Game of Thrones

:

Season 5
  • Network: HBO
  • Series Premiere Date: Apr 17, 2011
Season #: 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
User Score
8.2

Universal acclaim- based on 1705 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,441 out of 1705
  2. Mixed: 119 out of 1705
  3. Negative: 145 out of 1705
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User Reviews

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  1. TixyLix
    May 19, 2015
    5
    Gotten a bit boring now, every major plot point is just who dies and who lives, about a simple as video game story telling. I have no idea what they're doing with Daenerys, but I've lost interest now as every season they seem to build her up and then have no pay off.
  2. Mark_Freeze85
    Jun 2, 2015
    5
    "Hardhome" saved this season so far. Between Sansa's iffy scene and the very disappointing Sand Snakes fight, season 5 has been a let down. I'm truly sorry for sounding sexist, but some of the female characters in the show are killing it for me. Arya's plot makes zero sense with the rest of GOT, Emilia Clarke is destroying my favorite character from the books, and the Sand Snakes are"Hardhome" saved this season so far. Between Sansa's iffy scene and the very disappointing Sand Snakes fight, season 5 has been a let down. I'm truly sorry for sounding sexist, but some of the female characters in the show are killing it for me. Arya's plot makes zero sense with the rest of GOT, Emilia Clarke is destroying my favorite character from the books, and the Sand Snakes are just...boring. Their fight with Jaime and Bronn was so bland. Obara really looked like she was playing with a toy, slow-spinning the spear and doing nothing compared to the insanely entertaining Oberyn. The march south with Stannis should NOT take the entire season, yet it is. We're getting way too much Arya and not enough Dorne, Stannis, and Littlefinger. I really hope episodes 9 and 10 are exactly like 8.… Expand
  3. oDjento
    Jul 3, 2015
    6
    4 episodes can’t make up an amazing season, but by god am I glad we got them. This has definitely been one of the weakest seasons, with the first six episodes delivering to a standard well below what we have come to expect from Game Of Thrones.
    The season lost focus a lot in this season, bringing up plot points and then dropping them without following them with any consistency or proper    4 episodes can’t make up an amazing season, but by god am I glad we got them. This has definitely been one of the weakest seasons, with the first six episodes delivering to a standard well below what we have come to expect from Game Of Thrones.
    The season lost focus a lot in this season, bringing up plot points and then dropping them without following them with any consistency or proper pace. These first six episodes seemed to be trying to develop their new and existing plot points too fast but without really making them go anywhere, they wouldn’t give the plot enough time to develop yet they would also stagnate. This made (for me) episode 1-6 a tiring watch, especially with some scenes that were not done properly enough to honour certain peoples deaths and some awful fight choreography (SAND SNAKES ANYONE?).
    Albeit this, the last 4 episodes are a blast. Episode 7 sets up for the better episodes to come, episode 8 wows with an impressive and haunting ending, episode 9 paces itself best with a hectic ending (although the CGI could have been better) and episode 10 sets you on a rather odd montage of finalising peoples storylines for this season but is still satisfying. Episode 8 is possibly what wholly makes up for this season, but the other 3 episodes do help improve this seasons score a lot. Episode 8 could be one of the best episodes out there.
    Now onto acting. The acting overall is solid, but the sand snakes motives in the TV series seem just stupid and dull, with also (mainly Obaras) acting being not the best on the show at all. Arya had turned from a strong independent character as we had seen in season 4 to a whiny little girl again, which was pretty frustrating to watch at times, and Cersei just seems to be becoming a one trick pony now on the show, not really bringing up many interesting new plot points for her.
    The overall verdict for season 5 is that YES you should keep watching it to see conclusion. We may not be having a fully satisfying season, but the second half of the season does try alleviate our pain of the first six episodes so it is not a full on disappointment. However, maybe our expectations were a little too high coming out of season 4, which in my opinion was the best season so far.
    Also, the ending was a bit too bitter to end on I think. Like, wow GOT, you hit me hard. In the heart. Which is good and half the reason we watch GOT but REALLY? THE LAST SCENE? I went out that night after watching that and NO JOKE, I WAS SEVERELY DEPRESSED.
    Possibly the worst season with one of the best episodes. Odd mixture.    … Expand
  4. outraaageous
    Aug 23, 2015
    5
    A sharp decline in quality seems to have coincided with the divergence from the book material this season. The lengthy, often Herculean effort to flesh the plot out with character development, exposition and interesting dialogue seems to have given way to the writers trying to "top" the shocks of previous seasons. Two major shocks were not only needlessly brutal, but did not add up in theA sharp decline in quality seems to have coincided with the divergence from the book material this season. The lengthy, often Herculean effort to flesh the plot out with character development, exposition and interesting dialogue seems to have given way to the writers trying to "top" the shocks of previous seasons. Two major shocks were not only needlessly brutal, but did not add up in the sense of how key figures have been characterised so far - they acted directly against their previous motivations. This was simply lazy writing on the part of D&D. Dorne was a missed opportunity (the Sand Snakes diabolical) and too much time was spent on Arya stalking a man selling oysters. Season 5 finally faded away, culminating in one of the most disappointingly incoherent finales I can remember. It feels very much as if it has been downhill since the slightly disappointing end to the otherwise excellent Season 4. Here's hoping this is a case of transition and the plan is in place to make improvements in Season 6.… Expand
  5. Roeyl
    Aug 6, 2015
    6
    No spoilers.
    The worst GoT season so far. Season 5 is not only dull and boring, it's downright annoying. The whole season teases a lot of potential development but doesn't deliver anything until the very last episode, which ends in a cliffhanger and is in itself a tease for season 6. This is irritating. To top it off Episode 9 also features the worst SFX of the series.
    This results in    No spoilers.
    The worst GoT season so far. Season 5 is not only dull and boring, it's downright annoying. The whole season teases a lot of potential development but doesn't deliver anything until the very last episode, which ends in a cliffhanger and is in itself a tease for season 6. This is irritating. To top it off Episode 9 also features the worst SFX of the series.
    This results in this season being horribly paced and very underwhelming.    … Expand
  6. StevieGJD
    Jun 23, 2015
    5
    This was by far the weakest season of this show. I was pretty unhappy about it and almost stopped watching. I am not tied to the books or any particular story line. But this show has sort of jumped the shark with the convoluted story the unnecessary violence against women and children, and the indiscriminate brutal deaths of important characters. That I was made to feel bad for CerseiThis was by far the weakest season of this show. I was pretty unhappy about it and almost stopped watching. I am not tied to the books or any particular story line. But this show has sort of jumped the shark with the convoluted story the unnecessary violence against women and children, and the indiscriminate brutal deaths of important characters. That I was made to feel bad for Cersei in her well deserved walk of shame is offensive. I am close to being done.… Expand
  7. daviduarte
    Jun 16, 2015
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Up to season 4, GOT lived up to the books, and albeit some questionable differences, still maintained the quality bar high. Season 5 just goes downhill, with episode after episode looking more and more like a soap opera. The characters simply went full retard (never go full retard); Bronn and Jaime going alone into Dorne in full power rangers mode? The Tyrells being destroyed then forgotten? The most skilled army in the world (unsullied) being defeated by a bunch of pathetic unskilled and unequipped noble men... twice?

