Game of Thrones final season is coming! If you are one of the few people in the developed world who doesn’t know what GOT is, it is a formula-breaking TV adaptation of RR Martin’s novels that appeals to young and old alike. It is set in the fictional land of Westeros. In the TV series, heroes are killed off, big-name actors disappear early on, villains win and the plot constantly astonishes. The good news is that everything and everyone has gathered for the final climax.
A Columbia University professor has, apparently, constructed a course about GOT and Business Management (Irish Independent 8th April 2019). If Irish universities such as UL were to construct a course around GOT and Mental Health we might pick the diminutive Tyrion Lannister as our still-alive “hero” (hero is always a risky term in GOT). Tyrion’s view of human nature is captured in his cynical comment “Never forget what you are, for the rest of the world will not. Wear it like armour and it can never be used to hurt you”. In the world of GOT this might be good advice. In our world, too much armour protects from hurt but also seals up the heart. Maybe the secret of survival in our world is to be able to wear armour when it is really needed and to unseal our heart when it is safe-enough to do so. If we set the bar for safe-enough too high we will never unseal our heart, if we set it too low we will constantly get hurt .... where to set the bar? ... who is the Night King? ... these are good questions. Roll on the fictional wold of Westeros, but the best drama is here in our real world.