HBO’s Game of Thrones, pre-Season 8, had few “buts,” most of which were easily forgivable. For lovers of George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire novels, however, one thing continues to be in their wrong books: the underrepresentation of the towering European-like castles. While there are many contenders for “Most Nerfed Castle in Game of Thrones,” none might be more deserving than Moat Cailin.
Moat Cailin occupies a strategic position: the passageway between the Kingsroad and the swamps of the Neck leading to the North. Its combination of height, strategically placed towers that leave the attacker’s back vulnerable to arrows, and an impassable poisonous swamp—with the native crannogmen—on its flanks make it among the most impregnable castles in Westeros. But its representation in the TV show wasn’t as detailed. Both Moat Cailin and the Neck were relegated to just one of many important points to hold and the posture of the ruined fortress’ surviving towers, one of which leans ominously in the books, was painfully ignored. Worse, the show wasted the chance to bless fans with an epic small-scale siege.
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Moat Cailin Deserved a Better Spotlight in Game of Thrones
The Strategic Fort Was Underwhelming In More Than Just Looks
If “look at how they massacred my boy” was a castle, it would be Moat Cailin. Despite its current structural state—it’s a pile of ruins, with only three of its twenty original towers still standing—few castles match its strategic status. Moat Cailin sits on a narrow causeway running through the Neck, the marshland that naturally bridges the north and south. Thus, the only land route to the North from the South is through Moat Cailin. Bypassing the fort in favor of treading the swamp on its flanks has obvious consequences for any army bold enough to invade the North ruled by House Stark. If somehow they manage to survive the bog, they still have the native crannogmen to deal with.
You want to prove yourself a Bolton? Gather whatever men you can and ride for Moat Cailin. Bring this creature of yours. Maybe he’ll be of some use. Take the Moat for the family, for
our
family, and I’ll reconsider your position
Much like with Casterly Rock and Highgarden, Game of Thrones understates what makes Moat Cailin such a dread for passersby on the wrong side of the fort. Though the castle’s role as a critical chokepoint is acknowledged in the show—Balon Greyjoy’s Ironborn host seizing the fort by sailing through the Fever River during the War of the Five Kings in Season 2, episode 5 and Roose Bolton recognizing that his armies are trapped south of the Neck without control of the fort in Season 4, episode 2—the weight given to the fortress itself is bare. Not only is it constantly undermanned, which should not be the case for a fort that can determine the fate of entire armies, but it’s also stripped of its imposing towers to match the eerie-ness of the Neck. It’s nothing more than the average ruined fort atop a hill, vaguely described as somewhere important without giving anything visually convincing despite being fleshed out in the books.
Game of Thrones Missed a Chance To Give Fans Something Epic at Moat Cailin
A Gory Siege, Perhaps?
A structure such as Moat Cailin and its environs is a failed siege begging to be had. Picture the Ironborn or Ramsay Bolton’s men foolishly assaulting the fort, only to be picked off by archers with their litany of arrows; or bogged down in the swamps of the Neck, either turning to fast food for the region’s famed lizard-lions or succumbing to poisonous darts from the crannogmen. That would surely have ranked as one of the goriest battles in Game of Thrones and a horror vibe to rival those of the White Walkers. While that’s past tense, chances of that happening are not entirely impossible. If any of the spin-off shows in development have plans to include the crannogmen and the ruling House Reed—not forgetting the famed Greywater Watch castle that moves—the designers and writers had better get their pens working on Moat Cailin.
Game of Thrones Butchered Many Castles
Casterly Rock and Highgarden Still Hurts
Being the live adaptation of a fantasy world, Game of Thrones naturally had problems matching the scale and grandeur of its book origins. Dragon sizes were inconsistent both compared to the books and within the film itself, and the castles didn’t fare any better. The decision by showrunners to have a more grounded Westeros—aided, perhaps, by budget constraints—might explain it, but the otherworldliness of the TV show’s Dragonstone, the Eyrie, and the 200-foot titan at the entrance of Bravos waters down any excuse for compromises. Fans rooted in George R.R. Martin’s world want satisfaction, or anything close to it, and the final product of several castles didn’t cut it. Granted, it had no impact on the story, but in a lore such as this, aesthetic richness is non-negotiable.
For a castle that seats the wealthiest and most powerful house in Westeros, Game of Thrones‘ Casterly Rock was a letdown. The stronghold of House Lannister and the capital of the Westerlands sits atop a giant cliff that is “thrice the height of the Hightower…taller still than the wall,” as Jason Lannister describes it in Season 1, episode 3 of House of the Dragon. George R.R. Martin himself stated that the Rock was a more formidable castle than Casterly Rock and Storm’s End. For what it’s worth, the show’s version still retained its stunning geography and, to some extent, its layout. But its signature strategic defensive acumen and grandiosity suffered.
The Eyrie, Winterfell, Storm’s End, they all have formidable defenses… but none of them can match Casterly Rock.
House Tyrell’s seat of power had it even worse. Exalted in A Song of Ice and Fire for its flamboyance, beautiful gardens, walls creeping with thorned vines, and rolling hills of orchids, Highgarden in Game of Thrones felt like a basic and defenseless castle; it is simply unsuitable for the Lords paramount of the breadbasket of the realm.
Game of Thrones
Game of Thrones, based on the Song of Ice and Fire book series by George R.R. Martin, tells the sprawling story of warring families in Westeros. This includes the Starks, the Lannisters, the Baratheons, and the Targaryens. Along with human conflicts, Westeros is also threatened by the re-emergence of dragons, and an undead enemy from beyond the Wall.
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