I have been feeling incredibly strange about not posting to this blog for the past week or two. Game of Thrones, season six has ended but I have been programmed over the last several months to create a weekly blog with smart insight or general observations about the show. As a result, over the last several days I have been attempting to envision how I might still utilize this platform as I impatiently wait for the seventh season of the show to begin, because not blogging every week has been...weird.


I have decided that I want to return to the books and do something of a "Book Club" post every week or two until the show returns. My life is a bit crazy and classes will begin again before I know it, but I would like to commit to reading a few chapters per week (or bi-weekly) and write about them. Perhaps I will write a bit about adaptation, changes between the book and show, perhaps a bit about the convoluted albeit genius political plot that Martin weaves into the books. Who knows! There are so many things that can be said and I think that this will be a great way to continue the conversation about the Game of Thrones universe.


Because I want this to be an experience in which my readers can follow along, whether it be their first time or 10th time through the series, I will read a set number of chapters each week (sometimes bi-weekly but I will warn readers when this will happen). I will start with book one (A Game of Thrones) and continue through the books in sequence until the HBO series returns. Although I will likely only make it through a book or two before this happens, I am hoping that this will allow me to continue this tradition after season 7 comes to a close.

So here is the plan for next week: I will read the first four chapters of A Game of Thrones and post it next week. I am also hoping to end each post with a couple of discussion questions which I am hoping my readers will engage with in the comments section of the blog.

So let's do this! A Game of Book-clubs is officially a GO!


----------------------------------------------------------

First I must apologize to my loyal readers for the tardiness of this post. I spent the latter portion of the long/holiday weekend in a place that's technological amenities are not so far removed from the medieval-esque innovations of Westeros...My mother's house. Seriously....no internet...no cable. I have no idea how she entertains herself when I am not there to visit. But I have finally found the time to watch. Here are my thoughts:

This week's episode has proven to keep in line with the strong story-telling of the past several episodes of season 6. Much like me this past weekend, Samwell returned home. Fortunately for me, my mother is much more proud and accepting of me than Samwell's father is of him. This segment really made me think of the way in which this show both sets up expectations for and simultaneously values legacy.
Clearly Randyll Tarly's vast disapproval of Sam exists as a result of Sam's inability to live up to the legacy of his father's military prowess. Randyll takes every chance he can to shame Sam as insufficient both physically and in regards to his talents (or lack thereof of those skill he deems appropriately masculine). Sam's father is not a fan of the fact that his son prefers books and learning to the physical trials of hunting and war.


Melessa Tarly clearly disapproves of her husband's dismissal of their son. However, she very clearly still propagates the notion that father's ultimately want their sons to grow up in their image. As she takes her new grandson into her arms, she states that she believes her grandson will someday be a scholar just like his father. Her comment here suggests that there is a commonly felt notion among men that sons should grow to exhibit whatever iteration of masculinity that is held by the father.

This rift in acceptable masculine display as it plays out between Samwell and Randyll is similar to other iterations on this theme that have played out amongst other father/son pairings in the world of Game of Thrones. For example, Tyrion, although he is much like Tywin in political prowess, is often denounced by his father as a result of his dwarfism. Tyrion's inability to possess the ideal masculine body is seen as a failure to live in his father's image. Later in this episode we see a similar interaction transpire between Tommen and Jaime. Jaime is disappointed that his son is allowing his power to be taken by the Sparrow. Tommen's meek nature is a disappointment to Jaime who is more assertive. These sons being unable or unwilling to live according to their father's legacies causes the perception  that both father and son have failed.


As much as I have spoken of this idea of legacy in terms of fathers and sons and those sons who tend to fall short, I want to touch upon this theme in a different manner. There are certainly pairs that demonstrate the value of aspiring to be like a parent as well. I would really like to talk about this as it relates to Arya. Arya is arguably quite masculine and although she is not a son of Ned Stark, this episode seems to suggest that she aspires to be more like Ned. There is a moment in this episode when she walks back stage to add poison to Lady Crane's drink and she walks past the prop head of Ned Stark. Even before Arya returns to stop the poisoning that she set in motion. I  knew at this moment that she would not allow the murder to take place and would, in fact start the "return" of Arya Stark (as opposed to pursuing being No One). Arya clearly found a degree of honor in her father's way of living. She clearly is seeing a fault in the Faceless Men's killing paradigm - one that she cannot condone as a relatively honorable person. Although her choice my come to her detriment, as the Waif is now under orders to kill her, she will at least go out knowing that she did the honorable thing: the thing her father would have done.

