Game of Thrones (through episode 4)

When I learned last Fall that HBO was preparing a series based on George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire, I remember feeling palpably ill at ease. Martin’s magnum opus, in addition to being unfinished (though hopefully the critical and financial success the series has thus far received will light a fire under Mr. Martin’s rather rotund ass – and may already have; I personally having pre-ordered my copy of A Dance with Dragons which is due out July 12^th) was, I had firmly believed, un-filmable. There is simply too much happening among too many complex characters for the silver (or indeed ‘small’) screen to adequately portray anything worthy of Martin’s prose. Now, having watched just under half of the first season’s ten episodes, I can say that I’ve been pleasantly surprised…

I’ll spare a summation of the story so far as the episodes have followed the novel quite closely, and will instead begin by wondering aloud about those viewers who are coming to the series with the novels as requisite reading. The mythology of Martin’s work is exceedingly rich (or ‘dense’ depending on which semantic choice you’d prefer) and it’s hard for me to imagine how someone without the proper background can appreciate the intricacies of the institutions of Westeros, because in their rigid adherence to the novels,  a direct explanation is not provided. Perhaps the creators are hoping that, because it’s HBO (because really, what other network could properly show Game of Thrones?) the sex, guts, and cursing will keep the uninitiated on the hook long enough until their sufficiently filled-in (or, dare I dream, motivated to go read the books?!).   

My main qualm with what I’m seeing right now is about the future. Yes, Sean Bean’s ‘hail-the-glorious-dead’ face has been plastered on virtually every piece of publicity that’s been produced (including, I noticed at the bookstore today, the paperback reissue of Game of Thrones itself) and the performances he and Mark Addy’s Robert Baratheon are giving are nothing short of masterful, the fact of the matter is they’re going to be dead soon, and at the current clip the episodes are going, very soon. Martin has no problems with killing off character’s but among the ones that do survive for some length of time (at least the next two tv seasons, if we go a book a season), while there are some veterans such as Lena Heady and Peter Dinklage (who’s overacted Tyrion Lannister has easily become the best character of the series) the remainder of those who ‘survive’ are really unknown quantities, many without a single other acting credit to their names. These are admittedly minor criticisms (even I realize that I’m reaching when my primary gripes concern things that won’t happen until years in the future!) though I hope that the show’s producers have also considered them, and will prepare in kind…

So, unless these next six episodes go completely to hell, the series really isn’t something to be missed. Even now, as I type these words to you, I can’t help but look forward to next Saturday’s Game of Thrones session (complete with wings and Root Beer floats!). Watch it; it’s really just that simple…