Monday, May 18, 2015

Blood, Boobs, Carnage? Sounds like Game of Thrones to me


I have to admit to you that normally I can take or leave ALL these things. I don't object to them. I am not squeemish or prudish. I just also don't really NEED them. They don't necessarily add for me.

Why then, is my very favorite TV show ever so full of all three? [I read these books, too, but these descriptors in the books have far lower prominence, though they are there--how graphically depending largely on the PoV character at the time and how much they understand and would care to describe.]

[Minor spoilers included, though kept to a minimum other than the first episode and the one I think most of the world knows about]

Jaime pushing Bran out the window
The very first episode doesn't have ACTUAL blood--oh wait... there IS a beheading of a deserter of the Night's Watch--but what it lacks in blood it makes up for with two different incestuous scenes, which I think we will call a draw. Besides that, MOST episodes have blood. And there are boobs... I think Danaerys gets the first full boobal scene (yes that's a word—it means “all about boobs” though it might be Roz—a whore, so her boobage can be forgiven. And carnage? An eight year old boy is thrown out a window of a high tower for stumbling across one of those incest scenes mentioned. And there are hints that someone (John Arryn) was murdered.


It isn't the blood itself, but the implications
Favorite Blood in the Series

Oh, sure, there is gory death and battle blood. Lots of it. But I think the BLOOD MAGIC ("Only death can pay for life" and "There is Power in a King's Blood") has a lot more appeal to me. Also, there is a scene where Sansa wakes up from a dream of being raped (after she nearly was—it is a PTSD dream) to find she has “flowered” (moon's blood, aka: started her period)--this puts her in imminent danger as it means she is old enough to marry the sadistic young king.



They showed this from both angles, but in the interest of PG...
Favorite Boobs in the Series

Erm... this show has coined a phrase. “Sexposition”--when someone has to SAY something that can't be shown, then somebody in the scene is inevitably having sex to make it visually interesting... or something. I guess though, I forgive the boobage as it is one of few shows to not shy from full male nudity, too. The best scene this way is Hodor because it is largely so innocent. Hodor is believed to be part giant with great strength, but the wits and temperament of a sweet three year old. He comes out of a pool to find Bran, Osha and Rickon and Osha raises an eyebrow, “Now there's a big man” and Bran tells Hodor to put his clothes on. Hodor has no clue he's been inappropriate (and in a better world, neither would anybody else--it's just nakedness). It just is this sweet, comedic nakedness.



Nobody is safe. Nobody.
My Favorite Carnage

Man, this show is so full of it. And my favorite scenes this way are favorites not because they were “good” but because they were full on wrenches to the gut. The first is in season one and even people totally unfamiliar probably know: killing the person we all thought was the MC. Then there is the George RR Martin Wedding Planner thing... and the trials by combat... In short, I like the carnage in this show because it has proven to have such power as a game changer. Anyone is expendable, which increases the tension all the time. And tables can turn in an instant. This series took a lot of inspiration from War of the Roses, which is actual history, and I think this piece is where that is most powerfully displayed.



So I encourage you to go check out the other participants. And what about you? Do you like violence? Nudity? What is your favorite book, TV show or movie that is heavy on these?

32 comments:

A Daft Scots Lass said...

I think I may be the only one who hasn't seen ONE episode of this one. Sorry...guilty!

But I'm LOVING this Blogfest!

Bob/Sally said...

I have to admit, while I've read all the books, I have yet to watch an episode of GoT. At some point I'll have to correct that. :)

My Blood, Boobs, and Carnage

L. Diane Wolfe said...

I haven't seen any episodes either!

Elizabeth Spann Craig said...

Haven't read the books or seen the show! But my husband loves both. Will have to check them out, although I might be fast-forwarding through some parts!

Ted Cross said...

I've always been able to separate fiction from reality with no problem, so none of this things bother me in the slightest. In fact I tend to enjoy them, at least as long as they have something to do with the story. I don't mind it be a little gratuitous, but there should be something to it. Anyhow, this is my favorite show as well, and I can't wait to eventually see this season's episodes, though I'm hearing some less than stellar things about them...as in the deviations from the books are not sounding so wise.

Madeline Mora-Summonte said...

Big fan of GoT! And I agree about how the best carnage scenes tend to be the ones that show no one is safe. That scene at the end of Season 1? My husband and I looked at each other and were like, "What??!!" :)

Tamara Narayan said...

I'm with you on the blood, violence, and nudity. I don't need it, but I'm not going to refuse to watch something because one or more of these things are present. I think Game of Thrones rocks. It's over the top in these three categories, but the material supports the way violence and nudity come about.

Jolie du Pre said...

My son is huge into Game of Thrones. I've never seen an entire episode, but I love the opening credits.

What I do know is that every time I've seen the show on our TV, it's violent. Someone is always getting killed in the most brutal of ways. It seems to be more violent than my favorite TV show - The Walking Dead.

