Thread by @tonepainter

I doubt many subjected to the Milgram experiment were pleased to discover they could be inhuman.

Similarly, #GOT fans are angry to discover they were backing a privileged monster, even though she’s been using a weapon of mass destruction to roast her enemies alive for years.

All that nonsense about “sure, but the character arc was too sudden”: what was the character arc like for Churchill when he ordered the firebombing of 200,000 civilians in Dresden, or of Henry Truman when he ordered a second city destroyed by an atomic bomb?

#GameOfThonesFinale

No lengthening of the story would have eased the shock here or made indiscriminate slaughter seem narratively “more natural,” “believable,” or “correct.”

#GameOfThronesFinale #GameOfThrones

Many are complaining about the most boring character ending up as King. But that’s the point: Bran has zero charisma. Do you really think GRRM or the showrunners see charisma as what makes someone the best choice for leader?

I’m not saying Season 8 couldn’t have been better. There are lots of issues. But most of the problem here is not how the show was written; it’s in the thoughtless way it’s being received.

For thousands of years, the most common view of the purpose of art is “to delight and instruct.” Sadly, too many of us want mindless entertainment that invites no introspection whatsoever. GRRM doesn‘t write that kind of fantasy.

This kind of nonsense is truly mindless:

huffpost.com/entry/game-of-…

To upset fans, I recommend Mark Twain's comments regarding Sir Walter Scott, who wrote the kind of "feel good" fantasies/compensatory narratives Twain hated (and GRRM likes Twain).

Check out this great Harper's piece that includes them:

harpers.org/blog/2007/07/h…

Here GRRM praises Twain's Huckleberry Finn, Twain's great novel that includes a sinking steamship named after Scott. The Sir Walter Scott in Twain's book is a haunting symbol of the corruption of the antebellum South that dooms it.

georgerrmartin.com/notablog/2018/…

Obviously there's plenty of room for disagreement, and I'm not claiming the season was well written. I'd love to hear alternative viewpoints!

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