I've watched Baelor, episode 9 of Game of Thrones, twice now, and it has hit me hard both times. And that was despite having read the book. Such a great story, such a great show.
I'm kind of surprised to hear that a lot of fans of the TV show are livid at HBO/George RR Martin/the world about the rapid exit of the character. Many have threatened to never watch the show again, etc. Apparently many readers who came to that part in the book threw the book across the room and screamed at it. Really? Seriously?
I guess I spoiled myself, so the surprise/holy shit element wasn't there for me, but that moment was when I fell in love with the book, when I knew it REALLY wasn't Just Another Fantasy Story. I loved the ballsy, bold move. I loved that the author was using the Hero narrative to pull the rug out from under his readers. That was what was so bloody brilliant about it. Until the last second, we all kept thinking someone would come save the day, because that's how it always plays out.
But of course, in real life, that's not how it always plays out. The good guys don't always win. Also, there aren't really good guys. The winners write the history. Winning is about power. Maybe we turn to books and TV because we need to be lied to, and maybe that's why Baelor has made some fans so pissed off. We want reality suspended.
But Game of Thrones has the balls to bring reality crashing down on us. And so damn effectively. God, that scene is just SO epic. EPIC. Epic. Epic.
1 comment:
I think the real genius of the first book is how much detail is left in the background. In the TV series you get a bit more perspective (notably from Baelish, but also more detail on Renly) that rounds out the story more, however you still get the mystery elements and the sense of the unknown. I love how there are things in the book that do not get resolved for the reader until many books later (albeit weakly in some places).
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