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| GAME OF THRONES // TV REVIEW |
 In theme of the much anticipated upcoming sixth season of "Game of Thrones", I decided to write a review on the show. Why is it such a hype and why do some hate it? Game of Thrones is a TV adaptation on the book series "A Song of Ice and Fire" written by George R. R. Martin. Though the very first season follows the story-line established in the book fairly closely, the seasons which follow are less true to the books and the last season deviates from its source material quite a bit. This angered many avid GoT fans but hopefully keeps the show fresh and full of unpredictable twists. Both the series and the books are still running and George R. R. Martin will publish his next book in the installment, titled "The Winds of Winter", somewhere in 2016. A few notable characteristics of Game of Thrones: 1) blood, gore and nudity, 2) high-budget filming, which amounts up to about 8 million (!!!) dollars per episode, 3) quite lengthy and complicated storytelling. HBO is known for its use of excessive amounts of nudity but this doesn't seem to affect ratings/viewings too much, and if you're not one of those squeamish types, then the amount of blood and gore is quite tolerable. The high budget definitely pays off as its stunning CGI cinematography brings the fantasy world George R. R. Martin envisioned to life. The buildings and creatures are beautifully crafted and they put lots of effort into the design of the different dresses and hairstyles. You almost forget they are not real.  Game of Thrones is a fantasy show, set in a fantasy world, yet very realistically so. It doesn't draw up wacky magic rules or weird spells or specific magic books, it's all quite chaotic really. There are dragons, magicians, and white walkers, but nobody really knows what they are capable of and even lesser people believe in their existence. The fantasy is quite subtle in the show and the first season barely shows any fantasy elements, except towards the end. Too much fantasy like people flying around in cloaks or levitating buildings, those things really distract from the story line. And the story-line is very good indeed, thus should be paid attention to. There are plot holes, unfortunately, but the writing is of high standards and very in-character. I was very pleased with the actor's performances, vivid and enthralling, you hate them and you love them. Another great thing about Game of Thrones is that George R. R. Martin created not only a fantasy story, he also created an entire history to go with it. You can find videos on YouTube on how the world of Game of Thrones came into being and its entire timeline with all its historical events. Not only does this make the show so much more realistic and exciting to watch, the amount of work and structuring this takes is immense and yet everything fits beautifully together. The Dothraki and Valyrian language are fictive languages spoken in the show, and it's not just senseless brabbling, there are actually entire dictionaries on the vocabulary and rules of syntax. The creators put a lot of effort in the show and it definitely pays off. George R. R. Martin takes its inspiration from various real-life historical events and if you are a history buff, you might notice some similarities between the fictional events and the events that have actually happened in our history. For this reason, some people find the story to be more of a history novel rather than a fantasy novel. The thing I love the most about Game of Thrones is its various story-lines. The many characters are so exciting to follow and the beautiful realms they travel within never fail to amaze me. From the gargantuan ice wall in the North to the beautiful free cities to the East, all those diverse characters with their own stories and character traits, so much beauty to take in.  Now on to some criticism. There are lots of deaths, a lot. And sometimes the amount of deaths stack up so high one might consider them to be more written for shock-value rather than for any realistic in-story purposes. Some characters are introduced and never seen again, or killed the same episode. This is realistic for its medieval portrayal, but also chaotic and just really confusing. It makes an already intricately complex show full of characters, even more complex. There have been instances when I just forgot about a character completely, and when reintroduced, I had to search in the GoT meta for its origin. Another con to the show is that it drags, a lot of things happen but at the end of every season, they just never really get to their initial goal or get any closure on the injustices that have happened to them. All characters are left on cliffhangers and continue the next season with the same complicated and twisting plots that just seem to spin on and on and on forever. Kind of like a Pretty Little Liars, but instead of A, we wonder: who is going to take the Iron Throne? Obviously, this all is done to make the show unpredictable and amusing to watch. However, they neglect lots of little story-lines that were drawn up one episode, and tossed away the next. You never hear from these characters or events again. Aside from the fact that the show drags, it also has a slow start. There's lots of medieval politics in season one and for people who don't like politics at all and just watch for the bloody fighting scenes, it can get rather boring at times. All in all, Game of Thrones is, and will always be, a show worth the watch. It is one the highest quality shows ever aired on TV and has gained popularity for valid reasons. It's just up to the individual spectators whether they like it or not, because most either love it or hate it. In my opinion, it takes some time getting used to, and you must be patient if you really want to know whether your favorite character(s) will have a happy ending (knowing GoT, most probably, they'll die). The directors confirmed that Game of Thrones will have a total of eight seasons, the last two seasons will contain less episodes than the previous ones. I do hope you enjoyed this review and I'd love to hear your opinion on the show and whether or not you agree with my pro's and cons.  |
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