War is Swell: Infographics explore the Battle of Blackwater Bay and the Battle of the Bastards

“Words are nice, but pictures are better.” —Ancient Valyrian Proverb

Okay, we may have made that up. But sometimes it’s true.

In any case, last week we featured a lovely infographic all about the Massacre at Hardhome, an infographic that compared how the skirmish happened on the screen versus on page. The fan who made it actually has a whole website full of infographics about war — let’s call them warfographics — depicting conflicts both real and imagined. There are even a couple more about Game of Thrones, including one about season 2’s Battle of the Blackwater and one about season 6’s Battle of the Bastards. Behold:

Unlike the Massacre at Hardhome, the Battle of Blackwater Bay was largely the same on screen as it was in the books, with a few notable changes. In George R.R. Martin’s A Clash of Kings, Tyrion builds an enormous chain that he hides under the water and raises raises to seal off the bay once Stannis’ fleet is exposed to the wildfire. There’s also a bridge of wrecked ships in the novel, an iconic image cut from the show. Finally, Stannis Baratheon does not personally participate in the battle in Clash, although he is present.

The warfographic about the Battle of the Bastards is unique. In Martin’s latest novel, A Dance With Dragons, Stannis has yet to even reach Winterfell, and Jon Snow lies dead at the Wall. As such, it’s impossible to predict the differences between how the battle will play out on the page versus the screen, but that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy a picturesque recap of one of Thrones’ most exciting sequences.

The graphic dissects the tactics used by each side, something the show does not go out of its way to highlight, aside from Jon and Sansa’s argument on the eve of the battle. But where is the death of Wun Wun? Poor giant.

Now we’ll just wait for graphics on the Battle of Castle Black, the Loot Train Attack, and the rest.

Next: Video: Is Amazon’s Lord of the Rings show “the next Game of Thrones,” and what does that even mean?

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