Politics of Game of Thrones

When people are complaining 

about the new leadership of the country.

When a conservative is too afraid to 

voice his/her opinion in public

When the Republican Party pretty much
owned the whole election.

Face it, this whole election year has been a real life "Game of Thrones" with House Republican and House Democrat at constant war with one another. 

Jon Snow: Bastard, Savior, King

    Some of my favorite stories have one common character theme, the savior or better yet, the unlikely savior. It's a theme that's seen in characters such as Harry Potter, Aslan the Lion, Gandalf, Katniss Everdeen and many others. The savior character is oftentimes an outsider or misunderstood person who is selfless and sacrificial. At first they can be cut off from the world, but overtime they begin to see the world through other people's eyes. They usually don't conform to society and spend a good deal of time befriending others who may seem unwanted.

      At some point in the story the savior character must make a monumental decision that will make or break him/her in the eyes of their friends and enemies. That decision leads to their death. Sometimes it's by betrayal of their own people or choosing to lay down their lives. However, by mercy or fate, the savior lives and becomes stronger and more powerful than ever before. 

     While Game of Thrones has many good heroes, none can come close to Jon Snow, the nameless bastard son who becomes the King of the North. Christianity and Game of Thrones may not exactly run hand in hand together, but there is no denying that Jon Snow has been the quintessential Jesus Christ character in the whole series. 

     Growing up unwanted and unloved, Jon learned how to reach out to outsiders from an early age. He befriends Samwell Tarley which wins him loyalty and respect from the men and boys who formerly hated him. His undeniable courage is seen by the wildling people and especially by Mance Rayder who takes Jon under his wing when he is taken by the people. After Jon's experience with the wildlings, he understands that these are a people that want to left alone in peace to live their lives. However, he must make the decision to stand with his brothers of the Night Watch or to defend the wildling people.

     Jon's rise to leadership is a well written coming of age. His experiences in battles, negotiations and ability to see beyond the exterior brought him from an unsure boy to a confident man. In times of extreme fear and danger, Jon rose to become a leader that the Night Watch needed, but his opinions of the wildlings would eventually cause his untimely death by the men who swore their allegiance to him. 

     When Jon is miraculously brought back to life by the priestess Mellisandre he wastes no time in regaining the justice that was taken away from him. He is finally reunited with Sansa who has spent years in physical and psychological abuse, but has gained extraordinary wisdom and insight. Together the two of them fight Sansa's diabolical husband and reclaim their home, Winterfell, even though it meant the cost of their younger brother, Rickon.  

     By the end of season 6, we discover that Jon has been more than a bastard his whole life. There is a mystery that only he himself must uncover and those answers will alter the course of who he is forever. I definitely consider Jon Snow one of the best examples of the Christlike/savior characters in fiction. His virtues and principles that are rooted in deep morality and generosity that coinside with intense bravery and honor. Jon Snow would willingly sacrifice himself if it means to protect the ones he loves and even to better the world he lives in.

     His life as an outsider in his father's home taught him the importance of understanding the pain of others and never to judge by difference but rather by character. Is Jon Snow perfect? Absolutely not! He can be stubborn, unyielding and argumentative. However, the flaws of his own nature are what drives him to better than what people expect of him. 

     As Jon Snow grows in the story, he comes to the understanding that oftentimes loyalty and honor are not enough to survive in a world filled with coldness and hate. Yet, as a child of the North, Jon Snow has been forged by the cold winter winds and battle, betrayal, love and loss created a leader that is stuff of any fantasy. And the hardships and trials of his life were the crucible that made a bastard child a king and the unwanted son an unlikely savior. 

A Victory of Souls

     Upon finally finishing season 6 of Game of Thrones (which was amazing!!), I was going to do an overview of the season, talk about the characters, who I liked, who I didn't like, the aspects of the show and so on. However, I began to think on the fact that season 6 was a remarkable season was because it finally brought many of  our heroes out of the dark and into the light. Although Game of Thrones has a plethora of varied characters, good, bad and indifferent, the primary characters have been Jon Snow, Tyrion Lannister,  and Daenerys Targaryn. All three started as the major underdogs of the story and through trial and error, love and loss, pain and healing, all three have taken their rightful places in the story as leaders.

Where we begin...

      Jon Snow is the bastard child of Ned Stark, the Lord of Winterfell. Most of Jon's life has been spent being known as 'Ned's bastard.' Although he is loved by his brothers and his sister Arya, Jon has been raised to believe that he will never be one of them. He is hated by his stepmother, Catelyn, who is harsh, cruel and spiteful toward her husband's illegitimate son. All Jon has wanted is love.

