I’m ready to talk about GAME OF THRONES.
First off, I want to say that while I seldom complain about any kind of work-music, tv, film, theatre, etc. ( I tend to appreciate something about anything), that does not mean that I do not have a critical eye. In fact, I think my ability to enjoy a narrative and experience a body of work as it is without resisting or judging it relies heavily on the fact that I am an artist.
I appreciate hard work when I see it.
GAME OF THRONES is an epic franchise that is a reflection of long hours of shooting, emotional, grueling work from actors, directors, crew, producers, and writers. So many of us fell in love with, have been moved by or have become heavily invested in THRONES because of moments like the Battle of the Bastards, The Red Wedding, Ned’s Stark’s beheading, when King Joffrey chokde up on pigeon pie, Cersei’s walk of Shame, when Khaleesi rose from the ashes after walking through fire only to come out with 3 baby dragons resting upon her, the fight between the Viper and the Mountain, when Tyrion assassinates his father while he’s in a completely vulnerable state, when Lady Olenna valiantly says, “Tell Cersei. I want her to know it was me”…. I mean, I can go on forever baby. But you get it right? Thrones is an amalgamation of incredible moments of triumph, satisfaction, pain, anxiety for the television. It has brought people together for years on Sunday evenings for camaraderie and even emotional support I dare say, because most of us just did not know what to expect next.
I can confidently say that I am comfortable enough to be open to something and see it through before I judge it….Which leads me to ask viewers…
What are we wishing to gain when watching something? Listening to something. It really makes me think that so many of us think work is made for our singular experience and exists to live up to our own personal expectations of storytelling, production, writing, etc.
Is that what Art is for? Maybe Entertainment, but not Art.
GAME OF THRONES IS ART.
If you ask me, if there’s anything that I’ve learned about this age of binge’ing, viewing parties, trends, and the GOT damn internet ( which can be a show’s saving grace, or worst enemy), is that it’s more about ego with people and less about the simple action of receiving.
Now it’s come to my attention (and the rest of the world it seems), that majority of THRONES viewers are not satisfied with the last season of the series. I get it. I totally get it. You’re allowed to have an opinion. I actually may agree with alot of opinions that contend that it could’ve been done differently, and it probably would’ve been better had it been done differently. I’ll admit, the part of me that believes that is the part that wanted a happier ending for everyone. But then there were the fans that decided that they wanted to be actually mad about the last season. These so called fans. These fans that were upset that they have villainized Benioff and Weiss and have actually petitioned the last season of their beloved.
So you wanna chalk it up to “bad writing”? okay… cool cool COOL.
It’s not just the writing that’s responsible for this emotional journey we go on with the characters we invest in. There’s the editing including what the camera chooses to show us. There’s the direction given to the actors, the freakkking acting- all this and more is responsible for whether or not you feel like the show was rushed. The writing is just fine. It’s more than fine in my opinion.
Even if it “RUSHED”- so what? That could be a choice. What kind of show did you think that was? No one is safe- not even us who invest in our heroes as we try to stick with them over the years. Do I think the writing could’ve been better in helping us believe there was chemistry between Daenerys and Jon? Absolutely. Do I think the writing could’be been better in helping us understand the birth of the mad queen? Of course. Do I think the writing could’ve been better with Tyrion’s speech in the last episode when nominating Bran to be the ruler of the seven kingdoms? You bet you’re sweet Jon Snow ass I do. Do I believe the writing could’ve been better? Yes. But who am I in this Game of Thrones universe? A mere spectator. It doesn’t matter what I think about it. I can’t do any better. I signed up for the ride, and I stayed. Thank you to Benioff and Weiss, you gave me a whirlwind of a journey.
In regards to the Mad Queen- Think about it- would you all be more comfortable if you had more time and exposition to someone going “mad”, “crazy”? We don’t get that kind of clear build up in real life. Someone’s mental health declined and the reality about someone “losing it” is that sometimes it feels like it comes out of nowhere. Since when is someone going “crazy” supposed to have a logical, comfortable, timeline that made sense? Maybe if this were the STAR WARS franchise where we get 3 whole movies whole movies devoted to the demise of Anakin Sk,ywalker and rise of Darth Vader. I think a story on Danerys with a peek into her spyche would be very compelling, but this is not a story revolving around that.
I will say the last episode had some rich moments- the scene between Jon and Tyrion with Tyrion asking Jon to kill the woman he loves had some dialogue that was very reminiscent of the quality writing and direction that fans miss from earlier seasons, Dany’s death was nothing short of the stuff of a Shakespearean tragedy, and Drogon burning the iron throne was one of the most moving moments in the series for me personally. I think’s it’s very interesting how we started a show where most people expressed being annoyed by Sansa while loving Deanery’s and ended it with the roles reversed. People are flippant. People need to feel comfortable having control of over those they make their heroes and those they make their villains. THRONES has always been the one to tell us, “NAH”. Jon was never the hero we made it him out to be. He never wanted to be either.
At any rate, a huge thank you to GAME OF THRONES for being such a monumental part of my life for almost 10 years. You really know how to give people something to talk about. What a time. What a show. What life.
As for all ya’ll that have petitioned this last season-
SHAME. SHAME. SHAME.
courtesy of HBO