Lost and Game of Thrones

When an audience goes to watch a movie, they know that generally within a two to three hour span
they will be introduced to a world and a problem that will be resolved by the end. However, the audience for a
television series has a different contract with creators of their program of choice. Instead of a resolution by the
end of the first episode, the audience is given an introduction to a new world and a new set of personalities.
Both Lost and Game of Thrones offers a complicated new world with supernatural elements but also give the
audience an immense cast of characters in the pilot. With such an overwhelming amount of character, each
series manages to maintain the audiences attention and keeps them coming back for each subsequent
episode due to the emotional core of the series that ties all of the characters together and allows the audience
to connect with several if not all characters. The emotional core of the first few episodes of each series revolves
around the question Who am I? and the characters journey to answer that question. In Lost, Jack Shepherd
has to figure out who he is in this new environment. Daenarys Targaryen starts to view herself and her role
differently when she is marries Khal Drogo and starts to become her own person. All of the characters in each
series are active and try a variety of methods to survive in a new environment to try and free themselves and
survive.
By the first three episodes, Lost has given the audience the backstory of many of the characters
through either dialogue or in flashbacks. Jacks backstory is not given but rather he tells the other survivors he
is, or was, a doctor before the crash. He takes responsibility from the very first scene as he instructs Hurley to
move Claire away from the fumes and as he helps Rose breathe again. These are all instincts doctors have as
theyve taken an oath to do no harm. However, he takes a larger role as a leader in the third episode when
Boone asks Jack to talk to Rose, who has secluded herself from the rest of the group and has not eaten in
days. Jacks first reaction is to deny the request. He asks Why me? Im not a psychiatrist. Boone responses,
Youre the one who saved her life. On the island, his new role is to take care of people beyond just saving
them but now he has to make sure they stay alive and well. He accepts his role as the leader and caretaker of
the survivors when he goes to talk to Rose and sits with her.
His past does not matter when it comes to who he is now. At the end of Tabula Rasa, Jack tells
Kate, it doesnt matter who we were, what we did beforethe crash. Three days ago we all died. He opted to
start over and in doing so he became a leader. He becomes the leader through his actions and his decisions.
The absence of flashbacks for Jack and this small monologue to Kate shows Jack has found a new sense of
self.
Although Ned Stark is arguably the most equal of all of the characters introduced in the opening
episodes of Game of Thrones, Daenerys Targaryen has the more dramatic and emotional journey to finding out
who she is. Daenerys has been the means by which Viserys will regain control of the Iron Throne and rule the
Seven Kingdoms. The first time she questions him and voices her own opinion, Viserys answers he would let
[Khal Drogos] whole army fuck you, all 40,000 men and their horses too to take back the throne. Viserys
walks out to the frame and a medium close-up stays on Daenerys face, which is almost void of emotion. It
causes the audience to dislike Viserys and hope that Daenerys will get either revenge or at least something or
someone good in her life.
Once she marries Khal Drogo, she decides to take control of her life in multiple ways. After a few
nights laying with Khal Drogo, Daenerys decides to learn how to make the Khal happy. Instead of continuing
to cry each night, she learns how to take control by practicing with Doreah. In the same scene, Doreah gives
Daenerys confidence as she tells her the Khal belongs to her when they are alone. This exchange is a small
gift and it allows Daenerys to move towards who she is. In the next scene, she takes control with Khal Drogo.
She says no and she speaks to him in Dothraki. She enjoy herself this time they make love. She is becoming
more comfortable in this world she was forced into. She starting to find her true self.
In Lord Snow, she states who she is. As the Dothrako army rides on, she commands Jorah Mormont
to stop the army. He tells Daenerys youre learning to talk like a queen and she corrects him, not a queen, a
Khalessi. She has found who she is. Viserys is enraged by her use of power and when he tries to attack her,
her soldiers defend her. Jorah and the Dothraki now take her orders and she is confident in her power.
Daenerys is no longer just Viserys object to get an army and win back the Iron Throne but a Khalessi. The
audience is able to see it through her words and her actions.

Both of these series are about survival. Stories that are memorable deal with a main character, or
characters in the case of television, who is trapped and often times lost. All of the survivors in Lost are trapped
on an island with creatures that threaten their survival. They have to adapt and try new methods to get food,
shelter, and to make sure the unknown monster does not kill them. They all have to do something in order to no
longer be trapped. Even Shannon, who is seen sunbathing while the rest of the survivors look for food, find a
way to get food by charming Charlie and having him fish for her.
There is no bigger threat to survival than the unknown. In Lost, they have monsters who kill at random
in the forest. In Game of Thrones, they have the White Walkers. These threats are not seen by the main
characters within the first few episodes, but the threat is shown to the audience and it lingers in their mind as
they watch week after week. The popularity these shows have accomplished come from these principles.