"When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die"
-George R.R. Martin
Game of Thrones is an epic fantasy drama series from HBO, based on George R.R. Martin's novel series A Song of Ice and Fire. Set in the fictional continents of Westeros and Essos, the show follows the violent power struggles between various noble families all vying for control of the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms.
"When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die"
The story takes place in a fantasy world, primarily upon the continent Westeros, with one storyline occurring on another continent to the east, Essos. Like the novel, the season initially focuses on the family of nobleman Eddard "Ned" Stark, the Warden of the North, who is asked to become the King's Hand (chief advisor) to his longtime friend, King Robert Baratheon. Investigating who murdered his predecessor, Jon Arryn, Ned uncovers dark secrets that Arryn tried to expose about the powerful Lannister family, which includes Robert's queen, Cersei. Once Robert dies, Cersei's tyrannical teenage son, King Joffrey Baratheon, orders Ned's arrest for treason and subsequent execution, prompting Ned's eldest son, Robb, to begin a rebellion against the Lannisters. Meanwhile, in Essos, the exiled Viserys Targaryen, son of the former king, forces his sister Daenerys to marry a Dothraki warlord in exchange for an army to pursue his claim to the Iron Throne. The season ends with Viserys dead and Daenerys becoming the Mother of Dragons.
The story takes place in a fantasy world, primarily on a fictional continent called Westeros, with one storyline occurring on another continent to the east, Essos. Like the novel, the season follows the aftermath of Eddard "Ned" Stark's dramatic death, and the political turmoil that comes with it. The season mainly centers around the War of the Five Kings, fought among the leaders of Westerosi factions who are either staking a claim to the Iron Throne, or seeking independence from it. Cersei Lannister, the widow of the late King Robert Baratheon, stays in the capital as queen regent, while her son Joffrey rules as King of the Seven Kingdoms. Cersei's twin brother, Jaime, is Robb Stark's prisoner, and her other brother, the dwarf Tyrion, serves as Acting Hand of the King to Joffrey, until the siblings' father, Tywin Lannister, returns to help defend the capital. In the North, Jon Snow and the Night's Watch stay with a reluctant ally during an expedition beyond the Wall. Meanwhile, in Essos, with three newborn dragons by her side, Daenerys Targaryen attempts to find allies and resources to help her fulfill her perceived destiny to win the Iron Throne.
The story takes place in a fictional world, primarily upon a continent called Westeros, with one storyline occurring on another continent to the east, Essos. Like the novel, the season continues the storyline of The War of the Five Kings: after the death of Renly Baratheon, all four kings in Westeros believe they have a claim to the Iron Throne, besides Robb Stark, who seeks vengeance for the death of his father, Ned Stark, and independence for the North. The season also features other storylines: Daenerys Targaryen begins her rise in power in Essos; Ned's illegitimate son, Jon Snow, goes undercover beyond the Wall; the other Stark children struggle to survive up and down Westeros, but Robb is killed; Jaime Lannister returns to the capital; and all of Westeros is informed of the reawakened threat of the Army of the Dead.
The story takes place in a fictional world, primarily upon a continent called Westeros, with one storyline occurring on another continent to the east, Essos. After the death of Robb Stark at The Red Wedding, all three remaining kings in Westeros believe they have a claim to the Iron Throne. King Joffrey is killed by poison at his wedding, and his uncle Tyrion is blamed; young Tommen Baratheon is crowned king. Meanwhile, Sansa Stark escapes King's Landing. At the Wall, Jon Snow and the Night's Watch, badly outnumbered, begin a grim battle against 100,000 Wildlings, but Stannis's army sweeps in to demand the Wildlings' surrender. Bran Stark's visions lead him far beyond the Wall to the north, where he meets the Three-Eyed Raven. Daenerys Targaryen captures Meereen and decides to rule as queen of Slaver's Bay until she can permanently defeat the slavers; she finds ruling more difficult than conquering. She reluctantly chains up her growing dragons, who have become difficult to control. Arya Stark crisscrosses Westeros accompanied by the Hound, but sails alone to Braavos in Essos to end the season.
