OBVIOUS WARNING IS OBVIOUS: SPOILER ALERT!!
Released: 2015
Distributor: HBO
Cast:
Peter Dinklage: Tyrian Lannister
Lena Headey: Cercei Lannister
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau: Jamie Lannister
Kit Harington: Jon Snow
Stephan Dillane: Stannis Boratheon
Gwendoline Christine: Brienne of Tarth
Aiden Gillan: Petyr Baelish
Maisie Williams: Arya Stark
Sophie Turner: Sansa Stark
Emilia Clarke: Daenerys Targaryen
Iain Glen: Jorah Mormont
Liam Cunningham: Davos Seaworth
I’ll be honest with you. When I started doing this marathon, I wasn’t entirely certain that I was going to complete it. But here are: 5 seasons down, 1 to go. It’s been quite an interesting experience. It’s been an epic journey. 50 1-hour long episodes in 5 days? I’m immensely thankful for the opportunity to be able to do this. It’s certainly been challenging, especially season 1, the more I watched the show, the more I wanted to continue. It’s just too bad that there are only so many hours in a day to really immerse myself in the world of Westeros. Yeah, some episodes were worse than others, but for the most part, everything has been almost consistently fantastic. The show goes to some really dark places, but always offers a glimpse of hope for what’s to come. With Season 5, things are darker than ever.
By the end of Season 4, we have witnessed the assassination of Joffrey Boratheon with Tyrion being accused of the crime. We have also seen Daenerys Targaryen take control of another city and free more slaves. With all the political intrigue in King’s Landing, the focus turned to the north with the wildlings with their “king” Mance Rayder finally taking the Wall head on and the Night’s Watch holding them back. The late Catelyn Stark’s sister was pushed through the moon door by Petyr Baelish, who takes control of the Veil. During Tyrion’s trial, we witness Tyrion unleashing his venom on everybody in the room and finally demanding trial by combat. Tyrion’s champion, Prince Oberyn Martell challenges The Mountain, Gregor Clegan and ends up getting his head crushed in, sealing Tyrion’s fate. Meanwhile, the young Tommen Boratheon becomes the king and takes Margaery Tyrell as his wife. After spending time in the dungeons, Tyrion escapes with the help of his brother, Jamie. Before leaving King’s Landing, Tyrion kills his father, Tywin Lannister.
Season 5 begins as Tyrion, shoved into a box, arrives in the land of Essos across the Narrow Sea. He encounters Jorah Mormont, who was exiled by Daenerys Targaryen in the previous season. During this time, the Boltons have taken control of Winterfell, with Roose Bolton being named the Warden of the North and Ramsay Snow finally being officially acknowledged as a Bolton. While all of this is going on, King’s Landing is being beset by a new faction called The Faith Militant, lead by the mysterious High Sparrow. Brutally murdering and accosting people who take part in certain….vices, The Faith Militant are a ruthless band of religious fanatics. During the chaos in King’s Landing, the Night’s Watch has elected Jon Snow as the new Lord Commander, even though certain elements hate him. Snow takes a group of Watchmen and takes them and one of the wildling prisoners north to save as many people as they can before the White Walkers show up. Boy, if you thought that Season 3 had some “oh, shit” moments, you haven’t seen anything yet. The story is phenomenal as always, but it really takes no prisoners here. Nobody is safe, not even children. Does that make the show mean-spirited? Not necessarily, especially when you consider the crap that’s happened in OUR history. Except, I’m pretty sure that nobody during Dark Ages faced an ancient army of the dead coming down from the north.
I have to admit, this is constantly keeping me on the edge of my seat, wanting to see what happens next. That’s the mark of a great show. It’s all handled as realistically as possible with characters that you love and hate, especially the ones that you LOVE to hate. They are all very well written and extremely compelling. The people that you thought would be villains don’t end up so black-and-white, so to speak. Everyone here has their own motivations and reasons for what they are doing, even scumbags like Ser Allister Thorn of the Night’s Watch has legitimate reasons for doing what he does. Yeah, the good guys definitely lose at times, but they also bounce back. The acting, as usual, is extremely top-notch.
The visual effects are astounding. The dragons are spectacular. When they enter the picture, the pace just quickens and is absolutely astonishing. The fight sequences are simply marvelous to behold, especially in the Arena towards the end of the season. I have to admit, I really appreciate the fact that they employ practical effects when it comes to the blood and gore…mostly. There are certain moments that require CGI, but it’s all done very well. The music by Ramin Djawadi is epic and haunting.
There are a couple of major set-pieces during the season. The first is the invasion of the White Walkers in the north, and this is not only epic, but it’s terrifying the way these suckers move. Then you get your first glimpse of the Night King, the leader of the Walkers. It’s brutal. The second is when a group of assassins known as the Sons of the Harpy. These were former slavers fighting against Daenerys’ rule. It’s an epic battle, especially when the largest dragon enters the picture. The battles in this show rival almost anything that’s come before in movies. I’m not kidding.
Overall, it’s definitely an amazing and thrilling season that changes things going forward. I have to admit, I was skeptical when I first heard about Game of Thrones. I really was, but here I am, 5 seasons in and I’m captivated. It’s that good. Tomorrow marks the end of my current journey through Westeros until season 7 airs next year. This has been one of the most awesome experiences that I’ve had on this website. It’s been truly gratifying. Now, when I finish Season 6, I will do an overall review of the show in general and give my final thoughts of Game of Thrones.
Score for the season: 9/10