Game of Thrones: Season 4

I fear that it's all downhill from here for Game of Thrones. This was a fantastic season, and I always knew that it would be, since it more or less covering the final third of the best and most action-packed book in the series, A Storm of Swords. But nothing gold can stay, and a number of issues suggest that the show will be compromised to a certain extent from here on out until it ends in a few years.

First and foremost, it's already caught up to its source material on a number of fronts. In one glaring example, Bran and Hodor won't even be in the fifth season of Game of Thrones since the show has already caught up to where their storyline stands at the end of the fifth book. Sansa and Littlefinger are also maybe a scene away from that point at most. Meanwhile, Jon Snow's arc hasn't even quite caught up to the end of the third book yet. It's inevitable that the show will need to pad certain stories and expedite others in order to get all its major players back on the same (literal) page. In the best case, this means minor filler for some characters and heavy cuts for others. At worst, it could mean drastically altering the story in ways that won't ultimately mesh with the yet-to-be-published written works.

Of course, the showrunners are headed down that road anyway. Apparently an entire Iron Islands arc from the fourth book will be skipped next season, which sort of inadvertently suggests that the arc will have no long term repercussions in the written series. A number of compelling characters from the books have been cut, and while that's understandable given the scope and sprawl of the series so far, it's also somewhat disappointing. But it's not all bad news. A number of minor characters from the books have been given plenty more to do in the show, becoming far more interesting characters in their own right. Chief among these is Margaery Tyrell, little more than a bride-pawn in the books, who's been fleshed out into a full-fledged three-dimensional character with clear motivations and vices of her own. The same can be said of Yara (Asha in the books), Theon's older sister and princess of the Iron Islands. She doesn't really become a memorable person in the books until the aforementioned Iron Islands arc that the show will slash entirely. That said, she's already turned into an interesting character in the show, chiefly through a series of scenes that were never in the books at all. So it's difficult to imagine Yara not playing into the events of the show going forward. Time will tell.

Come to think of it, nearly every character addition or personality expansion on the show's part has involved a girl or a woman. By the same token, it seems like every mildly interesting character who's been cut out altogether - Strong Belwas, Coldhands, Euron and Victarion Greyjoy, Quentyn Martell, Young Griff, Jon Conington, et al. - has been a man. Perhaps the show is doing its best to provide a more gender-balanced Westeros. This would make sense; it's much easier to see a glaring gender disparity than it is to pick up on one in a written work. Of course, by no means does this make Game of Thrones a shining example of feminist adaptation. By far the most problematic scene in the show's four year run came in this very season, when Jaime Lannister outright raped his own sister. In an attempt to diffuse some of the backlash, the scene's writer claimed that he didn't interpret the scene as a rape, which only created a second wave of negative reactions. (For what it's worth, I just watched the episode in question, and what occurs is so plainly and unequivocally a rape. Cersei repeatedly says some variations of "no," and "not here," and "not now," and "stop," while Jaime forces himself on her, and then the scene ends.) It's a shame, really, as it jarringly interrupted Jaime's ongoing redemption arc; he began the series as arguably the most reprehensible character on screen, and had become one of the show's most endearing characters after being maimed and humbled throughout the third season.

At any rate, this is still one of my favorite shows on TV, and I'm strangely excited about seeing the show surpass the books. I'll be genuinely shocked by plenty of what comes next season, I'm sure, and that's something I haven't been able to say in years. I just worry that, without George R.R. Martin's overt source material to guide them, the showrunners may end up tarnishing certain characters or story arcs in unintended ways. Here's hoping for the best. And also, of course, for a short wait for The Winds of Winter.