On GoT, Doctor Who and character development
So, watching fandoms implode from afar is a lot more entertaining (and considerably less scarring) than when personally invested. So, I've been reading a lot about GoT - everything from 'It's only a TV show, get over yourself' to 'I called it back in S1, ha!' to 'Everything is ruined'.
However, it's all been making me think...
This is about Dany, as I'm sure you have realised. ;) Leaving aside the whole racial issue and White Saviour Tropes (because hooo boy, that's a whole 'nother issue), this article puts its finger on the problem with Dany's actions perfectly:
Critic's Notebook: In the End, 'Game of Thrones' Finds a Way to Make Its Woman Problem Worse
Question: 'Let me ask you this: What prompted Dany to burn King's Landing? In the moment, that is. [...] In any event, when Dany rested her dragon on a King's Landing wall and realized that she was victorious and the Iron Throne was (probably) hers, what - right then and there - prompted her to decide to burn the city?'
This is where a lot of people have also pointed out that 'Foreshadowing isn't character development'.
See, what all this reminded me of was... Ten. Except Ten can here be held up as an example of how to do it right. Here is
scarlettgirl writing about Human Nature/Family of Blood, so S3:
Now, to the meat, the gristle in the teeth, the I TOLD YOU SO moment of the show - the Doctor's treatment of The Family. I've said over and over again that this Doctor is much darker, almost unhinged and probably slighty sociopathic than Nine ever could hope to be. We are starting to see the overt manifestation of "no second chances" and my god, is it *delicious*. I get the impression he's trembling on the knife-point of completely losing control and the cracks in his facade are widening. It's starting to pile up - Gallifrey, the loss of his people, his companions, his friends and if he doesn't let it out and *deal* then the meltdown will be of nuclear proportions. There was a line in the BBC7 audio "Phobos" where he kills an empathatic species with an overload of his memories and thoughts. What finally kills isn't what he's done, or what he's afraid of, it's what he's capable of doing. I think a full-out Time Lord metldown would bring down galaxies and that's always lurking just below the surface with this Doctor.
And
flummery's Handlebars was created during S4, before the season even ended.
When we finally got Waters of Mars and the Doctor's complete meltdown, fandom's response was on the whole 'Handlebars was right!' and 'Finally!' If he hadn't lost it, we would have been surprised. The build-up was very well done, and when he finally cracked it was almost cathartic.
And this is where it seems the GoT writers have failed. They had a character who was probably always primed for going off and losing it, but didn't bring the viewers on board in her emotional journey.
Again, look at Ten - the whole of Waters of Mars is constructed to make him lose it, forcing him to walk away from brave, heroic pioneers, unable to save them; it's pressing every single one of his buttons.
What caused Dany to burn King's Landing? Maybe we'll find out in the finale, maybe we won't. Either way, it looks like the show has cause a lot of damage to itself.
Or as the author of the first linked piece put it:
We'd been invited to understand Dany's point of view for all these years, but as the endgame approached in "The Bells," the writing made her less interesting than the purple potato known as Thanos.
(Please note: I have not yet seen Endgame, no spoilers please!) It just seems a waste. Goodness, knows that The Purple Potato (love that moniker) is painfully dull, but he's there to serve a purpose; I don't think anyone's invested in him, or cares about anything other than defeating him.
But then, here's Sady Doyle's piece:
Who Wins, Who Dies: Game of Thrones (2011 - 2019)
No matter what women told themselves, Game of Thrones was never our story.
Anyway, in case the oppressed masses do not rise up and create an anarcho-syndicalist commune (as per Monty Python and the Holy Grail) I hope Sansa becomes queen.
Post has been cloned from dreamwidth. Comments welcome everywhere.
However, it's all been making me think...
This is about Dany, as I'm sure you have realised. ;) Leaving aside the whole racial issue and White Saviour Tropes (because hooo boy, that's a whole 'nother issue), this article puts its finger on the problem with Dany's actions perfectly:
Critic's Notebook: In the End, 'Game of Thrones' Finds a Way to Make Its Woman Problem Worse
Question: 'Let me ask you this: What prompted Dany to burn King's Landing? In the moment, that is. [...] In any event, when Dany rested her dragon on a King's Landing wall and realized that she was victorious and the Iron Throne was (probably) hers, what - right then and there - prompted her to decide to burn the city?'
This is where a lot of people have also pointed out that 'Foreshadowing isn't character development'.
See, what all this reminded me of was... Ten. Except Ten can here be held up as an example of how to do it right. Here is
scarlettgirl writing about Human Nature/Family of Blood, so S3:
Now, to the meat, the gristle in the teeth, the I TOLD YOU SO moment of the show - the Doctor's treatment of The Family. I've said over and over again that this Doctor is much darker, almost unhinged and probably slighty sociopathic than Nine ever could hope to be. We are starting to see the overt manifestation of "no second chances" and my god, is it *delicious*. I get the impression he's trembling on the knife-point of completely losing control and the cracks in his facade are widening. It's starting to pile up - Gallifrey, the loss of his people, his companions, his friends and if he doesn't let it out and *deal* then the meltdown will be of nuclear proportions. There was a line in the BBC7 audio "Phobos" where he kills an empathatic species with an overload of his memories and thoughts. What finally kills isn't what he's done, or what he's afraid of, it's what he's capable of doing. I think a full-out Time Lord metldown would bring down galaxies and that's always lurking just below the surface with this Doctor.
And
flummery's Handlebars was created during S4, before the season even ended.
When we finally got Waters of Mars and the Doctor's complete meltdown, fandom's response was on the whole 'Handlebars was right!' and 'Finally!' If he hadn't lost it, we would have been surprised. The build-up was very well done, and when he finally cracked it was almost cathartic.
And this is where it seems the GoT writers have failed. They had a character who was probably always primed for going off and losing it, but didn't bring the viewers on board in her emotional journey.
Again, look at Ten - the whole of Waters of Mars is constructed to make him lose it, forcing him to walk away from brave, heroic pioneers, unable to save them; it's pressing every single one of his buttons.
What caused Dany to burn King's Landing? Maybe we'll find out in the finale, maybe we won't. Either way, it looks like the show has cause a lot of damage to itself.
Or as the author of the first linked piece put it:
We'd been invited to understand Dany's point of view for all these years, but as the endgame approached in "The Bells," the writing made her less interesting than the purple potato known as Thanos.
(Please note: I have not yet seen Endgame, no spoilers please!) It just seems a waste. Goodness, knows that The Purple Potato (love that moniker) is painfully dull, but he's there to serve a purpose; I don't think anyone's invested in him, or cares about anything other than defeating him.
But then, here's Sady Doyle's piece:
Who Wins, Who Dies: Game of Thrones (2011 - 2019)
No matter what women told themselves, Game of Thrones was never our story.
Anyway, in case the oppressed masses do not rise up and create an anarcho-syndicalist commune (as per Monty Python and the Holy Grail) I hope Sansa becomes queen.
Post has been cloned from dreamwidth. Comments welcome everywhere.