Why Season 1 of Game of Thrones Is SO GREAT

after watching season eight dozens of times and slowly losing my soul to the abyss of dog [ __ ] storytelling i decided to take a look at season one of game of thrones to get a sense of when it was a great show when you play the game of thrones you win or you die it has obviously taken a large downturn after season seven and i really wanted to understand why the earlier seasons were so much better most people say that it was just the writing but i'll take a closer look than just saying writing good and writing bad so the question is how does season one operate in a way that makes it one of the best seasons of game of thrones so i'll go over five main reasons as to why season one is so goddamn great there is no middle ground so for the first point i want to talk about the efficiency of storytelling that season one has not next year not tomorrow first of all season one has a lot to do in terms of getting everything started it has to introduce us to the world of game of thrones show us the different regions cities houses develop over 70 characters set up the relationships between all of them foreshadow upcoming events in the story and set up the driving conflict of the show that is a lot of content for any first season to deal with that and most other shows only have to deal with a handful of characters but somehow game of thrones can deal with copious amounts of characters to deal with this massive undertaking season 1 has to be more efficient in its execution of setting up these different pieces of the story there are a lot of examples and one of the most clever ones to me is when ned stark is investigating the lineage of baratheon and finds out a revelation about joffrey robert baratheon black affair joffrey baratheon golden head the reason why this is efficient storytelling is because this scene accomplishes two goals at the same time on one hand netstar is propelling the plot forward with a twist reveal that joffrey is a lannister and on the other hand we get exposition on the other houses of westeros and we learn more about the world since ned stark has to read a book titled the lineage in histories of the great houses of the seven kingdoms to move the plot forward we get free exposition if this was figured out in an alternative way like say just interrogating someone about the issue then we don't get that clever addition of exposition also upon second watch through this lends a lot of detail for the viewer there is so much detail packed into these shots that you can practically just pause the show and read it although the handwriting is pretty abysmal another clever example of the efficient storytelling is that arya's instructor cereal pharrell is from braavos the reason why this is efficient is because syrio educates us about braavos which just so happens to be where arya goes because of the faceless men just like the scene with ned stark this scene serves two purposes we build arya's character through her learning how to fight and we get the added benefit of learning more about the world through serial pharrell nine years serio pharrell was first sought to the sea lord of braavos this is not the dance of the westeros we are learning this is the braavos dance there is only one god and his name is death by combining different requirements that the story has to hit like world building and character development the audience can optimally be immersed in the world and not feel bored just so an even smaller example of efficient storytelling that is much more subtle takes place in the very beginning of the show since we have to establish a lot of relationships between characters the show has to find an optimal way to establish those relationships quickly this example is between jon snow and lady catelyn in the course of like three shots the show establishes that catelyn chose to stand towards jon snow this lets the viewers know their dynamic early on and it shows us how bastards are viewed which will be a recurring conflict for jon snow in the first season you you're ned stark's bastard aren't you did i offend you sorry to put all this together the writers have to trust the intellect of the audience the story doesn't actively hold our hand and in general it rewards people who pay close attention since there is so much information the show has to set up some of that information is in the details thus the intellect of the audience is rewarded with finding out more about the story and world this is why season 1 of game of thrones is so intriguing and it also helps that the first season plays like a mystery which requires the protagonist to soak up a lot of information to figure out solution to the primary conflict your older brother was trained to lead and you were trained to follow i was also trained to kill my enemies your grace as was i it just so happens that everything the protagonist takes in we also take in everything we learn about the world doesn't become a chore like bran learning about the different houses with maester lewin overall in season 1 there is practically no filler every scene has a purpose and because of that the show is very engaging and you just want to keep watching more unlike the later seasons where there is filler and also less episodes so the difference in efficient storytelling is staggering so this is mostly going into the second reason as to why season 1 works so well which is its sub-genre season 1 feels so unique from the other seasons of the show because its core dna is a detective story we follow ned stark while he tries to figure out who killed jon aaron and what he knew it just so happens that this all takes place in a big fantasy world by using this familiar genre that people recognize the show can increase the retention rate of people who don't normally watch fantasies we have all seen murder mysteries before but there isn't a lot of fantasy murder mysteries bringing in this familiarity it gets people on board and the conflict is recognizable so it is therefore easier to follow and you really need a clear conflict to follow so that the audience can take in the world without any sign of confusion it is made very clear in the beginning of the show that the main reason why ned stark goes to king's landing is to figure out the mystery behind john aaron if this news is true and the lannisters conspire against the throne who but you can protect the king they murdered the last hand now you are there to take the job along this adventure we are slowly