Mandy Lim
Political intrigue, ambiguous characters and earth shattering (sometimes icky) scandals surround the fantasy world of Game of Thrones, HBO’s latest Emmy Award-worthy hit.
After much anticipation of the television adaptation of George R.R. Martin’s epic fantasy series, A Song of Ice and Fire, HBO’s daring move finally made its debut in the United States on Apr 19 and won the hearts of fans and critics. In less than 24 hours after the pilot aired, the series was already renewed for a second season.
Described by many as The Sopranos meets Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones has proven to be a vastly complicating show with a slew of characters you can never tell are good or evil.
The show is set within the fictional world of Westeros, a country made out of seven kingdoms and numerous noble families, all ruled by one very complacent and very fat king, Robert Baratheon, played by Mark Addy (The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas)
Shot in Belfast, the scenes in the beautiful Belfast forests and plains tremble with a magical air that will transport you to another dimension. The added artisan magic of Production Designer Gemma Jackson will leave you gaping at the elaborate sets and costumes, leaving you with a sense that you are observing a painting come to life.
The pilot itself starts out on a gruesome and high-strung note, with men from the brotherhood of the Night’s Watch discovering a great evil that descended into snowy northern forest.
Things start to slow down from there as you are introduced to each character and the role they play in this fictional world. The most familiar face on the show however is Sean Bean (The Lord of The Rings), looking like he just stepped out of Middle Earth and into Westros.
Although Bean was casted brilliantly as the lead character and only good guy on the show, Ned Stark, it is border lining on boring that the actor is not switching it up much when it comes to roles. Both his characters – Boromir and Ned Stark – even end up sharing the same fate.
As the first episode comes to an end, it ascends again, leaving you at the edge of your seat, as both incestuous truths as well as a devastating scene lie at the end of the show waiting to ambush audiences.
Though complicating, gory and sometimes disturbing, Game of Thrones has a powerful plot and well developed characters. This series will definitely be in the running for an Emmy award and has potential to have an army of followers lasting generations.
A fair warning though: It is important that you do not get too attached to any of the characters in the show, as Martin is ruthless when it comes to killing off his characters.
However if you do not have the commitment to stick with a show like the die-hard fans of genre fiction (the geeks), flip the channel because you will be leaving the couch with a terrible migraine. This is a show that is definitely not for the fainthearted.
Game of Thrones premiers Sunday, 28 Aug, 2011 at 10pm on HBO, Starhub Channel 601.