    This kind of cheap plot and plain character behavior is what I would expect from a stupid cliche Hollywood movie. But at least we got a full action packed episode with lots of fighting, blood, deaths and... oh wait!    … Expand
  8. Shiverfox
    Jun 16, 2015
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. In pursuit of shocking and buzzworthy moments, Game of Thrones Season 5 lost sight of what made the show special.

    The best example of this would probably be Sansa being moved to Winterfell. In the books she continues to develop her politicking and manipulation (as Season 4's ending hinted she would.) In Season 5, any progress her character had was discarded so that she could play useless victim for another full season, just so we could have a shocking rape scene.

    Similarly, the writers elected to have a small mission by Ramsay Bolton (who has a fraction of Stannis's battle experience) completely incapacitate Stannis's entire army so that the season could culminate in his death.

    Both of these examples illustrate the problems that have emerged with Season 5. As the writers simplify and modify the story (which in itself is a noble pursuit), they sacrifice complexity and cohesiveness. The first two thirds of this season felt like moving dominos into place just so that we could watch them all die in episodes 9-10. It feels like rather than telling an interesting story that may lead to a shocking twist down the line, the writers have settled for telling a mediocre story that becomes interesting solely due to a twist. But in many cases it doesn't work, since if the character isn't engaging, their death won't be either.

