I am pretty bad at telling stories. Some people have a gift: they tell a story with the right amount of description, with vivid details, with a consistent flow to keep the listener engaged and waiting to hear more. I think the main reason is I've never really needed to tell long stories about things, and most of my conversations end quickly, and I like to ask questions. The last great story I ever told was retelling the story of "Journey to the West" to other Chinese school students during a talent show.......when I was 5 years old. Since then, I don't think I've ever been able to engage an audience without notes or preparation, just off the cuff telling a story to people. Conversely, though, I love hearing a good story....I think most people love to hear a good story that can take us away from what we were doing, to really grip us and play on our emotions, to make us care about the characters, and finally WHAT HAPPENS AT THE END to make the journey all worth it.
Two of the most amazing stories (see on television and followed by millions of people around the world), LOST and Game of Thrones, have now ended, and ended unfortunately with arguably disappointing endings, most recently Game of Thrones this past Sunday night. For all the energy and emotional investment that people put into Game of Thrones (I was one of those who watched from the beginning), they invested a better ending than what we got, which was flawed because among other things 1.)gave up on most of the prophecies that had been given forecast earlier in the series, 2.) gave unsatisfactory deaths/ endings to major characters that did not do justice to all that they had been through, and what we as viewers had been through, 3.) made a sudden and jarring plot twist that was shocking, the calling card for Game of Thrones this whole time, but didn't make any sense, didn't play to the character, 4.) made the main villainous threat from the beginning of the show end and IMO end cheaply in just one episode, etc. There were outcries to re-write the season and to redo the last 2 seasons from fans online, which I think is a little overblown because its just a story, but I can certainly understand why there were such high expectations for a show that had gripped everyone's attention for more than 7 years and 8 seasons........like LOST, we invested so much because we had questions about what would happen......we're always asking for more, being intrigued like in a detective novel about whodunnit, or what will happen, who will ultimately be the king in the end, etc., etc. LOST thrived on promising an answer to these bizarre questions that remained unanswered, and I personally was so upset because those questions never got answered even in the show's last moments, instead we just got more questions. Game of Thrones didn't raise as many questions, but it did thrive on making readers invest in what would happen to the characters we have come to love and "whether they would fulfill their quest or not. And many of those quests ended up not being fulfilled or their characters being wasted, thus frustrating the characters who had waited so long to have those journeys pay off.
By the way, Game of Thrones also had EXCELLENT theme music. It helped for my enjoyment that it was mostly classical music, a mix between string and piano mostly. Perfectly suited to my tastes. Most good shows, I find, appeal to multiple senses, including visual and audio. It's underrated because most people don't say they watch dramas for the music, but Game of Thrones always started with an epic, gallant song without lyrics that gave the feel of the historic era we were in and the journey that most characters were on, and then during closing montages of each season and the entire season that epic music was repeated and gave me the chills, an accompaniment to the sense that this show was important, that this story was just so developing, that there was a greater purpose to all these characters' stories. Maybe that's what I need in my future storytelling to make it better: epic music to set the mood.
By the way, the Game of Thrones music was so iconic that MJ and I played the theme at our wedding and most guests immediately knew what we were doing. I think it will be one of the songs I will forever live with, that theme playing again and again in my head, even if the series is over. (Although I think it's definitely possible there will be sequels).
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
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