Mara Barron
Introduction
The first time I watched HBO’s Game of Thrones I was enthralled, but scared. My parents were wholly unaware of me because I would sit halfway down the stairwell to look at my grandmother’s faded painting. The painting was so lightly colored, that I could watch the TV through its reflection. So, I would sit there and watched as dead zombie-like bodies tried to rip the living to shreds, a platinum-blonde-haired woman burn her enemies alive, and seemingly everyone else get butchered. I loved watching Game of Thrones even though I found its violence, nudity, and coarse language terrifying. I kept watching the show until I was caught watching the episode, “The Red Wedding.” That night, my mother was going to my room to tuck me in for the night, but instead found me clutching the stairwell railing. I was immersed in the violence massacre scene when I felt her presences and quickly fled the scene. She came into my room and told me sternly, “that show is too “adult” for you,” and kissed me good night. But as I lay there, I couldn’t help but want to know more. Now, I am an adult and I want to revisit the episode. Game of Thrones came out in 2011, has five seasons, been nominated for multiple Emmy awards and won, and its sixth season will be released sometime in 2016 due the massive amount of fan requests. Its franchise is so large, that a quick google search or search on the AU databases reveals that millions of people are offering their scholarly and non scholarly opinions and ideas about the show on online newspaper articles, social media posts, blogs, reviews, and even the special fan-based Wikipedia site. Thus, Game of Thrones is well loved by millions of viewers and I am one of them. Game of Thrones has also been continuously discussed and I intend to join and contribute to those conversations. So I applied for a free trial membership on the HBOnow website and have gotten up to the fifth episode is season four. I plan on finishing the series before the end of the month so that I’m caught up. So when I first began researching the episode, I realized the name, “The Red Wedding,” was not the actual name of the episode in the show, but a fanmade name that the writers adopted. The real name of the episode was “The Rains of Castamere,” but most articles go by “The Red Wedding”. So, after figuring this out and watching the episode, I began to ask, why was this episode so popular? What was the main reason for this episode’s popularity? Was its popularity the result of many or one single reason?
Maybe it was the cruelty of murdering a family at a wedding? In medieval times, marriage was one of the most sacred holy sacraments. Therefore, murdering a whole family might be considered an atrocity. But, articles like “Soften Game of Thrones’ cruelty and it wouldn’t be so moving,” argue that watching others suffer brings out human empathy. But does that mean everyone responded in that way? Personally, having previously watched and read about the episode, I reacted differently from others. I felt sad, but I didn’t feel anything extreme. Was my reaction wrong because others reacted differently? Social media, in particular twitters’ #Redweddingtears, #GoT, and #TheRainsofCastamere suggested the normal reaction was extreme anger or sadness. But what about the scholars? What were they saying? Magazines, journals and newspapers like The Atlantic, CNN, The Vulture, and Entertainment Weekly were all reporting, analyzing, and interviewing the creators and cast of the show. But, would that tell me why the episode was popular? Maybe because the director, David Nutter was interviewed and is a renowned pilot maker whose skills have resulted in making millions of dollars and multiple nominations for prestigious awards. He was responsible for creating people’s favorite scenes such as Tyrion Lannister looking into the screen as the tragic song, “The Rains of Castamere” plays and making the murder of character Robb Stark as painful as possible. Yet, there must be more reasons for why this episode was popular? Maybe the author, George R.R. Martin’s presence helped with the scene? Or maybe the actors performed even better than they normally do? Or maybe the written script itself was of higher quality and that’s why people loved “The Red Wedding.” There must be other reasons for why people enjoyed the episode. What are those other reasons and have there been any other episodes that have been even more intense than “The Red Wedding?” If so, who is saying that and why?

