Game of Thrones.

I don’t like gore and blood. I don’t like sword fights or men in tights. Not really a fan of fighting wars or medieval times either. I like pretty modern day films, set in cosmopolitan cities where a natural order of things run smoothly and given some twists and turns, good vs evil, good always wins. Oh and I like wizards too. That being said, Game of Thrones is in a category of most awesome all by itself. Its all of the things I don’t like but geniusly enough, it makes me like them, love them and want more of them. Game of Thrones is MOST EPICALLY AWESOME. And I’m more sorry it took me this long to actually get into it. I get invested in a lot of creative stuff be it, visual, verbal, written etc, much more than is healthy or necessary so I try to keep my TV watching to a minimum because there are only so many obsessions a compulsive addictive person like myself can handle without going over the rails. At the moment, Scandal is holding the key to my heart, now sharing it with Game of Thrones. When Homeland returns, it will be a problem because I am obsessed with that as well. Don’t even get me started on Revenge, although that is waning a bit until Emily gets all kray revengey again, and Nashville, which I still have to catch up on, and then there is Deception with Megan Goode, Downton Abbey…Oi vey.

Back to Game of Thrones, as the title depicts it is essentially, fighting over a throne to seven kingdoms…yes really, BUT there are so many layers to this battle. Scandal. Intrigue. Suspense. Incest. Secrets. Traitors…the list goes on. The thick of the plot follows three paths; Robert Baratheon is the king who sits on the Iron throne to the seven kingdoms after usurping the “mad king” and exiling his family, but there are other noble families who are fighting for the same said throne. Winter is coming, after a long spell of summer and the greatest fear is of the white walkers of winter who will descend upon Westeros bringing with them fear and death. Then there is the exiled heir to the throne, who will do anything to reclaim his kingdom and take his place as king. Anything.

Robert Baratheon is a drunken yob of a king who enlists the help of Ned Stark as his Hand to help keep a hold of the kingdom but there is war in his castle, in his bed, and he’d know this if he stayed sober long enough. The only thing he is certain of is that he wants more “WINE”. An overweight swine who despises his wife and her family, the Lannisters. The Lannisters are a powerful and wealthy family that harbour disdain for the common class and the Starks, who are beloved Lords of the North. Are you with me still? Good.

Daenerys Targaryen is the platinum blonde haired princess and sister to Viserys, heir to the Targaryen throne upon which Robert Baratheon now sits. Viserys wants to return home, to his rightful place on the Iron throne and has enlisted the help of the Barbaric nomadic army, the Dothraki, led under fearsome (and sexy) Kahl Drogo, a man who holds no sense of civility; he rips a man’s throat with his bare hands, but no less brave and undefeated on the battlefield. Viserys offers his sister’s hand in marriage, without her consent, to Drogo, in exchange for an army who must fight to reclaim the throne for him. At first Daeneyrus is certain she does not want to be Kahl Drogo’s wife, and who can blame her, but she makes the best of a hard situation and helps us (me) fall in love with Drogo because she brings out the warmth in him; we see sides of his tenderness and vulnerability with her.

Winter is coming and the whitewalkers are to be feared. Men of the night watch are charged with the safety of the lands and to keep white walkers at bay. To be a man of the night watch is to live almost like a monk; no family, no wives, children etc. You are in servitude till death as a Night watch man. Still, they call it a noble profession.

There is a plethora of characters, more than enough to satisfy us and each one has something to contribute to the story, no matter how big or small moral or amoral (most are morally bankrupt to be honest) and through them the story unfolds searing through its many layers.

Here are some characters to invest in. Some I loathe and others I love.

Daenerys Targaryen or Khaleesi; is the rightful heir to the throne, rather her brother is, but he is quickly disposed off by Khal Drogo, it was a total honour kill…lol. Khaleesi may come across as fragile but she is strong and determined, she makes the best of a bad situation and succeeds in winning over the Dothrakis. She is a fierce woman with a warm heart but we get the sense there is so much more to her powers and her strength as a character, we have only just scratched the surface. And she is a dragon baby mama. The final episode of season One was just KRAY.

Tyrion Lannister, the one they call the Imp is the dwarf son of Lord Tywin Lannister and brother to Cersei and Jamie Lannister. The Lannisters are rich, powerful and snobbish but Tyrian is seen as something of an outcast within the Lannister clan because he is not like the rest of them, he is a dwarf and their mother died during his birth. A thing they hold over him. However, Tyrion is the smartest of them all, knowledgeable, intelligent and the only one who gets under Cersei’s skin because he doesn’t cower like others do. He is also a notorious “whore house” lover. He even takes one for his partner. Tyrion is a smart rebel and he makes up in knowledge what he lack in looks, when compared to Jamie. His knowledge is his power, so powerful and pivotal to the story he will be even more vital as it unfolds.

