Post by samt on Jan 12, 2016 14:36:08 GMT
Its been stated that the best part of Game of Thrones (aka Song of Ice and Fire) is that anyone can die. While it is a big part of George R.R. Martin's formula to kill his darlings, that is just one tool in his shed rather than his book series major appeal. It has also been said that the other big appeal is that there are no real good people in Game of Thrones. It is also said been said that the biggest appeal is the wide cast of characters that interact with each other. These might appeal to some but that does not explain why Season 5 of Game of Thrones left many ambivalent to indifferent at its conclusion.
I believe the real reason people really love it is the heroes and villains. The heroes of the series are well-intentioned but do awful things, while the villains do awful things because of their own selfish desires or very narrow view of the world. The Heroes are also defined by their limits while the villains are defined by there lack thereof. I mean can you honestly say that Ramsey Snow is a morally grey character? Ok lets take a few characters: Stannis, Victarion Greyjoy, Euron Greyjoy, and Ramsey Snow.
No bias here, move along
Awful people, but I here they do care about one person each. They see 'em in the mirror every day.
The reason people love Stannis and Victarion is simple. They meet basic hero archetypes people enjoy and are willing to get they hands very bloody (emphasis on very). Stannis being the Paladin that strives to do the right thing in a path paved with corpses and Victarion the simple minded, badass noble barbarian that would revive the old viking ways of the Ironborn rather than letting them degrade further into becoming Disney pirates. Ramsey Snow and Euron are designed to be hated and with their deaths being relished. (Seriously look up Euron and you'll understand). Overall these two pairs are good match ups for each other and make entertaining conflicts.
The reason Game of Thrones Season 5 leaves such a sour taste in the mouth for more than a few people is a lack of good hero and villain pairs in the story (Daenerys and city shenanigans along with the other Cersei city shenanigans topped off with Jamie city shenigans) along with the Character Assassination of Stannis who while is shown to be ruthless also follows his strict self imposed rules no matter the cost. This is not me bull shitting, this is the key defining feature of Stannis and it was removed so they can get melodrama and soap opera bs. If Stannis died because he refused to break his own rules that would have been fine but nope we had to do it the way that would be charged with the most emotions rather than reasoning. Overall I don't think a lot of companies using the material of the Song of Ice and Fire such as Telltale or HBO really understand what makes the material they are using so appealing and that by far should make many an avid reader wary and with much lower expectations when viewing their products.
I believe the real reason people really love it is the heroes and villains. The heroes of the series are well-intentioned but do awful things, while the villains do awful things because of their own selfish desires or very narrow view of the world. The Heroes are also defined by their limits while the villains are defined by there lack thereof. I mean can you honestly say that Ramsey Snow is a morally grey character? Ok lets take a few characters: Stannis, Victarion Greyjoy, Euron Greyjoy, and Ramsey Snow.
No bias here, move along
Awful people, but I here they do care about one person each. They see 'em in the mirror every day.
The reason people love Stannis and Victarion is simple. They meet basic hero archetypes people enjoy and are willing to get they hands very bloody (emphasis on very). Stannis being the Paladin that strives to do the right thing in a path paved with corpses and Victarion the simple minded, badass noble barbarian that would revive the old viking ways of the Ironborn rather than letting them degrade further into becoming Disney pirates. Ramsey Snow and Euron are designed to be hated and with their deaths being relished. (Seriously look up Euron and you'll understand). Overall these two pairs are good match ups for each other and make entertaining conflicts.
The reason Game of Thrones Season 5 leaves such a sour taste in the mouth for more than a few people is a lack of good hero and villain pairs in the story (Daenerys and city shenanigans along with the other Cersei city shenanigans topped off with Jamie city shenigans) along with the Character Assassination of Stannis who while is shown to be ruthless also follows his strict self imposed rules no matter the cost. This is not me bull shitting, this is the key defining feature of Stannis and it was removed so they can get melodrama and soap opera bs. If Stannis died because he refused to break his own rules that would have been fine but nope we had to do it the way that would be charged with the most emotions rather than reasoning. Overall I don't think a lot of companies using the material of the Song of Ice and Fire such as Telltale or HBO really understand what makes the material they are using so appealing and that by far should make many an avid reader wary and with much lower expectations when viewing their products.