The fantasy series Game of Thrones by George R.R Martin already had a wide readership when it was launched. Turning that into a series with some significant plot twists was something that the readers were waiting for.
Game of Thrones is no Harry Potter. The series is specifically written and played on screen for adults. The world-building, sketching of the characters, and their personalities adhering to the culture and the environment they are brought up in are taken care of. The contemporary political and social issues of that fictional era are discussed and portrayed through the characters.
Gripping Drama
Drama is a genre that almost everyone enjoys because it has the elements of everything that make a perfect entertainment package. Game of Thrones has it all, from conspiracy to revenge, from action to romance, from falling to rising, and from losing everything to gaining everything. This makes Game of Thrones gripping and the most popular show of all time.
Unexpected Plot Twists
The name "Game of Thrones" itself says that the story will be a fight for the kingdom, a typical drama with sides to support. But as the seasons unfolded, the viewers couldn't decide upon their 'king.' Every time they made a choice, the protagonist would die. For the longest time, the viewers had their eyes on John Snow, but the final episode released on the 19th of May 2019 proved them all wrong. It wasn't just John Snow, but also the viewers who 'knew nothing. Bran Stark or Bran the Broken, the child who went into a coma in Game of Thrones season 1 finally heads the kingdoms.
Branding and Marketing
Apart from that, Game of Thrones marketing and publicity exercises is also something on which significant efforts, energy, and mind have been put in. Promoting the show on every popular television show, selling its merchandise, and sending its prominent actors on the streets to interact with the public has come a long way to make the Seven Kingdoms a 'no fiction.'
Difference between the book and the show
With great popularity comes great spoilers. The makers of the show were very much aware of it, and that's why they had some major plot twists to the show.
Catelyn Stark
The viewers who had already read the book were expecting the return of Catelyn Stark as a walking corpse that did not happen in the show. Her body was to be recovered by Beric Dondarrion and was to come back to life to avenge her son.
Wyman Manderly
Apart from Catelyn Stark, there is another group that wants to kill the Boltons and the Freys and take over the North. After the murder of the Starks, there is a Lord sworn to the House Stark named Wyman Manderly. The man appears loyal to the Freys on the surface, but a much deeper conspiracy goes behind to make John Snow the King in the North.
Tyrion Lannister
The famous half-man of the show Tyrion Lannister's character was altered to make it look kind-hearted and give comic relief to the audience in dark scenes. But the book doesn't seem to portray him in a good light as the show does. Tyrion Lannister is a heartless man who would send his men to die without much guilt. He also had a man killed only to chop off his body and to be placed in his stew. His physical appearance is also changed in the show. The book mentions the chopping off of his nose in the Battle of Blackwater and that he had one black and one green eye.
Sansa
Sansa, who ultimately heads the North, starts off as an 11-year old while the show introduces her as a 13 years old girl. The book mentions her as an intelligent young lady who is well-versed with the history of Westeros and is a multi-instrumentalist.
John Snow
A similar case is that of John Snow. The much-expected king of the Seven Kingdoms starts his journey as a 16-year-old boy in the book, while in the show, he starts his life as a 25-year-old man.
There are many such changes to the story, and all these differences and plot changes in the story gripped the viewers tight and left them wondering about what could happen in the televised version of the Game of Thrones.
Mistakes also count
It was not just the careful casting, their acting, the direction, and all the technical details that caught the world's eyes but also the mistakes that became a topic of discussion even more than the show itself. Who can forget the Starbucks coffee cup kept in front of Daenerys in "The Last of the Starks" episode?
The show ended two years ago, but it still hasn't lost its popularity. The show is much loved and watched on OTT platforms. More viewership is adding up to the series every year, even now when people know the end. The viewers can't resist but watch the series over and over again to treat themselves with shocking plot twists, the clutching drama, and the overall enthralling direction and dialogues that still echo in the GOT fan community. Last but not the least, the characters and their portrayals had such an impact on the viewers' minds that the GOT actors now carry the characters' names wherever they go.
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