HBO doesn't understand Game of Thrones
Unless you've been living under a rock, you know this past weekend we were hit by two cultural mega bombs; Avengers: Endgame and Game of Thrones: S8e3 "The Long Night." There's plenty to be said about Endgame, but I'll leave my thoughts for that over on my podcast; Filmcast Without a Cause. But as for Game of Thrones, I've got several thoughts and nearly all of them have flipped from where they were right after the credits rolled on Sunday night.
Yes, I have waxed on with woeful rage at the series devolution of HBO's powerhouse program, but at the penultimate moment of the series, it seems fitting to revisit what is one of the largest culture achievements of all time. Without beating around the bush right away my general thesis is GOT's showrunners do not understand their property and have not only dumbed it down, but have spit in the face of their own reduced work.
Famously Game of Thrones is adapted from George R.R. Martin's massive, unfinished book series "A Song of Ice and Fire" (the first book in the series is titled "Game of Thrones.") The show started to outran the books at the start of season five. A season into this non-GRRM penned material, I caught up with the broadcasts and as many viewers started to notice, the show truly started to stumble. The Dorne plots were tiresome, Dany and Essos dragged on, Kings Landing went turbo, and the North became a little too brutal. There is some smart plot points and dialogue along the way, but the show had changed.
Jumping to today, multiple "important" characters have died, others have formed alliances, and of course the army of the undead has reached Winterfell. HERE COME THE SERIOUS SPOILERS...Not only have they reached Winterfell but they've invaded, devastated, and ultimately lost. The spectacle of this development is unparalleled and there are some story beats that are extremely fun, exciting, and justified... but on the whole it is exhibit A of HBO's failing to understand their show.
In the first scene of GOT's first episode we are introduced to the White Walkers. We don't know they're zombies necessarily or even magically endowed, but we do learn that they are cold-blooded, indigenous super-hunters from The Lands of Always Winter. Over the course of the series we learn they are connected to some higher council of magical evil and hold dominion over legions of the undead. Jon Snow eventually witnesses firsthand that if you kill one White Walker, their legion falls with him. This is overtly discussed in the battle plans to the this past week's Battle of Winterfell, AKA The Long Night. But that's it. This huge crack in the dike of zombies is never exploited, in fact it is leap-frogged for a total victory and complete negation of the series ultimate and existential threat with the surprise death of the Night King.
Now I have no problem with Arya killing the Night King, in fact I think if they foolishly wanted to cut off the tension early, this might be the most GRRM way to do it, i.e. "never give the audience what it wants." Subvert expectations and mystical prophecies, and slyly remind everyone that the smallest character in the show has been training since season one to deliver the decisive deathblow. But there is no confrontation with the White Walkers, the shadow over humanity's future is gone, half the cast is left rudderless, the post-Night King problems seem trivial, and 95% of GOT world has no idea there was even an extinction level threat descending or erased. It's sloppy and convenient.
I hate "If Onlys." What if that shot went in? That player caught the ball? Wisconsin went for Clinton? But even I am not immune to them. There was a definite way for Benioff, Weiss, and HBO to have its cake and eat it too. Why didn't they have Arya surprise kill the dozen White Walkers, thereby eliminating the undead army, and leaving the Night King desperate to escape and only to become blood-lustfully vengeful? He could have escaped and started wreaking havoc all over Westros, thereby spreading the concern to the entire cast and GOT world. Knee capping the undead story-line at this point is ludicrous and screams only of the showrunners and network desire to get back to the politics of the show. Intrigue good, fantasy meh...
Every piece of fiction comes with audience retcon wishes and desires, but tying off the end of the world in a single battle, with three episodes left in the program seems absurd. And what's worse is for people hoping GRRM handles this better in the books, sorry the Night King doesn't even exist in the books. We just have to live with the fact that the FIRST SCENE IN THE SERIES IS A DISTRACTION and immaterial to the overall story.
HEY! SPOILERS GOING FORWARD
Yes, I have waxed on with woeful rage at the series devolution of HBO's powerhouse program, but at the penultimate moment of the series, it seems fitting to revisit what is one of the largest culture achievements of all time. Without beating around the bush right away my general thesis is GOT's showrunners do not understand their property and have not only dumbed it down, but have spit in the face of their own reduced work.
Famously Game of Thrones is adapted from George R.R. Martin's massive, unfinished book series "A Song of Ice and Fire" (the first book in the series is titled "Game of Thrones.") The show started to outran the books at the start of season five. A season into this non-GRRM penned material, I caught up with the broadcasts and as many viewers started to notice, the show truly started to stumble. The Dorne plots were tiresome, Dany and Essos dragged on, Kings Landing went turbo, and the North became a little too brutal. There is some smart plot points and dialogue along the way, but the show had changed.
Jumping to today, multiple "important" characters have died, others have formed alliances, and of course the army of the undead has reached Winterfell. HERE COME THE SERIOUS SPOILERS...Not only have they reached Winterfell but they've invaded, devastated, and ultimately lost. The spectacle of this development is unparalleled and there are some story beats that are extremely fun, exciting, and justified... but on the whole it is exhibit A of HBO's failing to understand their show.
In the first scene of GOT's first episode we are introduced to the White Walkers. We don't know they're zombies necessarily or even magically endowed, but we do learn that they are cold-blooded, indigenous super-hunters from The Lands of Always Winter. Over the course of the series we learn they are connected to some higher council of magical evil and hold dominion over legions of the undead. Jon Snow eventually witnesses firsthand that if you kill one White Walker, their legion falls with him. This is overtly discussed in the battle plans to the this past week's Battle of Winterfell, AKA The Long Night. But that's it. This huge crack in the dike of zombies is never exploited, in fact it is leap-frogged for a total victory and complete negation of the series ultimate and existential threat with the surprise death of the Night King.
Now I have no problem with Arya killing the Night King, in fact I think if they foolishly wanted to cut off the tension early, this might be the most GRRM way to do it, i.e. "never give the audience what it wants." Subvert expectations and mystical prophecies, and slyly remind everyone that the smallest character in the show has been training since season one to deliver the decisive deathblow. But there is no confrontation with the White Walkers, the shadow over humanity's future is gone, half the cast is left rudderless, the post-Night King problems seem trivial, and 95% of GOT world has no idea there was even an extinction level threat descending or erased. It's sloppy and convenient.
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| Unrelated, this is so metal I can't take it. |
I hate "If Onlys." What if that shot went in? That player caught the ball? Wisconsin went for Clinton? But even I am not immune to them. There was a definite way for Benioff, Weiss, and HBO to have its cake and eat it too. Why didn't they have Arya surprise kill the dozen White Walkers, thereby eliminating the undead army, and leaving the Night King desperate to escape and only to become blood-lustfully vengeful? He could have escaped and started wreaking havoc all over Westros, thereby spreading the concern to the entire cast and GOT world. Knee capping the undead story-line at this point is ludicrous and screams only of the showrunners and network desire to get back to the politics of the show. Intrigue good, fantasy meh...
Every piece of fiction comes with audience retcon wishes and desires, but tying off the end of the world in a single battle, with three episodes left in the program seems absurd. And what's worse is for people hoping GRRM handles this better in the books, sorry the Night King doesn't even exist in the books. We just have to live with the fact that the FIRST SCENE IN THE SERIES IS A DISTRACTION and immaterial to the overall story.
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