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Why Should I watch Game of Thrones?

digesthisickness

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Okay, I've seen it mentioned a lot, but haven't checked it out. I'm open to hearing pros/cons to help me decide whether I should give it a chance. Thanks!
 

Hive

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Complex cloak-and-dagger-intrigue, a plethora of well written characters, and unlike most fantasy, isn't a traditional "good vs bad"-type of story, but instead most characters actions fall within a moral greyzone because of their convoluted motivations.

Also sex. Lots and lots of sex.
 

JivinJeffJones

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pros: is good, will make many memes decipherable
cons: will he ever finish it? how will he finish it?

It's taken so long just to get to this point (I've been there since the beginning), and it seems like there's at least 2-3 more books to go. Which is maybe 10 years according to his current production rate. There's also no guarantee that he won't intentionally and maliciously perpetrate a monumental damp squib of an ending. He's got form. But why not experience what could be a nerd's decade-defining shattering experience for yourself? Our JFK assassination/watergate/Cobain/phantom menace.
 

Rasofy

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Found the 2 first seasons good, but it gets boring from then on, imo.

Pros: Great acting; you get to understand the memes; sex; no character is 'immortal', so there is equality and many surprises.

Cons: Supernatural plays an annoying role; there are too many characters (which adds complexity to the plot, but not to themselves, if that makes sense); it will be hard to associate the characters with names, as pretty much every male character has dark hair, dark beard, and an outdated name.
 

Hive

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Found the 2 first seasons good, but it gets boring from then on, imo.
Season 3 is the first half of the third book. Most of it serves as a prelude for things to come.

Shit is gonna be intense this season.
 

DiscoBiscuit

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Highest production values of any non-miniseries (Band of Brothers arguably had higher production values). Acting of the highest caliber available on TV. Intrigue, sex, murder and all the other fun stuff.

The most faithfully recreated fictional universe since Jackson's LOTR movies. You honestly don't know whats going to happen.

Since so many characters die, there is always a fresh cast of new characters to keep the show from getting too stale.

The only con is you have to pay for HBO to watch it. Unless you want to pirate it that is.
 

Totenkindly

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Looks like there's only 31 episodes out there. It's probably good to jump in now if you plan to, before it becomes overwhelming to catch up.

(I haven't watched any yet and am trying darn hard to avoid spoilers... but I'll probably start watching just to see if I want to go for it.)
 

Mempy

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I actually read the books the summer before the show was even announced to be made, at the recommendation of a good online friend. Since I'm so persnickety about books I read, I took a gander at the Wiki article for the books before I read them, and it convinced me wholeheartedly to do so: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Song_of_Ice_and_Fire

I agree with whoever said that it's the most faithful recreation of a fantasy series since Tolkein's LOTR. So far I've never been disappointed, and I'm very aesthetically oriented. Directing, acting, CGI, cinemotography, everything's wonderful.
 

kyuuei

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It's just a genuinely good story. The books are just enjoyable. They're long winded, and sometimes go on and on forever.


But that's because he's building a whole, detailed world.. There's a lot of material there, just like LotR. The good thing is, they have plenty of action and give you a small basis to start with, and expand the world as needed. You can salivate over luxurious meals they're eating, or frown at how disgusting and real the medieval poor sections of a district are. You fear for the lives of characters, and it really is a strong emotional journey. There's a character in that book for everyone--and many of the principles, and morals apply to modern day life. The back stabbing, the fact that some people are just bad people and keep getting rewarded for it.. the fact that justice shines through sometimes.. that karma may exist--or not.. that bad things happen to good people. The mysteries and puzzles to solve, the theories you conjure trying to make sense of events--and by the time you get an answer, it feels like it's far in the past, and there's more mysteries to unravel. It's a strong story.

And the show does not do such a bad job of summarizing thousands of pages and man hours into bigger-than-life feeling, believable scenes and settings. Seeing characters come to life, and watching them walk and talk.. The series is just far more enjoyable to watch after the books have been read. But it isn't at all unpleasant for those unwilling to read. You get the jist of things, and you can have nerdy book-loving friends fill in those gaps for you otherwise.

There's so many nerdy things you can indulge in. You can nerd out to the cookbooks and medieval-centered dining. The costumes. The principles and morals of different houses and characters. You can gossip about what you think will happen to x or y character or house. Who will be in the throne next. It's easy conversation starters for socializing, and can become indulging-ly deep without fearing hurting people's personal morals or opinions because the morals are that of another world's entirely. There's magic in there for magic lovers, and theres hard core realism for those that like no safety nets.

I don't think the actors or the producers thought it was going to get so big. I watched an interview where they made a mention "Look, this isn't really something that gets you emmys or anything.." but it exploded. The advertisements are really awesome--and the attention to detail they put into things is really important. There are no lame "printed to look like x" costumes. There's a lot of effort there--and it makes a quality product. The actors are good at what they do.

There are some downsides--it's involved.. and clearly so. So if you aren't a huge fan, yeah, it'll seem a little slow paced and boring to you. It's a little difficult to get the characters straight because, let's face it, they have to cram thousands of pages into hour-long episodes, so if you're a casual watcher and not really paying attention you can get lost in the plots and who is who character wise. It is gore-y and dramatic.. no one, not one character, is safe from death. That's a well known fact even if you never hear a single spoiler ever.

And, honestly, the series is only like.. 3 seasons in, with the 4th just premiering yesterday. So, there isn't a ton of information to catch up on. It's comparable to other series lengths that don't have all of the hype this show does.
 

Mempy

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Daenerys Targaryen, that's why.

Word. Friend of mine said recently that he thought Dany was a poorly-written and boring character because if she had been written as a man, she would be the stock hero character and OP as hell. But he missed her developments as a character entirely, besides which, yeah, a lot of what makes her an interesting character is hella the fact that she's a female doing the things she's doing. It's pointless to picture her character as a male because her character kind of wouldn't exist if she wasn't female. And it's a little like saying, "This story would be so boring--if he had written it differently!" Yeah, that's why he wrote it that way.
 

digesthisickness

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Whoa. So many great responses. I'll reply as soon as I get done with this work, but please, until then, if you can think of anything else, it's appreciated. BF is INFP and not only reads fantasy novels constantly, but writes, and he was the one that brought it up as a new possible series for us to read and then watch. It's so huge, I wanted honest opinions first to see if it's worth the bother. Thanks all! <3
 

DiscoBiscuit

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So are there any...like battles n' stuff?

Shitloads. They don't have the budget to cover them all in the show.

Trust me though, the show is fairly action packed. And not, "the hero shoots five bad guys and goes home with the girl" action.

More like, "one of the main characters introduced in the first episode was just crippled for no greater reason that his captor was a dick".
 

Ivy

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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.
 

Cellmold

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Shitloads. They don't have the budget to cover them all in the show.

Trust me though, the show is fairly action packed. And not, "the hero shoots five bad guys and goes home with the girl" action.

More like, "one of the main characters introduced in the first episode was just crippled for no greater reason that his captor was a dick".

I was being a little sarcastic.
 
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