The Wonderfully Frustrating World of Game of Thrones
Warning! This Post is full of Spoilers.
If you have not read the books or seen the show and you plan to, do not read this post!
I started reading “A Game of Thrones” back in the late 90’s, long before it was ever even a consideration for HBO. It was one of those books I couldn’t put down and I read it pretty quickly, but when I got to the part where Ned Stark died, I couldn’t believe what had just happened. The rest of the book was just a blur. I just felt like I was in some kind of shock and when the book ended I was just plain angry. I had never felt that way after reading a book and I just couldn’t bring myself to continue the series.
Fast forward to 2011 and the biggest TV show out there seemed to be this thing called Game of Thrones. I didn’t have HBO at the time and didn’t think much about it, and it wasn’t until I heard about the main character getting killed off at the end of season one and the outrage of all the fans that I finally put it together; this must be the same book I had read, and hated, so long ago.
Of course, being 10 years wiser and more mature, I thought I would give the series another chance. I re-read “A Game of Thrones” and since I knew the outcome, it softened the blow somewhat. So I decided to continue the series. Of course, as I was reading about the Red Wedding, I thought, “he did it to me again”. The only good thing at that point was Jamie Lannister getting his right hand cut off, but then Martin started to make the Kingslayer kind of likable which totally nullified any joy I had at his misery.
This pattern continues on through the rest of the books as some characters you had grown to hate, you suddenly find yourself starting to like. Theon is a great example of this. He totally betrays the Starks and takes over Winterfell, but at the hands of the Boltons, you start feeling sorry for him. The Dog is another one as he is a total paradox. One moment he is Joffrey’s lackey, and then next he is saving Sansa from being raped. Later he kidnaps Arya, only to save her from being killed at the Red Wedding.
Even Cersei to a point I found myself feeling bad for her. I mean I should have been cheering when she was shaved and forced to walk the streets naked, but man that was brutal. Even prior to that, when you are reading her POV chapters, you realize her primary motivation seems to be feminist related. She is angry at all the men having all the power and making decisions she doesn’t like, agree with, or believe in. She is basically taking a stand for women’s rights. Granted, she continues to behave like a spoiled little girl who will stop at nothing to hurt those she has perceived as trying to take her power and control away, regardless the damage it may cause the kingdom, but from a purely non-partisan perspective, she is a very strong advocate for women’s rights. Is this a bad thing?
The books of “A Song of Fire and Ice” are filled with these kinds of plot twists and Martin constantly keeps you guessing. What is Littlefinger’s game? Is he a good guy? A bad guy? Or just a creepy little guy who is trying to figure out a way to become King of Westeros? Or Varys? In the TV series, Tyrion says Varys is probably the only person in the whole world he can trust. Will he turn on us as well? Is he bitter against all mankind for the loss of his manhood? Or is he really someone who just wants to see the 7 kingdoms united in peace?
The biggest twist to date is the apparent death of Jon Snow. Of course, I know he is still alive or will find some way to survive the stabbing. He just seems too integral a character, but who knows with Martin what happens next. I remember reading in one of the hundred of internet articles about GoT, that when Martin was writing the first book he decided early on to kill Ned Stark because the readers would never guess it. The next obvious choice would be for Ned’s son to rise up and avenge his father so he had to kill him too. This is the way Martin thinks.
Personally, I think he has gone too far down the road with some of these characters to kill them off now. Tyrion is one of them, as is Jon Snow. One of the other things I read about the series is when Martin met with the show’s creators, he asked them if they knew who Jon’s mother was and they apparently answered the question correctly so Martin agreed to let them make the series. If this story is true, then the question of Jon’s lineage must be extremely important so how could you possibly kill him off? At this point, I think Daenarys, Jon, and Tyrion are the key to the end of this story. While some of them may die towards the end, I believe they will be with us for most of this wild ride.
In the meantime, we can only hope the books come out fast and furious, but I not sure how they can be finished before the HBO series ends. Will the series spoil the book? Martin has said the series and the books will come to the same conclusion at the end yet he still has two books to go. It has been 4 years since the last book and it will be 5 years before the Winds of Winter will be completed. I doubt he can finish the last book in time.
When I look at all of this and put into perspective, I realize just how fortunate all of us who read and enjoy movies and TV shows are these days. Think about this for a minute; we have been privileged to be around for 2 historic multi-novel stories. Game of Thrones and Harry Potter. Regardless of what you think about Harry Potter, it was a literary event of a lifetime. Game of Thrones is another great literary event.
We can only wonder what is coming next!