Show: Game of Thrones, Series 8
Company: HBO
Date: 2019
Plot: Final season of the Emmy® Award-winning hit HBO drama series Game of Thrones – an epic story of duplicity and treachery, nobility and honor, conquest and triumph.
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Synopsis: This penultimate series contains seven episodes. Jon Snow must seek allies to defeat the army of the Dead, while Daenerys must strengthen her position in Westeros. Arya and Bran return to Winterfell, but adjusting to the changes in their home will not be easy.
Meanwhile, Tyrion fights for his counsel to be heard and Jaime starts to doubt his own loyalty. Cersie will do whatever it takes to remain on the throne and no one – friend, foe or lover alike – will stand in her way.
Alliances are broken and forged. Everyone needs to know what they are fighting for.Read More »
Plot: Winter is no longer coming. It has arrived. And the citizens, lords, ladies, kings, queens and everyone else are paying the price. Death and destruction once again rule in Westeros while across the sea, a queen is determined to conquer the world.
But not everything is dark and gloomy in series 6 of Game of Thrones. New and old friendships are forged and the importance of family becomes stronger than ever. With the stakes rising and the dangers beyond the wall getting closer and closer, bonds of loyalty and love are put to the test in order to survive.
From dragons to danger to death to deceit, series five of Game of Thrones follows the tradition of having it all. But this series seems to be lacking something. It is hard to say what. The characters are spreading out, the story lines stretching thin as more and more plots are woven together to create the series. Character deaths and story arcs being left out is making it harder to stay connected with the characters and therefore the show.
The show picks up where series 4 left off. The situation is growing more dire for everyone as winter threatens to consume the land, bringing with it horrors one can scarcely imagine. The Wall is under attack from without and within. Stannis has an army but the Boltons have the North. A new king is on the throne but a rising order of religious fanatics threaten to undermine everything that has been taken for granted over the last four series. Daenerys struggles to control the cities she has managed to take and finds ruling not the job she thought was.
There are other plots going on. But a whole review could be taken up trying to explain them all. Too many things are happening and a lot of the stories are now isolated from each other rather than interweaving as they did at the beginning. Although there has been room for character growth – Arya in particular finally seems to be doing something other than just travelling – becoming attached to your favourites is a bad idea. While it has been clear from the beginning that no character is safe from a violent death, now it becomes annoying. With so many favourites being killed every series, there is little to keep you attached to the show. Those who remain seem to change little until the finale, when so many things change it’s going to be hard to remember who is where next time.
In terms of violence, there seems to be fewer scenes than previous series. However, there are still enough to keep you on edge. Some are more graphic than they need to be. While it stays true to the theme of the show, it again feels unnecessary and keeps the viewer on edge rather than being able to relax and enjoy the show. The only thing that has improved is the need for every scene to involve sex in some way.
The show is still gripping. More than one episode leaves the audience on the edge of their seat and forgetting to breathe as events unfold. But the size of the cast and the multiple plot lines, plus the several deaths throughout the series, means it is becoming harder to stay engaged with the content. Now there is not the same guidance from the books, it feels as if the directors are seeing how far they can push their audience. While continuing to watch, it will not be with the same impatience as before.
Let’s just hope they don’t kill off anyone they are going to need in future series by mistake.
After what felt like an extremely long wait, Game of Thrones, Series 4 finally arrived on our screens earlier on this year. It certainly wasn’t a disappointment; blood, guts, sex, violence and everything in between appearing within the first episode.
Apart from featuring one of the most graphic onscreen deaths possibly ever, the violence in this series didn’t seem quite as over the top as previous series. Maybe that was because the majority of the war was now over after the fall of Robb Stark and the danger was coming from within. The politics of court threaten to undo everyone as allegiances are made and betrayals are ripe. It’s hard to know who to trust when everyone seems to have their own hidden agenda, something Sansa Stark finds out all too well. With a murder placing Tyrion Lannister firmly in jail with the threat of execution from his own sister, Sansa flees the capital with help of an old friend. Who might possibly be after something a little more than her friendship.
Meanwhile, Arya is still travelling with the Hound, Daenerys struggles to maintain her authority across the sea as she discovers betrayals of her own, Theon Greyjoy is broke, Jon Snow is facing a timeless battle and Brandon Stark is still venturing north. While Stannis Baretheon and his cohort continue their plans to take over the kingdoms. With no money and no army. As of yet, at least.
I think that is everyone.
At least, everyone who made an appearance in the show. Now the characters have all embarked on their own journeys and are scattered across the seven kingdoms (and beyond), the viewer was left feeling there were just too many characters at times to remember who is where and what is happening. For instance, Rickon Stark never once appears in the series, meaning we have no idea where he now is. If he is alive, for if there was one thing you cannot guarantee, it’s that your favourite characters will live to fight another day.
Despite the confusion over the characters, the plots were just as strong as ever. The opening episode seemed to lack the spark that immediately grips a viewer, but it quickly made up for it once the series was underway and the characters once again established in the viewer’s mind – if they could keep up with who was where. The only real war takes place far away to the north at the wall as the Wildlings attack Castle Black, wanting the shelter of the wall against the terrors from the north. While the action isn’t as dominant as in series 3, it certainly doesn’t lack in action throughout.
Another remarkable series. Despite following the books, it does seem to get stronger with each series as the characters grow and development. Without having read the books, it keeps the intrigue and the mystery there to grip the audience without them feeling like they are completely lost over what is going on.
A thrilling watch with the next series highly anticipated already.
A Rambling Reviewer 