given exposition and none of it feels forced in this light the subgenre fits perfectly for its first season another reason why i think season 1 is so great is because of the the first season has a much slower pace than the rest of the show and this comes with multiple benefits firstly this is an introductory season so you need to have a slow pace to ease the audience into the world also with this slow pace it supplements the subgenre of the show and allows the mystery of jon aaron to be explored to its full extent you are the king's hand and the king is a fool your friend i know but a fool and doomed unless you save him with the ability to slow things down the show can also include more detail with more detail this makes the viewing experience more enjoyable because you are picking up on things that are more subtle and this also makes re-watching the show much more fun another effect from the slow piece of the season is that the tone of the show feels more gritty soft fat boys like you would have lasted a fortnight on you and still had bones left over for soup season one marinates moments and molds the characters that react to those moments one of the best examples of this is the very beginning where we get an extended sequence of ned stark beheading a deserter this sets the tone of the season perfectly and we get character development for several people we have bran as he's first witnessing justice we have an example of ned stark's code of passing the sentence and swinging the sword and we have other subtle reactions from rob theon and john also with this slower pace we tend to get more dialogue i'll go into the dialogue more later but dialogue scenes in the first season are so much better than any action scene in the later seasons in essence the characters use words to spar against each other because as varus points out information is power and not long after that when i saw you escorting a certain foreign dignitary council business of course you would have friends from across the narrow sea you're from there yourself after all we're friends aren't we lord varys i would say some of the best fight scenes are between varys and littlefinger because they are literally fighting with their wits also with these scenes we get the added benefit of learning more about their character instead of a popcorn action scene where we don't get a lot of information about someone two people whacking their swords at each other is entertaining for a time but a fierce battle of dialogue offers more in value for the overall story the problem with the later seasons is that it loses the balance of action and dialogue that the first few seasons have sure you can have extended action sequences but it quickly becomes dull when your characters drown out from an over reliance on action this isn't an issue with season one season one uses its action very meticulously and even when there is an action scene it isn't long and drawn out for visual spectacle but it is more like a samurai doll to determine a character's value like the fight between jaime and ned cements this fact they are basically having a battle for their reputation and the fight has more to offer than just action also with the change of pace in the daenerys plotline we get some more fight scenes with the dothraki because it's within their nature that want for action that audience exhibits is mostly quenched because the dothraki culture is more violent also with jon snow he is training to be in the night's watch so that also offers more action along with cyril pharrell teaching arya how to fight dead so the pace in general isn't a complete slog and there's a lot of variety season one finds that sweet spot of balancing slow burn mystery and the addition of action through separate plot lines lord snow here grew up in a castle spitting down on the likes of you another point that i have to mention while on the subject of pace is how long it takes people to travel around westeros obviously in the later seasons they practically feel like they are teleporting and that also accounts for the breakneck pace of the later seasons but with season 1 it actually takes like a month to travel from king's landing to winterfell take me to your crypt i want to pay my respects we've been riding for a month my love surely the dead can wait ned it makes the show feel more grounded and realistic it's like oh it actually took you that long to get from point a to point b and it gives you a sense of what the scale of the world is like when daenerys is zipping from dragonstone to highgarden we lose that sense of scale that they are on an entire continent but in season 1 when the characters are going on long journeys they give them moments to develop their character with more dialogue scenes like ned stark and robert baratheon discussing their time together we never had the chance to be young what they call a few chances jon snow and tyrion talking to each other at the campfire tearing and brawn bickering at each other while walking through the country season one is able to retain that scale of the world while simultaneously giving us character building dialogue all of the traveling scenes aren't boring because we actively get dialogue that's intriguing remember this whatever that price i'll beat it i like living it does more to have these dialogue scenes while on the road because we actualize the world that they live in the pacing in general because of all this just feels much more natural another aspect about season 1 that helps a slower pace is the use of cliffhangers having those sharp twists in the narrative keeps things interesting and unpredictable also by having them at the end of your episodes it instills a need to watch the next part of the story it also creates tension within your story that something bad could happen at any time that's why there is an aura of suspense within season 1 which helps its subgenre being a mystery slash detective story since there isn't a lot of action the filmmakers tend to make up for that in deceit and betrayal as a product from the build-up of the show's slow pace i did warn you not to trust me when ned stark gets betrayed in season 1 it feels much better than any foreign portrayal in season 7 or 8 because of its build up a mirror of ned stark's betrayal is in season 7 where sansa kills littlefinger the difference with season 7 is that there is no build up to allude to the outcome of littlefinger's death a scene happens off screen where bran informs arya and sansa about all the