Plenty of fans have felt short-changed.
If you’re not up to speed with the latest Game of Thrones episode, Beyond the Wall, run faster than a wight to your nearest TV and watch it.
Game of Thrones hasn’t become the world’s most popular show for no reason. Hell, even if people absolutely hate it, George R.R Martin’s creation is beloved by the critics as seen by the fact that it has won 38 Primetime Emmy Awards – that’s a record amount.
The quality of acting combined with complex characters, an epic story and its production values have redefined what’s possible in TV.
Ask yourself this, what gets you more excited. A new film that’s being released, or a brand new Game of Thrones episode? You could make a point that even when Game of Thrones is only firing at 70% , it’s still better than most other TV shows.
Having a pop at Game of Thrones is like critiquing Messi or Ronaldo, but yet, there are weaknesses.
The show’s creators, Benioff and Weiss, aren’t above criticism and that’s not just in relation to the eternal argument of ‘novel vs TV show’ and the issues that come with adapting a beloved book.
In many ways, the showrunners are victims of their own success because when Game of Thrones is good, there’s nothing that can match it.
Take a look at Hardhome, Battle of the Bastards, Blackwater, The Rains of Castamere, The Mountain and the Viper, The Watchers on the Wall and The Spoils of War for proof of this.
Scenes like this are almost impossible to beat.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4Uq8O5ZhUA
Clip via- Deventh
Or what about this breathtaking shot?
Still though, the current season isn’t without its faults.
Notice how the most recent episode, Beyond the Wall, isn’t included in the list of episodes above and that has to do with one issue, timelapses.
Truth be told, as brilliant as the most recent episode is, it just doesn’t ‘flow’ in the same way that the others did.
Alan Taylor is a Game of Thrones veteran having directed seven episodes and despite the breathtaking spectacle on offer, a large amount of fans were dwelling on one thing as the credits rolled.
How was it that Gendry managed to run back to Eastwatch, send a raven to Daenerys, and have the Mother of Dragons arrive to save the day? Compare this to the length of time that it took Jon and Ygritte to travel beyond the Wall, or Jaime and Brienne as they journeyed through Westeros.
The raven sent by Gendry #GameofThrones pic.twitter.com/wCSpKLmG56
— Shubhang (@thebhang_18) August 17, 2017
Ok, in a show that has dragons, magic, White Walkers and resurrection, a leap of faith isn’t too much to ask, but the previous seasons seemed so much tighter.
Some fans have argued that the earlier seasons took the time to built a rapport between characters over a believable period of time. Compare this with the current season and the belief that certain characters are just ‘teleporting’ between destinations in an effort to speed things up. The argument is that things seem rushed and massive moments are losing their emotional impact and resonance – Jaime and Tyrion’s reunion being a glaring example.
Ok, we know that there are fewer episodes in Seasons 7 and 8 and things have to move quicker, but a large amount of fans feel cheated by the pacing and the narrative framework that’s currently in place.
I guess this season of Game of Thrones is good if you accept that every character A) can teleport and B) is dumb as hell
— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) August 21, 2017
Speaking about this with Variety, Taylor said :“We were aware that timing was getting a little hazy. We’ve got Gendry running back, ravens flying a certain distance, dragons having to fly back a certain distance…In terms of the emotional experience, [Jon and company] sort of spent one dark night on the island in terms of storytelling moments. We tried to hedge it a little bit with the eternal twilight up there north of The Wall. I think there was some effort to fudge the timeline a little bit by not declaring exactly how long we were there. I think that worked for some people, for other people it didn’t. They seemed to be very concerned about how fast a raven can fly but there’s a thing called plausible impossibilities, which is what you try to achieve, rather than impossible plausibilities. So I think we were straining plausibility a little bit, but I hope the story’s momentum carries over some of that stuff.”
Regarding the concerns from fans, Taylor says that the creators are comfortable with the criticism. “It’s cool that the show is so important to so many people that it’s being scrutinized so thoroughly. If the show was struggling, I’d be worried about those concerns, but the show seems to be doing pretty well so it’s OK to have people with those concerns.”
Again, nothing can beat Game of Thrones but what do you think about these complaints and Season 7 to date?
