Game of Thrones: How Egypt Watched

A s we were going to press things were getting intense—but it wasn’t talk of magazine production or the mad pre-Eid rush of Cairo’s streets making a buzz in our offices. No. The Game of Thrones season was coming to an end and fans on our team were literally sitting on the floor waiting to see what would happen, their fingers crossed.

The show has a cult following all over the world and here in Egypt ,audiences, on the edge of their seats ahead of the finale, are just as smitten. GoT is rising in popularity among Egyptians, and a quick, informal office survey yielded the following findings: it’s one of our favorite top 10 series; we appreciate the symbolism behind the “games” portrayed; we love the directing, the way the series was shot, the intricate details of every scene; overall we think it’s ‘wonderful’ and ‘realistic.’ So much so that we mapped an alarming outpouring of heartfelt grief upon the king’s death.

The series always kept us guessing, with cliffhanger endings and teasers—like when in episode five many viewers predicted that Ceresei will be queen and that the game is still not over. There were the haters, too, who felt that as the series progressed, it got worse, and that the first four seasons held more action and served the message better.

On the eve of the finale we polled viewers on what they liked best about the season and their predictions for the next and final season, expected to begin shooting this fall.

“I watch the series at home alone because I consider it ‘Holy’ and that it requires focusing. I stream it online. I don’t buy the paraphernalia and collectibles. I haven’t read the books so I don’t have many theories on the series. I really hope something goes wrong with the dragon white walker because it’s a spoiler in the end.”
—Leena El Deeb

“I watch it at home. . . It has 18+ scenes. I don’t buy it, it’s illegal of course but I don’t know anyone who pays. For me life is divided into ‘The denial before GOT,’ ‘The OMG this is the best thing ever’ and ‘Now this has a meaning.’ I think Arya will kill Sansa, put on her face, meet Gendry and call his name and doesn’t know Sansa so it’s going to be extra weird. He will start suspecting Arya and he will find out what she did. Jon will sleep with Dany . . . Obviously! But things will change when he finds out that she burned Sam’s father . . . Sam will kill her . . . Jon will ride the dragons . . . and HE IS THE KING.”
—Noor Samir

“The season is rushed and predictable and overall underwhelming. Usually used to gather with friends and we all write our predictions for the episode and put money on the table and whoever was closest to what happens takes the money. This hasn’t been happing since the middle of the last season because we all had to watch the episode as soon as it’s released to avoid spoilers. I have the action figures that were released with season one and a few fashion items.”

—Raghda el Sayed
“It’s my least favorite season. I usually get together with my friends and watch it together. Yeah I had a t-shirt.”
—Marwan Salim

“This season is ok but not as exciting as expected—me and my friends gather, order a pizza and watch.”
—Yasmine Adel

“They hyped it too much and now I’m disappointed . . . but hoping the finale would change my mind. Yes we gather my friends and I and watch it every Monday.”
—Khaled Seif

“Amazing season, too fast-pace though. Traveling between lands is very fast and not logical. Amazing war strategies. I watch a live broadcast with all of my friends. We get pizza and have made the same order these last three seasons. I have hand of the king seal with raven papers—I wish I had ravens to use them though.”
—Ahmed Adel