The third season of Game of Thrones has already reached the halfway point. For those devout to George R.R. Martin’s characters, this torrid pace in regards to storytelling is nothing new — we’ve grown accustom to waiting the better part of a year for the next brief installment, anxiety reaching new highs come late March. For GoT to generate that type of response for the third consecutive year is indicative of a magnificent series that does a lot of things right.
The real challenge for writers and producers of HBO’s Game of Thrones is undoubtedly adapting the source material, thousands of dense pages comprising the literary universe in question. George R.R. Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire is as broad a scope as they come, the type of book that almost requires a supplementary encyclopedia just to keep everything in order. Certain things are lost in the shuffle.
The team behind the HBO adaptation is as successful at bringing Martin’s world to life as you’re likely to find. While occasionally it feels like characters become lost throughout this manic style of storytelling, it’s truly the nature of the beast. Some episodes settle for brief encounters with major players strictly to remind us, yes, they still exist – their contributions just arrive far later down the road.
Game of Thrones’ third installment primarily covers the third book and was wisely chosen to span two seasons – a move that allows Storm of Swords, perhaps the most frenzied novel within the series, all the necessary breathing room to operate upon its prerequisite grand scale. And things just started getting really interesting.
Emily Clarke, who plays Daenerys, has really come into her own after mostly taking a backseat last season. It’s encouraging to witness Clarke’s swift rise to fan favorite status, a status that allows the production team to avoid leaning too heavily upon Peter Dinklage or his Emmy.
In other season 3 news, a lot of bad things are happening for Jaime Lannister.
But the real spotlight now shifts to Richard Madden, Robb Stark, for the remainder of the season. The war he has steadily been losing since claiming power in the North is finally coming to a head, the pieces already in play for some time now. There’s a certain nerdy satisfaction to be gleaned by readers as the dominoes begin to fall.
The table has been set for a masterful finale – where everyone happens to be seated when that time arrives should prove astonishing.
