Warfare Experts Rate 12 'Game Of Thrones' Scenes For Realism | How Real Is It | Insider

[@tweakbolt]

You know you messed up when the ditch man brings out a whiteboard.

[@shannonpincombe8485]

And so, the lesson begins. "Dig a f√cking ditch guys!!"

[@EkiEkiFatangZooPoi]

I loved how he made the little happy tree in the rear

[@SwiftSnaps-rg1ge]

😂 rightt

[@_VICK_]

I died when he pulled out the whiteboard. Literally “back to the drawing board” lmao

[@misanthropicservitorofmars2116]

Drop a rock Dig a ditch Sharpen a stick Monke stronk together

[@indyspotes3310]

Giving the Battle of Winterfell a 5/10 may be the greatest single act of generosity that I've ever witnessed on the internet...

[@kearingoodwin4856]

I guess that 5 is just to say it’s possible to set up battle so poorly.

[@levy9595]

I mean he's being asked to rate the realism and tactics of a battle against freaken ice zombies lol. And based on how he describes several of the distinct tactical deployments as either tried and tested, effective deployments or right tactics but wrong enemy, I'd say a 5 is actually reasonable and fair given his specific criteria and the context he provided.

[@CLove511]

I dunno, the blacksmith saying "This is all laughable and completely inaccurate....4/10" was up there for sure

[@geechyguy3441]

@@levy9595 Bro he gave House of the Dragon battle a 2, no shot he can give Winterfell a 5. House of the Dragon didn't make much sense but atleast they somewhat tried.

[@TheZerech]

​@@geechyguy3441That battle specifically is worse because there is no semblance of a formation, it's not a battle just a melee; at least Winterfell has formations.

[@enigma2114]

I love how the entire comment section recognizes the importance of digging ditches. Just lots and lots of ditches

[@michaeladolph7134]

And then some more ditches lol

[@matthewmarting3623]

The man made some very salient points about the benefits of ditches

[@eestaashottentotti2242]

Nowadays they call them trenches, which is, I guess, a bigger ditch.

[@contemporaryhumours]

Yes, yes.He Undisputed king of ditches. I write like 20 comments to reach him I a fan now. Not even seen this video yet.

[@mclovin4974]

Ditch doesn't work against dragons though

[@AlexanderofMiletus]

Can we point out that one guy’s qualification was “world jousting champion”

[@Redacted2898]

20 times over

[@JACpotatos]

And the guy was just talking straight up BS. He wants us to believe his armor weighs over 200lb...

[@Redacted2898]

Also the max weight of tourney armour was around 88lb

[@PoorlyEdited540]

⁠@@JACpotatoshe said he was 260 and him in armor was 415 that means his armor was around 155 lbs. Where did you get 200 pounds from

[@JACpotatos]

@@PoorlyEdited540 he literally says "over 200lbs"

[@andyh4518]

Should have asked the naval warfare expert how often one side completely forgot their opponent's very large fleet existed.

[@MinhNguyen-ny2ns]

On that note they should also ask how a recon flying unit got spotted while failed to notice an entire freaking fleet, and the fleet had giants arrow with pin point accuracy.

[@maybeyourbaby6486]

Well, the logistics of naval warfare are incredibly complex, since you can't dig ditches in water, so it makes sense they wouldn't know what to do.

[@alexanderzack3720]

@@maybeyourbaby6486 considering they already failed at digging ditches, which is well known. i also wouldn´t trust them in naval combat

[@WakingDreamer01]

@@MinhNguyen-ny2ns Yeah, how can only two ships with anti-air take out that one flying unit in a single volley, but then later in the season, an entire fleet and fortification decked with the same anti-air...couldn't land a single hit, to the last flying unit.

[@ashleyhubber5734]

I don't understand why the naval expert doesn't know what a corvus is

[@markferguson3745]

Ditches are key because not only are they places to hide and cover, but they also slow any advance, and you want to interrupt that forward velocity.On a set battlefield, extensive preparations could determine the outcome; more time for the archers to dial in, breaks up closed formations, and stops horse advances.Such planning can neutralize superior numbers and firepower. And when it's over, you have pits to bury all the disease carrying bodies.

[@misanthropicservitorofmars2116]

If you dig enough ditches, every medieval battle can be the battle of Agincourt.

[@haraldisdead]

"You should be digging ditches, many ditches. Once your first ditch is ready, build another one! ...dig many ditches. Just lots and lots of ditches." 😅😅

[@elinorwahl8619]

*muffled 'Diggy Diggy Hole' echoing in the background*

[@kleinerprinz99]

singin' those popular ditch shanties

[@davidpicken8788]

😂

[@Why-D]

Ditches, ditches, ditches!

[@jazdragen]

Roel will forevermore be known as "the Ditch Guy"

[@eatmorenachos]

“We live in a desert and you want us OUTSIDE the castle walls? Charging at ice zombies?!”

[@brunoqueiroz2759]

he clearly said that being outside the walls is a good strategy if u create layers of defense with ditches.

[@eatmorenachos]

@@brunoqueiroz2759 I clearly was referring to what happened on the actual show.

[@brunoqueiroz2759]

@@eatmorenachos yes but your comment implies that being outside the castle walls is inherently wrong.

[@eatmorenachos]

@@brunoqueiroz2759 ...and how did it turn out for them on the show? See, I'm talking about things that ACTUALLY HAPPENED, not "what if."

[@brunoqueiroz2759]

@@eatmorenachos stop being dumb, your comment implied that being outside the walls is wrong, i just pointed it out that its a normal strategy that was just bad implemented. simply sitting inside the walls waiting to die with no layers of defense is just as dumb.

[@essaboselin5252]

No offense to the other experts, but these scenes needed ditches! And more ditches!

[@Nerdiness1985]

And the first archer, That's not 30 meters. that's a lot father And nobody serpentine even with firearms. Which are far more accurate and easier to aim. You run as fast as you can to cover. Can't do that create as much distance a possible. It's very difficult hitting a moving target. Where do people come up with this idea than spending a lot of extra time zigzagging somehow makes it harder to hit you? Just gives the shooter more time Ask the rolling stone reporter in generation Kill how hard soldiers laughed at him.