Annotated Bibliography
Benioff, D. (Writer), & Nutter, B. (Director). (2015). The Rains of Castamere [Television series episode]. In D. B. Weiss (Executive Producer), Game of Thrones. New York, NY: HBOnow
Director David Nutter collaborated with writer Davis Benioff and executive producer D.B. Weiss in creating “The Red Wedding” episode in HBO’s Game of Thrones. “The Red Wedding” episode changes the course of the show because it ends one major story line (House Stark), begins a new one for character Arya Stark, confirms the Lannister’s and Frey’s are evil, and makes viewers wonder where Jon Snow’s alliances lie. “The Red Wedding” is most well-known for its massacre of characters Robb Stark, Catelyn Stark, Talisa, and Lord Frey’s wife and daughter. Before this episode, Robb Stark was a major character for ultimate control over the land of Westeros. Catelyn Stark was a major character as well trying to secure her son allies for his war and serving justice to those she hated. However, in “The Red Wedding” both are murdered by another evil character, Lord Frey. Lord Frey kills the Starks because of a broken marriage oath along with Robb Stark’s wife, Talisa, and her unborn baby. While this happens, Arya Stark tries to return to her family, but instead watches her brother’s behead body get carried out of Lord Frey’s gates. From then on, Arya Stark enjoys killing her enemies in painful ways such as when she retrieves her sword and stabs a man through his throat. Lastly, Jon Snow is accepted by his enemies, the Wildling clan, and sleeps with one of them. Viewers don’t know if he is doing this in order to get information for the order, the King’s guard, or he if is just a crook. Yet, later Jon Snow asserts himself as a knight of the King’s guard by betraying the Wildling clan, telling leaders of the King’s guard the Wildling plans, and the lies he told them. “The Red Wedding” was the most watched show until season five’s finale, “Mother Mercy.” This is unusual since “The Red Wedding” was not season two’s finale.
Bricken, R. (2013, June 3). the 100+ Best Tweets about last night’s Game of Thrones. io9 [Web log post] Retrieved from http://io9.com/the-100-best-tweets-about-last-nights-game-of-thrones-511003444
In a blog post titled "the 100+ Best Tweets about last night’s Game of Thrones,” Rob Bricken records the massive and varied twitter responses the night the episode “the Reign of Castamere”, also called “The Red Wedding,” aired. Bricken proposes the unprecedented response of terror, anger, sadness, pain, and comedy on twitter was because people wanted to vent their feelings over the episode’s events. He added that viewers had become overly attached to their favorite characters and found it emotionally difficult to watch them die. He proves his proclamation by listing what he considers the best “reaction” tweets. These tweets range from asking for a hug, to rocking back and forth in fetal position while singing the episode’s anthem. Some blatantly threatened to murder the author while others denounced the butchery of character Robb Stark through humor. Overall, tweeters responded in every possible way from one extreme to the next. Thus, Mr. Bricken warns potential viewers of Game of Thrones and readers of the blog to prepare themselves for the emotional rollercoaster that comes with this episode. Mr. Bricken is a senior editor to the io9 blog and was chief editor to blog toplessrobot. Toplessrobot was covered by Wired, New York Times Magazine, ABC News and praised by Avengers actor Clark Gregg, comedian and The Daily Show correspondent John Hodgman, and more.
Game of Thrones Round Table (2013, June 3). Was Game of Thrones’ Crazy, Bloody Showdow… Underwhelming? The Atlantic Retrieved from http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2013/06/was-i-game-of-thrones-i-crazy-bloody-showdown-underwhelming/276445/
The magazine, the Atlantic, posted an article where three authors (Ross Douthat, Spencer
Kornhaberm and Christopher Orr) who call themselves, the Game of Thrones Roundtable, debated whether or not, “The Red Wedding” episode was underwhelming. While, Orr and Douthat both agree the episode was underwhelming, Kornhaberm argues the skills of writers D.B. Weiss and Benioff kept viewers interested and guessing what was to come next. Especially since foreshadow was both subtle and dramatic. For example, in the first scene, Robb Stark declares that he will win the war or lose everything and he does. On the other hand, Orr believes book readers would find the episode too predictable. He states the show follows the book very tightly and that placing “The Red Wedding” placed between an extremely exciting episode and a boring one, made it seem out of place. He adds that the episode was either too slow or two fast in plot and character development. For example, while Jon Snow is sleeping with his enemy, characters Gilly is complementing Sam on his knowledge of books. Yet, he wants to stress that he agrees with Kornhaberm proclamation that the episode’s massacre was well planned out. However, Douthat explains why he believes “The Red Wedding” is disappointing for books readers. Douthat argues the book was well structured while the TV episode was not. He believes since “The Red Wedding” happens in the middle of the book, readers are not expecting it, however, the show clearly is building up to some massive event. Another reason was Douthat thought there were too many events. Douthat thought adding the Gilly and Sam scene was unnecessary. He also thought the way Talisa died was callus and proposes that she could have died more cleanly. Overall, the three were comparing the book’s events to the shows and agree or disagreeing with each other’s ideas and opinions. Orr and Kornhaberm are writers for the Atlantic magazine and Ross Douthat writes for the New York Times newspaper. While The Atlantic is a news and commentary magazine that writes about today’s debates and topics, the New York Times is a newspaper with 117 Pulitzer Prizes.
