RJ Writing Ink

I’ve been putting this off for three weeks now, and I can’t take it anymore. Game of Thrones is over, and I need to talk about the show some more!

To say Game of Thrones is the biggest show of the decade would be an understatement; it’s one of the biggest shows of all time. It’s changed our culture in ways that few stories have ever done. The tens of millions of fans, references and parodies by other shows, works by scholars; I could go on! Not to mention that the places they used to film the show got significant boosts in tourism. Croatia and Northern Ireland have websites dedicated to Game of Thrones tourism.

What I’m saying is that this GoT has gotten a lot of love, and that’s why the final season was so divisive. Its sad feeling seeing a story you love end in an unsatisfying manner, and for some, it can sour an otherwise good memory. I’ve spent the past three weeks thinking about that, and I want to give my answer to this question:

Is Game of Thrones Still a Good Show?

The Plot

Few adaptations are capable of carrying over everything from their source material, and Game of Thrones is no exception. The show took liberties with the source material from day one, but they were never too drastic. Some characters got aged up, appearances changed for casting purposes, things like that. As time went on, though, it began to deviate from the books.

Martin gave Weiss and Benioff an outline of how he was going to end the books, and that’s what they used for Season 6 onwards. Which is good and all, but I’m not alone when I say this: they made the final two seasons too short. HBO tried to go for quality over quantity with fewer episodes, but by doing so, they lost both. I liked Season 7, but it was one big event after another. That may work on paper, but in truth, we need extra time to flesh the story out. In short, they should have stayed at the ten episode mark.

You have to admit; though, even at its worst, GoT is still enjoyable to watch. The casting’s amazing, the music is world-class, and the special effects are incredible. It speaks to the high quality of the show when the worst of it is still fun to watch. I still hate Dorne, though.

The Worries about the White Walkers

Depending on how you look at it, the White Walkers are either the best or the worst thing about Game of Thrones. Despite coming from the book, the White Walkers are more of the show’s work. They’re hardly shown in the book, and they don’t have as significant a role as in the show; not yet, at least.

The reason why its a problem is because the show spent so much time building them up as the ultimate big bad of the show. I even considered all the power plays in Westeros as distractions to weaken them for the war against the dead. By Season 7, it was all I cared about. Then in one episode, it ended thanks to the most badass woman in the show, Arya Stark.

I realized then that prophecies in Game of Thrones are worthless. So much Jon being the one to save the day. Then again, since Game of Thrones likes subverting expectations about fantasy, this wouldn’t be out of the question.

Its Take on Medieval Fantasy

Before George R.R. Martin, people would think of medieval fantasy being something like Lord of the Rings or Ivanhoe. Noble heroes fight against evil, epic battles of magic and things. Game of Thrones takes all that and splashes it with a ridiculous dose of reality.

In real life, the medieval world was more or less the same as life has always been: violent and as filled with jerks as it is with good people. More to the point, it’s not a black and white story, either; its grey. As in real life, people sometimes have to do bad things to survive or achieve their goals. As a student of history who has seen some messed up things, I appreciate the fact that they don’t sugar coat anything.

My favorite moment was still The Battle of the Bastards.

My Verdict

So, was the finale to Game of Thrones not what we expected? Yes. Though, the show may have ended up falling victim to its hype. It had become the most excellent show on TV, so expectations for the final season were high, maybe too high ever to meet.

Does the finale make it any less of a show as a whole, though? I can honestly say that, no, it doesn’t.

The show had its fair share of controversies and bad moments before the final season came around, yet it kept going through it all. When you look back on it as a whole, it’s still an incredible story; one of the best stories humanity has ever told, in my opinion. I am upset that we never got to see Jon slay the Night King as I wanted, or Arya kills Cersei, but we can’t get everything. It may have tripped at the finish line, but I still think that Game of Thrones is worth watching. If you don’t agree, then I respect that.

Team Stark 4 Life, people!

One last thing! Did you guys know that there’s a hand-woven tapestry that depicts the events of the show? I’m serious! Located in a museum in Belfast, Northern Ireland, the Game of Thrones Tapestry was modeled after the Bayeux Tapestry in France. It has all the big moments from the show on it up to the end of Season 7, and they’ll be adding the final season soon. Click the link below to see the website about it:

Cool Game of Thrones Tapestry

The 6 Biggest Deaths in Season One of Game of Thrones

It’s as Cersei Lannister once said: “When you play the game of thrones, you either win or you die”. Whether it was the original book series or HBO’s legendary adaptation, that statement rings true to this day. In the world of George R.R. Martin’s epic, no character, no matter how important they are, is safe from death.

