Winter is coming
This is “The Overview,” the Ontarion’s new TV column, here to answer the question of which shows on television best deserve your late nights on Netflix, mid-study breaks, or simple lounge days.
This week’s overview: Game of Thrones. You would do best to remember these three words when trying to decide which series to watch next. This HBO exclusive has been taking the world by storm ever since its debut in 2011. At only three seasons consisting of 30 episodes all together, this show has acquired a cult following as shown by a reported average of five million viewers per episode in the past season.
The show is based on George R.R Martin’s book series A Song of Ice and Fire, and unlike most book-to-screen adaptations, the show does not deviate far from its source. The setting is a fantastical-medieval world consisting of two continents, Westeros and Essos. The show primarily takes place in Westeros, where King Robert Baratheon rules. Due to his kingdom being so geographically vast, the King relies on other high lords and their families to govern areas far from his capital city. The show revolves around these noble families, as they war with each other due to their own ambitions, motivations, and loyalties. Some wish for the Baratheons to remain the royal family on top the throne of Westeros, while others wish to manipulate and fight their way to the top.
While the nobles play their game of thrones, more sinister events begin to unfold in the wintery wild north of the continent. An ancient race of immortals known as The Others, or, the White Walkers, are rumoured to be coming out of a 1000 year hibernation. This is bad because the last time The Others emerged, they nearly wiped out the entire human population of Westeros, so everyone is really hoping this is not happening at all. The only way to know for sure is to start watching.
The quality of Game of Thrones is amazing. The Wall Street Journal estimated that every episode in season one worked on a budget of approximately $10 million dollars, and that this budget was raised 15 per cent for season two. This high budget allows the show to film in six different countries, providing a wide range of beautiful settings in order to captivate the audience.
The first-season’s cast is led by none other than Sean Bean (who many will recognize as Boromir from Peter Jackson’s The Lord of The Rings) who plays Ned Stark. Two other faces you might recognize are Lena Headey (who played Queen Gorgo in 300) playing Cersei Lannister, and Mark Addy (from A Knights Tale) playing Robert Baratheon. The star of the show, however, is Emmy-award winning Peter Dinklage, who plays the dwarf, Tyrion Lannister. In a world where so much is decided by physical force and power, Dinklage’s character shows the audience that the sharpest and deadliest weapon a man or woman can wield is not a sword but in fact his own knowledge, wisdom, and intelligence – an idea that any university student can truly appreciate.
It should be noted that this show contains a lot of explicit content. Decapitations, mutilations, blood, sexual content, and coarse language is what you can expect to see in every episode, so maybe it’s not the best thing to watch while younger siblings or cousins are strolling around. The violence of the show is really demonstrated through the fact that it has no fear in killing off members of the main cast, providing some of television’s biggest twists and jaw-dropping moments that this warning will not even prepare you for.
Game of Thrones is definitely Overview approved. If you haven’t started watching the series, there is no time like the present. The slogan of the show claims that “Winter is coming” for Westeros. Here in Ontario, however, winter has come in full force, and the time to snuggle up at home and watch TV is here. So go grab a snack (and perhaps a stress ball or something to take out your frustrations on) and let this show blow your mind and break your heart at the same time. Trust me, you do not want to be around mom’s china set during certain scenes.