Game of Thrones 6x04/05 — Love and Suffering

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Spoilers for Game of Thrones up to Season 6, Episode 5 and all books.

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Undoubtedly the greatest twist in Game of Thrones season six thus far is the revelation that the Stark’s aphasic servant Hodor was mentally crippled at a young age by a time-travelling Bran Stark. In a flight of panic, Bran Stark uses a psychic projection of himself to forcibly penetrate the mind of a teenage Hodor and in doing so command the adult Hodor, many years in the future, to sacrifice himself to “Hold the Door” against undead wights.

Hodor has become a tragic figure. The name “Hodor” has become a sad reminder that a teenage servant was mentally abused so that they, years later, would lay down their adult body to physically block a horde of undead wights.

This revelation has prompted considered debates about the ethics of disability, whether Hodor is an allegory for St Cristopher, and whether we still find all those ‘Hodor-fication’ jokes funny. A friend of mine argued that Hodor’s unwilling sacrifice underscored how unjust feudal society is. I think this is too narrow a point. Hodor’s death reveals to me the long standing question of Game of Thrones in general and this episode in particular: Why is there suffering at all?

Rewind Game of Thrones to Season One. Jaime Lannister has been captured by Robb Stark. Ned Stark has just been executed. Caitlyn Stark visits the imprisoned Jaime, who asks her “If the gods are real, and they are so just, why is the world so full of injustice?” Caitlyn has no answer. She can only blame Jaime “Because of men like you.” Jaime balks at the accusation, telling her “There are no men like me. Only me.” His answer to why there is suffering in the world is unsatisfactory, and it remains unanswered six seasons later.

This episode, season six episode five, reminds us that not only is there injustice and suffering, but that there are many ways to rationalise it. Arya Stark belongs to a cult of faceless men who kill low and high-born alike. Murder gives Arya a reason to live, so she can learn and one day exact revenge on those who made her suffer. But to do so she must create new suffering, murdering oyster sellers and theatre performers. They seem decent people, why must they die, she asks. Why should we create more suffering?

The Faceless Men asks Arya “Does death only come for the wicked, and leave the decent behind?” There is no reason for injustice because there is no justice or injustice. There is only life or death, and neither mean anything. These nihilists would see no reason to mourn Hodor’s abuse, disability and eventual death.

Not so far away in Meereen the followers of the Lord of Light take a completely opposite view. There is suffering and injustice, yes, but it all has meaning. Every wound and wrong doing is part of a divine plan. Tyrion Lannister is attempting to bring order to Meereen through the preaching of evangelical followers of the Lord of Light. Only Varys seems to appreciate the contradiction. Tyrion is trying to create ‘justice’ of a sort where people don’t murder each other. Yet the Lord of Light cares not for murder, all death is just because all is part of the grand plan.

The Lord of Light’s rationalisation of the existence of evil is as life-denying as the Faceless Men’s nihilism. Is it not so different to accept a young stable boy’s abuse, disability and death as part of a grand plan as it is to accept that same event as meaningless. In both cases the innocent have suffered unjustly. Neither the Faceless Men nor Lord of Light can condemn Hodor’s death.

There is a third way, between nihilism and all-is-the-Lord’s-will. The alternative is suggested to us by Jorah the Andal, whose character is motivated first and foremost by Love. Jorah’s every move is to serve the woman he loves. Love is the be-all-and-end-all of his existence. For Jorah, suffering in the service of love is meaningful.

Culture inundates us with motifs such as Jorah’s. The Beatles tell us that “all you need is love”. It is sung by Nat King Cole (by way of Moulin Rogue!) that “the greatest thing you’ll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return.” And, hard rock band KISS emphasis that he was made for loving you, baby, and you were made for loving him.

In films too, love is portrayed as our raison d’etre in The Matrix, Titanic, Forrest Gump, The Notebook, and Last of the Mohicans. Even Interstellar goes so far as to suggest “Love is the one thing that transcends time and space.” The subtext is clear, love is the new God.

Love’s primacy in culture is a recent development, only two-hundred years old. In his book Love: A History author Simon May states that this conception of love as “itself the supreme Good; the creative source of all things; absolute Being; immortal; true; nameless” is the work of Romanticism (namely, late German Romanticism such as Wagner). Traditionally, an all-powerful feeling of love was reserved for God alone. In the 19th century, however, German Romantics replaced God’s love and love for God with human love and love for others as the heart of reverential, life subsuming emotion. This placing of love at the center of human existence is still with us. The next time you hear “Love conquers all,” you’re hearing line of thinking that runs from Virgil and Caravaggio through to Terry Gilliam and Jorah the Andal.

