A Tribute to Game of Thrones

Published May 21, 2019 · Updated July 6, 2022

Hey Guys,

I’m sure you’ve gotten more of these kinds of emails than you can count, but I figured I’d share my journey with these books and this show with you and the podcast:

In Spring 2010, I picked up A Game of Thrones and almost immediately fell in love with Westeros and its inhabitants. I read through the then-remaining three books – thousands of pages – in two weeks. Naturally, Tyrion was my favorite character. I had maybe one friend who knew who Tyrion Lannister was. I remember hearing that HBO was planning on adapting the novels to a show. I didn’t think much of it.

In April 2011, I sat down to watch the first episode of Game of Thrones the Monday after it aired. I must have sat there, in my parent’s living room, with my mouth hanging open the entire time. To see a world I had fallen in love with so masterfully adapted for the first time was something I’ll never forget. I remember hoping people would fall in love with Martin’s world as I had.

It’s now May 2019. Game of Thrones has become a worldwide phenomenon. I’d be willing to bet that most, if not all, of my friends, know who Tyrion Lannister is. Better still, I’ve had almost a decade to discuss, debate, theorize about, and mostly just share the enjoyment of George RR Martin’s world with so many different people. Sitting here now, I am still a bit in disbelief that so many have become so passionate about Game of Thrones. But maybe I shouldn’t be so surprised, maybe I should have seen it coming back in 2010. As my favorite Lannister once said, there’s nothing more powerful than a good story.

I personally loved the finale. But even if I didn’t, I would still be grateful to the show for sharing such an incredible story – and more broadly for sharing the fantasy genre – with so many people who may never have otherwise found it on their own. The last decade of being able to talk about my favorite books – and, yes, my favorite TV show – with so many has been a real gift.

I look forward to the time when a worthy successor to Game of Thrones captures all of our hearts and imaginations. I look forward to the coming discussions, debates, theories, and shared enjoyment of yet another good story. But for now, I look back with mixed emotions – mostly gratitude, yet not without some sense of loss. A bittersweet ending indeed.

It’s been a tremendous journey, friends, but now our watch has ended.

Ken Listwak

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