SUSPENSE BUILDS FOR GAME OF THRONES FINALE

“Game of Thrones” Season 8 is finally here!

After nearly two years of waiting, the finale season to the current biggest show in television has finally arrived, and with it, the accumulated expectations and criticisms of fanboys the world over.

So does it live up the hype?

Well, judging by the season premiere, it’s still difficult to say whether the series wrap will be any good, but things are looking up.

Directed by David Nutter, this first episode continues the frantic pace of the previous season, condensing time to cram in as much crucial plot as possible before the inevitable final battle between Jon Snow and the Night King.

Nearly a decade after the show’s initial airing, all of the disparate plots and disconnected characters that have appeared throughout the series are finally coming together this episode, as Daenerys and Jon arrive at Winterfell to prepare for the coming war.

It seems nearly every fan-favorite character still relevant to the story has finally met and all of the major plot lines from last season are swiftly moving forward, taking new and interesting turns that will deeply affect the outcome of the last episode.

But as some observers pointed out last season, this lightning-quick pace, while satisfying to an extent, may prove to be somewhat detrimental. So much plot has been rendered, and yet so much is left to be told.

While HBO assured followers that Season 8 would have longer episodes to make up for its overall shorter length (at least in comparison to previous seasons), the first two episodes are still only 50 minutes long, with the final four being around an hour-and-a-half to two hours in run time.

This season premiere was quite satisfying, paying off on a lot of long-awaited character interactions and plot reveals. But the current pace has taken a toll on the quality of storytelling, forcing the writers to cram in important arcs and tie up loose ends without providing enough time to communicate all of the intricacies required of the story they’re telling.

It just doesn’t seem like there’s enough time to tell all that needs to happen before the last episode airs.

Previous seasons were heralded for being more of a witty, dialogue-heavy political drama than a tale of swords and sorcery. In recent years, however, Game of Thrones has been criticized for losing its spark and falling into the typical fantasy tropes.

But Game of Thrones is no typical fantasy story and HBO is no typical TV network. It’s unlikely the series finale will be anything but a total surprise. This first episode brings the intensity up to 11 on the scale, and proves to have some really solid writing despite the rushed pacing. It also leaves on a fantastic cliffhanger.

No matter how this story ends, there remains an undeniable mark of quality throughout every episode that makes this series worth watching till the end.

4 out of 5 stars