Game of Thrones Broke the Reader’s Promise

(For me) Yet I still ended up reluctantly loving it.

Epic Storytelling. It stays in the mind and heart long after the story is over.

**Spoiler Alert:**

• *Before you read, be aware that this article contains spoilers for the Game of Thrones HBO series and Star Wars: A New Jedi Order book series. *More spoiler alerts ahead!*

When a beloved series breaks the reader’s promise.

Have you ever refused to read a highly recommended series because you knew something happened in the story you would hate and would find upsetting?

I was that way about George R. R. Martin’s Game of Thrones series. I refused to read the series or watch the HBO TV version series.

What kept me away from it? I was told he killed off beloved characters. That no character was safe. I knew I would hate it.

Why? I read to escape, not be upset.

Past experience had already tainted me, so I was wary.

*Spoiler Alert: Star Wars New Jedi Order novel, Vector Prime, by R.A. Salvatore

I was devastated when R. A. Salvatore let Chewbacca die in the first New Jedi Order novel, Vector Prime. I cried for a week. Yes, literally, I’d tear up at the drop of a hat.

It was unexpected. It hit me hard, breaking an unspoken promise to the readers of a beloved series. I admit it was powerful. I still hated it and didn’t like it.

It was a couple of years before I could attempt to read the second book in that Star Wars series. I never loved that series, but I will always love Star Wars. Still have not forgiven Salvatore for the betrayal.

I have now read more than half of the books in the NJO series, but I still have not finished them.

Photo by Artur Tumasjan on Unsplash

When HBO announced it was ending Game of Thrones, I found myself caught up in the anticipation from others who loved watching it. So, I sat down and started watching it from the beginning.

What happened? I binged watched until I caught up. Yeah, I was hooked. Maybe knowing going in that no character was safe allowed me to appreciate the epic storylines more.

I also love stuff with dragons.

Epic Storytelling. It stays in the mind and heart long after the story is over.

Game of Thrones season 6 E5

*note: I have not read the book series yet*

Genius Story Craft!

This is one of my all-time favorite scenes. This made the entire series for me in some ways, with a few others epic moments.

GOT Beloved character Hodor

(*big spoiler alert)

Hodor is a mentally challenged character who spoke only one word throughout the entire series, Hodor. A big hulk of a man who acts as Bran Stark’s legs, who is a Warg (seer) and a cripple.

In season 6, episode 5, Hodor is holding the great wall door to the Northern lands closed keeping the undead trapped inside trying to give his comrades time to escape certain death.

Bran is looking back, knowing, they are saying goodbye to their beloved and faithful Hodor for the last time.

If you are a Lord of the Rings fan you may love this scene to. This was a Samwise-like-character, in devotion and loyalty— BUT he dies. Oddly that did not take away from the storyteling at all.

It is a powerful moment when Hodor’s story comes together connecting events, the past and the present, in season six. Bran remembers the day that Hodor became the man he had known all his life.

The scene starts with the undead chasing them as they try to escape through the tunnels of the great northern wall. Bran is unconscious and Hodor is carrying him.

Bran is dreaming at first. The memory starts with him remembering Hodor as a teenage boy 12–14 years old playing a game with the other kids at WinterFell, healthy and robust.

In the middle of the game, Hodor falls to the ground seizing and yelling, “hold the door, hold the door”, relentlessly, until the words blur, becoming, “Hodor, Hodor, Hodor.”

This is happening during the middle of all the action and it works. It is that memory link that makes this scene even more powerful.

What a clever way of revealing backstory in an action moment without slowing or taking away from the pace of that scene.

This scene made this character one of the most rememberable and beloved heroes of the entire series.

Hodo = Hold the Door (Watch the scene clip below on YouTube. This is a shorter version 2 mins.

The characters in the series are epic in their own storylines. Everyone with a powerful individual story that connects and intersects bringing the series to its eight-season conclusion.

The Characters of GOT

*This is not a complete list but some of the most memorable for me.*

The bastard Stark, Jon Snow, who is sent to the Black Crows to hold the wall against the monsters of the North, monsters no one had seen for a hundred years. A powerful story in itself of service, loyalty, and rebirth.

The Stark’s youngest daughter, Arya, who wanted to be a warrior, not a princess. A long and mystic journey that will make her the ultimate hero.

The Stark’s oldest daughter, Sansa, sent to court to form an alliance by marrying the abusive son of the reigning house over all the lands, the House Reyne of Castamere. Lots of highs, lows, and betrayal.

The Dragon Queen who frees the oppressed and deals justice. Fire cannot burn her. The genius here is the way these great qualities lead to her destruction.

The beloved ward raised by the Starks, Theon Greyjoy, who betrays the Stark’s leading to his torture by a psychopath and an impossible climb to redemption.

Tyrion The IMP, the dwarf, youngest son of the reigning house of the lands. A good man always trying to prove himself to his family who never truly accepts him. Yet this little flawed man will find moments of greatness.

The incestuous twins of the reining house whose secrets and machinations will destroy them. (An intriguing play on the popular cheerleader and arrogant jock, or at least, I could see glimmers of that or other familiar and similar comparisons.) Despite that, these characters also moved me.

This is only a few of the main characters we watch throughout. I am going to have to watch the whole series again because there is so much awesome story craft that made this epic.

Yes, I want to write like that, in that, I want to move the emotions, enthrall and pull readers in, entertain and help them escape into another world. Some parts of this saga are pure storytelling genius.

I am sorry I resisted reading for so long… well, actually still have not read, but resisted watching for same reasons. (I hear the book series tale diverges a bit from the TV series and the tie-ins. I was also told the TV series was better. I have not read the books to offer an opinion.)

However, if you have not watched GOT, if you are reluctant as I was, just know that no character is safe going in.

The payoff is still well worth watching. Note: This is an opinion piece. I know the feelings I want to experience in fantasy series. I’m a voracious reader and watcher of series. I want to be hooked, and it’s that aspect of GOT that kept me watching. Plus, although different from my expectations—I FELT happy and satisfied by the end. And blown away by scenes I normally would have hated.

Photo by K. Mitch Hodge on Unsplash

I love story craft. Game of Thrones is a prime example of epic storytelling. I created a free list of story points to look for when creating a story. 🙂 I would like all my stories to be epic and memorable. I personally cannot read enough stuff like that. Anyway, you can get the list through the form below.

Here are my tip list to help improve your short stories.

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