Game of Thrones: House of the Dragon!

[Ayen]

I enjoy the story, the characters, and the lore. I can't say I have ever felt miserable watching this show despite all the horrible things that happen. I also like how it has a lot of interesting female characters that are well portrayed, and that's something I haven't seen since Xena: Warrior Princess. I wouldn't assume everyone who watches it does so because they enjoy the suffering of the characters in front of them. I'm sure they exist, but I doubt they're the majority.

[Iceglow]

I would like to think my previous post summed up my reaction to Oberyn's death and when you consider thats with full knowledge of the event happening.

As a person whose had his jaw shattered, I physically felt the pain of Oberyn getting smashed in the face by Clegane for him.

[chionos]

Then I told my spouse about this episode and she was like "Why do you watch this?" Which is a really good question. Why do we? It feels good to watch the bad guys get their comeuppance. It doesn't feel good to watch the good guys die horrible deaths. Maybe there's some schadenfreude, but it has its limits. Does reading something horrible make us feel better about our lives by comparison? Do we all have a violent, sadistic side that this stuff appeals to? I've been really into dark fiction for a while and I can't explain the appeal, but the appeal is clearly there.

Ugh, I can relate to this 100%. Like, I don't really feel like I'm gaining anything from Game of Thrones anymore, beyond a few funny lines here and there. What's the point of watching a show if it's just gonna make you feel miserable all the time? Maybe it IS just schadenfreude - which is not something I'm comfortable with :<

I'm thinking now that part of the appeal is that it's popular and it's fun to talk about with other people who watched the show. There's the shared experience of feeling horrible as a group.

It's the Law of Conservation of Pain and Joy.

[blackmage_nuke]

Great episode, the Oberyn vs Mountain scene was better than the book. The Arya laugh was a nice touch.

[Del Murder]

Then I told my spouse about this episode and she was like "Why do you watch this?" Which is a really good question. Why do we? It feels good to watch the bad guys get their comeuppance. It doesn't feel good to watch the good guys die horrible deaths. Maybe there's some schadenfreude, but it has its limits. Does reading something horrible make us feel better about our lives by comparison? Do we all have a violent, sadistic side that this stuff appeals to? I've been really into dark fiction for a while and I can't explain the appeal, but the appeal is clearly there.

I've asked myself the same thing. I certainly got no entertainment from that, not even some sadistic appeal. It was just gross. It makes me now want to watch this show, even though 95% of it isn't like that.

The problem is that there is no use rooting for likable characters. They either get murdered or corrupted. Tyrion is probably going to get his head chopped off, Sansa has been corrupted, Arya has gone crazy. I guess there is Jon, Bran, and Dany but their storylines take place so far from the action (and you barely even get to see Bran) that it's difficult to get invested in them.

If Tyrion gets his head chopped off next episode and we don't get a Sansa/Arya reunion to placate ourselves then I may be done with this! Done I say!

[Formalhaut]

I feel so dirty and unclean for watching that. I actually refused to watch the end of that scene. I turned the volume down and just averted my eyes, as I sort of sensed that doom impending.

He suffered from James Bond Villain syndrome - not finishing off Clegane when he should damn well do so. I think he wanted the confession though, so he backed off.

I really liked Oberyn as well

[chionos]

(SPOILER)

Then I told my spouse about this episode and she was like "Why do you watch this?" Which is a really good question. Why do we? It feels good to watch the bad guys get their comeuppance. It doesn't feel good to watch the good guys die horrible deaths. Maybe there's some schadenfreude, but it has its limits. Does reading something horrible make us feel better about our lives by comparison? Do we all have a violent, sadistic side that this stuff appeals to? I've been really into dark fiction for a while and I can't explain the appeal, but the appeal is clearly there.

I've asked myself the same thing. I certainly got no entertainment from that, not even some sadistic appeal. It was just gross. It makes me now want to watch this show, even though 95% of it isn't like that.

The problem is that there is no use rooting for likable characters. They either get murdered or corrupted. Tyrion is probably going to get his head chopped off, Sansa has been corrupted, Arya has gone crazy. I guess there is Jon, Bran, and Dany but their storylines take place so far from the action (and you barely even get to see Bran) that it's difficult to get invested in them.

