The fifth and sixth seasons continue the sprawling fantasy epic - the war of the five kings is ended, and every surviving side has had its losses - the north under occupation, the Lannister family divided, and the Night's Watch decimated, while the dragons have shown their wilders sides in Meereen. No matter what corner of the world, new enemies have emerged, vying for power as those who have it bleed, and all the while the magics of the White Walkers, The Lord of Light and the Faceless Men join the fray as the terrible winter looms ever closer...
In terms of writing quality, this period of the show is a noticeable step down from before - this is down perhaps to the lesser character pairings. In the early seasons, Tyrion and Bronn or Tyrion and Varys or Arya and Tywin made for masterful scenes. Season five, and especially six, simply don't. Scenes seem to serve less and less purpose, and the pairings of characters feel colder, more stiff, and if they don't, they inject out of place humour and jokes that get repetitive and stale (Tyrion constantly making eunuch jokes immediately comes to mind). That isn't to say the whole thing becomes a farce, but you can certainly see the cracks form, which is very sad to say.
Where the writing falls short, the visual effects, location settings and battles all rise, with these two seasons making up for lack before. That may seem superficial, but what it means is the epic scale of the world can be followed through on rather than conveniently skipped - White Walkers can attack in force, and army against army can actually happen on screen, instead of just the aftermath, and dragons can be fully realised as well as a high budget film. This makes the scope and size of the world far more authentic as the wide array of locations and characters are fuller and richer and more colourful. This era of the show has some of the most memorable sequences of it's run as a result
That being said, the direction characters go is now no longer forward towards a goal, but often cyclical, backward or invisible altogether, as some are ruined, return to old states or disappear from the show entirely, only to reappear a season later. Now there are side quests, where once each story was strong in its own right, or stretched so as to stall story progress. In season one, Tyrion is at Winterfell, then the Wall, then the King's Road, then the Vale of Arryn, then the trident, all in the space of ten episodes. Comparing that to his journey in these two seasons, well, I can see which I prefer.
George R.R Martin, and the early show, was made and unmade by the sheer breadth of the world, making it so immersive and yet spiralling out of control, with less and less focus on any one narrative. The show attempts to alleviate this by removing some plotlines altogether, or at least simplifying them. Sometimes this works, other times it doesn't, but the further the show goes, the more this becomes a problem, as what's left is spun out in its place, or the integrity of the story is lost to crossover different groups and factions where they don't fit.
This review has been very critical - the show is still at this point the best fantasy television has to offer - high quality budget, acting, directing and cinematography. The only real benchmark to compare it to is itself in the years prior, and this is where it falls short. The ending of season six is very well done and sets up a new era of the show quite nicely, and threats of the White Walkers are more dangerous than ever before. You have to admire it, regardless of the growing problems, and still left me craving more. But that is a review for another time. Seasons 5 and 6 of Game of Thrones get an 8 out of 10 from me.
8 OUT OF 10
SPOILER SECTION
Season 5
In season five, Stannis and his forces are at the wall with the Night's Watch, aiming to rally the North and win the Wildlings, having to contend with the Boltons now residing in Winterfell. Stannis was a favourite character of mine - a pragmatic, moody figure whose dispassionate logic conflicts with his supporting of Melisandre's religion and the 'Lord of Light'. However, he seems to have less to do this season, as he stays at Castle Black, then marches to Winterfell, is bested by the harsh heather and sacrifices his daughter, only to lose the battle in what amounts to a massacre, and is finished of by Brienne.
It makes far more sense to me if, having made the sacrifice, he were to win, and become an even more ambiguous character, one people like Jon need to rely on but fear, and a legitimate rival to the Lannisters - an underdog turned corrupt, that might even lead to Jon having to leave the Night's Watch and overthrow him. His death and the loss of his army as a faction on the board only serves to lengthen the Bolton conflict and delay the actual battle until the next season - as well as lessening the number of characters required for the writers to juggle.
Arya's training among the Faceless Men of Braavos is lengthy and doesn't go anywhere, while Sansa is married off by Littlefinger to Ramsay Bolton, a move that makes little sense in the context of his character, and once again puts Sansa at the mercy of the most heinous and unlikeable villains of the story - keeping her in a holding pattern. Bran doesn't even appear after a fairly strong cliffhanger at the end of season four.
Tyrion begins a journey to meet and serve Daenerys, though is drunk and cynical the whole way after killing Shae and his father. Understandable, but what made Tyrion likeable is somehow lost. His wittiness and charm got him out of tough situations before, but now he as at his wits end and mostly charmless - and never really gets out of this state. It doesn't help either that he doesn't really have anyone compelling to play off against. In King's Landing in the early seasons, he had his rivalries amongst his family and political scheming against Littlefinger and Varys. By himself or with Jorah or with Daenerys, he has little to do but joke and drink.
Jon's story is slow, but picks up when he goes to Hardhome to rally the Freefolk to go South past the wall, putting him at odds with many of his brothers in the Night's Watch. Then the whole thing goes awry when the White Walkers arrive, and he must prove his intentions by battling the dead as they lay siege to the settlement in the first truly epic battle against them. We see giants, wights, White Walkers and Jon Snow himself battle as the Freefolk evacuate on boats, and the haunting image of the Night King stepping forward and resurrecting the dead of the battle, more soldiers in his giant army that covers the coast.
The Freefolk are allowed South, but as a result, Jon is betrayed, and murdered by Thorne and a group of mutineers - an unfortunate but logical conclusion all things considered, much like the Red Wedding. The events at the wall were definitely a highlight this season, escalating the conflicts of before, though it did take a while for them to reach their stride as they had to manage Stannis as well in the first few episodes.
