(static emitting) (dramatic music)
(sword slices)
(somber music)
- [Narrator] All the books in George R.R. Martin's
epic series "The Song of Ice and Fire"
are told in a third person limited narrative.
That means characters are referred to
as him or her rather than the first person, I.
The narrative voice is not omniscient,
and we only discover things that each character
discovers from their own perspective.
- [George] None of us are God.
When we experience life, we see it through
a particular viewpoint.
If someone was sneaking up behind you with a knife,
you wouldn't necessarily see that person,
but I might, so it makes a huge difference
in whose viewpoint we tell that particular incident from.
- [Narrator] But Games of Thrones differs
from the traditional uses of this narrative style
with the number of narrators in the books.
From the first book in the series to the fifth,
Martin expanded the number of characters he followed
from 9 to 31.
This allows his story to span
a huge amount of space and time
without privileging any one point of view.
- [Neil] You are right down there
on the ground experiencing them,
looking out through people's eyes,
walking there with them and caring about them.
And the moment you do that, you're lost,
because you have to care.
- [Narrator] By focusing on one character's
consciousness at a time,
Martin also increases the possibility
for surprises to come from the outside.
And think of how many surprises
can come from 31 character arcs
interacting with each other.
The narrative structure and large character ensemble
are important because they allow Martin
to capitalize on what I believe to be
his most powerful theme.
- Death.
- [Narrator] Since the first book was released in 1996,
Martin has used the demise of his characters
seemingly indiscriminately,
destroying the typical tropes associated with fantasy,
subverting the traditional prophecies of chosen ones,
and continuing to shroud the identity
of his series' protagonist,
if there even is one.
Martin does dabble in such prophecies however,
creating inner-connected systems of belief
for his characters.
Several of these systems are rooted in the religions
represented in Westerosi culture.
There's The Seven, the Old Gods, the Lord of Light,
the Drowned God, and many others.
But over the course of the narrative,
most of the deities the characters believe in do nothing.
The Old Gods remain silent throughout the series,
their vassals destroyed and their servants eliminated.
The Seven Gods have a brief moment in the spotlight
before they light blossoms into
a destructive shade of green.
The Drowned God hasn't done all that much,
and while the Lord of Light pops in every now and then,
one God plays an active
and consistent role in the narrative.
- There is only one God.
And his name is Death.
- [Narrator] One of the alternative names for death
is the Many-Faced God of Bravos,
the God the Faceless Men serve.
Arya Stark meets more than a couple followers,
her first being her water dancing teacher, Syrio Forel.
As he tells Arya in season one,
"There is only God, the God of Death."
- And there is only one thing we say to death.
Not today.
- [Narrator] He does not say you can win,
only that, at most, you can give yourself one more day.
Given death's influence in Game of Thrones...
(arrow fires)
One is inclined to believe him.
By having an entire culture in the series worship death,
or at least accept its power and unstoppable nature,
Martin and by extension, his showrunners,
make it a focal point of discussion
both within the series universe-
- Does death only come for the wicked
and leave the decent behind?
- [Narrator] And outside of it.
One of the common phrases spoke in Game of Thrones
is the High Valyrian phrase, Valar Morghulis,
which in English means "All men must die."
As Martin said in an interview,
"I think a writer, even a fantasy writer
has an obligation to tell the truth.
And the truth is, all me must die.
We've all read the story a million times
when a bunch of heroes set out on an adventure,
and it's the hero, and his best friend,
and his girlfriend, and they go through
an amazing, hair-raising adventure,
and none of them die.
That's such a cheat."
While there are certainly more than a couple examples
of important deaths to look into,
Ned Stark's had the greatest impact on the series.
Despite the fact that Sean Bean,
who has been killed onscreen a whopping 25 times
was cast in the role,
his death came as a complete surprise.
This is because of the expectations
Martin creates over the course of the first novel.
While the novel follows several character's
experiences simultaneously,
Ned carries the bulk of the narrative's weight.
He interacts with the most influential characters,
carries the most power when he becomes
the Hand of the King,
and shares characteristics similar
to several popular fantasy protagonists.