[@edzarsuelo6168]

​​@@Nerdiness1985the expert said he himself when using a bow and arrow is only accurate for about 30 meters. he is talking about his accuracy. and second, he's talking about zig zagging because the Stark boy in the scene, is running away on an open field. where would he hide??? stop it man. before commenting please make sure to listen and comprehend first. Have a nice day :)

[@giftzwerg7345]

i know its basicly a meme that he runs with, but its honestly problematic , bc it isnt true, yes it would probably be a good idear, however historicaly it wanst done nearly as often as he makes you belive, id say its acctually pretty rare in field battles, you need a certain amount of preparation and dicipline / proffessionalsim in most cases in order to do that. Diches also stop you from attacking the enemy, whats important to realise is that you only attack / give battle if you see a chance of victory or are forced. if the enemy is in oo good to fortified of a positian, they wont attack! Soldier did often have a somewhat fortified camp, however they usually gave battle in the open field instead of camping in thier camp. Fortifications are just genreraly somewhat of a desperation move, if you had the supirior troops / advantage you woulnt be n the defence, you would be on the offence! Most battles do happen with full intention between two simularly strong armys or develop, in either case no side builds fortifications for the most part

[@BH-gh6qm]

@@Nerdiness1985 you dumb

[@jaspermooren5883]

​@@Nerdiness1985 from about 50-70 meters it's actually not that hard to dodge an arrow. By moving in a predictable path you are making it way easier to get hit. So running in an unpredictable pattern is hugely helpful against a weapon that needs to anticipate where the target is going to be. It's completely different from super sonic ammunition that on relatively short ranges like these are essentially laser points (relatively speaking, there's some drop and time down range, but were talking centimetres and milliseconds compared to meters and tenths of seconds with a bow). A medieval longbow arrow only goes about 100m/s (and that's a fairly high estimate. It heavily depends on the arrow and the bow). So it actually takes at least half a second to go 50m down range. So as soon as you are about 30-40m away, you'd definitely want to move erratically, it makes it practically impossible to hit, since you actually need to lead the shot quite a bit. Like throwing a ball at someone that's running, you need to throw where they are going to be, not where they are. With guns it's a very different story, since the bullets go over 10x as fast, so you don't need to lead even remotely as much, and dodging a bullet is practically impossible. Either you are way too close to dodge it, or you can't see the bullet's trajectory (when talking about kilometre long shots). Although the scene is about a kid and an absolute psychopath. So it's not unrealistic that the kid is just running in a straight line when that level of terror is happening, but it's not the smart thing to do.

[@JonathanRossRogers]

21:18 Oberyn Martell's primary goal wasn't to defeat the Mountain. He wanted Tywin Lannister to admit that he'd ordered the murder of Oberyn's sister Elia and her children. Oberyn didn't die because of pride as much as an overdeveloped sense of vengeance, to quote Count Rugen.

[@sebastianviteri1250]

I've dug like 40 ditches in anticipation

[@amirmoezz]

You missed a 0 after your 40

[@usernamecopied1693]

I don't understand?

[@ClockworkOuroborous]

Did you burn the witches?

[@yanosan6232]

​@@usernamecopied1693 you don't know the ditch digging guy?

[@willyolio9590]

I AM A DWARF AND I'M DIGGING A DITCH

[@ghostsade3]

Just wanted to specify that the pirates the lady around 24:22 talks about aren't just regular pirates in the show; they're a state-sponsored multinational force intended to project power into that area so that those states can benefit from all the trade passing through their sphere of influence. To reiterate, they are not regular pirates and actually do have a reason (in their minds) to use terror as a psychological warfare tactic. To use a historical example, they are much more like the Barbary states that were sponsored by the Ottoman Empire than they are like regular lone wolf pirates like we so often hear about historically.

[@benrowe301]

I didn't really like the Pirate expert's commentary because it was basically "real pirates didn't do this... 1/10" Okay well this one feeds people to crabs. They call him the Crab Feeder. It's not like it isn't possible to do.

[@adityaranjansahoo6261]

well the Triarchy didnt held long enough, so good for the High tides

[@ChimpBrained]

@@benrowe301 To be fair, Insider are the ones who asked a pirate expert to review game of thrones pirates.

[@mikegarau539]

I loved when Roel said: it’s ditchin time

[@hitrovan967]

...and dug ditches around those guys. Just lots and lots of ditches

[@Yuel402]

Truly one of the ditches of the all time.

[@scottmatthew8501]

and then ditched all over everyone

[@justinlast2lastharder749]

He came. He saw. He dug some ditches and came again.

[@vjmtz]

@@hitrovan967dig ditches in ditches in enemy strongholds

[@Titanic_401]

13:45 Ice, the sword being melted in this scene, is canonically 6ft long, so there's more than enough Valyrian steel to make 2 smaller swords out of it. Valyrian steel is also magic, so it probably doesn't lose mass when reforged.

[@0okamino]

Tywin even addresses that when Jaime asks where they found enough Valyrian steel for two swords.

[@erichdegurechaff9515]

The loss of mass is about the process not the material. You need a magical smelter, not magical material.

[@jordyv.703]

@@erichdegurechaff9515 The loss of mass is mostly oxidization. Valyrian steel doesn't oxidize.

[@Jix-kd8iv]

What that makes no sense if it's magic how do you even melt the metal with a regular furnace? What a stupid show

[@MathianSC2]

@@Jix-kd8iv Who said the furnace is regular?

[@Felyxx]

Love the siege guy. The way he said, "You drop a bowling ball on someone, it stops them in their tracks". He said it with way too much enthusiasm.

[@lorddiethorn]

He probably could have deducted more points for not having hoarding

[@rustomkanishka]

I think it's kinda like a looney tunes way to dispatch someone. It was more or less like dropping a boulder or an anvil on someone, just that they go splat.

[@TheseUseless]

They also basically do this quite often in the books. A central tactic in the battle for the wall is dropping barrels of ice onto the wildling

[@klas666]

Dr. Roel The Ditcher said it best: "Rocks cost nothing, you throw them on their heads, it's great!"

[@PokeJoshNY]

Don't they literally do that in this battle and they either didn't show him said scene or just didn't keep that clip in the video

[@JVarley9001]

How to win a medieval battle 1: Dig through the ditches 2: Burn through the witches

[@pawea1347]

Yes, we have Ditch Man again!!!

