This comes down to the main reason you see the hairstyle so much: it’s practical, especially in movies and series that require these characters to engage in constant action scenes. And, as King pointed out, “Guys who fight with all their hair down look really dumb.”
Rosalia Culora, a House of the Dragon hair stylist who also worked on the original game of Thrones, confirmed the sensitive nature of the hairstyle. “If someone is riding a dragon, they won’t want their hair to run over their face,” she said. “[The half-pony] it’s practical, it’s universal, it’s unisex. It’s easy to do. “
But these are still fantasy series, you can’t be That pragmatic. Seeing someone with a buzz pop into Middle-earth takes you out of history. “We want to feel we’re in a fantastic world,” King said. “If you have a modern haircut, you will look modern in the costume they put on you.”
This look also stands out because, while common for women, you rarely see a man wearing it in real life. (Outside of Burning Man’s Orgy Dome, for example.) But it has become prominent enough on screen that whenever I, a woman, try to wear it, I feel like I’m about to be drafted to defend Helm’s Deep.
And there aren’t many historical precedents for that. Many of these series recall medieval times, through aesthetics and political allusions. But hair historian Rachael Gibson told me there is little evidence that men of that time specifically wore this look. “Men would certainly have had a little longer hair during most of the Middle Ages and Middle Ages, but they don’t really wear them in this little half-and-half look. We see ponytails and there are a lot of weird little bangs going on right now. But no high knots, ”she says. “When you go back to ancient Greece, we see a lot more knots and buns for men.”
Ultimately, it’s not that complicated – they’re also trying to make the characters look appealing. “You fantasize about the man and if the guy has a nice body and this lovely mane of hair, but somehow he’s in control, it seems like he’s taking care of himself. He’s more attractive than someone you can tell he’s really scruffy, “King said.” These are men people fall in love with.
