When HBO first announced they'd be adapting 'Game of Thrones' into a show, book readers rejoiced. Finally, FINALLY everyone would be subjected to the suffering we have known. They would know the sorrow and dread and constant paranoia of imminent demise that had followed 'A Song of Ice and Fire' fans for decades. And yet…
With each passing episode, with each new dawning horror, fans of the show react as if this is the first dirty trick Martin has pulled. 'Game of Thrones' amnesia is a condition affecting millions of people. Symptoms include: forgetting you are watching 'Game of Thrones,' leading to a cycle of outrage and despair over the unfairness of it all, questioning if life is just a meaningless nightmare of suffering. Symptoms last for 24-48 hours before being replaced by a misguided sense of hope and surge in deluded optimism. Repeat.
If you are suffering from 'Game of Thrones' amnesia, please remember the following. Tack it up in a prominent place to keep one foot grounded in reality and inoculate yourself against false hope. I promise it will make your life easier. Because if you think eventually this series has to have an uplifting arc to redeem it, I've got bad news for you friend.
Image Credit: Donna Dickens
So just remember, what we say to the God of Death matters not because the God of Death is George RR Martin and he says…
Which is probably a good thing considering our suffering will be the only way this series gets finished.
So keep on crying, brave 'Game of Thrones' show watchers. We book readers will be over here in the corner, trying not to let our facial expressions give away key plot points. And failing.