I just finished watched Season 1 of HBO’s Game of Thrones, and I have to say that it more than lived up to the excellent and exciting hype! The show was marvelous, the characters were well-rounded and fun to watch and the cliffhangers for Season 2 were downright brilliant. Amazing, amazing show. I’d thought about doing a full, in-depth review, but I wouldn’t want to spoil anything for anyone else. I’m glad now that I have not read the books because I wouldn’t want any of this spoiled.

Especially that final scene!

Boromir no more!

Like I said, I won’t get into spoilers. But I can talk in general about the show and hopefully you’ll be willing to give it a chance. HBO has created some fantastic shows. Though I’ll admit I’ve never seen a single episode of The Sopranos. Maybe now’s a good time to start. But I saw Carnivale and loved it.  Anyway, Game of Thrones is a medieval tale about politics and personality, with a bit of fantasy thrown in for fun. It’s based on the book series A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin, and is really popular, from what I get off the Interwebs. Though I’d never heard of it until the show started.

Let’s start with an overview. If you take my advice and watch this series, you can use this to better understand what you’re looking at. I know I was a little lost, at least in the beginning.

We find ourselves on the continent of Westeros, with our hero, Ned Stark, played excellently by Sean Bean, of the Lord of the Rings. Ned and his family, Clan Stark, rule over the town of Winterfell far in the north. Ned is a decent and honest man, beholden to the law and trying to do right by his people and his children. His wife Cat is noble and loyal, herself from a lording family. Their children are just as good as their father, not a schemer or villain among them. Rob is the eldest, learning well his father’s lessons. Jon Snow is Ned’s bastard son, and Cat can barely stand to be in the same room with him. But Jon is a good man, and one of the stars of the show. Daughter Sansa is princess-like and regal, while youngest daughter Arya is a spitfire who doesn’t like the idea that she’s destined to just be married off and pop out children. Young son Bran is known for being a good climber, and then there are a few younger children who don’t do much.

Arya Stark has enough awesome for all the children. Remember that.

Ned would like nothing more than to take care of his people and prepare for the coming winter. For you see, in Westeros, the seasons aren’t like here in the real world. They’re split between Summers and Winters, both of which can last years on end. And years of harsh, cold, dark Winter can be brutal. Hence Clan Stark’s catch phrase, “Winter is coming.”

Life will always get harder.

Especially when politics come into play.

In the first episode, Ned gets a visit from his old friend King Robert Baratheon. Nearly 20 years ago, Ned, Robert and their allies dethroned The Mad King and took over rule of Westeros. Robert became ruler of all seven kingdoms, but mostly the land split into different towns and castles, each lorded over by the various family Clans. When they deposed The Mad King, Ned, Robert and their allies split power through various arranged marriages.

Westeros - Click to Enlarge

Robert’s wife is Queen Cersei of Clan Lannister, played by Lena Headley, the queen in 300. She’s a cold, scheming woman whose marriage to King Robert was never anything more than a political move. Clan Lannister is the richest and therefore one of the most powerful clans in all the kingdom. They are known for their blonde hair and their catch phrase, “A Lannister always pays his debts.” The main conflict of the show is between the Lannisters and Starks, with King Robert caught in the middle. The Starks are good, honest people, while the Lannisters are cruel and conniving. Guess which one has more luck in the realm of politics, otherwise known as the Game of Thrones?

Queen Cersei has two brothers: the handsome knight Jaime and the wickedly smart dwarf Tyrion, played with extreme brilliance by Peter Dinklage. He is the standout character of the show. Tyrion is smarter than everyone else, and he knows it. Because he’s a dwarf, he’s always been looked down upon, especially by his father, the head of Clan Lannister. So he’s had to work extra hard to get everything in life, made much easier by his wit and his charm. You can never tell who’s side Tyrion is on, but in a good way. He may be a schemer and a Lannister, but you can sort of tell that Tyrion is a good person. So watching his journey through the show is one of the best parts!

Awesomeness squared

At any rate, King Robert has come to visit his old friend Ned Stark because he needs Ned to serve as his right-hand man in the capital, King’s Landing. The old right-hand man died under mysterious circumstances, or so Ned begins to discover once he moves into his new home. The show follows the adventures of Ned and his two daughters as they try to fit in at King’s Landing, while the rest of his family continues to preside over Winterfell. If you love political drama, this is the show for you. There are many schemers and more treachery than you can shake a fist at. There are a lot of surprising twists that I didn’t see coming, and all of the characters seem fully-rounded with depth and opinions. Nobody’s intentions are truly clear, which makes for an exciting show to follow.

Along with the political drama, there are two side-stories that add fantasy and barbarian elements to the show. The first is The Wall, located at the northern most tip of Westeros. The Wall is simply that, a giant, manmade wall that separates the continent from the mysterious and fearsome north, a wintery land where giants and monsters are rumored to dwell. A thousand years ago, the people of Westeros repelled an invasion by the White Walkers, and ever since, the noble brotherhood of the Nightwatch has guarded The Wall. But a thousand years have passed, and the Nightwatch isn’t the proud group it once was. They’re made up of criminals, runaways and only a few true knights.

So what are they going to do when the White Walkers return?

And what’s the kingdom going to do? The White Walkers don’t give a shit about all the petty bickering and politics. There are some really awesome scenes towards the end of the season, when the threat beyond The Wall starts getting more real. Because what does the game of thrones really matter when literal monsters are going to start invading the land?

The barbarian saga comes from across the sea, where the last two children of The Mad King were exiled. Fair-haired Daenerys Targaryen and her conniving brother Viserys long to take back their rightful throne from King Robert, but they’re just two people. So Viserys, a truly evil man, force-marries his sister to Khal Drogo, the barbarian ruler of the horselords. Viserys intends to use the horselord army to go back across the sea and fight King Robert’s armies. But the meek Daenerys quickly takes to barbarian life, and by the end of the season, she’s got a few surprises up her sleeve.

Not the least of which is boobs. There's a lot of nudity in this show

So that’s the show in a nutshell. Again, I highly recommend you watch. They’re already working on Season 2, so you know it’s going to be around for awhile. The politics are great to behold, with some truly surprising twists and turns. The characters are really fun, especially Tyrion the dwarf and Arya the youngest daughter. Even subplots that don’t seem to be very interesting in the beginning, like The Wall and the horselords, turn out to be truly awesome in the end.

There are a lot of characters and a lot of names that one has to try and remember, and it can be difficult at first. But if you pay attention, you’ll get the hang of it. Like any fantasy world, such as Lord of the Rings, it’s not difficult at all to immerse yourself in the goings on of the world. Strange and volatile Westeros may be, but it’s an awesome place to visit.