Game of Thrones was my first High Fantasy obsession

Game of Thrones was the first high fantasy series I ever became invested in.

There are a lot of things I have loved about it, including the medieval aesthetic, the engaging characters, and of course, the dragons.

Growing up in a Christian home, I wasn't exposed to Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, or any other really popular other-world series till adulthood. The only real fantasy films I remember watching were the Chronicles of Narnia and the Lord of the Rings.

This isn't something I regret at all, but having GOT as my first fantasy series was a little bit of a culture shock.

I can honestly say that I had to skip around Seasons 1-4 because of how graphic the sex scenes were.

Thank you for the notes GOT wiki.

When I started working as a sales associate at World Market back in 2015, Game of Thrones was all the rage. And not just amongst my coworkers, but the store itself.

We sold GOT wine, beer, and mead. Had GOT beer glasses and wine glasses. We had all kinds of merch with some sort of Game of Thrones label, quote, or image of a dragon splayed across it.

That's when I decided I needed to know what all the excitement was about, and started season one.

A coworker lent me the complete first and second seasons of Game of Thrones and I started my journey. Every night after work I would watch one or two episodes.

I still remember starting the first episode and seeing the white walkers for the first time.

Spoilers to follow! If you haven't finished the Game of Thrones series on HBO, you may not want to read ahead.

What makes GOT the perfect fantasy world?

Since my days of first starting Game of Thrones, to finishing the series and reading more fantasy stories, I have learned a bit about what makes a good fantasy world.

There are a few essential elements that every fantasy story needs to be a success in this genre. The word Fastasty itself implies imagination, illusion, and wonder. This genre is one that helps the reader to escape reality and enter a new world, often without the limitations of our own.

So what are the key elements to a good Fantasy story?

• A Magic System
• Setting or Worldbuilding
• Complex Characters
• Government
• One Driving Conflict

You can find any and all of these elements in any fantasy series you can think of. Let's look at how GOT puts these themes in place.

Magic

For Game of Thrones, there is obvious magic in place. Just look at the Crow, and Bran Stark. Or, Melisandre, who brought Jon Snow back from the dead.

It was also magic that took Danery's husband, Khal Drogo, from her, and that brought her Dragons to life.

You could also say that the main source of magic in the 7 Kingdoms comes from dragons. Most people thought that magic was gone, or that it had disappeared completely until Danny's dragons were around.

It has long been believed that dragons have a strong connection to magic, and magic is said to be strongest in their presence. With the birth of Daenerys Targaryen's dragons - the first ones in more than a century - magic (at least eastern magic) seems to be slowly making its way back into the world. -GameofThrones.fandom.com

Worldbuilding

The world of GOT is beautiful, and amazing if you are a fan of the medieval genre. Even if you're not, I don't see how anyone could resist how beautiful some of the scenes are.

As far as world-building goes, I feel like George R.R. Martin did an amazing job constructing this fantasy world.

Dragons exist and are a source of all magic in the realms. The government and Kingdoms are well laid out, and the characters behind that government are painted with feeling, motivation, and purpose.

The most important part is that it's coherent and accurate to itself. It's easy to tell that George is a historian from reading or watching the series because every detail is intricate and believable.

Complex Characters

Game of Thrones is nothing if not a massive cast of complex characters.

Even the side and villainous characters have a complex story.

In a Game of Thrones, there is...

A girl who wanted to free the people of the world, and be as free as a dragon, but ended up a slave to her own power.

A man who wanted to feel like a member of a family, destined to be a king, who loses almost everything.

A knight who never knew what love was found it, only to have it ripped away at the end.

A child of a King became an assassin.

The once dependant and disloyal daughter finally finds her true self and becomes Queen of the North.

A ridiculed son became an advisor to royalty.

One Queen died at the hands of another.

That's just a few, but each of the characters in Game of Thones has a story worth following, and you can't help but fall in love with them, feel their hurt as your own, and root for them to win.

Government

Game of Thrones is all about political intrigue.

Who is stabbing who in order to get closer to their goal? Who is in control?

The main sense of "Government" is made up of the Lords and Ladies of the Kingdoms, along with the King or Queen of the Seven Realms.

