Game of Thrones

Are the writers lazy or just bad?

Before I say anything, I have to mention that this universe that George R. R. Martin built has a special place in my heart as I'm sure it does for many people across the globe. I was introduced to this world through the HBO series and like a lot of you, I  read the books cause I wanted to fully engross  myself in its world and lore. 

Game of Thrones is HBO's crowning jewel and let's not forget HBO's had shows with greater critical success in 'The Wire', 'The Sopranos' , 'Six Feet Under' and 'Deadwood'. It has been synonymous among the television audience with quality and it's deserved that title. But despite all that success, it has never had a show as successful commercially as Weiss and Benioff's political drama set within a medieval time period and fantastical backdrop. 

This tale about families fighting for power, while ignoring the larger concerns would go on to capture the world's imagination unlike any television series before it. Season 7 would embark on a big change for the television series as the writers decided they'd trim down the last two seasons to 7 and 6 episodes each from the established 10 episodes. They did however, extend the running time for a select few episodes. Now, I'm strongly of the opinion that this backfired.

This trimming down of episodes could have been ignored if it didn't threaten the fabric of what captured everyone's imagination in the first place. In its 6 seasons prior to Season 7, Westeros and Essos the two primary continents that have been introduced to the audience had been fully realised and it was an affront to the show's audience to have characters travel from A to B within a matter of seconds. This was especially the case in episodes 5-7.

Another failing that was symptomatic of the curtailed season was that the inter personal relationships between characters didn't get the time to completely mature. This was specially the case with the two of the indispensable characters of the show. Now, I'm aware that Danaerys and Jon are the personification of Ice and Fire but there was a significant shift in pacing to get the two of them  to move the show forward. Kit Harrington and Emilia Clarke are the two stars of this show and play their characters to the best of their ability but it's well known that they aren't the most talented bunch in a show filled with superlative acting talent. In previous seasons the exceptional supporting cast was carrying them along but it looked like the roles were reversed in this season and not for the better.

I will briefly scratch the other reservation I had from this season. I have to start with the Sansa and Arya plot in the north. I think most would agree that this was just a means to an end and was the laziest plot in a season which was crammed with lazy side plots. The constant use of deux ex-machina ( god saves the day ) , which was the anti-thesis of what made this show so beloved was really disheartening . A series that had gained its reputation on gritty realism was now selling itself short. It felt  cheap and undervalued its audience's intelligence.

I won't blame the writers for the handling of the 'White Walkers' because  'Hardhome' and 'The Door' are my two of my favourite episodes of the series and it was always going to be a task to find a fitting conclusion to the threat from the North. The 'Night King' is such an enigma and it's why we fear them. It's the cliche that we fear what we don't know and in this season the 'White Walkers' seemed far to familiar. I can only hope that the writers can pull a rabbit out of the hat for the final season with regards to this arch. 

In their defence, they have been brilliant adaptors. They didn't ask for this. It's not easy to come up with your interpretation of how the series would end but I still believe they could have done a better job of it. I am very much looking forward to their future projects and I'm glad they've accepted the as of now untitled 'Star Wars' project. 

Having said all that I'll be up; early in the morning , to catch the final chapter of the series here in the Indian subcontinent before anyone can spoil it for me. 

This series  has given me and so many others their favourite television moments to date so I don't want to go too hard on it. I don't have high hopes from a critical standpoint but I'll be a little empty when it's all finally over. It'll definitely be a long winter in the world of television but we can dream of spring.