Game of Thrones: What’s Wrong?

– After sitting through another David and Dan plot!

While it might be one of the most popular and acclaimed shows currently airing, my interest and admiration for Thrones has dwindled for many years now. I suppose, on some level, it could be classed as my book purism, but I also believe that show simply isn’t a strong one even on its own merits. The Season 6 finale opens with Cersei eviscerating her enemies in one fell sweep, a classic act of villainy that sees her viewing the destruction in a black dress, sipping a cup of wine. It has some nice scoring and makes better use of editing than possibly any other sequence or scene in the entire season. It’s the sort of scene that is highly praised and the showrunners pat themselves on the back for  – but, actually, the details don’t make much sense.

1. The Plot Holes

Why does Lancel follow a peasant boy into the underground? Why is he rendered so incapable of moving after being stabbed once (incidentally, Areo Hotah, a man thrice his size, is killed immediately in a similar attack), why does the High Sparrow think Cersei will come to him? Did he not remember that when he last tired to summon her, she had Robert Strong crush the head of one of his men? What compels Margaery to think that Cersei has plotted something to endanger them all? Why does Qyburn lure Grand Maester Pycelle down into his chamber to have him specially killed by Varys’ little birds?

This hasn’t been isolated or even a particularly recent development. Scenes not making much sense can be traced back to the second season. One example that springs to mind is the cliffhanger with the army of wights and Others arriving at the foot of the Fist of the First Men. Samwell Tarly is trapped amongst them. An Other rides up, looks him in the eye, and…decides not to kill him? Why? We never know, nor do we find out how Sam got himself out of that situation. (No one apparently felt inclined to ask him how he done it, not even his “friends” who ditched him to die…)

Allow me one more example of Benioff and Weiss’ nonsensical writing choices: Aliser Thorne and his cronies kill Jon Snow under the shallow reasoning that he let the wildlings in – so why, considering Thorne opened the gates to them, do they not murder him as well? Isn’t he equally guilty? And then they leave Snow’s corpse outside and make no attempt to take care of his direwolf – a dangerous animal. Davos, for no reason in particular, is obsessed with protecting Jon’s dead body. The motivation is unclear. The only explanation is that the writers know Jon’s body is important for his resurrection, and thus this is a stellar example of another writing flaw: the characters are determined by where the writers want the plot to go, not the plot developing organically out of the characters actions!

I think there’s a decent argument to be made that Thrones is not a particularly well-done show. There’s countless examples of careless, contradictory and bad writing to be found over the last few seasons. How about Ramsay murdering Roose, his wife, and new-born child? And somehow he still retained supporters – someone this vicious is surely a person you should be wary of, no? And how about no one in the North having any concern over the northmen murdered at the Red Wedding – this is the problematic outcome of what happens when the show drops storylines that they’re uninterested in for an extended period of time.

2. Exposition, endless exposition

But there are other issues with the show, and one such thing is how bland and boring it is. One of the things you’ll immediately notice about Game of Thrones is that it’s extremely dialogue-heavy. So much of the show consists of dull back-and-forths between characters where they explain their thoughts, feelings, plans, backstories or ambitions in a very clear and straightforward manner. Talented actors don’t often have much room to act in this show because so much of what they’re asked to do is recite long pages of exposition. Excellent actor Max Von Sydow was cast to literally just be a vehicle for explaining things to Bran.  And Bran himself has become a vehicle for revealing plot-points rather than having any kind of character himself. I also feel that, if you’re going to rely so heavily on extensive dialogue exchanges, can you at least make sure what the characters are saying actually has any kind of relevance? For all the long exchanges in those cave scenes, the show never bothered to actually have Sydow teach Bran anything or any clarification on how this magic actually works.

If endless exposition isn’t bad enough one of the most tedious aspects of the show is when the writers feel the need to constantly repeat information (there’s a recurring contempt for the audience here) and you find yourself being told the same information over and over again. Littlefinger is a dangerous man! Tyrion is clever! Tywin cares about the family! Jon Snow is brave! Cersei would burn King’s Landing down for her children!  Season 5 became a running joke because of that: CONSTANT reaction shots from Olly reached levels of parody in ‘setting up’ his involvement in Jon’s murder, and that’s not even mentioning the scenes he had with Jon and Sam where the exact same points and information are repeated.

This actually goes back to the pilot. For some odd reason we break away from the Winterfell material to visit King’s Landing just for some set-up about Jon Arryn’s mysterious death and the foreboding implications of it. And then, duh, the book scene with Cat and Ned where everything that was just said is repeated. Why?

