this post was submitted on 21 Aug 2023
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Interesting ... I'm in a kinda similar boat with GOT. I watched S1-S2, roughly when it came out ... and didn't like it that much. I could see the appeal, but it generally felt like the whole thing was drawn out for the sake of making a long fantasy series without that much character growth or compelling plot lines.
I looked up a summary of plot points from the books that follow and it didn't really change my mind.
Fast forward to season 6, and I end up at friends house watching episodes together. I haven't seen any of it since S2, but figure I'll watch with them. I watch a couple of episodes, and start asking questions generally about how it really wasn't hard to catch up from S2 ... like, it didn't seem much had really changed apart from the Red wedding ... over 3-4 seasons.
And however valid a critique that is ... what was interesting was that many of the fans I was asking this of got really awkward about the questions. They had no answer, no defence, and it seemed apparent to me that their excitement about the show was entirely about expectations for what was to come and that they were mostly ignoring how they actually weren't enjoying the show that much any more. I now know that the show is widely regarded to have gone downhill after S4, though many hadn't really acknowledged that, and that feeling was the nerve I had probably touched. Fastforward, and S8 is coming out, so I figure I'll watch it to see the end ... may as well. And we all know how good that season was.
So, after basically being part of the GoT generation, and watching a lot of it, including the beginning when it came out ... I never got into the show and always thought it was shit.
Funny, my first experience with the show was similar to yours - watched the first season or so and wasn't into it, then started watching again in season ~five with someone else - but I actually started to really enjoy it from there. Granted it only took like a season for it to really go downhill, but it got me interested enough to watch from the beginning once it was over. Despite the knowledge of the terrible conclusion the first few seasons ended up being some of my favorite TV.
Oh I'm sure they're good ... and there were parts I really did enjoy. For me, I just picked up on a sense that they knew they were going to drag this whole thing out, and didn't really need to make me feel the weight of the current moment, and for some reason, that put me off.
When I revisited ... it was late season 6 ... but I never saw the ending of season 6, then I saw bits of season 7 and then all of 8 ... which was probably the worst sample of GoT you could put together!
Wow, that sounds like the worst GoT viewing experience possible lol. I think I can see what you mean; there are definitely a lot of scenes technically unnecessary to move the plot along, and combined with the number of plotlines it makes the story move glacially (not helped by plotline conclusions not necessarily making the impacts you would expect on the story).
I think that's actually a big part of what makes it stand out, though. It gives the world- and character-building a uniquely organic feel that wouldn't be there if the story was the focus, with lots of incidental moments that don't necessarily need any weight. The enjoyment comes more from learning and immersion than anything.
Admittedly I'm all about characters and atmosphere, as long as those are solid I can enjoy something regardless of whatever else it does or doesn't have going. Watching with full spoilers I got basically nothing from any progression in the show; though in a way I think it actually made me appreciate the moment-to-moment of it more when I had zero expectations for the destinations and could just enjoy the progression.
Now that I think about it seeing the last few seasons first might be the right way to watch it lol, if someone's still interested after knowing nothing concludes satisfactorily then it's for them.
I think, as far as my own tastes are concerned. I like world building ... a lot, and would have enjoyed more of that. I like plot and pacing a lot, and get frustrated when it gets muddled. As for character, I prefer my character stuff to be more focused deep. With GoT, it seemed to me that the show struggled to handle all of its characters, at least as deeply as I would have liked.