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thenerdygirl) wrote2019-05-21 09:51 am
thenerdygirl) wrote2019-05-21 09:51 am
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Some further GOT thoughts
Because I’m sure the internet doesn’t have enough people talking about Game of Thrones :P
This is struck me this morning:
The show didn’t illustrate the Targaryen past rulers as well as it could have, nor did the show adequately demonstrate the effect this history would have had on the people of Westeros. Only five Targaryens were frequently mentioned or shown to the audience: Rhaegar, Mad King Aerys, Daenerys, Viserys, and Aemon. There are mentions of other stories about past Targaryen rulers but those are sparse compared to what the audience knows of the other five. Three of which were mostly shown in a positive or redeeming light to the audience. We're told the Targaryen have madness in them and what we see it through Viserys and flashbacks to Aerys but the audience isn't shown how this madness goes past these characters or the effect it had on the people of Westeros.
The characters in Westeros are well versed in the terrible history of the Targaryen rule of the past. Take Sansa for example. At first, I was a little surprised at her immediate distrust and animosity toward Dany. Then I remembered Sansa grew up hearing about all the horrible things that happened to her family thanks to King Aerys & Rhaegar. In the books and in the earlier seasons it’s pointed out that Sansa knows a lot of stories/songs and has made a point of learning about the history of the past rulers to be a better queen.
If this had been shown again in this season or at least last season when Jon went off to meet Dany, I think it would have added a lot more context to Sansa’s initial behaviour along with her desire for independence of the North.
The same is true for the common people as well. Stories and songs are the oral histories that would have made them wary of the Targaryen army. I think that would have been a more interesting route to follow instead of the xenophobia/racist fear that came across in how the common folk of the North interacted with Missandri and Grey Worm. They had a good scene with Dany facing what she did to Sam’s family and I think they could have done more of that with Dany hearing the horrible mark the Targaryen rulers had left on Westeros through the common folk.
This is struck me this morning:
The show didn’t illustrate the Targaryen past rulers as well as it could have, nor did the show adequately demonstrate the effect this history would have had on the people of Westeros. Only five Targaryens were frequently mentioned or shown to the audience: Rhaegar, Mad King Aerys, Daenerys, Viserys, and Aemon. There are mentions of other stories about past Targaryen rulers but those are sparse compared to what the audience knows of the other five. Three of which were mostly shown in a positive or redeeming light to the audience. We're told the Targaryen have madness in them and what we see it through Viserys and flashbacks to Aerys but the audience isn't shown how this madness goes past these characters or the effect it had on the people of Westeros.
The characters in Westeros are well versed in the terrible history of the Targaryen rule of the past. Take Sansa for example. At first, I was a little surprised at her immediate distrust and animosity toward Dany. Then I remembered Sansa grew up hearing about all the horrible things that happened to her family thanks to King Aerys & Rhaegar. In the books and in the earlier seasons it’s pointed out that Sansa knows a lot of stories/songs and has made a point of learning about the history of the past rulers to be a better queen.
If this had been shown again in this season or at least last season when Jon went off to meet Dany, I think it would have added a lot more context to Sansa’s initial behaviour along with her desire for independence of the North.
The same is true for the common people as well. Stories and songs are the oral histories that would have made them wary of the Targaryen army. I think that would have been a more interesting route to follow instead of the xenophobia/racist fear that came across in how the common folk of the North interacted with Missandri and Grey Worm. They had a good scene with Dany facing what she did to Sam’s family and I think they could have done more of that with Dany hearing the horrible mark the Targaryen rulers had left on Westeros through the common folk.