Why Should I watch Game of Thrones?

[DiscoBiscuit]

So, Noah has read all of these books and has been bugging me to watch the show with him for forever. I'm not a fantasy fan so I dragged my feet, but eventually I ordered HBO for something else (True Detective) and could put it off no longer. So we started and I was hooked by the end of the first episode. We ended up binge watching the entire first three seasons over the course of a couple of weeks to get caught up for last night's season 4 premiere. OMG it's good. I'm even considering reading the series which would be very unusual for me since I don't usually like fantasy.

Thats the great thing about it. I wasn't usually into fantasy either (LOTR being the only other fantasy series that ever interested me) but GoT makes fantasy really accessible to normal non-fantasy folks.

 

[Eilonwy]

FYP.

Mane is 4'5" and from New Jersey? He seems so much taller on the forum.



A more serious answer to the OP: The books are awesome. I like how human the main characters are--full of faults, making mistakes, moral and immoral all rolled into one person. You never can be sure who will live and who will die. Life in the books is chaotic much like real life. You never know what result might come from actions taken. On the downside, there are a lot of characters and names to remember, and there are some slow passages. The downsides are minor.

I've only watched the first episode of the TV show. I decided to finish the books before watching any more. Plus, I discovered that reading about all the violence was easier than watching it. Even so, I'm looking forward to finding some time to watch the rest of it.

 

[Ivy]

Thats the great thing about it. I wasn't usually into fantasy either (LOTR being the only other fantasy series that ever interested me) but GoT makes fantasy really accessible to normal non-fantasy folks.

^exactly. I think most fantasy is pretty goofy (including LOTR, to an extent, though I do like it a lot) but this is awesome. It's like the fantasy aspects are pretty much just the backdrop for the human drama. Also, it could easily be historical fiction set in Medieval Europe but for the alternate map and all the magic stuff that happens. And the magic stuff is pretty limited, so it's not like they constantly solve problems with "And she did her best magic trick and everything worked out!" or anything dumb like that.

 

[cafe]

I will probably eventually watch it all. I've read all the books. The series is only supposed to be a few more books, there are so many plot lines that seem to need a lot more development, and GRRM is getting older and does not look to be in the best of health. I'm worried he's going to pull a Robert Jordan and die before he finishes the series. So I have some reservations about watching it all. But I did like the season(s?) I've seen so far.

I focus a lot on characters and character development and I think GRRM does a good job with that and HBO does a good job following his work.

 

[Mempy]

^exactly. I think most fantasy is pretty goofy (including LOTR, to an extent, though I do like it a lot) but this is awesome. It's like the fantasy aspects are pretty much just the backdrop for the human drama. Also, it could easily be historical fiction set in Medieval Europe but for the alternate map and all the magic stuff that happens. And the magic stuff is pretty limited, so it's not like they constantly solve problems with "And she did her best magic trick and everything worked out!" or anything dumb like that.

Yeah, the fantasy is super realistic. I try to convey that to people who aren't familiar with the series. It's not the main event at all, like you said, it's the backdrop, just another unsettling aspect of the cultures he brings to life, and he uses it to its fullest effect precisely because of how little we know about it and why it seems to exist in so many frightening, varied forms in pretty much every corner of the world.

 

[digesthisickness]

So, Noah has read all of these books and has been bugging me to watch the show with him for forever. I'm not a fantasy fan so I dragged my feet, but eventually I ordered HBO for something else (True Detective) and could put it off no longer. So we started and I was hooked by the end of the first episode. We ended up binge watching the entire first three seasons over the course of a couple of weeks to get caught up for last night's season 4 premiere. OMG it's good. I'm even considering reading the series which would be very unusual for me since I don't usually like fantasy.

That's what we do too. We have a series going at all times to watch when we eat, or to marathon when we have time. If there's a book, we read that together first. Right now, we're doing the entire series of The Venture Brothers after I pushed it a bit (he'd never seen it) and before that, we read all of the translations of Legendary Moonlight Sculptor.

I'm reading all of the replies right now and I see things I'd like and things I might not. What's obvious is why people like it, but I'd like to also hear things that people don't like about both the books and the show. I likes me data mining to be as balanced as possible.

...

Wow. That last paragraph looks as if I'm pushing a soft drink called "Like".

 

[BWCB1890]

Great show. There has no show like it before. This is the only HBO fantasy drama. It is not just medieval battles. There is political intrigue, betrayal, scheming, and sex. I recommend that you subscribe to HBO. I became a fan of Game of Thrones in March 2014. I recommend that after every season you read the book that corresponds to the season.

 

[highlander]

Because it's the best show on TV?

 

[simulatedworld]

It's not quite as good as House of Cards, imo. And I guess Breaking Bad is over now, it wasn't quite as good as that either.

That said, I still love GoT.

 

[Ivy]

House of Cards is EXCELLENT. So much Shakespeare.

Frank Underwood:House of Cards::Lord Bailish:Game of Thrones

 

[Eruca]

pros: boobs
cons: boobs

 

[ceecee]

It's so good. The books are excellent but the show adds a layer of richness, which I rarely say about a show or movie vs the book(s). This season, my favorite character may well be Sandor Clegane. Not that I didn't like The Hound in the past but he is really developing into more.