After eight long years and 73 episodes, the HBO TV series “Game of Thrones” (GOT) finally ended May 19. Filmed as if in quasi-medieval times, with a northern European, Iceland-Scandia backdrop, the story arc was set in the fictional continent of Westeros. Adapted from the fictional novels “A Song of Ice and Fire” by George R. R. Martin, the plot follows tales of seven kingdoms, an iron throne, and violent, competing dynasties. It became famous for nude scenes, a huge kill-count per episode, and fictional languages distinctive to each kingdom. President Obama said it was his favorite TV show.
With the show at an end, why write about it now? First, until the final episode I’d never seen the show. Frankly, I don’t have time to invest in such pop-culture, mind-numbing banality. But the night of the final episode I happened to be traveling and in a hotel room with HBO so I checked out the show’s finale to see what all the hubbub was about. Plus, I’m sure we haven’t seen the end of GOT. There will be endless reruns on HBO and other streaming services and imitators seeking to cash in on similar dramatic motifs.
GOT was best known for its sexploitation of viewers, giving them pornography with high production value and literary excuses. Rape, incest, and sexual violence were recurring themes. One TV critic called such sexual exploitation “boobage” and another complained that the erotic gratuity featured too many naked women and not enough naked men. In fact, rape and brothel sex scenes became so common that many secular film critics were incensed. The show also featured fire-breathing dragons who believed that the show’s heroine, and final villain, Daenerys Targaryan, was their mother. Christian viewers should immediately recognize the dragon as a literary inflection of Satan from Revelation 12.
What excuse could a Christian make if they were seduced by this series? None. The shows contained such an abundance of objectionable scenes and plot lines that any GOT-addicted evangelical viewer needs repentance and inner healing, cleansing of their mind. The show is gone, but its evil lives on in the public zeitgeist. GOT was a mirror of our godless times, a reflection no Christian should embrace. As believers, our focus should be on the throne of Jesus in Revelation 7:9-12, not an iron throne of intrigue, corruption, and demonic dragons. Life isn’t a game of weekly brain-candy and eternity is forever.
An encouraging word: BE HONEST
“The floods of ungodliness made me afraid.” Said the Psalmist David (18:4). Wait a minute. Isn’t this the guy who battled lions with his bare hands and slew Goliath? And he let a little ungodliness, as we say, freak him out? What transparency. No pretension. No happy face on Sunday morning. No, “I’m great, how about you?” Made me afraid isn’t exactly a Norman Vincent Pealism. Earlier in this verse he says that he was surrounded by death. Now that’s a good reason to be afraid. If David could be honest about a moment of fear, you can too. It’s great to speak faith, but sometimes it is also okay to admit our frailties. Honesty is always the best policy and often a doorway to spiritual healing because of truthfulness.