Precious Monsters

Jeremy [Retro] said...

Love the show, love the music... and the dragons. Well then I get to keep my man-card, I loose it sometimes when I love stuff to much... :)

Jeremy [THE WOLF]
Howlin' Wolf Records: On-Line Magazine

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Boobal scene - funny! I think this will be the number one pick of the day.
Thanks for participating in our blogfest.

Arlee Bird said...

Looks like there will be a lot of mentions for Game of Thrones in this fest. I've not seen any episodes yet and not sure it would be something that would interest me that much. But the show obviously has something going for it to be so popular.

Arlee Bird
A to Z Challenge Co-host
Road trippin' with A to Z
Tossing It Out

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

My pick too. And they do show male nudity though not as often as they show the women. HBO does that to make sure they keep the young male viewership tuned in.

Christine Rains said...

I'm a huge fan of the show. I do like they show naked men as much as women. Game of Thrones is ruling this blogfest!

Cathy Kennedy said...

You're the second blogger to do a write up on this show for BBC, now I really want to see it. I hope it comes to Netflix or Amazon Prime soon! As to my preference, I'll take nudity over gory violence any ole day. Thanks for stopping by!

Enter mature audience only #bloodboobscarnage

Stephen Tremp said...

Hodor!

Stephen Tremp
A to Z Road Trip

A Tarkabarka Hölgy said...

Visiting through the blogfest! :) Game of Thrones high five! I really do love that show. I probably like the books a little better, but I am not saying that just because they are books. Also, I am so happy we are finally seeing Dorne this season! Yay! :)

@TarkabarkaHolgy from
Multicolored Diary
MopDog

Chemist Ken said...

I was so bummed out when Bran got pushed out the window when I first read the book. I kept reading just to find out if he lived or not.

S. L. Hennessy said...

This show it is winning most popular in the Blood, Boobs and Carnage blogfest. No surprise there, it's the perfect entrant!

Roland D. Yeomans said...

I saw a small part of the YouTube video: THE BEAR AND THE MAIDEN FAIR and didn't want to punish myself by finishing it. To me it smacks of Torture Porn. Many love GOT, Hostel, Saw, but I am not one of them. We all have different tastes. :-)Thanks for visiting my blog! :-)

Jay Noel said...

I've seen a handful of episodes, and they were all full of blood, boobs, and loads of carnage. Just like the books.

I turn red just reading it.

J.H. Moncrieff said...

I'm not a big fan of violence or nudity, but I do love a good psychological horror story. I like your point about male nudity. It would be nice if the scales were more balanced across the board, nudity-wise.

Still haven't seen Game of Thrones, but I've heard so many good things about it!

cheerfuloptimistic said...

Haven't seen the show, but I've read the books and I'm about halfway through A Dance With Dragons. It's my favorite so far, mostly because the characters I wanted to hear from in book 4 are finally getting their POV chapters.

Bish Denham said...

I have not watched the whole series and am not sure I'm up for it because there seems to be no hope, no moment of reprieve... at least not in the episodes I have seen.

Michele at Angels Bark said...

I have not yet seen Game of Thrones but so many are posting about it that I guess I better jump on the bandwagon!
Great BB&C post.
Michele at Angels Bark

dolorah said...

"No one is safe" is a huge draw to this series. The same with The Walking Dead.

I watched the first two seasons of this before starting the books, so the first few episodes completely shocked me with the attempted murder of Bran, Robert's death, then the beheading of Ned. And then, they cut off Jaime's hand. The brutality keeps me off balance.

The actress that plays Dany has a wierd body shape. Like, no torso, just boobs and hips. At least she has boobs though, unlike most of the whores they show. And I'm pleased by all the male nudity too. The violence and sex (nudity) does not seem gratuitous. Fits the context. I agree Martin did well in the books keeping the context true to the perspective character.

Debbie D. said...

I've heard so much about this series but am generally not attracted to the fantasy genre. Maybe it's time to change that. It does look interesting! Great choice for the BB&C Blogfest!

Anonymous said...

Love GoT! I've only read the first book (and have all of them so far) and haven't seen any of the newest season (have the rest on DVD) but plan on getting to them all.

Teresa Cypher said...

I love GoT :-) I wore my H O D O R teeshirt the day of the first episode this season.

This was a good post that made some interesting points, Hart. :-)

Helena said...

Swear to God, someday I really will see this series.

Did you ever see the Saturday Night Live skit in which a 14-year-old boy was the consultant on this show? His constant professional advice was more boobs, more boobs, more nudity.

Heather M. Gardner said...

GoT has to be the most mentioned during this blogfest. Very popular.
THANK YOU for joining Alex and me in this EPIC blogfest!
Heather M. Gardner

Cathrina Constantine said...

I'm definitely not an original. GOT rules!!

Powdered Toast Man said...

I am behind the 8 ball on this one. I just started watching game of thrones. I heard there is a lot of boobage.