_________________________________________________________________________________
ADVERTISEMENT

Holy Crap!

Can we just take a few moments to appreciate the gravity of all of the amazing moments from last night's Game of Thrones?

** Sits in silence for 10 seconds and lets it all sink-in **

Again in this episode the audience is served a treat of mirroring story-lines between Jon Snow and Daenerys. Each of them experiences a reunion with notable figures in their lives. Dany is met by both Jorah and Daario at Vaes Dothrak (and after literally turning up the heat, she has something of a reunion with her Dothraki "people"). To the North, Brienne safely delivers Sansa to Castle Black just before Jon plans to depart (way to go on the timing, Brienne!). The question I have... What will come of this? What do these reunions mean to these characters?


I think that for both Jon and Dany, these reunions are coupled with a sincere reconstituting of the dynamic between themselves and those to whom they have been reunited. These newly reformed relationships will have vast implications on the future movements of these characters.

Jon and Sansa share a heartwarming conversation in which they collectively recognize their own shortcomings in their previous "life" as siblings (i.e. Sansa was a bitch...Jon was majorly jealous). This new understanding and "forgiveness" of previous familial interactions allows these characters a renewed sense of familial bond at a time that each of them is in sore need of one another's company. In other words, Jon needs a new sense of purpose and Sansa needs to feel both protected and connected. Voila! Each is perfectly suited to provide for the other's needs. In fact, for Jon, this newly found understanding between the two might be what ultimately helps him to decide how to respond to the "pink letter" that he receives from Ramsay Bolton. If Melisandre's visions are any indication, there will be a epic battle of the bastards by season's end.


Dany, after burning down the Dothraki house experiences a strange rebirth as a Khaleesi. The Dothraki people seem all too receptive to the idea of the change in leadership. With just a walk through fire, Dany has turned a notoriously patriarchal people in an instant, converting them to a matriarchy over which she can preside. She did, after all, better their Khal, so it seems to follow that the Dothraki people would naturally uphold their tradition of moving on to living under the new victor's rule.


Additionally, the audience can see that Daario, for all his usual cockiness, is finally realizing/witnessing the true force of Daenerys Targaryen. Sure, he has witnessed her Dragons and even seen her lose firm control of them, but he has never experienced her ability to walk through fire without enduring the usual burn. Perhaps he finally understands the true extent of Jorah's belief in and love for Dany. I think that Daario's awe is also an indication of just how much of a force Dany truly has become. Bring it on Westeros! Khaleesi is coming for you...all of you and your little throne too!


Clearly each of these characters (Dany and Jon) have experienced "game-changers" during this episode. All I want to know now is when these two will finally meet and whether it will be an epic family reunion by way of congenial welcoming or bloody battle.
_________________________________________________________________________________
ADVERTISEMENT

So the first episode of season six has come and I feel like I have more questions than answers... Jon Snow has yet to come back to life (seriously...I am still convinced this is going to happen), Tyrion looks as though he is failing miserably in Meereen (I still believe in you Tyrion!), Sansa has fianlly accepted Brienne (FINALLY!), and Daenerys seems to be in a lot less danger than the season five close lead viewers to believe (of course if you read the books you probably were not all that worried...).

But even through all of the turns from last night's episode of HBO's Game of Thrones, all I really want to talk about is Melisandre's old, wrinkled, and naked body.

Of course Game of Thrones is no stranger to nakedness, not an episode goes by that viewers are not meant to endure several instances of nakedness. Of course the typical display is young, toned and, what most would consider, classically beautiful. The media is largely guilty of acting as a visual gate-keeper. Only those who meet specific aesthetic criteria are usually deemed worthy of being seen on screens both large and small. These exclusionary practices are particularly brutal for women.


I would be remiss not to give credit where credit is due, however. Efforts have been made in recent years to center women with varying body-types and allow them starring, rather than co-starring, roles, but I would argue that these women are still relatively young, have some degree of classic beauty in their facial features, and are typically white (e.g. Melissa McCarthy, Rebel Wilson). Even with a degree of flexibility in the body shapes present there is little movement to be inclusive of "women of a certain age" unless they are already well established celebrities. Even then, several of these well established female celebrities are refused roles by casting agents for being "too old" to play opposite males of similar, if not older ages. For example, just last year, Maggie Gyllenhaal cited an instance when she was turned away as a potential love interest for a man nearly 20 years her senior. Gyllenhaal's claim triggered an influx of Hollywood's women to share similar stories.


