Yeah, that’s for real. Displeased with the storyline of HBO’s Game of Thrones, this writer declares that HBO has gone too far and has vowed to quit watching.
The issue, of course, is Sunday’s notorious Red Wedding episode, familiar to every reader of George R.R. Martin’s ongoing A Song of Ice and Fire saga, the books on which the HBO series is based. Readers have been biting their tongues all season, knowing what’s coming but not wanting to spoil things for spouses and family members who haven’t read the books.
Clearly, this guy hasn’t. And one might wonder what kind of books he has read, if he reads at all. Was he home-schooled? Did overprotective parents read him insipid pick-your-own-ending stories when he was little? Is that where he got the notion that GOT should be less like life and more like the Berenstain Bears?
Game of Thrones is like life; that’s what I love about it. Shit happens. Life happens. You know nothing, Jon Snow.
Not to worry, I won’t spoil the Red Wedding for you. If you haven’t read the books or watched Sunday’s episode yet, you may not want to read this Time Magazine article. If you have, though, you might find it interesting: much of what GRRM writes is based on historical events, and behind the Red Wedding lurks Scotland’s notorious Black Dinner.
Another thing: from the animated map shown at the beginning of every HBO Game of Thrones episode, you might have gotten the impression that Westeros is a rather small place. Think larger. Think Europe. Here’s an interesting look at the real-world geography on which Westeros is based.
Okay, so I’m a fan boy. Sue me. I love it!