“Ugh! I’m never watching this!”

Or at least that’s what I told myself when Game of Thrones first came to the TV scene. I was only like 6 years old when it did happen, so perhaps my memory is a little foggy with regards to my adolescent reaction to a show I may or may not have been aware of at the time... Nonetheless, having unmonitored screen time did not help my curiosity in Game of Thrones, it simply seemed dumb and boring.

Despite my disinterest, I was really into Buzzfeed–and who is Buzzfeed’s target audience? Millennials! Millennials that binge watched all 8 seasons of the show. Even if I wasn't part of that target audience I was still drawn by Buzzfeed's coverage of silly stories, interviews and reviews, the sub genres and all. (I wanted to work at Buzzfeed for free snacks). In any case, their videos often brought up the show, so it was pretty much inevitable that I'd come across Game of Thrones later in life.

I still felt a sense of superiority over those who had watched the show, it didn't matter if I was only 12 years old. Perhaps it was my growing pretentiousness that really made me think I’d somehow be cool if I said I never fell into watching Game of Thrones…? “Yeah I never watched Game of Thrones…I’m just cool like that” Some stupid “alpha” energy. 

I wallowed in my entitlement until my sister started watching Game of Thrones. I still kind of made fun of her for it but every time I’d wander into her room, I’d be met with undeniably incredible visuals, the screams of characters whose insides were being dug through by a rat (S2E4), or a woman fighting a bear in a pit gladiator style (S3E7)… heck, even the incredibly long intro, that is forbidden to be skipped, is actually quite good - both for the theme song and the cool graphics.  Every clip I’d watched from the comfort of my sister's king sized bed felt like a fever dream, in a good way! It was nothing like The Hobbit or the Lord of the Rings pentalogy, which are all snooze fests accompanied by an aulos soundtrack that makes you feel like you’re in medieval times dying as a peasant from measles or something. I’ll actually never watch either of those two franchises–and I stand by that. (This is my ultra alpha-ness talking again)

Anyhow, as I began watching more and more clips through my sister, I began showing some interest in the show. I even put it on my watchlist (yes the type of watchlist that I’d never get to and where tv shows and movies alike go to die). GOT remained in my watchlist for at least a month, however, it wasn’t until an edit of Daenerys Targaryen saying the words, “And I swear this. If you ever betray me, I’ll burn you alive.” to Lord Varys (who, in my opinion, is such an important yet overlooked character to the plot of Game of Thrones. He gets the ball rolling) The phrase was said over rapper Yeat’s song “Big Tonka” featuring Lil Uzi Vert. That edit single-handedly changed my whole perspective on fantasy tv shows when it popped up in my FYP (For You Page). It was truly a blessing. The chopped up scene of Daenerys speaking so menacingly and frankly speaking “cool”, was the last nail needed in my coffin where I’d be dumped into the fandom of Game of Thrones. I thought to myself, “No way I’ve been hating on this show for this long!”

I went into Game of Thrones like any Gen Z, I’d put it on the living room TV, but I’d be on my phone simultaneously. I seriously can’t concentrate on shows or movies without my phone in hand unless I’m at the movie theaters. Regardless, I found that even though I began watching GOT because of Daenerys, I was actually starting to prefer other characters like the holy trinity: Sansa, Arya, and Jon; the Stark children. The only ones that matter at least. Surprisingly, I actually hated Sansa at first; she was the epitome of naiveness during the first season and a half, believing that the inbred prince of Kings Landing, Joffrey Baratheon, actually loved her beyond his sadistic lunacy. This is the case until Petyr Baelish, also nicknamed Little Finger–the conniving and power hungry Master of Coin for the king Robert Baratheon in Kings Landing– took her under his wing, completely transforming her through an incredible character ark until the last season, turning her into what might be a mirror of himself when it comes to the scheming and plotting not the immorality part of Little Finger…Sansa manages to keep 95% of that intact. 

But! This is not a psychoanalytic take on either of Little Finger or Sansa’s character so let's move on. Arya Stark quickly became one of my favorite characters in the franchise. Since the start of the series Arya was not only ambitious and defiant of her father's wishes against her learning how to battle alongside her brothers, but her character growth–much like her sister Sansa, made her into an absolute threat. Becoming a faceless (wo)man in the season 6 finale, a hitwoman while in Bravos, and becoming one of the best warriors in the 7 kingdoms after the Great War against the army of the dead (yes the undead do show up in Game of Thrones) in Season 8 Ep. 3 of the show. 

Jon is just Jon, I think he’s everyone's favorite. He’s come back from the dead. He has a dire wolf as a pet. He was a “bastard” that became King of the North. He leads a whole army of Wildlings and Northerners against the Army of the dead. He killed Ramsey Bolton (this alone makes him a great guy). He becomes Lord Commander of the Night's Watch. What more could we possibly expect from Jon Snow? (I don’t know, maybe don’t be a little b**** and let your incest GF ruin the world you came so close to building and then be a baby and go crawling back to the wall when things go wrong??? Is that too much to ask from our “protagonist?”)

But I digress. It's not just these specific characters that were enjoyable to watch on screen. All of the characters in Game of Thrones were able to be portrayed brilliantly, fitting the image of their original novel versions accurately and with that old English flair–rugged, once a year showers, the mouth of a sailor, you know…the works! Besides the point, Game of Thrones opened up a whole new world to the gruesomeness that could be television. Of course I’ve watched other TV shows and movies that had similar levels of “crazy” - from Hereditary, X, and Texas Chainsaw Massacre, to American Horror Story and The Walking Dead from time to time, but Game of Thrones remains undefeated. 

It may sound completely biased (why would it not be, it’s my article - what did you expect, an unbiased plot summary of the show? Go to wikipedia, nerd.)  But let me tell you why GOT gets such a high rating from me. Game of Thrones is able to build a whole new realm, kingdoms and capitals, folklore, religion and cults, politics (or the lack of), conspiracies, schemes, family dynamics, and so much more. The creator of Game of Thrones, both in the show and in the novel, George R.R Martin, is able to fascinate me and many other people with the idea of grandeur in another world, the complexity of the 7 kingdoms and the major divide between regal society and those that live in poverty, however, perfectly integrating all of this within the conflict or what is called the climax by literature nerds–the battle between the different kingdoms for the Iron Throne after Robert Baratheon's untimely death (he died from being drunk during a boar hunt. Go figure.) Thus, signifying the commence of what will be the game for the throne. As Cersei Lannister said, “When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die.”

The show became a summer binge for me. Many nail biting moments, moments of frustration because of the characters' poor choices, and a whole lot of anxiety for what's to come next. Nothing ever went as expected because George R.R. Martin is a genius, he didn’t follow generic storytelling guidelines (Although the last season did feel rushed–I mean why the hell did he make Bran out of all people the new leader? Why does the guy who was being pulled by a sled for 4 whole seasons get to be leader of the weird oligarchy esk world? For god's sake, Cersei and her elephants would’ve been better! I’m a proud Bran hater for life). 

Game of Thrones is the ultimate epic and my first choice recommendation to give anyone. Ever. So don’t be fooled by Game of Thrones’ hour long episodes, trust me, you’ll be wanting more.