Recapping My 4 Day Game of Thrones Binge

The idea started from a simple suggestion:

“You should binge watch and live tweet every episode of Game of Thrones in the days leading up to the season 7 finale” Joe Praino told me.

We were taking a break of our usual Sunday volleyball games in Venice Beach. He continued:

“You’re perfect for it. You have a good Twitter following and you’ve never watched an episode.”

I didn’t think too much about it. I just drank my water and went back to playing volleyball. But he brought up it up again the next Sunday when our same group was playing again. He just wouldn’t let it go and it started to intrigue me. So I asked him how many episodes I’d have to watch. 67 he told me. I thought - So I’d have to give up 67 hours of my life in a small time frame for a social media stunt? It was stupid, absurd, and completely ridiculous…so I just knew I had to it.

That week I calculated the math like I was preparing my taxes. I crunched the numbers and determined that if I started at 6AM on Wednesday, August 23 I had 108 hours to watch 67 episodes by the Sunday, August 27 season 7 finale. Basically I had to watch 67 episodes in exactly 4.5 days. Outside of sleep, all my waking hours would be spent in front of my television learning about the phenomena I’d been hearing so much about the last 7 years. I was ready…The Binge Was Coming!

I couldn’t sleep the night before and was off to a rough start. Instead of beginning at 6AM sharp I started at 6:34 AM by announcing my Game of Thrones binge via Twitter. I was instantly hooked. From the opening scene with the Night’s Watch and White Walkers I knew I had made the right decision. Quickly I understood why everyone was so obsessed with Game of Thrones. It’s a show that magically combines every element of entertainment. From the plot, to the characters, to the perfectly timed comedic one liners, it all comes together. I knew I had to binge watch unlike I had ever binged before, and giving up never crossed my mind. I didn’t want to stop because I became a part of the show. I felt immersed in Westeros, Winterfell, and The Wall. I just had to know what was going to happen next: When was King Joffrey going to get murdered? Would Jon Snow ever have sex? Was my girl Khaleesi every going to unite the 7 Kingdoms?

And during this insanely ridiculous binge something wonderful happened: I forgot about the outside world. I didn’t read the news, didn’t answer my calls, and I didn’t even watch the Floyd Mayweather vs Conor MaxGregor fight. I was so disconnected from everything that I was completely unaware of the hurricane that hit Texas. I was literally in my own world. A world of dragons, savage sex, and gruesome violence. I became tired and brain dead, but it didn’t matter. I had to go on. I had to finish. So I kept watching. And I kept live tweeting and the Game of Thrones fans came along for the ride. After the official Game of Thrones twitter feed retweeted by my binge announcement and responded to me I gained thousands of new followers. Followers that were not only supportive but cheering me along the way. I felt like we were all in this together. I couldn’t let them down. I had to keep on watching. I had to keep tweeting. I had to keep posting videos of my reactions after episodes. So I marched on just like Daenerys Targaryen march to unite all 7 kingdoms.

And then it all suddenly ended. After 67 episodes, 66 hours of run time, and 89 tweets I was finished. I was exhausted both mentally and physically, all from sitting on my ass and watching a TV show. But I also felt accomplished. I was able to complete one of the best TV binges of all-time. I finished 7 years of a show in under 5 days. But just a few hours later I wanted more. I was already in withdrawal. I desperately wanted to see another gruesome murder or a graphic sex scene in a whore house. I was hoping for a clever joke from Lord Tyrion or a witty response from The Hound. I yearned for another scene where Dany was a boss ass bitch. But I couldn't have it. I realized I had to wait until season 8 like everyone else. I must learn patience and accept that the gods will give me another season in due time. In the meantime I guess I’ll have to find a new show to binge. And I’ll have to go back to a world without flying dragons and quick witted little people. Luckily for me I can still enjoy white walkers. I just need to walk down the Venice Beach Boardwalk at night…they’re everywhere.