A watch that supersizes the best and worst within us

A watch that supersizes the best and worst within us

When Game of Thrones first premiered here last year, it gave no inkling as to how addictive it would go on to become. Perhaps it was the very elements that made it commonplace here, that later made for compelling draw, enough to return to, with bated breath, every week up until the first season ended. Because we too have epic tales set against a fantastical backdrop, elaborate sets. We too have overreaching tales where feuding royals battle for what’s important to them — kingdoms, land, honour… family. We too have mirrors held up, to ourselves — both the best and the worst in us — in our living rooms, as emotions span the gamut: envy, greed, lust, betrayal or then grace, strength, loyalty, valour. Somewhere along the way, these similarities stopped being a reason not to pay attention to this dramatic Western miniseries, anchored so much in our own, indeed global sensibility of the eternal human condition, that constant striving to defend/fightfor beliefs, no matter the cost. Instead it became a reason as to why, not just me, but my family and peers and (as I later learned) many others too, tuned into Game of Thrones with as much attention as the audiences abroad that it was originally made for. The critically-acclaimed series, which incidentally picked up numerous awards including a Golden Globe this year and an Emmy for Best Drama, apart from being nominated/awarded in other categories (best supporting actors, etc), follows the fates of four dynastic families as they fight for the Iron Throne. Beyond the intrigues of their own contained drama, lies something bigger than them all — the untamed ice-covered North, where dark things move and to the East, the heathen tribes (with dragon eggs, not hatched for centuries) — both of which are now rising. Presented on an epic scale (it has been compared to the iconic Lord of the Rings) and made on huge budgets, spanning panoramic locales and shot all over the world (ensuring high production values, naturally), the series is based on RR Martin’s novels by the same name. Season Two, which started in India this week begins where the first season left off — the King’s Hand, popular character Ned Stark beheaded, his two daughters in enemy territory, his young son attempting to group feuding families together to help bring his sisters to safety. Add to this the wiles of the underage poisonous monarch born of incest, the Northern horrors rising in the ice and young dragons hatched to the East with the dead heathen’s blonde wife and here’s a recipe for a riveting enough second season. Watch it, certainly with family and friends, though the little ones may be spared the big battles and the blood and gore that comes with an epic fantasy tale that, as an international critic put it, is ‘made for adults, by adults.’