[@Jeffro5564]

You mean historical accurate man hahaha

[@kingomugen]

A Dutch Ditch Man!

[@lorddiethorn]

It’s just an highlights reel

[@contemporaryhumours]

Yes. I saw the thumbnail and remembered. "Ditches!" He should be knighted or something.

[@graysonharelson9378]

What’s up with the pirate lady comparing the crab feeder to 17th century pirates and giving it a 1/10?💀

[@judemitchell9410]

I scrolled way to far to see this! she's acting like this a historical drama about 17th century piracy lmao

[@averytomaszewski6817]

@@judemitchell9410so glad I’m not the only one here looking for this

[@Happyduderawr]

I'm not sure if they are even supposed to be pirates.

[@corentinrichard9864]

The Crabefeader and his men aren't even pirates. They are militaries from the free cities of Lys, Myr and Tyrosh and their job is to held the stepstones and make ships pay a toll for crossing the area.

[@grigorov1914]

Her entire video was really bad tbh

[@LomLaLay]

"Veni, vidi, fossas multas fodi." "I came, I saw, I dug several ditches"

[@ulfhazelcreek8108]

Underappreciated comment!

[@rustomkanishka]

Are you sure about the Latin?

[@wojtek1582]

Well, that suits very well as Ceasar was famous for field fortifications. His legionnaries dug a lot of ditches :D

[@daviddempsey8721]

@@wojtek1582digging with their dinner plates, they all ended up dying of ditch-pan hands.

[@qwertyuiopzxcfgh]

​@@rustomkanishkaCan confirm the Latin is indeed correct. Personally though, I would omit multas to preserve the fricative alliteration of the original quote.

[@MrPedrograndi]

I like it when experts demonstrate when scenes don't correspond to real battles and, at the same time, acknowledge that they were done in such a way just for dramatic effect. The choice then seems like a calculation in which you are not limited to realism, but also do not disregard it in a way that generates disbelief on the part of the viewer.

[@eclipsewrecker]

Or when they suggest that people snap spears like twigs with their bare hands….

[@MrPedrograndi]

@@eclipsewrecker lol, sure

[@publiusventidiusbassus1232]

Battle of the Bastards was fine until that absurd hill of bodies. That is legit one of the single silliest things I've ever seen in any show. And it looked even more ridiculous when they zoomed out to show a perfectly clear field that both armies for some reason refused to move around, insisting on fighting on top of the highly inconvenient, comically large bodypile.

[@jamesgallagher7224]

@@publiusventidiusbassus1232 realistically with horses included you could create a structure as such a comically large pile of bodys though it would take the whole bolton army stacking them on top of eachother for hours

[@noellundstrom7447]

Thank you Roel for your practical advice on warfare, I have conquered 10 city states since your last video with insider. You changed my life!

[@Darthdoodoo]

Im telling you man more ditches is the key i just show up at a city gate then start digging ditches and they usually just give up as soon as they realize the ditches cant be beaten 😂😂

[@Rvbcaboose714]

Give it up for Ditch Diggler!

[@Krokspy]

How many Ditches did you dig?

[@slapfish3193]

During the naval battle scene that isnt the bowsprit, Its a Corvus. Rome used them during the punic wars so they have been used effectively in history.

[@Tarodan]

Came to find this comment! The Romans adopted them after Carthage wiped out their navy using them, they were hugely influential at the time.

[@jasonkinzie8835]

"Should you find yourself fighting an army of ice zombies". I consider this to be more a question of when and not if.

[@Kaiservzlk]

For the night is dark and full of terrors

[@noahgraff-uw8rs]

Happens to everyone

[@KafshakTashtak]

Just start digging ditches right now.

[@No10NumberTen]

winter is coming

[@misanthropicservitorofmars2116]

This series from insider is amazing. Bringing history nerds together to teach. It also shows how these movie and TV productions need to start hiring and listening to these historians.

[@crystalline225]

I'm a simple man. I see the Ditch Man, I click.

[@shannonpincombe8485]

You and everybody else pal! Instantly hit that button.

[@contemporaryhumours]

Same. You cannot "unclick" if you know.

[@Unknown-jt1jo]

That's Professor Ditch to you.

[@circependragon1201]

15:39 *guy gets brutally stabbed through the head* “That’s quite nice”

[@opusmaximum]

Roel makes me wanna dig a ditch around my house - and then three more!

[@kleinerprinz99]

why didnt you? now you're homeless !

[@alexisjuillard4816]

dig a couple in, never know when a kitchen ditch or a toilet moat might save you

[@lorddiethorn]

@@alexisjuillard4816in Pittsburgh there was an fairly bad winter in 2015 and when the snow finally melted I joked to my brother hi bro I got an moat

[@drextrey]

@lorddiethorn How can an American don't know the use of "A" from "An"?

[@lorddiethorn]

@@drextrey I am lazy when it comes to the internet

[@cleverusername9369]

I love how we all universally love Ditch Guy. No offense to the other experts but Mr Konijnendijk is just so fun.

[@cpt_soban]

Winterfell: 20 concentric rings of ditches around the entire castle Roel: NOT ENOUGH DITCHES!

[@jamesmonschke747]

They seemed to miss what seemed to me the biggest "lack of realism" when I watched the show. Having many thousands of people marching from place to place, even across desserts, with no visible means to provide food, water, sanitation, shelter, medical care, and no disease outbreaks even with that many people in close proximity with a lack of sanitation. I don't recall them ever even having the troops carrying any supplies of their own other than their weapons. Logistics is a big discriminator in who wins or looses battles and wars.

[@alex86fire]

They teleported, I thought that was established. Here one day, hundreds of miles away, the next.

[@vjmtz]

Actually on History Hit channel I think it’s called, Roel “The Ditch Man” mentions this. He talks about the movie 300 and how a lot of shows and movies don’t show that you need double the people along with the soldiers to carry their gear. And in general here he eludes to how calvary troops are no way this massive and can be hidden or unnoticed from miles away.

[@lkf8799]

They mention it in exposition briefly here and there about providing supplies and raiding villages and there are encampments shown with Robb, Tywin, Ramsey, Stannis, and at Riverun but they definitely yada yada over those details a lot.

[@SkylineLynar]

Funnily enough all of this is mentioned in the books the show was based on.

