Yes, the most overrated show in the history of HBO is also one of its most successful ever. Game Of Thrones has expertly latched onto the fact that, in the wake of LOTR, fantasy shows and films have moved out of the geeky subcultures that they once inhabited and have become "cool" and popular. This is great news, of course - much of the best fiction in history comes from the genre. Sadly, it means that Game Of Thrones has become lauded as one of the most intricate and intelligent dramas of all time. It just isn't. Visually, it looks great. A lot of the performances are pretty good. And, as suggested, it's great to see such a popular fantasy show. But the problem is, other than throwing in the odd dragon and having vaguely LOTR-esque costumes, GoT isn't actually all that much of a fantasy show. It's basically a sequence of relationship dramas - a soap opera set in a fantasy realm. GoT doesn't do nearly enough to big up its fantasy elements. It's focused primarily on interactions. Now having a fantasy show based wholly on character interactions would still be pretty great, if not for the fact that the series (and the novels, for that matter) is marred by some of the least impressive character development around. No doubt some of the characters are enjoyable, but they're stereotypes, clichés, cardboard cut-out heroes and villains. It's not even the fact that most of them are killed off, which is a criticism often aimed at the show (that also happened in The Wire, but isn't necessarily a bad thing)... It's that they just aren't all that interesting, so it's difficult to care when they do die. The show claims to be making grandiose statements about social reality, transplanting them into a fantasy narrative, but it doesn't really offer anything "newsworthy" other than the shocks of characters that were central to the narrative suddenly being killed. In fact, key characters die so frequently that it isn't a surprise after the fourth or fifth death, let alone the 67th. Whereas other HBO shows have impeccable character development (Boardwalk Empire), mysterious storylines (True Detective S1) or a genuine social conscience (The Wire), GoT feels like one long run of "dramatic shock, interaction, dramatic shock, interaction, repeat". It's a shame, really. This show could be something special. It's not bad - it's certainly watchable, and has some spectacular moments - but it seems that some have decided that it's something it's not. Some of HBO's greatest shows are hidden away, known only to connoisseurs of its programming, while GoT becomes front page news on pretty much every single website. It may pain you to hear this, but Game Of Thrones just isn't THAT good. It's the most overrated and overhyped show in the history of HBO.
