Warfare Experts Rate 12 'Game Of Thrones' Scenes For Realism | How Real Is It | Insider

Dave Rawlings has over 15 years of experience teaching Western swordsmanship, and he teaches longsword at the London Longsword Academy. He looks at duels from "Game of Thrones."

Archer Jim Kent, aka Grizzly Jim, breaks down bow and archery accuracy in "Game of Thrones."

Roel Konijnendijk teaches ancient history at the University of Oxford's Lincoln College. He rates battle scenes and swords and buckles in "House of the Dragon" (2022), featuring Matt Smith.

Blacksmith Neil Kamimura rates forging scenes from "Game of Thrones" for realism.

Rebecca Simon, a piracy historian and professor of history at Santa Monica College, rates pirate battles from "House of the Dragon" E2 and E3 (2022), for realism.

Toby Capwell is a medieval-weapons expert as well as an author, lecturer, broadcaster, and the curator of arms and armor at The Wallace Collection in London. Capwell assesses the accuracy of armor and weapons used in "Game of Thrones."

Jousting world champion Shane Adams rates horseback and jousting fight scenes in "Game of Thrones" for realism.

Evan Wilson is an assistant professor at the US Naval War College and an expert in 18th-century naval warfare. Wilson rates naval warfare scenes in "Game of Thrones" (2017).

Medieval-fortification expert Michael Fulton is an assistant professor of medieval history at Western University in Ontario, Canada. He looks at fortress defense scenes from "Game of Thrones" S2E9 (2012).

Dave Rawlings
Roel Konijnendijk
Neil Kamimura
Rebecca Simon
Toby Capwell
Shane Adams
Evan Wilson
Michael Fulton

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#gameofthrones #howrealisit #insider

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Warfare Experts Rate 12 'Game Of Thrones' Scenes For Realism | How Real Is It | Insider

[enigma]

I love how the entire comment section recognizes the importance of digging ditches. Just lots and lots of ditches

[JonathanRossRogers]

21:18 Oberyn Martell's primary goal wasn't to defeat the Mountain. He wanted Tywin Lannister to admit that he'd ordered the murder of Oberyn's sister Elia and her children. Oberyn didn't die because of pride as much as an overdeveloped sense of vengeance, to quote Count Rugen.

[tweakbolt]

You know you messed up when the ditch man brings out a whiteboard.

[JVarley]

How to win a medieval battle
1: Dig through the ditches
2: Burn through the witches

[andyh]

Should have asked the naval warfare expert how often one side completely forgot their opponent's very large fleet existed.

[AlexanderofMiletus]

Can we point out that one guy’s qualification was “world jousting champion”

[essaboselin]

No offense to the other experts, but these scenes needed ditches! And more ditches!

[ghostsade]

Just wanted to specify that the pirates the lady around 24:22 talks about aren't just regular pirates in the show; they're a state-sponsored multinational force intended to project power into that area so that those states can benefit from all the trade passing through their sphere of influence. To reiterate, they are not regular pirates and actually do have a reason (in their minds) to use terror as a psychological warfare tactic. To use a historical example, they are much more like the Barbary states that were sponsored by the Ottoman Empire than they are like regular lone wolf pirates like we so often hear about historically.

[sebastianviteri]

I've dug like 40 ditches in anticipation

[Titanic_]

13:45 Ice, the sword being melted in this scene, is canonically 6ft long, so there's more than enough Valyrian steel to make 2 smaller swords out of it. Valyrian steel is also magic, so it probably doesn't lose mass when reforged.

[haraldisdead]

"You should be digging ditches, many ditches. Once your first ditch is ready, build another one!
...dig many ditches. Just lots and lots of ditches." 😅😅

[cleverusername]

I love how we all universally love Ditch Guy. No offense to the other experts but Mr Konijnendijk is just so fun.

[LomLaLay]

"Veni, vidi, fossas multas fodi."
"I came, I saw, I dug several ditches"

[graysonharelson]

What’s up with the pirate lady comparing the crab feeder to 17th century pirates and giving it a 1/10?💀

[indyspotes]

Giving the Battle of Winterfell a 5/10 may be the greatest single act
of generosity that I've ever witnessed on the internet...

[MrPedrograndi]

I like it when experts demonstrate when scenes don't correspond to real battles and, at the same time, acknowledge that they were done in such a way just for dramatic effect.

The choice then seems like a calculation in which you are not limited to realism, but also do not disregard it in a way that generates disbelief on the part of the viewer.

[Felyxx]

Love the siege guy. The way he said, "You drop a bowling ball on someone, it stops them in their tracks". He said it with way too much enthusiasm.

[misanthropicservitorofmars]

This series from insider is amazing. Bringing history nerds together to teach. It also shows how these movie and TV productions need to start hiring and listening to these historians.

[cpt_soban]

Winterfell: 20 concentric rings of ditches around the entire castle
Roel: NOT ENOUGH DITCHES!

[circependragon]

15:39 *guy gets brutally stabbed through the head* “That’s quite nice”