Game of Thrones Season 8 … it’s on.

If I had to sum up my feelings about Episode 1 in one line reading, it would be Cersei’s “shame about the missing elephants” reflection, post-Euron tangle.

I didn’t hate Episode 1, but it felt anti-climactic.

Let me back up a bit.

Here’s what you need to know about me, as a GoT fan: I never watched the first 3 seasons of the show. After the social media hullabaloo of the Red Wedding season, I decided to read the books instead. Yes, I am that person. I fell in love with the ASOIAF universe and decided to watch the show in order to see how the story would unfold. I am a (book) Jon Snow ride-or-die. He is a Messianic Cinderella character. He is the hero-on-a-journey par excellence, and I have been HERE FOR IT since 2014. I am convinced (and this is not a spoiler, by the way) that he will die before the final chapter, but that is part of the journey too.

The show has done an okay job with Jon’s story arc, which is probably why I’m still watching. It does not help that Kit Harrington is becoming less, not more, compelling as time goes on. Watching S8E1 last week, I realized that I have largely stopped caring about most of the show’s version of my other favourite characters. I am glad the show is ending, and all I hope is that they will respect the spirit of the books in wrapping up the story. There are prophesies, OK? They must be fulfilled. I want, nay, NEED to see Lightbringer. And if Cersei dies by anything other than her brother’s hand, I will burn the Great Sept down all over again.

So that’s my investment in GoT. I think it’s pertinent information for a (wannabe) recapper to share.

My immediate reaction to S8E1 was “um, boring.” I was pretty nervous by the 30 minute mark, and getting positively antsy at 43 minutes in. But then we got that long – LOOOOOOONG! – overdue reveal of Jon’s true parentage (to Jon himself), and the goosebumps were their own reward. Still, not an exciting episode overall. It’s a short season, so this annoys me more than it should. This show spends so much time positioning its various characters and “setting up the action” that I … zzzzzzzzzzzzz.

But I have been sitting with my feelings for a few days as I write this post, and I think I have figured out why this episode felt underwhelming to me. There were a lot of reunions in it that should have resonated more deeply and felt more satisfying. Sansa and Tyrion. Arya and the Hound. Arya and Gendry. Jon and Arya. Jon and Creepy Bran. Jaime and … well, you know.

[Speaking of which, let’s just pause here because – what the hell? Why is Bran so goddamn creepy? I have scoffed at the theories that Bran = Night King because, honestly, that’s not the vibe I get from GRRM as a writer but now … I mean, yeah, maybe they’ve got a point. Maybe it’s going to be as hokey as that. But, ugh, I was rooting for you Bran. And now you’re just a creepy weirdo forever waiting in a courtyard to Deus Ex Machina all over this plot.]

Anyway, back to my reasons for being underwhelmed by Episode 1. Here’s the thing: the Night King plot and the “game of thrones” plot are not a natural fit. It takes a LOT of narrative room, so to speak, to weave them together in a way that feels organic and balanced. The show doesn’t have that room, not at this stage. The Night King is almost at Winterfell – how can we remain invested in any other plot except that? Who cares what Cersei or Euron do? Who cares what Sansa thinks about Dany, or what the northern lords think of Jon? It’s irrelevant. The show has built up the Night King into this seemingly unbeatable force (now with a White Dragon!), to the point that you have to start questioning if the human side even stands a chance. It has thrown off the axis of the story. And the human side is not exactly being shown at its best. So much distrust. So much pettiness. My husband (who doesn’t watch the show) joked that the story will end with the zombies killing everyone and I was, like, … eh, sure, why not. Because, at this point, I feel like the humans kinda deserve it.

Some other quick thoughts:

• Dany’s non-reaction to (a) news of the zombification of Viseryon, and (b) Jon riding Rhaegal was so incredibly odd and out-of-character to me. Mother of dragons, hear me … do not much of anything.

• Sansa has almost completed her transformation into Cersei 2.0. If this was, say, season 4, it would be a good thing. Now … she’s gotten good at a game which is about to become irrelevant unless people get their s**t together and figure out the zombie situation.

• I am genuinely intrigued about Arya’s motivations and the choices she will make in the episodes ahead. Is she a Stark? A faceless assassin? For whom is she willing to fight to the death?

• Why is Theon Greyjoy still on this show? He better take down half the Night King’s army single-handedly because otherwise I want those 2 minutes of my life back.

• None of the remaining characters would make good kings/queens, not for the average Westerosi anyway. Except Ser Davos. The Onion Knight continues to be the most level-headed, pragmatic, and honest man in the seven kingdoms. Had Melisandre not meddled, I think Stannis Baratheon would have made a decent king with Davos as his Hand.

• But, seriously, what the hell is going on with Bran?

