With a number of strong episodes throughout, the first season of the show is powerful and gripping - and yet, I never found myself all that wrapped up in it. It felt like it meandered a little too often, I'm never quite sure where it's all leading. Elisabeth Moss is astoundingly good in the lead role, but she stands head and shoulders above most of the other cast. Any episodes, or indeed moments, that weren't focused on her cause the show to fumble. Yvonne Strahovski and Alexis Bledel do stand out as particularly strong performances, and I can't help but feel heartbreak whenever Madeline Brewer (Janine) is on screen.
In fact, somewhat ironically, it's the male cast which really let things down. Joseph Fiennes becomes a caricature by the latter half of the season and the character of Nick is an absolute stain on the show's otherwise decent offerings (it was a struggle not to fast forward any scenes he's in). Moira was also difficult, the writing for her struck me as completely unnatural (her only interactions with people seemed to be to insult them and tell them how wrong they are) and it was only in the later episodes that that got turned around.
It's the story and setting here which are the reason I kept coming back each week. It's a brutal show with shocking moments each episode. Part of you scoffs at how far-fetched it is, another part of you becomes fearful of the path our current world is going down.
My only other feelings is that the desaturated look of the show actually makes it feel a bit cheap. There's very little sense of a large world when watching this, but that's okay. We're focused on Offred's world and that's the important story.
There's no denying that this season has seen a downturn in the quality of writing. Characters are not acting like themselves and making choices which don't reflect the journeys they've been on. Ridiculous leaps in logic are made and time compression has suddenly made Westeros feel very small. Spectacle has taken centre stage and it feels like the lack of GRRM's own prose has left the show's writers floundering.
And I've got to be honest, it hasn't bothered me all that much, because it's been so incredibly fun. Say what you will, but season 7 has not been dull for a second. Yes, I've found parts frustrating and rolled my eyes in disbelief at the stupidity on display, but there's something to be said for the pure thrill involved in what's going on screen.
I might prefer things to be slowed down a bit and do miss the insightful dialogue and foreshadowing, but I'm not throwing my toys out of the pram over it as so many seem to be. Even in this state, Game of Thrones remains among the best programmes on television. The finale did make up for some of the seemingly moronic writing choices made in earlier episodes and demonstrated that it can still make me care for these characters and fear losing them.
Not perfect and not up to standard, no, but some of the most enjoyable viewing I've had this year.
