One Year...

Having moved back to hostel a few days back, I woke up around 8.30 am. My roommate wasn't there. I grudgingly climbed out of bed and rummaged through the junk of things in my shelf for my toothbrush and toothpaste. I grabbed them, put my slippers on and dragged myself out of the room. I opened the door to the common bathroom-place and endured the familiar stench of air. I opened the tap, washed my brush, put some paste on it and started brushing. I'm describing these mundane activities with such detail because I had reached a point where even if my brain stopped working, my body would automatically do all these things and my life would move on, without change. 

Sleep. Eat. Workshop. Laptop. Eat. Sleep. Laptop. Sleep. Eat. Workshop. Repeat.
It was true that I preferred monotony over abrupt changes but my life was now going on borderline autopilot.

An hour later, I was cycling down the road, earphones plugged in, wearing a tight khaki shirt and pants that almost looked like three-fourths. That was courtesy of the short and small senior I borrowed them from. I was on my way to IRCTC / Suprabha canteen. The biggest decision I had to make that day was whether I should order a Masala Dosa / Filter Coffee combo or an Onion Rava / Filter Coffee combo. Masala Dosa had been tried and tested; however Onion Rava could be a welcome change. However, sometimes they don't make the Onion Rava well and they put a lot of those black, round and small ball like thingeys (It's called "kurumolagu" or something in tamil?) 

I passed Pampa. That was my previous hostel. They'd put a tent up and I saw a bunch of parents, freshies and brand new cycles huddled about. There was some inexplicable sadness about it all. A song playing in my ear would always mean that my emotions were amplified. I remembered the time when I was there with my parents. Of course, the cycle was as old as ever but it was pretty much the same scenario. Excitement, tension, fear, anticipation. So much emotion. And my parents would be there, feeling some emotions themselves, watching it all happen. So much emotion, and now, absolutely nothing. It was ridiculous how things had changed over one year. 

I suppose it was not just me. Of course, many people do a lot of different things and have lesser monotony in their lives but in a group of people, you can pick the freshmen out. They are the ones with most excitement, happiness, sadness, tension, fear or anticipation on their faces. Every other person on the campus look like zombies. Some of them even move like zombies. 

I had my Masala Dosa and Filter Coffee and soon reached the Central Workshop. I parked my cycle and headed towards the entrance with songs still playing in my ear. A huge crowd of people headed out. There weren't the 8.30 batch of workshop students because they weren't wearing khaki. They were wearing bright, colourful, assorted clothes. Some of them were talking animatedly with others. Some of them looked like they were scared that they might break something. Some of them simply looked dazed. The emotions were palpable. I'd forgotten all about the orientation. They'd be given a tour of the campus. They'd displaying all its pride on the first few days. Another flashback moment. A very powerful one too. I'd exhausted my month's quota of emotions today. 

I remembered being extremely outgoing when I first came to this place. I'd introduced myself to every person I could lay my sights on. I'd ask their numbers, given my number. We'd exchanged information about where we were from. I had been excited to meet new people, to be in a new place, to do new things. Why? What had gone wrong for the zombification to take place? 

Another guy came from behind them and stood at the edge of the workshop gate, calling out to students to gather around him. Students obeyed with obedience that was laughable these days.
"Welcome to the Central Workshop of IIT Madras. I am the head of ......."

I smiled at the ridiculous similarity with last year's orientation. Same spot. Same person. Same words. 

Perhaps zombification was not the right word. (Well it's not even an actual word but moving on...) Perhaps I just wanted extravagant things to happen in my life without lifting a finger and got annoyed when they weren't happening. I guess it was time to stop whining and enjoy things as they were. The past has always been a better place to live in and it was time to always stop thinking about it. I tugged out my earphone, cutting off the channel to the world of nostalgia. I walked in and greeted the first person I met with a smile. It was a much better day at the workshop...

Walking You Through Horror - Game of Thrones Style

I haven't had a decent outlet for venting about the scenes of S04E08 of Game Of Thrones so I'm using this right now. Yes, this post is going to be entirely about Game of Thrones. And those who haven't seen upto S04E08, please stay away for your own sake. Even if you decide to read this because you've decided not to watch the show ever; don't. Because at some point in your life, you're going to watch this show; someone's going to make you, because you can't just go through life without watching Game of Thrones and this article is going to come back and haunt you when you do. So, SPOILER ALERT!

