Decoding the success of HBO's 'Game of Thrones'

April 17, 2011 will forever go down in history as the date when the entire landscape of content created for the small and second screens witnessed a paradigm shift when HBO debuted its series ‘Game of Thrones’. Ever since its premiere this adaptation of ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’, George R. R. Martin's series of fantasy novels has been lauded for various aspects; which includes its amazing production quality, edge of the seat storytelling coupled with heightened anticipation and curiosity around the progress of its individual characters as well as the quest of each of them to claim the Iron Throne, in the Great Hall of the Red Keep in the city of King’s Landing.

Personally, I was never too kicked about watching or knowing about the series until only last month when I braved my ignorance and viewed the six seasons in what could be termed as a marathon of a shade over 3 weeks. And though it still hasn’t managed to force me to utter the words ‘Winter Is Coming’ or ‘Blood of my Blood’ all across social media, the show in all honesty does deserve the accolades and fanatic fandom that accompanies it.

I have always been a firm believer of supporting great content, and guess that is what finally convinced me to give the series a shot and trust me it does take at least an initial three or four episode of forced viewing to get accustomed to the gore, hacking and slashing, nudity and of course to understand what all the fuss is about that rather uncomfortable looking Iron Throne.

So here are a few things that I feel have worked exceptionally well for what could be called the craziest thing HBO has ever ventured into yet!

[G]ripping Writing

The writers of this adapted series, David Benioff and D. B. Weiss - who are also the show runners - deserve the biggest chunk of all the recognition and crazy following that ‘Game of Thrones’ has garnered over the last six years since it first debuted.

Both Benioff and Weiss have dabbled with writing novels as well as scribing for feature films in the earlier parts of their writing careers. But it was only in 2006, when Benioff became interested in adapting the A Song of Ice and Fire novel series by George R.R. Martin that they seriously began working together on a proposed television series Game of Thrones, the pilot of which was put into development by HBO in 2007 and the series finally got greenlit in 2010.

The paramount challenge that the duo have been facing ever since they became show runners of this award winning series is to continue raising the bar when it comes to slowly but steadily revealing various twists and turns in a tightly written screenplay. There is one thing to write tongue in cheek dialogues, but an entirely different ball game when you leave the viewer at the edge of their seats at the end of every episode for all of the 60 episodes that have aired thus far across the 6 seasons.

After a recent news report surfaced that the show will bow out after completing season 8 and season 7, which is currently under production will only feature 7 episodes, as against the customary 10 episodes since the commencement of the show, it has certainly surprised and shocked the fanboys and fangirls. But what that means is that the duo now has the task of writing an even more airtight script which not only packs in all the drama and political turmoil which is to ensue when season 7 picks up from where season 6 ended.

And that’s only half the task done, when they also have to simultaneously reveal a lot more and deep dive into the genesis of one of the most adored and favoured characters to sit on the Iron Throne (Yes, the man who came back to life from the realm beyond).

The duo of Benioff and Weiss have proven time and again over the last 6 seasons that they can read how their loyal fan base would react to various plots and situations as and when they take place, and also improvise at times to keep the chants of ‘Winter is Coming’ growing louder and louder!

[A]mazing Cast and Characters

I know everyone has their favourites in this series just like in any other show that boasts of such an ensemble cast of diverse backgrounds and cultures, but if there is one character which has showcased all the emotional spectrum that an actor can portray in his career it would have to be the character of the royal imp/dwarf Tyrion Lannister played by none other than Peter Dinklage. Guess that also justifies that he’s featured in 55 off the 60 episodes that have aired thus far (the most among other cast members).

It’s important to understand The Seven Kingdoms of Westeros (from the North to the South, roughly), after the Targaryen conquest to understand the nuances of the characters and thus how the cast carry out their respective roles.

