The Hunger Game of Thrones: If two great franchises met…

 

It is not so hard to imagine what Game of Thrones would look like if it crossed paths with the Lord of the Rings. But what would we get if the insanely popular HBO series gets thrown in the mix with another mega franchise, The Hunger Games?

Admittedly, this is not a cross-over that we would normally consider, since George R.R. Martin’s and Suzanne Collins’ worlds are vastly different and not even in the same genre. But this week saw the release of the teaser trailer for the final Hunger Games instalment, Mockingjay - Part 2, while Thrones fans are only days away from their season 5 finale, “Mother’s Mercy”.

And once you put these two franchises together, you’d be surprised at the number of similarities you can find between them.

In fact, here are 5 things that could happen in Westeros-meets-Panem:

President Snow is a bastard

No, really. More specifically, he is a bastard of the North.

Sure, we all know that President Snow is a bastard in the sense of him being a mass-murdering dictator and all. But in a world that crosses over with Westeros, “Snow” is also the surname of all illegitimate children born out of wedlock to noble men in the North. The most well-known bastard is Jon Snow, the current Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch who knows nothing (RIP, Ygritte).

In our Panem/Westeros hybrid world, President Coriolanus Snow would undoubtedly be some Northern lord’s bastard son who, against all odds, rose to power (much like Jon Snow himself). And that makes us wonder: Did Snow become a tyrannical pain in the rear because of daddy issues?

The Girls on Fire

It appears that merging two great franchises together gives us a rebellion that is doubly interesting. Because we will have not one, but two Girls on Fire.

Technically speaking, this title originally belongs to Hunger Games heroine Katniss Everdeen. Thanks to Katniss’ personal stylist Cinna, who decided to put a literally fiery theme on Katniss’ wardrobe to match her hot-headedness, Katniss was marketed as a girl engulfed in flames from day one. Even though those flames were fake (courtesy of Panem special effects), Katniss does go on to live up to her name and ignite a passionate uprising among the districts.

Meanwhile in Game of Thrones, one girl was actually engulfed in real fire and emerged from it not only unharmed, but with three dragons. And so was born the Mother of Dragons, Daenerys Targaryen. A.k.a. Khaleesi. A.k.a. Queen of Meereen. Given Dany’s natural resistance to fire and similar rebellion against oppressive rule (she is also known as the “Breaker of Chains”), the Mother of Dragons is fully qualified to add “Girl on Fire” to her endlessly long list of aliases. Her House motto is “Fire and Blood”, after all.

With both Katniss Everdeen and Daenerys Targaryen leading the charge against the incumbent government, let’s just say that President Snow will be a puddle before he realised what hit him.

Highborn ladies rebel

It is safe to assume that the noble families of Westeros-Panem do not treat their daughters very well. Because in this hybrid world, highborn ladies would be flocking to the rebellion.

Just take a look at Natalie Dormer and Gwendoline Christie, two actresses who are hopping back and forth between medieval Martinland and futuristic Collins-country.

Lady Brienne of Tarth has always been a warrior, so she is more than ready when she ditches the nobles and joins the rebellion as District 2′s Commander Lyme.

Lady Margaery Tyrell (or more recently, Queen Margaery) is the greater surprise. Having been disappointed not once, not twice, but thrice by her three sad-excuse-for-a-king husbands, Margaery hangs up her gowns. shaves the side of her head and moves to Panemian Hollywood to make a name for herself as a director.

Still unhappy with the terrible leadership (she’s certainly had enough of that), Margaery joins the rebellion under her newly adopted stage name, “Cressida”. But Cressida’s somewhat plant-like tattoos kinda give away her Tyrell origins in Highgarden, don’t ya think?

House Everdeen

Katniss Everdeen and her Mockingjay are easily the most powerful symbols in Panem (besides Snow, of course). She has already drawn legions of loyal followers and soldiers to her cause, possibly surpassing the scale of Westeros’ Robb Stark and his bannermen.

Even though Katniss would definitely have been born a commoner in Westeros-Panem, it seems very likely that she would have been able to establish a noble House (or be as influential as one) in her own right. And she does not need some boy-king’s royal approval; hundreds of thousands of commoners would proclaim loyalty to House Everdeen, the same way the northerners declared Robb Stark as the “King in the North”.

House Everdeen’s sigil would obviously be a Mockingjay. And their motto? Given the rebellious circumstances in which they were formed, the most powerful option would be the last words of Katniss’ famous monologue; “If we burn, you burn with us.”

13 Districts, 7 Kingdoms

Goodness gracious, this hybrid country would have a complicated geography, and an even more troublesome administrative system. But after much reorganising, this is what Westeros’ regions and Panem’s districts would look like:

• The Crownlands - this political hub would also house the Panemian Capitol. Let’s just say that in this world, King’s Landing will have a surge in residents dressing up like Lady Gaga.
• The Reach - this fertile region, which supplies much food to the rest of the country, would consist of Panemian District 7 (Lumber), District 9 (Grain), District 10 (Livestock) and District 11 (Agriculture).
• The Vale of Arryn - this mountainous region houses District 12 (Coal Mining) because of is geographic similarity. Not much else to say here.
• The Westerlands - this region is a goldmine. Literally. That’s why their ruling House Lannister was able to repay its debts. Naturally, this region would house Panem’s District 1 (Luxury), as well as hoards of occupational miners originally from District 12.
• The Riverlands - With all their fisherfolk, this region is obviously home to District 4 (Fishing). Heads up, ladies; that means Finnick is here.
• The North - Given its unwelcoming climate and the strong military presence via the Night’s Watch, this region would consist of Panemian District 2 (Masonry and Weaponry).
• Beyond the Wall - This is where District 13 would be, obviously. Once District 13 (originally Nuclear Weaponry, hence a logical geographic extension of the North’s District 2) decided to rebel against the government, the Wall was erected to keep them out forever. We wonder if 13′s President Alma Coin is related to fellow redhead wildlings Ygritte and Tormund.