Arya Stark; my fierce little girl. Arya is the ten year old daughter of Lord and Lady Stark. She is brave and wise and nothing phases her. She will be the saviour of the Starks, I think, or she’ll be crucial to their eventual victory because nothing evil lasts or wins. I love her tenacity and fighting spirit. She finds herself in the most uncertain of circumstance but she makes it work to her advantage.

Lady Stark; I loved Lady Stark until she did something that really angered me, so I’m not feeling much love for her right now. However, she is a kind and fair woman who is out to save her family and avenge the Lannisters for crippling her son. She is too trusting of those she thinks are allies who turn out to be traitors and there is a lot she is yet to know…as are we of her.

Ned Stark; wise Lord Stark, who is reluctant to become the Kings hand and who dies at the command of Joffrey the moron king. For the time he is on our screens we love Lord Stark, he tries to impart wisdom on the wayward King Robert whilst trying to protect his family from the Lannisters and other enemies lurking in Kingslanding. He is also the father to “bastard” Jon Snow but there is something more to that story line. Ned promised to reveal all about his mother to Jon but he is beheaded before he gets to chance.

Khal Drogo; The barbarian leader of the Dothraki tribe. I grew to love him. At first I wasn’t sure that I would but in the end he won me over. He is the fearless leader of the traditionally horseback riding tribe and a powerful fighter who has never lost a battle, hence Viserys seeks his help. Daenerys sparks something in Khal Drogo and over time grows to love him. I love to see their story unfold but God help the man who messes with his Mrs, throat ripping and slashing. *shiver*

Most loathed…

Joffrey Baratheon; is a dumb little sh*t who has even more sh*t for brains. The dude is so twisted he is a psychopath and gets high, seriously high, on power. After the death of King Robert, he assumes the throne and becomes and even bigger threat to the kingdom. He has no common sense, even if he is of noble blood but his parentage might have turned him mad. Mad I tell you.

Cersei Lannister; mother of idiot Joffrey whose b!tchery has attained the ice cold glazier level. She is finely cutting and supremely snobbish of those she deems beneath her, everybody that is. She masterminded her son’s assent to the throne and is now battling to save the kingdom from the perils of her son’s senselessness but she realises she is fighting a losing battle a little too late because Joffrey cannot be controlled. Jamie, her brother, is also her secret lover and the father of mad King Joffrey. DUM. DUM. DUM…

Sansa Stark is so dumb and stupid she defies the definition of dumb and stupid…maybe I’m being to harsh here because she is only thirteen after all, but my goodness she is dumb. Arya, her younger sister is smarter than she is. Sansa is the type of girl who will happily schedule playdates and press her husband’s boxers whilst blissfully unaware he is schtuping half the kingdom and fathering “bastards” all over. By her utter lack of common sense and through her own stupidity, maybe not wholly but mostly, her father is beheaded by her beloved Joffrey. Although we don’t know if she’s fronting, I really hope she is playing a role, but her father’s blood is on her hands and that is enough to get her in the burn book.

Jamie Lannister, the Kingslayer; the one who killed the mad king Targaryen, secret lover to his sister and once upon a prisoner of the Starks until Lady Stark’s motherly instincts get the better of her…I don’t know that I loathe Jamie so much but he does come across all Lannister superior so there’s that. And he and his sister are doing the nasty and breeding children who will eventually go mad…Joffrey is already mad.

Somewhat ho-hum…

Robb Stark; He is the new king of the North, fighting a war to save his home and to bring the Lannisters to justice for crippling his brother and killing his father. Sometimes I like him, other times I love him, but he is yet to show us the bite to him. I want him to invade and thwart the Lannisters and bring them to justice for what they did to his family. I WANT HIM TO KILL THEM ALL. (Oh gawd I have become one of them)

Jon Snow, somebody give this boy some action or he might actually go to his grave keeping the night watchman’s oath. He is broody and I just don’t know about him yet. I don’t love him but I feel he is vital to the story so cannot just dismiss him either. I want more for him and his parentage might be the key to that. Now that Ned Stark is dead where will we hear this story?

Lord Varys and Little Finger; double crossers engaged in some sort of cold war between themselves. From episode to episode we never really know who these two are rooting for, all we know is, you cannot trust them…

At first I thought it careless that a character like Ned Stark who is so liked should be killed off so early on, but in hindsight it goes to show the quality of the story; no one character makes it. The genius of the writing that we feel such a loss but are willing to stick with this till the end. The other minor characters play a vital role as the story unfold, even the most unsavoury. What stands out especially in Game of Thrones are the dual roles of women; where some are used and abused, others are powerful and fearsome and you get a sense that when it comes down to it, the woman will be the victorious. The sex scenes are laid bare and nothing is held back, its raw and in your face. No shame. There are many layers to this epic story and I cannot wait to see it unfold. I know who I’m rooting for in all this and I know how I want it to end, but Ned Stark was killed so early on, so who is to say I will get the ending I want eh. For now and I suspect for always, Game of Thrones will be one of those epic shows we talk about passionately and there will be very few that rival it.

Long Live the King…or Queen. Whoever that be.