10 Facts About Westeros Game Of Thrones Won't Tell You
7. Westeros Is Set On An Alternate-Reality Earth
There’s nothing fans in comment threads love debating more than the fictional map of Westeros. After all, the entire iconic Game Of Thrones opening is dedicated to this map. So while we know roughly where the known world is and how Westeros fits into it, what we actually don’t know is what planet Westeros is on.
Do planets exist in the Game Of Thrones world? The answer, according to George RR Martin, is a resounding “yes.” The reasons we don’t hear about other planets; no one in Westeros cares. (That makes sense when evil kings, zombie ice men, and plagues and poverty can kill you at every turn though.)
George RR Martin has gone on the record explaining that Westeros is actually a part of Earth. But according to Martin, “It’s not our Earth. If you wanted to do a science fiction approach, you could call it an alternate world, but that sounds too science fictional."
No doubt if Thrones were a sci-fi series rather than a fantasy one it would spend countless hours ruminating on this alternate reality Earth and if the real Earth exists somewhere else. But it's a fantasy show, so we’re just going to have to live with the knowledge that Westeros is on Earth, and yet the events on the show take place in no timeline or reality that would ever make sense to us.