We know that Game of Thrones is not very easy on the heart. With deaths and plot twists just a blink of an eye away, the show is not for the weak hearted. A new Apple Watch app now has measurable proof of just how taxing the show is on the heart!
The app — called Cardiogram — was used to measure the heart-rate of fans as they watched the show. And according to the findings, a large fraction of people experienced higher pulse rate, not during VFX filled action sequences, instead, during more dialogue heavy scenes. AppleInsider reports —
Fans of the HBO fantasy series Game of Thrones are more excited by dialogue than by action scenes, according to a study by heart monitoring app Cardiogram of Apple Watch users.
Of course, the action sequences had their fair share of heart-attack inducing moments. Most potent of them was when Jaime lost all sense of rationality and thought while charging full speed at Dany that he could end the war with a single swing of his sword — or, with a single poke of his spear, as the case maybe!
The event with the highest average pulse rate so far was Jamie Lannister’s charge against Daenerys Targaryen and Drogon, an action scene that focused on conflict between two main characters, preceded by another scene concerning Tyrion Lannister’s internal conflict.
As mentioned earlier, it was interesting to note that dialogues-based scenes were more powerful than those with action. I think that is a proof that people are actually invested in the characters, and that they feel for these characters. So unlike most action movies/tv-shows, GoT doesn’t shock for the sake of shocking. This is also in tune with what GRR Martin has always emphasised. He has quoted William Faulkner many-a-times in the interviews, and said: “The only thing worth writing about is the human heart in conflict with itself.”
“The findings, where dramatic dialogue-driven scenes dominate compared to high budget and violent action scenes, seems to correlate with “A Song of Ice and Fire” author George RR Martin’s own beliefs in the matter. “
Even scenes that had almost no dialogue. For example, the Night King staring into Jon’s eyes, raising the dead, ranked pretty high up. As was this season’s Arya-Nymeria reunion (of sorts).
With Season 7 drawing to a close and a lot of storylines finally meeting (Jon-Danny, Stark reunion, etc), we are sure to have some more of these heart-spikes! All I can say is I am happy I am not using this app, because come finale, I am sure my heart is going to explode.
