Reviews Series / Game Of Thrones

The ending doesn't ruin it

Game of Thrones is my favourite TV show of all time, despite a very disappointing ending.

Season 1-6 of Game of Thrones is near perfect in my eyes. I know many consider seasons 5 and 6 part of the Seasonal Rot, and I can see why they think that, but to me they're just as good as the rest of the show (season 6 is actually my favourite season). In fact, The Winds Of Winter is my favourite episode of any television show (though a lot of that is down to the magnificent soundtrack by Ramin Djawadi).

The writing of these seasons is incredible, ranging from complex monologues to heart-warming relationships to chilling threats to genuinely funny banter. The characters, and their development, is incredible: most characters are complex, and either likeable or deliciously unlikeable. Sansa is my personal favourite, her development across those seasons (and beyond) is fantastic to watch. These brilliant characters are combined with gripping plotlines full of twists and turns to create an amazing story. There's a lot of fantastic action, but the best moments are the conversations: it is there that the good writing really shines.

I personally don't think there is a single bad plotline from these seasons. I even like the very unpopular Qarth and Dorne plotlines. The former, though mostly padding, is entertaining and provides good character development for Daenerys, while the latter is made enjoyable by great performances from Indira Varma and Alexander Siddig.

Season 7 is a minor step-down. Hollywood Tactics start to become a bit more prevalent, though not too noticeable, and one major character, Tyrion, begins to lose their (previously considerable) intellect. Despite its flaws, Season 7 is still fantastic and contains some of my favourite scenes in the series (such as Olenna's death and Cersei's revenge on Ellaria).

The first 2 episodes of Season 8 (especially A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms), are amazing. Episode 3 is too dark (literally), contains obvious Hollywood Tactics and is very disappointing but I still think it is an amazing episode of television. It's not as good as the Battle of the Bastards, but it's still a tense, epic battle full of great character moments.

The final 3 episodes are the only point where I think the show truly becomes bad. Character Derailment galore, out of nowhere plot decisions, terrible pacing and a near-nonsensical ending. The only plot decision I actually think is inherently bad is Jaime going back to Cersei, but limited build up ruins most plot points in these last 3 episodes.

Even at its worst, the show contains amazing performances and a masterpiece of a soundtrack (courtesy of Ramin Djawadi).

Despite a terrible ending, Game of Thrones is still absolutely amazing and definitely worth checking out.