Game Of Thrones Season 4: 8 Appetising Moments From The Secrets Trailer
3. 00:55 Bravo For Braavos!
Of all the things discussed in this list, this image from the Secrets trailer is the one that most captured my attention: a first visual glimpse of the show's depiction of Braavos. Braavos is one of the free cities of Essos, the eastern continent across the Narrow Sea from the Seven Kingdoms. Of all the free cities, Braavos is considered the greatest and most powerful. The Iron Bank of Braavos is located here, which as Tyrion discovered has lent millions in gold to the Seven Kingdoms. The city is a coastal dual-harbour, and owes much of its wealth and power to an expansive economy of sea trade. The harbours are guarded by a natural defense of tall, mountainous islands, above which the Titan of Braavos guards the only passable channel he's the big fella that you see in the screen grab, a giant statue/lighthouse/fortification. The city itself could be likened to real-world Venice: it is made up of hundreds of tiny islands linked by small stone bridges over canals. Culturally speaking, Braavos is perhaps the most interesting and diverse of all the locales in George R. R. Martin's world. Because of its seafaring trade culture, many people from all over world come to the city, and as such, all gods are honoured in Braavos. On the Isle of the Gods, there are temples honouring every religion, even those that are no longer followed by anyone. The Braavosi are also famous for their unique style of sword-fighting, called Water Dancing. This is the graceful, fencing-type style that Arya is taught in Season 1. Her 'Dancing Master', Syrio Forel, was from Braavos. We may not be introduced to Braavos until a few episodes into the season, as the character involved in that part of the story isn't quite there yet. Having said that, as we get deeper and deeper into the television adaptation, many plot elements are developing at a different pace to the source material most notably Mark Gatiss (aka Mycroft Holmes) has been cast as the Bank's representative Tycho Nestoris so you never know.