[@haraldisdead]

The guy trying to demonstrate what part of the sword you should use to space yourself... on his forearm... was made much more confusing by the giant sword tattoo on his forearm.

[@turquoisesands2660]

Foreman Sword Guy was really on point for his job as a sword instructer.

[@AMortalDefiant]

It doesn't help that he used an archaic term which I'm sure most people misheard as the letter "L". An "ell" was a common unit of length in the Middle Ages, and was either the distance from the shoulder to the tips of the fingers, or from the elbow to the tips of the fingers (sources vary, and both were probably used). He denotes a "half ell" as half the length of his forearm. Roughly 16:40 in the video.

[@LadyRaeona]

I like the two swordsmen having a chat, it makes for a nice dynamic.

[@hoomandario3847]

Heeey, it's the ditch master himself. LEGEND.

[@contemporaryhumours]

Absolutely. Legend. hope these comments reach him.

[@justinlast2lastharder749]

Ditchmandingo...it's easier to pronounce and spell than his actual name.

[@baizuo3954]

I was in a street fight. Having your opponents friends standing behind you is a major disadvantage even when they are not interfering.

[@markferguson3745]

My first real fight in HS ; me vs one kid,- and six of his relatives and friends.

[@tink6225]

@@markferguson3745jeez

[@dvid5019]

Idk if he had the context of the stab in the leg also, considering the fact that Ned was the warden of the north and king's hand it would make much more sense to not kill him

[@haraldisdead]

The whole world: "ZIG ZAG!!!"

[@ericlayton8888]

I can forgive Rickon for running straight at Jon, he's probably thinking that if the Boltons were gonna kill him they would've done it by now and he hasn't seen any of his rapidly dying out family in at least a couple of years

[@shannonpincombe8485]

My missus says this all of the freakin time. "All Rickon needed to do was zig zag...silly little bugger would still he alive!" I love her for this. She's so clever.

[@eatmorenachos]

I had a different take. I thought Jon should’ve told him when to zig and zag. Every time Bolton loosed an arrow Jon should’ve yelled a warning, telling his brother to change directions.

[@cleverusername9369]

​@@eatmorenachos that's a great way to advertise to Ramsey exactly where his target would be heading next. If Jon was loud enough for Rickon to hear, Ramsey would've heard him, too.

[@eatmorenachos]

@@cleverusername9369 He wouldn’t be telling Ramsey “exactly” where Rickon would be, just that he was changing directions. Rickon would have much better odds than running in a straight line at the same speed the entire time.

[@amiryousef2153]

"I'm a game of thrones geek" - Calls the Mountain the Hound

[@thelowground7741]

Geek doesn't necessarily mean all knowing nerd that never gets anything wrong, he probably just really enjoyed the show but hadn't watched in a while.

[@thebatman6201]

I haven't watched in 10 years.. I can never forget the hound. The mountain was recast like 3 times. That I'd understand

[@thelowground7741]

@@thebatman6201 did you know different people can remember stuff differently over a passage of time?

[@thebatman6201]

@@thelowground7741 did you know that those people would be wrong?

[@thelowground7741]

@@thebatman6201 you seem to be a profoundly stupid individual because you think since you remember the show in greater detail over a passage of a lot of time, others must too, that's not how it works.

[@PrimoSchnevi]

Hollywood should hire Dr. Ditch for every medieval movie

[@2adamast]

Putting catapults on top of walls, Dr Rabbitditch just has no idea. Most of those experts have no practical war experience

[@PrimoSchnevi]

@@2adamast you don't need practical war experience if you have enough ditches

[@sportenapfeltorten2095]

@2adamast "practical experience" in historic medieval warfare. Sure :D Let me just go back to the siege of akkon and get some experience. ??? They obviously do research. Archeology, studiying manuskripts and pictures. etc.

[@2adamast]

@@sportenapfeltorten2095 Practical experience: dig a ditch, cross a ditch, walk to a wall, put a catapult on a wall. Artillery was put in bastions as curtain walls can't stand the stress. Fences were used in medieval times to fence in attackers or fence off gates (later ravelins). Ditches are useful later with heavy artillery as deconstructed walls.

[@sportenapfeltorten2095]

@@2adamast I certainly wont argue with you! I have NO expertise and what you say sounds reasonable! I just think someone doesnt necessarily need the practical experience themself to have authority on historical warfare. RIght. You dont need to work in construction to now about how cathedrals where built. And unless you have more credentials than the scientist in the video, or you can show how their credentials are invalid, I think they still have authority on representing the scientific consensus of how historical warfare looks like. I think between the two of us we can come up with loads of plausible hypothesis of how historical battlefields and sieges look like, but unless we can cite some REALLY good source, these guys still have more authority. But maybe you DO know a lot more than them. I have no way of knowing.

[@ogolthorp]

I’d say sandor clegane is an example of a very large fighter who has intelligence in the way he fights.

[@kingkongkungkwang]

I'm a simple guy. I see the ditch man, I click. Digging through the ditches, burning through the witches...

[@misanthropicservitorofmars2116]

Dropping rocks from high places Letting the archers fire at will

[@gamingnarrativesandstories1700]

About making two swods from one: In the books, the first sword is a particularly large twohanded sword. The two new swords were, as far as I can remember, smaller one handed swords. I dont think it transferes well to the series. :)

[@aqschin0913]

Nahh Tywin tells Jaime something along the lines of "the original weapon was comically large, there was plenty of steel for two swords, it might not show but its defo explained in another scene

[@xtragedgnolf]

Very true, it wasn't used in battle either since it was a ceremonial Executioner's sword.

[@ncsmith1952]

One thing that bugged me about Game of Thrones was that the commanders never had any scouts or reconnaissance in place. In battle after battle, the cavalry coming over the hill, or the army coming across country, or the fleet coming around the point, are undetected until the critical moment. Mance Rayder being surprised by Stannis, the Battle of the Bastards being determined by Sansa's army, the attack by the dragons on the Lannister army in the middle of the continent, the sea battles - all a big surprise! Of course, GOT is not alone in this...