I assume that, by now, everyone has a pet theory about how GoT is going to end. With the first episode of season 8 in the bag, and only five more to go, let’s take the opportunity and share our predictions, shall we? Here’s mine: the Night King will be defeated (because GRRM is not a nihilist, I don’t think) but not without a ton of casualties, naturally. Jon will die. Dany will not be queen. I was inclined to favour a resolution that would see their child – look, I know it’s incest and everything, but it’s Targaryens we’re talking about and also PROPHECIES, PEOPLE, PROPHECIES! – on the throne (eventually), but I don’t think there is enough time left on the show for that to happen. So, now? I don’t know.

I guess I can see Tyrion winding up king, perhaps with Sansa as queen – especially if we get an eleventh hour reveal of a second secret half-Targaryen. Picture it: Tyrion kills Cersei, which is probably the surest way into Sansa’s heart. Tyrion is revealed as a son of the Mad King (via an affair with Joanna Lannister) – a younger brother of Rhaegar, older brother of Dany. With Jon and Dany out of the game, Tyrion and Sansa could be the second pairing of Fire and Ice. Am I 100% committed to this theory? Eh, no. But it’s not the wildest thing I’ve read on the subject this week.

But Ser Davos should definitely be the Hand, because Ser Davos is the best.

Ok, your turn now: tell me how you think GoT will end in the comments.

Grunge Revival

I never got to be a fashionista as a teenager in the 90s. I never got to be cool, or even attempt it. I’m mostly over it, but then again – some of that teenage chip on my shoulder will never completely crumble. I initially resisted fashion’s current obsession with the 90s in part because it brought back those memories of being inescapably, perpetually on the outside looking in. But hey, a few things have changed in the last two decades. One, I figured out how to be comfortable in my own skin. And two: thrifting is a whole ‘nother ballgame now. All the cool clothes I longed to wear back in the day? They – or their current iteration – can be mine for next to nothing.

Case in point: this vintage Saint Laurent Rive Gauche pleated plaid skirt; the stuff that schoolgirl grunge chic is made of. I scored this for $13 at Value Village, and it’s in beautiful condition. I always marvel when I find pieces like this at the thrift store because, honestly, who gives them up? I am, of course, eternally grateful for their generosity. I went all 90s with this outfit – cropped sweater, leather jacket, and mini backpack. Everything is thrifted or secondhand, except for the jacket. I wore the outfit on a Sunday which included, naturally, a stop at Goodwill. There, I found the perfect matching accessory:

Power Up

I love the incredible tailoring of this Philosophy blazer, but it can be a tough piece to pull off. It’s cropped, and very fitted, and its lines are severe; in many ways, it’s the epitome of The Prince aesthetic. And yet I struggle with it. I am not ready to give it up, though, so I keep experimenting. This combination was interesting. I liked how the architectural angles of the tiered skirt worked with the lines of the blazer. The ruffled blouse added a touch of softness. It’s what I would call a “power outfit”.

Blue Skies Ahead

The top part of this outfit reminds me so much of beautiful spring skies – the blue and white, with the embroidered swallows on it, feel so light and airy. I added the black Aritzia skirt because (a) I wear it with everything these days, and (b) it helps to ground the outfit somewhere on the “biz caz” spectrum – obviously, the casual end of it. Have I mentioned lately how much I appreciate my work dress code? I don’t work in a traditionally creative field, so it’s wonderful to have room for self-expression when it comes to clothing.

In Neutral

A quick, casual weekend look. Gotta show some of those on the blog too, right? I really enjoyed this soft palette; I wear a lot of black and I love it, but it’s nice to do something different from time to time. Also nice? Being able to wear a blazer as my outermost layer. Hello, Spring, my beautiful friend!

My last post on feminism sparked some great discussion in the comment section, and I wanted to follow up today on one of the tangents that came up/out of that: influencer culture. While not everyone might agree, I think this is a topic worthy of rigorous, academic analysis. I am, clearly, not the person to deliver that; but I do have some thoughts to share, and I would be interested in hearing yours.

I have been blogging since the mid-2000s in various forms (and on this blog since 2010) so I have had a front row seat to the influencer phenomenon almost from the beginning. I don’t follow many influencers (monetized bloggers, vloggers, or Instagrammers) on social media for personal reasons, but I follow some of the public discourse on their comings and goings when it surfaces on sites or platforms that I read/follow. For me, reading about how the public interacts with and views influencers, and vice versa, is more interesting that any content that the influencers directly put out. I recently watched This American Meme, a documentary on Netflix that looked at the lives and careers of several social media influencers of varying descriptions, which was similarly fascinating in a kind of anthropological way. In other words, I’m interested in what influencer culture means to and what it says about our Zeitgeist. But, as I said, I am not qualified to put forward any theories on that score.

So, let’s talk about my personal thoughts on influencers.

