Show that GoT it almost all right

The finale of the Game of Thrones may have disappointed its fans, but nothing can take away its  scale, magnitude and emotional appeal. The series can easily take a bow as the uncrowned king of television shows

Nonika Singh

If you think this has a happy ending, you haven’t been paying attention.” Not just another dialogue but perhaps the sum total of what Game of Thrones stood for nine long years. Life is not going to be the same for a Game of Thrones fan.  As the much-awaited final season came to a close, great expectations may have come crumbling down for a few of its discerningly critical watchers. But nothing can ever diminish or match the frenzy surrounding the show that has broken all records of viewing. Game of Thrones premiere show was the most tweeted about episode of the show ever, with over five million tweets. The global demand for the premiere of the eighth and final season of Game of Thrones exceeded the demand of every other TV series — setting a new Guinness World Record. 

Perhaps only a GoT aficionado understands the sentiment of millions who have watched this show, kept track of its complex plotline and devious characters for years since it opened in 2011. They have waited with bated breath for the grand finale, fallen in love with its characters, suffered heartbreaks as few of the favourites died.  And are now trying to stomach the final heartbreaking moment; end of the game.

But whatever be your final take on the show, whoever may figure on you’re my favourites’ list, however much you may like to change the climactic moments, the affair with GoT has been enduring/mesmerising/ gripping. Analysts consider the bloody red wedding as the tipping point when the series gained fame and notoriety for bumping off its most lovable characters, thus raising the curiosity quotient sky high. Twist and turns have always been the show’s USP making one of its most enduring characters Tyrion Lannister played by Peter Dinklage proclaim; the series pulls wool over not only its viewers but even its characters. Viewers have been hoodwinked so often that conspiracy and fan theories of all sorts ranging from credible to odious have reigned all the while.

Till last week, who should wear the crown rather, who finally gets to sit on the iron throne were not the only questions that plagued the mind of its curious viewers.  Rather at each turn, the turn of its characters has caused anguish, torment and even sleepless nights. Every single detail has been discussed threadbare. It is not just Arya Stark’s demolition of Night King and his army that got viewers berserk. Even a stray coffee cup inadvertently making it to the show became a topic of animated discussions. Everything about the show has kept its viewers on tenterhooks. Despotic Cersi, her incestuous lover and twin Jamie, her demonic son Jefferoey… the pantheon of characters here may have been so many. But a GoT addict neither lost count nor their arc. Indians may have been slow to turn into GoT addicts but gradually they became the top five fans of GoT across the world.

For fans, there never was a dull moment in GoT. The finale may have been more spectacular than substance. Decoding the GoT phenomenon has kept newspapers busy, one Indian national daily even penned an editorial on its stupendous success. Critics have been in overdrive both affirming and negating the series, especially its eighth season where the penultimate episode The Bells had many wondering and asking why on earth Dragon Queen burned a full city, innocents included.  But Jon Snow may know nothing, Kit Harington the actor does know the kind of hard work that has gone into GoT’s making.  Not only is GoT the most expensive television show with each episode of final season costing around a whopping $15 million. Game of Thrones used 4,000 gallons of artificial blood, 3,748 pounds of rubber to create weapons; 20,000,000 screws and bolts to put sets (and catapults) together; and 24,421 pounds of silicone for prosthetics. Daenerys’ wig took the longest to prepare: two whole months.

Net result was a fantasy seen never before; at another level as real as it gets. The emotionalscape that it offered has been as arresting as its fire-spewing dragons. Come to think of it, how often do you see a show whose most endearing character is a dwarf, another one is a dragon mother, yet another is supposedly illegitimate. If Peter Dinklage received universal acclaim for portraying Tyrion Lannister winning three Prime Time Emmys and also a Golden Globe in 2011, the series itself has been most in demand TV show as also the most pirated. Leaked online more than once, the spoilers invariably preceded the airing of the show and often have been on the mark too. Yet nothing could take the viewers away.

Based on George R.R. Martin’s  A Song of Ice and Fire series, readers of the yet unfinished volumes, may have known from which side winter was coming. But rare has been a viewer who has not been  deceived by its showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss. But then as Tyrion said; It’s easy to confuse ‘what is’ with ‘what ought to be’, especially when ‘what is’ has worked out in your favor.” 

And what GoT is (was) has certainly worked to its advantage. You may have issues with the final winner of the crown, but there is no contesting GoT’s claim to the throne of TV shows. Unmatched it will be for a long, long time before any other series, HBO or otherwise, even the planned prequels, can dislodge it from its numero-uno position. With GoT, the game got bigger. If you think someone can better its story, the biggest thing that unites people, well toss a coin. Right now, it has GoT written over both sides.