If Tyrion gets his head chopped off next episode and we don't get a Sansa/Arya reunion to placate ourselves then I may be done with this! Done I say!

princehumperdinck_1987.jpg
I think you're bluffing.

[Shorty]

I watch this show because I'm invested in the story and interested to see plot and character expansion. I love the fact that GRRM does horrible things to his characters - it humanizes the show for me. GRRM's writing style irks me a bit at times, but one thing I will give him amazing credit for is the fact that he actively takes leaps and bounds to unfold events you never could have conceived.

These first four seasons feel like we are still building up to a massive climax, and with everything GRRM has delivered, I know it's going to be a good one. That's why I watch. Bad guy comeuppance is a good kind of satisfaction, but it's only a small part of it; I think that climactic storytelling is another better kind.

[Kalevala]

I'm glad Martin (and, by extension, Benioff and Weiss) don't cater to me.

Expanding on what Psy said in the recent YouTube video, any character having the possibility to die at any time has the opposite effect of what you'd expect. Rather than cause me to think "smurf it, everyone I love will die so there's no point" I end up even more attached to these characters because their existence is potentially so fleeting. I'm far more emotionally invested than I would be if everyone is safe. Does this mean I get hurt more? Sure, but it also means I feel more overall. It means so much more when "the good guys win" or when there is a funny or happy moment.

[Del Murder]

Hm, I feel the opposite. If everything goes as it is going, I'll no longer give a smurf about any of these characters after this season. I'll have to weigh that with the desire to see how it all ends because the overarching plot is still interesting.

Also, having a guy's skull crushed doesn't 'humanize' the character for me. I already know skulls can be crushed without having that proven for me on screen.

I think I just need to read ahead in the books so that I'm prepared for this crap. It's much easier to deal with this brutality in print form.

[Psychotic]

You keep saying you've been put off and you're going to stop watching after every character dies Del and yet here you are.

Alright. Let me ask this, though. What did you guys take from Jaime and Tyrion talking about beetles for six minutes? I've got my own ideas. I'd like to hear others.

Because that's all humanity is to Gods. Because that's all that human lives are when you play the Game of Thrones. Because that's what characters are to George RR Martin. SMASH, SMASH, SMASH...

[Del Murder]

Have I said that more than once? I guess I'm a broken record. Well, Tyrion is still around so I'm not done yet. And it's more the brutality I have issue with than likable characters dying. Well, specifically, likable characters dying in brutal ways.

[Flying Mullet]

Love or hate what happened, I have to give HBO props because today is the first day in four seasons that I have heard people asking around the office for who watches the show.

[Noctis Caelum]

Then I told my spouse about this episode and she was like "Why do you watch this?" Which is a really good question. Why do we? It feels good to watch the bad guys get their comeuppance. It doesn't feel good to watch the good guys die horrible deaths. Maybe there's some schadenfreude, but it has its limits. Does reading something horrible make us feel better about our lives by comparison? Do we all have a violent, sadistic side that this stuff appeals to? I've been really into dark fiction for a while and I can't explain the appeal, but the appeal is clearly there.

Ugh, I can relate to this 100%. Like, I don't really feel like I'm gaining anything from Game of Thrones anymore, beyond a few funny lines here and there. What's the point of watching a show if it's just gonna make you feel miserable all the time? Maybe it IS just schadenfreude - which is not something I'm comfortable with :<

If a show is good enough, and/or realistic enough, to make you feel horrible after an episode, then I'd say the actors and everybody involved are doing a pretty damn good job. It's not like we're watch snuff films and getting off from it. It is first and foremost ENTERTAINMENT.
And if you're no longer entertained by GoT, then it might be time to ignore it. I think Game of Thrones is getting far too mainstream anyway.

Anyway, as violent as Oberyn's death was, his death shouldn't have stirred this kind of reaction out of people. You should expect it by now. What about when Ned died and his own daughter was there to "see" it? Or the Red Wedding? There's been so many violent deaths, and they got praised like crazy.

Guess it makes sense to draw the line when a guys head explodes like a grape.

[Shorty]

I can't be the only one who was not bothered by the gore of this last episode x_x