[@thijsfb]

Yeah, in the first (or second?) season there is a big battle where the scouts ARE a big point, Robb fools a lannister scout into thinking he had 20.000 men coming for Tywin's army, when in fact he only had 8.000 men marching there, and 12.000 men to fight another army, which he then caught off-guard. After that one instance, scouts aren't really ever mentioned again i think, which is a shame

[@misanthropicservitorofmars2116]

Mance is the only one that makes sense. He had people beyond the wall as well. Those were his scouts. No one could ever have predicted a Lord of a House in the south would actually head the call of the Watch Commander. Mance was in the Nights Watch. He knows that southern kings don’t care. But Stannis the Mannis is bound by duty. Anyone else would have tried to get to castle black and see what they could do. Take a passive approach. The Mannis (a strategic genius) knew a lighting strike of heavy cav against essentially militia infantry. Catching them by surprise with superior units. After they had assaulted the wall the day previous. Mance was reckless because he had to be, and unfortunately Stannis, blood of Duran Gods Grief, rightful king of Westeros, never plays around. He’s all business, all the time.

[@hypothalapotamus5293]

ASOIAF, the source material for game of thrones, tended to explain this better. At the start, the show stuck to the books pretty closely (but always made it dumber), but completely departed from it later on. Books: -Most of Rob's victories came because Ser Bryndon Tully's outriders did their jobs well and because their Lannister counterparts would often be killed in ambushes (they're in unfamiliar and hostile territory and have to deal with wolves controlled by tree magic). -Surprise during the Battle of the Blackwater was possible because Tyrion's mountain tribesmen made things very difficult for Baratheon scouts. -Absence of scouting by Stannis's fleet was due to the choice of leadership. Stannis gave command to a Florent who was inexperienced in Naval operations because he needed their support. -Mance Rayder lacked scouts in the Haunted forest because the risk of human opposition North of the wall was low compared to that of the Others. The Others tend to find human scouts and turn their eyes blue. It's what they do. -The Iron Fleet started a fight with the Reach using blood magic (like actual blood magic) and sorcery (navigation skills) to sail away from the land (bypassing the crown's warning systems) and emerge from the open ocean at the Shield islands. This is completely different than how they behaved in the show. Note: The Battle of the Bastards or any of Daenerys's movements in Westeros are not part of the Books.

[@BrotherlyBear]

@@hypothalapotamus5293 Great points. I also wanted to point out that Mance was caught off guard for a lot of reasons even Jon picks up. A couple being: - His camp is VERY loosely maintained, it's everyone for themselves (those that answered directly to his command were few and far between) - Mance was personally very busy with his son's birth and talking to Jon about the Horn of Winter - They DO have scouts (magic ones!) and they DO warn Mance of the van coming for them, just not in time. - His scouts were mainly focused on looking at the wall because of their ongoing attack, and perhaps to the east for meager reinforcements from the wall. They knew that the wall had little to no manning, and could not have predicted that fully armored knights were coming their way

[@deformiertergolfball4847]

@@misanthropicservitorofmars2116 also what i think. you should not forget how big the wall is too. he went in by eastwatch at the sea. how should mance know about this.

[@cferguson37]

the point about how nimble and fast a large athlete can be reminds me of comments about Brock Lesner and how absolutely fast he was for someone so large

[@sheboyganshovel5920]

Ivo Karlovic was a 6'11" tennis player. Sometimes he even won! Aaron Donald is massive. And massively fast. And on and on.

[@light_splitter]

12/10 for Roel Konijnendijk on the ditch scale. Honestly he makes quick work on the nonsense we see on the screen and also educates in a way that one may be ruined from enjoying these shows. Another great explainer and educator is Toby Capwell. Man I could watch these two for hours.

[@2adamast]

Catapults on top of walls, just try.

[@SoulReaper1942]

@@2adamast Or behind IMO, they fire in a ballistic arc, you can yeet stones over your walls, have a guy from the wall call corrections from the wall, other guys can't see were you are shooting from so they can't correct when trying to wreck your stuff.

[@mitchmoseley7350]

They’ve done enough of these breakdowns with experts that they can make Supercuts of certain media like Game of Thrones. This is awesome

[@scottburgess4526]

I'm digging a ditch right now

[@JonathanRossRogers]

24:22 Craghas Drahar, the "Crabfeeder," was not a pirate. He was a military commander bent on conquest. Did the expert even watch the show?

[@sskandle7198]

Nerd

[@Hammertime86]

Pirate or no, she shouldn’t focus on the fact pirates didn’t feed people to crabs. We are already suspending belief with the natural world, there are dragons so who cares 😂

[@RaghulShanmuganathan]

She seems to think its a documentary 😂

[@justafaniv1097]

She probably didn't watch the show. I think what this series does is get an expert in a field, and if they know the show, great, but more likely, they have a few clips, give a brief bit of context, then let the expert opine on the little clip they get. For instance, with the Blackwater scene, the expert is talking about using stones against people at a wall would be the best thing for the defenders to do. That literally happens in that episode a few seconds after the clip ends. So no, these experts are not expected to know or have seen the show beforehand, and likely rely on Insider to give context to the clips.

[@JonathanRossRogers]

@@justafaniv1097 I expect you're right. More blame should be assigned to the producers or whoever asked the questions and didn't supply accurate or sufficient context.

[@mmclaurin8035]

DITCH MAAAAN SHOVEL DIRT WITH YOUR HANDS MAKE TWOOOOO NOW THE BAD GUYS ARE REALLY SCREWED

[@ZaneYonlisky]

Oberyn gets knocked down. The one guy “he clearly made a mistake”

[@0okamino]

What the mistake was is diluting the venom too much before coating his spears’ tips with it. He wanted The Mountain to take a while to die, but was expecting him to be too immobilized from the venom to do anything like that. If it was anyone other than Gregor, they would have been.

[@AmaroMalta]

He came, he saw, he built a ditch!!

[@marekgorka9816]

Only one?

[@alexisjuillard4816]

Ney he came he saw and he ditched you

[@marekgorka9816]

@@alexisjuillard4816 I'm not even sure if thats just a joke or an insult.

[@misanthropicservitorofmars2116]

@@marekgorka9816no, once the first ditch is done dig another. Then dig another. If you’re not fighting, you’re digging.

[@marekgorka9816]

@@misanthropicservitorofmars2116 Yes.

