Game of Thrones has become something of an exam term tradition for me in the last three years. Every week, myself and a group of friends have gathered, snacks in hand, to watch the highs, the lows, and the often painful deaths of our favourite characters. And in just a few days time, to the delight of millions round the world, the HBO hit series is back for more. Game of Thrones isn’t just a TV series, it’s an event. Despite controversy in the media, especially following events in season five, Game of Thrones remains one of the most popular television series of all time, with a budget of $7 million per episode. What is it that makes the show so popular? There has to be, I think, some credit given to the sheer scale of the show. The Game of Thrones universe is huge, and even larger in the book series. This helps broaden its appeal no end, as the interlinking plot lines and characters ensure that there will be something for most people to enjoy.

Part of the joy of watching Game of Thrones is watching this universe expand, as new families are introduced and old rivalries revealed. At times, the show feels more like a historical epic than a fantasy world, such is the intricacy of the political alliances and lore. Unlike previous popular historical epics (such as The Tudors and Spartacus), Game of Thrones benefits from the fact that there is no historical accuracy that must be followed. As much as you root for Spartacus, you know that his rebellion is ultimately doomed.

The same is not true for Game of Thrones, where it feels like anyone can die, and ultimately, anyone could sit on the Iron Throne. If the universe is complex, that is nothing to the characters that populate Westeros and the lands beyond the Narrow Sea. There are perhaps only two characters on the show (Joffrey and Ramsay, to my mind) who are utterly without redemption. The rest exist somewhere on the spectrum of ethical ambiguity, changing their alliances and morality to suit themselves. Jaime Lannister is a good example of this; he began the first series as a firmly established ‘bad guy’. Yet over the course of the last five series, the screenwriters have slowly revealed layers of his personality. It has gotten to the point where several of my housemates have developed a crush on him, despite his incestuous relationship with his sister and the small matter of him crippling a child in the first season.

The writers are masterful creators of complex characters who both attract and repel viewer support. Last season, Stannis gained something of a cult following – only to have the darker side of his desire for kingship be revealed when he allowed his only daughter to be burned alive.

One of my personal favourite characters has always been Sansa Stark. Game of Thrones has been criticised by some feminists (often rightly so). However, one of my favourite aspects of the series has been the way that female characters are treated exactly the same as the male characters. They have hopes, dreams, ambitions, schemes and divided loyalties, just as the men do. None of them are one dimensional stereotypes, and they all progress as the show develops. Hence my like of Sansa, a shy, naive and sheltered young woman at the beginning of the first series.

The loss of her family, her forced marriage to Tyrion, her fleeing from the capital and ultimately, her (again forced) marriage to Ramsay Snow all shape Sansa into a woman who has seen the worst that Westeros has to offer, and still finds the courage to keep standing. Although it’s too early to say, I wouldn’t be surprised if season six involves Sansa calling in her banners and avenging the death of her family on the Boltons. This is the complexity that Game of Thrones thrives on; a hated character like Jaime Lannister can become a fan favourite, and a naïve girl like Sansa can become one of the strongest characters on the show.

Most compelling of all, I think, is the sense of escapism provided, which is vital during Easter term. Stressed about exams? Join Dany and Tyrion across the Narrow Sea and daydream about riding dragons across the red waste. Supervisor slates the final draft of your dissertation? Tune in on April 24th and see if Jon Snow is really dead (for my two cents, I’m betting not). Game of Thrones provides escape to, in many ways, a simpler world: one where there are no essays, looming exams or hopeless job prospects.