I don’t often write headlines that I, myself, hate. My title implies some sort of too-cool-for-school hipster attitude about Game of Thrones, implying I think it’s “over” or “out” or “not on fleek” or whatever the kids are saying these days.
But what I’m actually trying to do is set up a conversation based on the show and the books to discuss if it’s possible that Game of Thrones has already peaked creatively, based both on what’s unfolding now in this present season, what we know is coming throughout the rest of the books, and comparing all that to what we've seen previously. Obviously, the show has not peaked from a ratings perspective, as it keeps breaking viewership records every year. But in terms of the events of the series itself? That’s a different story.
My thesis? Game of Thrones peaked with Storm of Swords (here be book spoilers, obviously).
Before Storm of Swords, A Song of Ice and Fire usually had one defining “big” moment per book. In A Game of Thrones (aka, season one) it was the unexpected death of main character Ned Stark. In book two, A Clash of Kings, it was the incredibly well-written (and subsequently well-filmed) Battle of Blackwater Bay.
But Storm of Swords? That’s where things went downright crazy.
In that book alone, we had the Red Wedding (which if there’s one specific moment where the series has peaked, it’s this one) that saw the completely unexpected slaughter of both Catelyn and Robb Stark. But after that, we still have Joffrey’s death at his own wedding, the Oberyn/Mountain trial by combat, Tyrion murdering Shae and his father, and finally the reveal of Lady Stoneheart, a resurrected Catelyn Stark.
That’s one hell of a book.
But in the two books that followed A Feast for Crows and A Dance with Dragons, things slow down. Way down. The two take place at the same time chronologically, so they might as well be one long book, but despite 2200 pages between them, you’ll be hard pressed to find even one moment that matches any of the headlining events of the previous three books. This is where we’re now residing in season five, which I’ve heard described as “slow and boring,” and it’s based on the two lowest rated books in the Ice and Fire series.
The problem? The stakes seem…lower. The great mysteries feel solved. The big reveals are lackluster (or non-existent) and the deaths? They haven’t been handled well. I’ll explain in more detail. (more book spoilers follow).
A big problem after the events of A Storm of Swords, aka, the end of season four, is that the show loses its villains, the Lannisters.
Yes, the Lannisters still exist, but without Joffrey (chaotic evil) and Tywin (lawful evil) around, we’re only left with Tyrion, who has always been a hero, Jaime, who has transformed into a good guy in time, Tommen, the most likable king yet, and Cersei, whose plotline pits her against the Sparrows and the Tyrells, and creates a situation where we don’t even know who to root for. Cersei spends all her time plotting against Margaery Tyrell, a character that’s neither firmly friend or foe to audiences, and the Queen Regent ends up being her own worst enemy. By the end of her arc, you feel some measure of sympathy for Cersei as well, meaning that the Lannisters have become completely erased as villains from the story.
The problem is, no one really steps up to take their place. Far, far north, we have the looming threat of the White Walkers, but their character motivations are hardly complex and interesting, as for all we know, they’re just monsters that want everyone dead. In the east, Daenerys has to deal with her Sons of the Harpy, but again, we know practically nothing about them, and she no longer has a clear adversary like her brother, back in season one. Her consistent lack of a clear villain besides nameless slave masters has been a problem with her story for a long while.
The books spend a good long time on Dorne and the Iron Islands, but neither really end their story with the audience knowing what to make of either group. Dorne wants to dismantle the Lannisters, and considering we like three of the four of them at least by now, I suppose that makes them villains, but not really. The Iron Islands crew seems more explicitly evil, consorting with dark magic and possessing a (supposedly) dragon-taming horn. But they might be cut from the show altogether.
That leaves us with only one real candidate, the Boltons. Roose, who betrayed the Starks and set the entire events of the last few years in motion, and Ramsay, the sadistic crazyperson who makes Joffrey look downright benevolent. I’d argue that yes, these are the last two good villains the show has, and the only ones everyone absolutely wants to see die. The book sets up for a big Jon Snow vs. Ramsay Bolton battle of the bastards, but they kill Snow before that confrontation can take place, and Stannis’ battle with Ramsay and Roose plays out unseen (Ramsay claims to have killed Stannis in a letter to Snow, but who knows).
And this leads into the other issue. In a show all about high profile deaths, there simply aren’t any more on the level of Storm of Swords. The show has tried to create a few “big” moments that aren’t in the books, like killing Jojen Reed last year, and Barristan Selmy this year, but those were both handled awkwardly (there was so much build up for Selmy specifically, only to have him go out in such a nondescript way). And while there is a “big” death coming in the form of Jon Snow at the hands of his Night’s Watch brethren, as I’ve discussed previously it’s A) not confirmed he’s actually dead from the assault and B) there’s no way the show will actually kill him without solving the mystery of his mother and C) in all likelihood he’s also Azor Ahai reborn, and if he does die, he’ll be resurrected by the Lord of Light. Snow’s death would be a huge deal if it was believable, but it isn’t.
Elsewhere, there just aren’t many other “big moments” to be found. The show seems to have cut Lady Stoneheart completely from the script, nixing that jaw-dropping surprise. It’s possible that a reveal of
All of this is to say, it’s hard to know if we’ll ever get back to a place where something like the Red Wedding will truly shock us, or if we’ll ever see a book/season as intense as the non-stop hits of Storm of Swords.
Obviously, I can’t say for sure. There are still two more books to be written, and the one mystery no one can solve is who will be sitting on the Iron Throne when this is all over. It’s possible Martin steps on the gas again, and Winds of Winter or the seventh book makes Storm of Swords look tame, and I'll keep watching no matter what happens. But for now, we’re stuck in a rather slow season based on two really slow books, and the excitement and horror of the Red Wedding seem like a distant memory as we react to new deaths and revelations with yawns or annoyance.
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What would a great Game of Thrones game look like?