Game of Thrones has no time for subtlety. Everything is upfront, there’s no mystery, no sense of building tension or mystique. We’re told exactly what to think and feel throughout. Brienne of Tarth is a block of wood – well, when she’s not screaming and killing people – and the only indication that she has any insecurities are when, you guessed it, she gets an extended monologue to talk about it. Because allowing Gwendoline Christie to weave that into her performance using body language, her eyes, or the way she reacts to others would be – I don’t know – too subtle? The Bran/Bloodraven flashbacks in season six take this to an embarrassing level. How little do Benioff and Weiss think of their viewership? Bran actually says things like “That’s my father!” and “That’s Hodor!” and “My father is losing! He’s better than my father” ….thanks?

There’s so many flaws with Benioff and Weiss’ approach to the material that one is spoiled for choice with examples. How about in the fourth season when Sandor Clegane and Arya Stark arrive at the Vale and announce themselves, openly, only to find of Lysa has died? You’d think that would be of interest to Littlefinger – two Stark daughters! Nope: next episode, Arya and the Hound have just been allowed to walk away. This artless, incoherent, unsubtle, poorly thought-out writing is relentless. Every episode has something like this, I swear. We are honestly never given a reprieve!

3. Darkness is ‘Deep’…right?

The show fetishes its grimness. Benioff and Weiss love dedicating a portion of their production budget to the gruesome sides of the show. Martin kept Theon off-screen in the third book for a reason: watching someone tortured to madness is neither interesting or pleasant. David and Dan transformed this into a half-hour storyline. Theon could have easily sat it out. Indeed, all you really needed to do was reintroduce him in S4. Simply use that shaving scene to show how far he’s descended into becoming Ramsay’s creature. Things can be implied guys! Want even more examples of the showrunners addiction to shock and horror? How about the close up of Rickon’s face being pierced with arrows? Or showing Shaggy-dog’s strangely un-decaying head multiple times? Or the close-ups of Loras having a religious marked carved into his forehead? This is the substance of this show. This is the content of Game of Thrones: shocking plot-twists, tedious exposition, violence, naked bodies, battle scenes.

The nihilist perspective of the show is enough to kill any enthusiasm. We’re shambling from one ill-conceived shock-plot twist to the next. Any moment of levity, honour, kindness or tranquility exists only to produce anxiety in the viewers, having accustomed them to sense that it’s usually followed by something grim or gruesome. 

When everything is so dismal and dark, one loses the motivation to care, to be invested. Rooting for characters who might be disposed off any second isn’t fun, and it isn’t rewarding. It becomes tedious. The show relies on shock because shock is easy. Building tension? That’s hard. Atmosphere is hard. Pathos is hard. Shock? That’s simple. You can observe it in their treatment of the ‘big’ moments. Look at the changes they made to the Red Wedding: all the wonderful sensory details from the book – the thunder and rain, the bad music, Catelyn’s discomfort – lost in favour of a simple wedding scene that goes “shockingly” wrong.

What stands out to me about A Song of Ice and Fire isn’t necessarily the darkness or the brutality, but the character moments that resonate so strongly. In a previous article I ruminated on the elements of the narrative that I missed. Even scenes in the show that are okay, in my view, often pale when one looks back on the books. But what really stands out as particularly moving in the show? What moments of emotional resonance or poetry is there? Did, during season five, the writers even capture one single iota of this:

He fled quickly, before they changed their minds. His tormentors would not follow him outside. Not so long as there was food and drink within, willing women and warm fires. As he left the hall, Abel was singing “The Maids That Bloom in Spring.” Outside the snow was coming down so heavily that Theon could not see more than three feet ahead of him. He found himself alone in a white wilderness, walls of snow looming up to either side of him chest high. When he raised his head, the snowflakes brushed his cheeks like cold soft kisses. He could hear the sound of music from the hall behind him. A soft song now, and sad. For a moment he felt almost at peace.

4. The Big Flaw

At its core I think the fundamental issue with Game of Thrones is a lack of vision. Benioff and Weiss, in my view, struggle with balancing the big picture with the nuance and complexity of the individual stories and ideas and scenes. Instead of something coherent and meaningful, we get a mish-mash of ideas. It’s common for elements within one narrative to contradict each other – think of Yara suddenly endorsing pillaging at the Kingsmoot – which leaves us with a confused and underwhelming season construction. About the only thing that seems to be handled with any confidence in this show is the honorary ‘spectacle’ episode towards seasons endings, and they’re something that has been repeated every season to the point of predictability. The last three seasons have had extended Jon Snow battles, is mimicking Peter Jackson really the best they can accomplish now?

Compare Sansa’s escape with Theon to the escape with Jeyne Poole. One is, again, adorned with extensive dialogue and back-and-forth exchanges, the other features actual action progression and staging. One is dull, the other would have made for several minutes of exciting television. How about the image of Dany being surrounded by numerous Dothraki, alone and scared? How can that compare to the final image of Dany standing proud beside Drogon, the sun setting behind her as the Dothraki riders emerge from the tall grass? What on earth would make the showrunners pass up such opportunities?