In addition, older bodies are very rarely seen naked. For a show that has notoriously been criticized for its generous use of nudity, even causing critic and academic Martin McNutt to coin the term "sexposition" to describe its over-use in scenes of plot exposition, the ending scene of "The Red Woman" episode (S1.E6), in which Melisandre bares both her true age and the body that corresponds, certainly feels like something different from the nudity that has been seen thus far. And let's be honest, in the wake of Melisandre's big season six reveal, the twitterverse was BRUTAL. Here are just a few tweets:

And I dunno why, but #Melisandre looks a bit like #Kreacher.

— Navpreet Singh (@navpreet_tweets) April 25, 2016

Rules for dating Melisandre. At the risk of sounding superficial, the necklace stays on!

— Linden Ashby (@lindenashby) April 25, 2016

#Melisandre without her necklace
"The night is dark and full of terrors"#GameofThrones pic.twitter.com/Nrq1HFuwJq

— Jorge Barragan (@designgeorge24) April 25, 2016

I'm sure a lot of ladies will want this as birthday gift #GameofThrones #Melisandre pic.twitter.com/JNo1lwDm0D

— Andrés Díaz (@newandrewayne) April 25, 2016

I will not argue that this turn in Melisandre's physicality will not have a more narritorial purpose in the future of the show (how would I know now that they are off book), but there is arguably something to be said about this bodily display from a cultural standpoint (especially considering some of the more cruel reactions). What I think is important about this scene is that it speaks loud and clear to a culture that is obsessed with youthful beauty and the, often, unobtainable bodies that correspond with these cultural ideals. People age and bodies will inevitably show signs of this process. Melisandre's aged body in all it's nude glory is clearly a stark reminder to viewers that physical beauty is fleeting and even those who seem to possess it may be flaunting bodily falsehoods.


I am a firm believer that it is only through naturalizing diverse bodies (age, size, race, ability etc.) through media outlets that we can begin to disillusion ourselves from some of the more culturally prominent and destructive notions of beauty and worth to which we so often find ourselves beholden. Regardless of the direction that Melisandre's character takes in future episodes, I find myself grateful for a reprieve from the usual onslaught of the homogeneous female body type that Game of Thrones typically has on fully nude display. There is nothing unnatural about aging or the body showing signs of wear and only through showing this in the media can we disabuse ourselves of the notion that the aging body (especially the aging female body) is something to be feared and thwarted at any cost.
_________________________________________________________________________________
ADVERTISEMENT

I 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 testifying lying at Tyrion's murder trial and making him sound guilty for Joffrey's demise. Of course this all came to a head in the last episode of season 4 when Tyrion discovers that Shae has been bedding his father. Although I felt zero remorse for Shae as Tyrion strangled her, I could not help but feel devastated for Tyrion. Tyron is broken and Dinklage does such a great job of pulling of this moment in a  raw and believable manner.


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.

Through season 4, episodes 5-8, I could not help but pay particular attention to Arya and Sansa and the very different ways in which they are learning to "play the game." In these episodes we continue to see the Stark girls' tales unfold as they are molded/mentored by their male travel companions, each of whom have vastly different techniques to maneuver through the twisted political landscape that exists within Westeros. What I find most interesting about this is that the methods each of the Stark women are being taught could be construed as either primarily masculine or primarily feminine and both Arya and Sansa are with a male figure that is able to teach them the method that aligns most fully with their respective gendered leanings. As a result of the time that Arya spends with the Hound and Sansa spends with Littlefinger, each will pick up valuable tools that will allow them to play to their own gender-oriented strengths and, potentially, survive the game of thrones.


Successful masculinity in Westeros is largely understood through the expression of physical prowess and the successful bettering of another in battle. Arya has often been portrayed as more masculine in the show (regardless of her biological sex). She is physical, rough, short-tempered, and interested in battle. Her pairing with The Hound over the course of the last several episodes is really introducing her to what it means to survive as a warrior in the hostile climate of Westeros. The Hound is teaching Arya to use her battle-wits to actively take charge of her situation. Methods of survival, as taught by Hound:


In a nutshell, Sandor Clegane is teaching Arya not only to use her sword for revenge, but also to choose her battles and movements wisely so that she might use her instincts to survive the tumultuous social climate that infests her world.

Of course, we saw The Hound with Sansa in earlier seasons, but he was merely a figure that repeatedly saved her. The Hounds strengths (battle instincts and physical prowess) were not compatible with Sansa's talents. However, in Sansa's time with Littlefinger, she begins to learn how to use her own abilities to her advantage.