    Hopefully the writers don't neglect the story's complexity in lieu of plot-hole ridden simplifications in further seasons, as the ones preceding this one were all excellent.    … Expand
  9. aslit
    May 12, 2015
    5
    For anyone who read the books, the series has become almost intolerable to watch. It is one thing to cut down on material to fit production constraints but when you completely butcher a beautiful storyline, substitute it with some nonsense you made up and somehow manage to find time for meaningless sex scenes, it is not OK. I am beyond amazed that the author approves this idiocy.
  10. ozymandias79
    May 25, 2015
    6
    Another nothing season of GOT. Posting review before the last 3 episodes because they will be at the quality the whole season should have been. Seriously, just watch the last 3 episodes of every season for now on, because they're the only ones worth a damn. Emilia Clarke's new non-nude policy has made her "semi"-nude scenes really weak. Compare them with the scene where Rosabell LaurentiAnother nothing season of GOT. Posting review before the last 3 episodes because they will be at the quality the whole season should have been. Seriously, just watch the last 3 episodes of every season for now on, because they're the only ones worth a damn. Emilia Clarke's new non-nude policy has made her "semi"-nude scenes really weak. Compare them with the scene where Rosabell Laurenti Sellers completely owns Bronn by nudity and poison. At the end of the day, if every episode was a good as the last 3, GOT would be worth the high scores.… Expand
  11. vascr
    May 27, 2015
    6
    I think season 5 failed to reach half of the interest of previous seasons and its too late to do so, even if the last two - three episodes change everything.
  12. Octomort
    May 26, 2015
    5
    I have read the books and thought season 5 lives up to book 5, slow. It was my least favourite of them all. In the TV series I think some of the problem is that they have too few episodes to investigate and follow the individual plot lines properly, rather like LOTR being cut to 2, 2 hour films. It is also a very expensive show to produce and they need to reduce costs as much as possible.I have read the books and thought season 5 lives up to book 5, slow. It was my least favourite of them all. In the TV series I think some of the problem is that they have too few episodes to investigate and follow the individual plot lines properly, rather like LOTR being cut to 2, 2 hour films. It is also a very expensive show to produce and they need to reduce costs as much as possible. Dialogue is cheaper than action. The result is a lack of focus and direction which uses boobs and bums (no news there) to keep young male audience figures up (so to speak).

    Although I have not written reviews for the previous seasons I would have scored them 7 to 9 ( I never give a 10 because nothing is perfect). This season I mark down because just as I am engaging comfortably with a set of characters, they swap to a new set of characters. Dis-jointed character continuity.

    I get the impression that they are saving the budget for a crash bang wallop last two episodes.

    I have read on a couple of posts, not just here but elsewhere that it is surprising the author agrees to this change or that change compared to the books. I cannot think of an example where the author had any direct say in decision making once they had signed the original contract to transfer from book to TV or film. I am not criticising those posters just hoping to clarify a point.    … Expand
  13. Aesteril
    Jun 16, 2015
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Cons- Poor Character Development on new characters (Dorne)
    -Story that drags on at some bits, and then speeds up
    - actions of some characters that go against common sense
    ex. (Stannis's behavior this season on acquiring the Iron throne, and then securing it with a l family lineage).
    Sand Snakes attitude toward their own King, their foolish form of "revenge"
    -Not enough screen time for a season with so many characters

    Pros
    -Excellent execution of a 20 minute battle scene
    - Problems Westeros is facing is made clear
    - Some excellent dialogue among old characters
    - some very emotional and powerful scenes (Cersei)    … Expand
  14. naveedesahar
    Jun 18, 2015
    6
    This season simply failed to deliver quality entertainment. Bad pacing, no story building before executing a major action, bad direction, bad writing and untimely deaths of major characters made this season boring. Thanks to 'Hardhome' and 'The Dance of Dragons', it managed to make average score in my book.
  15. Ariel90
    Aug 3, 2015
    5
    As a super-book fan I was impressed with the last season (4), this one tough was a failure in many ways, first the changes were not up to par with the original story, and second some new characters were some of the worst in got history (sand snakes). Episode 8 was probably the best of the series but it's far for redeeming this season.
  16. Demorase
    May 22, 2015
    5
    The first 4 episodes were really good, and then it became completely boring and nonsensical.

