# Game of thrones: Who the fuck am I supposed to be rooting for? \[book spoilers for TV\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 15, 2014, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-who-the-fuck-am-i-supposed-to-be-rooting-for-book-spoilers-for-tv/683785 "2014-03-15T19:40:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Polerius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d78d45/32.png) [@Polerius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polerius)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2014, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-who-the-fuck-am-i-supposed-to-be-rooting-for-book-spoilers-for-tv/683785/81 "2014-03-16T22:15:36Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > Okay, how’s that? (And this, boys and girls, is why the CS mods effin’ _hate_ GOT season.) This new change “[books spoilers for TV]” is a disaster. It gives the impression that this is the thread where it’s OK to give book spoilers for the TV show (which is how **asterion** seems to have just interpreted it as in his latest post) Given the current state of affairs, either change the title to say [Spoilers only based on TV show] or just lock the thread. If you leave it as is, a lot of people will post spoilers based on the books. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2014, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-who-the-fuck-am-i-supposed-to-be-rooting-for-book-spoilers-for-tv/683785/82 "2014-03-16T22:24:04Z")
Wait, rooting for the zombies is a spoiler now? I’m doing the same thing with Walking Dead. ---
**Author:** ![Polerius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d78d45/32.png) [@Polerius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polerius)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2014, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-who-the-fuck-am-i-supposed-to-be-rooting-for-book-spoilers-for-tv/683785/83 "2014-03-16T22:55:27Z")
> [@asterion](#): > > Wait, rooting for the zombies is a spoiler now? I’m doing the same thing with Walking Dead. You said “At this point (after book five)…”, so we know the zombies are still a problem after book 5. ---
**Author:** ![SecretaryofEvil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@SecretaryofEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SecretaryofEvil)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2014, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-who-the-fuck-am-i-supposed-to-be-rooting-for-book-spoilers-for-tv/683785/84 "2014-03-16T23:18:52Z")
Reasons to root for Stannis: He rolls around with a crew of badass smugglers and pirates and a sexy foreign witch. He promotes people based on merit, not on who their father was. Her refuses to not give people credit for their accomplishments, but he also refuses to not insult people when they deserve it. He literally thinks it would be unethical not to insult them. Stannis has sex on a table shaped like a giant map of the country he plans to conquer. Stannis blows a load so hard that 2 weeks later the woman gives birth to a fully grown shadow man that assassinates his political rivals. His pre-battle inspirational speech was one sentence long and was really more of an order than a speech. It was still the most inspiring thing we’ve seen on the show so far. Stannis is always angry. You’d be pissed off too if you had to live in Westoros. It’s kind of a terrible place. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2014, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-who-the-fuck-am-i-supposed-to-be-rooting-for-book-spoilers-for-tv/683785/85 "2014-03-17T00:08:11Z")
> [@Polerius](#): > > You said “At this point (after book five)…”, so we know the zombies are still a problem after book 5. Seriously? Come on, after three seasons on TV the various kings can’t even get their own crap together, how in the world would you expect the zombie problem to be dealt with before the end of the series? ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2014, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-who-the-fuck-am-i-supposed-to-be-rooting-for-book-spoilers-for-tv/683785/86 "2014-03-17T00:17:51Z")
> [@Polerius](#): > > Daenerys watched as her husband murdered her brother in front of her and didn’t stop it, among other not-so-nice things she’s done. He had it coming. He sold her at age 15 to a barbarian with whom she couldn’t even communicate. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2014, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-who-the-fuck-am-i-supposed-to-be-rooting-for-book-spoilers-for-tv/683785/87 "2014-03-17T00:26:50Z")
> [@SecretaryofEvil](#): > > Reasons to root for Stannis: > > He rolls around with a crew of badass smugglers and pirates and a sexy foreign witch. > > He promotes people based on merit, not on who their father was. > > Her refuses to not give people credit for their accomplishments, but he also refuses to not insult people when they deserve it. He literally thinks it would be unethical not to insult them. > > Stannis has sex on a table shaped like a giant map of the country he plans to conquer. > > Stannis blows a load so hard that 2 weeks later the woman gives birth to a fully grown shadow man that assassinates his political rivals. > > His pre-battle inspirational speech was one sentence long and was really more of an order than a speech. It was still the most inspiring thing we’ve seen on the show so far. > > Stannis is always angry. You’d be pissed off too if you had to live in Westoros. It’s kind of a terrible place. Sorry, his priestess kills people just because. My faves are Tyrion, John Snow and Arya, but John Snow may be dead after Book 5, but I doubt it, and Arya becomes an assassin, which as far as I am concerned, is badass. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2014, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-who-the-fuck-am-i-supposed-to-be-rooting-for-book-spoilers-for-tv/683785/88 "2014-03-17T00:44:01Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Furthermore, I think it’s important to note another thing that Martin is showing us, that even those people we think are the best guys, if we really looked at them with cold eyes, we would find that we don’t admire all their values. As long as you don’t go from “no one is all good and no one is all evil” to “they’re all the same, Joffrey is just as shades-of-gray as Ned”, which I don’t think you’re doing. I do agree, however, that one recurring theme is that being honorable and well-intentioned doesn’t a good and effective ruler make. ---
**Author:** ![Polerius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d78d45/32.png) [@Polerius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polerius)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2014, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-who-the-fuck-am-i-supposed-to-be-rooting-for-book-spoilers-for-tv/683785/89 "2014-03-17T00:49:34Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > My faves are Tyrion, John Snow and Arya, but … Is your spoiler a book-based spoiler, or is it based on what has already been shown on TV? If it’s the former, please add a warning. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2014, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-who-the-fuck-am-i-supposed-to-be-rooting-for-book-spoilers-for-tv/683785/90 "2014-03-17T00:55:59Z")
> [@Polerius](#): > > Is your spoiler a book-based spoiler, or is it based on what has already been shown on TV? If it’s the former, please add a warning. It is a book spoiler. I’ve only read through the fourth one, and the spoiler contains information about a character I was worried about at the end of book 4. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2014, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-who-the-fuck-am-i-supposed-to-be-rooting-for-book-spoilers-for-tv/683785/91 "2014-03-17T00:56:55Z")
> [@Polerius](#): > > Is your spoiler a book-based spoiler, or is it based on what has already been shown on TV? If it’s the former, please add a warning. TV spoilers are _open_ in this thread. Book spoilers are the ones that need to be handled. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2014, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-who-the-fuck-am-i-supposed-to-be-rooting-for-book-spoilers-for-tv/683785/92 "2014-03-17T01:02:22Z")
> [@MaxTheVool](#): > > As long as you don’t go from “no one is all good and no one is all evil” to “they’re all the same, Joffrey is just as shades-of-gray as Ned”, which I don’t think you’re doing. My point isn’t that everyone is the same. My point is that even the people who are _relatively_ good are not necessarily people I would accept as “good” according to my real-life values. And _that’s_ the point I’m making. And I apply that to real history too. The people whom I consider relatively good from the 1960s, from the 1940s, from the 1900s, from the 1860s, from the 1760s — there are certain things I can admire about them and I can recognize that they were _better_ than the people around them, perhaps. But they were not good people, in my sense of what is good. I think the lesson is that history and historical figures should not be iconicized, idolized, etc. The people of the past, on the whole, were _worse_ than us today, on the whole, and the further you go back, the worse you are. We must fight our instincts to nostalgify, to forget the bad, to worship the past. > [@](#): > > I do agree, however, that one recurring theme is that being honorable and well-intentioned doesn’t a good and effective ruler make. I don’t really accept that as an important principle, necessarily. It’s obvious that it isn’t _sufficient_. I don’t necessarily think it’s not _necessary_. ---
**Author:** ![Gukumatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/74df32/32.png) [@Gukumatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gukumatz)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2014, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-who-the-fuck-am-i-supposed-to-be-rooting-for-book-spoilers-for-tv/683785/93 "2014-03-17T01:28:08Z")
**Moderator:** This thread has now grown immensely confusing, due to the generic spoiler tag in the title first being changed one way and then the other. Posts were made under entirely different conditions to their replies. This is, in short, a mess. I’ve considered trying to prune the off-topic discussion into its’ own thread, but the result would be illegible. Thus, I am forced to close this thread. OP, feel free to reboot it with an appropriate spoiler tag. Posters, feel free to copy-paste your posts to the new thread. Shortly-ish, I will post up a thread with some guidelines for the Game of Thrones threads that will apply until a few weeks after the rapidly approaching new season is done. Please read it. Gukumatz Resident draconian Game of Thrones moderator. Edited: Clarified that the thread was made with a generic spoiler tag, but it did not distinguish between books/tv. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-who-the-fuck-am-i-supposed-to-be-rooting-for-book-spoilers-for-tv/683785.md?page=4)