Starting out with The North, ruled by House Stark, residing in Winterfell; their motto is ‘Winter is Coming’ and their house symbol is a grey direwolf racing across an ice-white field. Next is The Riverlands, ruled by House Tully; they live at Riverrun in the Riverlands and their motto is ‘Family, Duty, Honor’, while their house symbol is a leaping silver trout on a field of blue and red. Then there is The Vale, ruled by House Arryn, residing at the Eyrie in the Vale. Their motto is ‘As High as Honor’ and their symbol is that of a white moon and falcon on a sky blue field. Next is The Westernlands (and King’s Landing at the end of season 6 with Cersei Lannister on the Iron Throne), ruled by House Lannister. Their motto is ‘Hear Me Roar’ with a fitting symbol of a golden lion on a crimson field. Then there is The Stormlands, ruled by House Baratheon. Their motto is ‘Ours is the Fury’ and their symbol is a crowned black stag, on a golden field. They are the youngest of the Great Houses. And the last two houses are The Reach, ruled by House Tyrell and Dorne, ruled by House Martell.

And there are other noted houses like House Hightower, House Velaryon, House Bolton, House Florent, House Frey.

The 15 characters that have stood out till season 6 for me personally are: Tyrion Lannister, Cersei Lannister, Jaime Lannister, Daenerys Targaryen, Jorah Mormont, Jon Snow, Arya Stark, Lord Varys, Petyr 'Littlefinger' Baelish, Robb Stark, Jaqen H'ghar, Sandor 'The Hound' Clegane, High Sparrow, Joffrey Baratheon and Ramsay Bolton.

The Lannister trio is certainly the wittiest and most ruthless bunch, while The Dragon Queen aka the breaker of chains is the hottest among the cast members [I mean with her three fire-breathing dragons ;-)] Jorah Mormont proves to be the epitome of trustworthy and loyal friends; Jon Snow, the bastard son of Lord Ned Stark proves time and again that he is the most worthiest Stark of them all. Arya Stark’s transformation to being ‘A girl is no one’ and once again to ‘A girl is Arya Stark of Winterfell and I'm going home.’ is the best growth curve of a character in the series thus far. Lord Varys and Petyr 'Littlefinger' Baelish’s character add that element of high aspiring individuals from the humblest of beginnings.

The character of Robb Stark proves to be the most successful of the Starks in his early conquests, thus setting an example for his brothers and sisters to follow. The character of Jaqen H’ghar brings in the element of the supernatural and sorcery with his utterance of ‘Valar Morghulis’. Then comes probably the most interesting characters in the series Sandor 'The Hound' Clegane; with his partly charred face and huge frame, he is not only scary but also possesses amazing skills with the sword accompanied with his beastly might, and though he is defeated by a woman of equally animal like power, the real reason for his defeat was his soft corner for Arya Stark, who too in return didn’t kill him instead struck him off his list of people whom she wishes to kill with her ‘Needle’.

And finally the baddies - High Sparrow, Joffrey Baratheon and Ramsay Bolton; while High Sparrow only had a short stint on the show and primarily featured only in season 6, he made his presence felt and also paid the price with his life leading to the Iron Throne getting its first queen in the bargain (And no it’s not the Queen of Dragons, at least not yet). King Joffrey the eldest of Cersei’s kids probably proved to be the most heartless and reckless heir to the Iron Throne in the series thus far (since we didn’t get to see the infamous ‘Mad King’ during his rule) and it was only a matter of time before he would also pay the price with his life. And finally the character of Ramsay Bolton was the last of the baddies who truly justified his role with maniacal precision and eccentric actions, although he was evil his character was probably the most loved bad guy in the series thus far for the way he went about treating his enemies and guess that’s the reason why his was the most gruesome death among the three.

[M]agnificent Visual Effects

I know I am going to be a little biased out here (Since I have the utmost respect for all the artists and professionals in the visual effects industry) but this was probably one of the first instances that a leading broadcast network invested heavily in creating some of the most magnificent medieval sets and larger than life dragons, giants and mammoths apart from indulging in loads of bloodshed and enormous war sequences.

