Author: Trafficblast

The mainline Game of Thrones show is over. Sunday night’s finale, “The Iron Throne,” wrapped up the story that began back in 2011. People were divided on the episode, but whatever the case, it was a huge ratings success with more than 19 million viewers to set a new series record.

While the main show is over, a two-hour documentary is coming next week. After that, HBO has multiple prequel spinoff programs–or “successor shows,” as George R.R. Martin calls them–in the works that are scheduled to debut at some point in the future.

Here is a brief breakdown of everything we know about the Game of Thrones spinoffs.

HBO initially announced that it was working on scripts for as many as five different Game of Thrones spinoffs, though the network never committed to actually producing that many. HBO announced in 2017 that it had commissioned pitch scripts for shows to be run by Jane Goldman, Max Borenstein, Brian Helgeland, and Carly Wray. Goldman’s show is being made (or at least a pilot; more on that later), but it’s unclear what the status is of the other projects.

The latest update from George R.R. Martin, who is involved with the spinoffs as a producer, is that three of the five shows are coming along well. The highest-profile show that we know about is the one starring Naomi Watts that is reportedly scheduled to begin shooting this year.

Martin wrote on his blog that the Naomi Watts Game of Thrones prequel is called The Long Night, though he later walked that back, so the name could change. Whatever the title is, the show is set thousands of years before the mainline HBO show and concerns legendary characters like Bran the Builder, founder of House Stark, and Lann the Clever, founder of House Lannister. None of the characters from HBO’s mainline Game of Thrones show are expected to appear in the prequels.

The title Martin mentioned, the Long Night, refers to a winter that lasted a generation–which also included the first war with the White Walkers. The program’s showrunner is Jane Goldman, who worked on Kingsman and the X-Men film series. The pilot episode will be directed by S.J. Clarkson who directed episodes of Jessica Jones and The Defenders

The other two shows are still working on scripts, but there is no word yet on the stories they’ll tell or who may star in them. Martin teased that at least one might concern the Targaryen dynasty, which is covered in the recently released companion book, “Fire & Blood.”

“We have had five different Game of Thrones successor shows in development (I mislike the term ‘spinoffs’) at HBO, and three of them are still moving forward nicely,” Martin said. “The one I am not supposed to call The Long Night will be shooting later this year, and two other shows remain in the script stage, but are edging closer. What are they about? I cannot say. But maybe some of you should pick up a copy of Fire & Blood and come up with your own theories.”

In terms of what the new show could cover for its story, the 300-year history of the Targaryens in Westeros make up a rich tapestry of storytelling opportunities. Aegon Targaryen’s original conquest of the Seven Kingdoms would be pretty intense, but there’s also the Dance of Dragons, when a Targaryen prince battled a princess over who would succeed their father on the Iron Throne, and the Blackfyre Rebellion, when a bunch of legitimized Targaryen bastards banded together to overthrow the trueborn Targaryens.

Before you get too excited, remember that HBO has only ordered a pilot for the Naomi Watts Game of Thrones successor show, so it remains to be seen if it will get picked up to series. As you may recall, the pilot episode of Game of Thrones was problematic and had to undergo reshoots. Not only that, but HBO recast Daenarys and Catelyn Stark after the original pilot, which never aired. Tamzin Merchant played Daenerys in the pilot, while Jennifer Ehle portrayed Catelyn Stark in roles that were later given to Emilia Clarke and Michelle Fairley respectively.

One of the Game of Thrones prequels that will not happen is the one from Game of Thrones series producer Bryan Cogman. He said recently that HBO has decided to not move forward with his idea. Cogman recently signed a deal with Amazon to work on their network of shows going forward.

It’s not immediately clear why HBO decided to pass on Cogman’s Game of Thrones prequel idea, but HBO programming boss Casey Bloys previously talked about why the network was commissioning so many. “The idea was, if we’re going to try it, let’s take a couple of shots and see,” he said. “My hope is at least one lives up to the level of quality [showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss] have set.”

Benioff and Weiss are apparently not involved in the new Game of Thrones prequels. They are currently working on a new trilogy of Star Wars movies, the first of which is scheduled to premiere in 2022.

A new wave of Gen 4 Pokemon has arrived in Pokemon Go. Along with Garchomp, Cherrim, Hippowdon, and a few other monsters originally from the Sinnoh region, players can now finally get Glaceon and Leafeon, the long-awaited Ice- and Grass-type evolved forms of Eevee. However, the way to induce these evolutions is a little different than normal.

To get Glaceon and Leafeon, you’ll need to use Glacial and Mossy Lures–two new kinds of Lure Modules recently introduced to the game. If you’re unsure of what those are or how the whole process works, we break down everything you need to know about the new Lure Modules and how to evolve Eevee into Glaceon or Leafeon below.

