So my first proper post is going to be about one of my new favorite things - my new favorite television show to be precise - Game of Thrones.
[***SPOILER ALERT FOR SERIES 6 EPISODE 9 OF GAME OF THRONES***]
[***SPOILER ALERT FOR SERIES 6 EPISODE 9 OF GAME OF THRONES***]
It has been a few weeks since the episode aired.... after which the internet was filled with cries of "Zig Zag"and "Serpentine".
Looking at the episode I had no problem with the fact that he didn't run in a zig zag and I don't believe it was obvious for him.
Before I start here is a little background for those of you who aren't avid Game of Thrones fans....
Rickon had been captured by his families enemies and just before a big pitched battle was given an opportunity of freedom, if he could run across the battlefield to his brother while being shot at with a bow and arrow. Rickon ran in a straight line and was hit just before getting to safety.
The internet, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc exploded..... HOW COULD HE BE SO STUPID??? WHY DIDN'T HE ZIG ZAG... I'm too lazy (and not techy enough) to list actual examples....bu if you want some evidence just Google "Rickon ZigZag" and see the pain.
But as the lone voice of sanity, I will provide dissent to the common belief that running in a ZigZag was obvious and the fact he didn't was a plot hole....
- Have you ever watched a TV game show and screamed an answer at the screen only to see the contestant crash and burn. Or have you ever walked out of an exam hall only to realise that the answer was so obvious it was like a smelly fish slapping you in the face.... The truth is that in the heat of the battle the average person doesn't think straight, and often go with the first idea that comes up. This was the heat of the battle and with little time to think, Rickon went with the first thing that came to mind... Run as fast as you can away from the enemy.
- Rickon was a child, he was four years old at the start of the series and his elder brother Bran is only just being taught the basics of archery, let alone tactics. If they only just started tutoring Bran then it can be safely assumed that Rickon wasn't taught anything. At the time of the battle he was probably between 11 and 15, not an age at which you would expect a person to know these tactics.
- Between the start of the series and the Battle of the Bastards, Rickon spends most of the time on he run and the latter period as a captive. Again its unlikely that anyone would have been tutoring him in battlefield tactics.
- At the time of the battle he had been he had been a captive and was likely tired, thirsty and malnourished, none of which will help him think straight in the heat of battle.
- "The shortest distance between two points is a straight line". Running in a zigzag would have doubled or even trebled, the distance being run and the time being spent in the target zone. The best option is to get out of the target zone as quick as possible.
- A zigzag pattern would be useful if there is only one poor archer, an expert could probably have factored this in. Someone like Ramsey Bolton would probably have had all the archers let loose a volley if it appeared that Rickon was about to get to safety.
Anyway this is just my opinion on a fictional TV show.