For the large amount of visual effects in the series, HBO hired Britain-based BlueBolt and Ireland-based Screen Scene for season one. Most of the environment builds were done as 2.5D projections. This was done to give the viewer a good sense of perspective. As the effects became more complex in the subsequent seasons, including CGI creatures, fire, and water, Germany-based Pixomondo was recruited to take over visual effects. Starting with the second season, Pixomondo served as lead VFX producer. For season two, nine of its twelve facilities contributed to the project, with Stuttgart serving as the lead. Additionally, some scenes were produced by Britain-based Peanut FX, Canada-based Spin VFX, and US-based Gradient Effects. For season four, HBO added Mackevision, also based in Germany, to the project. Additional producers for season four included Canada-based Rodeo FX, Germany-based Scanline VFX, and US-based BAKED FX. For the fifth season, HBO also added Canada-based Image Engine and US-based Crazy Horse Effects to its list of main VFX producers.

Daenerys Targaryen’s dragons probably take the cake as far as imagining of creating something that enormous for a small screen production is concerned. The muscle and wing movements of the adolescent dragons in seasons 4 and 5 were based largely on those of a chicken. Pixomondo retained a team of 22 to 30 people that focused solely on the visualization of the dragons with the average production time per season ranging between 20 and 22 weeks.

The following episodes are my picks for the best visual effects sequences that you will get to see on ‘Game of Thrones’ right upto season 6.

Blackwater (S02E09)

Stannis Baratheon's fleet and army arrive at King's Landing and the battle for the city begins and what follows is something that needs to be seen to be believed. This is the first time that Tyrion Lannister displays his warfare tactics and boy does it work wonders!

The Watchers on the Wall (S04E09)

The battle between the Night's Watch and the Wildlings has come and it has giants, mammoths, the 400 feet high wall and some amazing hand to hand combat sequences.

The Dance of Dragons (S05E09)

Daenerys attends the grand reopening of the fighting pits, only to be shockingly welcomed by the Sons of the Harpy. But it was only a matter of time that The Dragon Queen is saved by her eldest and strongest offspring.

Battle of the Bastards (S06E09)

Jon Snow and Sansa Stark get ready to take on Ramsay Bolton on the fields of Winterfell to win back their land, and what ensues is arguably the biggest and most aesthetically shot war sequence ever on the small screen, which can even give the sequences of a feature film like Troy and 300 a run for their money.

The Winds of Winter (S06E10)

Cersei Lannister and Loras Tyrell stand trial by the gods, but Cersei has other plans for the High Sparrow and his faith militant. This sequence is visually stunning and amongst all the destruction that is taking place, Cersei has the best view in the house from the Red Keep.

[E]xcellence in direction

Finally, I guess what’s worked exceedingly well for the series is the fact that there are various directors roped in to execute different episodes based on their comfort levels in working on the particular storyline for that episode.

Each 10-episode season of Game of Thrones employs between four and six directors, of which usually direct back-to-back episodes. Alex Graves, David Nutter, and Alan Taylor have directed the most episodes of the series, with six each. Daniel Minahan has directed five episodes, while Michelle MacLaren, Mark Mylod, Jeremy Podeswa, Alik Sakharov and Miguel Sapochnik (“Battle of the Bastards” & “The Winds of Winter”) have directed four each. Brian Kirk directed three episodes for the first season and Tim Van Patten directed the first two episodes of the series.

Neil Marshall has directed two episodes, both of which are episodes featuring large battle sequences: "Blackwater" and "The Watchers on the Wall". Other directors have been Jack Bender, David Petrarca, Daniel Sackheim, and Michael Slovis. Series creators and show-runners David Benioff and D. B. Weiss have also directed an episode each.

The horses for courses approach taken by the show-runner duo of Benioff and Weiss has done a world of good for the series, since the viewer gets to bear witness the best work on each episode, just how the director has envisioned it.