In the game of thrones, you win or you die, and people are definitely going to die in this season of HBO’s fantasy drama Game of Thrones. Just look at what went down during Sunday's second season premiere: bloodshed in the first few minutes and quite a few dead bodies throughout the rest of the episode. Terrible things are probably going to happen to happen to widely loved characters, but the epic-ness of the show makes the pain of imminent death worth it.
Game of Thrones' fictitious world where medieval dynasties outwit and kill one another in the quest for power is what makes the show so compelling. “It’s fantasy for people who don’t like fantasy, and I think that’s so true,” Communication junior Nikki Michaels says. “You can’t imagine anyone who wouldn’t enjoy watching it.”
Watching the power struggles between so many characters can provide viewers with thrills, but there’s also plenty of sex and violence that give an extra twist to the already complex plot. It also might just blow a few minds to know the book series A Song of Ice and Fire that Game of Thrones is based on was written by George R.R. Martin, a Medill alum.
The show's characters – and the actors and actresses who portray them – are also a part of the mass appeal of the show. They all have their own individual story arcs that allow the audience to get invested, but these storylines become tangled up as the show progresses. Communication freshman Teddy Spelman says he couldn’t wait to see “Tyrion Lannister [Peter Dinklage] in King’s Landing and Arya Stark [Maisie Williams] on the road, and to see how they do in their new environments.”
Tyrion is definitely a big favorite with the fans, but it isn't just the character that has some Northwestern students hooked.
“It’s probably largely a product of how incredible Peter Dinklage is in that role and how he brings that character to life,” Michaels says. “I tweeted during the premiere that Peter Dinklage is winning himself another Emmy.”
“He really is the star of the second book," adds Christian Keeve, a Weinberg freshman. "I’m most excited about that.”
Of course, he isn’t the only star of the show. Game of Thrones has plenty of strong female characters, and the ladies are, simply put, outstanding. “I love Daenerys," said Michaels, referring to the character played by Emilia Clarke. "She’s such a powerful woman. How can you not, as a female viewer or, really, anyone, how can you not love that character?”
Besides Daenerys, there’s also Sansa Stark (played by Sophie Turner), who’s currently biding her time in King’s Landing and slowly learning how to play this “game of thrones,” Arya, Sansa’s younger sister and who is currently on the run and Catelyn Stark (played by Michelle Fairley), their mother who is determined to have her family back together once again. This show may be about men fighting for the throne, but it’s just as equally – if not more – about the women and how they assert their own power over the throne.
For those who haven’t read the books, fear not. Despite the rich fantasy world and its various story arcs and characters, Games of Thrones isn't hard to follow. But fans of the series will be happy to know George R.R. Martin will return for writing duties. After writing an episode last season, he'll be back for another.
“The episode that George R.R. Martin wrote himself is probably, if I was forced to choose, what I’m most looking forward to this season," says Michaels.
So far, the fan consensus is that the premiere for the second season was a stellar episode.
“It set up the stories really well,” says Spelman. “[It] brought me past the threshold of being a fan.”
Hopefully the really great characters won’t get killed – at least, just not yet. It seems pretty much inevitable that some beloved character will be stabbed, beheaded or mutilated at some point. As the first season showed, no one is safe, and season two is already killing it.