Steel thyself! Game of Thrones Season 5 is coming!

Tomorrow, April 13, we return to the wondrous, often times tragic, world of Westeros as HBO’s acclaimed adaptation of George R.R. Martin’s fantastic books, Game of Thrones, comes back for another sizzling season!

Tantan-tana-nantan-tana-nantan-tana-nantan-tana-naaanuuunananunananuu-tantan-tananan-tun (you sang the tune didn’t you?)

In anticipation of this, HBO Asia brings to Manila a life-sized replica of the Iron Throne at Fully Booked, Bonifacio High Street. As if we need more excitement to catch this amazing series, we were invited during the unveiling of the Iron Throne last April 8 along with the first people to see the first episode in Asia – ever! O_O

Oh, happy day!

Who sits on the Iron Throne?

From what we saw, Season 5 is going to be a mayhem full of drama, danger and more importantly….

… dragons! Lots and lots of dragons! :3

They grow up so fast, don’t they?

While the first episode lacks a bit of punch, it does set the whole season rather nicely. We see the main players of the throne threw into a world where there are no certainties anymore. Cersi (Lena Headey) and Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) Lannister adjusts to a world without Tywin. Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) escapes from King’s Landing as a stowaway and in self-exile is being recruited by Varys (Conieth Hill) to help secure the fate of the kingdom in better hands while Jon Snow (Kit Harrington) is caught between Stannis Baratheon (Stephen Dillane), his allegiance to Castle Black and his sympathies to the freefolks up North. Halfway around the world, Daenarys Targayren (Emilia Clarke) faces a new threat that operates in the shadows.

What new threats and plot twists await Season 5?

NEW CAST

This Season also opens us to new characters and cast members. A new religious group is rising in King’s Landing led by the enigmatic High Sparrow (Jonathan Pryce), while far south we go deeper into the desert kingdom of Dorne where Oberyn Martell’s (Pedro Pascal) infamous Sand Snake daughters await with vengeance in their hearts for the death of their father at the hands of the Mountain, Ser Gregor Clegane (Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson). Jessica Henwich, the first Asian actress cast in the series, plays the elegantly refined but viciously deadly Nymeria Sand, one of the Sand Snakes. Sand, as it seems, is comparable to Snow in the north. These are the names given to the bastard born of noblehouses in Dorne. Aside from Lady Nym, Season 5 introduces us to Obara Sand (Keisha Castle-Hughes) and Tyene Sand (Rosabell Laurenti Sellers) – all beautiful and deadly—as well as Doran Martell (Alexander Siddig), head of house Martell and ruling Prince of Dorne.

Obara, Lady Nym and Tyene Sands in GoT Season 5

Doran Martell played by Alexander Siddig

The High Sparrow

SAME TIME TELECAST

Gone are the days when the Philippines are a couple of episodes late than its US counterpart. HBO ASIA is dedicated in bringing us the same viewing pleasure as its US counterpart by offering same time telecast. Game of Thrones will be shown every Monday starting April 13 at 9am on HBO with a same day encore at 9pm. To those who couldn’t make it on Monday, don’t worry as there’s a mid-week primetime encore on Wednesdays at 10:50pm.

So mark your calendars, organize those viewing parties, and steel yourself for Game of Thrones Season 5!