I'm Over Game Of Thrones

Yes. That's right. You read right. I. Am. Over. Game Of Thrones. 

Well, over watching it, at least. I might still read the books. 

I know, I know. You're probably choking on your own spit right now. "Why how?!" "But! So good it's! Show so good! RAWR" "But! Everyone is watching! Watch it everyonepeoples!" Those are the thought running through your mind right now, I know. You are so shocked and outraged that your own thoughts cannot even make sense of themselves. Because everyone is watching it and everyone just loves it.

But I'd like to say: I don't care what everyone says. I am not watching another minute of it. Poppycock. That's what it is.

All throughout Season 1, I had to cover my eyes and cover my ears and whisper "is the bad part over?" but I thought, "at least it can't get any worse". Right? Then came Season 2. Three episodes in and I felt too dirty, violated and unhappy in the general mind region to watch another episode.

It's not just the incredibly graphic murder scenes of people being slain, stabbed, beheaded and hanged. Or the incredibly graphic rape scenes that leave my skin crawling. Or the weird sex scenes that make me feel like I should be entering my credit card details to watch them. It's not even the entirely too real human heads being speared, accompanied by all too real sound effects. It's the combination of all of these that make the show something that just doesn't  make me feel good.

It doesn't leave me feeling relaxed or happy or any other nice feelings. It doesn't leave me feeling like I can't wait to see more of it. It leaves me feeling like a need a hug. Perhaps some chamomile tea.

And while you may be thinking "So what? Just watch it anyway" I have to just ask: Why? If you feel the same way I do, then I have to wonder why exactly you're putting yourself through that. (And if you honestly, really really don't, not even a tiny little bit... I worry about your mental state)

I came to the above conclusion after two back-to-back seasons of Downton Abbey. I suppose I was just so happy to watch a show that didn't rely on the sensationalism of outrageous rape and incestuous sex scenes, murder scenes that don't cut away from the gory bits quick enough to allow your imagination to make its own mind up, or the continuous in-your-face abuse of women. A show that focusses all it's energy on phenomenal scripts, and working with actors who understand the value of the minutiae raise of an eyebrow.

Every episode of Downton Abbey left me feeling good. Even the sad ones. Because even in the sad episodes, something good happens. Someone says something funny, or one of the ensemble cast's story line takes an upturn. No one gets an axe to the stomach, spewing the contents of their innards into another characters face. No one violently rapes and tortures anyone's slave before slitting their throat. No one even swears!

It's not that I am morally opposed to watching shows that contain (over-the-top amounts of) violence or sex. It's just that I really prefer clever writing. Small details. Dry scripts. The subtlety of English humour. It makes me feel clever, like I have figured something out or like I understand so much about human nature. As opposed to feeling like Hollywood is trying to breed a TV watching society of violent, desensitised humanoids. Like they're sitting in their studios going "LOL! Let's see how much filth we can put into people's eyeballs and brains before they catch on! ROFL!"

So yes, it's the stark contrast between two seasons of English drama and then diving back into episode 3 of GOT S2 that prompted my decision to no longer pollute my being with shows that make me feel so vile. If you are what you eat, surely the same goes for what you watch? After all, the eyes are the window to the soul. And windows work two ways.