I'm Rewatching Every 'Game of Thrones' Episode and You Should Too

I did something stupid. I let a Twitter poll determine roughly 80 hours of my life over the next 50 days. I asked Twitter if I should rewatch every episode of “Game of Thrones” before the final season, which is set to premiere on April 14. These twitterers said I should. Idiot that I am, I decided to run with what 28 of 32 anonymous voters said I should do with my life.

So who’s coming with me? This isn’t a misery-loves-company situation. I’m stoked. Let’s all get stoked together.

I began yesterday, plowing through three episodes in an afternoon. And let me tell you: Bran Stark is the cutest little kid, Cersei Lannister’s relentless thirst for power is in its infancy and Eddard Stark is like a blind baby panda when it comes to politics. The series is off and running, and when you know how everything turns out, it educates and enriches every storyline. It’s kind of like watching these characters relive their high school glory days, with the knowledge of how their lives panned out (or ended). Jamie Lannister has his sword-bearing hand back. Jon Snow is in his awkward stage, but at least the fate of the world isn’t yet on his shoulders so he doesn’t have to brood so much. (He still broods a lot.) Rob Stark, Rickon Stark and Lady Stark are alive. Theon Greyjoy still has his manhood. The crew is whole, literally.

The gravity of the first episode — which features the first sighting of the White Walkers, who basically becomes a non-story for multiple seasons — looms much larger, like an ignored and festering wound. Every major misstep is brutal, because you know what the repercussions will be. Every moment of foreshadowing feels like a clue you missed on the first go-round (for example, Jamie rejects the idea of becoming the Hand of the King again because their lifespans are too short. Enter: Eddard).

Not only does having knowledge of the show’s direction help educate the show’s past, but the show’s past should also educate the show’s direction. As the new season approaches, it would behove us as viewers to study the show’s twists and turns one more time before absorbing the final episodes of the series. (Could we read the books? Sure, but that’d take much longer than 80 hours. The first book on tape is 34 hours. If you’re up for that, go for it. Keep in mind, it’s a different text with a different plot line than the TV shows.) Armed with a thorough knowledge of the story, we can better understand the finality of one of the greatest shows to ever air on television.

I’m fully aware that binging a show with this many hours makes me a total nerd. I’m proud of that. This show is pretty freaking nerdy. Accept it. Embrace it.

The nerd in me knows that the scope of this show is expansive. The nerd in me knows that this show deserves to be studied. And the nerd in me is enjoying an opportunity to feel fully prepared for Winter by trekking back to Summer in order to truly understand how far the show has come.