     Tyrion Lannister is the youngest son of Lord Tywin Lannister of Casterly Rock. His mother died giving birth to him and his family blamed him for her death. The fact that he is a dwarf, misshapen and ugly has caused his father to all but disown him and he is the bane of his older sister's existence. Known as 'the Imp' Tyrion has led a lonely life with only his wits and street smarts to survive.

     Daenerys Targaryn is the lastborn of the Targaryn royal family. Her mother also died in childbirth with her and she never knew her father King Aerys, who was removed from the Iron Throne after the people rebelled against him. Daenerys has spent her life traveling with her abusive older brother Viserys who has sold her off into marriage to the powerful Dothraki lord, Khal Drogo. Pretty, but painfully shy, Daenerys is only a pawn for power and control. 

     As their stories' progress, our unlikely heroes grown and mature, but they certainly don't do it on their own. Sometimes it takes one person to believe in you. One person that can see the potential that no one else can. For all three, there was at least one person to help them on their paths. For Jon it was the Wildling leader, Mance, for Tyrion it was his older brother, Jaime and for Daenerys it was her own husband, Khal Drogo. To have one person say, you're better than what people think, you're stronger, smarter, you can prove people wrong can make all the difference in the world.

     Mance taught Jon how to be leader and to stand for what is right even if you're standing alone. Mance also taught Jon the importance of family loyalty and the bonds of brotherhood that should always remain strong. Jaime was there for Tyrion when no one else was. He defended him constantly and believed that there was so much more to his brother than met the eye. Drogo brought Dany out of her world of fear and gave her the love and compassion she craved. He showed her how to be a strong and even ruthless leader and to listen to wise and just counsel. 

     Once the heroes are removed from their mentors, they now must face trials that will test them in every way imaginable. Tyrion is accused of murder and has to flee for his life. Jon Snow must unite the Wildlings with the rest of the world, even at the cost of losing his new family. Dany makes many mistakes as she tries to be the Queen she believes she was born to be.  

  

     At the end of season 5, Tyrion is Dany's counselor, but they are wary and untrusting of one another. Dany herself has made many unwise decisions as a ruler and begins to collect no small shortage of enemies. Jon Snow has become a leader, but does the unthinkable when he gives aid to the Wildling people and is killed by several men in the Night's Watch. At the beginning of season 6, Jon Snow is resurrected and must now fight for his home Winterfell, Dany is taken as a slave by the Dothraki and Tyrion is left to rule in her stead. 

      When season 6 ends, Jon Snow has reclaimed Winterfell and is proclaimed King of The North. Dany has learned a great deal in her short time as a slave and realizes that she is capable of caring for herself. She returns to Mereen stronger than ever and is ready to rise to the Iron Throne. Tyrion is made the Queen's Hand and finally has found a place where he truly belongs. 

     Why do I love Game of Thrones? For the same reason I love any good story. Because the characters are ordinary people, thrown in extraordinary circumstances that will either break or build them. What makes these heroes remarkable is that they are real, they are flawed and broken, but they are also strong and remain standing when others around them fall. While these three all fight for the rightful thrones, they have won something infinitely better. The values of their souls and the everyday victories (and defeats) that can truly created a king from a bastard.

Thoughts on Game of Thrones

      With a name like Game of Thrones I thought it was a video game series

       I started watching Game of Thrones in late January//early February...actually shortly after I did my first appreciation post on Harry Lloyd. I found out that he was in the show (playing Viserys Targaryen) and that was the primary reason I wanted to watch the series, even though I knew he was only in S1. So anyways, I had a friend jack all 4 seasons offline and put them on my computer. I was apprehensive at first because the show is famous for its outrageous amount of sexual content, but I really wanted to know what the hype about this show was all about.

       I was surprised at how very quickly I became engrossed in the story and the characters, as well as the underlying theme of family that is spread throughout the show. It wasn't long before I was addicted and I finished the first season in 3 days! I had loved the first season so much (while cringing my way through the copious amounts of sexually explicit scenes) that I started watching S2, but stopped after a certain scene concerning King Joffrey made me sick to my stomach and I couldn't watch anymore. 

      However, I may pick up on the series again since Jamie told me that the story gets even better and so do the characters. Until then, I'm contented with being a fan of S1 which introduced me to a menagerie of extraordinary characters that I love, loathe and constantly keep me guessing about their true loyalties.  

~ ~ ~

Favorite Characters

 Khaleesi Daenerys Targaryen

      This young girl, I noticed, seemed to be a consistent fan-favorite and so I really was quite curious about her. Although, from what I had viewed on Tumblr (not a good place to go to if you're curious about a television show), I had thought that she was just some pretty blonde tramp that slept with anything and everything that came across her path.

How wrong I was!!!! 

She is the sweetest, bravest, most beautiful princess-angel in the whole show!

