HBO’s global success, Game of Thrones (2011–2019), is known for having an active international fan base. In this qualitative interpretive study of the show’s reception in Spain, Germany, and Argentina, I examine themes emerged from interviews with twenty-one viewers. I interpret their readings on the series together with online and offline engagement practices. Rather than marked cultural contrasts, the study identifies common patterns across nations: varying degrees of analytic and emotional engagement leading to diverse fan subjectivities within their “locality.” Theoretically, I draw from Mittell as well as Jenkins et al. to argue how GoT provides an arena for casual viewers and die-hard fans to move on both axes of engagement: drillability and spreadability. To finalize, I reflect on dominant academic discourses that reinforce notions of proper fandom and propose to apply anthropology’s cultural relativism and respect for the emic perspective to acknowledge agency.
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