Game Of Thrones Is My New Boyfriend

I was one one of the lucky ones. I didn't start watching Game of Thrones until a few weeks after the final season had aired. After watching the first season, I was hooked. Thank the Gods that I was spared the agony of 8 years of between season anticipation. The way we watch TV has changed, and I never want to go back.

I don't think that I could have loved the show so perfectly if I had been denied the indulgence of the binge. As it was, it took me almost three weeks of binge watching 2 or more episodes daily to finish the series. I loved every minute of it. When I was finished, I started from season one, episode one, and binged watched the whole thing again.

I spent so much time watching the series last summer that the joke in our house is that GOT's is Mom's new boyfriend. Kids are good at hassling their parents over their guilty pleasures. I'm just glad mine have a sense of humor.

If you were looking for an objective critique of the series, you are in the wrong place. Because truly, I am enamored. I can only see the show through rose colored glasses. From the expert use of the Jungian archetypes, to the exquisite costume design, my love for the show runs deep.

If you are not a fan, then it's probably because you have never ventured to actually watch the show. I will admit, there are plenty of reasons not to. Before I had taken the plunge, I didn't think a story that included a brother and sister love affair (just ewww) would appeal to me either. Other things I had heard about the sex and the violence, and dragons(?), I just didn't think I would enjoy watching,

Oh how wrong I was.

Yes, it's true, the first one is a doozy. A love affair between brother and sister? I know, awkward right? Strangely enough, even though the fact that one of the central characters, Cerci Lannister the Queen, has three children that are all secretly fathered by her brother Jamie, it's easy to forget that the two are related. No really, it does not come off as creepy as you would think. Mostly because they don't seem like brother and sister. If the three bastard children were not so central to the plot line, it wouldn't even be worthy of being in the show. Jaimie is a member of the Kings Guard so his proximity to the Queen is natural enough, and nothing about their relationship is ever sibling like. In fact, the whole story could have unfolded essentially the same, if his character wasn't Cerci's twin brother.

Then why did the author choose to add such a shocking element to the story? Well, precisely because it was shocking. How else would he have managed to land a deal with HBO?

I am joking. Sort of. To their credit, they do manage to pull it off, better that you would expect. The audience knows that they are supposed to be related, but you only because they are told, the idea is in peripheral. Their relationship is portrayed in a way that never makes you think of brother and sister, it's a fact that you have to be reminded of. Even more so as the show progresses.

You might have heard that the show is loaded with, well, adult content. While this is true, after the first season they get better. Less shock, more story line. For a show with so many sex scenes, it is surprisingly light on cheesy love stories. The drama is compelling, but is not centered around affairs of the heart. The intrigue is built upon richly developed characters, and the battle between the good and evil in men's hearts, Not the lover that they pine for. Something that I found remarkably refreshing.

I am usualy not one for blood and gore, but this story really can't be told without it. The story takes place in a harsh world, a place where staying alive means vigilance, work, and wits. Watching the characters become shaped by the harsh world, as they make their choices is one of the best parts about the show. The people working behind the scenes spare the audience nothing, the special effects of bloody sword fights and burning enemies leave nothing to the imagination.

One of my favorite episodes are among the most violent of the series. In "Battle of the Bastards", season 6, episode 9 The characters fight in one of the bloodiest battles I have seen, and yet I was rivited.

Usually during a battle scene, you can find me in the kitchen grabbing a snack. There isn't much to see in most battles, not of iterest. This episode takes the viewer on a heart wrenching 40 minute journey through the heart of the battle, and it is awesome. The level of excellence achieved in this series over and over, is something to behold.

I even grew to like the the dragons!

As a storyline device, I left dragons behind around the same time my braces came off. Mythical beasts in magical realms just don't usually have any kind of appeal for me. Magic is a tool bad writers use to fill in plot lines. (Hello ghost of long dead Luke SkyWalker, I am talking to you). Except once again, Game of Thrones manages to pull off both magic and dragons in a way that is interesting and somehow not lame.

The magic of this world is sparse, and is only used by a few who really don't understand it, and can't usually make anything happen with it. The dragons... will CGI certainly has come a long way, and their artistry was fantastic. The story worked, becasue they didn't over do it. A world where everyone had dragons would be boring, and overburnt. This world, however, with unexpected dragons, under the care of an enegimatic character growing into her power, is pure story magic.

There is so much more to love about this series, the characters, the story, the music (Ramin Djawadi is a genuis), I could never have enough time to write it all down. You would never have enough time to read it. If you are smart, you will make some time to watch and fall in love for yourself.

This show by far takes the binge worthy prize in my book. I almost wish that I hadn't seen it yet, just so I could watch it again for the first time. As far as boyfriends go, GOT can't actually compare to the real thing, but to honest.... a gitl could do worse.