The Game of Thrones Doldrums

Those of you who have watched the first three episodes of Game of Thrones, Season 5, tell me: What is the most dramatic single moment so far this season? Anything to compare with Ned Stark's beheading, the birth of dragons, Joffrey's wedding? Should we set our sights lower? Anything as good as Bran being pushed from a window, Jamie losing his hand? Tyrion's trial, the fight between Oberyn and the Mountain, Lysa Arryn's death?

I think not.

Mance Rayder died -- was that this season? Tyrion was kidnapped. Jon Snow was elected Lord Commander. Daenerys had rocks thrown at her. Brienne followed Sansa. Arya threw her clothes in the ocean...

I have read more than once that this is the best season of Game of Thrones, and maybe it will be, but I don't see it so far. I have my doubts going forward too, because the show writers are dealing with a problem handed to them by George RR Martin: the books are getting less interesting as they go along.

I was introduced to Games of Thrones through the TV show, but then I read all five Song of Fire and Ice books, and I can tell you that they were a bit of a slog at times. Martin's habit of killing off several of his main characters, like Ned Stark, Catelyn Stark, and Robb Stark, or his other habit of sending them off to the edges of the world to follow their own stories, like Sansa Stark, Arya Stark, and Brandon Stark, forces him to keep introducing new characters and new story lines, and the whole thing seems to lose focus.

Without giving away any details, let me just list some major characters: Brienne, Ayra, Sansa, Jamie, Cersei, Stannis, Jon, Sam, Tyrion, Daenerys. Of those ten characters, three have dramatic moments still to come, if the show follows the books (though already there are departures), before the end of book five. There is at least one moment coming that will make for a great TV scene; I would not be surprised if it ends the season (no, not the walk of shame.)

The other seven characters? They will do stuff, go toward somewhere but not get there, or stay where they are, doing stuff. Zzzz. The stories range from mildly engaging to frustrating (do something already!) to downright tedious. We will be left hoping that their stories get more interesting in the sixth book/season, and that they somehow have an important part to play in the main story, and that there actually is a main story, because we are beginning to doubt. And while Dorne may be a fun new place, don't get your hopes up about anything much happening there. But it's pretty. You can already see that major departures from the book early this season stem from the show's creators trying to find something interesting for some of their characters to do.

The show is so well done that it will always hold my interest. That said, I just don't see how it can live up to the high moments of previous seasons, not unless they find some really compelling stories that are not in the first five books.