Andrew Robinson
*No spoilers in the article itself. Possible spoilers in the hyperlinks I will provide, so don’t watch the videos unless I explicitly say that they are spoiler-free, if you don’t want to see them! Being as it’s Game of Thrones, links may also contain disturbing content, but I’ll stay away from nudity.
I was very late to the party. Due to my youth at the time of its release and first five seasons (Game of Thrones is a huuugggeeee 18+), usual dislike for period shows, and my tendency to hate on the most popular things in our culture (case in point: I hate superhero and (most) action movies. Sorry.), I didn’t give GoT a chance until last summer, the summer after my senior year of high school.
I went into my first viewing not really knowing what to expect. I knew that GoT was one of the most revered shows of all-time and that there was a fantasy element (which is another thing that I’m not a big fan of. Sorry, again.), but was pretty much completely in the dark besides that very basic knowledge.
It took the first season for me to get hooked. Throughout the first few episodes, I was constantly forced to pause the show and look up which character was which (I’m sorry, but Richard Madden (Robb Stark) and Kit Harington (Jon Snow) look very much alike in the first season; I was very confused for much of the beginning parts of the show). Not only do many characters share similar physical features, but there are so many important characters – more than I have ever seen in a television show. For this reason, I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to continue watching the show.
(Again, don’t click on the links if you don’t want to be spoiled, unless I explicitly say it doesn’t contain spoilers)
Scenes like this, however, kept me going, making me think that I just may be watching something special; something that hasn’t ever been seen before.
Then, this (DON’T WATCH IF YOU DON’T WANT TO BE SPOILED) scene came along, and I was hooked for life. Seriously, I still get chills from watching that.
Now that I have established my love for GoT, I think it’s important to ask one question: what makes it so great?
Summary
Well, first of all, if you don’t know the basic plot, Game of Thrones, which is based on the epic book series by George R.R. Martin that has yet to be completed (I am on the second book now!), is described as such: “Nine noble families fight for control over the mythical lands of Westeros, while an ancient enemy returns after being dormant for thousands of years” (imdb.com). Here is the trailer for season one (it’s safe to watch for those of you who haven’t seen the show yet).
Basically, the series is about a bunch of different people fighting for power over Westeros, and there is a mysterious enemy in the distance that appears to have the power to best them all. As is described 
in this picture, the importance of gaining said power cannot be overstated. The families are all extremely power-hungry, and will do just about anything to gain that power.
Why is Game of Thrones Great?
1. The Cast
As I mentioned in my article on Stranger Things, having a great cast ensemble can make up for a lot. Game of Thrones boasts what is perhaps the greatest cast ensemble ever assembled, especially considering just how many characters there are. (Fun side note: Martin, the author of the books, had purposefully written GoT in a way that he believed would make it impossible to adapt to entertainment, due to the incredible amount of important characters that rarely – if ever – interact with the other “main” characters, plus with elaborate settings. Martin had been upset with the way some things were done in television/movies, and wanted to write a book series that was unadaptable). 
As you can see, there are a lot of characters (and that’s not even half of them). The more characters a show has, the greater likelihood that one of the actors just isn’t up to par with the rest of the crew. GoT, amazingly, doesn’t run into this problem. What is particularly impressive is the fact that Maisie Williams (Arya Stark), Sophie Turner (Sansa Stark), and Isaac Hempstead Wright (Bran Stark) all made their professional acting debuts in GoT. All three have critical roles, and all three were children at the time of the show’s inaugural season, yet they come through big-time, helping to make the show a success. Williams, in particular, has an extremely difficult role as Arya, yet pulls it off in stunning fashion.
There is not a single actor in the entire show that is anything less than exceptional; this was what kept me going after my first few watches. With poor acting, I likely would have bailed early on – there was just so much going on, and I couldn’t figure out what was happening without pausing the show and looking up the characters.
2. Cinematography
Game of Thrones has a massive – and I mean massive – budget. (No spoilers in that link). As the attached article states, GoT had a $60 million budget for its first season, and is described as the third-most expensive show of all-time. With all that money to play around with, the show better have some incredible visuals. It does. Here are a few notable ones:
3. Storyline
Now, most of the credit here goes to Martin (he’s a mastermind), but the storyline is as engrossing as any I’ve ever seen. Again, I began watching this show without a care in the world for power-hungry-based shows from medieval times, but I became infatuated with the show after the first season. I’m not going to go in-depth at all with the storyline because I don’t want to risk unintentionally spoiling anything, but know that it is one of the most captivating storylines in recent memory, despite the fact that “main” characters rarely interact with other “main” characters. Additionally, there are a LOT of “minor” characters of great importance.
4. Opening Title Sequence
This may be the most impressive part of the entire show. It’s opening title sequence (no spoilers) is one of the best ever. In addition to have great musical accompaniment, each opening title sequence is slightly different – it only includes the actors’ names who are in that specific episode (even the “main” characters get left out of some episodes), and it includes only the locations that are involved in that particular episode. With as many characters and locations as Game of Thrones has, this little tidbit is very helpful, and quite original. Plus, the music is super catchy.
5. Musical Score
Game of Thrones is the master at using beautiful music for each scene. Simply by the tone of the music, viewers can have an educated guess at what will transpire in the coming minutes. For example, show a GoT fan this song (no spoilers), and they’ll almost definitely know exactly what happens in the scene (but hopefully won’t tell you!). I don’t think I will ever hear that instrumental performance and not associate it with a particular scene; this shows just how impressive GoT is with its musical selections. Now, every time they play that song, I’m instantly on alert, wondering if it is at all important that they chose that specific instrumental performance.
6. Individual Scenes – Particularly Battle Scenes
(Do NOT click the links if you wish to remain unspoiled. Heavy spoilers in the links. Also, war violence present)
In a show where the “main” characters are scattered about and rarely interact, it can be difficult to keep an audience engaged. Game of Thrones has been chastised for its tendency to go very slowly in its storytelling – very methodically (it didn’t do this as much in season seven, unfortunately. I wish they would have!). This leads to individual episodes where it feels like not much has happened, yes, but it also leads to some of the most mind-blowing scenes of all-time, including this, this, this, this (first part) (second part), and this – all of which are some of my favorite scenes of the entire show. Without the build-up over the course of many episodes – and, in some cases, many seasons – these scenes wouldn’t be nearly as incredible. The build-up makes these specific scenes into scenes that I get goosebumps for every single time. Also, the music, as always, is incredible.
Wrap-Up
Game of Thrones is one of the best shows ever aired on television. It’s cast, cinematography, storyline, opening sequence, music, and individual scenes all lend a hand to this being the case. I highly recommend GoT to anyone 18 or above that can handle graphic violence and sexuality. Everything about the show is magnificent. Here’s to hoping that season eight – the final season – which drops sometime in 2019, will do the series justice. I cannot recall a final season that will be as heavily scrutinized and watched as Game of Thrones. If they screw it up, people will lose their minds. If not, people will probably still lose their minds. For now, I’ll keep reading the books and likely will rewatch the series before the final season drops. It’s going to be a long time with GoT, but it will arrive.
10/10
