By Lea Killian
Spoiler alert: On April 14, the final season of Game of Thrones premiered on HBO.
After seven seasons spanning eight years of truly epic and unparalleled television, Winter is here.
For the three or four people who have not yet watched this groundbreaking show, it stands to reason that they are missing out on perhaps the biggest cultural phenomenon of our time.
The story begins in Winterfell, home to the Stark family, as King Robert Baratheon with his family and army make their way to the castle gates.
The King has come to ask Ned Stark to leave his home, travel to King’s Landing and serve as The Hand of the king.
What unfolds because of this single event spirals the seven kingdoms of Westeros into chaos.
Without ruining the plot, it may not sound like much, but there is a reason for its enormous popularity.
Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage), feels that there is much more to his character and to this particular realm of fantasy than meets the eye.
“I like to portray real people,” Dinklage said, “and sometimes in the world of fantasy, that gets lost. This is the opposite because of the relationships between these characters, because of who Tyrion is, how flesh-and-blood he is.
“It’s the most realistic show that I’ve ever done that also happens to have dragons and dead people walking around in it.
“I think a lot of fantasy is heavy on the dragon and light on the character. We’re the opposite.”
Because of the incredible writing that this show displays in each episode, some of the actors—Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) —feel that the characters they portray help them in their own lives.
“The journey that I’ve been on with Daenerys,” Clarke said, “[has sharpened] me as an actor. Because of the heights that she goes to, it’s forced me to find them within myself… Daenerys is a tapestry of my entire adult life.”
Not only does Game of Thrones bring strong-willed and ever-developing characters along with intricate plots to the forefront of the program, but their team of visual effects artists are not to be ignored. Episodes like “The Battle of the Bastards” and “The Spoils of War” will leave viewers feeling like they just left the IMAX.
In the final five episodes, viewers can hopefully expect some answers to the questions they have had for the last two years.
While it remains entirely unclear who will sit on the Iron Throne, there appears to be far more pressing matters.
With an army of the dead marching on Westeros, nearly the entire cast has found themselves back where it all started: inside the gates of Winterfell.
With an army of dragons, Unsullied soldiers, Dothraki, and Northman at their backs, Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen are perhaps the most capable leaders in Westeros… but will it be enough to save the seven kingdoms?
New episodes of Game of Thrones premieres at 8 p.m., Sundays on HBO.
The final episode will air on May 19.