Under Benioff and Weiss’ leadership, characters are not developing individuals. They’re an amalgamation of plot exposition, cock jokes and whatever opinion the writers want us to agree with. There are times where Jaime Lannister finds himself resorting back to his pilot episode characterisation. Characters they have a fondness for (think: Tyrion and Jorah) lose all their darker characteristics and are continually served opportunities to inform the viewer how noble and wonderful they are. Tyrion in particular is often referred to affectionately, even admired by people who tend to dislike him.

The show never trusts the viewer to comprehend or interpret anything. It hand-holds, making sure to offer at least several opportunities to establish the same piece of information. Nothing is implied, everything is explicit. Joffrey’s murder? Of course the show includes a scene where Olenna confesses to it and even explains her motivations to Margaery! I recall reading an interview where Benioff and Weiss were discussing the changes they made to Varys’ role in the story. They asked George R.R Martin what Vary was doing, he told them he was lying low, plotting, preparing. They complained: we can’t show that! The fact that they think they need to include Varys or Theon is part of the problem. It feeds the bland and bloated nature of the show. For them, mysteries aren’t interesting. Everything must be upfront.

The show isn’t particularly well-directed, either. Scenes are shot with pedestrian coverage (not always the directors faults, of course, with the scripts they’re sometimes given to work with) and are dully staged. So much of the show is just shot-reverse shot of characters discussing the plot. I recall being utterly bored at the beginning of “Hardhome” as we were just watching a few tedious exposition scenes that went on forever. No energy at all. Why not open the episode with Jorah being marched into a prison chamber, and then cut to Tyrion and Dany having a more heated discussion about Jorah? It could lead into a discussion of politics and Westeros, where Tyrion gives Dany some sage advice. We end on a lingered shot of her, then it cuts to Jorah being freed.

From a visual standpoint they failed to mark out the flashbacks in season six. They just drop us into them, at random, with no way to visually identify them. And of course they take the least interesting visual approach possible: two characters walking around watching it, narrating to us what is happening. Aside from huge battle scenes, does this show ever do anything interesting with the medium? Even their huge battles have become a touch generic: must every season end with one? And the camerawork and editing in the latest ‘Battle of the Bastards’ reached a point of being incomprehensible. When Jon was being crushed and Tormund was fighting someone, I really couldn’t make out a thing.

Shot compositions are rarely interesting, the camera/editing is seldom used to tell the story, some scenes intended to look brooding simply look dank. The show might aim for bleak and cold, but it mostly just appears bland. Martin can keep track of numerous storylines and characters and give each a unique voice. He manages to develop political complexity in a fantasy story. He may not be perfect, but his talent is evident. The show falters and fails constantly. The plots are murky and confused. The characters change on a whim. The show fails at creating a tone or sense of wonder. It is, on occasion, creative – but those scenes are few and far between.

5. Who cares?

A Song of Ice and Fire is a romantic work. It balances the darkness with many other ideas. The texturing of the novel is complex, full of detail and life. The show has successfully diluted those elements. In the fifth book, Bran’s foray into the weirdwood is full abstraction; glimpses of the past, their meaning hidden. Dorne: where Doran sits and watches children at play until nightfall, the blood oranges bursting around him, the letter of Oberyn’s death sitting on a table nearby. The wildlings throwing snowballs in the courtyard of Castle Black, carving crude faces into trees to honour the old gods after Stannis made them swear to R’hollor. Sansa holding on sweet Robin as the wind and snow howls around them. Those are images that come to mind when I think of the books. Ygritte belting out ‘Last of the Giants’ and weeping afterwards. Theon wandering the frozen walls of Winterfell. The Hill Tribes willing to die for Ned’s Little Girl. Euron Greyjoy’s terrifying dragonhorn crying out over the King’s Moot. And so many more. What images will linger of the show when the final season closes? I don’t know, perhaps none.

So little of the show leaves an impact now. It has become a blur of frustrating shocks and dullness. The only thing that lingers is the excruciatingly bad: “I’m going to fuck the tits off this one!” Yara announced about a sex slave. “You want the good girl, but you need the bad pussy!” Without Martin’s books the show has truly gone off the path. They revealed the origin of the Others (or, their version of it, at least) this most recent season. It barely registered. There was no build up, no mystery, no pay-off. We just learned that a race of creatures we barely knew created them because ‘we were at war!’ and then Bran just doesn’t care anymore. Could the next book be so indifferent with its revelations? I seriously doubt it. Martin might be slow, he might even have lost his touch in places, but he’s never lazy when it comes to gravitas. And that’s a central difference between the two mediums. The show will come out more quickly, but it’ll be a passionless, pedestrian experience. Martin’s, at least, will have a beating heart beneath it all.