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Game of Thrones season finale: for Fire and Ice obsessives, winter has come Game of Thrones season finale: for Fire and Ice obsessives, winter has come
(about 14 hours later)
Spoiler alert: this blog was published after the US broadcast of Game of Thrones on HBO. Do not read on unless you have watched season four, episode 10 (which airs in the UK on Sky Atlantic on Monday at 9pm).
That was some Game of Thrones finale, right? Tyrion killing his father? Tyrion killing Shae? Brienne v The Hound!? No wonder showrunners David Benioff and DB Weiss called it the best season finale so far.That was some Game of Thrones finale, right? Tyrion killing his father? Tyrion killing Shae? Brienne v The Hound!? No wonder showrunners David Benioff and DB Weiss called it the best season finale so far.
It's also an episode to watch (and rewatch) with trepidation. That's because the best parts of the source material for the show, George RR Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire epic, have now come and gone. All the stuff that turned Martin's readers into fanatics has been adapted.It's also an episode to watch (and rewatch) with trepidation. That's because the best parts of the source material for the show, George RR Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire epic, have now come and gone. All the stuff that turned Martin's readers into fanatics has been adapted.
For book obsessives looking to the future of Game of Thrones, winter has come.For book obsessives looking to the future of Game of Thrones, winter has come.
Benioff and Weiss, who have signed on for at least two more seasons of the hit HBO series, now have a challenge bigger than filming CGI dragons or getting viewers to care about Bran Stark. They have to create the series that Martin should have written, rather than filming the one he wrote.Benioff and Weiss, who have signed on for at least two more seasons of the hit HBO series, now have a challenge bigger than filming CGI dragons or getting viewers to care about Bran Stark. They have to create the series that Martin should have written, rather than filming the one he wrote.
Caveats: I am a Song of Ice and Fire obsessive who feels ungrateful for criticizing Martin, as his work has given me so much joy. There is so much coming up that I'm excited to see on screen, and even more stuff Martin left underdeveloped. And Benioff and Weiss excel at filling the gaps, as demonstrated by Littlefinger's epic disquisition on chaos being a ladder, not a pit.Caveats: I am a Song of Ice and Fire obsessive who feels ungrateful for criticizing Martin, as his work has given me so much joy. There is so much coming up that I'm excited to see on screen, and even more stuff Martin left underdeveloped. And Benioff and Weiss excel at filling the gaps, as demonstrated by Littlefinger's epic disquisition on chaos being a ladder, not a pit.
Nothing in the fourth and fifth books of the series quite measures up to the shocks and pleasures of the first three: Ned Stark's death, the doomed Jon Snow-Ygritte romance, the Jaime-Brienne travel romcom, the Sandor-Arya western, Blackwater Bay, the Red Wedding, Oberyn Martell fighting the Mountain. That's what gotten me and others to buy replicas of Jon's sword, Longclaw, and drink from glassware branded with the three-headed dragon of House Targaryen.Nothing in the fourth and fifth books of the series quite measures up to the shocks and pleasures of the first three: Ned Stark's death, the doomed Jon Snow-Ygritte romance, the Jaime-Brienne travel romcom, the Sandor-Arya western, Blackwater Bay, the Red Wedding, Oberyn Martell fighting the Mountain. That's what gotten me and others to buy replicas of Jon's sword, Longclaw, and drink from glassware branded with the three-headed dragon of House Targaryen.
The task now facing Benioff and Weiss is daunting. How to keep the show going, and maintain its standard of excellence, when its best moments are behind it?The task now facing Benioff and Weiss is daunting. How to keep the show going, and maintain its standard of excellence, when its best moments are behind it?
It turns out Benioff and Weiss provided clues this season as to how they will handle the challenge. Season four was anything but a straight adaptation of half of the third and acknowledged best book in the series, A Storm of Swords. To give its main characters a season-length arc this year, they borrowed storylines from forthcoming books (Bran beyond the Wall, Daenerys' rule in Meereen), invented or fleshed out off-page ones (the battle at Craster's Keep) and chronologically rearranged others (in the books, Jon returns to Castle Black right before the attack on the Wall and Jaime returns to King's Landing right after Joffrey dies).It turns out Benioff and Weiss provided clues this season as to how they will handle the challenge. Season four was anything but a straight adaptation of half of the third and acknowledged best book in the series, A Storm of Swords. To give its main characters a season-length arc this year, they borrowed storylines from forthcoming books (Bran beyond the Wall, Daenerys' rule in Meereen), invented or fleshed out off-page ones (the battle at Craster's Keep) and chronologically rearranged others (in the books, Jon returns to Castle Black right before the attack on the Wall and Jaime returns to King's Landing right after Joffrey dies).
Critics have picked apart each of these decisions. I sympathize with Benioff and Weiss: TV demands that they give their characters more to do across a season, and do more dramatically, than a strictly faithful adaptation permits. Game of Thrones began taking major divergences from A Song of Ice and Fire in its second season and is now a materially different story.Critics have picked apart each of these decisions. I sympathize with Benioff and Weiss: TV demands that they give their characters more to do across a season, and do more dramatically, than a strictly faithful adaptation permits. Game of Thrones began taking major divergences from A Song of Ice and Fire in its second season and is now a materially different story.
All this means that if you liked season four, you have a reason to place faith in Benioff and Weiss' abilities to pare down the best of Martin's work and invent plot or character elements to fill in the gaps. But if you didn't like season four, it might be time to stop watching Game of Thrones. There's unlikely to be anything on deck that can win you over.All this means that if you liked season four, you have a reason to place faith in Benioff and Weiss' abilities to pare down the best of Martin's work and invent plot or character elements to fill in the gaps. But if you didn't like season four, it might be time to stop watching Game of Thrones. There's unlikely to be anything on deck that can win you over.
Benioff and Weiss aren't just talented filmmakers and writers. They're the editors that Martin should have always had. But starting next season, Benioff, Weiss and Game of Thrones will prove whether Martin's narrative shortcomings are a pit or a ladder.Benioff and Weiss aren't just talented filmmakers and writers. They're the editors that Martin should have always had. But starting next season, Benioff, Weiss and Game of Thrones will prove whether Martin's narrative shortcomings are a pit or a ladder.