All men must die…but did an epic series spanning almost a decade deserve such a painfully unsatisfactory death? I am not sure…I remember about 9 odd years ago, I watched the first episode of Game of Thrones (won’t say how I could get into trouble for that!) and I remember being hooked. The show created a magical realm of intrigue and mystery, where one pays for being foolish and not playing the game (Ned Stark anyone?). In fact I read the first few books after watching the show, I was that much invested in the story. The show was faithful to the book at least for the first five seasons (more or less). Then something happened…The story in the series was going much faster than the author could write and the writers of the show were given the overall picture and the major arc-points of the characters; and were left on their own to carve their own tale on the show. How the mighty fell! The plots became non-existent from flimsy; characters did things one wouldn’t expect of them…it was a slow burn to disaster. I appreciate the craftsmanship of the show, the grandiose set design, cinematography, background score, and costumes, quite amazing really. However, I feel (I am sure some people might agree with me), the USP of the show in my humble opinion were the characters and their arc, the beautiful dialogues and the political trickery. Somehow, the last two seasons left reason for grand scenes of battles, dragon sweeping fire and incredible cinematography. Don’t get me wrong, I really appreciated those aspects of the show, how else can one bring the words from the novel to life, it’s breathtaking visuals and haunting music did justice to George RR Martins world. They lost something in the bargain, the story lines and plot twists were rushed and the character developments were forgone for the visual artistry. This left a bad taste for many fans and faithful followers of the show. Still people were waiting for the last season with bated breath for two years and it came to a crashing end. I can nick-pick the choices of the show-runners as much as I can, but I mainly stick to two things. First about the night king plot, I guess the Arya killing the night king seemed like a cool twist but years of story built-up around the white walkers and no satisfactory end to their story arc…How did they come about? What did they want? There was a shoddy explanation of the night king wanting to kill Bran to end all stories of human kind (what? Why!)…He sat doing nothing while Theon Greyjoy dies and Arya delivers her killing blow to the night king. Another scene really bothered me when Dany rides on the Drogon and Rhaegal dies, because wait for it Dany forgot about Greyjoy’s fleet!! Her cunning in securing the unsullied and all the milestones she had reached suddenly disappears…she suffers through the poor writing and her final delve into the abyss is underdeveloped and disappointed. A character I looked up to, who said things like
“I have been sold like a broodmare. I’ve been chained and betrayed, raped and defiled. Do you know what kept me standing through all those years in exile? Faith. Not in any gods, not in myths and legends, in myself. In Daenerys Targaryen”.
I have thought about her turn for the darkness, it’s tragic but believable in the long short, but the last season was so rushed. It’s as if the writers knew the main points but didn’t know to go from one point to another, several loose ends, beloved characters losing their charms and wit…it was disappointing…
I did like the fact that the stark children came into their own. “When the snows fall and the white winds blow, the lone wolf dies but the pack survives.” Although Bran’s quiet acceptance to the throne seemed a tad disturbing. From “a lord of nothing” he became the king of the six kingdoms and he “came all the way for it”…is he a super villain or what? Very ominous…on that note I would quit my cribbing and move on…to wait for the last two books, he did promise us that didn’t?
“When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die. There is no middle ground.” - Cersei Lannister (famous last words anyone?)
