‘Game of Thrones’ is easily one of (if not, the most) famous TV show in the world right now. Once thought of a niche little fantasy tale, it’s quickly evolved into a mega-hit that rivals ‘Lord of the Rings’. It’s spanned seven seasons, millions of fans, and is constantly pinned to be the best series in television history; but I’m thinking of giving it up! Here’s my argument.
The last season was disappointing; it seemed to deliver on nearly everything that fans have been secretly hoping for since Season One – the Starks reuniting, Jon meeting Daenerys, Bran getting a good storyline. It all seemed ‘too’ perfect. Characters that were loved were almost instantly awarded with more screen time despite not being particularly relevant to the plot or story (looking at you, Tyrion), but characters that were set to make a huge difference (anything involving the Greyjoys), were near instantly swept to the side for the favourites. It turned into a show that had a narrative separate from what we wanted, but is now starting to give into every watcher’s wishes.
The odds, which were always against the viewer, but this season, it all seemed to fall together in place too quickly: loose ends were cut straight away to even the playing field, and to push forward the Daenerys vs. Cersei vs. Jon Snow storyline just before the finale. But what’s that? The White Walkers – you know, the guys who have been strolling just in front of the Wall for about four seasons – have finally decided to make an impact? Wow. It’s almost as if the narrative is being changed to accommodate the fact that the show is running out of time.
It’s not only the storylines that are being affected; it’s the characters that are being changed to fit the seventh season as well. Jon Snow, who was recently (and wrongly, long live Sansa, Queen of the North) reigning in Winterfell, allowed Northern Independence to crumble away in favour of Daenerys, a foreign ruler. After that, they decide to fall in love and she’s assured that she’s got support from the North. The only problem is that none of this is followed through and Jon, who wanted to leave to join his brother’s rebellion not so long ago, is fine with this. Not forgetting that the Red Wedding was caused directly from Rob not following the North’s wishing, this is just plain dumb.
The most frustrating part is that it is such a good show. Or used to be. It’s easy to tell that ‘Game of Thrones’ has diverged from its original sources of the ‘Ice and Fire’ series by George R.R. Martin. I think that the show has suffered as a result; storylines are being rushed, and fan-service is being painfully rewarded in every episode. It’s an extremely difficult thing to watch.
‘Game of Thrones’ has always been raved about as the best TV show so it’s hard to ignore it – but it may be time to let ‘Game of Thrones’ go. It’s not as good as it used to be, and there are so many other quality shows for you to start watching now.
Start with The West Wing (it’s really amazing, I promise you!) or, if you’re waiting for another fantasy fix, keep taps on the new reboot of ‘Lord of the Rings’ bought by Amazon. They paid $250 million for it – at the very least, you know the budget won’t be an issue.
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