Film Essay / Review: Game of Thrones: Best Seasons Ranked (Updated)

Growing up, medieval fantasy was integral part of my childhood. Whether it was playing D&D with David (our friend who was older, our babysitter at times, and also an awesome DM); or, my best friends Marc, Luke, and I creating adventures to go on with fake armor and swords; or, having my mother read The Hobbit to me when I was probably too young to understand the story; or, playing medieval Lego wars with castles and tree fortresses with Blake; or, playing Final Fantasy on the original NES and swearing because of how difficult it was; or, Final Fantasy II, which caused me to cry while watching my friend Luke play the game; or, enjoying a board game of Talisman, which recently has made a major comeback. Or playing Magic the Gathering at C&M Cards and Comics. But, in all honesty, for me, what cemented my love of knights and wizards, of kings and the undead, of magic and swords was reading The Lord of the Rings when I was in fourth grade.

The Lord of the Rings captured my imagination like few works ever have. Perhaps that is why it was, at first, so hard for me to love the films. They were not from my imagination, but rather from Peter Jackson’s. That being said, I have come to love the films, which are masterpieces of epic filmmaking.

So… you can imagine that I was excited when my friend, Luke, who is several years older than I, handed me The Song of Ice and Fire in 1996 when I was in sixth grade. Not since The Lord of the Rings had a fantasy work so captured my imagination. I waited eagerly as each new book came out. Sometimes I waited longer than I ever thought possible. When the TV series began on HBO, I refused to watch it, saying I would wait until Martin finished the series. But after years of waiting, I decided to dive in. Game of Thrones is yet another example of exemplary television, creating a narrative of such length and depth that it can only be told in seasons. We are truly living in the Golden Age of Television.

What follows is a review of the entire television series (the first 7 seasons) of Game of Thrones as we eagerly wait for the last and final season (as well as the next three novels by Martin… I am still waiting… and waiting…). I am looking at the TV show not in comparison to the books, which I love, but rather, from the perspective of a story that is told on the “small screen”. In trying to tackle an entire series, I think the best approach is to take it a season at a time. I have tried my best to rank the seasons, which is an impossible task considering all of them have greatness within them, but here they are!

The best season of Game of Thrones:

4th season: https://www.gourmandfilmwriter.com/home/2018/11/17/film-essays-review-game-of-thrones-best-seasons-ranked-work-in-progress

Second best season:

Season 6 ****

After the lackluster of Season 5 (although some of the great episodes of the series are in that season, look no further than “Hardhome”), Season 6 did not open with the bang of seasons 2 or 3. It began looking like we were in for another long hall, but then, half way through the season, a string of the best episodes ever produced fell into place. It’s amazing how nearing the end of a series, you finally have to start paying off set-ups. Stories have to be concluded. Forcing this conclusion is one of the best things that the writers could have done.

For seasons, the show teased its audience with near miss meetings that we were hoping for. A character shows up, only a little while after the person they loved has left. Arya arriving at the Eyrie after her aunt has passed away and thus missing Sansa. Or again, Arya showing up at the Twins, but just after the Red Wedding. So in “Book of the Stranger”, I thought, here we go again, but instead, when Sansa walks into the courtyard of Castle Black, John sees her and his look of astonishment is fantastic. He is more shocked to her standing there than to see a man come back from the dead. He approaches her cautiously, as if she might vanish in a moment, and then as he gets closer, runs and hugs her.  It is a moment of wonderful joy, built up since the Stark family was separated. This is indeed the season of hope.

This is the season that Dany becomes the leader she was meant to be. This is the season that Tyrion becomes the Hand he as destined to become. This is the season that John leaves the Night’s Watch to become a true “Stark”. This is the season that Sansa grows into the politician that Little Finger was training her to become. This is the season that Arya ceases to be “no one” and instead embraces her name, Arya Stark, grand avenger of the Stark Family. This is the season that Bran becomes the Three Eyed Raven. This is the season that Cersei destroys her last vestige of humanity with the death of her son, Tommen. After all, we are repeatedly reminded that her only good quality is the love of her children. This is the season where Hodor’s name is finally revealed in a profound and brilliant play with time travel. This is the season!

