“Exciting! Exploding! Unpredictable!” These are just a few words that come to mind for “Game of Thrones” diehards. The Home Box Office (HBO) fantasy that debuted its first season in 2011 has taken a recent turn that has left fans more enthralled than ever before.

“Game of Thrones”, based on the George R. R. Martin’s fantasy book series “A Song of Ice and Fire”, was picked up by HBO in 2011. The first two seasons on HBO followed the plot authored by Martin in his first two books, however with a strong following, the alluring series began to spread the following books out over several seasons. Today, HBO designates several million dollars in budget to every individual episode of “Game of Thrones”.

The show is supported by a strong fan base, but many have just recently found a fascination with the record breaking drama. Given the mature themes within the story line, millennials have only recently discovered the show. “I started watching it about two and a half years ago. Nobody in our generation was really watching it until now, it is exploding with our cohort,” said Michaela McLeod.

The HBO series has a knack for captivating its viewers unlike any other television fantasy. “It’s a more realistic and relatable fantasy than others in the genre; it’s not that anyone is literally going through what they’re going through, but the motives the characters are living are more relatable and understandable to the audience,” McLeod said, “I can usually predict what’s going to happen in a book, movie, or TV show after they introduce the characters, but Game of Thrones shocks me all the time.”

While the drama attracts attention for various reasons, many fans say their love for the show stems from the depth of characters. “I really like the depth that the show goes through with the characters and the storylines that they have to fulfill their agendas. I just want to know who will sit on the Iron Throne. I care about the characters so much that I want to see where this goes for them,” Ronald Mader said.

**SPOILER ALERT** The last episode of season seven, the most recent season, aired on Aug. 27, 2017 and left many fanatics shocked with not just one, but two major plot twists. “I was screaming a little bit. The end was fantastic! They killed Little Finger which is great because he’s been manipulating everyone since season one. The ending was just a further plot twist,” McLeod said.

While the finale left some shocked, others found satisfaction in how it all played out. “I was very satisfied with the unexpected character death. It was nice to see that character go. I was also very happy with the identity being revealed of the character we all thought was someone else. I want to see him on the Iron Throne at the end of this so that was exciting,” Mader said.

While the show has plenty of twists and turns, this does not stop the widespread fan base from following the characters through every plot twist thrown their way. “It’s engaging and mindless at the same time. The finale makes for a lot of anticipation for season eight,” said Lisa Emanuelli.