The beloved show Game of Thrones is known for many things. Such as its intriguing story, exciting actions, graphic violence, and the list goes on. But one of the main reasons that made the show epic on every scale is its astonishing visuals. Being a show based on the medieval era, Game of Thrones gave us a first-hand glimpse of a world that hasn’t been riddled with buildings or pollution. It gave us a world full of castles, mountains, forests, quaint villages, and the pure serene beauty of nature.
It’s obvious that portraying all of these things on the mini-screen requires a lot of CGI work. But that doesn’t mean that everything you see on the mini screen as a part of the show is pure computer graphics. In order for a CGI image to be believable, there has to be some amount of the real thing included in it. And likewise, all the incredible CGI places portrayed on the show have been based on real-world locations on which the CG has been built on.
Such an immensely beautiful place portrayed on the show is the Dragonstone Island, which hosted the ancestral home of Daenerys Targaryen, the Dragonstone Castle. Here are some insights into the actual locations on which Dragonstone Island was based.
Importance of Dragonstone Island
Dragonstone Island had quite a bit of importance in the epic story of Game of Thrones. It’s a volcanic island in the Narrow Sea, and it defends the entrance to Blackwater Bay. It was also an ideal strategic piece as it guarded against any approaches to the King’s Landing by sea means.
Apart from its strategic values, it served as the ancestral abode of the House Targaryen, as it hosted their ancestral home, the Dragonstone Castle.
Dragonstone Castle
After surviving the fall of Valyrian Freehold, the Targaryens settled in and made Dragonstone Island their stronghold. Even when Aegon I Targaryen conquered the seven kingdoms and the seat of House Targaryen was moved to King’s Landing after it was proclaimed as the capital of the empire, Dragonstone castle remained as the ancestral home of the Targaryens.
After Aerys II, the Mad King was killed, and the House of Targaryen was truly fallen, Stannis Baratheon conquered the Dragonstone Island and Castle, which was left vacant by the last surviving Targaryens when they fled. The newly crowned Robert Baratheon made Stannis the ruler of Dragonstone to make sure the Targaryen territory is within their reins. Stannis later made Dragonstone home of the newly formed branch of Baratheon, House Baratheon of Dragonstone.
Dragonstone island saw quite a bit of action as it was the main base of Stannis Baratheon during the War of the Five Kings, and he left the island for good when he went to intervene in the Battle of Castle Black.
Dragonstone was later captured by its rightful owner, Daenerys Targaryen, as it was the first place that her massive fleet was stopped en route to the seven kingdoms. It served as an ideal strategic position because of its closeness to King’s Landin, as well as symbolic because it was where she was born.
One other thing that gave Dragonstone Island its key importance in the story of the show was that it hosted an immense deposit of Dragon Glass. Apart from Valyrian Steel, it was the only material that could kill the undead White Walkers, and Dragonstone Island had mountains of it.
The abundant availability of Dragon Glass, which was once viewed as rare and more precious than gold, made the importance of the island grow exponentially. The Dragon Glass exported from Dragonstone Island was used to make the weapons that won the Great War against the white walkers.
Dragonstone Island Filming Locations
The different aspects of Dragonstone Island were shot from different real-world, which were then collaborated and combined with Computer Graphics to produce the image of Dragonstone Island that we adore on the screen.
Itzurun Beach in Zumaia, Spain
The interior scenes of Dragonstone Castle were shot on a sound stage in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The beach and the caves were shot from real places in Spain, which were Itzurun Beach in Zumaia and Muriola Beach near Barrika.
The real-life Dragonstone stairs setting if you want to visit: San Juan de Gaztelugatxe @GameOfThrones pic.twitter.com/a7CRVVQVNO — James Hibberd (@JamesHibberd) July 31, 2017
One of the most captivating parts of Dragonstone Island was the winding staircase on the island. Surprisingly enough, this is a real place and not a CGI. The place is called San Juan de Gaztelugatxe, Spain.
However, the Dragonstone Castle itself is not real as it is purely made with Computer Graphics.
Epic fantasy drama set in the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros and beyond, where noble families waged war for the Iron Throne, ancient threats return, and alliances are forged and broken, based on George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire.
Full Metal Alchemist is a masterpiece of anime that has revolutionized the anime industry and has gotten a lot of fans to start watching anime. Its latest series, Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood, is still topping the charts of anime being number one on the list of My Anime List and is always a go-to anime for beginners and experienced anime watchers.
Considering that this anime has reached an unbelievable peak with very less episodes alongside anime like Naruto, Bleach, One Piece, and many more, Full Metal Alchemist to features a number of characters that are lovable, and their death has brought a huge impact on the series and thus on the watchers.
Even after the series ended over a decade ago, fans still can’t get over the anime and the death of the character in the series, Maes Hughes. Even though the character had a very small time screen, he made a huge impact on the viewers and the notable characters of the series like Roy Mustang and the Elric brothers.
Thus, once in a while, to reminisce about this character and its impact on the series, fans search for what episode does Hughes die and see the tragic death of the character and cry as one of the best characters in the series dies. If you, too, are searching for Huges death or may have stumbled upon this, follow along with this article as we discuss Huges death and hopefully make your eyes teary. Without any further ado, let’s dive into it.
What Episode Does Hughes Die?
First and foremost, let’s talk about the episode in that Hughes Dies. Given that there are two anime of the series, there are also two episodes that feature Hughes’s death, and they both are tragic, making the viewers cry as Hughes gets shot to death by Homonculus Envy. All the more, it is satisfying to see Roy Mustang killing Envy with the fire alchemy and burning her to death in the later episodes of the series.
Hughes finds out the secret about the homunculus
In the Full Metal Alchemist 2003 series, Hughes dies in Episode 25 titled “Words of Farewell” when Envy shoots him in the liver. Hughes first tries to attack Envy, but given that Hughes’s expertise is in detective skills rather than alchemy, Envy easily shoots him in the liver and leaving him to die.
Whereas, in the Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood 2009 series, it was even sooner than the previous version of the anime in Episode 10 of the series titled “Separate Destination” . The reason for Hughes’s death was the same when he found out the secret about the homunculus that he wasn’t supposed to. However, Hughes’s death in this anime differs a bit from the previous one, where Hughes does not attack Envy, and she shoots him in the heart.
But unlike his death in the Full Metal Alchemist 2003 anime, he does not die instantly and gets enough time to say goodbye to his family, making his death more tragic. Whereas, if you are wondering about the manga chapter in which Hughes dies, then it is the 36th chapter of the manga titled “Alchemist In Distress”.
Why was Hughes’s Death A Big Deal?
Meas Hughes was a simple man that adored his family and a skilled detective serving alongside his best friend, Roy Mustang. During the time he was in the series, his character made an impact on the viewers and the characters in the series due to his loving personality. He would often tell dad jokes in the series and give us a sense of realism in the story of fiction.
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Besides acting lovey-dovey towards his toddler and his wife in a few scenes that were shown, he was also seen adorning the Elric brothers and acting like a big brother, if not a father to them, which they wanted. Whereas his friendship with Roy Mustang was another thing that absolutely warmed viewers’ hearts. His death came as tragic to the viewers and the characters when they found out.
Full Metal Alchemist laid the rule that anything could happen in this series. Given that Hughes’s death was also a plot development and later character development for the Elric brothers and mainly Roy Mustang, it was a major deal in the series, changing the series from then and there.