[@JarneyHarney]

i've love to be able to read their names before you cut away.... great respect for the people that give you any content

[@jawascrapper6277]

The lord of the ditches came back! Everyone grab a shovel

[@alexisjuillard4816]

No its the dath ditch dutch sith Or the dutchg ditch digger Or duch ditcher Guess lord of the ditches is fine too

[@jawascrapper6277]

@@alexisjuillard4816 I'll stick with lord of ditches 😅

[@davidpicken8788]

😂

[@blubirdhill2608]

​@@alexisjuillard4816There's something dirty about this comment, but I can't put my finger on it. Either way, I approve 😂

[@Rvbcaboose714]

Nah, Ditch Diggler is new name. Coined today June 9th

[@leonevelake]

" pirates nevwr fed their enemies to..." Well thats a ridiculously broad statment. I mean she gave it a 1 oit of 10 when talking behavior of fictional medevial fantasy priates vs one type of real world pirate from a later than equivalent era... weird logic.

[@bbwait2718]

Yeh that's what i thought 😂

[@acmaiden5236]

That last one was terrible indeed

[@alexisjuillard4816]

Ok i think i speak for the chat when i say we want an netflix special series about all the times ditches weren't dug and should have been

[@misanthropicservitorofmars2116]

That’s literally like every single historical show or movie 😂 I can’t think of a time ditches were actually used properly on screen…it’s far easier to just list the 1 or 2 times it was done flawlessly. Unfortunately, one of the most accurate historical movie ever made is Master and Commander. Which is all about 1 boat. It’s an amazing movie, but it’s a shame that’s the best we have as historians.

[@kavichandler2481]

20:50 in the books it actually talks about how Gregor is widely considered pretty quick, especially for one of his size carrying the blade he does

[@0okamino]

His strength also allows him to wear unusually thick plate, and still be frighteningly mobile.

[@piotrsobolewski2208]

It was said in the show too that he's quick for his size

[@publiusventidiusbassus1232]

Yeah, but he's not depicted that way. In either the book, or show, that claim is constantly contradicted by his slow and clumsy fighting style, like a typical big, slumbering villain.

[@alexpolowick2445]

If I ever get to direct a battle scene, ima have so many god damn ditches....

[@wizcorn9958]

Hey, I was wondering if you’ve had the chance to direct any battle scenes yet?

[@GameFuMaster]

welcome to war in ukraine

[@sheep2826]

It wouldn’t not be unrealistic for the handle of Ned Stark’s sword to come off that easily, but for what it’s worth the sword was not used for combat. Ned was Warden of the North and enacted his own executions in his lands, which is why the sword was so absurdly large. It wasn’t meant for standard combat, so the fact that it would break under the stress of sword-on-sword or sword-on-shield impacts doesn’t really matter to the show.

[@0okamino]

It also wouldn’t matter because of the properties of Valyrian steel. It’s known to be extraordinarily strong, even against other strong metals. A neck wouldn’t put up the resistance of so much as warm butter.

[@lalalachacha248]

And to answer his other question, they actually do make a point in the show that, since it’s so large, Ned’s sword actually does have enough steel to be melted down into two significantly smaller swords.

[@piotrsobolewski2208]

It's possible that the smith take the pommel first and had to strike the handle with hammer to loose it.

[@publiusventidiusbassus1232]

Ice was the sword Stark lords carried into battle, that is canon. Ned is always depicted in official art fighting with it in battles during the Rebellion. It was also Valyrian steel, which made it lighter, so size would not mean much. Two handed swords were commonly used in our own late Medieval/early Modern period in combat, and several characters use two handed swords in ASOIAF/GOT. The pommel thing is just a show oversight to make the scene more dramatic.

[@SirValravn]

14:47 ''I mean, they stand there shocked that it's Euron, but like, just shoot him.'' These glaring moments of stupid plot armor were so common in the last seasons to the point where I only kept watching to see what bs they'd come up with next time, and it just kept getting worse and worse every time.

[@govinddas7876]

Okay there are so many things to complain about in S8 but this is not one of them. Its a drama show mate. No one wants to see what would realistically happen, they wanna see dramatised versions. In fact the clip right after that is Ned staring at Jamie right after killing his mate. That was season 1. Did you have a problem with that as well?

[@TheHuntsman-qe9iz]

In the books, Euron is supposed to have Valarian steel armor. So, they could have him get shot a few times, and he just shrugs it off. That would have been realistic, fantastical, and cool all at the same time.

[@princeire7486]

I always find it funny how all over the place different experts' ratings are. One expert: "*5 minute explanation about how everything that's happening on screen is complete nonsense* 6/10." Another expert: "One piece of armor is being worn improperly, 1/10."

[@winklenator]

As soon as I saw Roel on the thumbnail, I immediately clicked. After I dug a ditch of course.

[@ivantituss]

1/10 for pirates for not making ditches like they used to do. Hope to see how they rate dragon fights. They are not like they used to fight

[@headbanginTILLitHurt]

SO good to see our boy Roel again!

[@absb.5978]

Neil has such a chill vibe. And his voice is so soothing. I felt so zen listening to him.

[@metoo7557]

A day isn't complete without digging ditches.

[@atelalafford4794]

"it totally works... UNLESS you're fighting ice zombies" this is what i love these videos for, cold hard facts

[@Raz.C]

re - The Mountain The dudes here made the assumption that GoT was portraying The Mountain as being slow. They're mistaken. When Ser Bronn is refusing Tyrion's request to champion him, one of the reasons he gives is "and he [The Mountain] is a lot faster than you'd think..." So I don't think they're portraying him as being slow. At all!! * The full quote is "He's freakish big and freakish strong! And quicker than you'd expect for a man of that size!"

[@Fudo94]

They're not mistaken. He's portrayed as slow, clumsy and incompetent in the fight.

[@emperorggs3248]

@@Fudo94 I genuinely believe it's because Hafthor was a terrible choice for Gregor Clegane. He is way too rigid and he looked like I would if I were to get into a swordfight with someone, uncoordinated and awkward

[@michaelcavalry8379]

@@emperorggs3248 I don't think the actor is slow, but much likelier he was not given the proper HEMA training nor did his coreography allow him to be quick

[@publiusventidiusbassus1232]

​@@emperorggs3248 they purposefully gave Hafthor an absurdly heavy sword as prop that only he could wield, to "showcase" the Mountain's power. That's why every swing he does looks awkward and slow. It was their intention all along. The criticism stands. The cliche of the big clumsy bad guy is silly because in real life that's not how big men move at all.