Of course, this is not the end of the story, and building us to a false hope before the final fight is a standard writing technique, bringing the characters to a “supposed high”, in order to fall low again. Certainly that seems to be the trajectory for the final season. Sacrifices and deaths are coming again. But, if you ever need live in hope again, come back to this season and watch Ramsay Bolton getting eaten by his own dogs as Sansa watches on. Has there ever been a more satisfying death in television history?

Not enough can be said about the intelligent storytelling of this scene. The reveal of Hodor’s past is one of the most heartbreaking and brilliant moments of the series. It entered into the American lexicon and the phrase “hold the door” will never be the same. However, this season is also a triumph of direction. For that, look no further than the final two episodes of the season: two of the greatest episodes in all of television history.

“The Battle of Bastards” may be the greatest battle scene ever filmed. That is saying something. I was unsure if anything would ever pass Saving Private Ryan’s Omaha Beach Scene, or Kurosawa’s blood soaked battle at the third castle in Ran. The quality of the air on the fields outside of Winterfell is felt. The cold and chill permeates the scene. The pile of bodies and chaos that erupt as horses charge, arrows fall, random soldier kills random soldier, unsure if they are friend or foe. It is something to behold. Jean Luc-Godard once said that there would never be a battle scene that could show the horrors of war because they are by their very nature exiting. Seeing people drown in dead bodies as the spears and shields of the Bolton army move in… there is no joy in this battle, no excitement, only horror.

Then “The Battle of the Bastards” is matched by the brilliant “Winds of Winter”. The opening sequence, practical in silence, as each main character prepares for the trial of Lawrence Tyrell and Cersei Lannister shows the similarity in each trying to assume power that Tommen holds, but does not want. Even Tommen’s death, jumping between two pillars (Faith and the Crown are the two pillars that hold up society) as the Sept burns in the distance. Those visuals of Cersei’s plan to destroy the city are equaled only by the look Jamie gives her when he returns. He killed a king to prevent the burning of King’s Landing, which she has now succeeded in accomplishing. And finally, the visual of Dany leaving for Westeros with the Dothraki, the Unsullied, the Second Sons, her new allies the Greyjoys, her dragons, and her advisers is breath-taking and something I have been waiting to see for nearly twenty year. What an incredible show.    

Episodes:

“The Red Woman” ***

First episodes in seasons are rarely great in Game of Thrones as they are setting up everything that is to come in the following episodes. “The Red Woman” is no exception. The shocking reveal at the end, where we discover that the Red Priestess, Melisandre, is actually an old woman is indeed, as previously said, shocking, but… it doesn’t add anything to the story. It’s not something that has been dealt with since. We were given this piece of information, but the characters were not. Somehow, I see this as one of the many threads that will never be wrapped up in the coming climax.

The rest of the episode deals with Sansa’s escape from the Bolton’s which does give us the satisfying conclusion to Brienne of Tarth’s quest to save the Stark girls when she finds Sansa and is enlisted into her guard. It also is a wonderful moment for Theon, who we can return to calling Theon rather than Reek, when he informs Sansa that he will not go with her to the wall. Now that she has Brienne, she will protect her better than he ever could. He would have given his life to get her there, but she deserves better. Game of Thrones does a wonderful job of building characters to be monsters and then bringing them to redemption.

There is a lot of mourning in this episode… Sir Davos and the other loyal Night’s Watch mourn Jon’s death, Cersei and Jaime mourn their daughter's death, Ramsey mourns the death of his love, but … in the end nothing much else is happening and certainly nothing of interesting is happening in Mareen. The sooner we end that storyline, the better.

“Home” ** ½

This is the episode that may rank among the worst in the Game of Thrones canon. In an attempt to stretch out the suspense of whether or not Jon Snow would be resurrected (was there any doubt?), he doesn’t revive until after everyone has left and right before the end credits roll. It is not a surprise, nor a shock, nor a satisfying conclusion.

While we wait for that, a lot of plot points are checked off. Euron Greyjoy is introduced in a pathetic excuse for an introduction of a character who had never been mentioned before. His villainy is horribly one dimensional, as opposed to Ramsey, who is also one dimensional, but represents what Jon Snow could have become and will climax in “The Battle of the Bastards”.

We also learn that Yunkai and Astapor have been taken back by the masters (will this cycle never end). Since we have never come to know any of the people in any of these cities, the importance of their freedom remains simply “they were slaves” and yes that is a great cause, but it doesn’t arose the same emotions as mourning the loss of someone you care about or someone you care about losing their freedom.

