In Praise of Game of Thrones


In around 2013/2014, I came to know of a show that had consistently high viewership figures and ratings and was winning lots of Emmy awards, not to say driving the internet crazy with every passing episode. Mildly amused, I read a bit about it. It was called Game of Thrones (GOT).

I got an opportunity to watch the series in 2014 but after watching the first couple minutes of the Pilot episode, I somehow didn’t feel interested enough to continue and left it at that. Nevertheless, by early 2015, I had fortuitously been bitten by the GOT bug. As I made arrangements to watch the first 3 seasons, season 5 was premiering. And this time, I watched a little more than the first couple of minutes. I watched the whole first episode. Almost immediately, I knew this was a thing that’d keep me hooked. And it has. I went on to watch (binged!) all 5 seasons. After a wait of almost 10 months, season 6 is finally about to premiere. And I can’t be any more excited.

A good TV show generally scores high on one or a couple of these counts – drama, action, direction, acting, etc. GOT scores high in all of these. Several of the episodes are so good that one feels like watching them over and over. And it being an adaptation of an ongoing fantasy book series, there is a whole universe of its own. Having never read the books, I was only focused on watching the episodes initially, not bothering about the burning questions like Jon Snow’s parentage or origin of the night walkers or Azor Ahai or the others for which millions of fan theories abound. But the wait for the sixth season made me scourge the internet (mostly YouTube or websites dedicated to the show) for “answers”.

I’m aware of the criticism that the show faces – graphic sex and gore, plus female nudity and their objectification. Now, the show doesn’t only depict females as being sex objects. It is a part of the whole package, which also has a lot of really strong female characters (Sansa, Cersei, Arya, Olenna, Daenerys, to name but a few). The way they are shown to be treated sometimes on the show is not incomprehensible either. The show’s timeline is in a medieval age and secondary treatment of women, while reprehensible, has been a running theme throughout history, unfortunately continuing even today. Where the show makes up for that is in giving us some truly epic female characters who, despite all the hardships and discrimination, fight back to gain an equal footing.

As for the other two points, more often than not the sex is an integral part of the story. The gore, well, I think it makes the show that much more realistic and shocking. Additionally, a premium cable network like HBO isn’t held back by the compulsions of catering to family audiences. This show isn’t meant for family viewing. Period.

For those unaware, the books and the series draw inspiration for a number of key plotlines from actual history. In a two-part video available on YouTube, George R. R. Martin and some authors and historians explain how Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire (ASOIAF) book series and its TV adaptation draw from the War of the Roses in medieval England.

As with most book adaptations, the show also divides book readers and non-book readers. The final word on this should go to Mr. Martin who said that both TV and books are different storytelling mediums and they are enjoyable in their own right, one not needing to be better or worse than the other. I concur. What’s more, this year the season 6 of the show will pass the books. The 5th book in the series, A Dance with Dragons, was released way back in 2011, when the show started its run. The 6th, The Winds of Winter, was scheduled to release this year but has been pushed back. So this year, both sets of fans would be on the same page as far as knowing the story and spoilers are concerned.

Those people, like the pre-2015 me who hadn’t had the pleasure of knowing what the fuss was all about, should in my humble opinion give the show and/or the books a try. If you like them, great. If you don’t, no problem. Either way, you’d have had a taste of one of the greatest geek and pop culture sensations of this age. And that’s an amazing thing in itself. Valar Morghulis!

I will be reviewing season 6 on my blog as well as contributing here on Geekritique about TV shows, books and movies.

Visit my blog at musingsite.wordpress.com

7 thoughts on “In Praise of Game of Thrones

  1. I’m a huge fan of the books – they are some of my favorite books. The show has been extremely disappointing to me however, especially in this past season. In the first couple seasons, I really enjoyed the show and didn’t mind the changes they made. Nothing can ever be exactly like the book, otherwise what is the point of filming it? You would just re-read the books. But I have an issue with the drastic character changes they have made to Tyrion, Sansa, Brienne, Jaime, Cersei, so many. Many changes made in the recent seasons have not made any sense, and compared to the book, the characters are lacking in dimension and interest. Now, I honestly don’t know how I’d feel about the show if I hadn’t read the books. I’d probably love it, my husband certainly does. But to me I am disappointed because I see what happens in the books and it is so much more complex and real and honest. My disappoint is only so high because the characters and story created by George R.R. Martin is so compelling. I’m interested to see how this season plays out, as some characters (Arya and Sam) seem to be backtracking in their plots, while others have moved ahead.

    Like

    1. I can understand your disappointment. It happens to me whenever I watch a book-based show or film. To be fair, the level of detail and richness of character that a book accomplishes can’t be achieved in a 10-hour show. Regardless, as someone who hasn’t read the books, I thoroughly love the show. Messrs. Benioff and Weiss have done a stupendous job of adapting the series. Let’s hope this coming season can assuage some of your pain.
      Thanks a lot for taking the time to read and sharing your opinion here. God bless. 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  2. I’m a lover of both the books and the series although last season ended on a big swerve away from where the books seem to be going. Martin seems okay with that and so am I. Both are quality stuff!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Exactly. As long as the quality remains top-notch, I don’t think its any bother. Thanks for reading and taking the time to share your views here.
      Have a great day. God bless. 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  3. Yes, before 2015 I would watch an occasional episode. I wasn’t really into it. I knew just enough about the show to know the main characters, and what they were doing. I didnt become committed til I saw Hardhome, episode 8 in season five. That one really got to me for some reason. Now I’m hooked. I intend to watch every episode this season.

    Incidentally, I haven’t read any of the books and had no intention of doing so as that type of fantast is not to my taste, but I will watch the show regardless.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. The funny thing is, despite most books in the series being really bulky, the events of Hardhome (the battle) weren’t featured in them, happening off-page.
      I’m rewatching season 1 nowadays. The various clues and mysteries get a new twist with every fresh viewing.
      Thanks a ton for reading and sharing your opinion. Have a nice day. God bless. Winter is coming! 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out /  Change )

Connecting to %s