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Summers span decades. Winters can last a lifetime. And the struggle for the Iron Throne continues. It stretches from the south, where heat breeds plots, lusts and intrigues, to the vast and savage eastern lands, where a young queen raises an army. All the while, in the frozen north, an 800-foot wall of ice precariously protects the war-ravaged kingdom from the dark forces that lie beyond. Kings and queens, knights and renegades, liars, lords and honest men... all play the 'Game of Thrones.' (Home Box Office)
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The biggest television phenomenon of the 2010s. From an inconspicuous whisper announcing a spectacle for all fantasy lovers, for whom The Lord of the Rings was a great fairy tale, through the growing hype welcoming each new episode as a mercy – to the eighth season, which even the most die-hard opponents couldn't escape. Game of Thrones was everywhere and even after the last episode, which, as expected, divided viewers into several camps, I gladly admit that its fame was well deserved. The intricate world of Westeros captivated me from the opening scene; from the finale of the first season, I wanted to know everything about the Seven Kingdoms, and despite various stumbling blocks, this journey fascinated me until the bittersweet end. Just as Martin's book source material has its weak points, so does the adaptation, logically. In its early years, it clung to the books desperately, focusing on intimacy and saving the grand moments. Later on, it accentuated storylines that received considerable attention in the books but never added any resolutions, and eventually began trimming them down somewhat insensitively. In the seventh and eighth seasons, in territory where the source material has not yet ventured (and in my opinion, nothing will change that due to the increasingly egotistical nature of the vain author), it shifts three gears up and manages in one episode to have multiple plot twists we would normally have to wait years for. Yet I find it somewhat amusing how spoiled the audience is, currently with dozens of new works being offered every month, and yet almost dissatisfied every time. Whether it's dragged out or rushed, floods of complainers are heard every time, as no variant suits their taste. While I don't completely agree with a daring stage for the main events at all costs, the obvious emphasis on viewer inaccessibility on HBO, or the cruel and sudden fates of characters whose motivations were thoroughly developed over many years, this world still fascinated me even a decent few years later, and I even prefer its television mutation to the literary one. It may not be half as elaborate, and it almost parasitizes literature at the very end, but unlike A Feast for Crows or A Dance with Dragons, I don't feel like its authors are just teasing me with an avalanche of side characters and endlessly drawn-out storylines (see Dorne – a testing stone for both versions). And those unforgettable characters, whom I grew fond of and who have forever become part of pop culture (Daenerys, Missandei, Jon, and Robb being my favorites). The world of power intrigues, where battles, love, conflicts, dragons, the undead, and revelations from the worlds of ice and fire increasingly took root, may not have offered me the ending I dreamt of, not even its restrained version which I expected. And unlike others, I can let go of these endings and accept the one offered by D.B. Weiss and David Benioff, even though they are foxes in sheep's clothing, and I won't kid myself that they didn't mock us viewers several times as the end approached by alternating obvious fan service with underlining all expectations. Each season had plenty of unforgettable moments, clashes, encounters, and plot twists, so despite various disappointments, I am staying with the highest rating even at the very end. Valar Morghulis and farewell.
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No offense, this game of being a rough and different fantasy is mostly about the fact that among all the possible clichés, both directing and story, there is a lot of sex from behind, talking dirty and every now and then someone takes a piss. Otherwise, in the first two episodes, there is a lot of talk, but it does not in any way create interest in the mythology of the fictional world in a person unfamiliar with the book (which is quite a problem when it comes to fantasy). The characters are fine, some of them are absolutely great (especially the decadent dwarf Tyrion), but I kind of found out over time that I don't really care much about what happens to them next. What I miss are the explicitly ballbusting and charming scenes, something that would set this series apart beyond excretion and intercourse. I'm not in the mood to watch the next episode, which is quite a problem for an HBO series.
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Without the need to vomit out a commentary full of either glorification or dirt after the first episode, I watched this third season of Rome in peace and quiet. True, the sunny amphitheaters have been replaced by the cool atmosphere of massive castles, but the characters remain. The beautifully ambiguous, non-black and white, well-detailed, and superbly acted characters, once again reinforce the belief that even when guns are blazing in a series (film), there may not necessarily be a battle because there are always enough grey eminences, schemers, and related coincidences that can shift the plot in a different way than we expect. If there is anything not worth praising, it is the direction of the last two episodes because the first one lacks proper gradation and the final one lacks a stronger epilogue resonance. When it's no longer in fashion at the library to take out Martin's books and there’s no queue for them at the bookstore, I'll drop by. I’m really intrigued by this world. [PS: My personal sympathies go out to Ser Jorah and Arya Stark, and now that list also includes Tyrion Lannister since the beginning of the second season.]
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The first season was a struggle. There’s so much empty dialogue, scheming that goes nowhere and raw fucking that it makes you tired. But as the episodes and seasons progress, you begin to marvel at the thoughtful interconnectedness of the individual fates, how everything fits together with surgical precision, how G.R.R. Martin, or rather the showrunners, are not afraid to shock and allow themselves the least predictable (and yet logical) twists that make your jaw drop, your back shiver, and all you can do is utter an involuntary "Bugger me!". The manner in which the fates of Arya, Sansa, Tyrion (and I could go on) unfold in the least predictable ways brings joy to the hearts of viewers who enjoy rich stories. A real viewer's delight that builds to a fantastic fourth season, and I really have no idea what they're going to top it with in the upcoming one. And the fact that the series has an unprecedented, by TV standards, large-scale set design, sets and atmosphere, where every thoughtfully invested dollar of the generous budget is evident, only confirms the quality of this exceptional achievement.
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So much fuss over of a single dwarf… No, Game of Thrones does not deserve such vitriol, though it’s true that it most convincingly triumphs in the most literary of disciplines – dialogue. The word rules, the images do not captivate. In my opinion, the actors aren’t suited to their respective roles (including the diminutive Tyrion), but I should blame that on my imagination, not on the people who adapted the book into a series. Game of Thrones is literature in film form, nothing more. Fortunately, it’s literature of extraordinary quality. 80%
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