Game of Thrones:

A Dialogue between Grandparents and Grandchildren

By Don Nilsen

In 1994, five of my graduate students in the field of linguistics asked me to teach an override course in gallows humor, and I agreed, with one condition—that they would have to do most of the work for the course. They agreed, and then said, “Your first assignment, Professor Nilsen, is to go and see the movie, Pulp Fiction.” Alleen and I said “OK,” but we were late in entering the movie theater. The movie was too violent for us, so we got up and walked out.

When I saw my graduate students the next day, I told them what happened, and one of them said, “Your second assignment, Professor Nilsen, is to go and see it again.” I reluctantly agreed, and then we went to see not only Pulp Fiction, but also Fargo, Reservoir Dogs, Silence of the Lambs, Dr. Strangelove, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and some other violent-but-funny movies. The violence was so over-the-top that it wasn’t violence at all. It was a satire, or a parody of violence.

Recently when our children and grandchildren came to visit us from Kentucky, and when we were having dinner at a restaurant the topic of conversation for our grandchildren became The Game of Thrones. Our two grandchildren living in Kentucky were having a lively conversation with our two grandchildren living in Arizona about the Game of Thrones, and I decided if I wanted to have lively conversations with my grandchildren, I would have to learn about Game of Thrones, so Alleen and I started binge watching Game of Thrones. And also started researching Game of Thrones.

We discovered that Game of Throneshas an ensemble cast estimated to be the largest in television history, and that it has received 47 Primetime Emmy Awards (the most by any drama series), three Hugo Awards, a Peabody Award, and five nominations for Golden Globe Awards. In a single year, it received 32 Emmy nominations, which broke the NYPD Blue twenty-five-year-record number of Emmy nominations in a single year—26. Game of Thrones has been described as “The Sopranos in Middle-Earth.”

We learned that the fan base for Game of Thrones is larger than the fan base of Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, Harry Potter, or Star Wars, and that this fan base includes a former US president (Barack Obama), a former British Prime Minister (David Cameron), a former Australian Prime Minister (Julia Gillard), and the Dutch Foreign Minister (Frans Timmermans). We also learned that in 2012, the name “Arya” was the fastest-rising girl’s name in the US, and that 42 percent of the viewers of Game of Thrones were female compared to 58 percent who were male.

We discovered that Game of Thronesis filmed mainly in Belfast, Ireland, and the United Kingdom, but also in Canada, Croatia, Iceland, Malta, Morocco, and Spain. We also discovered that there are basically three story arcs: 1. It is a story about the seven noble dynasties in Westeros and all of their claims to sit on the Iron Throne. 2. It is a story about the last descendant of the dead King, Robert Baratheon and of Robert Baratheon’s brother Stannis, and Stannis Baratheon’s claim to the throne. 3. It is about the Night’s Watch, which is a brotherhood defending Westeros from the Wildings and the White Walkers north of the wall.

We learned that the seven kingdoms in Westeros spoke in various dialects of British English, and that the people in Essos spoke two made-up languages, Dothraki and Valerian. We also learned that since 2011, the fictional languages of Dothraki and Valerian have been heard by more people than have heard the Welsh, Irish, and Scots Gaelic languages combined. We discovered that the palace intrigues, the feudal system, the castles, and the knightly tournaments were mainly inspired from the English War of the Roses, and that the Lannister and Stark families of Game of Thrones represent the Lancaster and York families of England. We learned that Cersei Lannister is reminiscent of Queen Isabella, the “she-wolf of France” (1295-1358). We learned that the Game of Thrones’ Northern Wall represents England’s Hadrian’s Wall, and that the legend of Atlantis is represented in the Game of Thrones’ city of Valeria. We also learned that many of the fights to the death in public coliseums were based on the culture of the Roman Empire.

We explained these things to our grandchildren and then began asking our grandchildren about Game of Thrones, telling them that spoilers were not only OK, they were encouraged. During season one, we would ask them at various times, “What’s going to happen to Ned Stark?” “…and King Robert Baratheon?” “…and King Joffrey,” “…and Tywin Lannister?” “…and Khal Drogo?” “…and Viserys Targaryen?” Their response was always, “Oh, he dies a horrible death.” And then one of my grandchildren added, “They’re mostly all dead at the end.”

We were having trouble figuring out who were the good guys, and who were the bad guys, so we asked our grandchildren, “Who are the bad guys.” They responded, “All of the White Walkers are bad, and Joffrey Baratheon is bad, and Ramsey Bolton is psychotically bad, as is Aerys Targaryen, the Mad King.” “Oh yes, Viserys Targaryen is really bad, but he gets his just deserts in the end.” And all of the Wildings are bad…except for the one who falls in love with Jon Snow.” “And, oh yes, they joined the Night Watch in a battle with the White Walkers, who are all bad.”

I asked, “What about Jon Snow? Is he good or bad?” Well, he’s good, but he’s a bastard who has to be exiled to the North Wall.” So I asked, what about Jaime Lannister?” “Jaime is good…, until he sleeps with his twin sister, and throws a kid off from a ledge, and murders the king…, but after that, he becomes good again.” And my grandchildren continue, “Jorah Mormont is good until he betrays Daenerys Targaryen and is exiled. Oh yes, he also kidnaps Tyrion Lannister, and kills a few good guys to get back into the good graces of Daenerys Targaryen.” “So what about Daenerys Targaryen?” “She’s a very good queen whose dragons kill a lot of bad people…, but they kill a lot of good people too, mostly by using their fiery breath to cook them so that they can be adequately digested. And yes, we have to admit that Daenerys has to destroy many individuals and civilizations, but they were bad—mostly.” They continued that “Ned Stark is good, and so is Brienne of Tarth, and so is Sansa Stark. They continued that “Arya Stark is good…, except that she has a hit list of bad people that she has to kill.”

I then asked, “How many Kings want to become the king of kings and sit on the Iron Throne?” And they responded, “Seven, I think. Maybe more. There are seven houses in Westeros, but then there are the Targaryens who live in Essos.” They continue, “The Arryns live in the Vale; the Tullys live in the Riverlands (their symbol is the fish); and the Tyrells and Martells live at the very South end of Westeros. The Starks live in Winterfell, until the Boltons take over. And the Baratheon’s live at King’s Landing before the Lannisters take over.”

“I heard that there is an ancient city of Valeria. What is special about Valeria?” “They used to make Valerian steel and Valerian glass, which is used in weaponry. In fact, this is the only thing (except for fire) that can kill the White Walkers…, which, by the way are already dead. Oh yes, when someone is killed by a White Walker, then that person becomes a White Walker, so their numbers never seem to get any smaller.”

Then we asked if any of the names were especially appropriate, and they responded that Jon Snow lives in the north, where it snows a lot. And Petyr “Littlefinger” Baelish was always sticking his little finger into other people’s business. And they told me about the High Sparrow, who is the capital’s religious leader. And somehow Khal Drogo, the Hound, and Grey Worm also have appropriate names.

I asked, “Did Barack Obama ever sit on the Iron Throne?” And they responded, “Yes, he did, and we have a picture to prove it.” Then I asked, “Can you tell us all of the relationships of all of the houses of the Game of Thrones?” And they responded, “Grandpa, it’s time for you to go to bed.”