-6-06-blood-of-my-blood-5-29-16-show-discussion/756044/296 "2016-06-05T23:33:35Z")
Sorry, that link doesn’t seem to work and it may be that that picture was from a BBC series called [The White Queen.](http://ia.media-imdb.com/images/M/MV5BMTQ4MzYyMTgzNl5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwMzI1NzgxMDE@._V1_SX640_SY720_.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2016, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-6-06-blood-of-my-blood-5-29-16-show-discussion/756044/297 "2016-06-05T23:39:00Z")
Copy and paste this link into a browser address bar: [http://ia.media-imdb.com/images/M/MV5BMTQ4MzYyMTgzNl5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwMzI1NzgxMDE@.\_V1\_UY1200\_CR585,0,630,1200\_AL\_.jpg](http://ia.media-imdb.com/images/M/MV5BMTQ4MzYyMTgzNl5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwMzI1NzgxMDE@._V1_UY1200_CR585,0,630,1200_AL_.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2016, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-6-06-blood-of-my-blood-5-29-16-show-discussion/756044/298 "2016-06-05T23:44:30Z")
Hmm…I’m getting a referal denied message for both links. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2016, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-6-06-blood-of-my-blood-5-29-16-show-discussion/756044/299 "2016-06-06T00:22:07Z")
> [@River\_Hippie](#): > > Hmm…I’m getting a referal denied message for both links. Sorry I didn’t disable link parsing. Right click on the link, copy the link address and paste it into the address bar. Clicking the link won’t work because the hosting website is rejecting referrals. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2016, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-6-06-blood-of-my-blood-5-29-16-show-discussion/756044/300 "2016-06-06T02:07:52Z")
> [@Rucksinator](#): > > If so, why didn’t he (and Tolkien) simply use existent languages? Tolkien did use Old English or maybe older roots to represent words used by the Hobbits and the Rohirrim. But the idea was he was representing archaic forms of a completely different language. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-6-06-blood-of-my-blood-5-29-16-show-discussion/756044.md?page=14) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-6-06-blood-of-my-blood-5-29-16-show-discussion/756044.md?page=16)