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| R.I.P Robb Stark |
Before I start, I probably should throw in a SPOILER ALERT since the aftershock of the most recent Game of Thrones episode, which, although waning, is still very much an open wound. However, for those who are not aware of the guttural tragedy that has taken place (and this is coming from a sporadically engaged viewer who still doesn't know most of the character's names and motivations), I'm just going to assume that you're not interested...which is fine...and most likely means you mental state is currently tip-top and that you slept really well on Sunday night.
In its second to last episode of its third season, HBO's Game of Thrones carried it's chain mail-shrouded weight (medieval reference!) in the ratings with a 3.14 in major cities and over 5 million viewers against AMC's Mad Men, which brought in a rating of .94 in the opposing 9PM time slot. Curious...such an imbalance? Well, its clear that GoT just knows how to get the international draw with an anticipated side of devastated reactions. The secret: to graphically kill off your lead characters...in bulk, preferably. At this point, Mad Men will have to randomly behead Don Draper in his next pitch to Chevy just to keep up with cable's primetime carnage, but I digress...
To be clear (and personal), this whole Game of Thrones thing...I really didn't want to have any part of it. I'm not really one for medieval fantasy (I've tried...sat through all "Lord of the Rings" films ...check...had an inquisitive conversation with an avid "D&D player"...covered ...) and was never particularly drawn towards the ruckus and mass infatuation towards the Game of Thrones series. Much like Downton Abbey, that level of obsessive viewer participation is always a red flag that hints that pain and a dismantled reality would surely come.
Unfortunately, being the "cultural lemming" that I admittedly am, I gave in and tasted the Game of Thrones juice (objectively, so I told myself) and the experience is a rough, abusive ride. Sure, I see what can be so enticing about the series. Endearing and tragic heroes! Putrid yet lovable villains! Charles Dance as the evil voice of reason! Prostitutes! Beheadings! Zombies! Incest! Castration! Hefty yet poignant dialogue with speckles of modernized humor! I saw it...I get it...and right now, I'm exhausted and especially bummed out. These are the symptoms of the GoT viewer: the millions of passionately masochistic fans who just love touching the burning coils of the GoT stovetop over and over again, knowing that no matter how many times they go back, it will hurt more and leave a scarring mark. It's like GoT fans are to television what Chicago Cubs fans are to baseball.
I don't think its necessary to reiterate what happened in the last GoT episode because about 75% of the universe has already expressed their feelings on the spectacular killings . However, if you're hankering for the gruesome breakdown of what is known as the "The Red Wedding", there are plenty of publicated recaps that you can check out or just ask anyone around you that looks depressed, unhinged or is arising from a fetal position...they most likely can tell you...
Yet, although regretful, what makes being a "cultural lemming" so ultimately satisfying is to be a momentary participant in the reaction. And its clear that the harsher the abuse delivered by a series such as GoT (or Downton Abbey or The Walking Dead), the tighter the viewership camaraderie becomes and the more explosive the reaction is. For example, look at some the Post-Mortem Tweets that followed Episode 9 of GoT; such a response is like the laughter that follows the collective screams from an audience during the climatic jump in a slasher film. Its that shared moment when you all know you've had a severe shock to the system, lost control of your emotions, had a minor meltdown and just need to bond and share. Oh, the things that bring us together...
Cryptic as it sounds, there's really nothing better then a stream of lead character deaths in a television series...especially in cable! Although the fatalities may shatter your multi-season investment in a character and storyline, its the greatest way to keep viewers returning with self-inflicting anticipation (I guess we can thank Charles Dickens and the American soap opera formula for that discovery of the human pathos). As sad as the deaths of...(get ready, I'm going to say their names) Robb, Talisa and Catelyn Stark are, one can only hope the effect of this twist will lead to a monumentally gratifying outcome. Yet, the brutality of this specific occasion is pretty rare. The abruptness of the GoT deaths make the writers of The Walking Dead look like the most sensitive pack of puppies in Hollywood. They at least (well, somewhat) prepared you for the deaths of some of their favored lead characters (Spoiler examples: Dale, Shane and Andrea). And some shows were BEGGING to kill off some of their characters throughout their series (Battlestar Gallactica...I'm sorry, but its true...and the regenerating did not help...).
So what's next? Retribution? Probably not...because I'm pretty sure George R.R. Martin and the show's writers have a vision board that says "F#$& Retribution!" posted somewhere in their offices. It's all about unpredictability, heartache and not so many conquering heroes. For the season finale, I'm just going to expect William Wallace to make a surprise cameo, riding in from the dead screaming "Freedom for the North!!!!!!! Justice to the Starks!!!", and then be violently executed AGAIN, then drawn, quartered and pureed by someone named "Lannister" or "Stannis". I feel, at this point, that would make perfect sense.
-MTK
