Everyone was talking about “Game of Thrones” and I wondered what the hype was all about. It didn’t seem like a series I would enjoy. I was having a chat to a relative one day and she suggested that I should watch it and she of course was a huge fan herself.   Shortly after my husband and I got married, we decided to watch the series. We were hooked. When I say hooked, I mean hooked! We watched the first four seasons back to back until the early hours of the mornings, to catch up.

My husband as you will see below, also read the books.  Seeing that he is such a huge fan of the series and the books, I asked him to do a review for my blog and there you have it…in the form of 3 separate blog posts…

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GUEST POST by my awesome hubby:

Let me start off by saying that I am a huge fan of both HBO’s Game of Thrones and George RR Martins A Song of Ice & Fire. I take note that they are very different mediums and the adapted television show does have limitations which the book series does not. Due to this, the television adaptation can only be faithful up to a certain point. This is further compounded by the fact the first four seasons or so were adapted directly from published books, while seasons 5-7 has not yet, because the final two books in A Song of Ice & Fire has not yet been published!

So, with that sidebar, here goes:

The pacing of Season 7 has been an issue that has been brought up a lot in post episode discussions. The condensing of storylines to fit into the 13 episodes covering Season 7 and Season 8 was inevitable……but there is also a strong case to be made for how poorly this was handled. And no, I do not claim to be able to write a better script than David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, but I will express my disappointment with specific aspects that I think could have been handled better.

The rich immersive experience of Westeros is gone! As much as I agree that the time for world-building has passed, and story arcs should now converge to a climactic end, the story has been condensed to such an extent that it has become unfamiliar. The expansive world, the intricate plots and the complex characters all gone. What remains is a handful of principle characters and a string of over-simplified plots that just feels out of place. Dare I say it…the story is being rushed to conclusion.

As I started writing this post, I realised there was just too much to cover to a single post, or two posts for that matter. So my review of Season 7 will be split in 3 parts covering the three main groups of characters, Winterfell, Team Targaryen and Team Lannister.

PART 1 WINTERFELL

“When the snows fall and the white winds blow, the lone wolf dies, but the pack survives.” – Ned Stark

The Winterfell plot and the Sansa and Arya storyline was a complete disaster. The entire plot seems to have been contrived, with the sole purpose of creating suspense, when there was in-fact no need for it.

The tension between Arya and Sansa which was built up over the season was baseless and unfounded, and was just childish, which could have been expected in Season 1, when they were actually still childish.

With all the experiences they have had and the lessons learnt over the course of the previous six seasons, one would have expected more maturity from both of them and that they would not end up in such a situation. Isn’t that the whole point of their journey? I’m sorry, but I cannot accept the credibility of the in-fighting that was presented.

Sure, this is a medieval fantasy setting, but Arya is now not only a bad-ass “secret” teenage girl assassin, but one who can match or even beat Brienne of Tarth in a one on one dual, when no one else has even come close, maybe perhaps the Hound. What was the point of that fight scene, other than to plant additional doubt about Arya in Sansa’s mind? Surely they were other ways of achieving that! Or maybe a bad-ass “secret” teenage girl assassin is what viewers want to see? There was no purpose to it.

“Always keep your foes confused. If they are never certain who you are or what you want, they cannot know what you are like to do next.” – Littlefinger

As one of the most intriguing and enigmatic characters in Westeros, Littlefinger was once described as “one of the most dangerous men in Westeros”. He has schemed and manipulated every person he has encountered…and maybe even Varys, which is testament to his intelligence. In the end, there was very little of anything from him at Winterfell and he seemed totally clueless about the scheming of the Stark sisters!

This is the man who probably was solely responsible for the “War of the Five Kings”, brought about the downfall of the beloved Ned Stark, was probably involved in the assassination attempt of Bran Stark, brokered the alliance between House Lannister and House Tyrell, gained control of Harrenhal and the Vale and helped win back the North for Sansa/Jon……….and we are led to believe that he was eventually outplayed by two young girls without having any clue on what was going on?

Why did the producers decide not to include the scene between Bran and Sansa……where Bran apparently reveals Littlefingers role in the downfall of House Stark? No, that would have been too easy! Wouldn’t the downfall of Littlefinger have been more satisfying, if the audience were privy to the game the Stark sisters were playing, waiting in anticipation for his death? Or is contrived plots just for shock value more appealing?

“You will never walk again. But you will fly” – Three Eyed Raven

Brandon Starks portrayal has been underwhelming. Maybe he is just coming to terms with who/what is he, or that he is not the same person anymore, or maybe his lack of screen time was deliberate in order to create suspense. He had all the knowledge required to prevent the long drawn out Winterfell plot. So why not use that? He figured out Jons heritage but it took Samwell Tarly and a ridiculous coincidence to figure out he is a legitimate Targaryen.

But Brans abilities are definitely crucial to the endgame, and he is probably the single most important character. But with only 6 episodes left, we hope to see his come to fore in Season 8.

End of Part 1! Team Targaryen coming soon!

Are you a Game of Thrones Fan? I would love your feedback and comments below…

Game of Thrones official Website: http://www.hbo.com/game-of-thrones
If you enjoyed this Guest Post by my husband, you may want to read a previous Guest Post by him: Equal Parenting