Entertainment

The Holidays Are Coming & This 'GOT' Season 7 Box Set Is The Perfect Gift

by Ani Bundel
HBO

There's only two more weeks of shopping days until Christmas, and one more before Hanukkah. For those who are still scratching their heads as to what to get their favorite Game of Thrones nerd, rejoice! The Season 7 DVD and Blu-Ray box sets arrives on shelves on Dec. 12 for you to run out and buy (or order via prime delivery.) And for the hardcore nerd, you're going to want to shell out the extra cash for the Blu-Ray version of the Game Of Thrones Season 7 box set, because that's the one that has all the extra bells and whistles and special features.

What's so special about the DVD and Blu-Ray special features? And what does the Blu-Ray have that the DVDs don't? Let's run down the list.

  • Conquest & Rebellion: An Animated History of the Seven Kingdoms
  • From Imagination to Reality: Inside the Art Department
  • Fire & Steel: Creating the Invasion of Westeros
  • Audio Commentaries
  • Histories and Lore (Blu-ray Exclusive)
  • In-Episode Guides (Blu-ray Exclusive)

As you can see, the Blu-Ray edition contains the oh-so-important "Histories and Lore" segments. These are a must have for the book nerd crowd, because often times they fill in the parts of the backstory that the TV show simply couldn't include. (Like a story about Lyanna Stark and the Knight of the Laughing Tree which is set as the Tourney at Harrenhal where she met a certain Targaryen prince.)

With the DVD and Blu-Ray editions arriving on the 12th, several of the History and Lore segments have been made available to entice fans to invest in the Blu-Ray version.

Check out this one, which discusses the history of the Dragon Pit, which was featured so heavily this season in the finale. The voice over is provided by Conleth Hill (Varys.)

Another History & Lore concerns the story of the famous "Rains of Castamere" song, now that Arya's had the last word on that subject. The voice over is provided by ex-cast member Harry Lloyd (Viserys Targaryen) who has been leading his voice to the Game of Thrones extras every season.

Here's a clip that focuses on the Citadel and the history of that institution in which Sam was so miserable this season. The voice over is by John Bradley (Sam Tarly) of course.

And finally, here's a short clip from the History and Lore segment called "Prophecies of the Known World" which apparently features a bit on Season 5's prologue scene with Cersei and Maggy the Frog. The voice over for this one is also by John Bradley (Sam Tarly.)

The other History and Lore segments include:

  • Casterly Rock: 1:20
  • Highgarden: 3:24
  • The Golden Company: 2:55
  • The Hand of the King: 4:01

Here's a segment for the Animated Histories of the Seven Kingdoms. Unlike the History and Lore segments, which are short, this is a full length featurette, written by show writer Dave Hill. There are several cast members who are involved in the voice overs, including Sophie Turner (Sansa Stark), Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Jaime Lannister), Pilou Asbaek (Euron Greyjoy), Conleth Hill (Varys), Aidan Gillen (Littlefinger), as well as ex-cast member Harry Lloyd (Viserys Targaryen).

And finally, here's a glimpse of the behind the scenes segments that are included in both the Blu-Ray and the DVD versions of Season 7.

This is a look at the Dragon Attack Sequence from Episode 4, and why it was shot from the point of view of Jaime, instead of as just a plain battle sequence like some of the earlier dragon battles where Daenerys Targaryen has simply burned cities to the ground far more effectively than Cersei.

The Game of Thrones Season 7 DVD and Blu-Ray box sets are available everywhere starting Dec. 12, 2017.