I Finally Finished Game of Thrones

Why did I not get around to this show earlier? For years I thought it was overhyped. Not worth grinding because the ending would suck. I knew spoilers. I knew about “Bran the Broken”. Game of Thrones is not overhyped. George RR Martin sucked me into his fantasy world and held on with an iron grip.

The first thing that struck me was the ambition. Westeros is huge. The cast of characters is huge. The writing juggles 10+ characters across five different cities with their own sets of conflicts. Some of the threads are clear standouts, but the quality of the show is never sacrificed. It’s a testament to the strength of the source material. As an adaptation, the showrunners can pour their heart into bringing to life these epic moments.

Game of Thrones is the king of television “moments”. Ned Stark's demise, The Red Wedding, Oberyn Martell’s trial by combat, Joffrey’s Death. When I reflect on the show, I don’t think of only the ending. I think of all these jaw-dropping, stomach wrenching scenes. Any show that has stood the test of time has moments like these, and Game of Thrones may have the most.

The characters we grow to love (and hate) are what make these moments matter. Jaime Lannister is introduced by crippling a kid. So why am I crying when he finally finds happiness with Brienne? Maybe it’s because Bran is annoying. But it’s probably because the writing is so nuanced. Our protagonists aren’t heroes, or villains, they’re all players in a game. And when there’s a real villain, they’re vile irredeemable scum.

The word of the day is Pacing. An early season of Game of Thrones was paced very deliberately. They were slow, built up large players in the game, and climaxed with a "moment". Maybe a betrayal or a character death. Anyone can die, at any time. But it was earned. Death may have been random, but it wasn’t cheap. You need to fully believe that Robb will save the North before The Red Wedding matters.

Season 7 says “fuck any sense of pacing, start killing off everyone”. Daenerys sets foot on Westeros and immediately loses the Iron Fleet, Dorne, and High Garden. Then the Lannisters fight Daenerys. Jon Snow teams up with Daenerys. They fall in love. They’re related, oops! That happened in one season. Daenerys spent like three seasons in Meereen.

Season eight was even worse. Six episodes to go! We got three episodes dedicated towards the Night King, which were great. Then they scurry to fight Cersei in King's Landing. Before you can process anything, Daenerys is evil! Whoa! And then she dies! Sad. And then the Lords and Ladies of the kingdom have an impromptu five minute meeting, where they name “Bran the Broken” king.

Okay. That’s a bit of whiplash. Season 7 and 8 are fan-fiction written by a twelve year old in detention who just wants to play with the other kids outside. Tyrant Daenerys could have been cool. But her descent into madness was rushed and the aftermath was an afterthought. She literally spends only 20 minutes as a tyrant Queen before Jon Snow kills her. Damn we should have gotten at least half a season of that.

Game of Thrones is still easily in my top ten of all time. Very few shows are executed as well as the first five seasons are. And the ending does not tarnish anything for me. I can happily ignore the ending. In fact I’m glad I watched the ending. Having any sort of closure is nice. I wish we lived in the universe where it was done properly though. At least the universe where Jaime doesn’t throw his character development into the trash. He should have stayed in Winterfell…