Game of Thrones

When I had first heard of this show I wasn't really ecstatic. Unlike almost everyone else, apparently ever, I'm not a huge Lord of the Rings fan, and this show appeared to me to be more of that. Probably the biggest contributing factor to me thinking this, was that Sean Bean being cast in the lead role (he must love wearing period clothing considering how often he wears it.). I begrudgingly watching Game of Thrones after it was recommended to me by a persistent friend of mine, frequently reminding while he was watching it that he thought I'd dig it. At first i thought I was right on the mark, because the first episode was absolutely boring, and I wanted to stop there. Usually in television the first episode is meant to give you an idea what the rest of the show is going to be like. this is the case sometimes more than others, but a show like Game of Thrones is really how the medium should be utilized.  The first episode is nothing more than the first chapter in a many part story, and once the ball gets rolling man does this show have a story to tell. Once I was a few episodes in, i realized this show couldn't be more different from Lord of the Rings. Now sure, they're both fantasy stories, and may even have some similar subject matter, but LotR is an epic which makes it's characters seem minuscule in comparison to their quest. While GoT on the other hand is about very subtle stories that happen to be set in a fantasy world. What really draws you in is the amount of characters this show can juggle, and make interesting, and weave into the story, without compromising it's own story and plot.

It's so funny how used to other shows you get. I was sitting scratching my head trying to figure out what the show was about and now that I've caught up with the show, I think it's "about" anything. Now obviously if you read the books I'm sure you could manage to spoil some of the plots within, but what i means is that the show doesn't really have a hook. I enjoyed the second episode more than the first, it would have been hard not to, but it wasn't until episode 3 or 4 that I was really excited to see what happened next. It seems to me as thought this show is just telling a series of small stories that are interconnected, and filling them with more small character moments than you might think could fit into an hour block.

My biggest problem with that is, that since it handles so many characters so well most of my favorite characters only get a couple of minutes in the hour, and it seems like it will be a while before they have a lot of significance to do with the plot. For instance, Stark, the main character, has a bastard son, and he takes up the role of a guardian of the wall that protects the northern section of their kingdom. He's one of the best characters, and he's barely in the show at times, and I don't even think he was in episode 6. My favorite character is Stark's youngest daughter. She's this tomboy who isn't down with doing the shit that all the other ladies in the show do, so instead she finds boys around town to spar with, and when that goes awry her father lets her take sword fighting lessons. She has maybe 5 minutes per episode showing what she's doing, and I just can't wait another season or two until she grows up and can kick a little ass!

The show also handles time progression well. It's not one of those shows that's unclear how fast everything's happening, or where they're trying to cram the entire series into a 3 month window (Really Lost...?). Almost every episode they refer in dialogue how much time has passed since the beginning or since the last episode, sometimes it's a couple weeks, sometimes it's a day or two, but they keep you posted. I'm hoping this helps from them having to write of some of the kids in the show when they hit puberty because they won't have to try and think if an explanation to why they all of a sudden shot up. (this shit is going to happen on Walking Dead, I can feel it!)

I enjoy it, and I think I'm probably hooked until the show starts getting shitty!

Also, I want magic! Not a lot, but at least a little. I just want to know it's there, and that some of the characters might have access to it.