Talkin' Thrones Episode 41 - The Wars to Come (Season 5 Premiere)

Oh man, people, we've crossed the Rubicon. We're officially at the point where Game of Thrones transitions from being great to just...meh. Season 5 is such an interesting conundrum, because some of the best, most awesome moments of the entire show happen this season. The Dragonpit attack, Shireen's tragic death, Davos' speech to Jon, and of course, the real turning point of the show, Hardhome. It signifies a drastic upshift in the production, and a severe downshift in the storytelling, as this is the last season based on any of the books, in fact not one, but two books, both of which portray several different events happening at the same time, A Feast for Crows & a Dance of Dragons. Benioff & Weiss' decision to merge a lot of the major events from both books into one while leaving certain events out for next season is an odd one that proves more and more baffling as the years go on, as the consensus that Dom & Pat come to being that this season, while having some incredible moments, is ultimately streamlined in favor of rushing the story towards its conclusion, a decision that would haunt the legacy of the show and leave this season feeling very rushed and unfulfilled in hindsight. That being said, this episode does an incredible job of setting up the conflicts of the next two seasons, as we're introduced to two major antagonists that will face Cersei & Daenerys, with the Sparrows in King's Landing & the Sons of the Harpy in Meereen. We also get some major context around Cersei, Jon is given an ultimatum by Stannis, Sansa & Littlefinger leave the Vale and Varys offers Tyrion a new place. Keep tuning for more episodes every Friday only on the #talkintvpodcast