Game Of Thrones: What It Is All About

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‘When you play the Game of Thrones, you win or you die. There is no middle ground.’

Based on the high fantasy series called A Song of Ice and Fire, written by George R. R. Martin, the blockbuster TV series called Game of Thrones was first aired in 2011 by HBO. It weaves the tale of nine noble family fighting with each other to gain control of the Iron Throne in the mythical land of Westeros. Meanwhile an ominous clan of zombie-esque White-walkers threaten to destroy humanity. The noble families or Houses can either choose to squabble among themselves and ultimately get killed by the White-walkers, or they can join hands and destroy the undead zombie clan. The politics of Westeros is depicted wonderfully in the series. Each House plots against each other and the narratives is full of incest, regicide and betrayal. The characters, even though they belong go a fantasy land, are very relatable. The series can, therefore be read as an allegory of the current socio-political situation of the world.

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Some of the most striking characters of Game of Thrones, according to me, are Jaime Lannister and Arya Stark. They have beautiful character arcs and their personalities have evolved greatly over the eight seasons. Jaime Lannister starts off as a vile man who throws a child off a high window. He is shown as the embodiment of all things wicked like his sister, the Queen, Cersei Lannister. But while Cersei remains cruel throughout, Jaime metamorphoses from a hateful character to one whom we grow to love. Jaime learns his lessons the hard way and slowly changes his ways making amends for his past mistakes. We get a peek at his background story and realise the origin of his cruel behaviour. His character does not turn good overnight, as if due to a sudden epiphany. It takes several seasons for us to start admiring him. Maybe this slow but sure character development is the best thing about the series.

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Another character whose progress is noteworthy is Arya Stark, the daughter of Lord Eddard Stark of Winterfell. She is a lovable young child at first who is headstrong and mischievous. But as she faces hardships on the way, what with being orphaned, captured and pursued by the evil Cersei to keep as hostage, she becomes hardened and stronger still. She spends some time at the House of Black and White in the free city of Bravos where she trains to become a faceless assassin. From a naive little girl, Arya becomes a young warrior who avenges her family's death, one by one.

Game of Thrones might have its share of gore and violence, but it is a wonderfully stimulating show to watch. No wonder it has bagged several Emmy and Golden Globe awards! The TV series and the books are thought-provoking, interesting and wonderfully executed. The actors in the series play their parts perfectly and their witty quips have become iconic in popular culture. Overall a great series, Game of Thrones has transcended the pages of books and TV screens and has carved out a niche for itself in the realm of epic fantasy.