I haven’t watched HBO’s ‘Game of Thrones’ until this year. With HBO GO at my disposal, I binge watched, catching up on four seasons in a matter of weeks.
I enjoy the show. It has a great cast, great sets, good story lines and great characters that induce visceral reactions whether positive or negative.
The show also features plenty of gratuitous sex (including gay sex and incest), very graphic violence (humans (and horses) are beheaded, throats are slit, skulls are crushed, people are killed by dogs and they are also tortured) and strong language (it may be set in a medieval era but they cuss like truck drivers and sailors do current day).
If I’m not mistaken, the first episode of the series features a beheading within the first 30 minutes and Ned Start (Sean Bean) makes his youngest son watch. Cersei and Jaime (sister and brother) are having sex in a tower when Bran Stark, who was climbing the tower, spots them. Jaime speaks to him momentarily and after Cersei says, “He saw us”, Jaime pushes the young boy out the window to his supposed death.
Again, that’s all in the first episode of the series.
If you didn’t know what you were in for at that point, then you’re not all that bright.
In Sunday’s episode, it concluded with the consummation of the marriage between Sansa Stark and Ramsay Bolton. In reality, Bolton raped his new wife, forcing Theon Greyjoy to watch in horror. The episode “sparked outrage” among fans which seems really odd considering everything that takes place on that show.
It’s possible that it was more of a reaction to Sansa Stark who just hasn’t been able to catch much of a break at all. Ironically, it was during her marriage to Tyrion Lannister that she was treated with respect and consideration.
Still, the outrage reactions were just absurd, especially this one by Senator Claire McCaskill:
Ok, I'm done Game of Thrones.Water Garden, stupid.Gratuitous rape scene disgusting and unacceptable.It was a rocky ride that just ended.
— Claire McCaskill (@clairecmc) May 19, 2015
Let’s look at this for just a moment. This was not the first scene of rape depicted in this show. I can think of two others:
1. When Daenerys Targaryen was married to Khal Drogo, he forced himself on her on their wedding night, much the same way Ramsay did to Sansa. I understand this was changed from the book where Daenerys actually wound up consenting but in the show that is not how it happened.
2. Jaime raped Cersei while they were next to the corpse of the son that was born out of their incestuous relationship.
Beyond that, where was all the outrage over the treatment of minor female characters on the show? Let’s be honest…. women are treated like cattle and playthings by the men on this show and nobody has said a word. King Joffrey would torture and murder prostitutes without anybody objecting.
Bottom line is this: Everybody who was “outraged” by Sunday’s show has seen far worse while telling everybody they know how much they’ve loved it for the last 4 years.
Don’t whine about it now.