Hibberd, J. (2013, June 2). Game of Thrones recap: The Red Wedding Entertainment Weekly Retrieved from http://www.ew.com/recap/game-of-thrones-recap-red-wedding-castamere/2
In an Entertainment Weekly article, James Hibberd first summaries the brutal and devastating events of Game of Throne’s episode, “The Red Wedding;” then he declares it disturbing, cruel, and unfair. He declares this is because of three reasons: the elimination of a predominant power (House Stark), the death of innocent characters Catelyn Stark, Talisa, and Lord Frey’s wife and daughter, and the murder of Rob Stark. Hibberd claims that he, along with many other viewers, found the episode too emotionally upsetting because viewers didn’t want to watch their favorite characters die. Especially since the Stark family is killed by their best quality: strong morals. Hibberd also asserts that unlike today, in medieval times pursuing true love kills. For example, Robb Stark is murdered by Lord Frey for marrying a girl he truly loves. Character Jaimie Lannister starts a war with House Stark as a result of trying to keep his and his sister’s incestuous relationship a secret. Lastly, Hibberd applauds the writers, directors, and author George R.R. Martin for their meticulous planning and foreshadow in previous episodes that set up “The Red Wedding” tragedy. He believes their excellent work in “The Red Wedding” has changed the course of the show. Thus, Hibberd warns readers of Entertainment Weekly and viewers of “Game of Thrones” to prepare for the episode’s potential emotional upheaval. The Entertainment Weekly is an online magazine that reports about entertainment news, interviews, and reviews of music, film, TV, and books. James Hibberd is a retired Hollywood news and analysis writer who is now the editor of Entertainment Week. In the past, he has written articles about America’s Next Top Model, Nancy Drew, CBS and ABC Family networks, shows on Netflix, HBO, and even up and coming shows like Blindspot.
Nutter, David. (Interviewee) “Taking Off.” Brian Lowry. (Interviewer) Director’s Guild of America, 2013, Fall. Web. 17 Oct. 2015.
In a Director’s Guild of America article called Taking Off, critic and columnist from Variety entertainment, Brian Lowry interviews acclaimed pilot director David Nutter. Lowry proclaims that Nutter is a mastermind at his trade, the best in his field, and wants to learn more about Nutter’s directorial process. Lowry argues that only Nutter can be successful in every genre of film. For example he has directed works such as Arrow, The Mentalist, Homeland, X-files, Entourage, The Red Wedding in Game of Thrones, 21 Jump Street and more became popular. Lowry adds that 17 out of the 19 pilots Nutter shot turned into successful television shows or movies. Yet, Lowry emphasizes that collaborating with others, perfectionism, and patience are the key to Nutter’s success. For example, in the Game of Thrones episode “The Red Wedding” Lowry prepared himself for the scene nine months prior to filming and restricted how much information he knew about the episode in order to film based on a first impression basis. Nutter gave special directorial advice to actor Richard Madden who plays character Robb Stark, to pretend he was speaking a silent soliloquy to perfect the mood of the murder scene. Lastly, Lowry adds that when Nutter was shooting the pilot for the mentalist, he only had 9 weeks to complete it in and that every moment was utilized to its full potential. Thus, for viewers of any of Nutter’s works and to film makers and enthusiast that want to learn more about the process of film making would enjoy Lowry’s interview with Nutter. Also, the Directors Guild of America is an association that selectively picks film and television directors in the US in the film industry. The DGA gives some of the most prestigious awards in the film industry.

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