10 Reasons Game Of Thrones Is No Good For George R. R. Martin
3. Its All Show, Not Enough Spectacle
The storytelling in Game Of Thrones is all show and some spectacle, with no subtlety to it. Were frequently shown things (often graphically) that are left to the imagination in the books. This isnt because the books are shyer about ultraviolence or sex, far from it. Its because Martin knows when its wiser to hold back. Game Of Thrones showrunners Benioff and Weiss patently do not. For example, we benefited from not having it made crystal clear that Renly and Loras were lovers in A Song Of Ice And Fire. The constant casual insults and gossip seemed far more appropriate for the succession in a scheming, backbiting political class when we were never shown whether it was true and are we to believe that Loras and Renly are the only gay men in Westeros? Of course not. Let's have another one. In the novels, poor Theons torture was a good deal more implied than gratuitously flung in our faces. Like the intruder in the house that stays out of shot, the implied can be more dreadful than the explicit. Game Of Thrones just cuts his penis off in front of us and then waves it in our faces. Thanks, guys. Thats taken all the horror right out of it. There are a whole lot more. But whats almost as bad is that the things that are supposed to be spectacular arent. The Battle Of The Blackwater in season two and the attack on the Wall in season four are great, for telly but this is epic stuff. Were used to something a little bigger with our epic stuff. Weve seen epic movies like Gladiator. The Lord Of The Rings trilogy. Kingdom of Heaven. In fact, any of those huge, sweeping three-hour opuses with a massive battle-cum-siege in the third act. The television portrayal of these set piece moments isnt exactly a damp squib its just a reminder that this is only television, for all the scope theyd like to give it. Funnily enough, the smaller moments, like Bronns one-sided duel for Tyrions life in season one, or the celebrated clash between the Mountain and the Red Viper in season four, are generally pitch perfect. This is more the level that these showrunners should be aspiring to. The new Ridley Scotts, they are not.
Professional writer, punk werewolf and nesting place for starfish. Obsessed with squid, spirals and story. I publish short weird fiction online at desincarne.com, and tweet nonsense under the name Jack The Bodiless. You can follow me all you like, just don't touch my stuff.
