I Need a Hero: Game of Thrones and the Hero's Journey
9:18 AMI cannot believe that season 2 is already over! How have we already gotten this far in the series? But most importantly, how do I find a topic for this week with so much going on?
I feel like I need to keep it a little lite this week. Full disclosure: I strained my back this week and, as a result, have been on heavy pain medication for the past several days. Not only did I watch the episodes while medicated, I am also attempting to articulate something interesting and useful for this blog under the same medicated state. In other words, this blog has the potential to be either highly interesting or barely intelligible. Perhaps it will be both...
For some reason while I was watching GoT this week, I got a song stuck in my head (I blame the painkillers and my unhealthy obsession with media that is made for young people):
Naturally, as I made my way through season 2, episodes 7-10 with this Shrek-ified 80s song stuck in my head off and on throughout, I began to notice that there are several characters that could be interpreted as being on a Hero's journey (thanks for the inspiration Fairy Godmother!).
So here is a fun chart to help you understand this journey:
You can also read a simple, but more complete, description of this literary device here.
Of course, Martin's works do not always stick to literary formulas precisely, for example, he is already challenging this formula by having several characters who could be considered going through this at the same time. However, I think there is enough material to make the claim that several of his characters are, in fact, going through something of a hero's journey. As a result, I am going to look at the character, Daenerys to determine how closely she is following this formula and, if she has, determine how far into the journey she has come up to this point in the show.
I will organize the rest of the post based on the steps of the journey and explain how she either has or has not performed the step.
Ordinary World
This one is kind of a no-brainer. Clearly, the first episodes in season one help to establish the "ordinary world" of each of these characters. Daenerys is living under her brother's rule and suffering the abuses of that living situation. We, the audience, start to understand her character in relation to her brother and the world in which she has been living. She is his pawn in his pursuit of the throne. This is Daenerys' status quo.
Call to Adventure
For Daenerys the call for adventure happens in the first couple of episodes. Her brother, Viserys, forces her into marrying Khal Drogo of the Dhothrakis. This pairing brings her into highly unfamiliar territory and exposes her to very different way of life that drags her away from her "ordinary world."
Refusal of the Call
Daenerys straight out tells her brother that she does not wish to be Khal Drogo's queen in the very first episode it is apparent that she is not necessarily keen on her brother's choosing to marry her off for his own gain and to a people that she views as being more "savage" than she is used to. Her hesitation continues to be apparent even after the marriage takes place in the instances in which Khal Drogo rapes her.
Meeting the Mentor
I think that for Daenerys, this is an interesting piece. I feel that her mentor is somewhat comprised of several characters. First, there is Ser Jorah who offers her council throughout her time with the Dothraki (and even after). Secondly, Doreah teaches Daenerys to use her feminine wiles to take charge in her relationship with Khal Drogo. Finally, I would argue that Khal Drogo himself also serves as something of a mentor. He is fiercely loyal to her after they have connected intimately and he backs her up and encourages her defiance and leadership amongst women.
Crossing the Threshold
Once Daenerys learns to own her sexuality and cements Khal Drogos love and appreciation for her and she finally begins to escape her brother's abuses, she begins to accept her new role in this strange world of the Dhothraki.
Tests, Allies, and Enemies
After accepting her role as Khaleesi, Daenerys begins to understand who her true allies are and those who are her enemies. She begins to understand the extent of her brothers toxicity and the truth of her own power. She also begins to truly trust the guidance of Ser Jorah.
Approach
This particular piece of the journey is a bit more difficult to pinpoint. I would argue that this particular piece of the journey is defined by the assassination attempt on Daenerys'. Both she, Khal Drogo, and Ser Jorah begin to understand just how much of a threat Daenerys is perceived to be by Robert Baratheon. Keeping her safe even in her new position as Khaleesi is going to be a considerable challenge.
The Ordeal
This particular point is very easy to pinpoint. Khal Drogo's Death and the subsequent "birth" of the Mother of Dragons fits the criteria for this step perfectly!
The Reward
One word: Dragons.
