Sometimes the fandom is very predictable

[dangermousie]

Apparently, Dany/Drogo is a huge ship in the Game of Thrones show fandom.

Huh? Huh???? On one level I can understand it - both Jason Momoa and Emilia Clarke are gorgeous, have chemistry and finding canon ships is kinda thin on the ground in GoT - so I can see latching onto a canon ship with chemistry and hot people. A lot of stuff is even something I'd normally go for (height difference, rough guy/sheltered girl, tragedy) BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUT.

BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUT.

She was sold to him by her scummy brother and he raped her on their wedding night in a particularly brutal fashion (not that any rape is good, but that was particularly gross - just because she didn't shove him off didn't make it any less rape. WTF with the dragging a sheltered young woman to a freaking wilderness, lifting up her clothes and taking her from behind without any preliminaries or talking. Ugh. That was the most disturbing scene in the first ep). Ummmm. How on earth can one just overlook it and go into shipper territory? I am a lot more OK with questionable stuff in fictional romantic pairings than many of my flisties but this is a whole other level of insanity. WTF?????? I do not get. I thought that stuff went out with 1980s romance novels. Guess not.

To make clear, I have no problem with Dany developing feelings for the guy - she is stuck in that life and with the morals of that world, and might as well make the best of it. But we are not Dany. So WTF????

The shippers do make pretty vids.

Yeah, v.v. shippable. Except for the RAPE!!!!

Anyway, am about halfway through the first season. The show continues not to be my thing, to be honest - I don't care for any of the characters, nor do I find them particularly interesting. Plus, I read wiki spoilers and what a nasty nasty world did GRRM create. I've read things that were pretty grim (nonfiction about Rwandan genocide or Warsaw ghetto uprising, etc etc) so I am no wuss but to have that sort of unrelenting misery for everyone forever in a fictional world seems to make no sense especially since it's no as if GRRM has some deep message to convey (e.g. Zamyatin's "We" may be grim but it actually gives me things to think about). I am not sure I'll continue.

Comments

[lightsjustright.livejournal.com]

I feel so led astray by fandom with regard to this. I watched the series following the online hysteria which made this pairing seem really hot - and then I was all ?!?!?! when I saw how grossly it unfolded. I noticed some people criticising the network's decisions in how they handled the the pairing compared to the novel so when I got around to the books I was shocked to realise it was no better there. SO MANY LIES.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

It's hot if you are into rape fantasies, I suppose. But otherwise - eeeeek.

And hey, as my reply on your Endless Love post indicated, I am OK with a lot of majorly iffy stuff, but even I am going to draw a line at rape. I thought it wasn't a minority position but seems like it is.

[lightsjustright.livejournal.com]

You'd seriously think rape would be something that people could unanimously agree on as inexcusable. :/

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

Never go near Vampire Diaries fandom. Never.

it's considered COMPLETELY ILLOGICAL to take that into consideration regarding whether or not you like a character if they're a vampire.

[lightsjustright.livejournal.com]

I've read that sentence a couple of times trying to make sense of it, LOL. Rape is okay... if it's a vampire?

:|

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

Yup. The first part of the argumentis that the same rules can't apply to vampires, the second part is that if mind control is used on someone who had sex with him prior to learning he was a vampire and having him attack you, you can't decisively say it was rape if he then uses mind control to make you be his girlfriend and happily accept his abuse and his making you do dangerous things, since you never actually (had the ability to) reject him.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Oh God. Most Vamp show fandoms have this.

*still remembers big Buffy/Angelus thing*

[sinclair-furie.livejournal.com]

I dunno, maybe they're basing it off how it goes in the book? In the book he's sweet and gentle her first time, and while they're sort of distant at first I think being with Drogo makes her happy because he's not crazy like her brother. She sort of grows up and into herself as his wife, so after she gets pregnant and becomes more self confident they fall in love.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

In the book, though, after the first night he basically ignores her except for sex until she gets pregnant, and she mentions crying every night for weeks when he came to her.

Regardless, he definitely is a step up from Viserys, though I think only Joffrey ranks lower.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I don't know, but they seem to be basing vids etc on the show and in the show it's not like that (can't comment on book as haven't read it).

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

I actually suspect that the wedding orgy was supposed to make us think that they'd be expected to consumate the marriage in public, and he was sparing her that? (Emphasis on "supposed to make us think." Some also think the "no"s were supposed to be him trying to tell her not to be scared.) Doesn't make it any better if true though.

Also, the second episode makes it clear that if she had tried to throw him off of her, he wouldn't have cared, which negates any "But maybe he didn't realize!" arguments anyone might care to make. (Seen that too.)

If Jason Momoa and Emilia Clarke ever do something where she's playing a character her own age and he isn't a rapist who makes speech about how he'll rape all the women and kill all the children in her homeland (yeah...) I'll be all over it. But here? No thanks.

I have no issues with Dany falling in love with him myself, in that world. Her choices are to try to make the best of it and try to see his good points, such as they are, or not to. For that matter, I buy that he loves her, at least as he understands love. The problem is that it isn't really presented as that, but as Epic Romance, and that's how fandom reads it.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Yes, I agree, that they both love each other insofar as they can, but a great romance it is not. Quite the opposite.

