And also, I suppose it is possible that other book readers were as devastated at Oberyn's death and I was unusual.
I'm unusual, too. All of the book readers I know loved Oberyn and were devastated by his death, but I just didn't get it. I didn't understand why so many people loved this character so much. I didn't dislike him, but I certainly didn't love him, and he was around for so short a time that his death only affected me in terms of what it meant for Tyrion.
Enter Pedro Pascal. From his very first scene, I was captivated. He brought Oberyn to life for me. He gave him the depth I didn't see in the book. Now I had to try not to like the character, because I knew what was coming for him. But, seven hells, I fell completely in love with him. I dreaded that episode all season. It was the first episode I seriously didn't want to watch. And it was so much worse than I'd even imagined, because Pedro is
so damned good. His performance was just chilling, and made me love Oberyn even more in his eleventh hour.
I remember the upset that happened when Pedro was cast, because he was "too white" to be Oberyn, and he didn't look anything like what people imagined, and they were sure the character was totally ruined by the casting. Well, I hope those people are eating their words now. Pedro was brilliant, and one of the best casting choices in the series so far, in my opinion.
But the TV watchers might have been thinking: "Red Wedding last season OH MY GOD! The Starks are dead. There aren't any non-Lannister good guys now. Who are we supposed to root for? Who will take up the banner against the Lannisters? Who will fill the place in our hearts Robb, Talisa and Catelyn had? Well, season four has started and there is this really cool guy called Oberyn who hates the Lannisters for ordering the murder of his sister and her children. I guess things are going to be alright after all...OH MY GOD!"
This is another reason I'm unusual. Though the Red Wedding was devastating in that it was so unexpected and
so brutal, I had never liked Robb, and Catelyn was one of my least favorite characters, so I wasn't that distraught over their deaths. Grey Wind's death hit me harder than either of theirs.
I'm a Lannister fan. Jaime is my favorite character, Tyrion is my second, and Cersei and Tywin are on the list, too (though I like the latter two more in the show than I did the books). I don't see them as the "bad guys." I found Ned Stark's actions to be much worse than any Lannister's. Everyone is a good guy from their own perspective, and I understand and relate to the Lannisters' perspectives more than anyone else's.
Ironically, even though they're the Lannisters' greatest enemies, the Martells are my second favorite House.
