Con of Thrones 2019 Day 1: Ghosts of Game of Thrones Past and Future

It’s time for Con of Thrones, the country’s premiere Game of Thrones and Song of Ice and Fire fan convention! This is always a blast, and this year is no exception.

With the show ending — and with so many of the fans feeling strongly about the way it ended — I was curious what the mood of the convention would be like this time around. I’m happy to report that it’s as high-spirited and supportive as ever. Here’s a rundown of what I saw today, in terms of panels:

Metafandom: The Intersection of A Song of Ice and Fire Fans and Its Fandom

I’m pretty involved in the Game of Thrones/Song of Ice and Fire fandom, but it’s so vast and varied that I know there are large swaths that I’ve never touched. I learned about some of these here; for example, I learned about the Corn Code, a theory that holds that George R.R. Martin is signaling when event are going to happen — like character deaths — through the repetition of certain words in his text.

I find this stuff endlessly fascinating. Where do people come up with theories like this? Is it just what happens when there’s too long a wait between books? And why do these sorts of reaches tend to happen with all major franchises, not just A Song of Ice and Fire? There are more depths to explore here, but this was a terrific look into a subculture that is still evolving even as we speak.

Which Game of Thrones Characters Do You Connect With Most?

I didn’t know what to expect going into this panel, but I was pleasantly surprised. Host David Vaughan told everyone in the audience about some of the very personal reasons he connects with characters like Jon Snow and Tyrion, and then had us divide into groups and discuss which characters we most connected with, and why. It was a little intimidating to have to get so vulnerable with new people, but also reaffirming to hear everyone’s stories. It made me feel closer to my fellow con-goers, and definitely got the weekend off to a nice start.

At Journey’s End: Daenerys Targaryen

Of course everyone wanted to see this one. This is one of several panels throughout the con that will look back on the journeys of each of the principal characters from Game of Thrones now that the show has come to an end. Daenerys’ story ended amidst a flurry of controversy, so I was curious to see how this would go down.

The panelists came at it thoughtfully, and from every angle. While few of them were satisfied with the way Dany’s final arc was executed, there wasn’t any belligerence, just well-thought out arguments about where her story started, where it went, and where it ended up.

Oh, and Ideas of Ice and Fire hates Jorah Mormont. Someone has to, I suppose.

At Journey’s End: Theon Greyjoy

Theon Greyjoy is one of the most enduringly fascinating characters in either Game of Thrones or A Song of Ice and Fire, so it’s a shame he doesn’t always get the recognition some of the more famous characters get. Of course, that might be part of the point, as one of the panelists here put it: that Theon’s struggle is to discover that he is not the protagonist of this story, and is in fact destined to help others achieve their goals.

That was just one of the many insights from a wonderful panel that celebrated this most complex of characters. He’s a Greyjoy, and he’s a Stark, and he’s one of the reasons this story is as rich and satisfying as it is.

The Game to Find the Next Thrones

This is a question I think about a lot. Now that Game of Thrones is over, what replaces it? Can anything replace it? The panelists discussed what made Game of Thrones stand out above the pack in the first place and whether that success can be replicated. Basically, the answer is probably no, although lord knows enough networks are giving it a go, with shows like The Witcher and Lord of the Rings and The Wheel of Time and Kingkiller Chronicle and The Dark Tower and Sandman and Blood Moon and Watchmen and…

You get the idea. We’re in for a few interesting years of television.

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And between all this, we interviewed attendees about the end of the series; talked to the owner of Valyrian Steel, which makes officially licensed weapons based on A Song of Ice and Fire and other properties; and I thwacked a few of my fellow con-goers with foam swords courtesy of Dur Demarion, a medieval foam fighting organization in Nashville.

Yep, Con of Thrones is definitely here again.

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