Now before I get too into the relationship between Sansa and Littlefinger, I want to clarify the gendered nature of their relationship. Whereas Arya and The Hound are active and direct in their exercising of power and manipulating their circumstances (traits associated with masculinity), Littlefinger (and later Sansa) are not as assertive and thus their passive aggression is more feminine.

Sansa and Littlefinger use social subterfuge, misdirection, and dishonesty to achieve their ends, essentially leaving others to perform the more active (i.e. dirty) work that is involved in their scheming. For example, Baelish is involved in the plot to poison Joffrey but does not actually drop the poison himself. The Hound himself even tells Arya that poison is a weapon of women in episode 4.8.

Littlefinger also lies to Lysa Arryn regarding his feelings for her so that she will poison her own husband and frame the Lannisters for the deed.


Although I would be remiss to suggest that Littlefinger intentionally leads Sansa to understand his methods and passes on his methodology to her, Sansa's time around him seems to resonate with her and finally allows her to fully understand the way that she will will be able to survive the political game in which she has found herself enmeshed. Although we have not seen much subterfuge from her yet, when Sansa reveals her true identity to the council at the Vale but still protects Baelish, it seems clear that she is going against Littlefinger's will. He would rather her identity remain secret but she understands that this gives him leverage (not her), so she seems to flip the script on Baelish and use storytelling and manipulation to her own advantage. The end of this episode clearly suggests that Sansa finally understands her strength and is finally and officially "in the game."

_________________________________________________________________________________
ADVERTISEMENT

So we are now at the end of season three and the much anticipated Red Wedding has assaulted the eyes and hearts of those that are participating in this blogging project. I think that Maisie Williams gave the best breakdown of the situation to date:



I wanted to touch upon the use of sound and images in this particular scene.

As the scene opens, the audience is invited to participate in what seems to be a normal wedding festival. The music is joyful. And why should it not be? We learned during the actual wedding that Walder Frey had been hiding away the attractive, Roslin and Edmure Tully gets to enjoy the fruit of his obedience to Robb.


As Edmure and Roslin are carried away for their bedding ceremony, the camera settles on Robb and Talisa who have a conversation concerning their unborn child. Talisa suggests, if it is a boy, they will name it Eddard. Robb is clearly pleased with this choice and the two embrace.The camera moves out wide, blurring Robb and Talisa, and focusing on Catelyn looking on in the background. While Talisa and Robb embrace, Catelyn is undeniably alone; A stark reminder to the audience of the fact that this child's namesake was murdered by the Lannisters.


This moment is interrupted by a guard making his way to the doors. The audience's attention moves with Catelyn's perspective and focuses on the door being closed and the large ominous thud of the act. Immediateely following the door's bellowing latch, the music begins again. However, instead of the joyous tunes that were being played before, the tone changes to something distinctively ominous. Caitlin picks up on this song choice, almost immediately by the look on her face. The song that is being played is one that is well known in Westeros, it is called "The Rain of Castermere."  Here is a version with the lyrics. It is strangely/hauntingly beautiful. I will admit I have been listening to it on repeat as I have been writing this post.


This song is understood in Westeros to be associated with the Lannisters (Tywin in particular). Although those viewers who had not read the book first would have largely had this fact lost upon them. The song has not been very present in the series. However, the above version was present in at least one other episode in the series. Bronn and some of the Lannister men sing it just before the Blackwater battle and the song is also played over the credits of that same episode (season 2, episode 9). Appropriately, the credits (and thus this song) role immediately after Tywin Lannister is revealed at the end of the Blackwater battle to have "saved the day."


Additionally, Cersei uses an explanation of this song to intimidate Margaery Tyrell in the episode before.


The significance of the song playing at the Frey/Tully wedding was, likely, lost upon the viewer unless they were paying particularly close attention or had previously read the books. That being said, I feel the show did adapt the red wedding scene with justice, particularly in reference to this song changing the tone of the scene.

I also wanted to provide a few comments on the choice to end the episode with silence over the ending credits. I think this was a particularly bold choice but one that was extremely effective. In another somewhat Hitchcockian move, there is a loss of two major characters, characters that, through three full seasons, the audience has been able to become fond. The silence, in some ways reminded me of Ned's death, where the ruckus and noise was drowned out to represent the emotional trauma of Arya. But in this instance, we, the audience are the traumatized in need of a moment of silence to process the loss we have suffered.


_________________________________________________________________________________
ADVERTISEMENT

This blog is a part of a larger project associated with scholarsofthethrone.com. Visit our site for more information.