In the one truly interesting moment, Tyrion removes the chains from two of the dragons. A fascinating set up perhaps that Tyrion may be one of the people to ride a dragon.

“Oathbreaker” *** ½

Contains some moments of both poetry and intrigue, violence and incredible set up. It however doesn’t stand a great episode, just a really solid one. Once again, pieces are being put into place for the coming story which will begin with the next episode.

Varys has a brilliant scene where he interrogates a young woman without ever having to raise his hand or voice. He again shows why he may be the smartest character in the series. It doesn’t add much, except for the fact that the Sons of the Harpies are being funded by the masters of Yunkai and Astapor (like we couldn’t figure that out), but, it’s a nice scene.

Jon Snow finally deals with the traitors who killed him. Having to hang Olly is one of the more difficult moments of this season and is a moment that changes Jon. He now understands the price of leadership. It was one thing to behead Sir Janus who refused an order or to kill the enemy, but, to hang Olly was another stab to his heart. Alistair Thorne is given a great moment right before he dies. He accepts this death. His hatred of the Wildlings lead him to act in what he thought he had to do to preserve the Night’s Watch. And now his Watch has ended. Jon also leaves the Night’s Watch as he died for the Watch and he can now become the Stark he was always meant to be.

But, perhaps the most exciting moment occurs in the distant past. We have been witness to Bran’s growing powers as he trains to become the Three-Eyed Raven. Journeying into the past we previously saw a young Eddard Stark and his brother and sister, as well as a young Hodor who was called Willis and can talk. But this time, we journey with Bran to a moment that is infamous in the lore of Westeros. After the fall of King’s landing to the Baratheon, Stark, Tully, Eyrie forces, Ned Stark road south to Dorne to the Tower of Joy where his sister was “being held hostage.” It is there that Ned fought the man who was claimed to be the greatest swordsman in the world, Sir Arthur Dayne, the Sword of the Morning. Their battle is emblematic of how Game of Thrones treats history. To many, history is sacrosanct. Bran built the wall. The history of Aegon conquering Westeros. The battles on the Wall, etc. PEople grow up learning these histories, just as the North remembers that Ned Stark defeated the greatest swordsman in history. Bran discovers that isn’t true. Sir Arthur Dayne lives up to the hype of his abilities. Fighting with two broadswords in a brilliantly choreographed battle. It was everything I wanted the fights with Grievous to be in Star Wars Episode III. Ned cannot beat him and doesn’t. He is stabbed in the back. Ned cheats… perhaps Ned has lied about other things as well.

“Book of the Stranger” ****

As previously mentioned in my Season recap, this is the episode where Jon and Sansa come together. Of all of the Stark reunions since, this is the one that means the most. Jon and Sansa sharing about how different their lives would have been had they never left Winterfell. How, they are children couldn’t appreciate what they have… but thankfully, they still have each other. Sansa has also come with a mission: they should still have Winterfell. Jon is hesitant to lead again, but a threatening letter from Ramsey pushes him back into the fray.

The Sparrow continues his manipulation and his increasing likelihood of victory but getting Margaery Tyrell to agree to bring King Tommen into the fold. Margarey of course is biding her time for her own power move. The Sparrow is an example of a brilliant actor, brilliantly playing a character whose arc should have been 1 season not 2. They need to move this along.

However, Dany’s storyline which had been stuck in Mareen returns to the forefront with the reintroduction of the Dothraki. Man, I’ve missed them. Dany is brought back to the Great City of the Horses to determine whether she will live out her life with the other widows of Khals or if she will be turned to a slave. Dany has other plans. She immediately establishes an alliance with the other widows. But, when she sees Jorah and Daario, she has a plan. Having been in the temple before, she knows what to expect. She has them bar the doors.

When the Khal’s decide that they will torture and rape Dany, Dany turns the tables on them, turning over the torches. The dried thatched building is perfect timber and goes up quickly in fire. Since the door was barred, the Khal’s all die. The vast legion of Dothraki gather to see their temple burning when, Dany steps out through the fire, unhurt. Everyone bows. She is indeed the last dragon.

“The Door” ****

One of the things that George R Martin has done so well is to play with the tropes of fantasy / science fiction. Perhaps no greater troupe exists in science fiction than time travel, but here, he twists it to provide one of the most brutal of reveals in Television history.

