GOT: Do You Fan Theory?
It’s three days to the second to last episode of Game of Thrones and I’m feeling all sorts of emotions. I really don’t want it to end. As a fan of both the books and the TV series, I have grown too attached to the characters in the story. This season has been delivering blow after blow with each episode, yet the worse is yet to come. Ah, at least I wouldn’t be grieving alone.
I only need to look at the number of fan theories and predictions out there to know how many fans there are. Anth listens to people interpreting the shows and speculating at how the show is going to end, and there are so many videos on YouTube it’s crazy! I’m not a fan of fan theories, so initially it irked me.
When I listen to fan theories about Game Of Thrones, it really annoys me because “how dare they speculate on what is going on on Mr George R. R. Martin’s mind? It’s blasphemy!” I guess I’m on the brink of worshiping certain authors – why else would I feel that way.
And then there are fan predictions.
See, when I’m in love with a story, I’m a loyal reader who wonders what happens next in a controlled manner but leaves the story-telling to the dear author (or in this case, screen writers), because I prefer to keep my mind as blank as possible so I can be caught entirely off-guard. That’s just how I enjoy my stories.
With the amount of fan predictions around, it’s hard to do that. It seemed like every possible scenario has been suggested by someone. I’m glad I didn’t come across one that suggested Arya would kill the Night King though. That was a pleasant surprise and it worked so beautifully. Like a puzzle coming together. It just wouldn’t deliver that same punch if I had heard about it prior to that moment.
That’s why I don’t like listening to fan predictions. I want the writers to tell the story, not fans. And with the amount of fans telling their versions online, each of them will tend to try to think of a slightly different scenario from everyone else. So some of them would get it right. I’m not sure I want to know. (Yeah, I’m a baby.)
But I understand why we love fan theories and prediction. After all, we love the stories so much we want to live in it and ruminate on it. And fan theories are just a natural product of that rumination. As for prediction, hey, who doesn’t like to guess something right? I just hope I won’t be disappointed when no new dragons appear alongside Daenerys and Drogon in the next episode (Just another seed planted in my head by fellow GOT fans. :))
On another note, it’s fun to see so many people into the same thing. It reminds me once again that we’re a lot more similar than we though. Doesn’t it make you hopeful that everyone agrees Cersei is a mad queen? That we love that Jamie and Theon went on their redemption arcs? That when Viserion and Rhaegal died our hearts broke? Oh, and I still haven’t met someone who doesn’t like Tyrion.
I also love that so many of us have this uncanny ability to get super invested in a story. The best part is, thanks to the internet, it becomes an even more fun collective experience – we all love the coffee cup memes.
