Ye have been warned.

So Sunday night I watched Game of Thrones, and it seems I had the same reaction that most of the internet had:  "whoa. "  At the time, I was perturbed but not completely upset, as the remainder of the episode played out, Tyrion gave some good one-liners, Daenerys was a badass, and things seemed fine.  So I went on the AV Club after watching, cause I wholeheartedly enjoy reading their reviews about the show, since they offer both a set for book readers and a set for non-readers.  I like to read both just to see what people from each side think.  The expert review for this episode, "Breaker of Chains," mentioned another article on the site by Sonia Saraiya that talked about Game of Thrones and sexual assault.

It's a terrific read, by the by, and everyone should take a moment out of their day to give it a read.

I'm less confident in the thesis of the byline on the article (which could have been the AV Club itself rather than Saraiya, who knows), which reads "Why are the Game of Thrones showrunners rewriting the books into misogyny?"

Are they?  To be sure, last episode's controversial scene was an especially sticky wicket, one which I'll get into from a storytelling perspective on Friday.  Right now, though, I want to take a hard look at this show and see if it can fairly be categorized as a program that promotes the "hatred, dislike, or mistrust of women."

A Song of Ice and Fire, the book series on which Game of Thrones is based, is widely hailed as being one of the most progressive fantasy epics of all time, with broad portrayals of women both weak and strong, all of whom have believable motivations, backgrounds, and development.  Although not strictly speaking a feminist work in that it does not take a firm stance on women's issues, it presents a world where women's voices are routinely drowned out or marginalized, and presents a wide range of perspectives on that type of universe.

Much has been made already about how the TV series has changed from the books, but the rape scene (for it was unquestionably rape) was particularly noted as an anomaly.  Still, there have already been points of divergence that could lead one to believe the series is taking on a decidedly unfriendly stance towards women.

The most egregious example, of course, is the other rape-where-there-was-none, also mentioned in Saraiya's article:  Khal Drogo's assault on Daenerys Targaryen.  Without going into too much detail, suffice it to say that in the book this is an explicitly consensual encounter, with Drogo asking permission, and Daenerys taking the lead on saying yes.  In the TV series, Drogo's query - "no?" - is now a command, a refusal of Dany's refusal.

The problem with this shift isn't just that it was quickly forgotten both by the showrunners and the viewers alike.  It's that it completely changes the dynamic of Dany and Drogo's relationship.  Indeed, it shapes Dany's character for the remainder of her sexual experiences.  In the books, Drogo recognizes Daenerys has been abused by her brother and has been controlled by men for the entirety of her life.  His decision to respect her boundaries and her subsequent decision to permit their consummation is the first time she has met a man who is asking her what SHE wants.  Indeed, Drogo continues to support Dany in her development and even follows her request that the Dothraki stop their standard rape-and-pillage tactics.  It's vital to her later development as a strong, independent queen.

skARTistic via Compfight cc

Contrast this with the TV show.  Dany is taken by Drogo in a brutal scene where she weeps openly.  Subsequent scenes of their sex life show him roughly assailing her from behind as she distracts herself with thoughts of her dragons, or with a pained expression on her face.  Only later does she call upon the advice of a handmaiden, Doreah, and discovers the miracle of woman-on-top intercourse.  She does this, however, out of a desire to "make the Khal happy."  Now, far be it from me to complain about  woman wanting to make a man happy in bed - indeed I encourage all people everywhere to make their sexual partner happy in bed - but the point is that there is no smooth transition from the earlier rape scene to this point.  It simply doesn't make sense for Dany to love Drogo in the TV series.  He's an impeccable specimen of masculinity, sure, but you'd think she'd hold the whole "rape" thing over him a while longer.

In fact, I'd go as far as to say that there is a wider sexual disparity occurring all through the TV series.  If you're not sure what I mean, let me introduce you to College Humor's "HBO Should Show Dongs" video.  It's pretty damn funny.  It's also 100% true.  The sheer volume of female nudity as compared to male nudity is overwhelming.  Now, there's all kinds of plausible reasons for this, numero uno undoubtedly being network guidelines governing the portrayal of genitalia (male and female) vs. the portrayal of bare breasts.  There is, of course, also the simple fact that women's breasts are the great sexual inequalizer in Western society.  Shirtless male = day at the beach, shirtless female = sexy fun time a go-go.

