Sunday, July 5, 2015

The death toll of Game of Thrones

Many people, my own father included, have expressed a great deal of distress at the constant demise of Game of Thrones' main characters. This show has gained a great deal of fame, some would say notoriety, for being ruthless to its main characters. However if we really examine the record closely, is it that much more bloodthirsty than other literary works?


WARNING SPOILERS BELOW


Let's compare it to other popular TV shows:


1. Breaking Bad - main character dies, brother-in-law of main character, who is a major antagonist, dies, quite a few other people die, all in all not a happy ending.
2. Downton Abbey - Sort of main character for first 3-4 season dies, someone gets raped, another beloved character dies.
3 How I met your mother - title character is revealed to be dead.
4. Friends - er ok here we get a happy one...


If we compare it to other classical works, I think Game of Thrones comes off even better:


1. Julius Ceasar - title character dies
2. Anna Karenina - title character dies
3. Romeo and Juliet - both titled characters die
4. Hamlet - title character dies, his mother dies, his uncle dies, his fiancée dies, you get the picture.


Therefore I think it is rather unfair to single out Game of Thrones as being particularly guilty of killing beloved characters. It is only vicious in this respect if we compare it with other fantasy shows where the protagonist always triumphs and good reigns supreme - even then, let's not forget that Harry Potter lost his father, mother and godfather before managing to knock off Voldemort.

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