One of the best things about TV — about storytelling in general, in fact — is the way it can move us emotionally. Watching the right movie or TV show, reading the right book at the right time…it can make us mad, glad, happy, sad; a good story can wring you out like an emotional sponge. It’s the number one thing I’m hoping for whenever I turn on the TV or go to the movies or whatever: to feel something.
And sometimes the most outlandish stories can produce the strongest emotions, perhaps because they’re so untethered to our daily realities; they can live in the realm of pure feeling, without all of that humdrum life stuff that often gets in the way.
Take House of the Dragon, HBO’s Game of Thrones prequel series. The show is about a royal family of dragon-riders trying to hold onto power, not exactly relatable to anyone outside the weirdest of billionaires. But it still got me. That scene where King Viserys Targaryen drags himself out of his sickbed and laboriously trudges to the Iron Throne so he can fight for his daughter Rhaenyra? I get misty-eyed thinking about it.
The power of a good story
So even though our experiences are very different, I can somewhat relate to Variety features editor Sharareh Drury (who used to work in the FanSided office with me, FYI) when she writes about how watching House of the Dragon helped her after the birth of her daughter Zahra, because I know what it’s like to be emotionally touched by a silly TV show.
That said, Sharareh has gone through plenty of things I have not gone through. She wrote a very eloquent article for Variety where she talked about how she struggled after giving birth to Zahra, which happened not long after she learned that her mother was sick. “My spark faded and extreme depression and anxiety set in. I had heard about postpartum depression, I knew it was a possibility, but never did I think it would hit me so hard,” she writes. “I became a shell of myself, sleep-deprived, constantly worried about Zahra, unable to produce milk, and feeling like a complete failure. At night, I’d battle exhaustion, begging my body to let me sleep, but I couldn’t turn my mind off. All I could think about was if my mother was going to be alright, if I was going to be a good mother, and if I had made the right choice in having a child at all. ”
Enter Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, played by Milly Alcock as a teenager and later by Emma D’Arcy as an adult. A Game of Thrones fan, Sharareh was compelled by Rhaenyra’s journey. “I watched as she matured, became a mother and fought for her right to the throne, all the while defending her children and doing everything she could to keep them safe.”
"Rhaenyra, though fictional, inspired me because despite taking hit after hit, her fire would not be put out. Even in the final moments of the first season finale when she loses someone yet again — her son Lucerys — we see her face is filled with grief and rage, yes, but also the strength to fight back. I felt that so deeply, both for myself and for my mother."
Sharareh also found inspiration in June Osborne from The Handmaid’s Tale on Hulu. “[A]s great storytelling often does, through the tales of Rhaenyra and June, I’ve come to understand that becoming a mother means not only gifting a new life, but becoming a better, stronger version of yourself too,” she writes.
I’m not a mother, but I find this story very relatable and touching. I suspect the same will be true for pretty much anyone who watches TV so they can have an emotional experience. Stories help get us through both the good times and the bad, and I’m very thankful to have stories as well-crafted as House of the Dragon.
The second season of House of the Dragon is due out on HBO and Max sometime next year. And congratulations to Sharareh and Zahra!
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