In case it wasn’t obvious enough, let me just be perfectly clear – this is all strictly, 100% my opinion. And also, the night is dark and full of spoilers so if you haven’t read the books and plan to, please consider this warning The Wall before Viserion trashed it.
Also – if you have any other categories you want to opine on, please stuff them into the comments and I’ll probably weigh in.
Best Character, Dead (TV): Prince Oberyn of Dorne
Best Character, Living (TV): Davos Seaworth
Best Character (Books): Brandon Stark
Worst Character: (tie) Euron Greyjoy, Ramsay Bolton
Best-adapted Character Arc: Oberyn
Worst-adapted Character Arc: Brandon Stark
Worst-adapted Plot Arc: The Sand Snakes
Best Episode (Blockbuster): “Hardhome”
Best Episode (Artsy): (tie) “The Door”, “The Rains of Castamere”
Worst Episode: ” The Last of the Starks”
Best Insert Song: “The Rains of Castamere”
Tom Bombadil Award: Edric Storm
Best Actor: Liam Cunningham
Best Actress: Gwendolyn Christie
Best Supporting Actor: Charles Dance
Best Supporting Actress: Diana Rigg
Marty
May 23, 2019 at 8:03 pmBest overall season?
Best abandoned/missing plot line?
Yeah, Oberyn Martell was the shit
Guardian Enzo
May 23, 2019 at 8:36 pmBest overall season is 4, for sure. The Oberyn season.
The second one as in – the best plotline that wasn’t adapted, or the best decision not to adapt one (because it was bad)?
Marty
May 24, 2019 at 3:39 amHonestly, I was thinking of the first option, but now that I think about it, are there any arcs or plot lines from the books you’re glad didn’t get adapted?
Guardian Enzo
May 24, 2019 at 12:26 pmWell, I wish the sand snakes weren’t. Never liked it. But offhand I can’t think of any abandoned arcs I wouldn’t like to have at least seen tried.
Eugene
May 23, 2019 at 8:49 pmI assume in the best supporting actress section you mean Diana Rigg (Olenna Tyrell) and not Maggie Smith?
Guardian Enzo
May 23, 2019 at 8:51 pmWhat? That’s what I [cough] wrote…
Eugene
May 23, 2019 at 9:28 pmLol
What would you say is the most improved character (if any)? Alliser Thorne comes to mind.
Guardian Enzo
May 23, 2019 at 9:40 pmFrom books to TV? Hmmm. Brienne (though I liked her in the books, too). Tywin. But these are characters who are improved mainly though the actor, not the writing.
Alliser Thorne isn’t a bad choice. But I’m going with Hodor, who certainly got a great performance but was just so much more fleshed out in the TV version.
Stöt
May 27, 2019 at 5:37 amDaenerys comes to mind. At least until D&D ran out of source material. But that’s because she was so central to the story, and not one of these thankful bench warmer roles.. Speaking of which, let me change my answer to Tormund.
Arabesque
May 24, 2019 at 1:30 am“Worst Episode: ” The Last of the Starks””
Hmm, that’s a funny way to spell “Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken”.
(“The Last of the Starks” was bad, but I dunno man, watching it again I am reminded by how awful that entire Dorne plot was)
Other recommendation categories:
Best Romance: Jon Snow and Ygritte
Worst Romance: Daenerys Targaryen and Aegon Targaryen
Best Boy: Ghost
Best Death: Eddard Stark
Worst Death: Summer
Funniest Death: Euron “Dragonslayer” Greyjoy
Worst Send off: Meera Reed
Best Dragonslayer (tie): The Night King, Euron Greyjoy
Best Fighter: Ramsay Snow
Best Prince that was Promised: Unnamed Prince of Dorne
Guardian Enzo
May 24, 2019 at 12:28 pmYeah, Meera got screwed big time. Emblematic of the way the whole Bran arc was butchered.
Hard to argue with Ned for best death. That was a real impact moment. But “Best Fighter: Ramsay Snow”?
Arabesque
May 25, 2019 at 2:41 pmHonestly, rewatching that final scene with her and “Bran” just pisses me off every time. Worse once you take into consideration what the end game with him was, and factoring in the deaths of Summer, Hodor and Jojen.
Meera’s actress confirming that she wasn’t called back just shows how little the show runners cared about adapting Bran’s storyline properly. Ugh.
Also, yes, Ramsay Snow for best fighter. Despite the show going more bombastic and grand with its battles, none of the duels or close combat fights quite hold a candle to a completely shirt-less Ramsay, with only two short blades, managing to take down fully armored soldiers one after the other.
The show runners sort of went overboard making Ramsay into Super Joffery, they made him superhuman as a result.
My runner ups, based only on the show fights, were Oberyn (but couldn’t pick him given how the fight ended) the Hound (but didn’t want to pick him given how his last fight went) and Jaime (ironically, his best showing in the series was, IMO, vs Eddard, someone who admitted was not a good fighter).
Marty
May 24, 2019 at 3:45 amBest bromance: Jon and Tormund or Ned and Robert?
Guardian Enzo
May 24, 2019 at 6:31 amJon and Tormund hand’s down in that faceoff, though I might be tempted to call up one or two other contenders.
Proto
May 24, 2019 at 11:10 amI stopped watching after the series caught up with the books. Still waiting for the books. I may be waiting forever. 🙁
Guardian Enzo
May 24, 2019 at 12:29 pmYeah, if we actually get WoW I’d consider that a win. Getting no more books feels like a very real possibility.
Simone
May 24, 2019 at 4:26 pmInb4 this was all GRRM’s cunning plot. Having purposefully led D&D into giving the series a shit finale, he will now drop the last two books, already finished, at one year of distance from each other, and the sales will be over the roof as everyone who hated season 8 now hungers for a better ending.