Hey YouTubers what’s up? So this is going to be my Game of Thrones video about Qyburn.
So he's loosely tied to the citadel, I did my citadel video last week so this is just a continuition of that.
I've also got news about the IMAX trailer of the screening and the Season 5 premiere date so I’ll talk
about all that stuff after I get through with Qyburn
Qyburn’s nickname is the Bloody Maester, he definitely earned that too, he trained at the Citadel but the
Conclave of Archmaesters stripped him of his chain because he was performing experiments on Living
People. George RR Martin hasn’t fully explained what those experiments were. Qyburn said that
he opened the bodies of the living to better understand death. That can mean a lot of things.
The Conclave has a very narrow view of what it considers proper areas of study. Qyburn
is an extreme example of someone they disciplined but they ostracized Archmaester Marwyn for
studying magic and the occult.
I’m going to talk about his character history first before I get into theories and potential
spoilers.
After Qyburn was kicked out, he joined the Brave Companions as their healer. He’s not
a fighter and none of the major Houses would hire him. On the TV Show, that group is represented
by Locke’s posse here. We meet them for the first time in Season 3 when Locke comes
up on Jaime and Brienne on the bridge here.
This is Locke, in the books his name is Vargo Hoat. They’re one of the minor sellsword
companies from Qohor. Twyin Lannister brought them to Westeros during the War of the Five
Kings to fight for him.
We don’t see a lot of Qyburn until after he’s rescued on the battlefield by Talisa Stark. I think
this was his first on camera scene, when Robb Stark takes Harrenhal.
Before the battle he was unofficially working for Tywin Lannister. Only because the Brave
Companions had sword allegiance to him. After the Battle they turn cloak and start working
for Roose Bolton, who at the time was still loyal to Robb Stark.
When Roose Bolton takes Harrenhaal, Qyburn becomes the new Maester. The old maester was
killed during the sack. When Jaime and Brienne are brought to Harenhaal later by the Brave
Companions, Qyburn is the one who fixes Jaime’s bloody stump.
He’s a very good healer, one of the best in the realm. The reason he seems so shady
is because he’s got that Frankenstein vibe.
If you haven’t seen it, you should watch Christopher Nolan’s Prestige. It’s a great
movie, but David Bowie plays Nikola Tesla in it and has this amazing scene.
“You're familiar with the phrase "Man's reach exceeds his grasp"? It's a lie. Man's
grasp exceeds his nerve.
The only limits on scientific progress are those imposed by society. The first time I
changed the world, I was hailed as a visionary. The second time I was asked politely to retire.
Nothing is impossible, Mr. Angier, what you want is simply expensive.”
Tesla was a brilliant scientist and engineer in real life, but because Thomas Edison and
the rest of the intellectual community weren’t ready for some of his ideas, they cast him
into obscurity.
Qyburn is like the Nikola Tesla of Game of Thrones.
The last time we saw him was treating the Mountain after the fight with Oberyn Martell.
The books make it seem more gruesome but the net effect is still the same. The Mountain
is right on the edge of death and Qyburn intervenes and that’s the last we hear about it.
I read the books but the first time I saw this scene all I could think about was what
he was replacing his bodily fluids with. The problem was the venom running through
his body needed to be swapped out.
This is getting into theorycrafting so I’ll put this spoiler tag up in case you don’t
want to think about anything in book 4. Okay, here we go.
I feel like we’re all thinking the same thing here: The Mountain is Robert Strong.
The question is, how did Qyburn do it? I’m inclined to think he’s mostly using science.
If it were Marwyn, I’d say the opposite. But Qyburn is all about human science.
The best theory I’ve seen is that he’s been experimenting with Stem Cells.
Cersei had given him Margaery’s spy Senelle to use in his experiments and he requested
more women. Saying she was exhausted. So Cersei gives him more women.
It’s possible Qyburn is using their reproductive organs to cultivate stem cells and re-grow
most of The Mountain’s internal organs. Replace the ones destroyed by the poison.
Okay, spoiler part over.
The show might simplify the argument, but Qyburn is one of the most interesting side
characters in King’s Landing. I don’t expect the producers to get super detailed
with explanations so we can compare this with the book when they start airing episodes.
Don’t forget that I’ve got Hardback Copies of Feast For Crows and Dance with Dragons
signed by George RR Martin. I’m giving both of those away in my Episode 1 video. All you
have to do to enter is be a subscriber and leave a comment when I post Game of Thrones
videos.
I am still doing a weekly giveaway between now and then.
Everybody wondering about the IMAX trailer, they haven’t announced which theaters are
doing it but I’ll update the description when they do. Don’t worry if you can’t
make it to a theater, they will still post an online version of the trailer that weekend.
The IMAX screenings start January 23rd, so I will go and do a breakdown video. I’ll
post it as soon as they allow footage online.
The official premiere date is April 12th. They bumped it by a week, probably because
of the new streaming service they’re rolling out. They specifically designed it to debut
in time for Season 5. I already get HBO on tv, but I’ll try the
service out and let you guys know what I think. It’s supposed to be based on the Major League
Baseball livestream app. So fingers crossed it doesn’t crash as hard as HBO GO did last
year.
The streaming service would allow you to watch the episodes as soon as they premiere, I think
you still have to wait an hour after tv broadcasts to get them on HBO GO. It’s only going to
be fifteen dollars a month, so if you already stream illegally. Just pay the 15 bucks. You’ll
get a nice shiny HD stream, no ads and no one will chase you down for streaming illegally.
Congrats to this week’s giveaway winner, Brady Rose. You win your choice of any of
the books. Please message me on my channel for details.
My next Game of Thrones video will probably be a character video for all the ancient Houses
and Kings of Westeros during Aegon’s War of Conquest like Harren the Black. Feel free
to make video requests though. I’ll be doing a weekly bonus video for all the episodes.
Those will be more relevant to stuff happening in specific episodes.
While we all wait to find out about the imax theaters you can click here to learn more
about Aegon’s War of Conquest and you can click here to learn all about the Archmaester’s
Citadel.
Thanks for watching, see you tomorrow. High Fives everybody!