How To: Watch Game of Thrones (Without Having a Nervous Breakdown)

Having been quite late to the Game of Thrones party, I'm well aware of all the major twists which have been spoiled for me by the internet and people I know in real life. Luckily, I'm not one who cares about spoilers and have been relatively unaffected. Anyway, having watched one of the best television shows of all-time, I thought I'd honour it by writing a short and rather hilarious blog post setting out the rules for successfully watching an episode of Game of Thrones without being shocked and falling into a catatonic state because George R. R. Martin does his thing again.

1) Never have a favourite character.

Chances are, they'll die at some point. George R. R. Martin really threw out the rulebook on fiction-writing with A Song of Ice and Fire and Game of Thrones. As the man himself said, if you expect a happy ending, then you haven't paid attention. If you do want to have a favourite character, always pick an immoral or amoral character, they tend to live longer than the honorable men of Westeros.

2) Don't hate the player, hate the game.

Linked to the last section of the previous advice given, realise that the immoral and amoral characters that survive in Game of Thrones do so because they are able to play "the game" well. They are able to outmanoeuvre and outwit their enemies and place themselves in excellent positions. Some of them might be terrible human beings and right bastards but always remember, they are a consequence of their environment and upbringing. All the terrible things that happen in Westeros don't just happen in a vacuum. I'm not saying don't hate them, just realise that they are extremely complex characters with a lot of depth to their personalities and should be recognised as such rather than just hated.

3) Expect the unexpected.

Every episode you watch of Game of Thrones probably has a very high probability of something completely unexpected happening. Unless you've read the books. Then you're just a smug bastard waiting for people to be surprised so you can leap in and say "I READ THE BOOKS!" or "I KNEW THAT WAS COMING! YOU NEVER EXPECTED IT, DID YOU?" So, always assume the worst. Assume everyone is going to die or magically get resurrected. Or it was all in Bran Stark's dreams. 

4) Prepare for nudity.

Game of Thrones has often come under flak for using sexposition whereby they use nudity and sex to push the plot forward. Particularly in the first season, there are quite a few shots of nude females particularly in the chest region, for no apparent reason. Be prepared for that. As a result, best avoid watching this with your parents, might get awkward.

5) OPTIONAL: Read the books.

That way, George R. R. Martin will never catch you off-guard! Until the next chapter and/or book of course. But, if you read the books, then you'll be prepared for anything on the show. At the price of having unspeakable horrors communicated to you via words instead. 

Anyway, Game of Thrones, good stuff. We'll be talking more about Game of Thrones in the near future. In the mean time, drop a few comments on what you think of Game of Thrones. Also, don't forget to subscribe so you don't miss out on our exciting content!