The Road Back
This is the step that Daenerys seems to be in at the end of season 2. She is attempting to survive and continue to build her army so that she can make her way back to King's Landing to claim the Iron Throne.
I am excited to continue watching her progress and identify the next steps of her "Hero's Journey." Of course, there are several other characters that seem to be on similar journeys. I may have to return to this topic in future posts to detail this concept in relation to other characters or to talk a bit about Daenerys' progress.
Until next week...
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9 comments
This is very interesting and I can see how a lot of the characters are on a hero's journey. However, it does seem odd that Danaerys would spend the remainder of the series on the last step of that structure. Remembering the series as a whole from the first time I watched it, I think at this point she is still in the tests, enemies & allies stage. Some scholars interpret of the Approach to the Innermost Cave to be that point where the protagonist either realizes a flaw in their plan or begins behaving in a questionable way. That viewpoint makes me think of some developments from seasons for and five. Also, she receives the dragon's eggs early in season one, but does nothing with them until the season finale. Could receiving the eggs be the call to adventure? Then maybe the birth of the dragons is crossing the threshold. Anyway, I found your post very interesting and intelligible.
ReplyDeleteInteresting interpretation. I think you could be on to something. Having already seen the entire series (as it currently exists) I can see why you would make this argument. I would be super interested to see what "the ordeal" would be if you are right. In some ways, I feel like the narrative structure of a seasonal television series (or multi-book series) could be seen as problematic for this particular literary device.
DeleteI love the Hero’s Journey. There’s a 500 level scriptwriting course within the department where we use this literary device to plan out a full-length film. I think that this is an interesting analysis and could be done on a multitude of characters throughout the seasons.
ReplyDeleteMarilyn, this was an intelligible and awesome analysis. I have thought a lot about the hero's journey structure while watching GoT, but I had a difficult time pinpointing the single main 'Odysseus'-like hero of the story. Your discussion of the multiple hero's journeys was illuminating and fascinating.
ReplyDeleteSounding like you need some milk of the poppy!
ReplyDeleteI like your analysis except I am not so sure about the mentor part of it. She's always asking people for counsel, but she's always at her most interesting when she rejects counsel and does something that she feels in her gut. I think for all the counsel Jorah gives her, she accepts about 10 percent of it. I think the Hero's journey is going to be more valuable as we get into her doubts about the anti-slavery crusade. I find her attitude towards Jorah in the up coming seasons to be problematic, but I guess better to wait on that discussion until we get there. Maybe I will just say Jorah's wisdom is limited by his clear sexual attraction to the young blonde and also the underlying purpose for why he was sent to Essos in the first place. He might look like a Knight in shiny armor, but he's really an old bear who doesn't understand teenage girl superheroes. She needs to find a true Yoda.
Sounding like you need some milk of the poppy!
ReplyDeleteI like your analysis except I am not so sure about the mentor part of it. She's always asking people for counsel, but she's always at her most interesting when she rejects counsel and does something that she feels in her gut. I think for all the counsel Jorah gives her, she accepts about 10 percent of it. I think the Hero's journey is going to be more valuable as we get into her doubts about the anti-slavery crusade. I find her attitude towards Jorah in the up coming seasons to be problematic, but I guess better to wait on that discussion until we get there. Maybe I will just say Jorah's wisdom is limited by his clear sexual attraction to the young blonde and also the underlying purpose for why he was sent to Essos in the first place. He might look like a Knight in shiny armor, but he's really an old bear who doesn't understand teenage girl superheroes. She needs to find a true Yoda.
Awesome! This is really cool. I want to see the other characters' journeys as well. The drugs did not disappoint. Feel better!
ReplyDeleteThe young characters in the narrative definitely have that wide-eyed view where they want to be a hero with songs and ballads written about them. But I think the one thing that could separate the different journey's is the people they are trying to "be the hero" for. They all have different motivations. Robb is an example of someone who doesn't want to be considered a hero by the entire kingdom, just wants his family to be safe and keep the North free.
ReplyDeleteYou should take pain meds more often because this blog post was awesome! I would love to see you expand this "hero journey" to other characters! Robb Stark perhaps? :)
ReplyDelete