Before that though, Brandon Stark journey back to the earliest of memories. The creation of the White Walkers. The Children of the Forest create the White Walkers as a weapon against man. A fascinating an important reveal that plays to the concept that our greatest enemy is ourselves. The creation of a weapon that turns against the creators; another classic science fiction trope. It also plays up the idea that man destroys nature and that the Children of the Forest felt threatened by the encroachment of man who wants to declare parts of nature their land. As the Children said, thy were here long before man.

Arya’s final journey with the Many Faced god comes into shape as she is assigned to kill an actress, Lady Crane, who plays Cersei (the irony) in a play about the fall of her family. The play is a reminder of how history is changed and that we must question what we are taught. It also is a wonderful journey into a part of the world we haven’t seen. Entertainment. Varys has talked about how he traveled with a group of actors through the free cities, which is exactly what this troupe of actors is doing. Arya gives Lady Crane some insight into Cersei and into losing her son… something Arya may never have thought about… how Cersei and her do share the loss of loved ones.

But, it is Bran’s stupid decision to journey back to where the White Walkers were created, via the tree, to see the Night King who grabs hold of him. His mark now allows them to enter this tree. They are coming.

Bran trying to learn everything he needs to is stuck in the past when the Night King and his forces attack. In the past, trying to warg into Hodor in the present, he accidently wargs into Willis (young Hodor) in the past, causing him to go into seizures and scream “hold the door”.

In the present, Hodor indeed is the last shield of Bran from danger. He stands holding the door as the dead claw at his body, all the while in the past, he continues from seizures screaming “hold the door, hold the door, hold door, hodor”. Has Hodor know this was his fate all of his life? He certainly never let those visions of what is to come affect his love for the Stark family. One of my fears about the future is that Bran will have to kill Hodor again as he is amongst the walking dead.

“Blood of my Blood” ***

A set-up that has lasted nearly 6 seasons comes to fruition: what happened to Uncle Benjen? Picking up with Meera fleeing with Bran from the undead, it seems that Hodor’s sacrifice was going to be in vein. They would still die. Then, a mysterious man appears weilding a ball of flame. Benjen, brought back by the Children of the Forest’s magic, has been trying to fight the White Walkers, preventing them from going too far south.

However, this is the episode where the brilliance of the High Sparrow comes into being. Cersei loses again. She aligned herself with Olenna Tyrell; this time to try and overthrow the High Sparrow right before he forces Queen Margery to make her walk of atonement. After Jaime has led the Tyrell army onto the steps of Baelor, the High Sparrow reveals that the Queen has brought Tommen under his control. Poor Tommen. Unlike anyone else in his family, Tommen is purely innocent; a good hearted kid; and totally unprepared for ruling. Having to banish his Uncle for standing up to the Sparrow, he sends Jaime to retake Riverrun. The only hope Cersei has left is to make her trial a trial by combat.

Arya has also discovered that she is never going to be “no one.” As H’ghar said earlier, “None of the no face men have ever come from a noble house.” There is a reason for that. One does not easily give up the birthright of such nobility. Arya will be a killer, just not one for the many-faced god. She will be Arya Stark and so she decides not to follow through with the assassination of Lady Crane. One of the great moments visually is her retrieving Needle. She is no longer no one.

“No One” ****

Arya’s storyline and training is finally complete. Similar to the subplots of Mareen and Dorne, this has at times not been the highlight of the show. Repetitive and boring at times; however, with the strength of Arya’s character and a number of great moments including revenge on the kid-beater Ser Meryn Trant as well as the friendship with Lady Crane, it ends up working well enough. The final moments where Arya tumbles down the stairs and oranges fall, an allusion to the Godfather, perhaps connecting her assassin ways to those of Michael Corleone (“Today we settle all of the family’s business”). Indeed, Arya seems like she will be settling the family’s business after facing off against the Waif in the dark and then returning her face to the House of Black and White. It is in that moment that she says “A girl’s name is Arya Stark and I am going home.” Such a badass moment.

Too bad this moment didn’t come through a much better villain. The Waif, I’ve always understood to be another version of Arya, is characterless and wanting to murder Arya for no real reason. She has odd powers that are never explained, certainly their limits never are. Either a more specific follower of the many faced god or many more for Arya to interact with to see in the different stages of becoming a person with no name, but something needed to be done.