So, the last episode, the seventh episode of the fourth season ended in a brilliant fashion. We knew that Littlefinger was evil. We even came to know that he was responsible for the death of Joffrey and a few other important men in Westeros. But only now did we actually see him show his true colours. Game of Thrones is all about kicks. It's either a happy kick or a traumatic kick. I got to admit, that was one "Yipee" moment because noone really liked Lysa Arryn; that psychotic sickly bitch who wanted to throw Tyrion and then Sansa through the moon-door. Yes, we never considered her to be a major character but that push coupled with a demonic expression on Littlefinger's face was definitely a badass kick. 

Coming back to why I'm here: the eighth episode. A little background first, Tyrion Lannister was on trial by combat for being accused of murdering Joffrey, a crime everyone in Westeros knew he didn't commit. But recently, Tyrion's luck has been more rotten than Sansa Stark's. His champion was to face The Mountain, Ser Gregor Clegane, a warrior of monstrous size and ability and not a shred of conscience. The only problem was, Tyrion didn't have a champion. 

He sought the help of Jaime Lannister, his brother, his first choice in the original trial by combat and it would've worked well too because Cersei would be faced with the death of her lover if she had to get rid of Tyrion. All this was before Jaime lost his sword hand. Now he couldn't defeat Tyrion if he wanted to. Well no, I guess that's not true, anyone could beat Tyrion but he definitely couldn't go anywhere near The Mountain without his head being split into two.

Then Bronn entered his cell. Bronn, his savior, the winner of his first trial by combat. All of Tyrion's hopes lay with Bronn. But, somehow you knew it wasn't going to happen. Game of Thrones has taught us that much. This was too easy and too good for Tyrion. And so Bronn refused. But I didn't hate him for it. I liked him more. He asked Tyrion why on earth he would do that for him when he was in such a good place in his life. And damn right he was; you don't randomly go fight The Mountain in a battle of death when things are going well for you. Bronn wasn't Ned Stark. He had no pride. He had no honour. Yes, he liked Tyrion a lot, but would he give his life up? Damned right he wouldn't. Tyrion could see it too, as he too, like Bronn, wouldn't have helped him if he were in Bronn's position. And with a very sincere apology and a handshake, Bronn took leave, leaving Tyrion shattered. His last, well, pretty much only hope, had rejected him.

This leaves you wondering who the champion could possibly be. Tyrion didn't have a lot of powerful friends. Then, Prince Oberyn entered his cell. I'd forgotten all about him. He was the only person in the room who had a smile on his face when Tyrion demanded a trial by combat. Of course it was going to be Oberyn. Tyrion didn't know it yet. Oberyn begins to describe his hatred for the Lannisters, his sympathy for Tyrion, his thirst for revenge. And everyone who he wanted dead was right there, at King's Landing.
"I will begin with Ser Gregor Clegane", he exclaims in what I believe was the second most powerful dialogue of the episode (the first being, "Your sister", if you know what I mean) 
Tyrion slowly begins to look up, not willing to believe in what he thought yet. Oberyn stood there, with one hand holding a burning lantern, with the fire also burning in his eyes. He had the air of Petyr Baelish, someone extremely powerful who's waited for a long time to strike and the opportunity had finally presented itself.
"I will be your champion".

After that we're left stranded for two weeks, wondering. I obviously wanted Oberyn to kill the Mountain. He had to. I mean, if he didn't, Tyrion was going to die. And Tyrion couldn't possibly die. Sure, this was Game of Thrones and all but still you can't just keep killing off main characters and expect the show to run long. But there was always the third option of the Mountain winning and Tyrion escaping death somehow. But if they had to kill off some person, the Mountain had to be the better choice. He didn't have any role till now. He had to go some day. This was as good a day as any. And Oberyn's inner badass had just been turned on. Surely they wouldn't kill him off after developing his character so beautifully? So, I hoped for some sanity. I innocently believed that Oberyn would conquer the Mountain.

