Game of Thrones is an adaptation of the epic dark fantasy novel series A Song of Ice and Fire from writer George R.R. Martin and showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss. The series airs exclusively on HBO and stars Peter Dinklage, Lena Headey, Kit Harrington and Emilia Clarke. The final and 8th season is targeting a late 2018, or possible 2019 release for the remaining six episodes.
Set on the fictional continents of Westeros and Essos Game of Thrones weaves several plot lines with a broad ensemble cast. The first narrative arc follows a civil war among several noble houses for the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms; the second covers the attempts of the exiled last scion of the realm’s deposed ruling dynasty to reclaim the throne; the third chronicles the rising threat of the impending winter and the legendary creatures and fierce peoples of the North.
The greatest TV series of all time? It’s hard to say Game of Thrones shouldn’t at least be considered for that title after its seventh and most action-packed, most EXPENSIVE season yet. The show has doubled down on Dragons, CGI and fantasy eye-candy, turning what used to be a show weary of hoisting it’s genre card high in the air, to a series that outright flaunts its nerdiness for everyone to see. With only seven episodes (usually there are 10), we wasted no time getting to the point. Where there used to be travel sequences (people talking on horses for transitional episodes), we now have direct cuts to the next location. Send a raven is the new instant messaging hotness — and I realise many are complaining about the speed and rapid-pacing this season, but I’m all for it. We don’t have time to mess around anymore – this is the endgame and we are moving towards it at an intense speed.
Jon Snow spends much of the season trying to form an alliance with Dany, while her armies begin to go toe to toe with the Lannister forces and test their resolve. Turns out dragons are pretty damn hard to fight against… If you’ve been craving dragon action — season seven delivers it in spades. In fact — Drogon and his siblings dominated this penultimate season in a massive way. Episodes four, six and the finale belong to these dragons… When we aren’t seeing dragons laying waste to armies or buildings, we’re also seeing an abundance of character reunions or fan favourites coming together for the first time and it’s damn exciting.
I got giddy when Jon Snow’s wight-hunting team was being assembled for a dangerous task beyond the wall. Imagine the meeting between Arnold Schwarzenegger and Carl Weathers in Predator – you know the one when they shake hands and worlds explode? That’s what happened in my mind when Gendry and Jon meet up to go take on zombies in episode six. It was amazing. Every single important character is finally crossing paths with one another and it makes for the exposition sequences being must-watch moments. When Tyrion tells Bronn that he missed him late in the season? Oh my god. There are so many incredible reunions in season seven it’s hard to keep track.
Secrets are revealed — you WILL finally learn of Jon Snow’s true parentage. You WILL finally see the true power of the Night King and his horrifying army of the undead (take cover Walking Dead, you are no longer the king of zombie TV) and you will love it all. What may have seemed like fan service on occasion, should rather be taken as a high-five to the people that have been reading these novels or watching the show from the beginning… Predictable? Maybe – but when everything comes together so damn well, it’s hard to scoff at such brilliant story-writing.
Were there missteps? Sure. I wasn’t cheering when Theon smiled after getting kicked in the spot where his dick used to be, in order to mount a vicious comeback during a brawl… That was kinda silly. The show almost felt like a videogame at times due to the overwhelming amount of CGI – especially during the closing moments of the finale, but these are all minor gripes for a show that overall was absolutely astounding. I don’t think it was as good as season 6, but it was damn fabulous anyway. Despite the shorter length, the episodes were longer and every single character had their chance to shine. From the Hound, to the flame-sword wielding Beric, to Cersei, Jaimie and even newcomer Euron Greyjoy who KILLED it this season as the outspoken lovable psychopath pirate captain. There is no better ensemble cast on TV… None.
Game of Thrones is the best TV series of all time. Seven seasons down, one more to go containing six final episodes and we conclude the greatest fantasy epic since Lord of The Rings — and after the dust settles, maybe this will even surpass that benchmark to be named the very best.
Rating: [star rating=”5″]