Did Game of Thrones fail one of our favorite characters because of lazy writing and the desire to subvert expectations?
Fiction is wildly different from reality. The world you create not only has to be unique and captivating, but it also has to logically and believably follow the rules of the imagined world. The audience will give the writer some leeway, buying into the world easily if the writer can suspend the audience’s disbelief.
Like most forms of entertainment, fictional works like fantasy and sci-fi are escapist fantasies that the audience might not find realistic but will believe in for a worthwhile story. Suspension of disbelief is critical to many of the most iconic moments of fiction. Without it, many stories would be picked apart.
Game of Thrones was able to suspend the audience’s disbelief for four seasons. The show was unafraid to kill the main characters, and audiences relished the thrill of subversion. But at some point, the characters’ stories were derailed, and the audience’s ability to suspend their disbelief for moments of introspection became the show’s downfall.
Author: Alyssa Miller
This article comes from No Film School and can be read on the original site.
