The Small Council: Halloween costume contest edition

A while back, we asked you guys to send in pics of yourselves in your Game of Thrones-themed Halloween costumes. You did, and it was awesome. Now, we’ll stump for our favorites, and you can vote for yours. The top three winners will receive prizes—first prize is a copy of Running Press’ The Noble Houses of Westeros, second prize is a miniature Longclaw collectible, and third prize is a three-eyed raven figurine.

A note: even though we may not mention every entry here, every costume featured in our roundup post is up for a vote.

RICHARD: Wow, what a brilliant set of costume submissions to choose from! Thanks to all who put in the hard work to create them—they’re a blast to look at and I’m certain all were a big hit on the door-to-door candy circuit.

It’s difficult to cull favorites since most everybody wins the day on one element or another, but here are my top three choices, based on 1) my personal reaction, 2) creativity and 3) fun. Accuracy is important too, but its Halloween, not a Westeros set or cosplay competition, so I’m giving more points for homemade effort.

My first choice is Clay from Wakeland, TN as The Wall. I cracked up when I saw his costume. It wins all three of my above categories at once. It’s super creative, unique, and only a Game of Thrones fan is going to have any idea what the heck it is. He looks like he might be at a tavern (or well-appointed man-cave) and the only improvement I might suggest is if the ‘semi-functioning’ Castle Black lift could raise a flagon of beer from bar to chin.

Next I picked Dora’s son Cameron as Jon Snow plus Bane (great name) the dog as direwolf. Cameron scores high on cuteness and costume and he captures both the wild, untamed essence of Jon’s Snow’s hair and the melancholy thoughtfulness of his gaze. And super-adorable Jon Snow is never complete without super-adorable direwolf pup at his side.

The Khal Drogos and Khaleesis are gorgeous, along with many others of awesome quality, so what stood out for me in my final selection was a more offbeat set, and if Garrett and his friends from Halloween past qualify, I’d go for their nicely-constructed Varys/The Mountain/Red Viper trio and their eye-popping setpiece, which captures the eye-bursting, gory fun of both Game of Thrones and Halloween. Thanks again to everyone who participated!

LEXI: Hopefully all of you enjoyed Halloween as your favorite Westerosians. We got so many amazing pics that it’s really difficult to choose a favorite. But if I have to pick one it has to be the rightful Queen of the Realm.

Francesca as Daenerys!

Besides the very realistic looking costume, hair, and make-up, I love the setting. With the way the shot is framed it’s very easy to imagine an army of Unsullied and Dany’s dragons just out of view. Maybe this is what it will look like when she returns to the shores of Westeros? Francesca also gets bonus points for waking up at 5:30 a.m. to ensure the perfect light for the shot.

DAN: Tons of great entries, but I’ve gotta give my nod to Matt as a White Walker. It looks like he put a ton of work into his costume, and it really, really paid off. I love the ribs, I love the long ratty hair, and of course I love the eyes, which sparkle like cold death. If I saw someone in this costume at a party, I’d be nervous.

In his email, Matt said that he hadn’t found any costumes that “emphasized the eeriness of the White Walker’s glowing eyes.” Now that I look at his costume alongside other White Walker getups, I realize how important the icy glow behind those eyes is to establishing the creatures as a threat. Obviously, the rest of the outfit has been constructed with care, but it’s those eyes that take it over the top. If you’re reading this, Matt, consider letting us know how you did that, although it’s fine if you’d rather not reveal your secrets.

I’d also like to give a shout-out to Alexa, who dressed up as book-only character Jeyne Westerling—gotta give props for the very cool choice. Gregg also did an amazing job with the details of his Jon Snow costume.

KATIE: I gotta give it up to Matt the White Walker. That’s the kind of costume that makes you do a double-take and insists that you give the guy a wide berth (I’d certainly take a couple of cautionary steps to the side but, then again, I’m the jumpy type). The eyes really bring it together, but even without them, that paint job is something special. While he might have still gotten the common “What are you supposed to be?” question from anyone who doesn’t follow the series, his costume works on its own level, too. You don’t have to know the White Walkers to recognize that Matt’s get-up is freaky.

I also want to give a shoutout to Amy, the only Cersei. The pose she strikes in her picture is just so A+ Cersei Lannister. And I think we can all give it up for all the kids in the bunch who participated in this Westerosi fashion show—adorable as well as spot-on.

ANI: The trick to a good Game of Thrones costume lies in the wig. Part of why Francesca’s Dany is such a knock out is that her wig game is on point.

But there’s another factor that played into my decision here, and that was props. After all, the Mother of Dragons isn’t much of a Mother without….dragons. And that’s why I have a tie vote.

Puppets are awesome, and although Kate’s Dany isn’t bad, it’s her puppet that takes the entire thing over the top. I love that thing, and I would love to go to a Halloween party where she brought it along. Seriously awesome. She ties with the other Dany who brought along her dragon: Vanessa, who dressed up her daughter Charlotte as her dragon—adorable, on point use of spawn. Points off only if there was a diaper change involved. Everyone knows dragons don’t wear diapers.

RAZOR: You are all silly. The first picture is the best picture. David and his friend Elena—as the Hound and Arya—absolutely nailed it.

First of all the attention to detail is second to none, and David is tall enough to mirror Sandor Clegane…so tall in fact that his friend Elana legitimately looks like tiny little Arya. The armor is fantastic, the weapons are perfect, the hair is on point, and even the scarring and smudges of dirt and filth on Arya are too good not to pic these two as the winners. The only thing that would make their costumes better would be if they walked around dropping C-bombs while eating from a bucket of KFC chicken…and who’s to say they didn’t? Well done, David and Elena!

CAMERON: First off, I also have to give it up to Francesca as Daenerys—a great shot for a great costume. I’m also a fan of Darcy dressing up her son as Ned Stark. He looks truly regal on that model Iron Throne! (Who is the real Kingmaker, one wonders…) But my favorite absolutely has to be Matt as the White Walker. I mean, holy crap Matt, are you… are you okay? Should I, like, set you on fire, or…

…you know what, never mind, I’m just gonna go.

Thanks again for everyone who contributed! This was a ton of fun—head over to our roundup post to review all the entrants before voting.

Also, a couple notes on the poll: we’ve created one option for every submission we received, so if someone sent in photos of multiple people, they’re still only counted once. Also, the poll is limited to people who dressed up for Halloween 2015, meaning that people who sent us costumes from Halloweens past, awesome as they were, are left off. This was our first time attempting such a contest, so thanks for bearing with us as we worked through the logistics.

And one final time: thanks for sending in your pics. We were all bowled over by your creativity and passion.

[polldaddy poll=9165110]

Next: Celebrity roundup: Mophie, Mountain spotting, and More!