Chris Hunkeler via Compfight cc

It's worth pointing out that the society of Westeros is wholly a male-dominated society, so it's not altogether out of the realm of possibility that a significant number of women would turn to prostitution as a form of self-sufficiency.  Still, the frequency of women disrobing to men disrobing is hardly limited to the whores of King's Landing.  Melisandre, Ygrette, Osha, Talisa and even Brienne have all been full or partially nude, in scenes that either called for it or didn't.

Speaking of Brienne, the show has gone to great pains to keep her "warrior-woman" spirit intact, which I wholly applaud.  But has anyone else noticed that she seems to be the ONLY warrior woman in Westeros?

Oh, sure, there's Osha and Ygrette, but they're both wildlings.  There's also Meera Reid, but she hasn't demonstrated any substantial fighting prowess, and for that matter Meera and Jojen both kind of exist on their own, rather than actively fighting for an army.  One could perhaps argue that Arya will become a warrior woman, but thus far she's relied on men to do much of the dirty work for her.  In her most recent "action" scene, she aided the Hound, but the men she felled were already well wounded or taken by surprise.

Brienne, on the other hand, is a professional soldier and fighter who bests some of the toughest combatants in the Seven Kingdoms.  Here's the thing.  In the book, while it's established that "warrior women" are a rarity in Westeros, we do encounter some.  A whole family, in fact.  If you're a TV watcher only, you'll have heard the name "Mormont" a number of times, but only in reference to two men (and now only to one):  Jeor and Jorah Mormont.

What's been cut from the TV show is the huge female branch of house Mormont, a group of sisters who rule Bear Island under matriarch Maege Mormont, Jeor's sister.  See, Jeor, as a member of the Night's Watch, surrendered all lands and titles when he took the job.  They would have passed to Jorah, but - and this IS mentioned in the show - Jorah sold slaves, and his father disowned him  Maege, meanwhile, had only daughters, and as such the rights to Bear Island will pass to a female Mormont no matter what.

To be sure, these characters are bit parts.  The largest is probably Maege and her daughter Dacey.  Dacey figures in Robb's story arc as one of his bannermen, and she meets her end at the Red Wedding with an axe to the gut.  Ick.

But they serve a key purpose:  to demonstrate how a household, no matter how rarely, can in fact end up being run exclusively by women.  At the same time, they show how these women have to be tough as nails to make sure their voice is heard amongst the other banners.

So there's the problems.  Are there things the TV show does BETTER?

Yes, actually.  Shae is now a full-fledged character, who genuinely seems to care not only for Tyrion but also for Sansa.  In the books, she isn't given much to work with, mainly because her part is viewed through Tyrion's perspective.

Talisa Stark, despite her gruesome end, is also given a greatly expanded role.  In the books, she is Jeyne Westerling, and Robb only marries her because he feels it is only right after they go to bed together.  Though Jeyne is still alive in the book universe, she isn't much of a character and largely served to compliment Robb's development as an echo of his father.

Ros is a character created by and for the TV series that adds some depth to the intrigue of King's Landing.  Unfortunately, it's hard to overlook the fact that she begins as a prostitute and meets her end in a sort of sexual torture scene by Joffrey's hand (though the actual violence is not seen, only the end result).  It's hard to see this as either a net gain or loss for the series in their portrayal of women.




At the end of the day, is the TV show Game of Thrones outright misogynist?  I'm not yet prepared to go that far.  I will say that it's treading a fine line, and it best be careful not to alienate a large chunk of its audience with many more of the kinds of scenes like we saw last Sunday.  On Friday, I'll talk a bit more about sexual assault, rape, and storytelling.  For now, I leave it at that:  probation.  Let's hope it doesn't break it.