A few TV shows finished their 2012 runs recently, and I thought I’d share my thoughts on what I’ve been watching recently. The following will contain spoilers, so read on at your own peril!
Game of Thrones
Season 2 wrapped up with an incredible pair of episodes. I haven't yet gotten around to reading the novels (although the first one may be coming on holiday with me next week), so I’m not in a position to criticize or commend the inconsistencies between the two that I've heard exist. All I know is that on its own merits, GoT the television show has a consistently engaging and surprising storyline, excellent characterisation, and the best production values of any series I've ever watched. Parts of the battle for Kings Landing in the penultimate episode wouldn't have looked out of place in a multi-million dollar film epic, and that's no mean feat. In fact the explosive surprise, the sneaky rearguard action and the cavalry rescue were so similar to the main battle scene in the second part of a particular fantasy film trilogy that I’m surprised the George R.R. Martin didn’t find himself facing charges of plagiarism!
The final scenes which set the tone nicely for Season 3, were equally impressive. The makeup on the White Walker leader in the cliffhanger ending was top notch, and I'm excited to see where the series goes next.
Homeland
I watched this on the recommendation of a colleague at work, and definitely wasn’t disappointed. The central characters of Brody and Carrie are unlike archetype I’ve seen in other shows before – the apparently shell-shocked military POW and the brilliant but bipolar CIA analyst. At first I thought it might be treading similar ground to 24 or Sleeper Cell, it quickly established its own niche by clouding the question of whether Brody was or wasn’t working with his terrorist former captors.
I felt the season sagged a bit in the middle, around the point when the two leads became intimate and Tom Walker appeared on the scene (I did warn you there would be spoilers!). It became a little bit of a “hunt the terrorist” a la 24 - a couple of episodes passed without much happening and I couldn’t help but think that CTU would probably have caught Tom Walker within an hour (moles notwithstanding). Once again, a fantastic season finale – I’ve been a fan of Damien Lewis for a fair while now and his scenes in the bunker were incredibly acted.
Season 2 is nicely set up, with Brody poised to run for senator, with his daughter aware of his other loyalties, and Carrie likely to be a little worse for wear following her brains tangle with several thousand volts of “therapy”. Lucky for me that the next season starts in only a couple of months – a benefit of being late to the party!
Future Viewing
Now that everything I’ve been watching has finished, I’m left with a bit of a gap in my TV viewing until new things start again in the fall: Homeland S2, Breaking Bad S5 and Dexter S7 are all due to start in the next couple of months. I’m going to fill the gap by giving a try to Touch, Modern Family, Grimm, and perhaps Alphas.