You can be forgiven if you forgot other things happen in this episode. Tommen’s betrayal of his mother is complete. By eliminating trial by combat throughout the region at the urgency of the High Sparrow, he takes away his mother’s one chance at survival against the High Sparrow. Now, she will have to use more desperate measures. Asking Qyburn immediately after the announcement if his little birds had confirmed the rumors.

Dany also returns to Mareen to finally end the slaver’s rebellion against her. I guess that… now that they are attacking her… she has the perfect excuse to kill them.

“Battle of the Bastards” ****

You can be forgiven if you forgot that this episode begins with the masterful scene that concludes the battle of slaver’s bay. The Battle of the Bastards looms large. Rarely is there almost a single thrust of a story arc in Game of Thrones given the amount of characters and plot lines occurring in different places. To dedicate an episode to basically one location takes away time from other storylines, so it needs to be significant. Perhaps nowhere is this better done than in this episode.

That being said, let’s start with the battle to win slavers’ bay.

For 6 seasons we have waited to see Dragons fight. Old Valyria used dragons to conquer most of Essos, while Aegon used them to conquer the seven kingdoms including burning Harrenhal. They do not disappoint. Watching the power of the three dragon destroy ships, not by simply burning them, but rather the force of their fire-breathing literally breaking the ship into pieces. Filmmaking is a visual medium, which doesn’t have to be narrative. Extraordinary visuals carry epics and this is epic filmmaking.

That epic filmmaking goes even further with the Battle of the Bastards. The unbroken shot of chaos: arrows falling, men being stabbed, horses riding through the chaos. It is a masterful stroke of directing.

The victory in Battle of the Bastards may be John’s, especially since the battle ends in personal combat between John and Ramsey, mirroring the battle of the Trident when Robert Baratheon bested Rhaegar Targaryen in personal combat. Martin loves the idea of history repeating. Another Targaryen coming to conquer Westeros. But, the true victor in this story is Sansa Stark. She has become the successful pupil of Little Finger, correctly surveying the situation and manipulating it to the best of her ability. Thankfully her motives are not selfish, but, rather family oriented. The one moment of personal satisfaction comes from watching Ramsey die. Man… what a satisfying death.

“The Winds of Winter” ****

“Film” (I realize this is TV, but visual dramatic medium that is film) is a visual medium. The meaning should be carried with the visuals without the need of dialogue. Some of the great expanses of filmmaking in modern times have understood this whether the opening nine minutes of There Will Be Blood or Pixar’s opening sequence in Wall-E and Up. Here, the opening, done to some of the best music Games of Thrones has offered, shows the brilliance of Cersei. The visuals of each character moving their own chess pieces in the game of thrones proves her statement to Eddard Stark in the first season, “In the game of thrones, you either win or you die.” Cersei won.

Several other moments crystallize the importance of this episode. The crowning of a new King of the North. Lady Mormont’s incredibly impassioned speech. She may be the new best character. Arya Stark fulfilling the fairytale that Bran told to Meera and Jojen Reed about the person who feeds the children of someone to their relative in the form of a pie. Walder Frey’s death is almost as satisfying as Ramsey’s. It certainly doesn’t contain even the glimmer of compassion that Joffrey's death did. Cersei revealing how heartless she is both in reacting to her son’s suicide and in her punishment for Septa Unella who creating the now famous meme, “shame! shame! shame!” Tyrion being named Hand of the Queen: telling her that he’s never owned a sword. Tyrion never believed that would be able to fulfill a meaningful life as a dwarf, certainly not like his brother Jaime who can wield a sword. It is demonstrated here that he as as much to give as Jamie does. And finally, I am a sucker for great battles (see my words on “The Battle of the Bastards”), loving epic writing. Seeing Dany set sail is one of the most exciting and invigorating images I have ever seen.

Best Episode: “The Winds of Winter”

Impossible to choose… but I had to. The conclusion of storylines I’ve been waiting to see for twenty years took precedent over the best battle I’ve ever seen filmed or one of the best time travel concepts ever.

Worst Episode: “Home”

It dragged on and on. No tension considering we all knew that Jon Snow was going to be resurrected and that Arya would be taken back in to complete her training.

Best Character in this Season: Sansa

This could be so many characters, but, Sansa has been the character who has changed and grown the most. In many ways, she now plays the Game of Thrones as well as Cersei, but, her heart is still loyal to the Starks and the North.