Red wedding reactions

I may be a little late to the party but I wanted to comment on the spectacular TV event we all witnessed last week.  I'll start with my own reactions.  First, obviously, I have read Storm of Swords several years ago.  Back then, I remember being shocked when I read about the infamous Red Wedding but it was far from what I have witnessed on the internet since the episode of HBO's Game of Thrones aired.  Still, with the scene coming up in the show, along with the feeling of hype to witness the reaction of the non-reader fans of the series, I admit I was both excited and dreading seeing it live. Sadly for me, but hopefully for her, my girlfriend did some research about it on the web and easily found spoilers before we watched the show.  Still,  when she saw it coming, she covered her ears and closed her eyes.

I won't go into the details but I wouldn't have thought that the writers of the show, probably with George included, would go that far in the graphic details. Emotionally they obviously worked their way since the last season to build up the sense of attachment for the characters involved.  Kudos to them, it worked perfectly.  I wasn't aware that I actually grew fond of the Catelyn Stark of the show. I think that this was one of the greatest moment of TV I ever witnessed.  I really felt shaken and awed.  That silence at the end... I couldn't stop starring at the screen. Wow!  I love the show since the start but with this episode, it reached an emotional peak that will be hard to reproduce.

Then, I watched on Facebook and Twitter some of the reactions.  Many videos of the newly initiated to the scene were kind of interesting. However, I was dumbfounded to find so many negative comments about it. Some viewers wanted to stop watching the show because of it? What the hell? Alright, they have the right to give their opinions and I don't usually comment on that sort of thing but still...

I admit that we readers of the series have insight on the future of the story. It may be easier to see that this is not the end of the game. I even read "that's it, the Lannisters have won!".  Have you been paying attention when you watched the first two seasons? Don't you remember Ned, Robert, Renly, Drogo, Viserys...? With the kind of story George wrote, you can't possibly think that it will finish with an happily ever after? aSoIaF is something different and that's what is needed right now (or was needed...). Fantasy is now back in force on the small screen! You really, really shouldn't abandon this show right now...

What about you?  What were your reactions to the Rains of Castemere episode?

To end this short post on a good note, you really should take a look at Conan O'Brien's interview of George:

http://teamcoco.com/video/conan-highlight-red-wedding-reactions
http://teamcoco.com/video/george-r-r-martin-writing-fast
http://teamcoco.com/video/george-r-r-martin-afraid