Soon after the image of Jon Snow’s
blood enwrapping his lifeless body finally left my head, I did a quick
checklist of why I still watch this show. This season definitely tested the
viewers more than any previously. It broke a few, with quite a few thinkpieces
popping up saying ‘I’m done with this show’ after the rape of Sansa committed
by Ramsay. That wasn’t the reason why I contemplated my connection to the show.
No, I did it because I really wanted to know if it was worth 10 hours (and many
more hours reading/listening/researching/debating). Five seasons in, was it
really worth it anymore?
This season, it shared a 2-hour block of
time with Veep and Silicon Valley. I have no pains in
saying that in the last handful of weeks, I looked forward to and enjoyed more
the two comedies than Game of Thrones.
This was not true in the beginning of the season. I really enjoyed the
beginning of Season 5. I thought it was more acute, more structured, more
focused, and more themed than any previous season. Cutting out the Bran
storyline, limiting the time with the Boltons, opening up Mereen and pairing
characters together all over the place. This helped. Overtime that gave way to
the same milestone-based show that is brilliant but a bit cold. So, with five
seasons in the books, why do I still watch this show?
Actually let’s start with the counter:
Why do I have issues when I watch this show:
·
- The Plot: George RR Martin constructed a breathlessly complex world, with cities and states and regions that all house their own distinctive features and themes. He penned all of this, but in the meantime he forgot to really care about the plot. That’s not always a bad thing. Seinfeld had no plot, after all. But the plot here is so stretched, so circular, that nothing is really getting solved despite so much happening. Take this finale, so much happened, but all that happened is feuds thought dead were re-opened, and stories that were getting fuller took a step back. Two characters with years of lead-up were (likely) killed off. It is more accurate to say, really, that this story has great filler but bad endings.
- The Overall Theme of Negativity: Few great shows have positive world-views (something that made Parks & Recreation so amazing), but few are so negative as Game of Thrones. My all-time favorite show is similarly negative in its general theme (The Wire), but hidden between the decay of Baltimore were so many great moments. Game of Thrones used to have a lot of these moments, and it still does but with the cast of characters and plotlines expanding so much there’s not much time for them
- The War overtaking The Politics: The show was at its best when it becomes about the politics of this magical land, the family drama and connections and marriages and all of that. The show is not at its best when it focuses on the actual warring. Some of the scenes of War are amazing (Blackwater in Season 2, The Watchers on the Wall n Season 4, Hardhome this year) but overall the warring is tiring. It never ends. And now with Hardhome, I have to think that is the endgame here anyway.
But all that said, why do I still watch a show where
I don’t much like the plotlines and how they end, the overall theme and the
significance given to military strategy, because of the following:
·
- The Artistic Brilliance: At the end of the day, Game of Thrones is a tv show, and it is made about as spectacularly well as any TV show ever. Each year seemingly the videography becomes more incredible, the special and practical effects more daring, the sets more enchanting. A lot is made of the fact the show has a blockbuster-movie sized budget, but they at least put it to great effect. The camera work displayed by their directors is always unbelievable. The landscapes, the buildings, the details, and even now the CGI, is such an overpowering aspect of the show.
- The Actors and Acting: Not every actor is great on Game of Thrones, but all the ones we are made to care about are, or have their moments. Pretty much everyone with the last name Lannister has been the benefit of a marvelous acting performance. Lena Headey and Peter Dinklage have been unendingly brilliant. Charles Dance was captivating as Tywin. Was so good at making Joffrey so hateable. We’ve seen great performances by so many other actors. Stephen Dillane’s work as Stannis this year was awesome. The actors playing Davos, Melisandra, Jorah, Varys have all been various levels of awesome. Quick repeat shoutout to my man Stephen Dillane. Show Stannis was a boring character, but his performance this year was amazing. Obviously, the killing of Shireen was about as dark as the show gets, but Dillane was awesome portraying the various levels of emotion in that decision, and the realization that it all failed and he was about to send himself into death
- Those Special Moments: On season 4, I said that while it wasn’t my favorite season, it had maybe the most ‘Holy Eff’ moments; just great memorable stuff like the entire Purple Wedding, Tyrion’s trail, and the fight between the Mountain and the Viper. All those things happened in King’s landing, and while Season 5 didn’t have as many moments, it had enough. The ‘Come at me Bro’ moment of the Night’s King staring John Snow down was one, Drogon flying high over Valyria was another. Game of Thrones because of the budget, the actors, the directors, and the source material, has more perfect social media moments than any other show I’ve ever seen.
To me those last three things far outweigh the first
three. Who cares that Jon Snow is dead? Who cares if the plot is a little
aimless? I don’t watch Game of Thrones
to see the good guys win, or to see who sits on the Iron Throne, or to see how
in the hell anything matters when the White Walkers are coming to kill em all.
I watch for the artistry, for the photography, for this group of people working
together to put sequences on television that are so imaginative it is amazing
it is on TV. Game of Thrones is far
from the perfect TV show. I think Season 5 on the whole was one of the weaker
seasons (probably better than Season 2, but that may be it), but it was still
worth giving 10 hours of my time to.
