I admit, I haven't read any of the books from George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire book series (nor had I any idea that even existed a month ago), but I guess that just goes to show how much an informational tool television can sometimes become. Anyways, when I first saw the previews for Game of Thrones, I did an erroneous thing in assuming that it was a Tolkien/Lord of the Rings rip-off. I mean, come on, Sean Bean's in it! But anyways, Jeff (my brother) was stoked by the pilot and really wanted me to watch it.
So I watched the pilot, and suffice to say, I wasn't blown away in the way that he was. Sure, I loved the visuals (no doubt that the cinematography is beautiful in its lighting and shots), but the story didn't do enough for me. Obviously the purpose of a pilot is to establish the key characters and the environment that they live in, and so, patience is usually a necessity. Especially since it takes a while for the audience to develop a relationship with the characters and to fully understand the storyline. But while I may have prematurely misjudged the pilot, I was interested enough in the show to keep watching.
After watching the second episode, I was hooked. In fact, I felt the third episode was even better the second. My relationship with the characters began. Not only did I begin to understand the plot a little better, I was intently focused on it and began to theorize on what might happen to the characters next. It's my understanding that the show is very faithful to the material in the books. That's great to hear, though it might also eliminate the desire to ever read any of the books. But nonetheless, props to Martin and the shows developers David Benioff and D.B. Weiss. The three of them have helped to give us one of the best new shows on television. I love the casting decisions; there's already talk of Peter Dinklage running away with Emmy and Golden Globe awards, and it's definitely deserved. He's phenomenal as Tyrion. Hell, if you can get me to like Mark Addy in anything, you're doing something right (sorry, that's not really fair).
Of course, all of the Stark children are interesting characters. A lot of people seem to be fans of Arya - rightfully so. I'm also a huge Jon Snow fan. He kicks ass and Kit Harington does a great job playing him. I'll also make an early prediction in saying that I think Jon Snow will go to be someone greater than just the leader of the Night's Watch. I'm thinking he might get the throne in the end. Something like that. And I really love the role of the direwolves as companions and protectors of the Stark children (completely blows that the Queen had Sansa's wolf killed). But yeah, I love the characters and the story does a nice job of providing real depth to each person. Each storyline is just as interesting as the others. Oh, and I also want to say that Viserys is a real piece of shit, so kudos to Harry Lloyd for making me hate him so much.
Anyway, I'm excited for tonight's episode and the forthcoming episodes. And it looks as if we're going to have seven years of engrossing entertainment...assuming George R. R. Martin isn't friends with Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse (yep, I'm still bitter).
No comments:
Post a Comment