With a week until the premiere of the final season of Game Of Thrones, we’re taking a look back at the best deaths for every season. For this series, there are a few ground rules: one, any deaths had to occur on screen for all to see. Two, they have to effect the plot in some significant way.

Let’s kick off the carnage at the very beginning with Season 1.

#6- Gared and Waymar Royce, “Winter is Coming“

These guys were two of the first people that we were introduced to in Westeros. They also hold the dubious distinction of being the first of hundreds of people to die in Game of Thrones. While riding beyond the Wall, they come across the grisly site of freefolk decapitated and arranged in a sacrificial circle. They are then promptly killed by a Wight and White Walker.

Considering what’s about to happen in the finale, the deaths of these two are important in the grand scheme of the show. The demise of these two members of the Night’s Watch serve as a warning, not only to an oblivious Westeros, but to the viewers: that an ancient evil is about to return.

#5- The Catspaw, “The Kingsroad“

The first person on our list was only on screen for a few minutes, but he had a big impact on the show. Hired by an unknown client to kill a comatose Bran Stark, he nearly succeeded. Thankfully, his faithful dire wolf Summer was there to rip his throat out.

Even in death, this guy had a big impact. The mystery of who hired him, or why he had a rare, valyrian steel dagger with him, would helped stoke the conflict between the Starks and Lannisters. To this day, it’s still unknown who hired him, though it’s implied that it was, in fact, Littlefinger.

#4- Lady, “The Kingsroad“

Remember how each of the Stark children had a pet direwolf? There were six at the start of the show. By Season 8, there are only two left. And Sansa’s was the first to go.

When Nymeria attacks Joffrey to defend Arya and her friend, the spoiled prince and Cersei demand that Nymeria be put down. Since Arya forced her to run away, Cersei forces Ned to kill Sansa’s direwolf in Nymeria’s place. This incident would mark the beginning of Arya Stark’s hatred for both Joffrey and Cersei Lannister, something that continues to this very day. That, in turn, led Arya down the path that she he has taken.

#3- Viserys Targaryen, “A Golden Crown“

This one is actually a personal favorite of mine. From the moment he appeared onscreen, Viserys Targaryen made everyone hate him by being a waste of space. He spent years emotionally and physically abusing Danaerys, then forced her to be married off to Khal Drogo against her will. All of this was done for his own benefit and reclaim the Seven Kingdoms he saw as his.

Viserys arrogance proved to be his undoing, as he drunkenly threatened to take back his sister and her unborn child. Luckily, Khal Drogo proved to be a protective husband, and gave Viserys a crown of molten gold as punishment.

His death, aside from the first of several jerks in the show (I keep a list), also marked an important moment in Daenerys’ character development. She began to truly see herself as a dragon, and that she would do everything that her brother could not. And by the gods, has she!

#2- Robert Baratheon, “You Win or You Die“

While it’s technically breaking the rules, we will make an exception for King Robert, considering the impact his death has on the show. After spending years drinking and indulging himself, Robert’s mortally wounded off screen by a boar, and then later dies of his injuries.

King Robert’s death is ultimately what pushes the realm into the War of the Five Kings. This leads to the extinction of several great houses, tens of thousands of people dead, and Westeros a land divided as the White Walkers prepare to invade. Closer to home, it’s revealed that Cersei orchestrated her husband’s death by getting him too drunk to fight. This would lead to Joffrey becoming king, and the chaos that followed.

#1- Ned Stark, “Baelor”

Ah, Ned Stark, the first of far too many good people to die. After being betrayed by Littlefinger and arrested on false charges of treason, Ned’s forced to lie and proclaim the bastard Joffrey as the rightful king in order to save his daughter Sansa. This does not save him, though, as Joffrey then impulsively orders him executed anyway.

Joffrey’s execution of Ned Stark makes things far worse in Westeros. The Starks now refuse to bow to the Baratheon’s or their Lannister puppet masters, setting the realm on the path to a war that nearly tears it apart.

Even back when Game of Thrones was still a book series, this moment came as a shock. Ned was the main character, and killing off the main character seemed unthinkable. His death helps the books and the show prove a point: no one, no matter how important, is safe.

Do you agree with my picks? What deaths from Season One do you think were most important?

Click here to see what I thought the big moments were for the season

Click here to see my GoT Page.