VC: HBO
(Warning: this article contains spoilers for season 8, episode 3 of Game of Thrones)
The latest episode of popular HBO TV series Game of Thrones has fans excited about the show's potential outcome.
Dr Dean Mahuta, Game of Thrones aficionado and creator of Te Māwhai, a reo Māori YouTube channel, shares his thoughts on the final season.
The immersive fantasy world has a firm grip on popular culture, with fans identifying strongly to the characters and great families of Westeros.
Mahuta likens his people from the Waikato to another powerful family on the Game of Thrones.
"For me, I can see similarities between my own tribe and the House of Stark, where we protect our iwi and are very conscientious about manaakitanga. [Like the Starks] we are also thriving on our original homeland."
But unlike the Kīngitanga movement, the popular TV Series has many vying for the right to claim the throne.
Mahuta's love for te reo Māori and GOT theorising is combined in his online reviews which he uploads to his YouTube channel, Te Māwhai.
He says the internet is going crazy over the series climax, the death of the Night King, which he will review this week.
"I'm still reeling from the third episode. I never would have guessed it would be Arya that would kill the Night King."
While his channel is not exclusively GoT content, he says that it is by far the most popular topic.
"There are so many different channels on YouTube - cooking, make-up tutorials, gaming... all of these are delivered in English and I've also seen some delivered in French or German and so I thought that there was definitely a place for te reo Māori."
Mahuta can't wait to see how the rest of the final season plays out...
