I don't think that I'm alone in thinking that this truncated seventh season of Game of Thrones is not as good in many ways as those that have gone before. In previous seasons I always enjoyed how they kept so many plots going, so many plates spinning, and were able to create engaging threads/characters with comparatively little screen time. They seemed to be able to make big things happen with short but meaningful interactions, while also allowing plenty of breathing room for some scenes or set pieces. That situation is very much reversed in this season, although it does have a lot to help balance it.
The examples of this are numerous. They range from threads that don't really work because they lack detail of the character motivation, through to the 'fast-travel' element where characters seem to jump all around the map in hours rather than months (an element made more obvious by all of the previous seasons playing out most journeys over many episodes or seasons). Enough has been said about this, and I do sort of agree with those that question why viewers can suspend disbelief in dragons and undead armies, but can't just go along with the timelines – but for me it is that it undermines a solid base on which the fantasy show was built, and makes it broader and weaker.
This broader and weaker elements do at least have plenty of good to counter it. The base of previous seasons, and investment in characters do help of course, but the compression of events has been used to cram a lot of large set pieces into the 7 episodes. These big moments are as memorable as they are narratively weak; again there are many examples, but the one that stuck with me was the field of fire – a brutal battle which does a great job of flipping us emotionally to feel for the Lannisters, but then ends with Jamie somehow surviving and then swimming underwater for miles to pop up at the start of the next episodes (and seemingly nobody thought to try to capture him or check if he was dead). This sort of thing is common in big moments and small interactions – in the bigger picture it is still good and engaging, but there is also something, or some omission, that undercuts how effective it all is.
I don't see the problem going away soon; the final season will only be 6 episodes, although I hope they will not all be limited to 60 minutes. Looking at the scale of what remains to be played out and resolved, it looks impossible (unless they use the same 'on-screen text' device that Quantum Leap used to tie it all up). Of course I will be there to end the story and enjoy the scale, spectacle, and drama of the bigger picture – but the years in-between will also send me back to watch previous seasons again, where characters had more time, and drama played out at a more satisfying pace.
The examples of this are numerous. They range from threads that don't really work because they lack detail of the character motivation, through to the 'fast-travel' element where characters seem to jump all around the map in hours rather than months (an element made more obvious by all of the previous seasons playing out most journeys over many episodes or seasons). Enough has been said about this, and I do sort of agree with those that question why viewers can suspend disbelief in dragons and undead armies, but can't just go along with the timelines – but for me it is that it undermines a solid base on which the fantasy show was built, and makes it broader and weaker.
This broader and weaker elements do at least have plenty of good to counter it. The base of previous seasons, and investment in characters do help of course, but the compression of events has been used to cram a lot of large set pieces into the 7 episodes. These big moments are as memorable as they are narratively weak; again there are many examples, but the one that stuck with me was the field of fire – a brutal battle which does a great job of flipping us emotionally to feel for the Lannisters, but then ends with Jamie somehow surviving and then swimming underwater for miles to pop up at the start of the next episodes (and seemingly nobody thought to try to capture him or check if he was dead). This sort of thing is common in big moments and small interactions – in the bigger picture it is still good and engaging, but there is also something, or some omission, that undercuts how effective it all is.
I don't see the problem going away soon; the final season will only be 6 episodes, although I hope they will not all be limited to 60 minutes. Looking at the scale of what remains to be played out and resolved, it looks impossible (unless they use the same 'on-screen text' device that Quantum Leap used to tie it all up). Of course I will be there to end the story and enjoy the scale, spectacle, and drama of the bigger picture – but the years in-between will also send me back to watch previous seasons again, where characters had more time, and drama played out at a more satisfying pace.