LogFAQs > #939880921

There's a case to be made for S3,but I don't think it's good. There's also a very good case to be made for S4, but I'm going to argue against that too. The show doesn't unequivocally start getting worse until after Season 4.

Season 3 does split the storyline in too many different ways, but I'd argue that all of the stories that are told are high-quality, except for the show leaning hard into torture porn with Craster's Keep and Theon/Ramsay. Even brooding Stannis has a great payoff toward the end.

Positives of S3 IMO:
- Jon really starts coming into his own this season.
- Daenerys's story is the first time the dragons really get to do anything. Again you probably have to qualify it with the shit white savior scene that ends it, but it's a really good season for her. Not as complete as S1, but it feels like a good payoff.
- Tyrion is no longer in a position of power as Hand of the King - however, he's still around, sniping, and we get Tywin, who's arguably more fun to watch.
- Speaking of King's Landing, it becomes an absolute delight if you enjoy the show's women, with Margaery and Sansa and Cersei and the Queen of Thorns all stirring up trouble together.
- The Red Wedding is obviously seen as one of the show's most shocking and best moments, and the buildup to it is great, with Robb playing the tortured, brilliant, tragic prodigy.
- Jaime's redemption arc begins here, making him one of the show's best characters (er, for the time being...)

Season 4 definitely has some issues with it, beginning to show issues later endemic of the show. Tywin/Shae's death in particular was kinda bad, and the stuff with Ygritte was cheesy. You also have bizarre scenes like the one-off of Theon's sister sailing to the Dreadfort, and Tyrion and Jaime's godawful conversation about their cousin, and Brienne and the Hound's duel. However, I'd argue Season 4 winds up being the best season due to the high points it hits:

- Everything surrounding Joffrey's wedding and death (and not least the fact it happens two episodes in)
- Littlefinger revealing his role to Sansa
- Stannis finally doing something for right, instead of ambition, by finishing Mance Rayder
- Tyrion's trial
- Every scene involving the Red Viper, from his intro until his death
- Every scene involving Tywin - brokering more marriages, presiding over trials, simply chatting with Oberyn or the Queen of Thorns
- Jon prepping the Wall for the final act of the Wildlings as a threat
- The Hound and Arya's grand adventure (the most enjoyable duo just to watch hang out, I'd argue)

I'd also argue that Seasons 1 and 2 have lots of their own demerits, if you look for them. S1 might have the fewest and tells the best self-contained story, but it still has the worst Jon story by far, the worst sexposition scenes, and super-cheesy Tyrion/Jon scenes. And say what you will about Dany later on, but S2 Dany in Qarth is the worst, with S2 Jon's story being both incomprehensible and unenjoyable. These storylines are so prominent that it's hard not to point them out first.

From S1 to S4, the show definitely shifts from "we're building a plot with lots of complexity and branches but developing them all" toward "we're paying off your plots, and they'll be awesome, but a lot of the in-between scenes will be iffy." By the time Season 5 rolls around, you've got one great storyline (Jon) and one more compelling character (Stannis). But other than Jon's storyline, the only real payoff is Dany's dragonpit scene, which doesn't make a ton of logical sense. All those scenes in King's Landing and in Meereen begin to feel really tedious, and perhaps most damningly, Tyrion and Arya's and Jaime's storylines start going to shit. Honestly, that's probably the worst part of all.

If you ignore S5, S6 actually seems to continue the S1-to-S4 trend. It has magnificent payoffs in Battle of the Bastards and Winds of Winter (and arguably when we see the flashback Tower of Joy fight and Hodor's death), but the in-between becomes even more tedious than S4 (though probably not as bad as S5). Shoutout to Tommen trying to carry the King's Landing storyline pretty much alone, and to Jaime getting sent on a second thankless mission, at least character-wise.

S7 has even stupider writing, but it delivers a lot of big moments (major military encounters of some sort in three of the first four episodes). It's actually the second half of S7 that really shits the bed with the "Cersei's wight" storyline and Cersei's pregnancy and the refusal to give us Cleganebowl.

But yeah, it's S5. I'd argue it's actually got lower lows than S7.
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yet all azuarc of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness