Game of Thrones

**The Greatest Story Ever Filmed** It's nothing new that HBO always have the most ambitious projects around, but from 2011 to 2019 they gradually built what I consider the epitome of quality television, and made history. The highly talented show-runners David Benioff and Dan Weiss took the unadaptable giant books by George R. R. Martin and transformed them into this beautifully constructed show, that something of it's kind was never done before. There are so many layers to this story, so many characters and story arcs intertwining with each other that it seems impossible to grasp one man came up with it all. The story Martin created is probably one of the better and most detailed and well-crafted stories of all times, and David and Dan's transformation of the story to the TV medium was beautifully handled. There aren't that many shows when you sit and watch an episode and savor every single scene, if it's the content itself or the many small details that were precisely designed for every frame you watch. It takes a little time to get into the show in the beginning, just because it's very different from what we are generally used to. It's one of those shows that from the very first episode until the last it's just one big story so you just need patience to get used to everything that's going on in there, and after that enjoyment is guaranteed. Above all, the thing the show benefited perhaps the most of is the fact that ever since the day they started writing the first script- the complete story from start to finish was compiled in George's head. Not all the details and specifics of course, but the outline and major plot points were invented years ago when he started working on this huge book series, therefore the production knew exactly where to start, where the story is heading and where it ends, which gave consistency to the story from episode 1 to 73, without getting lost in the way with loose threads. The show gets plenty of criticism for its deviations from the source material season 5 and onwards, but if you just think for a second how enormous this story is it's pretty easy to realize a lot needed to be altered to fit the TV medium, and David and Dan managed to do so while preserving the original essence of Martin's creation, keep the story well constructed and coherent and keep dozens of millions of viewers satisfied, and not only a handful of hard core followers that wanted it to be a page- to-page adaption of the novels. While I enjoyed all the books and didn't agree with a few of the changes they made for the show as well I can see why a lot had to be cut, things don't work the same in books as in television. Considering they knew the ending from the start and the huge amount of details you have to alter just from omitting one storyline if you want to reach the same final goal as the books, I believe it was overall for the best and they knew what they were doing, the story didn't collapse under their hands- at least as far as I'm concerned. One of the most prominent aspects of this show in my opinion is Ramin Djawadi's masterful score which must be one of the most brilliantly unique works ever for a series (whether it's a series of movies or TV series) not only because of the compositions themselves, which are exceptionally beautiful, but also for how the music evolves throughout the seasons and builds the world of the show hand to hand with the writing, the characters and the setting as the story progresses. Also, the way each motif of the music identifies with a certain aspect of the story, though mostly noticeable in later seasons, tells a complete story on its own. Never seen anything like it. All these wordy descriptions couldn't however describe the experience of watching this show live as it aired. The thrill, the off-season anticipation and continuous speculations, the satisfaction of watching a new amazing episode after waiting for so long, the 8-years-long water-cooler talks and the overall influence GoT had on pop culture in the time it was on TV- I'm sure many of us will always remember how it felt, and I'm not sure if we'll get to experience something like that anytime soon. I already watched each season several times, probably more than any other show or movie, and I never get tired of any of it, if it's the well constructed dialogues or blood pumping action sequences. I definitely see myself still constantly revisiting seasons every once in a while from now until further notice. I think the success of the show speaks for itself- the countless awards, high acclaim from casual viewers and critics alike, the major fan following, it's influences on the television landscape and on culture in general- it's a winner in all fronts. In my personal opinion it's the greatest television series ever made, but generally speaking I think it's safe to say this show is for the ages and I think it will be remembered for a long time as one of the greatest cinematic works ever produced. Even almost 2 years after the show ended, it still remains one of the most popular and in-demand shows in the world, which I find pretty amazing. I just hope the uproar on social media will calm down eventually so we can once again all enjoy this show together. People tend to use this word too cheaply these days, but I wouldn't say Game of Thrones is anything short of a masterpiece.