A closer look
HBO originally shot a ten-million-dollar pilot for Game of Thrones that was so disastrously confusing and poorly directed that none of the executives watching could even tell that Jaime and Cersei Lannister were supposed to be brother and sister. The original attempt featured a completely different actress for Daenerys, a bizarre cameo by George R.R. Martin wearing a giant floppy hat, and zero establishing context for the massive fantasy world. The creators showed it to their screenwriter friends, who bluntly told them it was the biggest piece of garbage they had ever seen. HBO essentially had to throw the entire multi-million dollar mistake into the garbage and reshoot ninety percent of the episode just to make it watchable. It is genuinely inspiring to know that one of the most successful cultural juggernauts in television history started out with two showrunners fumbling the bag so hard they couldn't even communicate basic incest to an audience!