    For example, why would Sansa willingly sign up to get raped by marrying a monster like Ramsay when she has nothing to gain from it? It makes no sense, which is not surprising since the whole thing was made up. The storyline with Arya is beyond boring too and is going nowhere, and Kingslanding    The first 4 episodes were really good, and then it became completely boring and nonsensical.

    For example, why would Sansa willingly sign up to get raped by marrying a monster like Ramsay when she has nothing to gain from it? It makes no sense, which is not surprising since the whole thing was made up.

    The storyline with Arya is beyond boring too and is going nowhere, and Kingslanding is empty with just Cersei doing silly things with no one left to interact with her since every interesting character is dead or gone by now.    … Expand
  17. HolyProphet
    Jun 25, 2015
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. As much as it was my favorite show so far, it took a serious drop in my love ladder on this season.

    Most likely I enjoyed that Jon Snow died and I fear he will be resurrected by the red woman in the next season. I don't like the actor neither the "classic hero who can't lose against the bad guys". He's always acting with as much as bravery than stupidity and he always comes out victorious. Proof? He went right in the middle of the undead fight, killing one of the major undead when everyone else was getting killed easy. (I have to mention the girl who dies because she can't fight undead children made me facepalm a lot).

    Even tho, that's not the worst about this season. You get bored a lot over and over by the story of Samwell Tarly and his savage girl that nobody cares about. I mean, there are so many people living hard things in Westeros... Why in the hell do we have to care about the love between these 2. The girl is dumb as a stump but she is cute and he is brilliant but a fat lazy coward and boring person to listen to. Nothing worth showing as one of the main characters of a tv show.

    Both queens and one of the best knights got fooled by some naked religious fanatics and taken to jail... That makes absolutely no sense. How can anybody be dumb enough to let these guy just walk in the castle and grab everybody in there and how can Cersei be dumb enough to walk in their temple just to brag the other queen when her safety is not guaranteed by some guards or someone...

    The only good parts of this season in my opinion are, of course, the moments spent with Tyrion Lanister who is enjoyable to watch in every moment. This guy is just so charismatic that he could enjoy everyone just sitting in an empty room and drunk as a skunk. The other good moments are the moments spent with Bronn and Jaime Lanister, the whole thing going around their rescue mission is interesting and you just can't wait to know what will be the outcome of this situation.

    I was so bored with the action going with Daenerys, so much time spent around the rebellion in her camp when we totally skip the war between Stanis and house Bolton. I have been waiting for Stanis to die since season 2 and we don't even get to see his head rolling on the floor. We just watched Sir Barristan as he just got finally interesting, that was sad.

    And in the final, we barely seen Little fingers and it took years to see something interesting going on with Arya Stark. So the season ended and my friends and me were like what? Already episode 10? At this rate the season should be 20 or 30 episodes so we could see something interesting to really happen without waiting another year for the story to go on... I really hope for better content in the season 6 which, of course, I will still watch because I was really entertained before this disappointing season. I just hope we won't see much of Sam Tarly in the next season.    … Expand
  18. Prosmooth
    Apr 18, 2015
    6
    You know the drill by now. This show never grows or develops. Scene after scene of people talking **** about other people intercut with violence and boobs. Is it entertaining? Yes. Stop pretending that it's a top tier show though because it isn't.
  19. KaizerAlex
    Apr 13, 2015
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I guess I am tilting at windmills here, but I will try to explain why I think that Game of Thrones is not that perfect, especially in regard to the beginning of the fifth season.

    First things first, GoT is an exceptional experience. When you think that "the journey is the reward", then you will be (and possibly are) very happy with Game of Thrones. The action is very good, the sceneries are of a high quality, dragons are cool, the fights are well done, there are many characters to love and to hate.