What Are Glacial / Mossy Lures And How Do I Get Them?

Glacial and Mossy Lures are two new types of Lure Modules in Pokemon Go. Like standard Lures, these can be placed in Poke Stops and will attract certain kinds of Pokemon for a limited time. Glacial Lures will draw in Water- and Ice-types, while Mossy Lures will attract Bug-, Grass-, and Poison-types. There are also Magnetic Lures, which will cause more Electric, Steel, and Rock Pokemon to appear.

At the moment, the only way to obtain the new Lure Modules is to purchase them from Pokemon Go’s in-game store. Each one costs 200 coins and works for 30 minutes when activated. In the future, Niantic says the new Lures will also be distributed as rewards for completing Special Research tasks.

How Do I Evolve Eevee Into Glaceon / Leafeon?

In order to evolve Eevee into one of its Gen 4 forms, you’ll first need to either place a Glacial or Mossy Lure in a Poke Stop, or visit a Stop where one of these is already active. As their names suggest, the Glacial Lure will allow you to evolve Eevee into Glaceon, while the Mossy Lure will allow you to evolve it into Leafeon. If you’re within range of an active Glacial or Mossy Lure, go to Eevee’s detail screen and you’ll have the option to evolve it into its corresponding evolution.

Are There Other Ways To Get Glaceon / Leafeon?

If you don’t have enough coins to spring for a Glacial or Mossy Lure, you can obtain Glaceon or Leafeon by employing the Eevee naming trick. As Serebii details, if you give your Eevee a specific nickname, it’ll evolve into one of the new forms when powered up. Nickname it Linnea to evolve it into Leafeon, or nickname it Rea to evolve it into Glaceon. However, this trick appears to work only once, so you’ll need to get your hands on a Glacial or Mossy Lure if you’re hoping to add more Glaceon and Leafeon to your collection.

Do Any Other Pokemon Evolve With The New Lures?

Like the Glacial and Mossy Lures, the Magnetic Lure also enables certain Pokemon to evolve when placed in a Poke Stop. Specifically, Magneton and Nosepass can evolve into Magnezone and Probopass, respectively, when you’re nearby an active Magnetic Lure. As with Glaceon and Leafeon, to get either of these evolutions, place a Magnetic Lure in a Poke Stop, click on the Pokemon’s detail screen, and you’ll have the option to evolve it into its Gen 4 form.

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28. Tyrion’s Final Insult

After the Battle of the Blackwater, Varys told Tyrion, who had just saved the city: “The King won’t give you any honors, the histories won’t mention you, but we will not forget.” Add it to the growing list of things Varys was right about, since Tyrion apparently wasn’t mentioned in the Song of Ice and Fire book that Sam brought to King’s Landing.

Never mind that it makes absolutely no sense for the maesters to forget about a character who was the Hand or Acting Hand to three separate monarchs and is the current Lord of Casterly Rock, who murdered the previous Lord of Casterly Rock, his own father, after being convicted of poisoning the King, was accused of attempting to have the current King assassinated as a boy, and was briefly married to the current Queen in the North. The show just had to slip in one last cruel joke at Tyrion’s expense.

The more Universal Studios Orlando reveals about their upcoming Harry Potter-themed roller coaster, Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, the more exciting it looks. In addition to the incredibly lifelike animatronic of Hagrid, the theme park has revealed many new details about the immersive ride, as well as a bunch of new photos and a ride-along video of the attraction.

According to Universal Orlando Resort, the coaster is set in an actual forest made up of 1,200 living trees. It also breaks a few roller coaster records, including having the most launches in a single ride–there are seven–and featuring the first free-fall vertical drop on a coaster in the United States, which lets riders fall 17 feet without warning.

The ride is also story-driven, which is unlike what you’ll find on most roller coasters. Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure is heavily themed and takes riders through numerous scenes as there encounter various elements from the Harry Potter franchise. An official ride description reads, “As they make their way to their enchanted motorbikes, guests will see materials from the class, including dragon eggs on the verge of hatching and a makeshift nursery where Hagrid kept his Blast-Ended Skrewts–the creatures that are being brought to life for the first time ever for this epic new adventure.” There will also be a pre-show in the ride’s queue, which includes appearances by Hagrid, his trusty dog Fang, and Arthur Weasley.

As you can see in the photos above and the video below, the theming on this particular ride is extensive and loaded with Easter eggs from the Harry Potter franchise–including the Monsters Book of Monsters playing a role in the story. Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure opens at Universal Orlando’s Island of Adventure on June 13.