A Season Finishes...A Saga Begins

Ten weeks later, and it's all over. It's amazing to see how years of hype, speculation and excitement can take so long to culminate, only for the final product to arrive and be finished in a mere flicker of time. But boy, was it all worth it. HBO's adaptation of George R.R.Martin's epic Game of Thrones was, well...television gold.


As a reader of the A Song of Ice and Fire series, my rather lofty expectations over the myriad different details (from the descriptions of charatcers, setting and costumes), plot elements and themes of the first book were matched and sometimes even exceeded. I was quite worried initially to see what parts of the books would be sacrificed to appease the fickle viewer (readers of the original True Blood novels have been disappointed with many of the drastic changes made to the HBO television series as each season progresses - I was half-dreading something similar would happen here). Obviously, even ten hours of available time doesn't give you enough to cover every aspect of the novel, so I wasn't surprised to see such characters as Catelyn Tully's uncle Brynden, her brother Edmure as well as a whole host of Stark bannermen including the unsettling Roose Bolton (don't worry, you'll see plenty of him if the books continue to be adapted by HBO) completely absent from this first season. This didn't strike me as much of a problem, as these characters are not central to any of the main plot threads in the first book, so there'll be plenty of time to develop their stories later. A battle scene featuring Tyrion Lannister was completely removed probably due to budget constraints, but what is more important - ten minutes of people hacking each other to death, or the politicking that places Tyrion and his men at the heart of the battle? I know what I'd take, every time.

What they did include, however, was magnificent. They didn't pull any punches with the graphic, sometimes disturbing tones of the book. The acting was of a high standard all around. I've seen a lot of buzz about how Peter Dinklage should be given an Emmy for his outstanding portrayal of the witty, sharp-tongued dwarf Tyrion Lannister, and I would certainly agree that he was working overtime to make his character shine - he bring all of Tyrion's intelligence and humanity to the screen and you can't help but love him. The child actors provide stellar entertainment too, chiefly Maisie Williams as Eddard's tomboy daughter Arya ("I'm good at killing fat boys. I like killing fat boys!") and a truly chilling portrayal of cruel Joffrey Baratheon, the king's son, by Jack Gleeson. One of the stand-out episodes for me included Baelor, where many of the seperate character threads finally became enmeshed together, culminating in a shock ending (I won't mention it here for fear of spoiling it for anyone) that took many newcomers completely off-guard, and even angered many by its bold plot decision. I have read the book twice now, and I still found the ending scene of this particular episode hard to bear. The books wouldn't be great books without this key plot twist, as it takes this opportunity to set itself apart from notoriously black-and-white affairs such as The Lord of The Rings and Harry Potter; in Game of Thrones, honour and and a sense of righteousness won't win you any battles. Only grit, cunning and a raw hunger for power will get you anywhere.

One of the great things about the books which I believed was well preserved by this HBO adaptation was the manner in which all of the characters were fighting for different causes, and no side is really cast in a better light than the other (obviously the emphasis lies with the Stark family, but that shifts subtly with each book). The vast layers of history and culture that George R.R. Martin has painstakingly crafted into this monster also serve to influence or control the actions of certain characters, too. Eddard Stark, driven by his honour, is attempting to seek the truth of his friend Jon Arryn's death, Cersei Lannister plots her and her son's way to the Iron Throne, whilst a whole other cast of characters, including proud, powerful Tywin Lannister, Petyr Baelish with his rapier wit and ability to manipulate people far greater than himself, Varys the eunuch with his spies and informants and Sandor Clegane, the scarred bodyguard of Joffrey, all play their own roles and try to influence the future through whatever means they have available to them. And across the ocean, Daenyerys Targaryen, blood of the old rulers of the Seven Kingdoms, sets her attempts to reclaim the Iron Throne of Westeros in motion, with the memories and blood of her proud conquering ancestors fuelling her motivation. You don't really know who to trust, or who the 'good guys' are, but you hope that some shred of light will emerge from the darkness that is starting to smother the island of Westeros.

By the final episode, many of the pieces have been set in motion for a gargantuan clash of forces, leaving some characters in mortal peril and the promise of many more of our favourite or most hated personalities expected to clash and conflict with each other. There is also the promise of brand new charatcers weighing in on the fray, including King Robert Baratheon's two brothers, Renly and Stannis. The closing scene of the final episode (again, no spoilers), Fire and Blood, was quite possibly the best way to draw the curtains on the first season, promising so much more to come in the future and finally easing the viewer into witnessing one of the first truly supernatural events of the series. Magic is used sparingly in the story, which only enhanced it's effect on the world and the reader/viewer.


And there will be lots more to come. Now there's just another year to wait until the next book, A Clash of Kings, comes to our screens! The announcement that they were ploughing on with the next novel was made mere weeks after the season premier, which can only mean that trust in the potential success of the series was sky-high at a very early stage. This book is larger than the first by quite a margin, so it will be interesting to see what they choose to keep and if they have to make any major adjustments to keep the novel intact over ten episodes (God knows how they're going to adapt the third book for ten episodes - maybe they should make more? Sounds good to me!). Some of my favourite characters, such as the morally rigid Stannis and 'beauty' Brienne of Tarth, are introduced in this novel, so I will be interested to see how the casting of these new faces will go. Already a short teaser has appeared on the Internet, building up the hype to Spring 2012:

And with news that the fifth installment of A Song of Ice and Fire, entitled A Dance With Dragons, is finally coming out on July 12th, there'll be plenty to keep me busy until next year! And anyone who hasn't read any of the books should get cracking, you've got five fantastic books to catch up with! You won't regret it, so get to work!