My Thoughts on Game of Thrones

I can’t stop thinking about it. I wasn’t going to write a blog post about it but…I just…can’t…not.

I hope everyone has had time to catch up on the last episode from Sunday because THERE ARE SPOILERS. So here is your official warning:

***SPOILER ALERT***

***SPOILER ALERT***

***SPOILER ALERT***

Are you still reading? If you are and you haven’t seen the show: SPOILER ALERT. And if you’re reading on an RSS feed, LOOK AWAY! 🙂

There, you’ve been officially warned.

I will preface this post by saying I have not read books 3-5. Only the first two. So the “red wedding” came as a complete and utter shock to me. I seriously yelled at the TV. More on that in a few.

At the beginning of the episode I’m thinking all happy thoughts that Arya is finally going to be rid of the Hound and be back with her mother and brother. I’m feeling excited for her and looking forward to a reunion. Arya is worried and can’t stop looking away from Walder Frey’s castle (that BASTARD. Yet another character to HATE). Hound is busy sucking pigs feet telling her to relax while she looks on with that worried expression.

OH. How right she was to be worried.

And do I need to talk about Bran and Jon Snow? Another missed family reunion. Man, this writer is just pissing me off. Talk about taking torturing your characters to the next level! However we did see two important things: Jon is definitely not a traitor to the Black Watch (but I knew that from the books) and Bran can use his warg skills to inhabit a human mind (in which he exhibited to calm Hodor who was afraid of the raging storm. Poor Hodor). I still say Ygritte will be dead before long. Why would the wildlings keep her alive?

And Bran and Rickon. A tearful goodbye as the boy and Osha head out together. I hated, hated, hated that. And hated even more that the boys are now orphans.

But I think the thing that stood out the most to me was the Red Wedding. Edmure and his blushing bride are carried off to consummate their marriage. While the rest hang back to continue the celebration. And then the door closes and Cat Stark just knows something is up. She looks from the door to Walder Frey to her eldest son and Talisa. The band plays “Rains of Castamere” and she looks up at them.

And then…horror of horrors. Talisa is stabbed in the stomach in front of her husband. Robb is shot with arrows. Cat is injured and it all happens so fast that all I could do was sit with my mouth open. It was HORRIBLE. I thought there was a chance Cat would live but when she stood, grabbed Frey’s wife and put a knife to her throat, I knew it was all over. Even when her throat was slit, I still yelled at the TV.

The scene has stuck with me since. It’s so shocking and horrifying, how could it not?

It made me think, though, about the author of the books. How gutsy he was to write the story he wanted to write. To kill the characters he loved. To rip out readers hearts. Martin says, “It was like murdering two of your children.” And he admits he skipped over that chapter until he’d finished the book. But what guts. I can’t help but admire the guy for going with his writer instinct and for writing the story he wanted to write. Not what readers thought he should write. He goes on to say, “I try to make the readers feel they’ve lived the events of the book. Just as you grieve if a friend is killed, you should grieve if a fictional character is killed. You should care. If somebody dies and you just go get more popcorn, it’s a superficial experience isn’t it?” (Quoted from EW.Com. Read the entire interview here).

And we still have one more episode left! I don’t know if my heart can take it. This series is an emotional rollercoaster for me. I try to remind myself not to get attached because I know no one is safe in Westeros. But STILL! I can’t help it. I love these characters so much and I want to see them win. But my biggest question of all is: When are Cersei and Joffrey going to get offed? Don’t tell me though. I want to be surprised. 😉

What are your thoughts on the Red Wedding?