Vesna Kurilic

There are a few things people take for granted when you come out to them as a sci-fi/fantasy geek. Some of it is just good ol’ prejudice (eg., about the state of your sex life), but some of it can be outright annoying. Because, if you didn’t get it so far, there is stuff you just have to do if you’re a geek. Not to mention tv shows you just have to watch. Some of which – to make things even more interesting – are shows not even your dead body could be caught watching.

Disclaimer: Anything you recognize probably belongs to HBO. Fun and fandom purposes only.

As it happens, I’m a geek who doesn’t watch at least one of the obligatory shows, those that flood all of my news streams, both online and off. Hell, there’s probably a show like that for everybody, be it current or past. And there are a few things that happen to us when we’re not fulfilling our geeky civil duty and watching whatever’s hot in the geek department.

Some of them, I’d dare to say, are actually a lot more fun than the shows in question.

#1 You feel both wise and stupid at the same time. Wise, because you’re above all that and it’s child’s play. Stupid, because you have no idea who Marjorie Tyrell is (but you’re well aware of Natalie Dormer, thank you very much), and the internet seems set upon worshipping her. (Does that mean there are, like, real reasons for the worship? I’m perfectly okay with not knowing. Easier not to get dissapointed.)

#2 The memes have 50-50 chance of hitting close to home for you. I mean, it’s really hard not to get the character death rate comparisons and all the Joffrey jokes (although reading and watching the first season did help with that), but some things are just like… scroll, scroll until you get to an anti-Moffat rant which someone posted, or whatever else rocks your boat. There’s always something you’re the right person for.

#3 For once, the spoilers just don’t matter. Being as allergic to spoilers as I am, it really does make life easier. And it’s amazing how, due to overall spoiler saturation, you can actually have an at least semi-informed discussion about things you never have and never will see – that is, if you wanted to. Oh, Internet…

#4 You can appreciate the show for its superficial value and ignore its (sometimes many) onscreen flaws. Say, costume design in the aforenotmentioned show. Or the fact that it got Lena all over the net, which – well, you can never get too much of Lena. Or, on the other hand, the fact that that sweet guy from Love Actually got his five moments of fame, never mind the zombie killing and shit. Who cares if the zombies bleed convincingly or not? (Wait, do zombies even bleed? As I said…)

#5 You can binge watch the show later – but only if you want to. Especially worth it when the show happens to get cancelled later – you’ll feel the pain the same as anyone (if you liked it, of course) but it shouldn’t hit as hard as when you just fall in love with something that runs out of funding mid season. Not to mention that cliffhangers are easier to bear that way, too.

In the end, it’s your call – and whatever you choose to watch or not watch, you’ll get something out of it. And you will most definitely not be alone, because, as I sad, Internet…