Let Samuel L. Jackson Teach you Everything you Need to Know About Game of Thrones
Just as we were putting Longclaw back in its sheath (a sheath that Jon Snow dropped in the middle of the Battle of the Bastards, I might add—maybe someone grabbed it for him?), HBO drops this gift on us; Samuel L. Jackson narrating an uncensored Game of Thrones beginner's guide. That's right, gang—if ever there was a way to get your holdout friends who have refused to dive into the cultural phenomenon that is GoT, having Jackson curse his way through a brilliantly edited video primer is it.
The key is Jackson's ability to infuse humor into a show that, save Tyrion and Bronn, isn't really in it for the laughs, and the editors ability to cut together disparate scenes to hammer home his point. Take his first note; the characters are coming off a long, long, long summer, and they all seem really worried about winter coming. Hence the cut of various characters (so many characters!) saying some version of "winter is coming." In GoT, winter has been coming for so long that it's become not just a meme, but a highly popular tattoo choice. With great editing and Jackson's nimble vocal skills, your reluctant friend or family member will quickly learn why Ned Stark uprooted his family from Winterfell and took them to King's Landing ("Nice family, right?" Jackson says. "Don't get attached."). He then takes us for a brief trip to Essos to introduce us to Daenerys (and her sniveling brother, who's not long for this world), and explains why they feel entitled to the Iron Throne—the one their father held until he was killed by Jaime Lannister. Of the Lannister siblings, specifically Jaime and Cersei, Jackson quips, "Put a pin in that," as he'll be circling back to that unusual family dynamic later.
All in all, this is nearly 8 minutes of pure pleasure for GoT fans, and, for newbies, holdouts, and possibly outright refuseniks, this might be the very thing they needed to get them to take the plunge. Now's the time, because winter is here.