    One thing that is missing and which is of high importance in a TV show is focus. Every TV show has to be focused on one or two aspects that lead the audience. If there is none, it may have big consequences. Take for example "House of Cards": From the beginning on, the audience is asking itself "What will happen to Frank Underwood? Will he reach his goals? For what cost?". Questions are these are posed by the TV show in order to give actions meaning. Without these questions we would not know whether the appearance of a new candidate is a good or bad thing. It would be just "something that happened". GoT is lacking such a question. In the first season, it was "Eddard Stark is the good guy, he is our guidance in evaluating the story, whether it is good or bad". Then he was beheaded and to be honest, that was a perfect moment: The show showed us that the questions we make up in our minds can be completely changed from one scene to another. Chaos is a very good thing in a world in which we are used to order. Even the Red Wedding was such a moment. However, after four seasons, it's just chaos without order. Is it good that Stannis wants to fight with the Wildlings? Is it good that Tyrion may team up with Khaleesi? Especially the last question will be answered by many with "Yes" - because everybody loves those two. However, is it right that the only indicator for evaluating those actions is our sympathy for the characters? At the latest from season 4, we learnt that it's just chaos. There is no endgame in it.

    Imagine the show ends with Khaleesi on the throne, her enemies defeated, the Lannisters dead. Khaleesi swears she will protect the poor, everything is fine. Is it really the end? It may be the end of the show, but definitely not of the whole story, of the universe of GoT. We would just know that there is somebody else out there wanting the throne, attacking her eventually. We will get an incomplete story. And that is because focus is missing.

    We could argue whether this is really important in a TV show. Whether a show really has to be defined by its red thread, by giving every scene a meaning in the endgame. I think it is important and Game of Thrones lost it during the third and fourth episode by providing chaos and no order.

    The first episode of the fifth season was a very weak one (for GoT standards!). It is unfortunate that the creators have to use the first episode of every season to remind everybody where every character is and what happened in the last seasons, especially with only 10 episodes á 45 minutes.

    Still, I have the feeling that now, after four seasons, the writers are heading towards the endgame. First alliances are made, a lot of different interest are tied together to only a few. Maybe at the end of the season we will be in for a big, all-encompassing fight. If the show succeeds in giving every past action (Robb Stark's dead for example) a meaning in the endgame, I will be impressed and very happy.