His reluctance to rule mirrors Aragorn's,
and his dedication to his duty mirrors Harry's.
Despite his code of honor that separates him
from the lustful Tyrion and the headstrong Daenerys,
he meets the fate of a usurper and conspirator
when the real usurpers and conspirators
escape to live another day.
Something truly out of the ordinary for a fantasy series.
As writers Albert Anglberger
and Alexander Hieke suggest,
it is Ned's moral code that leads to his death,
rather than saves him from it.
"Eddard possessing the virtues of honesty and charity
performs morally good actions
both when he reveals to Cersei
that he knows about Joffrey's lineage,
and when he subsequently warns her
about what might happen if the truth becomes public."
While these qualities are admirable
and traditionally applicable to the good guy
in a fantasy series,
in the world of Game of Thrones,
they act as a detriment and a weakness.
It was Ned's positive attributes
that led to his downfall,
not his negative ones.
No salvation came to justify these qualities,
he simply dies.
This is largely due to Martin's affection for history.
He has said the books are loosely based
on the English War of Roses,
and he wanted to show that in war,
the truth is that all people, good or bad,
have an equal possibility of perishing.
He rarely betrays this desire to stay true to history.
We see this in the Red Wedding,
which has historical roots in two gruesome events
that undoubtedly followed the rule.
The decimation of Rob Stark and his family that night
proved that Ned's death was not a fluke,
a simple attempt to shock viewers,
or anything other than a plain explanation
for the basic law of the series.
Again, Martin defied expectations
by subverting the genre.
He placed Rob in the spotlight,
making him and his just campaign
one of the primary foci.
Rob attempted to take on several qualities of his father,
making an effort to be an honorable leader worth following.
This made the audience comfortable and content,
luring them into a false sense of security
where they believed the narrative
was back on the traditional path
of most fantasy series.
At least until the King of the North's untimely demise.
And unsurprisingly, everyone lost it.
But despite these initial reactions,
the viewership increased.
The season 3 finale had 5.39 million viewers
where the season 4 finale had 7.09.
A similar trend occurred when the season 5 finale
ended with Jon Snow's betrayal and death.
Despite everyone's flipping out again
and claiming they were finished with the series,
the season 6 finale pulled in 8.89 million,
over three quarters of a million more
than the season 5 finale.
It makes plenty of sense when you consider
how well trained television audiences
have become to traditional narratives.
It's clear there's a large audience
that no longer wants to see death used
as a cheap plot device,
as it so often is in Hollywood.
They want it to keep character arcs
unexpected and honest without betraying
the integrity of the story.
And that's what Game of Thrones did.
By sacrificing so many early on in the narrative,
Martin effectively brought every character down
to the same level.
If no character is more protected than any other,
boundless possibilities accompany each episode,
leaving the audience uncertain as to where
and how it will end.
Where other series and writers create the illusion
of danger and finality,
Game of Thrones makes sure its viewers know
there is no illusion about it.
Every character is in equal danger,
no matter their gender, class, or role in the narrative.
Indeed, in a series where certain characters are safe,
side characters become expendable by default.
We're less likely to identify with side characters
built up for the chopping block,
because we know they won't be around for long.
And we're less likely to identify
with the primary and safe characters
because their lack of mortality makes them less relatable.
- [George] The Golden Boy, the character
who can have everything and do everything,
and is, you know, the superhero,
my mind is less interested.
When people are debating vigorously
about whether a character is a good person
or a bad person, that shows you it created a real character.
Because then they're debating about that person
the same way we in real life
debate about President Obama or Winston Churchill
or Neville Chamberlain, or real characters from history
or from the current world.
You know, if everybody thinks your character's a hero,
or everybody thinks your character is a villain,
then you're writing cardboard.
Now there are those who think the series
is becoming predictable,
at least in regards to which characters are safe.
Even if a viewer did not predict Jon Snow's death,
they certainly predicted his resurrection.
