Winter came late for me as it was only last year when I journeyed into the TV series so many adored. After binge-watching the first six seasons of Game of Thrones with my mother I watched each Season 7 episode with excitement and anticipation.

I’d say I’m sorry it took me so long, but the circumstances which led to last year’s binge-viewing made us appreciate the drama series all the more. House Deeny lost its eldest daughter in June of 2016 and sadness filled the space we called home. My parents mourned for their first born, and the “Little Women” – esque sisters grieved for their fierce, independent, outspoken big sister.

 

 

A few weeks after my sister’s passing, my mother began her research into an Irish family vacation the following summer. When I mentioned that the Deeny ancestors came from Northern Ireland (Rathmullan in County  Donegal and Dungiven in County Derry to be specific), she focused on that area for her tourism research. It was then that GoT entered our world.

“There’s a Game of Thrones tour,” she told me. “Have you watched that show?”

“I haven’t, but so many people tell me I’d love it.”

We were hooked after the first episode and made it a weekly (or bi-weekly) viewing date. I don’t know that I could’ve watched a show that’s graphic in many ways with my mother under normal circumstances. However, we had to move forward into a new normal. Watching “our show” each week became a bonding opportunity for us. For an hour we could immerse ourselves into the drama and intrigue of a fictional world and the characters who inhabited it.

We cheered for our favorites (Arya, Jon, Sam, and Tyrion) and I often wondered if my mom grieved when Catelyn Stark did. Like the fictional matriarch of House Stark, my mother is a passionate defender of her daughters – compassionate, wise, outspoken, and full of love. Just as Sansa and Arya embody the qualities of their mother in different ways, so too do the Deeny sisters.

This brilliant piece of fictional television deserves all the award recognition it’s received over the years, and I look forward to seeing the talent (on-screen and off) be recognized again for their stunning work in season 7. Game of Thrones is one such show that blends all artistic pieces into one seamless work of art. From the score; to the complex and twist-turning writing; and the raw, flawless acting GoT‘s praise warrants even more.

While I watched the newest season with dear friends (as my mother preferred the “wait for the DVD” method), we’ve decided that buying S7 in December will be a joint Christmas gift to one another. I’ll have plenty of time to get her caught up before the next and final (noooooo) season, and maybe we’ll still have time to get in that GoT tour in Ireland before S8 E1 airs.

UPDATE: 01/03/18 – I bought the Season 7 DVD the day it was released and my mother is now all caught up. She waits, as the rest of us do, for what Season 8 will reveal!

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