One last time before the fight, the brothers have a chat. Jaime is worried because he hasn't ever seen Oberyn fight. And Tyrion's thinking about his dead cousin who killed beetles. We enter the fight scene. Oberyn picks up a huge pike. He wears no armour in contrast to the Mountain's alarmingly dense armour which possibly weighs more than an average human being. Oberyn assures his woman that that wasn't the day he was going to die and a couple of other proud lines. I didn't know what to think. He enters the battlefield. The fight begins. Oberyn shows us why he is called the Viper. It was arguably the best fight scene I'd ever seen. His agility and skill were outstanding. He danced around the Mountain, twirling his pike about, commanding the Mountain, time and again, to confess his crimes against his sister and her children. Inspite of the Mountain breaking his pike with his giant sword once, Oberyn was clearly the better fighter. Jaime, being a fighter himself, realized that and stares in amazement and joy as Oberyn slowly starts derailing the mountain. Even Tyrion allows himself the tiniest of smiles. Cersei's and Tywin's faces are as grim as ever. Me, I still had my heart in my mouth. Oberyn could be the worst fighter and still win or be the best fighter and still die, this being a TV show and all. But when Oberyn struck the Mountain in his leg, and then struck again; I led myself to believe that Oberyn was going to make it. This was going down like Bronn's fight, with Bronn's sword slowly slashing away the other guy's organs. Oberyn then thrust his pike into the Mountain's chest and the Mountain finally fell. It was all over. 

But then Oberyn shouts at the Mountain to confess his crimes before he dies. He walks around the enormous body shouting at the Mountain seeming a little mad. He was pointing at Tywin who had given the order for the crimes the Mountain had committed. He was not finishing the Mountain off. My heart which had settled in its original place a moment ago, took off again. Earlier it was just anticipation, now it was sheer dread. This is exactly the sort of thing that gets people killed at the last minute. FINISH HIM OFF DAMMIT.

 For an instant, nothing happened and the Mountain still didn't move. Then I thought he had died and the way it was building up, I thought some arrow was about to strike Oberyn from the crowd for accusing Tywin or something. Even Tyrion's and Jaime's faces show signs of worry. But then a giant hand of the Mountain swept Oberyn off the ground. Oberyn tried to get up, but the Mountain slapped his face with such brutal power that it knocked several teeth off and sent blood spewing. The Mountain, in mockery, started confessing, proudly, his rape and murder of Elia and the murder of her children. My heart had stopped pumping and I seemed to be stuck in limbo. He got on top of Oberyn and grabbed his face with both his hands and pressed into his eyes which burst out with blood. In another moment of desperation, I hoped to god that Oberyn would find the pike and stab his head with it and perhaps be blind for the rest of his life. Whatever the hell, just let him live. Then, the mountain, with a resounding crack, split open Oberyn's skull with his bare hands. The camera began to pan out on Oberyn's bloodied corpse and the music had a sense of finality. I'd truly forgotten that I existed in another world. 

For a couple of minutes I could only think, "Ohshitohshitohshitohshit" while desperately trying to let out those emotions through other people, on facebook, through texts, someone, anyone. In those last few moments of the fight, I'd become completely oblivious to the real world. Of course, even normally, I'd have all my concentration on the show but I'd always know at the back of my mind that this was a TV show. This time, my brain had been cut off from this world entirely. That almost never happened. It was traumatizing. But it was just fantastic. Game of Thrones had once again exploited my innocence and turned it into a brutal experience, one that I wouldn't have missed for the world. Joffrey's death wasn't even close because that had been spoiled and that was slow and predictable. This one truly matched the Red Wedding. Game of Thrones had reached a new level of brilliance. And so Tyrion has been sentenced to death. I have to wait another week for that episode. But since we have one week to wonder about his death, it won't happen. Like I said before, it was too easy and predictable for Game of Thrones. And he was arguably the most important character in the show. But then again, after the betrayal by the show in this one, who knows? I hope he lives though. Also, if know what's going to happen, please don't spoil. It's really an evil and heartless thing to do.

Signing off from an unfortunately boring real world,
Arjun K G