Binge Mode is a hit! I’ve
been ravenously scarfing down every episode.
Mallory Rubin nimbly guides us through the highs and lows of each
episode in a Cliffs Notes sort of way. Jason
Concepcion chimes in with all of the intricate details while his impressions
really push the whole thing over the top as an entertaining recap of everything
we might have missed, forgotten, or wanted to relive about Game of Thrones. I’ve been enjoying every minute...well, almost
every minute. Here’s my one beef...
What the #$%^ did Ned Stark ever do to them? They pounce relentlessly on Ned every chance
they get. It started with the season one
recaps. Ok fine. I thought they were a little harsh on the
guy, but considering the end result of his actions, I get the criticism. If he had climbed down off his horse and
sparred in the mud just a little bit maybe he’d be sitting on his throne up
North to this day laughing with Rob and Arya as the Lannisters futilely tried to
bust through Moat Cailin. Still, relax a little. Ned had some redeeming qualities. Not the
least of which being he was a good dude. Heaven forbid we cheer for that.
Then, to throw a little salt in the wound, your crew
specifically designed a feature in the show to honor the fallen
characters. Freaking Viserys Targaryen had
the solemn bell chime to mark his death.
The whole time Rubin and Concepcion were thrashing Ned throughout the
season one recaps I sat gritting my teeth, but I took a small amount of solace
knowing episode S1E9 was coming and poor Ned could finally rest in peace. Once
last moment of healing closure for Eddard Stark. All I wanted was that stupid little sound bite. Low and behold, we came to it. I relived Ice slicing through poor Ned’s neck
and what did I get? Silence! C’mon, really? Even freaking Ros got the bell to dong. Ok, no
problem. Easy mistake I guess. Well at least the slandering was
finished. Nope! The Rubin and Concepcion
bus kept right on rolling through season’s 2 and 3. “Look Mallory, there’s Ned’s body!” Forward! Reverse! Forward!
Reverse! “Oh look what Rob did.
He wasn’t stupid like Ned.” “Oops,
Rob blew it. Just like Ned.” “Tyrion is so smart, unlike Ned.” ALRIGHT ALREADY! In the wise words of Nicholas Cage, why don’t
you cut him SOME FREAKING SLACK! “Oh
Ned, after the war he just buried his head in the sand and hid up north and
left Robert by himself.” Okay, Maester
Aemon was praised for taking himself off the chess board for personal
reasons. Yet Ned withdraws to the North
to run his homeland with pride and dignity after fighting a war to overthrow
the entire kingdom to avenge his family that had just been murdered and somehow
he’s a coward? Yes, he allows his sense
of duty/loyalty to drag his family back into the snakepit that cost them all so
dearly, but let’s think a little more about why he did what he did rather than continuously
spitting on his grave. “He’s an honorable fool!” Settle down Rubin, just listen for a minute!
Ned tells Cersei he knew about her imbred offspring when she
still had time to react. He could have
ruthlessly waited to spring it on her at the most opportune time. Instead he played his cards early and he got
himself killed. On the surface it was a
dunderheaded blunder. The assertion laid
out by Rubin and Concepcion was that Ned’s lack of intelligence cost him his
life. His rigid ideals blinded him from
seeing his impending doom. It was Ned’s
fatal flaw. But to channel Tyrion to
some extent, what is flaw and what is strength? What would Ned have gained from being
ruthless? A longer life? Less pain? Less suffering? More land?
Titles, titles, titles? Familial
longevity? Honor can sometimes be
confused with arrogance when at its roots it is about what’s right and
good. If Ned had played the game he
might have lived longer. He could have
lived that day. Or he could have died the
next day while sitting on a toilet with crossbow bolts in his gut. Or he could have lived for decades. What is the difference next to a weirwood
tree that will live on centuries later? Would
it be better if they wrote songs about him?
Would it be better if they wrote books about him? What are the views of living men in Westeros
to a dead man? Ned Stark prays to the haunted
faces of ancient trees.
Only the ladder is real.
The climb is all there is. Ned
disagrees. How you climb is all there
is. Legacy is not tied up in the
perceptions of those who live on. All we
have are the things we do. Adhering to that principal to the bitter end may be
perilous, but it is a risk well worth the gamble. Care about the rest and you’re just kidding yourself. The trees see everything. That is what Ned believes. That is who he is. He deserves at least a nod for what he did
and how he did it. So let’s hear a bell
toll for Ned Stark. RIP Ned. You have been missed.
That's all for now. Long live Bill Simmons,
-a fan
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