If you’re like us, you’re missing Game of Thrones hard. As we wait (and wait, and wait) for Season 8 to drop, we’re jumping back into Westeros and its gray moral landscape to study fan favorite character, Tyrion Lannister. He’s a hedonistic nobleman whose philosophical alignment makes our heads burst with ethics questions, whose constant quips make for great tee shirts, and whose arc is as hard to parse as it is fun to watch. Join us as we deconstruct why we love Tyrion, and why we should look closer at some of his actions before we pick up where we left off with him. Questions of morality, monstrosity, and Medieval English history abound in this SPOILER-FILLED adventure of an episode.
Episode 32: Vice and Virtue
What is a stoic character? Grim, emotionally immovable, and cold in the face of great human pain? Listen this week as Derek and Laurel delve into the archetypal stoic character and unpack Stoic philosophy along the way. The current stoic character construct bares some superficial resemblance to the philosophy started in Ancient Athens in 350 BCE, but do the tropes really do justice to the philosophical doctrine? By examining characters from the Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones, Gladiator, and more, we will try to discover the truth beneath the unshakeable facades.
Episode 30: Frankenstein
q Game of Thrones Season 7 Spoilers:
What happens when you create a monster? Not literally, but in a story, a Frankenstein…Listen as Derek and Laurel do there next Game of Thrones character case study, as they examine Arya Stark, and how the writers of the show failed to address the spirit of vengeance they created in one of the shows most beloved characters.
Episode 28: Here Be Dragons
We never thought we’d nearly cry over the death of a fire breathing, scale covered, flying monster that can burn and eat people alive. Somehow, that happened. What am I talking about? Dragons— the darling of the fantasy world, and the monster that so many great heroes have had to over come. Yet, somehow in the Game of Thrones they have become characters that the audience empathizes with. How did this happen? This week, listen as we talk about he history of Dragons and how Game of Thrones turned them from evil beasts to emphatic heroes.
Episode 24: What Happens When You Hold The Door
Dark and Full of Terrors
“Ours is the fury.” These are the words of House Baratheon. Lords of the Stormlands, and House that brought about King Robert’s rebellion. Yes my friends, Derek and Laurel travel to the fantastic realm of Westeros, as they perform the first of many Game of Thrones character studies. The focus of the first study is Stannis Baratheon, younger brother of Robert, and his journey from second fiddle to claimant of the Iron Throne, perpetrator of filicide, and ultimately the one who brings ruin to his house. We learn that Stannis is not a unique figure, drawing upon his Greek mythological character archetype, and historical parallels. Perhaps the more fitting words for House Baratheon, “Go on, do your duty”.