In the shadow of The Wire, Six Feet Under, Deadwood, Sopranos and so on, it is hard for HBO to launch a drama and let the audience discover how good (or not) it is for themselves. Even when it is good sometimes you can feel that it knows the expectation on it and also the calibre of the company it keeps. It was this way with Boardwalk Empire, where one could feel the rather worthy air it carried from the very start – like it had to be this way because of what it was and how much it cost. To a point Game of Thrones begins the same way and the promos for it were running for months before it was shown. For the first few episodes I wasn't sure about it as it begins with a lot of talking and a lot of explaining things to the viewer to provide sufficient base on which to build. It isn't all as clunky as that sounds but I did get the feeling of being in the middle of something very complex and not being allowed to enjoy the story because of how much time was being spent explaining. The excessive nudity also felt like it was being done for the sake of it, as I didn't have enough context and character yet to care beyond the superficial.
This lasted no more than a couple of episodes though because quickly the families are established, the main players are reasonably clear and I was able to concentrate on what was going on in the present rather than just the history between the various families. This history is important of course, but once the base is down, the writers can get it across to us in conversations and interactions rather than just telling us. At this point the show very much comes to life. I am not a big "swords and fantasy" fan, nor do I have any great desire to be lost in a world of novels where even the author struggles to keep track of who is who, but I do enjoy a good story well told and this is what Game of Thrones is. Allegiances are fleeting, characters may or may not have an agenda, all men are worthy and of their word until they aren't and so on. The plot twists and turns quite sharply at times but it doesn't overdo this, instead it lets them play out well, without rushing too fast or moving too slowly. As well as doing a great job of making it accessible and easy to follow, the writers did well to bring the emotions easily too. I felt the pain of betrayal (Stark in particular, for all his honourable naivety, caused me to catch myself at a few turns) but also the brutality of the ruling classing battling for power – we all know kingdoms are build on blood but here you really feel it and see it, to the point that even the "good" leaders will sacrifice 2000 men for the sake of a diversion to get closer to the prize. The cruelty of these people is evident and it makes their characters more dangerous and more compelling.
After a slow start the cast also come alive. Bean begins as the big name and he is a really good character to come into this world with – in the way that so many shows and films use the "wide-eyed newbie" as their partner for the viewer, Bean fills that role here while also still being a powerful presence. Clarke started the show as a "bad performance" as her simpering character seemed to only exist for the sake of nudity; however over the season her transformation into Queen is really well done and very convincing to the point that she stood out for me as one of the stronger actors and her nudity became secondary. Headey is "OK" but I found her too reserved and without any way of appearing to be more than she is – she grew on me a little but I still found her limited. Beyond these the cast is deep in talent and good performances where it is the likable Harington or the extent to which Gleeson makes his Joffrey such a cowardly yet cruel c*** (there is a 10 minute YouTube video of him being slapped over and over again by Tyrion – it is a great watch). Speaking of Tyrion, Dinklage is brilliant in this role – funny, scheming, likable and very well rounded as a character – he was always welcome on the screen. I could go on with Gillen, Williams and others but, like so many HBO shows, it is hard to draw a line.
Game of Thrones appears to be worthy and overly serious at first, perhaps struggling to escape the weight of the HBO logo at the start of the titles. However a few episodes in we have firm ground under our feet and the characters, plots and drama can begin. It seems complicated but it is not thanks to good writing, which is also the reason for it being so compelling. The actors, the sets, the locations and the scale of it all impress and of course the many open plots at the end will have me lining up for the second season when it comes.
This lasted no more than a couple of episodes though because quickly the families are established, the main players are reasonably clear and I was able to concentrate on what was going on in the present rather than just the history between the various families. This history is important of course, but once the base is down, the writers can get it across to us in conversations and interactions rather than just telling us. At this point the show very much comes to life. I am not a big "swords and fantasy" fan, nor do I have any great desire to be lost in a world of novels where even the author struggles to keep track of who is who, but I do enjoy a good story well told and this is what Game of Thrones is. Allegiances are fleeting, characters may or may not have an agenda, all men are worthy and of their word until they aren't and so on. The plot twists and turns quite sharply at times but it doesn't overdo this, instead it lets them play out well, without rushing too fast or moving too slowly. As well as doing a great job of making it accessible and easy to follow, the writers did well to bring the emotions easily too. I felt the pain of betrayal (Stark in particular, for all his honourable naivety, caused me to catch myself at a few turns) but also the brutality of the ruling classing battling for power – we all know kingdoms are build on blood but here you really feel it and see it, to the point that even the "good" leaders will sacrifice 2000 men for the sake of a diversion to get closer to the prize. The cruelty of these people is evident and it makes their characters more dangerous and more compelling.
After a slow start the cast also come alive. Bean begins as the big name and he is a really good character to come into this world with – in the way that so many shows and films use the "wide-eyed newbie" as their partner for the viewer, Bean fills that role here while also still being a powerful presence. Clarke started the show as a "bad performance" as her simpering character seemed to only exist for the sake of nudity; however over the season her transformation into Queen is really well done and very convincing to the point that she stood out for me as one of the stronger actors and her nudity became secondary. Headey is "OK" but I found her too reserved and without any way of appearing to be more than she is – she grew on me a little but I still found her limited. Beyond these the cast is deep in talent and good performances where it is the likable Harington or the extent to which Gleeson makes his Joffrey such a cowardly yet cruel c*** (there is a 10 minute YouTube video of him being slapped over and over again by Tyrion – it is a great watch). Speaking of Tyrion, Dinklage is brilliant in this role – funny, scheming, likable and very well rounded as a character – he was always welcome on the screen. I could go on with Gillen, Williams and others but, like so many HBO shows, it is hard to draw a line.
Game of Thrones appears to be worthy and overly serious at first, perhaps struggling to escape the weight of the HBO logo at the start of the titles. However a few episodes in we have firm ground under our feet and the characters, plots and drama can begin. It seems complicated but it is not thanks to good writing, which is also the reason for it being so compelling. The actors, the sets, the locations and the scale of it all impress and of course the many open plots at the end will have me lining up for the second season when it comes.