(Game Of Thrones Critique By Neamo)
The time is nigh for many of us to dig out our banners of fealty, and once more swear allegiance to the houses of Westeros. While many stalwarts have fallen to the wayside in events I won't spoil for those tardy few, the summer light wanes in the breaking of winter winds, and winter is coming. I will here and now declare Game of Thrones to be one of my favorite series, both literary and televised. It captures something that has long been missing, a raw edge to the heart rending fantasy that is glossed over or glibly misplaced in the seasoned art of pandering to a control group. A Song of Ice and Fire did not suffer from this of course, as is made famous by George RR Martin's quote, "I want my readers to be afraid.", and while this notion isn't unique to book but surely is a rarity, the idea of systematically destroying your protagonist, it is a sentiment unheard of in television. We've seen the rare unhappy ending, certainly, but in a show where the vile not only survive but thrive, and good is measured only by the shades of grey, such an idea can be considered a revolution to the format.
However, something I see repeatedly, in fact, more so than any other burgeoning topic on the show itself, is the announced statement that this is the greatest show of all time. Now, being an enormous fan of the Game of Thrones world set before me, and I do mean enormous, proclamations of grandeur aren't things I on the whole feel the need to argue with as when all else is boiled away, it certainly is awe inspiring. The idea however that it is the greatest show of all time gnaws at me for a variety of reasons, and so in my own contrite manner, I'm going to explain why I believe it isn't the greatest show of all time, but why in that same vein it has the potential to be.
- It's ongoing ; That's pretty self explanatory, but the fact of the matter is we've none of us far sight, and not one among us can claim to be a green seer. There is an ENORMOUS margin for error with this show and the way it's written, and as mentioned in interviews, the show is going to take a divergent path from the book in order to retain it's built fluidity. What does that mean? Well throughout the show we've seen subtle changes from the books, little odds and ends that otherwise would make for nothing too harrowing but in the same stance are not as they should be. Arya's hit list is somewhat different, certain characters seem more integral than they would in the source material and new characters have fanned in like the prostitute Roz in order to add some familiarizing warmth, until it is extinguished of course. With a greater divergence likely spurred on by the show's gallant sprint toward the casually meandering book releases, we'll find differences that could easily be acceptable, even laudable, the dialogue between Arya and Tywin for instance being one of the many highlights of the show, or we could see this taking a Walking Dead plunge from grace. Search your heart, you know it to be true Corrl.
- It's characters and cast change frequently ; This is a statement I'm not entirely sure people will get a great handle on, so I'll expand in depth. This is a show that prides itself on the ideal that no one is safe, and that is for the most part entirely factual. There are a few instances of characters with plot armor, we know for instance that Daenerys will survive as without the mother of dragons hamming up her ancestry, things would become rather dour across the narrow sea. There are other characters afforded this 'plot armor', and we'll see that, but as a general rule of thumb no one is beneath the books. As such, when I tell you that of the scant handful of familiar faces we have currently more shall fall and fresh faces anew shall join, it should worry you. You'd be a fool not to be. These are actors frankly who have proven their salt and made us care for them, so in each of their deaths a lingering hole remains that must quickly be plugged by a new and tender face. Thus far the show has been fairly adequate at plugging gaps and shuffling, but the fact of the matter is it won't be too long before entire segments and episodes of the show are dedicated to these newly emergent faces, and we might see the acting prowess slope when some of our more esteemed and established stalwarts fall. I realize this is prospective, but if you are telling me that this is the greatest of all, you must settle for this conjecture until the product is finished.
- It relies too heavily on shock ; I know I'm going to get some flak for this if anyone is to read it, primarily because that is the central draw of the show itself. Knaves! Swords! Nudity! Bastards! All wrapped up within a delicious plot of sparse magic and winged reptiles. It's the moniker of Game of Thrones and a large mark of it's success, and I can't fault the ideal behind it as the books themselves revel in these topics, but even the gore soaked texts don't amount to the Caligula like mounds of flesh that we find ourselves immersed in. It seems facile to say back in my day, but certainly in a time not too long past to see a dwarf fondling tits, you had to have joined the darker of the gentlemen's clubs, and lurked in their seedy waters. That might seem offensive to say, but it's entirely factual. There are concepts expanded upon in this show that ordinarily couldn't be televised, not to mention the conceptual incest plowing, bare bodied lesbian grinding and other acts of debauchery previously locked within the pornographer's cellar. That's not to say the smut of the show is it's downfall, although frankly it would be a fine thing for the director to learn that when it comes to breasts more is less, no, it also ties in to the entire premise of the show at large. Main characters dieing is part and parcel of the format, we know what we're in for. Without spoiling the events of the previous series for anyone yet to catch up, we've just bolted a hurdle that will be pretty hard to top, and another approaches rapidly in succession. With the passing of the coming events, the pace will ultimately slow once more in the calm before the storm and it will be interesting to see how fans react to the slowing roller coaster that is the plot after this. Without the shock, what will the show be? Will the producers have to dip more heavily from one excess into another? It begs the question, what is left when we've become numb to the offerings?
- It's characters don't develop within the story ; "NOW HOLD ON!" I hear you cry, "That's an opinion that has no warrant! Look at the funny guy Tyrion and... And..." And thus my problem begins. The characters certainly do grow a little and the show is very good at portraying duality, but we switch attention from post to post too quickly to see a great deal of systematic growth. I'm not saying they are two dimensional constructs, though let's face it, most are drawn from well known stereotypes, I'm instead saying the events and their progressions while doing something to mark and mar the perceptions leave no deeper scars. We're left with the same characters as erst they were, no huge bounds of sanity, no crumbling morals or climbs of redemption, sans Lannister. It feels strange for me to say that there is a polarized effect, but when you can sort out who is an asshole by their family name we've entered the dark and sticky realm of character trait rolls, and in many ways it does feel like we're in the hands of a seasoned dungeon master watching the rolls play out. What would I say has good character development by example? Well Breaking Bad had some of the best, if not the very best character development of perhaps any recent series to date, and certainly the ideals and nature of man are expressed in fantastic depth in True Detective. Perhaps watching those would give you a better idea of meaning to the phrase. In any such case, for all the cleverness and beauty, there is little growth on either side. Revelations? Certainly. Acts of scant redemption? Why yes. Growth? I'm afraid we're a half man short.
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