Side Note: I have not read the books. This post is strictly dealing with the TV show.
Game of Thrones has always been appealing due to its ability to successfully walk a line between hope and despair. The world of Westeros, and Essos, is a brutal one where the powerful rule with brute force, political games, and knowing just who to be friends or enemies with. Even then, the powerful don't always rule for long ever since the cascade of drama that the execution of Ned Stark started. However, the series has always been able to provide just enough hope that things can and could be better even with the impending doom of the White Walkers.
Season 5, however, was a season where despair, pain, suffering, and hopelessness routinely won out. There are only brief moments of hope, and even then, they are severely compromised.
To show you what I mean, lets go on a tour of each locations story arc. Click the article title to read the full post.
The Wall
Jon Snow somehow went from "UGH, boringest ever" to most intriguing storyline in, like, 2 episodes. At no point this season did the feeling of hope get raised and nurturied, only to be violently beaten down in the final scene of the season (more on that in a second). Jon Snow seems to be the only person, aside from Sam, in Westeros to try to make any preperations for the White Walker invasion. His hope that the Night's Watch and the Free Folk can set their differences aside for the obvious uber threat is something that permeates through most of the season.
"Come at me Bro"
Then, in one final scene, it is flushed down the toilet. Despair and darkness rule this season, and no where is it more evident in the murder of Jon Snow.
(BTW, does anybody actually believe Jon Snow is gonna stay dead? Yes, interviews with Kit Harrington and with the producers say he is going to stay dead but I call red herring....or more like Red Witch AMIRITE??? Uhh.....anyway, Melisandre just happens to show up at Castle Black without any clear future story arc? I don't buy it.)
Dorne
Probably the weakest storyline since all it did was buy time before the inevitable Lannister - Martell war (I'd put money down in Vegas on this arc happening I'm so confident), but it did show hope failing yet again when Prince Doran's attempts at diplomacy fail in the finale when Ellaria Sand kisses "Lannister daughter who had 10 lines of dialogue" with poison.
I don't really care though because the Sand Snakes are awesome. Boobs aside, they were really fun in a world that doesn't see many characters like them. I hope to see more of them again....boobs aside.
"You talking about my boobs, Jason?"
Winterfell - House Bolton and House Baratheon.
This is a weird area and BY FAR the most controversial and I'm not hiding this in the middle of the post, shut up.
The Boltons, particularly Ramsey Bolton, are the most obvious bad guys since Lord of the Rings made Sauron an eyeball made of fire. The Boltons were always "those other dudes" until the Red Wedding. There is no shade of grey here.
So this makes the Sansa Stark rape scene troubling. It's not out of character because....well, what did you think would happen? But, it's very poorly foreshadowed as Lord Baelish seemed to be training her to be some sort of super spy, and it isn't in the books. This begs the question of wither this was just for shock value.
I'd argue the Jaime-Cersei rape scene in season 4 is worse because it comes out of nowhere, it doesn't make sense storywise and is completely out of character. Jamie was slowly becoming sympathetic, only for that sympathy to be tossed away like yesterday's trash in one scene. This makes the rape scene more problematic than, "being a rape scene".
I'm of the opinion that shocking, hard to watch drama is okay when handled correctly, including rape scenes. The Sansa rape scene is unlike the Lannister one because it's still hard to watch but completely IN CHARACTER....yet still handled poorly. Her life being in danger, as the story arc seems to claim the rape scene as needed, could have easily been implied or DOWNRIGHT OBVIOUS because the Boltons are monsters. All of the hardened Sansa tutelage under Littlefinger instantly becomes moot. It's almost like she was there just to save Theon from his brainwashing. Disgusting.
Heavy topic at hand. Need a happiness refresher.
Unlike the Boltons, Stannis Baratheon has always been a ruthless son of a bitch but with a glimmer of hope that he used to be a good guy until Melisandre and the Lord of Light cult influenced him. He was the shows anti-hero...then he sacrificed his daughter so that his army could move forward in a snowstorm.
Again, that glimmer of hope is defeated by despair. Stannis is in full blown villain territory...or at least I thought so until that final episode.
Just about everything goes wrong for him. Sure, the snowstorm does pass, but at the expense of half of his troops deserting with all of their horses, his wife committing suicide, Melisdanre peacing the fuckout, and the one guy who could talk him out of any of it, Sir Davos, was already sent to The Wall. Then, Brianne of Tarth, former knight of Renly Baratheon, who was murdered by Stannis, kills him. What a way to go buddy.
(Or DID he? Stupid quick cut. I don't know what would have stopped Brianne mid-swing, I hope this is just to make us all debate if Stannis is really dead so that the trail is taken off of Jon Snow).
As for the scene itself...it was actually well done. Haters gonna hate, I know, but I thought it was appropriately brutal. It never should have happened in THE FIRST PLACE, but her slow walk through the troops, the gradual realization of what was happening on her face, and UGH, the screams. It made you hate life....as well it should. Unlike the Sansa rape scene, this scene had a great deal of artistic merit to it. This was not for pure shock value. This was meant to doom Stannis. May he go fuck a fire ant colony.