[@darraghchapman]

Wow, that was a top notch panel of experts! Quite a few familiar faces, but those I didn't know also seemed to really know their stuff, and the clips shown to each were nicely thought out to coincide with their field of expertise, which matters a lot, so props to the team that put this together too!

[@2adamast]

Only the jousting professional knew his stuff, the other experts lacked experience.

[@floofypoofybread]

@@2adamast Ok my neckbeard fedora lord, may I see a research paper or a video of you reconstructing battles?

[@Why-D]

When I saw the fight against the ice zombies, starting with the cavalry, I immediately thought: "Why?" Do they want to fill the ranks of the zombies with their riders?

[@rosierrosier9926]

And a horses...Congrats you gave ice zombies a cavalry with horses that now have no fear of death...I still think they did it to thin out the Dany's army to make her more dependable on other houses

[@Why-D]

@@rosierrosier9926 may be they had no money for a proper battle with cavalry striking in the flanks.

[@MyBrainGlows]

Its funny how the writers where to dumb to write stuff gamers do since the first total war games or... EVERY good strategist since the battle of Megiddo - put the horses on left and right and flank the enemy.

[@xxXXRAPXXxx]

@@MyBrainGlows Not to cover for them but they weren't necessarily dumb. It was said they hoped to have a job at disney after GOT and they wanted to do that asap. So its some stupidity sure but it was just overwhelmingly greedy of them. On a fun note, the last seasons ware so terrible they did not get the job at disney (because it was at the time where failures ware punished.).

[@misanthropicservitorofmars2116]

@@MyBrainGlowstbf if I got feudal knights in med 2 and I’m staring down no chevron spear militia. I’m 100% going to charge right in. But 90% of the early game is pinning the enemy spear militia with your spear militia and using your general to hammer and anvil.

[@adithyakrishnanvinod]

The 2 from 1 sword is not wrong, The sword melted was Ice and it was comically large, too large for battle. It was a ceremonial sword, hence it should have had enough material for 2 swords.

[@jasonpeacock9735]

13:52 He might be missing how ridiculously huge Ice was compared to the two swords created out of it

[@jonharker9028]

Ice was big, but like any good executioner’s sword (which it certainly was designed like, even if that wasn’t the only role it took) it’s actually kinda thin for its width. The blade of a greatsword that size would not necessarily be twice the mass of the blade of a knight’s arming sword. A lot of the difference was in the hilt: your heaviest greatswords had big side rings and spiral ends on the quillons and all this other additional mass near the hands. This is putting aside the fact that the special properties that made Ice definitively Valyrian steel would be lost in the melting phase. This also ignores, if I remember rightly, that people have said that Ice was not re-forged in the novels - I haven’t resumed the books in a long time. If we did still want to re-forge Ice, rather than giving it to somebody else who knows how to use it, I would just cut the blade horizontally somewhere and hammer out or forge-weld on a new tang for the top chunk, with a new point ground out for the bottom chunk. It would still be weird and unnecessary, but we kinda have precedent - lots of Japanese tachi were shortened down to later legally enforced blade lengths by cutting off the old tang and then re-furnished, technically making them uchigatana.

[@alex86fire]

@@jonharker9028 The sword gets reforged in the books as well.

[@HarryCaneNo1]

That lady with the pirate kink has not watched any single second of the scene she's talking about :D:D:D

[@fritz5940]

Dude exactly

[@RaghulShanmuganathan]

She thinks its a documentary 😂

[@Stelios300X]

I love how an actual expert criticized all the exact same bull**** tactics in the battle of Winterfell which have already been pointed out by fans. That battle scene was so dumb the obvious flaws didn't need an expert to see them but it's nice to have it confirmed.

[@Gabagu]

One thing that wasn't taken into account is that the walls aren't big enough for the catapults, they're quite slim when shown in the series, the other is that the Dothraki are known to never loose in an open field, withing the narrative it makes sense why they would be so confident given that's their culture and the dead weren't known to behave in such an organized manner concentrating waves above waves of enemies all at once, that with the weather powers from the White Walkers made everything more difficult, the Dothraki strategy is to breach enemy lines and then scatter and pick enemies in small amounts, like they did with the Lannister army in season 7, so it does make sense withing narrative, it just didn't go the way they expected, also they did have a huge ditch with wooden pikes in that battle, that with the infantry retreating while the spearmen defended the retreat does make the battle more grounded than whatever it was in House of the Dragon or other fantasy battles like the ones in Lord of the Rings, the one in House of the Dragon is just Daemon being a superhero, that one is definitely the least realistic scene in the series but people don't usually complain about that.

[@Warren_Peace]

​@Gabagu True, that was why they could have placed wooden constructions in the walls to place their artillery in... There are a lot of trees and a lot of people in Winterfell.... They could have done it all in give or take 3 to 4 days while also digging those ditches, of course.

[@Gabagu]

@@Warren_Peace I guess but from what we saw of the walls in Winterfell i can definitely see why they put it in front, that and they didn't expect the artilllery to be overrun by the walkers, last time they fought them they were disorganized infantrymen that were quite scattered, first thing the Nightking did was to throw a huge wave of dead one above the other with a snowstorm, those are different things we really hadn't seen before.

[@Warren_Peace]

@@Gabagu That is what makes the battle even more ridiculous. Jon Snow, the Night's Watch, and the Wildlings know how the White Walkers fight, and the rest, like the Onion Knight, Jaime Lannister, and Jorah Mormont are veteran soldiers who fought and survived the War of the Five Kings and even Robert's Rebellion....

[@Gabagu]

@@Warren_Peace That's not really accurate, we've seen how they fight throughout the series with those characters, there isn't a scene were they behaved in that way that was so overwhelming using a snowstorm and a having a huge wave of enemies like a wall breaching through infantry lines, just compare that with Hardhome or all the other encounters, a lot of people simply ignore how different the circumstances of the battle were compare to every encounter they had with the dead before.

[@seanblackwood8382]

Loving the detailed dissections of the Proffessor Ditch-Digger. ❤

[@shadowfire_08]

I remember seeing Neil win on ‘Forged in Fire’ & to see him now is truly awesome 🙌🔥🍻

[@Neenerella333]

I like the counter points from the two experts on the Mountain vs Martell. It represents how different aspects of each fighter bring possible outcomes.

