What Are You Reading…On Game of Thrones

The pop culture topic of the hour is undoubtedly Game of Thrones’ ending, which according to conventional wisdom was a disappointment, though a survey of my group of friends would suggest otherwise (perspectives there are divided, which makes me wonder how many fans also believe differently but don’t want to contradict the online “consensus”). Philosophers have already begun weighing in on the show, as there are numerous ethical, political, metaphysical, and ontological ideas that help us understand Westeros and our relationship with it.

One of the most interesting phenomena is the betrayal some fans or actors feel when their favorite characters either die or don’t have a satisfactory ending. It reflects a desire for control over the characters’ destinies. Some fans who identify with a character want the character to succeed, and see it as a reflection on them if the character does not. Others want the characters to have a gratifying ending, as it justifies the amount of time they devoted to watching the show. This makes a writer’s job tough, as the ending they write is caught up with issues of identity, meaning, and value on a personal level. It’s very difficult—if not impossible—to satisfy everyone (though this doesn’t mean that a good ending is unattainable).

You can find some other thoughts on the show and its philosophical implications in the articles below.

• Charles Lambert, “A tender spot in my heart: disability in A Song of Ice and Fire,” Critical Quarterly, April 2015.
• Jaime Hovey, “Tyrion’s gallantry,” Critical Quarterly, April 2015.
• Matthew Cormier, “Affective Proximity: Tracing Jaime Lannister’s Moral Progression in HBO’s Game of Thrones,” Canadian Review of American Studies, 2019.
• Neil Verma, “Wall of sound: listening to Game of Thrones,” Critical Quarterly, April 2015.
• Manjana Milkoreit, “Pop-cultural Mobilization: Deploying Game of Thrones to Shift US Climate Change Politics,” International Journal of Politics, Culture & Society, March 2019.

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