Have you heard all the hype around the new HBO series A Game of Thornes, but haven’t read any of the books? Welcome to my world. Actually, I hadn’t even heard of the A Song of Ice and Fire book series by George R.R. Martin until weeks after finding out about the TV series. My weekly reviews will be from the point of view of someone who hasn’t read the books. Several other Clackers, who are fanatics about the books, plan on sharing their thoughts on the series as well.
On my initial viewing of “Winter is Coming,” I was confused and wasn’t exactly sure what was going on, despite that, I enjoyed what I saw because it was so complex. Much of what we see on television today is intended for casual viewing: standalone procedurals, sitcoms, contest shows, and reality. While I didn’t understand everything, I was sucked in and wanted to know more. I have since watched the episode again and plan to watch it a third time when it airs on HBO. If you watched and felt a little lost, don’t give up on the show.
What was clear from the get-go was that this didn’t take place in our world with our history. Instead, it inhabited a world with mystical forces at play. I don’t know what the “white walkers” are, but I do know they aren’t good. I was intrigued.
While the story is set in the make-believe world of Westeros, the focus is on the characters and the relationships between them. The marriage of Ned and Cat Stark seems to be strong and one of love, despite Ned having a son out of wedlock, Jon Snow. I was surprised to see that even though Jon was part of the family and clearly a “big brother” to the other children, he was still scorned by Cat after all these years. The Stark children were interesting, but not nearly as much as Jon. Robb came across as strong, Bran was adventurous, Sansa had the desire to become queen, Arya was the tomboy, and Rickon was the youngest. They seem, at this point, to be a focus of this season.
King Baratheon’s family seems as messed up as the Stark family is strong. He lost his true love, Ned’s sister, during the war and is now married to Cersei Lannister. Only she is sleeping with her brother, Jaime; and, they killed the King’s Hand, Jon Arryn, because he found out their secret. Does their brother, the dwarf, Tyrion knows of their “special” relationship? It appeared that he did. We didn’t find out much about the prince in the first episode, other than he was eying Sansa and they were being set up to be married. As messed up as this family seems to be, I really want to know what the Lannisters are planning. Sinister, indeed.
The Targaryens, the ousted ruling family, were no less interesting. I found Viserys to be the most ruthless of all by selling off his innocent sister to the savage, Khal Drogo, in hopes that the Dothraki will help him win the throne back. The wedding of Daenerys and Drogo was painful to watch, but not nearly as heart-wrenching as witnessing Drogo take her virginity.
The ending was an unexpected twist. When Cat had Bran promise to stop climbing, I figured he’d continue climbing and eventually fall. Shocking … that he happened upon Cersei and Jaime together and Jaime pushed him out the window. Iron-hearted. Did Bran die? I’m guessing no, but we will have to wait until the next episode to find out.
I didn’t find any of the characters to be weak; I was intrigued by all of them and want to know more. What did you think? Did you enjoy it?
Clacked by Carla Day 
on Apr 17, 2011 @ 22:00 EST5EDT
As a person who has read all the books, I thoroughly enjoyed the first episode. The actors they cast for each character were great. I also liked the cliffhanger they ended the episode with.
There were some slight alterations in dialogue, things I was sort of expecting a character to say, but they’d cut to a new scene. E.g. in the book, Jon has some memorable things to say about all the pups, including the white one, whereas here Theon Greyjoy says something to him (Jon) instead. Completely acceptable for an adaptation, but one of those “oh well” moments.
No complaints about leaving out Tom Bombadil or anything like that :)
Great job so far. I actually think they could benefit from going a bit slower. By this point in the plot of the books I felt we had a better impression of each character, (or at least thought we did). For example, as a viewer, what do you think of the Lannister twins? Are they psychotic, mentally disturbed, or just plain evil?
*POST AUTHOR*
At this point, I’m not really sure about the Lannister twins, especially their motivation beyond protecting their secret. Does the incest make them mentally disturbed, maybe? Based on the preview, I think we will learn more about them in the next episode.
Exactly. (That’s basically my point.) The book is structured in a way as to present the motivations for the character’s actions. (This is even more apparent with Sansa and Arya, whose relationship is much more fleshed out by this point in the books.) Finally, the book portrays Viserys in an even more repugnant manner. (He’s physically abusive to his sister.) Finally, Khal Drogo is portrayed in a much more positive light. (Or at the very least, there is more direct juxtaposition between Drogo and Viserys’s treatment of Danerys, which makes Drogo look like a saint in comparison to the brother. I suppose this might show up in future episodes though.)
I might have to rely on you to fill in the chinks for me! :)
Just watched the last 10 minutes. Hmmm, without being coarse, may I just say that it’s a MANS WORLD in more way than one…..
*POST AUTHOR*
From what I understand, one of the things people love about this world is watching how the women grow. I’m intrigued to see how these stories play out, especially Daenerys and Drogo.
Actually, Drogo does not seem so bad compared to some of the other men. He wears his scariness on the outside at least.
As far as the ladies, it’s “You’ve got a long way to go, baby.”
I can’t get over how amazing and creative the opening credits are.
*POST AUTHOR*
They are impressive and what is exciting about them is that they will be changing throughout the season. The opening credits will be changed based on each individual episode.