There may only be ten episodes yearly, and the books written by George R R Martin may contain all the spoilers, but HBO’s Game of Thrones TV series is nothing short of a phenomenon.
People generally fall into two categories: those who do, and those who will. The show is so hyped and widespread that eventually everyone will tune in, not just diehard readers or those hoping to see an exposed breast.
Why?
What makes this series more infectious than any other?
With so many characters, fictional professions, back stories, magic and monsters, where does the appeal lie?
It may be set in a made-up world, but a key reason is in the similarities and personalities held by the players and everyday people, the logic behind decision making and motive. Sure, not to the extent of sleeping with your sister or cutting the head off a traitor, but you get the point.
Sex, money and tactics determine all power.
The language is full of profanity, insults and spiced with emotion.
Main characters die unexpectedly; sword fights and wars are balanced with intriguing conversations, each holding the same level of interest.
There are no limits, nobody is safe and nothing can be predicted. Even readers of the books are starting to be shocked with differences and revelations.
With movie-like production, an epic score and hour long episodes, viewers anticipate each entry with the excitement of an upcoming sequel. And it is in the vivid plots, subplots, tricks and treachery that we see ourselves. Families fighting families for land, money and titles with death in mind is far from current society, but competitiveness is where we join them.
It’s a voyeuristic pleasure we indulge ourselves within, a place where prostitution, religion, alcohol and death are in such excess that failing to indulge in all sections equally is seen as weak. If you don’t watch your back there will be a knife sticking out of it within seconds. This creates a pace that challenges awareness.
The themes push the boundaries; dead children, rape, incest, mutilation, the killing of innocence and disrespect to women, but still we watch with delight.
We enjoy every second, be it a magic lady giving birth to a shadow demon, castrated men winning wars or even the offering of children for safety. There are dozens of different languages we’ve never heard, creatures we can’t name and enough characters to confuse a dictionary, yet we keep up.
Nobody is all good or all bad; everyone screws up in some way, be it cheating on their wife and having a bastard child with a whore (or a sibling), disobeying the family or accepting the wrong help. Yet we root for these characters, of course we do, because we’ve all messed up in some way and methods for forgiveness are laid bare.
The anticipation is unrivalled and people desire each episode immediately; the moment the weekly instalment is released computers go into download overdrive, websites break down and piracy moderators have heart palpitations.
Despite all these factors, the appeal lies in the simplest form; the Game of Thrones is just so damn entertaining, and there is no end in sight.
Chris Sutton