The King or Queen of the Seven Realms rules over all of Westeros, the land which makes up the Seven Kingdoms.

The North, Casterly Rock, the Reach, the Stormlands, the Iron Islands, Dorne, and the Mountain and Vale.

There are also two other notable and relevant lands within Westeros; the Island of Dragonstone, ruled by House Targaryen, and the Riverlands, ruled by the Tully's.

The two main forms of Government seen in this series are Absolute Monarchy and Lordship, one monarch over the Kingdom, and Lords governing.

"Being a lord is like being a father, except you have thousands of children, and you worry about them all the time." -Robb Stark

Driving Conflict

Every story, no matter the genre needs a good driving conflict.

In GOT, there is a big, central driving conflict of:

• Who will rule Westeros, and sit on the Iron Throne, and a second driving conflict,
• Will the White Walkers destroy everything and everyone in the end?

Other than those two main focal points, it's really all about which character you are following at the moment. Daenerys on her quest for freedom, and to take her place as a ruler. Arya is on her mission to avenge her family. Jon, and his decision of whether or not to rule...

Each of the characters has their own driving conflict inside of the main conflict, and they all lead together in the end. All fighting for their own part of the Seven Kingdoms.

Because at the end of the day, it's really all about who's sitting on the Iron Throne.

My personal favorite characters:

These are the characters that drove the story for me and made the experience all that it was.

I love Khaleesi

Even if you've never seen Game of Thrones, I'm sure you know the Mother of Dragons.

It's no secret that Daenerys Stormborn Targaryen is one of the most badass female leads of all time.

But she doesn't start there.

Danny starts off as a meek young girl, (Remember, she was only 13 years old in book one, or 16 in Season one of the show) who is being abused by her brother.

I loved watching Danny turn into the Khaleesi she was meant to be, and equally sad to watch her downward spiral into the Targaryen she hoped to never become.

Her growth from Season 1, challenging her brother's authority, becoming the wife and love of the powerful Khal Drogo, and becoming the mother of dragons,

to freeing slaves, fearlessly storming Kingdoms, and later, taking on Cersei is one of the best female lead stories I have ever witnessed.

But Arya will always be my favorite

There is no character I really love more though than Arya Stark.

I never had a princess phase. Because of that, I could never relate to Sansa at all. I felt bad for her at times, but could never relate. Arya on the other hand was my kind of girl.

She loved her family and her pup more than anything, wanted to learn how to fight and take care of herself. She wanted adventure.

Though eventually, revenge is what would drive her.

I cried with her when her family was killed in front of her and cheered for her through her journey to killing one of the overarching bad guys of the whole series.

From the first season, this little tom-boy had my heart.

And Tyrion.

Tyrion makes me sad.

That's all.

But really, this son of House Lannister deserved a lot more than he got in life. His mother died in childbirth with him, and because of that (and his obvious differences from his two beautiful siblings), he was always cast aside by his family.

The most impactful scene for me with him was after he was forced to marry Sansa.

Tyrion Lannister: I won’t share your bed. Not until you want me to.

Sansa Stark: What if I never want you to?

Tyrion Lannister: And so my watch begins.

A lot more happened to him after that, and after everything, he ended up in a pretty okay situation.

Nevertheless, every time I hear the song Little Lion Man by Mumford and Sons on the radio, I can only think of him.

Oh Jon Snow, you really do know nothing.

The King of the North... also makes me sad.

I loved watching Kit Harington's portrayal of the great Jon Snow of Winterfell. His steady friendship with Sam, the great big brother he was to all of his siblings, but especially Arya and Sansa, and how much he loved Ygritte.

The man has heart.

While he didn't end up where I hoped he would, I was happy to go on the journey with him.

Worth the Watch

While I started writing this post knowing that a lot of other people would probably write about Game of Thrones, I had to anyways. This is one of the fandoms that has been the most exciting for me to be a part of, as well as the most nostalgic for me because it was my first.

The timeless and iconic characters, the quotes, the fanbase, the theme music...

Similar to Star Wars, Star Trek, or Lord of the Rings, a Game of Thrones has inspired something in a lot of us that felt like coming home. Game of Thrones has become a Cultural Classic and I am sure that we will be talking about it for ages to come.

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-Leah H.