So… this is like one of those things that happens when something gets too big. Gordan Ramsey doesn’t think it’s wonderful to see anyone. And while it may feel right fo Gordan Ramsey’s (stunt double) to say “Dracarys Motha-F’er” promoting HoD there’s just something off about it; other than being “DoH!!!”backwards. It basically says “I’m the guy from REN-fair who loves this too much and am doing it for the life and fun of the project,” but the project I’m working on has no traction. Or… alternatively, it says I have Kenneth Branagh syndrome, which for those of you who don’t really know basically means “I’m such a high maintenance, dismissive, good-looking, blonde guy stuck in yesteryear that I’ve become enmeshed in stories to the point that there’s literally no one home and I have no problem playing the most devoted member of a death cult (Conspiracy) or a confederate KKK colonol turned mechanical spider because it provides me psychological escape, and all the hate for myself I feel is manifested as disgust for my character, this is cathartic.” Not a good place to be. Sorry Kenneth, love you’re work. You’re very talented.
Ok. Here’s the deal.
Game of Thrones was about mystery, intrigue, brutality and political backstabbing.
It was the first thing of its kind to which an entire generation of overly naive (and under-read), as well as over-indulged youths in the English speaking world had been exposed to on television. (Recall, at the time of the Pilot, Hilary Duff was making her appearance on Gossip Girl.) The complete disappearance of pessimism, realism, brutality, and barbarism in popular entertainment at the time, and the generational implications of that. THAT is why GoT gained so much traction.
As entertainment it exposed a world of fragile, overly optimistic minds to the realities of power. It also enjoyed a first mover advantage by always having a “what’s next?”-moment at the end of every new episode. Many people, myself included, watched and rewatched the whole show times over the course of 10 years. By the final season, we were talking like 80 hours of content. That’s a lot.
So here’s the thing… nobody gives a shit what happened prior to the show’s start. Past is prologue. Or, more to the point, prologue is past, or dare I say passé.
GoT ended on a sense of a return to life. Spring awakenings. We watched, we learned, we got over the trauma of Ned stark’s beheading.
Five minutes into this new thing, I see a woman being told she can’t give birth, and they’re gonna have to kill her to save the baby, and I’m like… “umm… ok why am I starting with this again?”
Probably not everyone’s opinion; but I just don’t see this show doing well.
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