Before Jorah met Daenerys he was the heir to House Mormont. He married a beautiful but fickle noblewoman who demanded an extravagent lifestyle. Jorah could not honestly provide such lavishness, so he turned to slavery to support his wife’s extravagant tastes. This ultimately led to his exile and meeting the then slave Daenerys, with whom he fell madly, predictably in love.

Jorah’s tale is full of suffering. Jorah himself suffered scorn and separation living with the woman he idolised but who would never love him whilst living in poverty. When Jorah turned to slavery he brought shame on his family and immense suffering on those he trapped and sold. Living in exile Jorah has suffered great physical and emotional hardship, not least of all Daenerys’ rejection. Now he carries a fatal disease.

Given his history of suffering, consider how Jorah might answer: “If the gods are real, and they are so just, why is the world so full of injustice?” His actions suggest that the answer is love. It was love that justified his turning to slavery; love justified his betraying Vary’s to become a devout Targaryen follower; and, love justifies his self-sacrificing behaviour in Daenerys’ service. “All I’ve ever wanted was to serve you” he tells her. Of course he does; service and sacrifice is the logical conclusion of his philosophy that places love at the center of human existence. There is suffering in the world, he might say, but suffering in the name of love is just.

This week “Book of the Stranger” offers three responses to the problem of evil. The Faceless Men propose Nihilism, the Lord of Light suggests everything is divine will, and Jorah lives his life believing love is the answer. I, personally, find all three of these answers unsatisfactory, and I suspect that is the point. As the young Sansa Stark was told many times “Life is not a song, sweetling. Someday you may learn that to your sorrow.” Game of Thrones is a work of fiction aimed at exploding our assumptions about fiction. Honourable men can be executed by ignoble kings, legendary swordsmen lose their hands, and those without power are abused, disabled and die for no good reason.

Stray Observations

• Episode Five was especially heavy with biblical imagery: Euron Greyjoy was baptised in the ocean, died and lives again like a metaphorical Jesus; The White Walkers were arrayed in Bran’s vision like the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (as indeed they were arrayed at Hardhome last season); Hodor holds the door with his arms outstretched in a position of Christ-like crucifixion, and he’ll probably be resurrected as a wight as well; and, Jorah’s creeping Greyscale emanates from the part of the wrists that Christ was likely nailed to the Cross.
• I speculate that Jorah’s quest to find a cure for Greyscale will some how cause a greyscale epidemic across Westeros. A plague would soften up the Seven Kingdoms before Dany’s invasion; a neat historical parallel with the Black Death that devastated Europe in the lead up to the Mongol Invasion. Also, a plague of Greyscale would mean Westeros is beset by raving, undead stone men in the South AND raving, undead ice men in the North.
• It’s sad but sweet to watch Arya take the Bravosi Production of King Robert’s Death rather hard, yet she still has the humanity to recognise her target, the actress playing Cersei, is a decent woman. Compare that to the real Cersei whose response to a commoner flashing his genitals during her walk of shame was for Zombie-Gregor to murder the man.
• Speaking of the Bravosi Theatre Troupe, it was a delight to watch the characters backstage. Australians may recognise the actor-playing-the-actor-playing Cersei is Essie Davis (a.k.a. Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries), and the actor-playing-the-actor-playing King Robert Baratheon was Richard E Grant, certified best guest ever on Enough Rope. His most memorable line in this small part? “There are no small parts.”
• In the books, Victarion Greyjoy is bringing Daenerys a fleet of ships to carry her to Westeros, and he has a Red Priest, Moqorro, in tow. In the show, I predict that Yara and Theon will perform a similar role by bringing Daenerys their ships ahead of Euron. Although Yara and Theon do not have a Red Priest in tow, the show has made it clear a Red Priest will still arrive at Meereen. The fact that the narrative changes between the book and the show have ensured a Red Priest still arrives in Meereen suggests that they will be important going forward.
• It’s revealed that the Children of the Forest created the first White Walker under the branches of a Weirwood tree, surrounded by rings of Stonehenge-esque pillars. Although I’m clearly reading too much into it, I like that the stone pillars make a vortex pattern with the Weirwood at the ‘eye’ of the vortex. The man chained up in the ‘eye’ of the vortex becomes a White Walker when their ‘eyes’ turn deep blue. An eye for and eye.