Game of Thrones series

(On Cable TV, April-May 2019) Considering Game of Thrones’ nine-year run, its unusual status as an adaptation having outrun its original material, the sweep of an intricate plot with at least a hundred speaking parts, the rabid devotion of its fans to resolving even the most intricate of its mysteries and the sheer gall of attempting a small-screen adaptation of a high fantasy series, it’s almost inevitable that its conclusion would fail to meet most expectations. It’s been a predictable spectacle to hear The Internets wail about various missteps of the conclusion. I’ll be more enthusiastic, largely because having done my time in the fandom trenches (Babylon-5 forever!), I’m far more willing to accept whatever has been completed. I’m not going to deny that this last run has its issues—as with the last few seasons, the nuts-and-bolts details of the scripts haven’t always come up to satisfy its bigger structural ambitions. The six concluding episodes had a lot of material to go through, but the rush to get it done means that a lot of connective tissue was elided or missing. A few plotting decisions, defendable in retrospect, don’t always make sense on a minute-by-minute basis. (The twist of Episode 5 being the best example of this.) Some Dumb TV Tricks also create their own problems, with cheap theatrics and artificial suspense trumping a satisfying ramping up (I’m looking at you, end-of-episode-3 Big Surprise). Some character arcs are not resolved in an entirely satisfying fashion (oy, Jaimie), although considering the very large cast, I’m generally satisfying with the way their stories turned out. And that goes for the series as a whole—while I’m not completely happy with the way the show-runners stuck the landing (sticking it to King’s Landing was fine, though), it concludes the series decently, provides the bare minimum amount of closure, ensure that the series is of a coherent piece and even provides a clue as to what will await readers in the concluding volumes of the book series. (I expect details to change, but I can definitely see the structure of the season leading to the broad strokes of the conclusion.)  Away from the story, elements of this seventh season’s cinematography, music, acting and special effects are nothing short of terrific. Could it have been better? Of course. But considering the scope and sweep of the show-runners’ ambition at the beginning of the journey a decade ago, what they have accomplished with Game of Thrones is still nothing short of a landmark.

(On Cable TV, June 2015)  For fans of the written series, Season 5 of Game of Thrones is where things turned interesting.  Readers know that books 4-5 of the series were a disappointing mess of new uninteresting subplots, overwritten prose, scattered characters and an absence of interesting plot points.  Would the TV show do better?  At first glance, it’s not clear: While the action gallops forward, it also goes in directions that are startlingly new.  The show-runners have made the wise decision to limit the number of new characters and have existing ones meet in ways unknown in the books.  While some of it seems empty (that visit to Dorne won’t be in anyone’s highlight reel), other plots threads (such as the Tyrion one) seem much tighter and interesting.  The pacing is better, even though some plot developments seem a bit rough.  Less fortunately, there is a sense (via two or three particularly violent sequences) that the show, increasingly freed of its literary inspiration, is eagerly overstepping the bounds of good taste for shock value: Subsequent seasons (and books, since we’re in unknown territory in some subplots) will show whether titillation or foreshadowing was the intent.  Still, it’s a rollicking tale, and some of the visuals in this season 5 are finally realizing the universe of the series to its fullest potential.  (The end battle of episode 8 easily rivals some fantasy movies for sheer excitement.)  While too many questions remain to make this season an unqualified success, it does provide a far more straightforward continuation of events –readers who grew exasperated with tome 4 and 5 may find their interest in the series rekindled.  Of course, the real fun may start in Season 6, which may begin airing before the corresponding volume is published…