Abstract

The notion of recovering a lost home has intrigued readers for millennia, from the ancient myths of Odysseus to modern tales of characters wanting to reunite with their past. Finding a lost home might be a reminder of a time that may or may not exist, or it could simply exist as a wish or a dream. T. S. Eliot described nostalgia as “mixing memory and desire.” Nostalgia is the desire to recreate the finest self of an individual in the future, often sparked by sentimental memories of their best self. In this article, the concept of “restorative nostalgia” introduced by Russian American cultural theorist Svetlana Boym in her 2001 work The Future of Nostalgia, will be analyzed in the characters of the famous television series Game of Thrones. Restorative nostalgia alludes to an effort to bring back the past and rebuild the memory gaps. In Game of Thrones, several major characters journey back home or use the idea of a lost home to restore their past lives. The “lost home” here may have been a mere idea of a desired place that often no longer exists. The study utilizes thematic analysis to understand the many facets of these phenomena, from the psychological effects of discovering a long-lost home to its practical ramifications. The findings propose that Game of Thrones employs restorative nostalgia to comment on the challenges of returning to one’s roots in a world marked by relentless change and conflict.