This may have to do with adapting a book for a TV show,
or it may have to do with a feeling
that a satisfying conclusion
can only come from certain storylines.
But as we've learned before,
predictability doesn't really work for Games of Thrones.
The resurrection of characters like Jon Snow
and Beric Dondarrion are exceptions.
- We all bloody die, except this one here.
- [Narrator] The rule is that all men die.
Just because it's possible for your favorite character
to make it through it alive,
it does make it any more of a distinct possibility
than your least favorite.
We've already learned from Rob and Ned
that our expectations can be shattered
by removing characters from the narrative
when we never expected them to leave.
Even if the series ends with a conclusion
pulled out of a generic fantasy series,
the viewers would be wary to accept it
until its very end.
Now, what I find especially compelling
about the series' use of death
is the ways in which it spins the story,
how it impacts the characters who are still alive.
Take for example, Jon Snow's death and resurrection.
(Jon gasps)
As Kit Harrington, the actor who plays Snow points out,
"The experience completely alters
the character's outlook on the world."
- After they stabbed you, after you died,
where did you go?
What did you see?
(dramatic music)
- Nothing.
- [Narrator] That cuts right to our deepest fear,
that there's nothing after death.
Jon's never been afraid of death,
and that's made him a strong and honorable person.
He realizes something about his life now.
He has to live it, because that's all there is.
He's been over the line, and there's nothing there.
And that changes him.
It literally puts the fear of God into him.
He's seen oblivion, and that's gotta change somebody
in the most fundamental way there is.
Similar developments can be seen
with Jamie Lannister and Sandor Clegane.
While neither die, both go through
a near death experience and are reborn.
In the first season, Jamie tells Tyrion
in regards to the recently paralyzed Bran...
- Even if the boy lives, he'll be a cripple, grotesque.
Give me a good, clean death any day.
- [Narrator] Tyrion's response is...
- Speaking for the grotesques, I'd have to disagree.
Death is so final, whereas life,
life is full of possibilities.
- [Narrator] When Jamie becomes crippled himself,
his eyes are open to Tyrion's perspective,
along with a hundred others he had blinded himself to
at the start of the series.
- [George] Suddenly, in a stroke, he's crippled,
he's damaged.
And we discover that there are reasons
for some of the things he did.
And we discover his doubts, and his failings,
and his temptations, and his justifications.
- [Narrator] And this is where Game of Thrones'
meditation on death is at its best.
It's not so much in the actual dramatic moments of death,
but in the ways it affects those
nearly killed or left behind.
It's in the mourning, the self reflection,
and the emotional feelings that followed the death.
Much like the death of a loved one,
or a near death experience would change us and our world.
Indeed, our world is filled with iPhones and guns,
and theirs is filled with ravens and swords.
But much like these characters,
we all have the same struggle
of making things right before our mortality
catches up to us.
And though most of us experience death
through a phone call,
or over the course of a slow deterioration
at a hospital bed
rather than in a dramatic fashion,
the passing of someone near to us
always brings us closer to a more authentic self.
Much like these characters,
we are born into very particular social backgrounds
that dictate particular ways of looking at the world.
Many of us suffer from old prejudices
that we had no part in creating.
Over the course of our lives,
we regret the many times we placed
greater value in our work than our families and friends.
But death acts as this constant reminder
of the limitations we face
with the short time we are given,
no matter our circumstances.
It tears away these superficialities,
and it forces us to reflect
on the decisions we've made
and the ones we'll make in the future.
Martin's philosophy on writing
comes from one of history's greatest writers,
William Faulkner, and it's quite simple.
"The only thing worth writing about
is the human heart in conflict with itself."
He believes all of us have it in us to be angels,
and all of us have it in us to be monsters.
What matters is the decisions we make
at the crucial periods and times of our life.
And it's with death that he masterfully creates
so many conflicts of heart, of good and bad,
of the light and the dark,
that influence each character's decisions.
It's Game of Thrones' greatest tool
in making us experience the feelings
of emotional and moral complexity
that are not so different from those we experience
in our every day lives.
(dramatic choral music)