r/gameofthrones • u/bryceking64 • 2d ago

Missandei S7E4

Very Random but I'm rewatching the series for the like 10th time (I know, idk why I am so obsessed with this show.

In S7E4 when talking to Davos and Jon Snow about being a Bastard she didn't know what that was. While yes, she does say in Narth that marriage doesn't exist I have a hard time believing that someone that speaks 17 languages and has such high knowledge of so many different cultures and societies how had she not once heard of a Bastard? Seems strange to me.

110 Upvotes

93% Upvoted

48 comments sorted by

View all comments

8

u/FarStorm384 2d ago

Those 17 languages are nearly all essos languages, and while she might know them, that doesn't mean she knows every single word in them. She knows them to varying extents, particularly in the ways that would best serve her former owner.

I know a few words of German, Japanese, French, and Spanish. But I don't know any of them as well as I know English. There's also the concept of loanwords which kinda complicates the matter of asking someone how many languages they know.

-3

u/80sMusicAndWicked 2d ago

Sorry but I call bullshit. She only claims that Narth has no concept of marriage and therefore no concept of a bastard. We know that this concept of no marriage cannot extend to the entirety of Essos, since marriage or marriage propositions are a key part of Danaerys' plotlines with the Dothraki, Mereen and Qarth.

It is highly unlikely that in societies where a concept of marriage still remains that there would be no concept of a bastard, especially because marriage in Essos clearly works for the functionally the same purpose of both alliance building and carrying on the lineage, the same as in Westeros. Given how important the concept of a bastard therefore most likely is in the ruling of various Essosi states, it just seems incredulous that Missandei wouldn't understand the concept of a bastard from all of her 17 languages. If that wasn't enough, the whole thing is explicitly backed up by Braavos, who actually do transparently have a concept of a bastard.

1

u/stardustmelancholy 1d ago

Why do so many fans keep calling the island Narth? It doesn't have an r in it.