Lessons from ‘Game of Thrones’
Watching “Game of Thrones” the other night two things occurred to me — I can’t believe there are only two episodes left this season, and has anyone else noticed the strongest women on TV or film reside right here on this medieval show? It’s just a tad ironic that a program so backwards in its look and feel is so forward thinking in its depiction of women.
If you’re a fan you already know this, but for those who’ve shown no interest in watching a show with dungeons and dragons it really is a feminists’ anthem once you get past the occasional gratuitous sex.
The most important and powerful characters on the show are Cersei Lannister, Daenerys Targaryen, Arya Stark and Lady Brienne. The first is diabolical, the second power hungry, the third a killer with a thirst for justice and the last a brave knight. If this show was a chess game the four women I just named are all queens and the men little more than bishops, knights and pawns with a few exceptions. I love the show for the brilliant writing and lessons in politics that are sewn into its very lining. Those of you who’ve never seen it may wonder what I mean, so here is an example of the writing, “Ruling is lying down in a bed of weeds and ripping them out by the roots, one by one, before they strangle you in your sleep.” Consider the blood sport that is politics today and tell me that line doesn’t apply.
Anyone who has ever loved, lost and can’t push past the grief may relate to this dialogue from a man named King Robert who lost his betrothed many years earlier, “You want to know the horrible truth? I can’t even remember what she looked like. I only know she was the only thing I ever wanted and seven kingdoms couldn’t fill the hole she left behind.” Poetic and painful at the same time, don’t you think?
One of the most endearing qualities of the show is that people aren’t just black and white or good and evil; they are many shades of gray. Just when you think a character is purely evil you find some redeeming quality and realize there might still be hope for them. Isn’t that true of real life? Second chances are also a recurring theme on GOT. If you knew nothing of humankind and watched this show you’d come to the conclusion that people are flawed beings and often driven to make horrible choices when they follow their misguided passions. Yet deep down there is always redemption and the chance to find your way back toward the light. Yes, I’m looking at you, Jamie Lannister and Sandor Clegane.
Family is also a big part of this show, the good, the bad and ugly. Yes, I’m looking at you, Greyjoy clan. Many of the characters get pulled apart by circumstances, just like in the real world, but for all the bloodshed and bravado this show is often driven by love. It also smacks you in the face with the harsh realities of the world. In the very first season one of the biggest stars and most loved characters is killed. As a viewer you are sitting there thinking, “Wait, wait. He’s a great man. A good man. He’s my favorite character. He can’t die.” Yet look at your own life and ask if those same rules apply, that only the bad guys die and the good live forever. There is something else about this show that I like that I’ve never heard anyone talk about. The characters who are comfortable with themselves seem to be the most happy. The ones who look in the mirror and say, “This is who I am and I’m OK with that.” The most notable is played by actor Peter Dinklage in the role of Tyrion Lannister. He is a little person but he looms large in every scene because he is the most honest and centered. And just like real life the ones who are never content with what they have and always seeking more usually end up disappointed, which on GOT means a horrific demise. Circling back around I keep coming back to the women on the show. They are written as such strong characters who grind against what you are used to seeing on television. They are smarter, tougher and often more morally grounded than the men; with the exception of the previously mentioned Cersei Lannister. She’s just bad. Before I go let me leave you with the words of the author George R.R. Martin, “What is honor compared to a woman’s love or the feeling of a newborn son in your arms? We are only human and the gods have fashioned us for love. That is our greatest glory and our great tragedy.” Now that’s great writing.
John Gray is a news anchor on WXXA-Fox TV 23 and ABC’S WTEN News Channel 10. His column is published every Wednesday. Email him at johngray@fox23news.com.