I (Finally) Binged All of ‘Game of Thrones’

I am currently watching the new Game of Thrones prequel series House of the Dragon (without having seen any of the original series first) and have enjoyed it so much so far, it finally got me to binge-watch the entire eight-season run of one of the most popular and culturally relevant television shows of all time and even finished it all before the HotD season one finale.

Anyway, here are a few random thoughts I had throughout watching the series (major spoilers ahead!):

• It’s interesting being basically spoiled for every major plot point in the show and not really caring. I even read ahead for certain spoilers to better understand the many different characters and where they were heading.
• It’s insane how so many of the main characters who are related to each other are separated almost immediately when the show begins and in some instances either never meet again (they die) or not until near the end of the entire series.
  
• I absolutely hated the following characters in order starting from the worst: Joffrey, Viserys, Ramsay, Cersei, and Theon. Joffrey was the absolute worst. I actually skipped through many of his scenes. A lot of the sadistic behaviour from the aforementioned characters felt very undercooked and they just had to die eventually.
• There really were way too many characters in general to follow. I feel like every British or Western European actor not already in Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter showed up. I was surprised how many actors I didn’t know were on GoT ended up appearing.
  
• I found it very frustrating how many nakedly power-hungry characters there were who were constantly making enemies and eliminating others in their path without considering the consequences. It’s almost as if being needlessly cruel and ruling through fear or violence would backfire. In contrast, everyone loved Jon Snow and wanted him to be king because he was so noble and trustworthy.
• I can’t imagine watching the show week to week over the course of eight years. Since there are no time jumps and the multiple stories unfold like a soap opera, it’s very satisfying watching one episode after another in immediate succession.
• It’s insane how much of the action of the series takes place while one character (often paired with another character) is travelling from one continent to another. I actually groaned every time someone ventured out on a quest. Some pairings seemed very random with allegiances switching very quickly.
  
• Daenerys just kind of wandered the desert and somehow amassed a massive army and dragons? Also, people moved and travelled on foot or horseback a lot with not much luggage or food for sometimes years at a time.
• Jamie Lannister’s redemptive character arc over the course of the whole series was pretty impressive considering we’re introduced to him just railing his twin sister doggystyle before throwing a boy out a window and crippling him in the very first episode.
• Alternatively, Theon Greyjoy has probably the wildest arc. He goes from essentially a hostage to a traitor, being castrated, enslaved, and eventually redeeming himself.
• Why does the Hand of the King seem to have so much unchecked power for an appointed position?
• It’s almost as if propping up an ill-equipped, spoiled, and petulant child with no experience or aptitude for ruling anything much less a kingdom as a monarch to lead from behind the scenes is just a bad idea.
• In season four, they just replace Ed Skrein with Michiel Huisman (who was later basically just left behind forever in season six) and found it incredibly jarring considering how different they look and act.
  
• Most disturbing imagery: Lysa Arryn breastfeeding her grown child, Theon hitting on then groping his sister Yara before realizing who she is, and a naked Melisandre giving birth to a shadow monster.
• Bran seems to disappear for large stretches and reappears randomly with strange new powers in the middle seasons. I forgot he was still on the show during various parts.
• I did not care for the whole religious sect taking over King’s Landing storyline in season six. It seemed like a very stupid idea to merge church and state.
• Jon’s heroic arc from bastard to king was the real deal as he basically becomes both his adopted brother Robb and father Ned, whom he worshipped, in his reluctant hero characterization by the finale. Also, I now get why everyone laughed when Richard Madden and Kit Harrington appeared on screen in Eternals.
  
• Pedro Pascal’s Oberyn Martell really went out like a punk, didn’t he?
  
• Tywin Lannister was kind of the big bad villain of the whole series and no one else ever felt replaced him as a big threat after he was gone.
• Cersei somehow became Queen because all of her heirs died even though none of them with actually born of King Robert, everyone hated her, she was tried and punished for some heinous crimes, and clearly killed a bunch of people including her husband..? No way she should have survived the entire series. Surely, someone would have killed her far earlier. She had so many powerful enemies and frankly, she was really incompetent and kind of backed into power thanks to her father.
  
• You can tell they had way less budget in the first couple of seasons where scenes were overlit, sets looked very generic, location shooting was clearly limited, and they relied way too much on close-up shots.
• The sweet spot was around the middle seasons before they ran out of book material and they clearly had enough juice to fully executive some of the more expensive action.
• That undead zombie dragon attack on the wall was pretty badass.
• I never understood who the hell the “Lord of Light” was.
• I felt like Jon and Daenerys’ conflict around who had the biggest claim to the Iron Throne should have lasted at least a whole season.
• Daenerys’ descent into madness in the last few episodes is much less problematic when watched so quickly. But yes, it feels very rushed and forced.
• Ravens seem like a crazy advanced and accurate form of mail. Everyone seems to get their messages and quickly despite no one knowing where anyone is or even if they are alive. Information seems to travel fast in the Seven Kingdoms.
• Does the whole series take place over the course of like a few years… like almost in real-time without the break in between seasons in reality?
• Who finally ends up on the Iron Throne and why and how is incredibly unsatisfying given the eight seasons of buildup. Seriously though, Bran?!
• I normally would try to watch any big culturally popular series live on the air but after finally watching all of GoT, I’m still kinda glad I sat it out and was able to have a different perspective on the show years later.
• Considering the massive production, the sheer amount of storytelling, juggling so many characters, and having outpaced the still unfinished book series it’s based on, there was little chance GoT was going to have a broadly satisfying conclusion to such an epic and unconventional saga.
• Finally, I forget, do Lannisters always pay their debts or not? They never mention it. Seriously though, Joffrey sucked and I could not wait for him to die.

Also, I went back and watched a bunch of GoT-related videos, parodies, and such and now understand all the various jokes and references I kind of missed out on while they were happening. I highly recommend “Jon Snow to a Dinner Party”, “Melisandre at a Baby Shower”, and the Conan O’Brien-hosted reunion special.