Love is a Losing Game
10:53 AMI suppose everyone should have realized from the moment that Cersei told Sansa never to love because it makes you weak, that this show would be less than kind to anyone who loves. I mean, I am not a Cersei fan per se, but Lena Headey, as Queen Mother, has a knack for dropping some seriously uncomfortable truth bombs. I think that Amy Winehouse expressed it best, for in the Game of Thrones universe, "love is a losing game."
Here is a cover of the song by Sam Smith (because as much as I love Amy Winehouse, I am a sucker for piano covers...)
Although the episodes that we watched this week (S4.E9-S5-E2) are not the first to deliver devastating character losses, I felt that these episodes and their corresponding losses were particularly horrible to have to watch. There are really no love stories that have ended well thus far, and I have a feeling that this trend of loss will continue in the realm of Game of Thrones romance plots even beyond the source material provided by Martin.
Instead of this post being theory-heavy or attempting to thread together some interestingly convoluted argument, I want to spend a bit of time reflecting on the romantic tragedies that scarred me, yet again, while watching the show this week.
First we have the tragic pairing of Shae and Tyrion. Although Tyrion let her go in the last season (Season 4) to protect her, Shae's strong will and stubbornness felt betrayed by his actions. Clearly, Tyrion was acting out of love in an effort to protect her from his father, but Shae's anger lead her to seek revenge in the form of
In a similarly tragic...almost Romeo and Juliet-like, love story, Jon and Ygritte are finally reunited amidst the battle in which their clashing clans are currently enmeshed. Ygritte is finally ready to put Jon to death (her single preoccupation in the episodes that came before), but is stopped short by little Olly. The way in which this is shot is particularly beautiful. The slow motion is a bit unccharacteristic for Game of Thrones, but nonetheless, the effect really pulls the viewer into the emotionally tragedy that has befallen Jon Snow.
With so many characters that seem destined to lose the game of love, I do see a bit of hope in one particular couple...Samwell and Gilly. Maester Aemon calls out Sam in this set of episodes and makes him realize the way that he feels about Gilly. Considering the way that the story keeps bringing these two characters together and escaping death, I am interested to see what happens to these characters as the story progresses.
The class has talked a bit about how the character Samwell Tarly seems to be a device by which George R. R. Martin has inserted himself into the story-world. If this is true, it will be interesting to see if Martin's "story-self" is granted a happier ending than the other characters he has created within his universe.
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8 comments
Ugh, but she still says, "You know nothing, Jon Snow" as she is dying. She couldn't even tell him she loved him. I cannot get on board with their love story. I do really like your point about love being a losing game.
ReplyDeleteMarilyn, I did realize that there were a lot of scenes that really tugged at the heart strings. There was violence, but then there was a lot of scenes that were unexpected for a first time viewer. I did not see Ygritte dying the way she did, and we see the "revenge" that was taken out by Jon Snow when he was sparring with the boy. It was really interesting, and I agree with the two others. Tyrion seemed like he did it out of spite because she was sleeping with Tywin, but the scene of Shae dying was really telling of his true feelings.
ReplyDeleteI'm not so sure that Shae deserves to get strangled after Tyrion married someone else and wanted to send her away. Shacking up with Tywin would probably improve her prospects in life and it's not as if she and Tyrion got together through a conventional courting ritual. He was paying her for sex from the get go.
ReplyDeleteI am still puzzling about Ollie being the one to kill Ygritte. Sure he needs revenge for the slaughter of his parents by the Fenns who Ygritte had teamed up with--but it feels weirdly jealous to me, like he doesn't want Jon to pay attention to her.
You could make an argument that Bronn and Shae were Tyrion's closest cohorts for two seasons and when he really needed their help the most they both were unable to oblige. I think this is an effort to show that Tyrion WAS paying for their company and there isn't as much "connection" as we might romanticize in our heads.
ReplyDeleteInterestingly, the slow motion you describe in the Jon & Ygritte scene that is "uncharacteristic" for GoT reminds me of that scene where they kiss after they've escaped death and successfully scaled the wall. Sunset in the background, man and woman embracing passionately in a pseudo-happy ending. That also felt out of sorts in relation to the rest of GoT shooting and camera decisions. And now...I'm intrigued that this is the couple that gets two such moments (and to my recollection, they're the only couple that gets any).
ReplyDeleteYASSS for the Sam Smith video. I love him, despite his totally fumbled acceptance speech at the Oscars earlier this year. Love is an interesting theme to look at. I read an interview with Hannah Murray (Gilly) about the kiss between her and Samwell. Check it out here http://www.makinggameofthrones.com/production-diary/2014/6/8/hannah-murray-discusses-gilly-and-sams-big-moment
ReplyDeleteYASSS for the Sam Smith video. I love him, despite his totally fumbled acceptance speech at the Oscars earlier this year. Love is an interesting theme to look at. I read an interview with Hannah Murray (Gilly) about the kiss between her and Samwell. Check it out here http://www.makinggameofthrones.com/production-diary/2014/6/8/hannah-murray-discusses-gilly-and-sams-big-moment
ReplyDeleteAh Sam Smith is just adorable. Love is a bitch.. especially in this show. No one is safe in the game of thrones and it is clear that G.R.R.M loves playing on his readers/viewers emotions.
ReplyDelete