Game of Thrones (Season 4)

[Spinal]

You can really feel the formula all over this series. The narrative drive amounts to this: the writers dangle some clear objective in front of 1-2 characters (usually, reunite with character X or reach destination Y) and then, when the characters are close, they strip away all possibility of achieving that objective and give them some other one to achieve instead (which they probably won't). Repeat, repeat, repeat. That's all well and good for Season 1-2 type storylines; however, we're four years deep now, and everyone's still walking in circles. It's been a four-year game of musical death chairs.

I recently completed the 4th season on DVD. As it's a rare point in time where I am caught up with everyone else, I want to offer a response to the criticism articulated well by DavidSeven above and shared by others.

I think what David's pointing to is actually the most fascinating aspect of the series. There's no question that the show is exemplary is many ways: acting, production design, special effects ... it's all top notch. However, it's the way the showrunners have embraced and underlined Martin's structure that I think makes the show so addictive, heartbreaking and haunting. This is a story that not only undermines heroism but undermines protagonism itself. Shunning a traditional protagonist is something that has been done before obviously. But within the fantasy genre, where the hero's journey is the norm, it's still quite thrilling, quite startling.

Much has been made of the high body count and the show's willingness to off beloved characters. But despite the constant shuffling, the elimination of characters never feels reckless. Each tragedy leads to new developments, new opportunities. Each death adds to the staggering history of violence, betrayal, oppression and deceit. This is D&D Fantasy rewritten as Samuel Beckett. As Beckett's plays illustrated the absurdity of human endeavor in the face of a meaningless, godless world, Game of Thrones allows us to ponder the futility and hopelessness of a world in which the machinations and power plays of men and women seem to spin round and round without gaining traction.

The show knows that we are desperate for someone who will survive to redeem this mess and set it right. It hooks us into their hopes and aspirations. Maybe by the time we get to the end and see everything played out, one or more of these characters will fit the bill. (I have my guesses.) But what's most important right now, I think, is the web. And how the web distracts the characters from addressing the greater threat of the wights.

I have heard others complain about the slothlike progression of the White Walkers. But to me, they function as a potent metaphor for an overriding threat too large to address in the midst of endless squabbling. I always think of climate change, with the wildlings serving as a kind of 'canary in the coal mine', symptoms of the death and desolation that awaits the larger world. There is just enough tension to remind us that we are observing a world largely in denial that it is falling apart.

In short, I trust that the team behind this show has a plan. Even if the show catches up to Martin before the books are released, they know the fates of these characters. They know where this story is heading. They're aren't just making it up as they go along. What they are attempting has an absurd degree of difficulty and they are pulling off something special. I was an admirer of the show before, but this is the season where I really fell in love with the vision.