Game Of Thrones: What Is Greyscale (And Why It Matters)?
What's up with those Stone Men?
Death is a pretty large part of Game of Thrones. Heck, they even have a God for it. Weve seen people die in all manner of gruesome and bloody ways: stabbed, beheaded, poisoned, mauled by a wild boar, burned alive on a funeral pyre, doused in molten gold, head crushed to a bloody pulp, killed by a shadow monster birthed by a Red Priestess - y'know, all the traditional methods. What hasnt been seen often - surprisingly given the rather unsanitary conditions of Westeros and the lack of any sort of free healthcare service - is the spread of disease. Khal Drogo died after a battle wound became infected, and even then there was blood magic and smothering involved before he finally passed on. That aside, the world of Game of Thrones has been largely uncontaminated by viruses and such like. One disease that has been introduced - and was focused on considerably throughout Season 5 - is greyscale. Most of what has been shown about the affliction has been centred around Stannis daughter Shireen, but in the fifth episode - Kill The Boy - we got a much closer look at the deadly effects it can have, and an indication of how it will fit into the show in Season 6 and beyond. It appears that the disease is being set up to have a much wider part to play in the remaining Game of Thrones episodes, so heres a look at what we know about it, and why its going to matter.