Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past 8 years, then you probably have heard of Game of Thrones. You know, the show everyone talks about constantly. The show that has won 38 Emmy Awards making it the most awarded TV show in the history of TV shows. This show consistently garners millions of viewers every time a new episode drops and makes more money that you could ever imagine. Yes, this show is extremely popular. But why? What makes this show standout so much? Why watch this show when there’s plenty of other good ones out there? The answer to that is that this show has everything. Compelling and dynamic characters? Check. Detailed and intricate plots? Check. Amazing visuals and battle scenes? Check.
Let me start with the characters. There’s a lot of them. And I mean A LOT OF THEM. It took me 3 runs of the show to finally be able to remember all of them and what they look like. And the crazy thing is that all these characters actually matter. The show mainly follows the Stark family (Robb, Sansa, Arya, Bran, Jon, Ned, and Caitlyn), the Lannister family (Cersei, Jaime, and Tyrion) and Daenerys Targaryen, but there’s dozens of secondary characters like Lord Baelish and Lord Varys that play huge roles in how the story unfolds. For instance, Lord Baelish is essentially responsible for starting one of the major conflicts known as the War of the Five Kings. The characters aren’t perfect either. They have flaws and are characters that the viewer can relate with. For example, Robb had agreed to marry into a political marriage, but he decided to marry someone he actually loves. There’s moments in the show where characters you’ve followed for a while meet and have to fight. An example of this is in season 7 when Jaime’s army fights against Daenerys and her army (and her dragons). There’s a moment where Bronn is trying to shoot down the dragon. I found myself rooting for Bronn to live but also rooting for Daenerys when he was firing crossbow bolts at the dragon. I was confused and didn’t know who to support because I wanted both to survive. It’s in these moments where you realize how much you care for these characters.
The plots and story lines are also intense and have twists where you never expect them. One minute you’re rooting for your favorite character and the next he dies and now you don’t know what to do with your life anymore (yes that’s how I felt after the red wedding). The political plotting and schemes are extremely compelling and keep you on the edge of your seat. The conflicts also feel very real and organic. For example, in season 1, Ned Stark is beheaded and this prompts Robb Stark to declare war on the Lannisters. Ned Stark was pretty much the main character of season 1, and seeing him get beheaded obviously should rile you up and make you hate the Lannisters. Conflicts and plots like these that enrich the characters and their incentives is another great part of the show.
And then there’s the action. Holy crap the action is good. From the one on one sword fight between characters, to the larger scale battles, to dragons flying around and burning things, the action is what makes this show shine. The visuals are crazy realistic, the shots are incredible, and there’s one battle scene with what might just be the best action sequence all in one take! The dragon CGI is also top notch. The way the scales and muscles move and how realistic it all looks is enough to make you believe dragons might be real (I wish). Being an adult show, the show isn’t afraid to show how gritty and gruesome fights can be.The blood sprays, you can hear bones break, and the grunts and screams of the people in battle seem very natural. The very best battle you will see is one where Daenerys is riding a freaking 100 foot dragon while it does “bombing” runs on the enemy and turning them to dust while the rest of her army (all on horseback) goes to town on the enemy soldiers (pictures above). I got chills watching that and had my jaw dropped the whole way through.
As you can see, I am a huge Game of Thrones nerd and I love to be one because this truly is the best show out there. Not only do normal people like me like it, but the critics adore it (38 FREAKING EMMYS). All in all, go watch this show because you’re missing out on what might just be your next binge watch.
