Killed Taking a Crap: GoT Season 4 Wrap-up

I finished watching Game of Thrones season 4 last night. My last blog was up through episode 4 (out 10). Rather than blog episode by episode I've chosen to wait until the season finale and then write about themes.

As is typical for the series, season 4 wrapped up with a number of killings. After all, that's how author George R. R. Martin writes 'em.



Two things were different about season 4's death toll, though. For one, half of those whacked were evil people who richly deserved it. Two, a few of the deaths toward the end were ironic.

The irony stems from a scene in which Petyr Baelish counsels a young lord not to let exaggerated fear of death keep him hiding in the castle. "People die in their beds and at their dinner tables," he says (paraphrased). "They even die squatting over their chamber pots." This is ironic because in this season major characters die that way— at the dinner table and while taking a crap. ( More details >>> (spoilers) )

"Getting" Someone Fired

There's a Reddit sub I like to read, r/AITA. In it people post stories about situations where someone's gotten upset and them they're not sure if they're in the right or wrong. They ask "AITA?" — Am I The Asshole?

One type of AITA post involves someone getting fired from their job. Employee X does something on the job that Person Y, who could be a customer or a coworker, doesn't like. Person Y tells X's manager, and X gets fired. X and/or their friends rage at Y for "getting" X fired. Y worries, "AITA?"

My response is that Y in these stories is rarely the asshole. I point out that notion of "getting" someone fired is generally a misstatement of responsibility. If you report an employee's misbehavior accurately and in context, and they get fired for it, it's on them. It's the consequence of their actions. They've gotten themselves fired.