TV REVIEWS: Game of Thrones Season 1.

Game of Thrones Season 1.

So, I'm a little bit behind the times as I only just started on the Game of Thrones series and the only thing that upsets me is that I did not start this series sooner. This is an absolutely phenomenal debut season that has had me hooked for the past four days. (Yes, I sat in bed and watched the entire season for four days in a row; no, I do not have a life). I had heard many, many, great things about this show prior to watching it, so I was fully prepared for 10 hours of awesomeness, but I was still amazed by how much I loved it. This is a TV adaptation of A Song of Ice and Fire, George R. R. Martin's series of fantasy novels, the first of which is titled A Game of Thrones, which I fully intend to read now.

It's hard to describe exactly what Game of Thrones is about as there are so many different strands to the story line. At first this confused me a bit as I didn't really see how they all fitted together, but, having reached the end of season one I now see how all these different plot strands tie in together, and it's all very clever. Here is a summary written by Tfilm78 and Cajunman: Seven noble families fight for control of the mythical land of Westeros. Political and sexual intrigue is pervasive. Robert Baratheon, King of Westeros, asks his old friend Eddard, Lord Stark, to serve as Hand of the King, or highest official. Secretly warned that the previous Hand was assassinated, Eddard accepts in order to investigate further. Meanwhile the Queen's family, the Lannisters, may be hatching a plot to take power. Across the sea, the last members of the previous and deposed ruling family, the Targaryens, are also scheming to regain the throne. The friction between the houses Stark, Lannister and Baratheon, and with the remaining great houses Greyjoy, Tully, Arryn, and Tyrell, leads to full-scale war. All while a very ancient evil awakens in the farthest north. Amidst the war and political confusion, a neglected military order of misfits, the Night's Watch, is all that stands between the realms of men and icy horrors beyond.


An absolutely brilliant cast helped considerably to make this series great. Every episode, new characters were introduced and I was always pleasantly surprised to see familiar British faces, all of whom are well known and talented. It was not only the older actors who impressed me, but also the younger ones. Usually with child actors you find that their performances aren't that strong, but it is evident that there is potential for future growth. The difference with these young actors and actresses is that they've already developed their acting skills to such a level that they are just as good and as convincing as their adult co-stars. Some of the main actors include: Sean Bean, Peter Dinklage, Lena Headey, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Michelle Fairley, Emilia Clarke, Aidan Gillan, Iain Glen, Kit Harington, Charles Dance, Liam Cunningham, Isaac Hempstead-Wright, Richard Madden, Sophie Turner, Maisie Williams, Jack Gleeson, Alfie Allen, John Bradly, Rory McCann, Natalie Dormer, Stephen Dillane, Carice van Houten, James Cosmo, Sibil Kekilli, Jerome Flynn, Conleth Hill, Mark Addy, Harry Lloyd and Jason Momoa. (That was just the main characters!).
You may not recognise all the names, but I guarantee that you will recognise their faces. There were many surprises as I saw some well known actors from many of teenage fantasy films that I have watched so the younger audience will definitely recognise them. The older actors are also instantly recognisable, even if you can't place them, you'll have seen them before. The actors are all British despite this show being an American production (YAY for Britain!).

Game of Thrones is aired on HBO, alongside the likes of True Blood, so it's not surprising that this show is full of gory, borderline horrific, scenes, as well as scenes of a (very) sexual nature. I think someone should invent a 'Game of Thrones Drinking Game'. If you took a shot for every time you saw a man or woman's private parts and a shot for every time you saw blood spurting out of a dying body, you would be very drunk, very quickly. I am no stranger to gore, nor horror, though I still found myself twitching as I watched some of these scenes. I am glad to say; however, that these scenes are very realistic. It is so easy for these incredibly bloody scenes to just look ridiculous as if there's coloured water or ketchup flying across the scene, but these shots are very realistic, in fact, a little too realistic for my liking. It is clear that incredible detail has been put into making these scenes as realistic as possible because the camera often zooms in on the characters wounds and I have believed that every single one of them could have been real. These scenes are often quite impromptu as well which makes them all the more dramatic and shocking.

My one criticism of this show is that I'm still not really sure about whether magic exists in this world or not. For the most part it seems that it doesn't, and yet there are moments when it is mentioned but never fully explored. I am now assuming that is does, but I am still not one hunded percent sure. In addition, the plot strand that was revealed in the very first scene was never really explored but I was always wondering about it in the back of my mind. There was a little more development of this in the last episode and I hope that this will be fully explained in season 2.


Game of Thrones is an incredible series that I cannot recommend enough! I'd say that this show would be great for fans of Merlin and Lord of the Rings as there are some similarities between them. I did find myself covering my eyes or gasping with shock on many occasions, so this show is definitely not for the faint hearted. Just to prove how awesome it is, here's a random fact: The first season debuted in the U.S. on April 17, 2011. Two days later, it was picked up for a second season, which began airing on April 1, 2012. Nine days later, it was picked up for a third season.