I anticipate
The dissipation
Of the all
The scattering
Of goals
The rise of dreams
To ride
Upon the mists
To be blown
Upon the winds
To reside
In clouds
And hide
In trees
To sleep
In earth
Drink water
Sup sunlight
Weep rain
And sigh
Last season (Season 5), I was getting more and more worried about Game of Thrones. Sure I loved it kept me gripped and on the edge of my seat – wanting the next episode to come as quickly as possible.
But that in a way was my worry. Most of that tension came from the sudden twists in the plot, from the fact that no one was safe and you just could not predict what was going to happen next.
However – take that away – for example, watch it a second time when you know what is coming and what is left? A lot of sex and violence – and sexual violence.
What did that make it? Would it feel a very different and lessened show as the years passed and we got a different perspective on it?
Well, this season was the reason – this season was the payoff.
How?
Well, we recently went to see the latest Star Wars film (The Force Awakens). It was entertaining enough – did a good job of what it is expected to do – it’s Star Wars, not Shakespeare.
But you don’t feel for the characters. OK you are tense when they are in danger but when the good guys beat the bad guys – as you know they will do – it doesn’t mean anything. They win because they are the good guys – that’s all. In some respects, in a lot of modern films, the bad guys are often cooler!
This season’s Game of Thrones showed how to do it properly and gave meaning to all that violence. We have lived and suffered with the characters we love for a long time now. We have felt them suffer, we have felt their losses, we have shed tears over the many unjust deaths.
And we have learned to hate the perpetrators of evil – and this season without giving too much away has seen a few of the best get their comeuppance. And we felt it! It mattered! We punched the air when they bit the dust and it mattered that the good guys won – it meant something.
The plot has played the long game properly! It has made the whole – so far – much more worthy in my opinion and one of the greats of the small screen.
I may be way behind everyone here but a line in the trailer for season 5 prompted a thought.
Way back in Season One we saw Jorah Mormont receive a letter from Varys. Shortly after there is an assassination attempt on Daenerys. It’s all set up to look like he has been spying on her and is supposed to kill her – but changes his mind – as he has fallen in love with her.
But – what if that was not the case? What if the letter was a warning about the assassination attempt? It makes more sense now – Varys has been supporting Daenerys all along – he is playing a much bigger game than anyone realised. He is working towards bringing the Targaryen’s back to the Iron Throne.
Which means Littlefinger has underestimated him sorely. And in the battle between Petry Balish and the Spider I would much rather see Varys triumph.
I have just finished season two of Game and Thrones and I want to talk about one actor in particular – don’t worry no spoilers!
In a series packed with good writing, good directing, and good performances his is, for me, the stand-out performance of the show.
One of his early roles was in “Living in Oblivion” where he played a dwarf actor frustrated with the limited and two-dimensional roles he kept being offered. A feeling he must have been all too familiar with.
So the role of Tyrion Lannister must have been a godsend. A role to get your teeth into.
Even so – it still could easily have come off like a pantomime role. Another, lesser actor, could have said all the same lines in the same situations and it would have been a comedy part with no depth.
Not so with Peter Dinklage. He has given the character real depth and humanity. You can see the fierce intelligence battling with his humour and situation. His basically good morals fighting with his lusts and passions. His expressions and eyes do most of the work.
There is a scene where he is trying to win an important argument. His opponent says –
“Oh you think you are so clever with your scheme and plots!”
In a look that lasts only a millisecond or two you see him fighting with his urge to correct her. Don’t get distracted – you can almost hear his mind screaming, stick to the point. He fails.
“Schemes and plots are the same thing.”
He quickly moves on to his point.
Brilliant!
Anyway – while I was contemplating all this a sudden thought struck me. Maybe it is almost sacrilegious to think about this seeing as the current incumbent has not even started yet (and I am excited about that too) but when he inevitably hangs up his coat how about this?
Peter Dinklage – as Doctor Who!
Scott Andrew Bailey - Author 