Like previous seasons in Game of Thrones, the fifth season continues storylines primarily set within the fictional land of Westeros, while a few storylines are set in another continent, Essos. After the murders of King Joffrey and his grandfather Tywin Lannister, Cersei Lannister’s young, indecisive son, Tommen, rules Westeros as king. Tyrion flees to Essos, where he meets Daenerys Targaryen, who struggles to rule Slavers' Bay and regain control over her growing dragons. The Lannister family encounters new enemies, including a religious cult that Cersei foolishly empowers; they arrest her and Queen Margaery; Cersei confesses some sins and is released after a walk of atonement. Jon Snow becomes Lord Commander of the Night's Watch and serves under Stannis Baratheon, who pursues his claim to the Iron Throne by marching on the rebuilt Winterfell. Littlefinger has left Sansa Stark at Winterfell; she marries Ramsay Bolton, who rapes and imprisons her. Stannis is defeated and killed, while Sansa makes an escape with Theon. After Jon loses Night's Watchmen trying to rescue thousands of Wildlings from the White Walkers, several of his men mutiny and kill him. In Braavos, Arya Stark receives training as an assassin but disobeys her trainers, who blind her. Jaime retrieves princess Myrcella from Dorne, but she is murdered.
The season follows the continuing struggle among the noble families of Westeros for the Iron Throne. The Starks and allies defeat the Bolton forces in the "Battle of the Bastards" reuniting Sansa Stark and Jon Snow, who is proclaimed the King in the North, while Ramsay Bolton is killed. In Essos, Tyrion Lannister rules Meereen while Daenerys Targaryen is held captive by the Dothraki, after which she burns the Khals, emerges from the flames of their temple alive leading the surviving Dothraki to pledge her their loyalty. At King's Landing, Margaery Tyrell capitulates to the High Sparrow, who becomes more powerful by influencing King Tommen. The imprisoned Cersei avoids her trial by destroying the Great Sept with wildfire, killing the Sparrows, her uncle, and the Tyrells. Tommen commits suicide in the wake of the blast, and his mother is crowned Queen of the Seven Kingdoms. Ellaria Sand and Oberyn Martell's daughters kill Doran and Trystane Martell and seize control of Dorne. Arya Stark finishes her assassin training and returns to Westeros to resume her revenge list. Bran Stark becomes the Three-Eyed Raven, escapes the White Walkers, and returns to the Wall. Yara Greyjoy fails in her bid to be queen of the Iron Islands, so she and Theon ally with Daenerys. Varys secures an alliance for her with Olenna and the Dornish.
The penultimate season focuses on the convergence of the show's main plots in preparation for the final season. Daenerys Targaryen arrives in Westeros with her army and three large dragons and begins to wage war against the Lannisters, who have defeated her allies in the south and west of Westeros. Jon Snow leaves Sansa in charge of Winterfell and visits Daenerys to secure her help to defeat the White Walkers and the Army of the Dead. He mines the dragonglass at Dragonstone and begins a romance with Daenerys. Arya and Bran (now the Three-Eyed Raven) return home to Winterfell; the Starks execute the treacherous Littlefinger. Tyrion persuades Daenerys not to destroy King's Landing, reminding her that she does not want to be simply a queen of ashes. Instead, Jon goes north of the wall to capture a wight to prove to Cersei that the fearsome army of the dead exist and are coming; in doing so, his group is pinned down and nearly killed. Daenerys rescues them with her dragons but the Night King kills one of her dragons and makes it part of his army. The undead dragon later destroys part of the Wall and the dead march through. Bran learns that Jon is really his cousin, Aegon Targaryen, the legitimate heir to the Iron Throne.
The season was met with mixed reviews from viewers and critics, in contrast to the critical acclaim of previous seasons, and is the lowest-rated of the series on the website Rotten Tomatoes. While the performances, production values and music score were praised, criticism was mainly directed at the shorter runtime of the season as well as numerous creative decisions made by the showrunners regarding the plot and character arcs. Many commentators deemed it to be a disappointing conclusion to the series.
