GAME OF THRONES: A TV SHOW THAT APPARENTLY HATES ITS CHARACTERS

       I am finally watching Game of Thrones, HBO’s acclaimed, highly-popular and quite controversial TV show which is based on George R. R. Martin’s series of fantasy novels, A Song of Fire and Ice.  I’m still in season 2 (the show’s already in its fifth season; I am terribly slow to catch this one, I know)—and I am hooked.

       It is true what they say about this show: it is mesmerizingly, stunningly excellent. Both the acting and the writing are first-rate. It is also bloody brutal, menacingly dark and wildly erotic—there’s gore, violence, sex  and nudity, some of them really graphic, in almost every episode and is unceasing and unflinching in murdering its characters, be they minor or major ones. Yes, GoT has this nasty predilection of killing its people—so beware when you start liking a character too much, he or she just might get executed (poisoned, decapitated or death through trial by combat) the next episode.

       My favorite character in the show so far? The imp, Tyrion of House Lannister. He is a dwarf, a sex maniac, pervert, smart, funny, a bibliophile, whore-loving, wine-gulping, sensitive, coward, philosopher and kind—in short, he’s lovable. Many of the show’s incisive dialogues come from him.  And he has a nice back story most men can relate to: he was traumatized by his first real love and was deceived by a woman who looked chaste but was actually a whore. Relatable, isn't it? And he seems the most resilient of all the characters in the show: it’s already Season 5 and he’s still alive.

       Way to go, half-man, my lord.