You understand that this series is based mainly on this historical event, right? And that Westeros is basically England, and is situated fairly far from the equator. Which is why the only dark skinned people on this show come from lands farther south (Sothros, I believe it is called, although I don’t know that this is mentioned in the show.) While there are few dark skinned characters on the show, they are generally portrayed in a better light than the average white character.
This is in reference to when you wrote “There are very few gay characters, and those we see tend to die bloody and/or humiliating deaths.” (I thought this was clear.) The two guards that Gendry just killed suffered more bloody and humiliating deaths than the 2 major gay characters.
The point you missed there was that the show put something that never existed in the Wars of the Roses*—dragons—into their story. Thus ‘there can’t be dark-skinned people in Game of Thrones because there weren’t any in the Wars of the Roses’ is a bad and silly argument.
If the showrunners can put dragons and giants and White Walkers into their story, then they can put anything they like into their story. ‘Adhering to historical accuracy’ is an absurd excuse to use for the paucity of non-white characters.
Of course any show is free to use an entirely white cast of characters. I’m just saying that ‘they have to show what was present in England during that period’ is a ridiculous argument in support of the casting. They cast the show the way they wanted to for their own reasons—not because of the makeup of the population of England in the medieval period.
Again, the point you missed: the post you quoted (and my subsequent posts) say nothing about MORE bloody or MORE humiliating deaths for gay characters. Look, again, at what you quoted. Where do you see “MORE” being claimed for the bloodiness or humiliation of one set of characters as compared with other characters?
Recall that what I actually said, as opposed to the fictional ‘inside your head’ claim you’ve been replying to, is:
There’s nothing there, or in my other posts, about “more” bloody or “more” humiliating deaths for gay characters.
Eh, you might gain something from the process. Or maybe not. In any case, ‘it’s only a television show’.
This thread will be washed downstream soon, given that the new episode airs tonight. But it’s worth noting a fact about human nature: we tend to take pride in identifying with story franchises—and with sports franchises, alma maters, home towns, and any number of other elements of our lives.
For each of these we have a set of reasons for our support and/or fandom. And for Game of Thrones, one of the most commonly-mentioned rationales for being a fan is that in this story, Anyone Can Die**–It’s Completely Unpredictable.
If this is something in which a fan takes pride, then of course I injured that pride by claiming that the overall plot arc of the show is, in fact, quite predictable. So I can understand, at least in part, the emotional storm that ensued. Of course I don’t respect the choice to respond to a dissenting opinion by making childish “SJW” accusations against the holder of the opinion.
It’s interesting, though, to see how fans of different shows react to dissent about crucial beliefs concerning their shows–a phenomenon clearly visible on this board, in the various threads.
*It’s plural: Wars of the Roses, not War of the Roses. I mirrored your usage in my first reply to make the symmetry of the two questions work, but now find it annoying.
**The TV Tropes page for Anyone Can Die currently lists 89 television shows in addition to GoT that exhibit this trope–and that’s not even counting the movies, books, comics, and other storytelling media! It’s an interesting read: Anyone Can Die / Live-Action TV - TV Tropes
Ah, your analysis is just so deep and insightful. And the fact that 100% of people on this thread think your opinions are worthless drivel could not possibly be because they are worthless drivel. It must be that it would injure our pride to acknowledge the truth. Wake up, sheeple!
Ingredients
4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
4 tablespoons brown sugar
1 ½ teaspoon salt
1 ¾ cups buttermilk
½ stick butter, cubed & ice cold
1 egg
1 teaspoon orange zest
Equipment
Large mixing bowl
Zester
Rolling pin
Cutting board and knife
Baking sheet lined with parchment paper
Preheat oven to 350°F.
In a large bowl mix flour, brown sugar, baking soda and salt. Add butter and mix until the dough is dry and crumbly.
In a medium bowl, combine buttermilk, egg and orange zest. On a low speed, combine wet and dry ingredients.
Knead the dough for a couple of minutes and then place it back into bowl. Cover and let rest for 20 to 30 minutes.
Roll out dough and cut into the shape of a Direwolf (PICTURE at 3:44). Place onto a baking sheet and brush with egg wash.
Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.
TaDa! Game of Thrones Direwolf Bread is the perfect snack to get you through the long winter!
This is the pathetic “I must have touched a nerve” trope. The formula is:
Spout a load of utter horseshit.
Elicit many responses - “What you wrote is utter horseshit”.
Come back with - “I must have touched a nerve!”
Yes, it’s possible to elicit a response by writing something that’s true, but that people are sensitive about. However, it’s also possible to elicit a robust response by writing something that’s a pile of steaming crap. The claim “I must have touched a nerve” is invariably an attempt to misrepresent the latter state of affairs as the former.
In this show, most characters suffer bloody deaths, and many suffer humiliating deaths. Therefore, if you claim that gay characters suffer bloody and humiliating deaths, it implies that their deaths are more bloody and humiliating than average. Otherwise, your statement is pointless. I care nothing about social justice or proving that this show is progressive or any of that stuff. It’s just that your claims are so ridiculous that I wonder if we’re talking about the same show.
Meanwhile in Ep.6 … [spoiler]Jon Bends The Knee (or promises to at least).
Ep 6 thread quotes:
I have to guess you are objecting to your prediction being apparently disproved in the very next episode, where your prediction is strictly stated as “final fates”. Fair enough. Things change…
But I know I wasn’t the only one who heard you groan when Jon Bent The Knee.
I don’t really have a stake in a debate about the social values of Westeros (or RL for that matter), and may have even agreed with your prediction if I had to place a bet after Ep5. I just meant to lightheartedly poke somebody for Ep6 including exactly what they didn’t predict.[/spoiler]
Jon didn’t bend the knee. “Promising to” is not bending the knee.
If he actually does bend the knee at any point, with her standing there receiving his fealty, I’ll make a recording of a groan and post it somewhere appropriate.
But he never will. Bet on it.
(Your posts on this topic don’t make sense, by the way. My prediction was clearly about the end of the series, as the bits you quoted reflect.)
You are just nitpicking that he didn’t physically “bend the knee” (because he couldn’t). But he did “bend the knee” in the meaningful sense by calling her “My Queen,” and thereby acknowledging he was subservient to her.
Speaking of which - this episode had so much easy, obvious stuff to criticize that we haven’t even touched on the subtler stuff. Why did Jon bend the knee to her? Simply because she promised to help with the White Walkers? It seems like any reasonable person would after she saw what she saw. It wasn’t conditional. He could’ve still remained King in the North and fought alongside her.
Did coming to rescue him change his mind so much about what sort of person she was that he decided to submit his whole kingdom to her? I guess it’s plausible but meh. I think we’re supposed to feel happy about that scene because our heroes are working together but I’d rather see an independent north so it wasn’t a triumphant, heartwarming scene.
