Valar Morghulis (All Parasocial Men Must Die): Having Nonfictional Responses to a Fictional Character

Abstract

Previous research has found that parasocial relationships mirror actual social relationships. The purpose of this study is to determine how people reacted to the end of a parasocial relationship per a character death, by applying the Kubler-Ross Stages of Grief Model to Twitter reactions after the death of fictional character Jon Snow from the television show Game of Thrones. The applicability is discussed, as are directions for future research.

Keywords:

• Game of Thrones
• Kubler-Ross Stages of Grief
• Parasocial Breakups
• Parasocial Relationships
• Television

Notes

[1] Tweets were collected starting immediately after Jon Snow’s death and up to the announcement that Kit Harrington, the actor who plays Jon Snow, would not be appearing at the 2015 Game of Thrones panel at Comic-Con. This was chosen because “dead” characters in the show often appear on the Comic-Con panel, and because Kit Harrington did not appear at the panel, multiple sources denied Jon Snow’s death.