[@headcollecter3000]

I have never clicked on a video faster

[@joanneking170]

Same

[@jx1659]

The siege expert's face when talking about balling balls 23:08 is hilarious!!

[@jeffbachman2949]

To be fair not saying it was perfect by any means but in GOT they did dig a small ditch around the castle and lit it on fire when they retreat into the castle.

[@jonharker9028]

I didn’t get that far in the show, but one ditch is better than no ditches! Could be worse, then!

[@jeffbachman2949]

@@jonharker9028 lol true

[@Gabagu]

That ditch was actually pretty big it even had wooden pikes on it

[@MrFerperro]

"Once your first ditch is ready, build another one!"

[@SwiftSnaps-rg1ge]

They forgot step two, moree ditches 😂

[@MajorReynolds92]

oh my god i've only seen one other video with this "ditches" guy and it was like months ago but as soon as he started complaining about the ditches i remembered him immediately lol the way he complains about it is just so endearing xD

[@corpusbro9246]

14:20 This is actually a weapon used far ealier than this particular mans specialty. It was a roman device called a "Corvus." Basically a big spiky drawbridge on the front to hold the other ship still for boarding.

[@caelestigladii]

Roman ships are not “sailing” ships. They are oar powered ships. They don’t need bowsprits. That’s why they can have corvuses(?): they don’t need to hold a fore mast. That’s why he specifically said that it’s bad for sailing. Also, roman ships with corvuses are notorious for being unstable. As pointed out.

[@lohto3]

Just because something existed in history doesn't mean it was good. The corvus was used for about 20 years, in roughly a 900 year long history of the Roman Republic and Empire combined. The corvus was introduced in the First Punic War, and they stopped using it entirely by the time the First Punic War ended.

[@2adamast]

I guess GOT read about the corvus and our expert on 18th century warfare didn't. Following his expertise: artillery on ships is impossible, way too much weight, too much fire, ...

[@caelestigladii]

@@2adamast “too much fire” is actually an issue on wooden warships. Even the cannon armed ones. That’s why the galley fire is always extinguished before battle. It’s also why you won’t see heated shots fired from warships. It’s common enough on land-based fortifications but never on warships. There are always buckets of water beside every cannon. The magazine room is always separated from any light source, and no open flame light source is allowed anywhere near. That expert knows what he’s talking about.

[@joeygk2990]

For the sword melting one, Ice was a huge greatsword melted down to make a longsword and a shorter sword...so there was enough metal theoretically

[@rivermistfae]

👀 that's The Mountain, not the Hound 😏

[@bbison94]

It is baffling that a show that costs millions and millions to make, doesn't seem to consult experts like these. Surely you can make these battles look realistic while still spectactular to watch

[@piotrsobolewski2208]

I think every movie or show have experts but it's producer/director decision to use that knowledge :)

[@TheRibottoStudios]

Oberyn's death still hurts to this day. I kept shouting "JUST KILL HIM!!" We kept forgetting Ramsay's words: if you think this has a happy ending, you haven't been paying attention. 😭

[@JoaoPedro-ol7sl]

He had it on the bag, all he had to do is hold the show for when he actually wins, and finish the duel as fast possible

[@MylesKillis]

@@JoaoPedro-ol7slor just don’t stand within arms reach of him while you’re ranting

[@JoaoPedro-ol7sl]

@@MylesKillis true

[@0okamino]

To be fair, the venom on the tip of Oberyn’s spear was an assured death sentence. He made the mistake of not taking into account that this is The Mountain, and getting too close too soon.

[@cineturon]

The team-up none of us thought we wanted but we all needed!

[@zalibecquerel3463]

Yeah! DITCHES GUY IS BACK!!! We love Ditches Guy!

[@Michael_MW]

I came to see Roel, he is always on point. But this whole line up was 🔥Thank you all! I hope these producers are taking notes. They should be asking these guys to come on their shows to ensure realism.

[@xandar6748]

When I bring a ditch to battle I shall be invincible

[@baizuo3954]

The Red Woman obviously wasn't trained in cavalry tactics, just Blood Magic...

[@craghack8543]

Digging a ditch, while watching this video

[@HORDE36]

10:50 The sharp lance and lack of throat armor are actually part of the plot! They needed to silence him.

[@meu02136]

Every time I see these now I assume they’re part of a compilation already.

[@trayas2272]

Exactly, why “nock, draw, loose” I always thought it was strange. Just fire at will, as many arrows as quick as you can.

[@saturnv2419]

We need a ditch man episode 4, there are plenty to work with!

[@issacclark4978]

Roel is my Spirit animal. That entire last battle with the Night King was so terrible. The Calvary they sent to their deaths with the justification of trying to bait the Undead army when they were already comited to killing the One Eyed Raven Stark. It may makes sense if Snow wanted to deplete her Army, but still. Talk about risky, giving recruits to a real war machine. Then keeping the Unsullied on the outside of those defenses. I did miss the arty out in the open. Its like they saved the castle walls for the main characters for a dramatic last stand.

[@kuramkarameruk]

Few days ago I've seen something called The Old Fairy Tale: When the Sun Was God and in the final battle they used ditch to stop cavalry. Our expert would be so proud 😁

[@estrellamelgar]

17:50 he kept mentioning Brienne being a knight, but she wasnt a knight at that time because women werent allowed knightship in GoT

[@ArmageddonD11]

right shes literally not knighted until the season 8

[@AdamUKG]

@@ArmageddonD11 and that was the worst season, show was great up until 7-8

[@xtragedgnolf]

​@@ArmageddonD11Tbf she was going to be knighted by Renly, before his... untimely passing...

[@JacksonCulley]

Aw man, I was hoping for some new clips! This is just a super cut of old videos, new that fresh ditch content from Roel!

[@clementbianchini8651]

Regarding the Euron clip, that was a Corvus boarding device, a feature of Roman galley back during the Punic wars to facilitate the boarding by heavy infantry.

[@icetech6]

Would like to see the second guy talk bout the last battle in Excalibur.... sooo good

[@asbin666]

Realy nice episode wish they put more historicly facts from the experts and more series or movies that they can dissect from !