Come for dragons, sex, and intrigue. Stay for the political philosophy.
“Game of Thrones” is now in its third season, with its latest episode approximating 4.73 million viewers. The show has secured a number of Emmy’s, Golden Globes, and, according to Forbes, the title of “Most pirated show in 2012.”
The television show is based on George R.R. Martin’s series, “A Song of Ice and Fire,” currently numbering five books, though there are plans for two more.
The fans attracted to the show rapidly turn into a devoted following, all with personal opinions on favorite characters, who will take the political reins next, and — perhaps something slightly more unique to the show, renowned for the frequent killing of main characters — who should die next.
“I think Theon and Joffrey both are good choices for killing off, but Circe really takes the cake — I sort of blame her for Joffrey’s evilness,” freshman Kevin Ambrose said. “They live in a very Machiavellian world, and it is amazing to see.”
The show attracts many of its viewers for the complexities in the political arena and the depth of characters.
“I think the guilty pleasure aspect comes from the vulgarity and the sex, but the books are still well planned and well paced. They are interesting because there is the political aspect,” junior Anne Peterson said. “They are definitely not the sort of guilty pleasure that ‘Twilight’ would be.”
The show has more depth than what one sees in a “normal guilty pleasure,” she said.
Senior Ian Blodger said part of the reason he follows the show is the fact that viewers actually have to engage in order to understand everything going on.
“I have always been interested in more complicated shows. The complexity of the plot means that I have to work to stay engaged, which means that I invest more of myself in the show and care about the characters more,” he said. “And there’s not a danger of figuring out what is going to happen with each episode.”
To fully appreciate the intricacies, Blodger and his suitemates would discuss the characters and plotlines as they gathered to watch the first and second seasons together.
“Since they graduated last year, I can’t watch the show with them physically, but we still watch the show at the same time and text each other during and after to keep the tradition alive,” he said.
By watching the show with a group, Blodger and his friends could debate various elements of the show as they progressed through the season: proposing rival theories and supporting rival powers. The weekly gathering also prompted a celebratory atmosphere.
“Someone I used to watch the show with last year played a drinking game with it,” he laughed. “Each time Joffrey was a jerk, this person took a shot, every time someone brandished a sword this person took a shot, and every time there was full-frontal nudity, this person took a shot. It is safe to say that they were fairly inebriated by the end of two episodes.”
While Blodger and his suitemates made the show into a regular, social affair other students watch the show in a very different environment: by themselves, with only the internet and the wee hours of the morning.
“I started watching when I first came back to school last semester. It was a really bad idea,” junior Lauren Holt said. “I usually watch it by myself, so I pick terribly bad times to watch like, ‘look! It’s two o’clock in the morning, and I have homework, I should watch the new ‘Game of Thrones’ episode!’”
Ambrose has a similar story of woe, as Holt got him hooked at the end of the 2012 fall semester.
“I started watching it last semester during finals week. Bad decision. I wound up watching the whole first season the week of and weekend before finals week,” he said.
Peterson admitted that she qualifies as a less-devoted fan than others on campus, as the difficulty of access and business of the semester regularly puts her behind, though she remains an avid fan of the books.
“I started watching season one after I finished the first two books, which was like two years ago. I watch when I can. It’s tough though because it isn’t readily available because HBO is silly,” Peterson said. “I’m only 300-400 pages into the latest book, so that’s a lot left to be resolved. Everybody is really afraid the author is going to die and not finish them, though.”
Originally the series was to have no more than five books, but to wrap up in one more novel — even another 1200 page one — would be quite a feat, she said.
The characters, along with the political twists, are likely the most interesting aspect to the show, as they are so diverse, with strong, multi-dimentional characters including a dwarf, a renegade warrior girl, her hostage sister, an incestuous royal family, and 8 would-be kings.
“I really admire Sansa,” Peterson said. “I don’t think she gets enough credit. In the book, she is a strong character. She shows her strength, if not through a masculine way. I think a lot of people don’t like her because she isn’t like Arya, but she doesn’t have to be like her. There is no wrong way to be a girl.”
Holt praises the same attributes of strength and femininity in the runaway Arya, Sansa’s younger sister.
“Arya is my favorite character because she is a strong female and an actual character,” Holt commented. “Which you don’t tend to see a lot of on television. Strong women on television are often just turned into men, but Arya is turning into a full-fledged female character, and I really like that.”
The plentitude of controversy both inside and outside the show sparks debate and provides examples for arguments across the social and political spectrum.
While anyone watching the show risks the loss of a favorite character at any moment, the show’s depth and thought provoking nature grasps its viewers and guides them through an addictive political maze.
