Inside the "Game of Thrones" Epic Fan Experience
The highly anticipated debut of the new season of "Game of Thrones" is still almost two weeks away, but for 7,000 lucky fans last week, the world of Westeros was only a subway ride away.
On March 20, fans flooded into the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., for an early preview of the first episode from the fourth season, which will air on HBO April 6.
It was billed as the Epic Fan Experience, and many came dressed as their favorite characters from the HBO show.
One fan, Jeffrey Duke, dressed up as Robert Baratheon, the former king of Westeros. "The Baratheons in general are my favorite family," he said, "but being a larger guy, Robert's the one that I fit the appearance for. So had to go with the king."
For some fans, the show's appeal has a deeper meaning. Hannah Freiman explained, "As a fantasy-lover for a long time, it's always great to have a book with strong female characters." She attended the event dressed as Melisandre, who makes her first appearance in the second season of the show. Frieman believes that while Melisandre is "evil," she is still a strong female character and someone "exciting for nerd girls to have to look up to."
Kristian Nairn, the actor who plays Hodor, believes that this is one of the main reasons people love the show. Backstage he said that "Everyone loves fantasy and medieval hijinks but I think with 'Game of Thrones' it's not too outlandish. I mean they can see it happening in history, it mirrors some historical events, so it's kind of relatable for people."
"It's pretty special. It's pretty amazing," Martin said. "Walking out there and having 7,000 people screaming is quite a rush."