Game of Thrones: what age is it for?

The codes, for parents

An epic, adult fantasy series about noble families competing for a throne while a far greater danger builds in the frozen north.

The lexicon

• The Seven KingdomsThe name for the united realm of Westeros, made up of regions that were once separate kingdoms. They are held together by one throne, and by the loyalty (or resentment) of the great families.
• The Iron ThroneThe seat of the king in the capital, forged from the swords of defeated enemies. Everyone in the story wants it, protects it, or is trying to survive near it.
• House StarkThe ruling family of the North, known for duty, honesty and a hard climate. Their words are "Winter is coming," a reminder to prepare for bad times before they arrive.
• House LannisterThe wealthiest family in the realm, based in the west and tied to the crown by marriage. They are clever, proud and very good at politics.
• The Hand of the KingThe king's chief adviser, who runs the government day to day. It is the most powerful job in the realm and also the most dangerous.
• WinterfellThe ancient castle of House Stark and the home base of the Northern storyline. Much of the early series begins and returns there.
• King's LandingThe capital city, where the court, the council and most of the scheming happen. It is loud, rich and full of people saying one thing and meaning another.
• The Wall and the Night's WatchA huge ice wall guarding the northern edge of the realm, staffed by a brotherhood of sworn men who give up family, land and titles for life. Recruits include volunteers, exiles and criminals.
• Your Grace / Ser / Lord / LadyForms of address that show rank: "Your Grace" for royalty, "Ser" for a knight, "Lord" and "Lady" for noble heads of families and their kin. Your teen will hear them constantly; they signal who owes respect to whom.
• House TargaryenThe family that ruled the Seven Kingdoms for centuries before the events of the series, famous for silver hair and for dragons. Its surviving members appear across the sea and want to come back.
• The Dothraki and Khal / KhaleesiA nomadic horse-riding people on the eastern continent, led by a warlord called a Khal; "Khaleesi" is his wife. They speak their own invented language, subtitled on screen.
• MaesterA trained scholar, healer and adviser who serves a castle. When someone needs medicine, a letter written or old history explained, a maester is called.
• SnowIn the North, the surname given to a child born outside marriage. It marks a person's place in society and follows them everywhere, which matters a great deal to one main character.

How the world works

It is a medieval-style invented world with two continents, Westeros in the west and Essos across the sea, and the story cuts between several storylines at once. Seasons last for years rather than months, so a long winter is a genuine threat to food, armies and lives. Power belongs to great families rather than individuals: marriages, oaths and debts decide as much as swords do. Magic and strange creatures exist but are rare and mostly treated as old stories, especially in the south. The show is adapted from George R. R. Martin's novels "A Song of Ice and Fire," and it is deliberately harsh: promises get broken, and being good is no protection.

The references

• The Wars of the Roses in England, a real dynastic conflict between two noble houses, gives the series its rival families and shifting alliances.
• Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings" set the template for epic fantasy, and this series borrows its scale while stripping out the clear division between good and evil.
• Medieval chivalric romance supplies the knights, tournaments and vows, which the series then tests against politics and money.
• Ancient Roman and Byzantine court history inspires the intrigue, the whispering advisers and the fights over succession.
• Norse and Scottish borderland legends of a frozen frontier feed the idea of the Wall and the things said to live beyond it.
• Nomadic steppe cultures such as the Mongols shaped the look and customs of the horse-riding Dothraki.

Why your teen loves it

• Your teen is treated as an adult by the show: nothing is simplified, and characters they like can be wrong.
• The world is deep enough to become a hobby, with family trees, maps, histories and invented languages to learn.
• Several of the main characters are teenagers thrown into adult responsibility, which makes their choices feel personal to a young viewer.

Three questions to ask

• Which house would you want to belong to, and which one do you think you would actually fit into?
• Is there a character you started out disliking and ended up understanding?
• The show says honor can get you into trouble. Do you think that is true, or is it just how this world works?