(Spoiler alert: Please don’t read on if you haven’t watched Sunday’s episode of “Game of Thrones”)
You may not believe it, but there are people in the world who don’t watch “Game of Thrones,” and until yesterday, I was one of them.
Even though practically everyone I know is into it, I personally had never watched the show. Last night, though, I finally joined the ranks of civilized society and cast off my former heathen, non-“Thrones”-watching ways.
First, allow me to explain why I had never watched “GoT”:
- I was already paying for Netflix and Spotify Premium and didn’t want to tack on an extra $15/month to get the HBO streaming app.
- I told myself I wanted to read the books before watching the show. Even though I bought the first book of the series a while ago, I still haven’t read it.
Poor excuses, I know. I went to a “Game of Thrones” watch party Sunday night to catch Episode 5 titled “Eastwatch,” and I had a lot of feelings about it.
Here are my impressions on “GoT,” from the perspective of a first-time viewer.
The main thought that crossed my mind was that the cinematography was really nice. I liked seeing shots of the sunny plains of King’s Landing contrasted with cushy, green hills and the icy hellscape of Whitewalker-land.
While I had never watched, I knew basic information about the characters: like that Daenerys Targaryen is the last member of her family and can control dragons. Jon Snow is now King of the North and related to Daenerys (but doesn’t know it). Arya Stark has killed a lot of people. Cersei and Jaime Lannister are twins but are also in an incestuous relationship. And Cersei currently sits atop the Iron Throne.
Knowing this, I could follow along well enough, but I was confused by some parts. Like when that guy Gendry showed up, all the people I was with started cheering, but I had no idea who he was. Apparently, he hadn’t been around since the early seasons. I also didn’t know who the guy was who claimed to be Dany’s friend. Or the disease for which he had magically found a cure.
Of all the Lannisters, Tyrion seemed like the most reasonable. That’s an accomplishment, considering his siblings have intercourse with one another.
I was really disappointed that Dany’s dragon incinerated people at the start of the episode. I had always gotten the impression that she was more just and honorable than all the others and didn’t want to kill people. But I guess she did what she had to do to clear her path to the Iron Throne.
Speaking of the Iron Throne, I quickly learned that anytime one of the characters did something cruel or outrageous, it was because they wanted to sit on the Iron Throne. After all, the show is called “Game of Thrones.”
The relationship between Sansa and Arya Stark seemed … strained. It seemed like Arya wanted to kill people, but Sansa was in charge and wouldn’t let her. Then Arya found a mysterious note that made Sansa look like a villain. This should be interesting.
Also, Sansa’s outfit was fire!! (Well maybe “fire” isn’t the right word, since she lives in the snowy north, but that outfit was fabulous.)
Cersei’s pregnant with her brother’s lovechild (again???). Ew. And then Jon Snow and a bunch of guys stepped out into Whitewalker-land, and that was it. The episode had ended, but I wasn’t ready for it to end. I felt like the pacing was really fast … yet really slow. Even though it ended on an appropriate cliffhanger, I wanted to see more.
Now, even though I’m still confused on some plot points, I want to watch more “Game of Thrones.” I definitely understand why people love this show, because I love it, too.