Game of Thrones S1 | Some thoughts
On Sunday the first season of Game of Thrones will finish its ten episode run and, even though I have not seen the finale yet, I have to say that it is easily one of the best first seasons I have ever seen. I admit, when I started the show I never expected to be drawn in by it so quickly and completely. Normally, I favour shows that have a concise narrative focus and a small main cast of maybe 2-3 characters that I can delve into. Case in point - Supernatural. Game of Thrones, however, not only has an epic scope, but also juggles at least fifteen to twenty main characters (plus several side characters) and half a dozen storylines. I have never been invested in a show with this kind of broad format before because, usually, a show with this many plotlines and characters inevitably suffers from two problems that I find off-putting.
Firstly, such a huge cast is often detrimental to the depth of the characters because the time for the exploration of the individual characters and their relationships with each other is severely limited - and since layered characters and complex relationships are my main draw to a show, a lack thereof usually turns my enthusiasm for the premise of a show into frustration very quickly. The writers of Game of Thrones though carefully highlight each character through a handful of extensive and, most importantly, meaningful scenes that easily allow the viewer to gain comprehensible insight into their history, their personality and their motivation and goals. Even despicable characters like Cersei and Jaime Lannister, Joffrey Baratheon or Viserys Targaryen are not one-dimensional villains, but driven by very personal agendas, and the good characters all have their flaws and personal demons that give them depth and complexity. Overall the show has a wealth of engaging and compelling characters, and while I certainly have my favourites - Ned and Arya Stark, Jon Snow and Tyrion Lannister, just to name a few - I never feel annoyed or bored with episodes/scenes that linger on the characters I feel not particularly attached to. They are all written just that good.
And that brings me to the second potential problem for a show like Game of Thrones: With a show that has so many storylines and characters, there are usually some that have less appeal than others and that makes the time spent on those storylines/characters a bit of drag to sit through. Game of Thrones though managed to engage me in all aspects of the story. There isn’t a single storyline that I find bland and even the one storyline I initially thought would bore me, namely the alliance between Daenerys and Viserys Targaryen and the Dothraki, turned out to be one of my favourite storylines of the season. Furthermore, having many different plotlines always poses the risk that the writers neglect continuity or entangle themselves in plot holes and inconsistencies, but the way the several storylines in Game of Thrones intertwine and influence each other is masterful, and I think this is where the fact that the show is based on a book series comes in as an advantage. After all, every aspect of the story has already been plotted in advance and all the writers had to do was to translate it into the episodic structure of the TV format. I have no doubt that the narrative consistency and coherence of the show is not only owed to the competence of the script writers, but also reflects the quality of the books.
Additionally, the world building in Game of Thrones is exceptional and the cinematography is stunning and never fails to visually support the storylines/characters. While the pacing of the show has been very slow in the beginning - not least to give the audience ample opportunity to get acquainted with the characters and the world they inhabit - once the introductory phase came to an end, the story moved forward with a breakneck speed, but never lost sight of the characters. I am just very impressed with the way the story unfolded and each episode consistently built on what came before. If I had to formulate one point of critique for the show it’s that it surely has its fair share of gratuitous nudity and sex scenes and, unlike Rome for example, Game of Thrones does not have 'historical accuracy' as an excuse for that. However, with the exception of one scene - namely Littlefinger’s monologue in You Win or You Die - it never comes to the point where the sex/nudity is distracting or detrimental to the story, so I have no real problem with those scenes either.
So, if any of this appeals to you and you find yourself bored during the hiatus, maybe give the show a go, you will not be disappointed. Personally, I can’t wait for S2 and I foresee many rewatchings of S1 in my future. Maybe I’ll read the first book of the series to tide me over as well.
Firstly, such a huge cast is often detrimental to the depth of the characters because the time for the exploration of the individual characters and their relationships with each other is severely limited - and since layered characters and complex relationships are my main draw to a show, a lack thereof usually turns my enthusiasm for the premise of a show into frustration very quickly. The writers of Game of Thrones though carefully highlight each character through a handful of extensive and, most importantly, meaningful scenes that easily allow the viewer to gain comprehensible insight into their history, their personality and their motivation and goals. Even despicable characters like Cersei and Jaime Lannister, Joffrey Baratheon or Viserys Targaryen are not one-dimensional villains, but driven by very personal agendas, and the good characters all have their flaws and personal demons that give them depth and complexity. Overall the show has a wealth of engaging and compelling characters, and while I certainly have my favourites - Ned and Arya Stark, Jon Snow and Tyrion Lannister, just to name a few - I never feel annoyed or bored with episodes/scenes that linger on the characters I feel not particularly attached to. They are all written just that good.
And that brings me to the second potential problem for a show like Game of Thrones: With a show that has so many storylines and characters, there are usually some that have less appeal than others and that makes the time spent on those storylines/characters a bit of drag to sit through. Game of Thrones though managed to engage me in all aspects of the story. There isn’t a single storyline that I find bland and even the one storyline I initially thought would bore me, namely the alliance between Daenerys and Viserys Targaryen and the Dothraki, turned out to be one of my favourite storylines of the season. Furthermore, having many different plotlines always poses the risk that the writers neglect continuity or entangle themselves in plot holes and inconsistencies, but the way the several storylines in Game of Thrones intertwine and influence each other is masterful, and I think this is where the fact that the show is based on a book series comes in as an advantage. After all, every aspect of the story has already been plotted in advance and all the writers had to do was to translate it into the episodic structure of the TV format. I have no doubt that the narrative consistency and coherence of the show is not only owed to the competence of the script writers, but also reflects the quality of the books.
Additionally, the world building in Game of Thrones is exceptional and the cinematography is stunning and never fails to visually support the storylines/characters. While the pacing of the show has been very slow in the beginning - not least to give the audience ample opportunity to get acquainted with the characters and the world they inhabit - once the introductory phase came to an end, the story moved forward with a breakneck speed, but never lost sight of the characters. I am just very impressed with the way the story unfolded and each episode consistently built on what came before. If I had to formulate one point of critique for the show it’s that it surely has its fair share of gratuitous nudity and sex scenes and, unlike Rome for example, Game of Thrones does not have 'historical accuracy' as an excuse for that. However, with the exception of one scene - namely Littlefinger’s monologue in You Win or You Die - it never comes to the point where the sex/nudity is distracting or detrimental to the story, so I have no real problem with those scenes either.
So, if any of this appeals to you and you find yourself bored during the hiatus, maybe give the show a go, you will not be disappointed. Personally, I can’t wait for S2 and I foresee many rewatchings of S1 in my future. Maybe I’ll read the first book of the series to tide me over as well.