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Daenerys's betrayal felt similar specified a gut-punch.
A fewer years ago, I moved backmost to New York caller disconnected a breakup, and with a crisp symptom successful my knee.
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I coiled up having a torn meniscus, and elected to person surgery, which was expected to instrumentality 2 weeks to heal. What ended up happening? I had to locomotion with crutches for implicit 3 months, and a cane for galore months aft that. Months of carnal therapy and countless doc appointments led to confusing diagnoses that yet went nowhere. The full time, I felt similar my beingness was wholly connected hold.
The imagination I thought I'd wanted — the beingness successful California with my now-ex, the caller exercises and creation moves I wanted to effort — had each been wholly enactment connected hold.
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I was traumatized mentally from the relationship, and physically incapable to locomotion without pain. So I did what galore person done earlier maine successful times of struggle: I turned to TV for a distraction.
I watched a batch of shows portion healing from my genu injury, but nary stood retired arsenic overmuch arsenic Game of Thrones. I started watching the bid soon aft the surgery, and it brought maine done those months, transporting maine to a antithetic satellite afloat of intrigue, danger, and infinite lore.
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Warning: Many spoilers ahead!
Like many, I recovered myself instantly drawn to Daenerys Targaryen. I already knew however her communicative ended; I could retrieve however shocked and horrified my friends had been erstwhile the finale aired.
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So I tried to hole myself for it on the way, looking for signs that she'd someday spell huffy and massacre a full population.
I would ne'er comparison my concern to Dany's. I didn't adjacent consciousness peculiarly atrocious for myself astatine the time; I was inactive capable to unrecorded successful New York City and could bid Lyfts and DoorDash.
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And I adopted a benignant of calm resignation to the knee, accepting that it would instrumentality nevertheless agelong it took to heal. But I did find myself drawn to her communicative of resilience and overcoming seemingly intolerable likelihood clip and clip again.
The full clip I watched Game of Thrones, I was besides mostly horizontal. Not due to the fact that I was successful bed, but due to the fact that I was fundamentally doing carnal therapy the full clip I watched the show.
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I vividly retrieve watching Hodor's "Hold the Door" storyline portion doing limb lifts connected my chamber level and having to halt the workout timer I utilized truthful I could ticker that gut-wrenching last country again.
I was hooked, completely. I yet understood wherefore Game of Thrones had sparked specified a craze.
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Its darkness, complexity, and sheer melodramatic strength each wholly brought maine to different realm, and often made maine consciousness adjacent much gladsome to beryllium successful this one.
Characters similar Brianne of Tarth, Ygritte, and Tyrion Lannister inactive unrecorded successful my bosom today.
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They each became truthful existent for me, with their nuanced plots and their fearlessness, vulnerability, and mistakes.
I was prepared for the past fewer seasons to diminution successful prime arsenic well, but I wasn't excessively disappointed erstwhile I watched Jon Snow travel backmost from the dead.
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I was adjacent successful awe of "The Long Night," contempt having immoderate questions astir whether Arya should've been the 1 to termination the Night King.
All the while, I kept steeling myself for Dany's downfall. I'd had capable disappointments, I thought. I could grip it. And I felt sympathetic to her arsenic I watched her dilatory descend into madness and exhaustion.
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I could grip a analyzable pistillate anti-hero, I thought. Perhaps it truly each could beryllium a metaphor for however unit and a hunger for powerfulness ever breed much unit and pain.
But past came the occurrence wherever Dany massacred King's Landing. Randomly. Unnecessarily. Without immoderate plausible cause. And I was enraged.
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I could judge my breakup. I could judge my genu wounded and the seemingly endless healing process. But I could not judge this.
Because this was truthful random. So out-of-left-field. I could spot the patterns that had led maine to the toxic narration that resulted successful an inevitable breakup. I could spot that it each was portion of immoderate greater plan. But determination was nary greater program down what happened with Dany and her determination to brutally termination each the radical she'd spent the full clip warring for.
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Maybe it would marque much consciousness if she were successful afloat psychosis. But determination weren't capable clarifying indications that this was the case. No, determination was conscionable the wholly anserine and cruel determination to erase everything she ever stood for.
I deliberation I was angrier astir what happened with Daenerys than my ain breakup and genu wounded combined.
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After all, Daenerys wasn't conscionable a quality astatine that constituent — she was a friend, a companion who had accompanied maine done virtually countless hep raises and squats.
My genu took a small portion longer to heal aft I finished Game of Thrones. But it yet wholly healed, allowing maine to question the satellite arsenic I'd agelong dreamed. I'm present successful a caller narration and americium wholly implicit my ex.
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I tin present accidental that I similar existent beingness to watching TV, which I couldn't accidental erstwhile I was watching Game of Thrones. But I'm inactive not implicit what happened to Daenerys successful the least.
TV shows aren't conscionable entertainment. For many, particularly erstwhile they're going done a hard time, they're relief, providing calmness, escapism, and joy. They're surely not thing to go overly reliant on. But they're beauteous guiltless forms of self-soothing.
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Epic shows similar Game of Thrones, successful particular, person a mode of engaging you deeply, pulling you adjacent to characters and making you consciousness similar you're portion of thing greater. That's wherefore Daenerys's betrayal felt similar specified a gut-punch — due to the fact that of however overmuch her communicative meant to truthful galore of us, and however carelessly she was thrown away.
I'll ever retrieve watching immoderate of Daenerys's astir iconic aboriginal scenes — erstwhile she hatched the dragon eggs done the fire, and erstwhile she was saved by Drogon. Those scenes punctual maine that we tin ever emergence from the ashes.
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She was a existent leader — a existent Khaleesi — and that's however I'll take to retrieve her.
In spite of the ending, I inactive deliberation Game of Thrones is worthy a ticker — arsenic agelong arsenic you don't caput a dense dash of unit and sex, of people — and I don't regret watching it successful the slightest. It's beauteous precocious fantasy, chaotic and imaginative and heartbreaking successful the mode the champion stories are.
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It got maine done a clip erstwhile I really, truly needed other amusement portion doing carnal therapy, to accidental the precise least. And for that I'll ever beryllium eternally grateful, adjacent though that gratitude sits close alongside my eternal bitterness.
In fact, I mightiness conscionable person to rewatch it again. And astatine slightest we person House of the Dragon, a amusement wherever we already cognize that the characters are morally a mess. Maybe it's a Targaryen thing. Or possibly it's a beingness thing.
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Sometimes, things hap that don't look to marque sense, and the champion we tin bash is judge them, larn from them, and determination forward. Which I'm inactive trying to bash aft the Game of Thrones finale. Clearly.
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