Several weeks ago I blogged about masculinities and Hegemonic order in Westeros. I would like to take up a bit of space in my corner of the interweb and continue to talk about gender and how gendered paradigms operate in George R. R. Martin's universe. This week our class watched Season 3, Episodes 4-6 and I could not help but take notes on the incessant fainting of Jaime Lannister. These "faintings" are revealed to the viewer starting in the opening minutes of 4.4 with other instances of the same to appear through the following episodes. Through looking at these particular scenes and examining how they play into the overarching plot between Jaime Lannister and Brienne of Tarth, I am hoping to demonstrate the degree of fluidity/flexibility between their dynamic gendered roles. There is a certain ebb and flow in their relationship that suggests that strength, emotion, heroism, or vulnerability (just to name a few) are not traits that inherently or  solely exist within any specific sex but, rather, all of these traits are possible within either sex in Martin's universe.

The representation of these traits within both sexes is very Butleresque* and these subversive acts seem to align with Butler's theories on gender performativity**. Butler states in Gender Trouble that "gender is the repeated stylization of the body, a set of repeated acts within a highly rigid regulatory frame that congeal over time to produce the appearance of substance, of a natural sort of being" (Butler 43). The "masculine" acts of both Brienne and Jaime seem to align with this structure. We only understand Jaime and Brienne's acts to be masculine (or feminine) because of the way in which society has ensured our understanding of these acts to be masculine (belonging to men) or feminine (belonging to women), but Brienne and Jaime subvert these ideas.


In the opening scene of episode four (which takes place in the day(s) following Jaime's loss of his hand), we are introduced to a weaker Jaime. He is noticeably unsteady on his horse and eventually falls to the ground as Brienne of Tarth begs the Bolton bannermen to assist him.

After watching the first episodes of the third season, I am feeling so torn as I try to pick a topic to blog about this week. How is it that this part of the process gets so much more difficult the further we get. First I was thinking about how we are being introduced to so many more magic/supernatural elements this season, which really got me thinking about some theories regarding how some of those bits will end up playing out in the long run...but writing about such things right now would mean exposing WAY too many juicy spoilers. Considering a large number of my classmates are newbies to the series, I would like to stay away from such revealing topics.



So in the interest of keeping Game of Thrones plot secrets, instead I thought I would chat a bit about the scene in which Catelyn Stark reveals the story of the time that she prayed for Jon Snow's life (when he had the pox). I must say that the second time watching this season, I was struck by this scene in much the same way that I was the first time through the series. This entire scene feels both incredibly genuine yet contradictory at the same time...which is strangely normal feeling for this particular series.



This conversation takes place with Talisa, who offers to assist Catelyn in making some sort of dream-catcher that, along with prayer, is supposed to help with healing. Catelyn refuses Talisa's help, claiming that it is a job that only a mother can do. Strangely, she reveals that she has done this twice before, once for Bran (after his fall from the tower) and another time for Jon Snow (...who is not actually her son...). I find it intriguing that Catelyn both prays for Jon's death but then feels guilty enough to pray and make promises to the god's to save the life that she was just asking for them to take away.  I suppose, however, that for a mother, this feeling between love and hate for a child that is both innocent but reminds you of a betrayal is one that is hard to navigate.



I think that the most interesting reveal in this scene is when Catelyn tells Talisa that she refused to keep the promises that she made to the Gods for keeping Jon alive. Catelyn feel that this broken promise has resulted in the misfortune her family has suffered.



Interestingly, Talisa herself is a symbol of a broken promise. Robb was supposed to marry one of Walter Frey's daughters but after a short (and narratively strange) romance with Talisa, Robb feels he can no longer make good on that promise and weds whom he wants (Talisa) rather than the person to whom he has promised himself. Although I do not wish to spoil too much of the coming episodes...let's just say that this particular choice does not end well for dear old Robb. Like his mother, a broken promise results in consequences for the Stark family.



Because Catelyn seems to have an understanding of the power of a broken promise, I find it incredibly unnerving that she would allow Robb to break such an important diplomatic promise without thinking through the possible ramifications of such an act. Of course last season Catelyn does naively mention that she does not feel that Frey would ever hurt her (she's known him since she was young...) but one would think that the twists and turmoil of Westeros would make one weary of such general assumptions.



Perhaps this whole thing demonstrates that the Stark clan is best served by not breaking promises. We will have to see how all of this plays out now that Jon is North of the wall breaking his oath to "join" Mance Rayder's tribe of Wildlings.

But really, this scene illustrates that the Stark bunch are not as honorable as we tend to think....
_________________________________________________________________________________
ADVERTISEMENT

I 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...
_________________________________________________________________________________
ADVERTISEMENT