re: Where does GOT rank?

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Yeah, many future writers will be inspired by watching this show. We're going to see an influx of popular characters killed off in gruesome, blindsiding ways in writing for all forms of media. Some will do it well for the story and others will do it just for the shock value.

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We had that well before GRRM wrote the first rape scene for Game of Thrones to be honest. Joss Whedon was notorious for killing off beloved characters out of the blue. At first it was stunning and amazing. Then it became annoying. Now its just sort of a given he'll create a beloved character and kill them in a meaningless way.

Its akin to the Southern Pro Wrasslin' law of bloody brawls. One over the top brawl is great! Two in a row is OK. Three and a row and the audience is dead.

You need to space these things out. When they become your calling card the audience starts to expect it and there isn't any reaction when it happens.