First things first: I don’t want to imply that all Game of Thrones book readers are socially awkward misfits who take their fandom of the series way too seriously, because that is both unfair and untrue. There are plenty of people who have managed to maintain a healthy relationship with society while also enjoying George R.R. Martin’s epic tale of dragons and murder and dragon-related murder. I know some of them. They’re swell.
But, if you did want to imply that all Game of Thrones book readers are socially awkward misfits who take their fandom of the series way too seriously, there are worse starting places than this story that Emilia Clarke told in a recent Wall Street Journal profile:
“It was his birthday, and he was drunk,” the 26-year-old actress says. “And he said, ‘Please, Mother of Dragons, sing me “Happy Birthday.”‘” After Clarke obliged, the tipsy stranger offered an impromptu critique of her Thrones work: ‘You’re doing it all wrong, you know? You’re f—kin’ it up,'” Clarke recounts, mimicking the carouser’s gruff-bloke tone, before breaking out in a laugh. “I kind of wanted to pursue him and ask for notes: ‘What exactly did you mean?'” she says. “But the reality of taking a book and turning it into a television series is that you’re dealing with people’s imaginations. It’s impossible to please everyone.”
That story went off the rails awfully fast. I think it would be helpful if we slowed it down a little. Let’s break it down piece by piece:
“It was his birthday…”
Good! Happy birthday! Birthdays are fun!
“… and he was drunk.”
Also good! Or, at least, okay! Provided you know how to handle yourself when you’ve been drinking, and you don’t make a sad or offensive spectacle of yourself. But hey! It’s your birthday! Enjoy yourself!
“And he said, ‘Please, Mother of Dragons, sing me “Happy Birthday.”‘”
Generally speaking, it is not advisable to drunkenly accost famous people and demand that they sing a song to you. This rarely ends well. But I am prepared to give the person in this story a very limited pass, only because I am not entirely sure how I would behave if I bumped into the star of my favorite show while I was birthday drunk, and I do not particularly want to have a collection of my own judgmental words read back to me when I make the news for trying to get the dog from Dog With a Blog to play fetch with me after 5-6 birthday margaritas.
After Clarke obliged, the tipsy stranger offered an impromptu critique of her Thrones work: ‘You’re doing it all wrong, you know? You’re f—kin’ it up.'”
And now it’s all gone to hell. Although I do love this guy’s thought process. “IT’S MY BIRTHDAY! Pleaseohpleaseohplease sing to me, you awful, incompetent, ruinous woman!” That’s a special kind of drunk and entitled. I’m just surprised he didn’t pulled out a dog-eared copy of the book and start listing specific examples.
Either way, I think we all know how this ended.
Source: WSJ
