Top 35 Shows of 2013: No 3 Game Of Thrones
What do we have left once we abandon the lie? Chaos, a gaping pit, waiting to swallow us all.
Considering A Storm of Swords is my favourite A Song of Ice and Fire novel I had huge expectations for S3 of Game of Thrones and thankfully the series delivered its best season yet. Not only is it becoming more adept at juggling the huge cast and various plotlines but it is also becoming really great at expanding characters who don’t get much to do in the books as well as adding in much needed humor.
Yes it seems strange to mention the humor in a season which gave us the devastating Red Wedding but prior to that there was definitely some light relief in most episodes. Whether it be Edmure Tully’s repeated failure to fire the arrow correctly, Tyrion and Sansa trying to find some common ground or the ongoing banter between Ygritte and Jon and Brienne and Jaime. There were even moments of rare happiness like Davos learning to read or the incredibly sweet relationship between Gilly and Sam.
It would be so easy for Game of Thrones to wallow in all the awful shit that happens but it allows these moments to show us there is some kind of hope still left in the world of Westeros. We get to see Dany have her moment of absolute power when her dragons lay waste to Astapor. We get to see Jaime show his true colours when he saves Brienne. We get to see Davos defy his King to save the life of a young man. There isn’t a lot of goodness left in this tale of death and destruction or many moments we can genuinely chear but when they happen it makes the ongoing journey worth following.
Game of Thrones will never be able to please everyone with its adaptation choices but I’m more than happy with what it has achieved so far and with more crazy events and bloodshed due in S4 I hope it can keep the balance between despair and hope. There has to be characters worth following and moments of triumph otherwise what is the point?
Favourite episodes: And Now His Watch Is Ended / The Rains of Castamere