wrongdoings littlefinger has done by not showing the audience's information you are creating a twist for the sake of shock value for season 1 however they literally build up the betrayal of ned stark and even tease at it when littlefinger warns that stark not to trust him but baelish perhaps i was wrong to distrust you distrusting me was the wisest thing you've done since you climbed off your horse since season one inherently has that slower pace for the story to build up his drama effectively it will always have a better payoff because of that so the next reason why season 1 is so great is because of the dialogue but what makes good dialogue good dialogue isn't just witty lines it's dialogue that perfectly reflects the character within a world the future of our family will be determined in these next few months we could establish a dynasty that will last a thousand years or we could collapse into nothing as the targaryens with dialogue that reflects character in a good way we can learn more about them and become invested whether or not they are protagonists or the antagonist so in season one game of thrones has its biggest challenge because it has to set up the majority of the characters in the show and make them all feel compelling and interesting that sounds like a massive challenge but season 1 efficiently shows us enough from each character to give us a good idea as to who they are you'll be a soldier and on top of that they heavily allude to future plot lines in their earlier dialogue which further increases re-watchability because stuff like that could have gone over your head the next time we see each other we'll talk about your mother so the dialogue in essence serves three purposes it builds character it moves the plot forward and it builds the world around them so naturally because the dialogue hits those three points it will always feel engaging the reason why the later seasons have a massive decline in quality of dialogue is because most of it only serves one of those points that point being that most of the dialogue is only there to move the plot forward this is one of the reasons why jon snow felt so hollow in season 8. since most of his dialogue became very repetitive that mostly revolved around him complaining about not wanting to be king his character became very uninteresting i never wanted a crown i told you i don't want it it doesn't matter what you want i don't want it i never wanted it i never asked for it i don't want them to kneel for me however in season one he comes off as a normal fleshed out character who has dialogue with more variety also the quality of the lines in the script were much more brilliant for example there are a lot more uses of literary devices like similes metaphors and hyperboles that make the dialogue sound much more intellectual and make it feel of higher quality the person that delivers most of those literary devices is tyrion and in episode one alone he has like four memorable lines never forget what you are the rest of the world will not wear it like armor all dwarves are bastards in their father's eyes i'm sorry i've begun the feast a bit early and this is the first of many courses while in season eight all i can remember is an overabundance of [ __ ] jokes also speaking of the use of humor the humor is never in the forefront of any of the scenes which is a great thing there is humor in season 1 but it's generally used more sparsely and naturally instead of the characters going out of their way to make jokes you heard the hand the king's too fat for his armor go find the breastplate stretcher now also it tends to stick with the more lighthearted and humorous characters like robert baratheon tyrion and braun the humor never breaks character unlike season 8 where even cersei seems to be making jokes i wanted those elephants in season 8 braun basically loses any semblance of intellect and just becomes a quip machine to make the audience laugh and that title's worth as much as a blonde air from your brother's bulls how are his eyes where men believe shut your mouth his jokes in season 1 are actually natural and generally come in response as to what other characters say give me ten good men and some climbing spikes i'll impregnate the [ __ ] since season one of game of thrones doesn't overly rely on comedy as a crutch the quality in general is much better than the later seasons because of that the show can actually take itself seriously and effectively build the drama for the last quick point i want to talk about the uniqueness of season 1. a part of the reason why season 1 is so memorable is because it has a different format from the rest of the seasons the format of season 1 is much different because it is portrayed to follow the point of view of one primary protagonist we do have different subplots but most of the conflict derives from ned stark's story for the other seasons we follow multiple different subplots that eventually enter weave but for season 1 we had one primary driving plot that everyone was attached to by breaking this familiar format of killing your main protagonist the audience is then floored and left in awe to see where the show will go it will always come as a shock before i started the show his death was spoiled for me but it was still surprising because of how unconventional that turn was season 1 breaks the rules of storytelling by killing that primary protagonist and will always be special to watch even for the fifth time i will always think that people will look fondly in season one of game of thrones because the later seasons just became blockbustery with a sole reliance on spectacle i also think that most of the stories like tyrion's adventure ned stark solving a murder mystery daenerys finding out who she is and becoming a badass jon snow becoming a member of the night's watch are all just fun and interesting the whole season doesn't have any dull plot plotlines and from the 5 reasons i talked about i think season 1 is one of the best seasons of the show [Music] you

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Keywords: Game of thrones, HBO, Why Season 1 of Game of Thrones is so great, Season 1, Game of thrones season 1, Best of season 1, Game of thrones season 1 is great, Season 1 is great, video essay, Video essay game of thrones, commentary, Ned Stark, Jon Snow, Ned Stark Death, Season 1 best moments, Supercuts delight, Supercuts delight game of thrones

Id: dy-7xgAbTew

Length: 19min 12sec (1152 seconds)

Published: Thu Aug 13 2020