The worst of all the plots was the one in Dorne, however. Following Oberyn's death, the Sandsnakes of Dorne, his bastard daughters, want Myrcella dead, and a threat is sent to King's Landing. Cersei sends Jaime to retrieve her, and he brings Bronn along with him. Their dynamic is sound, but the whole mission is farcical, with Jaime essentially unable to fight due to losing his hand, and again only serves to limit the number of characters and plots at play by killing Myrcella at the end anyway. For the first time, the show has side quests that don't really go anywhere, and coupled with some really quite cringey dialogue from the Sandsnakes, the show's intergrity is permanently damaged.
In King's Landing, Cersei appoints the Highsparrow, a leader of a pious religious faction dedicated to helping the poor and punishing the sinful, no matter their house or rank, to High Septon, and reinstalls the Faith Militant, seeing it as a means to get out of her betrothal to Loras Tyrell by exposing his homosexual activities. However, the plan goes wrong when she is also arrested for her incestuous sexual acts with her cousin, and must atone through imprisonment, confession and a humiliating walk of shame. This plot is well structured and incredibly well acted, but one can't help but see the lack of colourful characters left in King's Landing, with most having left or only appearing for a limited time, leaving only Cersei, Margery, Olenna and the High Sparrow as notable highlights, showing the fragmented quality of the season.
Season 6
Season six seems more eventful than its predecessor, specifically with the Battle of the Bastards and the Sept explosion in the Winds of Winter. However, I think the writing on the whole is a downgrade - Arya's story is just as irrelevant, now with a tedious stage performance of earlier events that falls flat on it's face as a source of comedy (although its conclusion, with Arya killing Walder Frey through her new disguising powers). Bran's story picks up again and continues the Night King story, though it becomes clear that Bran's powers are as confusing and ill-explained as ever. The Hodor plot twist was certainly strong, his broken mind and single spoken word a result of his dying moments, and the command to 'hold the door'. However, the nature of this power is unclear - Bran can now see and influence past events, not altering them but becoming a part of them, imposing his will on Hodor and speaking, however briefly, to his father. When and how he does this is unclear, though. Without his powers being fully realised, it is difficult to get on board with his character, since there is little to him beyond it.
Jon is resurrected by Melisandre, and his murderers are quickly executed. Again, this magic is left quite vague - she had never resurrected anyone before, and manages to on her first attempt, now believing him to be Azor Ahai. Considering how quickly it happens, it seems to be a bit of a cop-out of killing him in the first place, done for shock rather than a genuine development in the story. Jon's story from there is outside of the Night's Watch, instead working with an escaped Sansa to take Winterfell from Ramsay Bolton, who killed his father at the start of the season. This plot is one of the better ones of the season, gathering what little of the North he can and rallying them to take back his home - from the Mormonts, Wildlings, a giant, and later the Vale of Arryn, brought by Littlefinger to aid Sansa. We get to see the remnants of various plotlines brought together to claw their way back from destruction in a brutal and bloody battle outside Winterfell.
The problem is that there are some key plot and character problems to bring this battle about - Sansa doesn't tell Jon about the reinforcements coming from the Vale, which could have saved lives during the battle if he held back until they arrived. Littlefinger himself had sound plans before season five, but selling Sansa to the Boltons only cuts his ties to former allies and removes Sansa as an asset he could use. A better plan for him would be to rally the Vale to take Winterfell back and seat Sansa, which would keep in favour with Sansa and have the North supporting him.
Daenerys is held by the Dothraki in Vaes Dothrak, where she manages to kill the khals and take the Dothraki to her army. This seems another sidequest, and allows what was foreshadowed in season one, with dothraki screamers brought across the sea to fight the Lannisters in Westeros. Meanwhile, Tyrion manages Meereen in her absence, but fails when the slavers attack in force. Daenerys returns with her dragons and defeats them, leaving Meereen free and letting her finally leave for Westeros. Her story feels stretched and prolonged - an exiled princess fighting tooth and nail to reclaim her birthright is a great point for a character - the first season shows the harsh reality of this, the second is quite slow but begins her rise to power, the third grants her an army and shows her ability for conquest, and the fourth shows her ability to rule. But season five and six just prolong her time in Essos when her main goal is claiming the Iron Throne, limiting how much I can enjoy this plotline.
Jaime is partly in King's Landing confronting the High Sparrow, and partly outside Riverrun, organising its siege. This part is in the book, and rounds out the plot threads unresolved from the season three and the Red Wedding. But, like in season five, it does feel like a side-quest for him - he doesn't fit in the main narrative, so he is something for him to do during the season, which is definitely a shame, since his character is one of the most well-acted and compelling.
Cersei is confined to the Red Keep awaiting trial by the High Sparrow, but she nurtures a plan to be realised in the final episode of the season - setting alight a wildfire deposit beneath the sept during the beginning of the trial, ridding her of the Sparrows and all Tyrells except Olenna. Tommen is distraught, and jumps out the window, which leaves Cersei as queen. The final episode is done very well, building the suspense of the explosion through a series of murders, spies and hints that something is very wrong. However, Cersei's reaction to Tommen's death is more than a little underwhelming. A huge part of her character was being protective of her children, but now that her last remaining one has died - by his own hand and because of her actions - you would expect her to break down, perhaps even going mad as she sits the throne, but it never really happens.
The season ends with an alliance between Daenerys, Dorne and Highgarden, sailing to Westeros to begin conquering Cersei and taking the throne - an excellent cliffhanger, in a bit of a muddy context.
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