#he also 'talks' to the screen asking the heroine why she chose the *obviously* wrong love interest

[homemade-clones]

🎫 Gaze plsssss<3

Gaze is a holodrama lover: the cheesier the drama, the better! He gets super invested in the dramatic plot twists of each arc, and will religiously binge-watch whatever chapters came out when he returns from missions

[hazelgfan]

Game of Thrones and Shipping

I’m not a die-hard romantic, but I’ve always – in one way or another – shipped a couple on almost any TV show or book that I’ve read. Game of Thrones is probably the only show where I’ve never shipped anyone with each other (the notable exception being Jaime and Brienne but I never truly believed they would happen, so for me they don’t really count).

So, it came as somewhat of a surprise, when, somewhere during season 7, I picked up on the fact that there are people who are zealous Jon and Dany shippers. Of course, people are allowed to ship what they want (no question there), but it made me think on why I never shipped them, as they are somewhat of an obvious choice. It was very curious to me that I never saw these two together. Like, here you have two heroes who try to make the world a better place – together they’d be “difficult to defeat” as everyone’s little darling Littlefinger put it.

The thing is, even though I started unconsciously shipping Jon with Sansa since season 6, I NEVER intended to ship anyone on this show. This isn’t a show where you can easily ship two people. Almost all the romances portrayed either served the story progression in some way, ended up tragically and/or simply didn’t fit the normal expectations for romance of a modern audience.

I will try to illustrate my point with three prominent couples on the show/in the books who ended tragically, but who either served the plot and character development or didn’t portray a typical romance story.

Tyrion/Shae: Let’s be upfront about this – this relationship was way more romanticised in the shows than in the books. George R.R. Martin seems much more gritty, much more realistic if you will. This isn’t “Pretty Woman”, where the rich man falls in love with the whore and they live happily ever after. As such, them obviously caring so deeply for each other on the show was a little bit of an idealization but I for one didn’t mind. After all people of very different backgrounds fall in love and care for each other deeply all the time. However, even though their relationship was romanticised, the real problems connected with it never disappeared. Tyrion wanted Shae as his mistress since he couldn’t marry her and wouldn’t run away with her as she proposed several times. When she didn’t relent he tried to send her away, ultimately ending their relationship in betrayal and death. I repeat: These people loved each other yet still betrayed one other. Here is a prime example of a tragical love story.

Robb/Talisa: I really loved this couple. I loved watching them fall in love and get married, loved their interactions and their chemistry. I liked Talisa’s backstory and how they each made the other so much happier than before. I didn’t ship them though, I just enjoyed their romance and relationship unfold on screen. But even with that going on, as a viewer you always had the feeling that their relationship would cause problems down the line because the viewers knew of Robb’s promise to Walder Frey before he ever met Talisa. So their romance was not a romance in the sense you get in romantic comedies: It served the purpose of showing that actions have consequences. It was a major point of character development for Robb who chose love over duty (some would say honor) and ultimately paid the price for it. In a happier world you could expect that him rejecting the Frey girl for his one true love would end in happily ever after. Not on this show though, not in George R.R. Martin’s books. And as much as I still grieve for Robb and Talisa and Catelyn, I was also really ‘satisfied’ with how that story was resolved. It showed that your actions have consequences and sometimes even marrying for love can be a bad decision. Their relationship was doomed from the beginning (I’m just glad they had some happy days before they died). Their relationship ultimately served a purpose for the narrative, which changed its course because with Robb’s death, the war of the five kings was effectually over.

