Our Game of Thrones expert, Gingerbot, was kind enough to review the first episode in this long anticipated series for us. So without further ado here are her thoughts on the debut episode:
Game of Thrones, the first book in the A Song of Ice and Fire fantasy series written by George R.R. Martin, premiered in its first television adaptation created by David Benioff and Dan Weiss on HBO last night. As a long time fan of these books I was impatiently waiting for this show to begin and went in with high hopes and expectations. All of which were met.
The first episode starts off in the far north beyond the Wall before quickly diving into Winterfell and introducing us to Ned Stark and his family. By the end of the episode they have introduced many of the key players of the Stark family as well as the ruling family the Baratheons and the Queen’s family the Lannisters. They even jump across the sea to Pentos and introduce the Horse Lord Khal Drogo and his nomadic horde along with his new wife Daenerys Targaryen and her brother who were members of the ruling family before Robert Baratheon took over the Iron throne sending these two into hiding.
It surprised me how much information they worked in and how much ground they were able to cover in one episode. But anyone who has read the books knows how much they contain and I’m sure were wondering how it would be possible to accurately tell the whole story in one season. Benioff and Weiss so far have done an incredible job of creating the world of Westeros and the casting job was very well executed. Personally I was most excited to see Peter Dinklage (Tyrion Lannister), Sean Bean ( Eddard “Ned” Stark), and Mark Addy (King Robert Baratheon) among the large cast of characters and I must say they did an excellent job of bringing these men off the page and onto the screen. From what I have seen so far in this first episode I can’t say there was anyone I felt was wrong for the part they play. Isaac Hempstead-Wright portrayal of Bran Stark matched almost exactly the image I had in my head.
Attention to details like this are everything I was looking for in this series and I know that anyone who loves the books as much as I do will be watching closely to make sure they get it right. The story has a lot to offer but it is the characters and attention to detail that makes it what it is. Fans can be brutal when they don’t feel it is treated with the respect and attention it deserves but I can assure you that those involved with this show are doing their job amazingly well and I am already impatient for the next episode. I feel the already loyal fans will be impressed but I am sure that those that have yet to read the books will be just as entertained as the rest of us. I watched along with my mom who has never read any of the books and while I pointed out a few things here and there (usually about 2 seconds before it was then addressed on the show) she said that it was not confusing at all and she liked it and will be watching it every week with me.
This is an amazing story but it is not for the faint of heart. HBO is the perfect platform for a show like this because this is not a light-hearted fantasy. It is dark and gritty with a lot of sex, betrayal, and war which you cannot gloss over and still keep the integrity of the story.
If you think you can stomach it, stay tuned.
Winter is coming.