Now I think I've made it pretty clear by now that I'm a big A Game of Thrones (AGoT) fan, more aptly put: I am a Song of Ice and Fire fan because that's actually the true name of the book series.
Anyway, I actually started reading the books after buying the first season of the Game of Thrones HBO TV series. Midway through the DVDs I was tweeting about my love and obsession with the show (I watched the entire first season over one weekend) and several friends recommended I read the books. I tend to be a big fan of both the fantasy and medieval genres.
Anyway, Sam got into the series too, although he doesn't have time to slog through the incredibly lengthy novels that George R. R. Martin puts together. So watching the latest episode has become our Sunday night tradition. This third season has been a relatively slow season for me - I keep waiting for the plot to move ahead so that we can get into some of the stuff from the more recent novels.
Last night, we didn't watch episode 9 because Sam was on call at the hospital and I wait for him to watch the new episodes since I pretty much know what's going to happen anyway. Well, let me tell you, we watched the shit out of the episode tonight and it's just so tough to swallow all that went on in the last 10 minutes.
Honestly, as someone who knew it was coming, I have been dreading this episode since I first read A Storm of Swords and knew that Rob Stark was doomed. Honestly, I hoped that with all the jumping around and minor changes to the plot that perhaps his dear baby would escape unscathed. Unfortunately I was wrong.
And the scene was so graphic, so terribly graphic, that it was almost worse watching it than reading it. Catelyn Stark's final few moments are just so horribly gut wrenching and heartbreaking as you see her completely give up as she stands there with Rob at her feet.
Sam was completely shocked at the turn of events. His jaw dropped and his hands flew to his face where they stayed until the credits started rolling. I was heartbroken for him almost as much as I was heartbroken myself. I try not to spoil the big plot lines for him, so I kept my mouth shut about The Red Wedding.
The outpouring of fan emotions has been huge following this episode and it's funny because I never thought to argue with George R. R. Martin on his plot development. Read this article from the LA Times to see just how upset some fans are. I, personally, found this article on The Onion to be more appealing. Yes, it's sad these characters died and I am grieving for their losses, but I believe that we all knew that no one is safe as soon as Ned got the axe in season one.
Furthermore, if you think Daenerys Targaryn has any chance of coming back to Westeros and claiming her throne you have to realize that it's unlikely the Starks will rule a sovereign Northern territory for long. Before you all run out and cancel your HBO subscriptions, let me assure you that the series goes on just fine without Rob Stark. And this may not be the end of Catelyn... so stick with it and see where George R. R. Martin is taking us!
That said, I read a quote today that said something along these lines:
"This story isn't going to end in such a way that all the characters are happy. And it's probably not going to end in the way the readers want it to."
Yes, that's probably very true. But like I said before, we all agreed to play George R. R. Martin's sick game where none of the main characters are safe when we kept watching after season 1.
No comments:
Post a Comment