    tl;dr It's good. Just watch it, you will probably love it.    … Expand
  20. weirdcryo
    Nov 28, 2015
    4
    The story just got boring after lot of epicness season after season, right now everything related to the plot just seems "unnecessary prolonged" and when something really happens it feels like something that we already saw in past season plus bad special effects and poorly performed action scenes.
    Lot of people hyped about a couple of scenes that "saved the season", personally I found    The story just got boring after lot of epicness season after season, right now everything related to the plot just seems "unnecessary prolonged" and when something really happens it feels like something that we already saw in past season plus bad special effects and poorly performed action scenes.
    Lot of people hyped about a couple of scenes that "saved the season", personally I found them not worthy of the show I was used to see, specially the fights because to be honest never like most of GoT special effects.    … Expand
  21. Spedattack
    Jun 23, 2016
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Game of Thrones is my favorite TV show of all-time. It has always been filled with memorable and well-written characters as well as some truly magnificent story-telling. As much as I wanted to say that this season was the best, I would say now it is the worst. I am not by any means saying that this was a bad season, but it just wasn't as good as it should have been.
    After the good guys made a bit of a come-back last season, we start the season right where the last one left off. Tyrion is on the run after killing his father, the Lannisters are licking their wounds, Dany is still adjusting to ruling, the Boltons still rule the North with an iron fist, Sansa is still living with Littlefinger, and Jon continues his watch at the Wall while Stannis Baratheon prepares to march on Winterfell from there.
    This show does provide some great character moments and interesting storylines, but this was the first season I felt that they gave us way too many boring and uninteresting storylines. Almost nothing was interesting about Kings Landing or Mereen in the first half of the season. But by far the biggest gripe I have is with the Dorne storyline. A poorly-written, horribly-directed, terribly-acted, and down-right BORING setting. However, the storylines happening in the North and at the Wall make the first episodes watchable.
    However, the last half of the season managed to undo some of the damage of the first with some truly excellent episodes like Hardhome and Mother's Mercy. While also giving us some truly shocking and heartbreaking moments only Game of Thrones can give us.
    To wrap this up, Season 5 is not a bad season. However, it is a step-back for the series that up until now only went forward. A boring first half is not acceptable for a show like Game of Thrones, but it is some-what overshadowed by good storytelling in the second half.
    Positive:
    +A great second-half
    +The North and The Wall storylines
    +Hardhome
    Negative:
    -Lackluster first half
    -Dorne storyline
    -Too many boring moments    … Expand
  22. Miljac
    Jul 11, 2015
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Game of Thrones has officially peaked... in season 4. Coming out of a good season, season 5 started off really slow and without much direction. And seeing as how it ended, I can say that many of the progress happening during season 5 was actually now pretty pointless. Not to be too negative, this season had it fair share of shocks and fun moments, most of which happened in the last three episodes.
    The show hurts from having focused on too many characters, like Sam who is a fun supporting character (really really fun), but giving him his own little story fell short, as I was bored every time I saw him with Gilly. Some leading stories were not as interesting as they should be, like with Arya. Most of the season I had no desire of watching her story, even though the story with Arya and a Faceless man in season two was one of my favorites and I was really excited when I heard it was coming back. The Wall (aside from the final two episodes), Dorne... it was all dragging and it was not all that interesting to me.
    Positives of the season was definitely Sansa and her return to Winterfell. Sansa became a real favorite character of mine even during season 4 (where I felt she changed in the midst of being free from the Lannisters). Tyrion was another positive thing, mostly because he's an awesome character, played by an awesome actor. But watching him meet Danaerys and worming his way into her world was interesting. And also Cersei... watching her be the Queen **** pulling strings and ruining lives, just to have her own being crumbled and thrown into mud was really well done and I am looking forward to seeing her revenge.    … Expand
  23. AliceofX
    Jun 12, 2019
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This is where things started to go down. Instead of kings fighting one another we have Jaime trying to rescue Marcella, the sparrows, whatever Arya was doing in Braavos. Who cares? And did they just completely forget about Bran?… Expand
  24. TributeMan
    Feb 20, 2016
    4
    The Winter… Fu*k this sh*t!

    Oderwanie się od fabuły książek było ogromnym błędem. Historia już nie porywa, efekty komputerowe przeważają nad analogicznymi (wyglądają okropnie), w kółko słyszymy ten sam utwór w minimalnie różniących się formach. Zgniłą wiśnią na tym przeterminowanym torcie są "niespodziewane zwroty" akcji. Nie czerpałem ŻADNEJ przyjemności z oglądania tego ścierwa i po    The Winter… Fu*k this sh*t!

    Oderwanie się od fabuły książek było ogromnym błędem. Historia już nie porywa, efekty komputerowe przeważają nad analogicznymi (wyglądają okropnie), w kółko słyszymy ten sam utwór w minimalnie różniących się formach. Zgniłą wiśnią na tym przeterminowanym torcie są "niespodziewane zwroty" akcji. Nie czerpałem ŻADNEJ przyjemności z oglądania tego ścierwa i po tak dużym spadku jakości zastanawiam się czy warto obejrzeć sezon 6.    … Expand
  25. DrSpaceCowboy
    Jul 26, 2015
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This season was extremely hit and miss in my opinion. Even as someone who has read the books, I understand that certain story lines have to be cut for TV, it's just a matter of the medium. What I don't understand is writing completely illogical and pointless story lines when the good source(admittedly not perfect) story lines of books 4 and 5 are right there. I give this season a four because just under half of the story lines in this season were actually good and the other ones were just utter flops.
    As far as good story lines go, the main ones that were both entertaining and contained actual plot were: Jon/Sam, Tyrion, Cersei, and specifically Theon in the Winterfell story. Jon follows a logical progression given his previous interactions with the wildlings, goes off book to deliver the best scene of the season(Hardhome), pisses his brothers off by doing so and understandably gets killed in a mutiny.
    Sam finds himself only useful around books, so it makes sense that he would want to go to the citadel.
    Tyrion's rediscovery and him being given hope by Dany through Jorah and Varys works well. He uses his wit to get by and delivers some very entertaining television.
    Cersei has paranoia established by Maggy the Frog and her poor decisions reflect that. It all catches up with her in a very satisfying way. On top of that, the Walk of Shame and all the small council scenes were excellent.
    And Alfie Allen as Theon can act. He was the best part of every scene he was in, nails the Reek character. None of these storylines were perfect; but they were both compelling and logical, and they saved most of the episodes.