       

   Daenerys or Dany is barely a woman when her sadistic and power-hungry older brother, Viserys, has arranged her marriage to the Dothraki king, Khal Drogo. as an arrangement for an army so he can take the throne of Westeros. Quiet and reserved, Dany obediently marries the violent warrior king who has no interest in her at all and only uses her for bedtime pleasure (you get my meaning?). Overtime, Dany gains more confidence and begins to endear herself to the nomadic Dothraki people by quickly learning their language, dressing like the woman and styling her hair in the same traditional styles. 

Dany and her beloved husband Drogo

      She also takes matters of her marriage into her own hands and basically lets her husband know that she is not a toy, but a human being who deserves to be treated with respect and love. Although, surprised at first by this sudden burst of confidence from his child-wife, Drogo slowly finds himself falling deeply in love with Dany due to her overwhelming kindness and generosity toward his people and to him. And Dany sees Drogo as her salvation from her unhappy childhood, protector from her abusive brother and the love that she has waited so long to have. Drogo is just a bad-ass all around; he definitely became a favorite and I loved their love story (proof from my new header). 

       Sadly, Dany's long awaited fairy-tale life is cut short by the death of her husband, the miscarriage of their baby (whom she unexpectedly sacrificed while trying to save her husband) and the falling apart of the Dothraki people. Hardly one to give up, Daenerys takes what few people are remaining into safety and becomes not only their new queen (or Khaleesi in Dothraki), but also the mother of three rare dragons which gives her an extraordinary amount of power. Through all of this, Dany becomes determined to take of the Iron Throne of Westeros for the future of her people and the honor of her husband. 

The Starks of Winterfell

       Watching the lively and loving Stark family is what really made this show work for me. Headed by Eddard (Ned) Stark and his wife Catelyn and their five children, Robb, Sansa, Arya, Bran, Rickon and Ned's bastard son, Jon Snow. Like I said in the beginning, the underlying theme of family is heavily emphasized in this show and no family knows the importance of honor and loyalty like the Starks of Winterfell. They know how to fight and how to survive. When the family is splintered in the beginning of S1, it is the beginning of the end for the Starks. One by one, family members are lost, killed, abandoned, used and abused, and none of them has anyone to depend on. All they have is hope that the family will be back together again. Hope, like summer in Winterfell, is rare and hard to find and it's the survival of the fittest, the strongest, and the smartest in the lives of the Stark family. 

Top: Arya Stark and Robb Stark
Bottom: Eddard (Ned) Stark and Jon Snow

       Of all of the Starks, Arya, the tomboyish middle child and Robb, the no-nonsense oldest son are definitely my favorites followed by the family patriarch, Ned and his illegitimate son, lonely Jon Snow. Arya like Daenerys was another favorite and I fell in love with her immediately for her spirit and no small degree of sass she was able to dish out. She is a perfect mix of both of her brave parents who have raised her well and have only ever wanted what is truly best for her. Arya may end up being the sole survivor of the family and although she doesn't desire power for the throne, she does desire to have the right to fight for what she wants, and that is to survive and see her family again.

       I didn't like Robb at first. In the beginning I though he was something of a rich spoiled brat who just preferred to be left alone. Then his family is threatened and Direwolf claws are released. Robb's lifetime training in warfare, defense and negotiations all come into full swing when he wages war on those that dare harm his family, his people and his country. Robb is a real prince in the story and it's hard for any girl not to fall in love with him (oddly enough, Richard Madden plays Prince Kit in the new Cinderella movie, so it's fitting). 

      Ned Stark and his son Jon Snow are two characters that you have immediate admiration for. Ned is a wonderful man, that while flawed has a great deal of honor and dignity to him and he has raised his children to achieve those same standards by which their survival will depend on. While Ned is ashamed for disloyalty to his wife, he doesn't regret his son, Jon Snow, even though Catelyn takes every opportunity to degrade Jon in every possible way. 

     Jon himself, is pretty much a glorified servant in his father's household, but his half-siblings all love him dearly, especially Arya who he has a special relationship with. He has his father's integrity and humanity and will not stand by while injustice is being dealt out. Jon will stand for what is right, even if it means he is standing alone, but then again, Jon Snow is use to being alone.

  

       This ending up being longer than I thought, but I just wanted to highlight the primary reasons I enjoyed S1 so much. The characters are by far the best part of the show, even when the story gets confusing all you need to do is just follow your favorite character and eventually you get back on track. GOT has no shortage of thoroughly unlikable characters, but I try not to dwell too much on my dislikes, it distracts from the importance as to why I spent three days watching this show on my computer. While I'm definitely not promoting Game of Thrones as a Saturday//Sunday night watch, I will say that the story is brilliant and all characters (good, bad and otherwise) are so very real that I think anyone can relate to any them.