[ilanala]

I totally agree with you about Dany/Drogo. It makes sense to me that she'd develop feelings for him (whether it's healthy or not), and maybe that he'd develop feelings for her after a while, but there's too much wrong with the start of their relationship for me to ever ship them.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Yup, it's like the Sheik is alive and well.

[iheartkleenex.livejournal.com]

This is what really annoyed me in the show! She was not raped in the book! In the book it was a really sweet scene with them on a beach and he was really sweet to her, and for her first time he was slow and nice to her.

[katranna.livejournal.com]

The first time. But then come weeks of rape that leave her sore and in pain and staring at the dragon eggs to ignore that pain and crying every night afterward.

[(Anonymous)]

If I remember correctly, she was in pain because of all the non-stop horse riding. Although i'm sure that didn't help either.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

What every girl dreams of

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Yes, but people who have only seen the show ship them too :(

[morwen_peredhil]

Stockholm syndrome plus he's somewhat better than Viserys (for Dany) and they are very pretty together (for their shippers)? That's my best guess, since I never felt shippy them in either book or show.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Yeah - I found it realistic, but not romantic at all.

[elvensapphire.livejournal.com]

The primary reason I have not been able to bring myself to watch this show is because of the rape-y content. I just...that's a HUGE stumbling block for me in anything and it sounds particularly brutal in GOT.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Seriously, so not worth it. It doesn't add anything.

[timescout.livejournal.com]

I read the first fiew books but dropped the series after that. It didn't really appeal to me, besides something in Martins writing style just bugged me. So, I had no real interest in watching the series either and the more I read about it the more disintersted I became. Not my cup of tea I guess....

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Yup, I honestly don't get the fuss.

[smothered-pith.livejournal.com]

Very accurate points!
Everyone I know has been heaping praise on this show but I don't see it! It just doesn't live up to the hype.
1. I'm not at all invested in these characters. (Well Jon Snow was interesting but not enough to keep me craving)I can neither sympathize nor cheer for any of them.
2. I did read wiki spoilers too and yea, it seems like none of the Stark children or anyone else for that matter have even a remotely optimistic storyline. And like you said, there's NO point or end to this story.
3. WAY too many characters. It gives me a short attention span.
4. The women! They all pretty much get screwed over, screw someone else, or just irritate me.
5. Way too much sex on this show. As in a conversation I should prob listen to but can't because two women are getting off on side while he talks so mtter of factly. Ew.
Yea, Drogo/Dany while I'm sympathetic enough for Dany, like you said, rape's no way to start a romance. In my head I suppose one could argue that Drogo was only doing what he thinks is the norm but that still doesn't justify it.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Exactly. This is all pointless suffering for no greater literary point or anything.

Also, a book with 5,487 main characters is not my thing.

[smothered-pith.livejournal.com]

I've read Tolkein's series where there were a gazillion characters and never felt this kind of blah-ness. Why? Because there was a point, an end, and a purpose so I was invested.
Here? Nada. I dunno how people love this show unless they're watching it for the sex or eye candy.
I've given up at episode 7. I don't see a point in losing sleep and study time.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I don't mind whatever as long as I can see the point.

[hamster428.livejournal.com]

Daenerys is by far my favorite GoT character (well, and Arya too). Her life is so effing miserable that I ship for her and her happiness. And her + Khal Drogo = oddly sweet OTP. How can I not be shippy when he calls her "moon of my life" and she calls him "my sun and stars"... omg, just talking about this couple makes me teary eyes.
Yes, she got "sold" to him, but as a wife, not as a slave. He took her as his queen, and in his view, she was presented to him as a precious gift, not as something he has bought.
Regarding their wedding night, he was very very gentle in the book. He actually asked her, "No?" to which she replied "Yes." I still haven't watched the show but this OTP/Daenerys is what I read the books for. I am thoroughly heart broken by the end of book 1, but the ending oddly spurs me on because I am totally supporting Dany and her endeavours now.

[hamster428.livejournal.com]

Oh, and the one problem I have with the series is that the characters are VERY young... as in tweens and teens. And they're either having sex or talking about having sex. It's just... disturbing that twelve years-olds are aware that they're "flowering" and can be bedded o_0

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Hmm, glad I didn't read the books then as all the actors are adult.

Drogo/Dany

[siobhan (from livejournal.com)]

Yeah I saw the first episode the other day and am very annoyed about how they handled their first time.

That is not how it went down at all. Though I am happy all the characters were aged up because it would have been horribly disturbing if everyone were their true ages.

Afterwards she was horribly sore from all the riding and him coming in and doing his business did not help. Eventually she gets used to the riding and it works out but since all that gets covered in a few pages it doesn't really allow you to get a scope of time.

As far as the rapes and otherwise...the timeframe and the world they live in, while not remotely cool, is what it is...and the books are GRIM. Heck it's still like that in various aspects around the world. When Dance With Dragons finally comes out in July I can only imagine what further abuse GRRM will reap upon his characters.

Re: Drogo/Dany

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it's not for my weak stomach :)

[rectherapyfreak.livejournal.com]

I believe in the book he does not rape her on their wedding. I could be wrong. I ship hard for Drogo/Dany.

I like the books series because it is so grim. I like the fact that you have no clue who is going to live/die. Love it. Removes me from my own misery. :D Atleast my brothers didn't trade me for an army...

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

See, I like my stuff more cheerful :)