Game of Thrones: A Brief Appreciation

It would be remiss of me if, on this Sunday of Sundays, I didn't talk about one of the best TV dramas--and book series--of the last few decades: HBO's Game of Thrones.

Nothing makes you feel older than the realization that a TV show that has been running since the year you graduated High School (2011), is coming to an end.

I wasn't aware of Game of Thrones when it initially began to air (the downside of growing up without cable is that you never know what you're missing). However, the following year, classmates of mine in college who did have that pleasure started telling me about it. Being a fantasy fan (and writer), myself, I was intrigued, so set out to find this show. (How I did, I won't go into, but I will say it didn't involve acquiring a HBO subscription).

When I finally did, I was enthralled. Here was fantasy series done differently from anything I'd previously experienced. Yes, it had dragons, zombies, giants, warlocks, face-changing assassins, and the medieval equivalent of napalm, but it had something else as well, a quality that you see in much contemporary fantasy today.

This was a series that focused less on the magic and more on the people.

Now, a cornerstone of what makes fantasy itself is the presence of magic, in some shape or form, within the reality of the story. But, in some stories of this genre, its prominence in the world can vary.

In Harry Potter for instance, magic is key the plot of the whole series; in fact, its existence in some and not others is the impetus  for that series' whole story. No magic in HP, and JK Rowling would've had no story. In Lord of the Rings, magic acts as the ultimate metaphor for power and control, epitomized in the form of the One Ring. While other magic exists in Middle-Earth, it's not all controlling, and it doesn't seek to control. It simply seeks to serve a small purpose. So again, no magic, no conflict--no conflict, no story.

George R.R. Martin--and then D.B. Weiss and David Benioff--sought to change that in this story. They decided it wouldn't be magic that would act that the driving force of this story. Magic would be a secondary player, a tool for turning the tide in your favor. Instead, in the world of A Song of Ice and Fire, it would be good old fickle human nature that would serve as this story's driving force.

It's that quality of brining the epic stakes that this story clearly is serving up down to the human level that appeals to me more than anything.

I've always been a firm believer that the true heart of storytelling, no matter the medium, is character. Plot is what happens in a story; story is why. Character is the agent that propels action, creates meaning, and makes us, the audience, care. This is a philosophy that I think I share with Martin.

If you read the ASOIAF books, Martin takes us through his story through a merry-go-round of a cast of characters. Chapter to chapter, we hop from one person's head to anther, experiencing what they experience, seeing their thoughts, and getting to know them on a deeply intimate level. We see them in danger; we see how they respond to the danger, and hopefully, we see them get out of danger (or not).

Like everyone, I have my own favorite characters. Mainly my roster consists of the clever ones and the most under of the underdogs (Like Tyrion, Lady Olenna, Arya, Catelyn, and yes, Jon Snow). And I've grown sympathetic to other characters as time's passed (I couldn't stand Sansa initially because she was so much the entitled, elite, naïve princess-type, and that she was so mean to Arya). And, of course, I had my "list" of people I hoped would get their comeuppance. I will miss them all though.

It's a magical world, yes, but since it's also predominantly a human world, it's an ugly world. Both Martin and the show's writing staff give us a picture of a place where good actions and intentions are almost always punished. Ned Stark tried to do the right thing, and it get him killed. Jamie Lannister tried to do the right thing, and it cost him his hand. Tyrion's tried to do the right thing a number of times, and it's nearly gotten him and others killed. The world of Ice and Fire perfectly mirrors our real world in that way. It's a harsh truth, but it's a truth.

Now, how will this story end? I don't know, and since I'm not a gambler, I'm not willing to bet on one outcome or another out there (I'll leave that to the YouTube vloggers). I will say that I don't believe that this story will have a nice, tidy, Victorian-era-everything-ends-happily-for-those-who-survive, conclusion. In the world that mirrors the harsh realities of our own, where such sweet endings rarely occur, to give this one a finale that ties up everything so nicely would betray both the spirit of the show and the books. If we're lucky, we might get a bitter-sweet ending, but I'm sure it'll be more bitter than sweet (like 100% coca chocolate).

It won't satisfying everyone, but don't forget that this isn't the very end. George R.R. Martin still has (at least) two more books in this series to complete and publish. If you don't quite get the satisfaction from the show's version of the this epic story's ending, maybe you'll get it from him. Keep in mind though: