Game of Thrones is Back

Do you like to watch? In case you don't know, there's an ongoing secret relationship between a sister and brother.

Here's something from moviepilot.com by Jancy Richardson about a "Controversial Incest Scene"...

Lena Headey (Cersei Lannister) spoke to EW about the scene:

"It’s that terrible thing as a woman talking about something as horrendous as rape and dismissing it, which I’m not. But we never discussed it as that. It was a woman in grief for her dead child, and the father of the child—who happens to be her brother—who never really acknowledged the children is standing with her. We’ve all experienced grief."

As we note here on this blog, "incest" is often applied to both rape and consensual sex.

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Jaime Lannister) added to his co-star's opinions on a scene which caused controversy, especially given its difference from the equivalent portion of the Game of Thrones novels:

"Most people I spoke to got from the scene what we were trying to show—a very complicated relationship, and two people in desperate need for each other. All these emotions going through them, it was never intended to be something where he forced—it wasn’t a rape, and it was never intended to be."

Over at techtimes.com there was something by Cameron Koch called "7 Ways 'Game Of Thrones' Is Inspired By Historical Events."

Targaryen Incest Isn't So Different From The Ptolemaic Dynasty in Egypt

Game of Thrones is known for three things — blood, boobs and incest ... lots of incest. Whether it is the incest among the Targaryen kings and queens who once ruled Westeros for hundreds of years or the incest between Jaime and Cersei Lannister, it's one of the most shocking elements of the books and show. It too is grounded in real world, as disturbing as that is. It wasn't unheard of for royal families to "keep it in the family" in order to keep their bloodlines pure. One of the best examples of incest in history is that of the Ptolemaic Dynasty of ancient Egypt.

The last dynasty to rule Egypt before the Roman conquest, Ptolemaic brothers and sisters often married one another. They also liked to use the same names over and over again. Every king during this nearly 275-year time period adopted the name Ptolemy, in honor of the original Ptolemy, who was appointed ruler of Egypt by Alexander the Great. Many of Ptolemy's queens (and often Ptolemy's sisters) were either named Cleopatra, Berenice or Arsinoe. It's a similarity shared by many of the Targaryen king's, who are often named Aegon in honor of the first Targaryen to conquer Westeros.

Both assault and sex (which is consensual) between close relatives have always been in our stories because they've always been a part of life. We need more depictions in our modern media so that we can fight abuse and support love. Abuse should be shown for what it is; victims should be empowered, not made to feel alone and at fault. Loving or recreational encounters should also not be kept from our stories, and should be distinguished from abuse.

Do you watch? What are your thoughts?