Will’s Unpopular Opinion – Jumping the Stark – 5-26-16
So I guess “Hodor” meant something. Great? If you’re like me and watched every episode of Game of Thrones for the past 5 seasons, you maybe, possibly once, thought it may have had a deeper meaning, and then quickly realized everyone’s fuckin’ name on the show is made-up anyway, so who give’s a shit? Is Sansa short for San Serif? Is Khaleesi just the Queen of Dragon’s nom de plume for “Call girls are easy”? No, and if I was told otherwise, I’d shrug my shoulder’s and move on with my life. But the worth of a tertiary character’s name was all the buzz online since the last episode of GoT with possible good reason; it gave fans something to latch on to, and feel included by. It was a revealing moment in the history of the series that in an almost easter-egg fashion rewarded it’s fans for sticking with the series since it’s inception. A ‘6th Sense’ moment viewers can tote as inside knowledge for repeat viewings years down the road when they’re re-watching the show with noobs who know nil.
Regardless of whether the moment when Hodor held back so many zombies (like a distressed Walmart clerk at the beginning of a Black Friday sale) caught you off guard or reminded you of how much fun the show can be, it seems to be a part of a running theme with this season that there have been tent-pole moments in almost every episode so far. The ratings for the show have been higher, along with fan praise and overall crowd reactions. Audiences have received more and more keystone moments, one after another, and the season is only half-way through. And if that didn’t do it for ya, we got a great close-up up-shot of a giant infected dong. Cuz “dongs” right?
However, with the show doing as well as it is, and pleasing so many, the real question remains to be asked: “Is GoT getting better or is it actually getting worse?” I raise this question to try to determine if what we are watching is fan pandering by fans themselves, or an actual decently strong narrative, who’s payoff will be as well-crafted and earned as previous moments in the series. It’s no question that season 3 was the last great season of the series. The “Red Wedding” alone is already one of the top ten TV moments of the past 10 years, but why did it work so well? Possibly because of the build. It’s no secret that the R.R. Martin books are a bit of a slog to get through, but those (seemingly dull) paced moments were translated well during the ongoing construct of HBO’s x-rated dungeon’s and dragon’s epic. Season’s 4 and 5 were almost entirely backstory and build-up as the plot lines were interwoven and split from multiple books that were occurring simultaneously. It wouldn’t be until the end the seasons of 4 and 5 that anything of any real notation would take place.
But now lies a problem. There are no more books.
David Benioff and D.B. Weiss (HBO’s co-writers and show runners for the series) have now taken reigns of the ship as they steer it towards the finish line, in an attempt to wrap-up the series in a deserving manner. But much like boys with new toys, they seem to be going off the rails a bit, and could potentially bring the house down with them if they’re not careful.
Sure you can make an argument that this current season has been more entertaining then the past few, but is it actually a better show? I don’t think it is. The nuance is gone. The writing seems less sharp and the story almost makes too much sense. It’s almost too coherent. I know that sounds like an antithetical dig, but GoT’s complexity is what made it stand-out. As soon as it gets dumbed-down for broader audiences, it begins to lose what made it so acclaimed to begin with, and it becomes the worst thing any TV series could be…. It becomes generic.
Right now this season seems jokier and almost predictable at times. It seems oddly easier to follow then previous seasons. One thing Game of Thrones never was, was predictable. If they’re not careful, Benioff, and Weiss could actually run the show right off the tracks and we’d be left with a series that was: “great…. except for the last two seasons”. It could be years before audiences start to mirror that notion however. Binge watching back to back episodes can reveal direct A-B comparisons in writing stylings that are being over looked currently, but “jumping the shark” or “nuking the fridge” is what every mainstream show is worried about; especially as it gets up there in age. Any possibility where a show/movie-series starts to tire itself out, while attempting to keep it’s narrative fresh, but ultimately just fails as a story, – wanes public interest. This becomes a nightmare scenario for all show-runners and writers. So has GoT reached it’s highest pinnacle? Maybe we’ve already passed it seasons ago. Theres only one way to go from the top of a rollercoaster.
In 2006, HBO had a similar problem with one of it’s properties that had it’s audiences clamoring for more. This time with the show ‘Rome’. What was originally meant to air as one stand-alone season, was then approved for a second one. The writing was rushed and what had initially been a well made send-off to Caeser and his slice of life, was then in an almost gaudy fashion, restructured to accommodate for more tales from the toga party. The story pushed on and made grand leaps in time and character arcs for the purpose of creating a second season. ‘Rome S2’ was noticeably different from the first. Gone were it’s well thought-out banter and insightful commentary. Instead the show became overly simplified and raunchy. It focused in on the sex, but lost the intrigue. The show was then finished with it’s second season finale, and was written in a way that a third season would be either impossible or really really dull. Rome was a dream. -A dream that left you with night sweats.
Where GoT ends this season, and as a series, remains to be seen. Will it be able to keep up with all of the momentum it’s been able to build over the past 5 years? It would appear propitious. Or will it join the fray of other shows that started strong, but couldn’t keep the yarn spinning without a few pricks here and there? When you think about it, there aren’t too many shows in history that have had perfect runs. Boardwalk Empire skipped 10-years with it’s final season without so much as a mid-season movie to explain what had happened in between. MadMen seemed to do great right up until the last 3 episodes of the series. The list goes on…(obv). Game of Thrones is not a perfect show, but when the story suddenly picks up in broad strokes, and the fervor surrounding a character’s name is all anybody wants to talk about, GoT may have finally shown it’s teeth, and it may be getting a bit long in the fang.
-Will Valle
