Verdict: Good show but it's not for me. My entire hesitation about getting into Game of Thrones was that of the people recommending it to me, none of them were really fantasy fans. For many of them, this was their first-ish brushes with fantasy stuff and that concerned me. During childhood I raised myself on a heavy diet of trashy fantasy books and media so my taste has been honed to a particular swords and sorcery type fantasy
Newsflash: Game of Thrones is not (high) fantasy. I mean, it's fantasy as in it's set in an imaginary world, and there are some elements of the supernatural, but the appeal of the show is the political intrigue, not the heroes and monsters -- literal or humanoid. Basically it's an impressively complex and fully fleshed out world, inspired by the various wars of succession in medieval England, but it's pretty short in the magic department. Yes dragons eventually show up -- I spent an entire late night / early morning devouring the Game of Thrones wiki -- but I assure you that the series is more about who fucked over whom for control of some parcel of land than anything I'd have liked to see.
Game of Thrones is about power, families, war. Unless they want to start bringing in some mystical shit, or interesting other races, or start showing the epic battles, I'm out on all of it. If I'm going to get all wrapped up in historical minutiae, I'd rather just read about the real England.
"Well, I always wanted to be a wizard!"I don't know why but a friend said that it seems like I've bound and gagged my inner geek and stuffed him in the back of a closet somewhere. This friend and I, clearly we haven't hung out enough. In addition, the other day I was tasked with explaining the difference between orcs and goblins. C'mon now, elementary.
-Samwell Tarly-
My friend got a real kick out of me having this kind of (valuable) knowledge. Is my geek flag not flying high enough? Clearly I don't emphasis how much elves, dwarves, and stuff like that play a role in my life -- and self identity. From now on I'm just gonna go around talking about wyverns and wights at parties. Or attend parties where other people talk about this stuff.
As for Homeland, it's definitely a good show. Claire Danes plays a CIA agent who is trying to figure out if a former American P.O.W. has been turned by some terrorists. Suffice to say, I'll watch the former Angela Chase in anything but she's beyond fantastic here. Her character is bipolar and Danes' depiction of her manic state is both spot on and for me, reminiscent of a manic episode from my past.
Sadly, the first season ends in a completely disappointing manner and after the credits rolled, Amanda and I sat outside on her balcony, waiting for the sun to rise, sucking down cigarettes, and railing against the time we'd just invested into Homeland. Sorry Claire, we won't be returning for season two.
The problem with these two shows is that the draw is all about finding out "what happens next." As put forth in this A.V. Club article about The Sopranos and the decline of the episode, some TV series now are just putting forth installments versus episodes.
"Why is treating an episode as an installment a problem? An episode functions unto itself as a piece of entertainment, one that has an ebb and flow that can be enjoyed on its own terms. An installment serves the über-story of that season without regard for accomplishing anything substantial during its running time."I can't invest into stuff like this. I'm as susceptible to getting sucked in as anyone else -- more probably -- but if the show is mostly plot driven and doesn't give me enough magic moments while watching it, my impatience just makes me skip online and read the outcome. It's more satisfying and efficient that way. I hate the feeling of being dragged along week after week.
Mad Men, I need you back soon. Hurry.
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