I'd like to think this is him pondering said fire ant colony
King's Landing
The 2nd least entertaining part of this season was Cersei fighting with the Tyrell's over rather incremental power. King's Landing is also the setting for a bait and switch style of hope and despair.
The hope comes from Margaery Tyrell, who seems to want to do some actual good, but Cersei is having none of it. She recruits the Faith Militant to throw Margaery in prison for rather questionable sins. But while that hope is put on hold, the despair doubles down as the Faith Militant turns on Cersei for her more obvious sins and the show MANAGES TO PULL OFF THE IMPOSSIBLE.
"Shit is going to go down my son...I mean King."
The finale made me feel a bit of pity for Cersei Lannister. The brutality is more evident in her long, naked walk home than in many other scenes. Cersei has done a lot of shitty things, but even I don't think she deserved that. Granted, a zombie Mountain will probably kill every last Faith Militant now that she is free, but for once, Cersei showed some emotion that wasn't just spite and shrewed maneuvering. It's kind of sad that it took a scene like THAT to make her human, but I think the character needed it.
Note: I know it sounded like I just contradicted myself but I don't think so. Cersei didn't deserve what she got. However, her character was so far into villain territory, without really doing much when you think about it, it took something major for us viewers to take pity on her and throw her a bone. The character needed it, so to speak.
Braavos
Arya does some things for the faceless man who worships the faceless god or god with many faces or fuck if I know.
Outside of the seriously wimpy Lord of Light, the Faceless God seems to have actual magic powers despite being vaguely defined but his assassination targets seem arbitrary at best. I don't really know where this is going but I highly doubt Arya is "all in". She still wants to kill dudes on her list. She can't really do that if she becomes nobody.
Despite not really knowing where this arc is going, the hope versus despair theme is prevalent on a more personal level. The Faceless God offers Arya hope for revenge and possibly a future, but the despair comes from her free will being taken away.
Featured in Season 5...I guess
Meereen
Hope versus despair? How about compromise between the two? Daenerys Targaryan (I'm sorry spellcheck) spent most of season 5 trying to figure out how to rule a city where half the population is violently trying to oust her. Meereen is constantly teetering on the brink of civil war and the Unsullied are having a hard time keeping the peace. She finally decides to marry a local Meereen noble, and reopen the "fighting pits" to free men only (as if), but this fails spectacularly when the Sons of the Harpy attack the main event.
I'm sure this will end well
Why in the holy hell hasn't she unleashed her dragons and burned this awful city to the ground is a mystery, but what is intriguing in this story line is...herself. She wants to "break the wheel" in Westeros but can't control a single city that used to trade slaves. She also has issues controlling her Dragons except when the plot needs her too (Hello end of Episode 9, A Dance With Dragons). I also don't understand why a jet becomes a tank in that scene. You can fly Drogon! Just firebomb them from the air. Why go to the ground? (Nitpicking again. I'm sorry).
But I LOVE Tyrion meeting up with Dany as those scenes are dripping with potential. Kind of like the Arya and Tywin Lannister scenes from season 2 only with less tension, there is no way those scenes can't have amazing dialogue. They essentially want the same thing despite coming from drastically different backgrounds.
Oh wait, nevermind, Dany is stolen by....Dothraki? (Kinda looked like them).
Instead we get Tyrion and "shows up at the last minute" Varys to keep things interesting. I like Tyrion and Varys together, I DO, buuuuut....come on. Why you gotta be like this Game of Thrones?
Why can't obvious story potential happen?
In the end, Dany is betrayed by hope in compromise. Despair reigns triumphant as she is stupidly kidnapped away from the city she is trying to subdue.
Is it odd, that the character who offers the audience the most amount of hope, is fan favorite Tyrion?
They hatin
Patrolling they tryin to catch me ridin dirty
Tryin to catch me ridin dirty
Tryin to catch me ridin dirty
Tryin to catch me ridin dirty
Tryin to catch me ridin dirty
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In the world of Game of Thrones, hope is fleeting. Despair rules in season 5. I hope this is a precursor for better things to come, but I thought this was the weakest season of Game of Thrones yet.*
*Hardhome was still awesome though. It didn't really fit into my thesis, but the battle with the White Walkers was the most tense action scene in recent TV history. Plus, I don't think the writing was even TRYING to be tense. It was just supposed to an overwhelming force coming over the cliffs, then fights. The direction was phenomenal however and I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. I feared for Jon Snow's life more during the White Walker attack than the finale. Game of Thrones could use more tension when they kill off their characters...like they already did with the Red Wedding. The show needs to learn from itself.
As much as the production values have skyrocketed, the show shouldn't forget what got it there in the first place. The show is suddenly very black and white. Only a handful of characters can be questioned if they are good or bad and I don't like that. Remember the balance that made this show great. People talk about the despair, but they remember the hope.
Also, WHERE THE HELL IS BRAN STARK? Don't fucking tell me he's gonna magically save everything.
.....Fucking Hodor.
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If you like fantasy epics, dragons, and magic and shit, read my review of Dragon Age: Inquisition.
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