Game of Thrones has always had a big universe, and it’s only gotten bigger with time. Season 5 finally featured the introduction of another of the Seven Kingdoms when Jaime Lannister and Bronn took an ill-fated trip to Dorne to rescue/kidnap Jaime’s daughter/niece. Unfortunately, Dorne was not nearly as exciting as many of us hoped as it proved to be filled with one-dimensional characters and contrivances, culminating in unexpected violence. Luckily, disappointment with Dorne on the HBO series doesn’t need to be permanent. A handful of Game of Thrones fans have united in the quest to fix the Dorne plot via a Kickstarter campaign. All we need to do is contribute as much as we can to help them hit the perfectly reasonable goal of $20 million.
No, that's not a typo. They're really only asking for $20 million.
The Kickstarter campaign - appropriately titled “Fixing Dorne”- has set a deadline of June 4 to raise the $20 million. The project launched on May 5, and the crew has already raised more than $20,000 dollars from nearly sixty backers. They’re well on their way to reaching their goal. We may as well start dreaming big dreams of a fixed Dorne now.
If – or dare I say when? – the “Fixing Dorne” project goes into production, the team behind the Kickstarter campaign will begin crafting a Dornish plot that can easily fit into the show without changing the rest of the goings-on in the Seven Kingdoms. Viewers can pause the official episodes whenever the show’s version of Dorne appears on screen, play the corresponding “Fixing Dorne” scene, then skip the episode ahead to the next plot. The Dorne of Season 5 of Game of Thrones need never be revisited again.
The team who came up with the “Fixing Dorne” project could not be more qualified. David Panfilo is the writer of a whopping 1/3 of the questions featured in the official Game of Thrones trivia game, Sean Ireland is a Kickstarter expert who has worked as an assistant director, and Vincent Pezzutti is a guy with a bunch of awesome ideas. Can there be any doubt that they deserve the chance to use $20 million to fix the failure of Game of Thrones’ Dorne?
Admittedly, $20 million is a lofty goal by usual Kickstarter standards, but any less would be disrespectful to the Dorne of George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire, as well as to the team that intends to put in the work to bring a better Dorne to the world of Westeros. Would we really want to watch fixed scenes that don’t have the budget for extensive CGI, elaborate costumes, stunt choreography, and a diverse cast?
Personally, I would love to see the Dorne of the show changed to more closely resemble the Dorne of the books. The novels certainly aren’t perfect when it comes to the Dornish, but they definitely put Dorne on the map in the game of thrones in a way that has not happened with the show. At the very least, I’d be on board with better representation of the Sand Snakes. We must be as unbowed, unbent, and unbroken as the Martells in our generosity to make sure that the team hits the $20 million mark.
Be sure to tune in to Game of Thrones on Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO for the motivation to reach for your wallet and donate for something better. Don’t forget to check out our summer TV premiere schedule.