Ned/Catelyn: Talk about pragmatism. Engaged to marry Ned’s older brother Brandon since age twelve, Catelyn must marry Ned shortly after Brandon dies. She has never seen him before (I looked this up on Wiki so not sure about the veracity of it). The fact remains, however, that Catelyn had to change her ‘allegiance’ quite quickly. She knew Brandon, knew she was going to be his wife, she probably had developed feelings for the handsome older Stark. And then her whole world is turned upside down and she has to marry the shy, younger brother, someone she doesn’t know at all. It must have been difficult for Ned too, to be a sort of replacement for his more handsome brother. In fact, there is still a bit of bitterness and maybe a little bit of envy in Ned in the books when he talks to Catelyn about his brother. Ned and Catelyn were not a romantic couple – they weren’t in love, the just did what was expected of them. And yet, theirs is the only successful relationship in the books and on the show (I may be overlooking other couples but I’m focused on the “big ones” so bear with me here). Isn’t this telling? The only non-romantic couple, actually starts to care for each other deeply to the point where the other becomes everything for them, even though their relationship was initially not based on love. This beautiful relationship is torn apart tragically with Ned’s death.

(I actually wanted to write something about Jaime/Cersei/Brienne and Gilly/Sam – as well as maybe about Lyanna/Rhaegar – but this is already getting too long, so I may do that at another time).

With these examples, can it really surprise me that I never really wanted to ship anyone on this show? Game of Thrones isn’t about romance and if there is romance, the romance always serves a purpose. Enter Dany and Jon. I never shipped them for several reasons and this was before I knew they were related:

1. It is very cliché to have the hero and heroine (I believe Dany is more of tragical hero and others have written very convincing metas about this) get together and if Game of Thrones/ASOIAF is anything, then not cliché.

2. Dany falling in love/marrying Jon and maybe having a child with him really retracts from her character. She is ‘Mhysa’, the mother of the common people and of dragons (of course the Mhysa thing has been rightly criticized as well), she is a saviour to them, she is a conqueror, and she is going down a dark route (seriously this started way back in season 2, although I didn’t notice it at the time, when Dany threatens the Quarteen with destroying them and all who have wronged her just because they refuse her to enter their city).

3. Jon’s story arc, I feel, would be “swallowed” by Dany if they truly start a romance. Dany is larger than life. I don’t see her ever accepting anyone as truly equal. That’s Dany’s tragedy in a way. She is all alone because she won’t let anyone share the pedestal she has put herself on.

4. After the reveal: (And this has nothing to do with the narrative but is solely personal so doesn’t really count): They are Aunt and Nephew. It’s weird and icky.

 Now, the show clearly has gone down that road, as exemplified by boatbang. But the more interesting question here is: Where will they go from now on? (sidenote: The “Where will we go?” quote from Jon is the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard and he says it to Sansa – that’s very telling!).

Based on what I’ve outline before – namely that romance always serves a purpose in the narrative and/or ends tragically – can anyone truly believe that Jon and Dany’s relationship will end happily? If they would, then the narrative wouldn’t have set up Jon as the ‘true’ heir to the Iron Throne. This revelation is going to plunge both Jon and Dany into serious despair. Dany, who has done everything for her goal to be Queen of Westeros, who justifies her war only through her claim, is up for a serious downfall. Jon, whose whole story arc is about identity, will go down a darker route too (his story after the revelation is a little bit harder to foretell, though). And all of this will happen against the backdrop of a WW invasion. With all of this going on, their relationship is doomed, as was Robb and Talisa’s, as was Tyrion and Shae’s. I can see the need for them to have sex before all is revealed because it makes the stakes so much higher. That doesn’t mean I like it. If I had my way, they would have found out who they are and Dany would have found the family she’s craving with Jon and the Starks – I would not have them be attracted to each other. But, alas, that would make a more boring story, so of course, that’s not going to happen on Game of Thrones.

The way the Jon/Dany thing was written in season 7 didn’t struck me as particularly romantic. They still ended up in bed together, but we have to ask ourselves: What is the purpose here? Anyone who has seen their sex scene with Bran’s voice narrating Jon’s true parentage playing in the background cannot expect their relationship to end on a happy note. This is buildup for tragedy if I’ve ever seen one, particularly for Dany. Why would the writers decide to do that, other than to push her over the edge? Personally, I don’t mind Dany going down the dark route. I think it makes for very interesting television and I believe she will turn around at the end. Maybe then she can become the true saviour that she always wanted to be.