Is Game of Thrones the Greatest Series Ever Made?

I watched the first episode of Game of Thrones in 2011, back when the first season was released. What drew my attention to the series was seeing Sean Bean, who played Boromir in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, in the role of Ned Stark.

The fact that it was a medieval fantasy motivated me even more. I did not enjoy the first episode that much and decided not to keep watching it at the time, I've had my reasons.

In September 2018, I decided to watch everything since the last season would debut in a few months.

The Beginning

The first episodes are not the best, you are thrown in an extremely complex political intrigue, with several different characters — each of these characters having a long background and their own interests.

They didn’t have a lot of money in the beginning, it was a bet. HBO didn’t know if the public would enjoy such a story. No heroes nor villains, the series was not simple at all. It brought interesting twists that we had never seen on TV or in film before.

Although the best series ever made - Lost, Breaking Bad, The Sopranos) - had already done that (complex characters, deep story development) it is clear that they had much less complex plots. Deep and dark stories but simpler in the narrative.

The fact that the first few seasons did not have a lot of money made the plot about political manipulation and character development, this has always been the strength of the series. The unpredictable and silly deaths as they really must have been in the Dark Ages, not all kings and warriors of antiquity died honorably in a great battle.

At that time, if you were attacked by a boar and suffered a deeper wound, there was no high-tech surgery or vast medical knowledge to save your life.

The Change

Game of Thrones has always been based on reality, character development, political plots, war strategies, with hints of fantasy. Those traces of fantasy increased while the nuances in which the series had been consolidated were lost.

Many said that the popularity was bad for the script and maybe it is true, the plot holes increased more and more as the seasons went by. Others said that the fact that the last three seasons have surpassed the books and the George R. R. Martin plot was no longer used as a base, has also hurt the series.

Like it or not, it is IMPOSSIBLE to deny the size, popularity, and quality of the series on TV.

HBO has always been known for delivering extremely high-quality material, but with Game of Thrones, it went even further. The series has reached a level of popularity never before reached, watching each episode became a world cup game, people got together to watch it and the internet would go crazy with each episode. Never has the end of a series been so eagerly awaited since Lost.

Is it the best?

I mentioned Lost here before on purpose because it was a series that caught the origins of social networks, the beginning of everything. Lost started in the same way, with a lot of mysteries, many plots, different characters, and storylines.

They delivered a more philosophical ending, without explaining everything about each character's ending and ended up getting a lot of backlash for it. A great number of fans were extremely disappointed at the time and forgot how much more enjoyable the journey was.

Game of Thrones didn’t learn from Lost and divided the fans in the same way. The result was plot holes, impoverishment of the characters’ psyche, and easy resolutions to several conflicts. They also failed the attempt to be epic.

Part of the journey is the end.

Tony Stark says that at the beginning of the movie Avengers Endgame and he was right. I understand people that decided to hate the series because of the end.

I decided to enjoy the journey

As much as I did not enjoy the ending the series has a very special place in my heart. The amazing moments I had with it were worth it.

HBO raised the bar with Game of Thrones. They managed to find the balance between a good story and amazing action. The production value, the digital refinement, the photography, the battles, everything was so incredible. All the money spent on the series was seen on wars, dragons, zombies, white walkers, and more.

The last season was practically a feature film per episode, with a budget of $ 15 million for each time we heard that magnificent opening song. And speaking of music, the soundtrack for this series is another masterpiece. It is composed by Ramin Djawadi, who was also involved in the songs of Pacific Rim and Prison Break.

Game of Thrones is not perfect, but it is THE GREATEST SERIES OF ALL TIME.

It is successful in every single aspect: script, characters, performances, soundtrack, photography, visual effects, audience, discussions, you name it.

As much as the narrative quality has fallen in the last seasons, and that is understandable towards the end, the series continues to be incredible and the eighth season stopped the world. I will not say it’s my favorite series, but it certainly made it to the TOP 5.