To understand the subtitle problem, we must first understand the shift in the show's production. For the first two seasons, the showrunners, D.B. Weiss and David Benioff, relied heavily on English even in foreign lands. While the Dothraki spoke their created language, much of the context was provided through body language or translation by other characters.

As the scope of Westeros and Essos expanded, so did the polyglot nature of the narrative. Season 3 introduced the Unsullied, the political machinations of Slaver’s Bay, and the enigmatic Free Folk beyond the Wall. Suddenly, large portions of pivotal scenes were conducted in languages other than the Common Tongue (English). This created a specific dilemma for home viewers, pirates, and international audiences: the struggle to find subtitles specifically for the "non-English parts."