SB
on Game of Thrones: Blog Entry Number
Four
Power
In
the first three episodes of the second season of Game of Thrones, there were depictions of various kinds of power. Consider the first episode of season two when
Cersei smacked Joffrey in the face. Even
though this was an act of physical assault on the king, this was also an act of
a mother hitting her child. Joffrey is a
very ruthless character who treats his musicians terribly and gains pleasure
from viewing the pain of others.
However, when Joffrey got smacked in the face by Cersei, he did
nothing. This was very interesting: even though Joffrey did threaten his mother
and told her to never hit him again, I thought that he would have a much more
intense reaction than this. When
considering future episodes, I look forward to seeing what happens between
Joffrey and Cersei.
Humor
To return to the
discussion of comedy and humor in Game of
Thrones that was introduced in my previous blog, there was a particular
scene in this set of episodes where the use of humor led to the revelation of a
major element of a specific character’s history. In the second episode of the second season,
Tyrion made a joke and Cersei, who was not amused, replied by reminding Tyrion
of his “first big joke.” Cersei was
referring to how Tyrion’s mother died while giving birth to Tyrion.
Even though this “joke”
that Cersei was referring to was no joke, Tyrion’s use of humor was what caused
Cersei to reveal this major element of Tyrion’s character. If Tyrion hadn’t made that joke, then Cersei might
not have revealed this fact. Even though
Cersei said this to hurt Tyrion’s feelings, this was the first time that
viewers were provided with this information.
This was another instance where the use of humor led to a serious development
in Game of Thrones.
Evil
One philosophical
question that was investigated in Game of
Thrones was the problem of evil.
Schoone concluded that the logical problem of evil only applies to gods
that are considered to be omnipotent, omniscient, and all good, the characters
in the Game of Thrones universe do
not seem to perceive their gods in this way, and this is why the problem of
evil in the Game of Thrones universe
does not cause many characters to abandon their beliefs in god(s) (p. 164). It
was interesting that Jaime was the character who explicitly phrased the
question of the problem of evil (with the statement “why is the world so full
of injustice?”) because Jaime is, arguably, one of the most evil characters in
the show.
Just
diving into season two, it is too early for me to make any conclusions. However, I will declare that it seems unfair that
Jaime was the character who asked the question of the problem of evil. Viewers might (perhaps even unconsciously)
make an ad hominem fallacy and arrive at the simple conclusion that Jaime
doesn’t believe in god because he’s an evil character. The problem of evil is a fascinating
philosophical problem that was investigated in Game of Thrones. I hope that this scene provided viewers with an understanding
of the problem of evil, rather than with a negative depiction of atheists (Jaime).
Fantasy/Conclusion
One other observation
that I made while watching this set of episodes was that there seemed to be a
great increase in the amount of magic and fantasy elements in the show. Even though I have some ideas, I am really
excited to see how these fantasy elements of the show come into full
development. In particular, I want to
see Daenerys’s dragons grow up. In
conclusion, this blog contained a discussion of the depictions of power, the
use of humor, the problem of evil, and the presence of fantasy elements in the
first three episodes of the second season of Game of Thrones.
Works
Cited
Schoone, Jaron Daniël. “’Why is the World So Full
of Injustice?’: Gods and the Problem of Evil.” Game
of Thrones and Philosophy: Logic Cuts Deeper Than Swords. Eds. William Irwin and Henry Jacoby.
Hoboken, NJ: Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2012. 154-166. Print.
I'm also interested to see if there's another run in between Cersei and Joffrey. I thought Cersei's reaction was a bit scared, as if she wasn't sure what she'd just done by slapping her son. Also, I thought I saw a lot of restraint by Joffrey. Like you, I expected worse from him - although the delivery of his threat that covered any future similar action did hold quite the steely tone... It was interesting to see that this was the one time he seemed to hold back. Maybe there is a tiny bit of humanness in him. Not much, of course, but something.
ReplyDeleteI like that you brought up the increase in fantasy and magic. I think I noticed, but I didn't consciously think about it. I want to pay more attention to that and see if I notice anything interesting.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate you bringing up the increase in fantasy elements. I too am interested in following how this is going to play into the greater plot. While reading your blog I started thinking about the interconnection of power and the supernatural. I think it is interesting to see how this might play into the power dynamics of the story. I think that it has already been mentioned that the Targaryens were largely able to exercise power as a result of people's fear of their ability to control dragons. This may be something that I will need to explore in a future blog post of my own.
ReplyDeleteCersei's slap echoes another slap which was when Tyrion slapped him for not feeling empathy for the Starks. Maybe Joffrey's been trained to take this kind of abuse--the old saw about if you want to stop a bully, just punch them in the mouth I guess.
ReplyDeleteJaime does have that interesting speech about evil but generally I don't find that the GOT characters ever get too philosophical about Man's Fate and the existence of a higher being. In Season Five you will meet some religious zealots, but I don't really know what they believe in. Melesandre is a priestess, but it just seems like black magic to me. Anyway, cut Jaime some slack. He has been a pariah because he killed the Mad King but these GOT types need to understand that the Mad King had to go--somebody had to do it! (But I guess we don't like characters who push ten year olds out windows.)
Cersei's slap echoes another slap which was when Tyrion slapped him for not feeling empathy for the Starks. Maybe Joffrey's been trained to take this kind of abuse--the old saw about if you want to stop a bully, just punch them in the mouth I guess.
ReplyDeleteJaime does have that interesting speech about evil but generally I don't find that the GOT characters ever get too philosophical about Man's Fate and the existence of a higher being. In Season Five you will meet some religious zealots, but I don't really know what they believe in. Melesandre is a priestess, but it just seems like black magic to me. Anyway, cut Jaime some slack. He has been a pariah because he killed the Mad King but these GOT types need to understand that the Mad King had to go--somebody had to do it! (But I guess we don't like characters who push ten year olds out windows.)
I like your thought on how Cersei disclosed that her mother died giving birth to Tyrion. I feel like he mentioned it before briefly in season one BUT it really shows you why she has so much animosity towards him.
ReplyDeleteTo me, it's hard to imagine Cersei being that much older than Tyrion, because she was clearly old enough to remember the birth and subsequemt death.