Despite the fact that I’ve been a loyal viewer for the past three seasons, this is actually my first Game of Thrones post. It only took one of the most shocking scenes in television history to get me off my butt and start blogging. The season finale is tomorrow but I’m still chewing over the now infamous Red Wedding. George R.R. Martin is a cruel, cruel man. He creates these likable characters, gets us to root for them, and just when it seems like they’ll triumph--BOOM! They’re dead. He especially seems to relish punishing the Starks for their bad decisions.
Here’s a good interview with Martin in Entertainment Weekly explaining why he wrote Red Wedding. He’s all about suspense and defying expectations. If anyone can die at any moment, we can’t take the outcome of any scene for granted. Sounds like good advice. Check out this snippet from a recent Conan appearance:
The beauty of television is how we can see characters grow and change over the course of many episodes/seasons, as opposed to a two hour film. Watching that all change creates emotional attachments. Twitter went berserk when those deaths occurred. Viewers can be so indifferent because some stories are so predictable, it’s fun to see them lose their frickin’ minds when the writer pulls a fast one on ‘em.
Game of Thrones has taught me a few things: no good deed goes unpunished, a just cause doesn’t guarantee success, and don’t mess with the Lannisters (or cross Walder Frey). It’s impossible to predict how this series will end, and I imagine that’s exactly the way Mr. Martin likes it.
