TV Review: Game of Thrones Season 6
For the past five years Game of Thrones has been the pinnacle of television. That's saying something as this is considered the golden age of television. There are so many great choices on services like Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime that its a little surprising that HBO has been able to keep its level so high with shows like Game of Thrones. The sixth season of one of Jenn and my favorite shows just wrapped up and I would argue its better then ever.
Season 6 marked the first season of Game of Thrones that take place after the five books that George R.R. Martin has written for his planned seven book series. For the first five seasons Game of Thrones held pretty close to the source material with a few exceptions. In Season 6 outside of some conversations with the books authors the show writers seemed to take the conclusion of Game of Thrones into their own hands. What has been five seasons of engaging and often times thrilling chess matches finally comes to a head in the sixth season.
The most noticeable change to a show free of the books is the pacing of Game of Thrones. Season six was a far faster moving, and often more engaging show then before. Whereas in past seasons you might have one or two major revelations the season started with some big ones and didn't let off the gas during the ten episode season. There were a couple of times where things might have moved faster then the show could handle and some decisions to focus on certain characters in the show left me feeling a little puzzled.
What could have been a disaster turned out to be one of the best seasons of Game of Thrones yet. Whether it be Jon, Daenerys, Sansa, Arya, Cersai or Jamie each of the shows key characters made actual progress in their stories in season six. The progress was both warranted and incredibly enjoyable to watch. Jenn and I were high-fiving, screaming in terror and triumph, and all around going nuts with theories throughout the shows sixth season. It was an absolute thrill to watch and we both cannot wait to see where the show ends in its last season or two.