I mentioned that I don’t follow many of them. The people I follow on social media are typically friends, celebrities whose work (acting, music, etc.) I enjoy, or people who have either a well-defined personal style identity that intrigues me, or who share some of my (fairly niche) interests. Because major influencers develop their “brand” based on securing the widest possible appeal, they rarely fit into either of the latter categories; they also don’t typically produce work outside of their social media content, so they also don’t fit into what I call my “celebrity” bucket.

Let me give you a pertinent example. As you can probably tell, I have fairly strong opinions about how to dress myself, so I am not looking for people to tell me what to wear or how to wear it. I’m inspired by people who have their own aesthetic, whether similar to mine or not, because they make me think about clothing in a critical and creative way. With a few exceptions (such as Man Repeller), I haven’t found many big-time influencers who maintain a unique “voice” in this regard. Influencers are all about trends, but (by and large) they don’t originate them or engage with them in a critical/theoretical way. For the most part, I don’t care about trends; but if I wanted to know the “hot new thing”, I would look up the current issue of Vogue.

This isn’t a criticism of influencers, per se. Blogging, and style blogging in particular, was largely a reaction to traditional forms of media like fashion magazines. I started blogging myself because I wanted to talk about style from a non-Vogue perspective. Of course, with the evolution of blogging, some influencers are now trying to position themselves as fashion industry insiders … in my opinion, with mixed success. Not everyone can be Anna Wintour.

That being said, my general motto is “live and let live”. Influencers deliver a service which the marketplace has determined to have value, and plenty of it at that. You and I can debate the relative merits of late stage capitalism, but I don’t think it’s fair to blame its ills on a group of individuals who are not responsible for its institutionalization. And, anyway, that’s a whole other conversation.

There is one thing that bugs me about influencer culture, though, and I find it a more common phenomenon at its fringes. It’s entitlement.

Entitlement annoys me in all its forms— and I say that as someone with sufficient self-awareness to know that I am not immune from it – but this particular version drives me up the wall. Here’s an example I saw re-posted on an account I follow.

Where do I begin? First, as I wrote before, feminism is not a value system. I am not required to support someone’s choice simply because we are both women. What I support, fully, is her (and everyone’s) right to make a choice. If that choice is to become an influencer, cool. But if the person is, by admission, putting out mediocre content then no one should feel obliged to engage with that content or assist them in making money from it; feminism doesn’t come into it.

I know how hard it is to create interesting and relatable content; I struggle on the daily. It’s probably even harder to come up with good marketing copy masquerading as interesting and relatable content. But that’s the service which the marketplace has decided has value – a new twist on traditional advertising methods. If it was easy, why would people pay a lot of money for it?

I also understand how much it sucks when someone is creating content, and that content doesn’t “land” with their audience – when you get no comments, no likes, no engagement. You know that GIF of Russell Crowe from The Gladiator where he yells “Are you not entertained?” I’ve re-enacted it in my mind on more than one occasion … but I’ve also had to accept the fact that nobody owes me a reaction. In any exchange – commercial or otherwise – both parties are free to evaluate what they’re getting out of it and whether it’s worth the effort. If my content isn’t getting the engagement I want, then I have two choices. Stop putting out content. Or put out content that gets the engagement I want. That’s about it.

Honestly, I don’t know why this type of “call to action” pisses me off as much as it does. I know there is a gender aspect to this – influencers tend to be women – and I have tried to question my own unconscious biases. Would it bug me as much if a man had written it? I would like to say yes but I can’t be sure, especially since this is the kind of thing I’ve only ever seen written by women. “Just a hard-working mama trying to support her family.” Hi Karen, newsflash: most of us are doing that, thanks. [Also, let me pause here to say that having a family is a choice too. And guilt-tripping some stranger because of family obligations that person didn’t thrust upon you seems pretty anti-feminist to me.] I don’t know, maybe it’s just the contrarian in me, forever hating being told what I ought to do. SOME OF US JUST ENJOY LURKING ON INSTAGRAM, OK? Ahem.

I think some of this goes back to the roots of blogging and its evolution. Blogging was, in the beginning at least, the antithesis of Big Media. It was personal. It was meant to create authentic connections between people who might never meet in real life. Bloggers became influencers precisely because their audiences felt that they “knew” them and trusted them. Advertisers saw that trust, and decided it was worth monetizing. And, thus, influencing became a business. Which is cool. But, as a blogger, you have to pick a lane. Are you a person sharing their life with the world, or are you a business? There is nothing wrong with either option, as far as I’m concerned; but the rules of engagement are different for each one. It strikes me as disingenuous to try to pick and choose one’s approach depending on what best suits one’s interests in a particular situation.

So, after writing a meandering behemoth of a post, let me turn it over to you: what do you think of influencer culture? Are you an influencer? Do you follow influencers on social media and, if so, what do you think about the services they provide? Do posts like the above bother you, or do you feel they’re justified?