Game of Thrones

Since the start of Season 8 of Game of Thrones, I have watched every episode in the common room of the 6th floor of Harbin Hall, a freshman floor that happens to have a concentration of some of my close friends. They have a great setup, with a flat screen TV and good speakers, and every Sunday night, sure enough, some variation of the same group of people knows to meet on Harbin 6 for Thrones. The episode doesn’t change no matter where I watch it; the content is the same. What draws me so adamantly and excitedly to this particular watch party every week is not, in fact, the TV or the speakers, but rather the group of people I will find there. With such a long buildup to this final season and the cult following that the show has developed, Game of Thrones has become a cultural phenomenon, each week a new event. As my Harbin 6 watching gang and I enjoy, laugh, suffer through the epic, unpredictable whirlwind of emotions that is Season 8 of Thrones, we do so together. We share theories and and predictions before and after episodes, and we see whether or not they come to fruition. Watching a TV show with a group shouldn’t really make a difference, for what matters is what’s on the screen. But this show really is an experience. We are deeply invested in the characters and the plot, and we are also deeply invested in our collective appreciation of the show’s grand finale as we experience it together. It’s very comforting.