June 02, 2011
Game of Thrones (TV)
Some notes I made for a friend about the HBO series:
Robey says the Game of Thrones books may well not be worth reading, since the TV show is just as true to the story. (And no less finished than the books, since book 5 is not out yet, and books 6 and 7 aren't even written.)
I do like the show, specifically:
+ all great actors
+ some fun writing
+ great effects and sets
My biggest complaint is that, because they're so true to the book and yet also rushing through it, the show can be hard to follow--- like, harder than Deadwood. Various storytelling crimes:
- Most of what "happens" in the show is the characters talking to each other, rather than you witnessing events, so they generally fail at show-don't-tell. But since the show is about political intrigue, this is expected.
- They mention important characters by name only once and then you have to care who they are for several episodes before you actually meet them. ("Send this message to Stannis!" Who?)
- Many characters have a name, a house name, a nickname, and a title, all of which are referred to interchangeably. So if you didn't catch that "the unich", "the spider", "lord of whatever", and "vargas" are all the same person, then you won't understand who the fuck they're talking about.
- There are hundreds of characters. Hundreds. So sometimes a greasy knight that I thought was somebody's cannon-fodder bodyguard suddenly does something really pivotal, and I'm like, "wait, who was that guy?"