Geeklings, welcome to the first ever Game of Thrones Week here at I Am Geek. In the three years of I Am Geek, I don’t think I’ve ever dedicated an entire week to one specific subject matter and I can’t quite figure out why. These are the types of weeks where I know exactly what I’m writing about. One would think that I would do more of these to make it easier on my writing agenda. Talk about some serious missed opportunities. It’s almost as if someone told me to run somewhere and they were going to shoot arrows at me while I did so, and I ran in a straight line opposed to zig-zags.  Who knows, if this week goes well then expect another theme later this month centering on a specific movie… but it’s not the time for that. No, this is the time for Westeros!

Man, I’m fired up Geeklings. No, not like Stannis’s daughter (oooooh too soon) but more like a Wildling getting ready to attack the Wall. I know that what I’m doing won’t change anything and that it’ll end in pain, but I’m going through with it just the same because I need it in my life. I’m still in complete disbelief that this is the final season of Game of Thrones and I’m not ready for the emotional toll that this is going to take on me. I knew the Red Wedding was happening and it still messed me up. I wore that episode for days. There was something even more painful about watching it happen on a television screen opposed to living it in my head. While the book is still way worse, looking at you Catelyn Stark and the “birds” pecking at your face, I didn’t anticipate the beautiful pregnant woman getting stabbed in the stomach eight times. Rob’s wife never gets pregnant in the books, her mom slips stuff into her tea, nor does she go to the Red Wedding. This was something created by George RR Martin, who wrote the episode where we discover she’s pregnant, to make it hurt more. Read that again. Make it hurt more. Like watching half the cast get murdered at a wedding didn’t hurt enough. Man’s a real sicko.

If something I knew was coming could devastate me like that, I had to call a friend to be consoled, just imagine what six episodes that I have zero knowledge on will do to me. I’m going to need to start going back to therapy. At this point, I’m kind of just banking on the fact that everyone is going to die. This way I’m surprised when one of them actually lives. Is it a morbid way to view things? Sure. Is it the Game of Thrones way of viewing things? You bet your ass.

I really believe that last season’s complete lack of death is setting us up for something awful. Think about it, all we lost in season seven was Little Finger and a dragon. And technically we got that dragon back when the Night King turned it into a freakin’ zombie! On a Game of Thrones scale, we got off light. Now… no one is safe and it’s kind of terrifying. I think there’s going to be a lot of death spread out through these six episodes. The Battle of Winterfell will have plenty of casualties as will the finale. Then sprinkle in some random deaths in between and hello soul-crushing season eight.

Even with the knowledge that this season is going to bring intense emotional heartbreak, I still feel like Samwell when entering the library in the Citadel. The excitement levels are at an all-time high drowning out the slight tinge of disappointment. I really, really wish George RR Martin had finished writing the books first. It feels like a cheat experiencing the ending through the tv series first, but I guess I can maintain some moderate excitement for that when (if) that day comes. I still live in a literary world where Jon Snow was stabbed to death and if that isn’t the perfect analogy for what it feels like waiting for Winds of Winter, I don’t know what is.

For now, I’m zoned into HBO like Bran seeing a new tree. I’m counting all the endless possibilities and it’s making my head dizzy. There are only six episodes of Game of Thrones left. That’s it. This is the endgame. Anything goes, and Sunday at 9 pm we take our first steps towards the finish line. This is going to be a pop culture event on par with the final season of Breaking Bad. And. I. Can’t. Freakin. Wait. I sure hope you stick with I Am Geek all week long as we’re going to have a countdowns, theories, think pieces, and maybe a guest writer or two. All things Game of Thrones will be covered here leading up to the premiere. It’s going to be a blast! Prepare yourselves.