A Storm of Substandard Writing: Analyses on What Went Wrong with the Later Seasons of Game of Thrones

Abstract

This thesis discusses the television series Game of Thrones and how they are adapted from George R.R. Martin's book series A Song of Ice and Fire. Game of Thrones is an enormously successful television show that broke many records regarding viewing numbers and awards. The development of adaptation is discussed, and the expectations for quality television regarding Game of Thrones and how the last season and the series conclusion disappointed many fans. The first seasons were mostly faithful to the novels and added to the source material to give new perspectives. They, therefore, looked like a promising start for an adaptation to novels that were considered by many to be unadaptable. Later seasons did not prove to live up to the expectations of many fans of the novels. However, many non-book fans also felt that the story did not live up to expectations from earlier seasons. Game of Thrones is far from the only book adaptation that receives mixed reviews or television series to get fans complaining about the change of pace from earlier seasons that were regarded as quality television. The thesis explores how women are represented within the series as well as taking a closer look at the development of three central characters, Sansa, Daenerys and Tyrion, within the story and their journeys from earlier to later seasons of Game of Thrones. They are all examples of how the showrunners lost sight of their stories and characters' developments in later seasons. The problematic aspects of later seasons of Game of Thrones do not stem from the fact that the show is not a completely faithful adaptation of the novels since earlier seasons changed many aspects of the story. The problem with the later seasons is that the showrunners are unable to continue the high standards of quality television that earlier seasons set.