Review: Game of Thrones Series 6

Winter is coming…

Has anyone else been watching Game of Thrones series six? What did you think? Below I’ll be discussing I thought was great, what could have been better, how it compares to the books and what to expect from the next series.

Be warned, this review contains spoilers for Game of Thrones series 1-6 and A Song of Ice and Fire the book series by George R.R. Martin.

Good

Generally, I felt that this series of Game of Thrones was one of the most powerful so far. There were lots of standout moments. Melisandre’s reveal, John Snow’s resurrection, The Tower of Joy fight scene, Hodor’s death, The Battle of the Bastards (nicknamed by fans as Bastardbowl) and Cersei blowing up King’s Landing to name a few. In most cases, the plots are being moved forward, towards the endgame which after five years of waiting is bloody exciting to see. Most of the characters are unrecognisable from the first series. Ayra Stark has turned from a tom boy to an assassin, Theon has become less arrogant and is supporting his sister and Sansa has finally turned from a helpless princess to a game player. I detested her until this series due to how passive and helpless she was. A few characters return such as the Hound (although he didn’t do much) and for once Bran was kind of cool. Two key characters (arguably the two key characters) Danny and Jon are both ready to become key players in the Game of Thrones.

The show has been relatively free from controversy this year. I think the show runners have learnt their lessons from the unnecessary rape and gory scenes of the previous series. There was one episode (I think it was the fourth) in which no one died which is a Game of Thrones record.

Bad

That being said, there were some rather weak plot thread this series. Benjen Stark disappears as mysteriously as he appeared, Sam and Gilly fail to do anything of use aside from steal a sword from Sam’s father, Ser Jorah’s mission to cure his greyscale is forgotten and perhaps the most disappointing death of the series is Margaery Tyrell’s. She was one of the most cunning characters in the show, whose life is extinguished in a heartbeat. It’s not her manner of death I have issue with, it’s the fact that the character had so much potential.  John had several questionable moments as well such as his idea to leave The Wall mostly undefended against the White Walkers and his battle tactics against Ramsey Bolton outside Winterfell. Rickon’s character has been mistreated (then again, even in the books he was the forgotten Stark boy) and Bron, a fan favourite, had very little screen time.

The Books

This series is notable for passing the books in terms of plot, no one knows what will happen next. Some of the fan theories formed in the books have been answered in the show. The R+L=J theory has been proven to be correct (which argues that Jon Snow’s real parents are Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark) and we saw the Tower of Joy fight which has been mentioned in the books by various characters such as Ned Stark.

Do you want to know what would make Game of Thrones cooler? Lightsabers!

Many of the characters are noticeably different to their TV counterparts. For example Sansa’s friend Jeyne Pool is given to the Boltons who believe she is Ayra Stark. The Boltons then torture her and abuse her. In the TV show this happens to Sansa instead. The Hound is another character whose story has been rewritten. In the books he “dies” after his fight at the Crossroads Inn (not the fight with Brienne of Tarth which doesn’t happen in the books) and the fate of the character is teased in a later chapter. We see someone resembling the Hound patting a dog’s head and digging graves on an island, this person also has the Hound’s horse called Stranger. While The Hound has returned on the TV show, it is unclear if this will happen in the books.

Another key difference is the wounds the characters receive. At one point in the books Brienne has a fight in a tavern that results in half her face being bitten off by a character aptly named The Biter During the Battle of the Blackwater Tyrion has half of his nose cut off and. It’s clear to see why these wounds don’t happen on the TV show, it could cost time and money for the actors to put on and off the makeup and prosthetics required. Cersei comments on the fact Tyrion didn’t lose his nose in the TV show.

“They say you lost your nose but it’s not as gruesome as all that.”

It’s also worth mentioning Lady Stoneheart another interesting character that has been omitted from the TV show. In the books Lady Stoneheart is a resurrected Catelyn Stark (similar to the way Jon Show and Beric Dondarrion have been resurrected) and plots revenge on those who killed her and her family at the Red Wedding. It’s unclear why she isn’t in the TV show, she seems to be an important character in the books.

Perhaps the most important difference (and the most understanding one) is the characters ages. Most of the characters have been aged up by two or three years. At the start of A Game of Thrones Robb Stark is fourteen, Sansa is eleven, Arya is nine years old and Bran is seven. In the TV show Robb is in his early to middle twenties, Sansa is around nineteen, Arya sixteen and Bran fifteen. Many other characters look nothing like their descriptions from the books. This is due to the availability of actors, recasting or money issues. Daario Naharis in the books, has a blue beard. The character that has changed the most is Tyrion. Take a look at the picture below from the Game of Thrones Trading Card Game.

What’s next?

The Showrunners have that that season seven will consist of seven episodes and the eighth and final season will have six. There are thirteen episodes left to see who will win the Iron Throne. I think they key players at this point are Cersei, Jon Snow and Danny with a couple of wild cards around such as Ayra and Bran. Personally I want Jon Snow to win but I doubt it will be as simple as that.

Who do you want to win the Iron Throne? What do you think will happen at the end? Leave your comments and opinions down below and I’ll see you next time.

Winter is here…