    On to the bad. Sansa, Arya, Dany, Stannis, and most of all Dorne were the true pitfalls of season 5. Baelish sending Sansa to marry Ramsay seems stupid and like it is throwing away his master plan; but it is Littlefinger so you never know. But, as for Sansa in Winterfell, it was a complete character regression. She just escaped from being Joffrey's torture target to being Ramsay's just doesn't work for character development. She goes back to being weak and is saved again. Brienne's role in the whole thing is pretty pointless as well; but that pretty much lives up to her in book 4(although I do believe the small details in her chapters will prove meaningful eventually), so I can't really complain.
    The Arya story benefits from good acting and an interesting setting, but falls flat on writing. She acts so reckless the whole season that it is hard to believe that she is progressing in the house of black and white and away from being Arya Stark. Also, making Meryn Trant such a monster was a poor choice in two ways. One because it provided a bunch of needless HBO shock value, and two because Arya killing a monster doesn't progress her down her dark character path. If anything it makes her more like Arya and a force for good, more character regression.
    As for Dany, the week to week events did make entertaining TV, but overall her story is meaningless and severely lacking a moral. Both her book and show story are an allegory to the Iraq war, with the Sons of the Harpy being a metaphor for terrorism. Through episode 9, she struggles with the occupation of Meereen and the terrorist threat. She can either impose Western law or assimilate to their culture and win over the people. Even though she chooses the latter, it all doesn't matter because every one in Meereen is a savage terrorist anyway. A horrible message for an incredibly popular show to be giving.
    With Stannis, we see the supposed greatest general in Westeros act like a fool. He shows no concern for morale in an army full of non-loyal sellswords by burning Shireen who had been set up the whole season as a super likable character. His entire march on Winterfell is a failure; and barring any twists, the burning of Shireen was completely pointless in terms of the plot, and was purely for shock value.
    And finally... Dorne. Horrible writing, horrible acting, and a horrible plot don't combine for anything less than the worst TV that I've ever seen. Nearly every scene was unwatchably bad, and even the shreds of plot that escaped those disgraces' to acting(Jaime and Bronn excluded) mouths made no sense whatsoever. Nearly every action by the characters seems like a surefire way to start a war yet somehow doesn't. The cosmic coincidences that bring the characters together are embarrassingly bad. And in the end, Doran's famed Dornish master plan ended up being avoid war with the Lannisters for nine episodes, only to start one via a sucker punch to get the early advantage.

    Again, hit and miss. The failures of some of the no training wheels/source material parts of the season have me worried for season 6, but hopefully they can learn from their mistakes. For example, RECAST THE SAND SNAKES AND GET NEW WRITERS. Also, shoutout to Preston Jacobs who provided some of the analysis for this review.    … Expand
  26. eternal_napalm
    Nov 24, 2015
    6
    I'm going to assume you watched seasons 1-4, if you did not, don't read this review. The worst season of Game of Thrones of the 5 seasons, this season was often boring and slow. There were notable highpoints, especially Episode 8, but this season really suffered from the loss of so many great, fan-favorite characters played by great actors who died in season 4. Even in episode 8, theyI'm going to assume you watched seasons 1-4, if you did not, don't read this review. The worst season of Game of Thrones of the 5 seasons, this season was often boring and slow. There were notable highpoints, especially Episode 8, but this season really suffered from the loss of so many great, fan-favorite characters played by great actors who died in season 4. Even in episode 8, they introduce a new, interesting and well-acted character but she dies in the same episode. The writing is becoming too predictable. The best characters suffer or die, the so-so characters do nothing interesting. The Dorne storyline was aweful, too, by far the worst ever on this show.… Expand
  27. celenaalg
    Apr 5, 2016
    5
    I love game of thrones!! but was really unhappy we lost JOHN SNOW he was by far my favorite!! and I really looked forward to seeing him more but that got shot down!! :-( bring him back lol
  28. EPMD
    Jul 1, 2016
    5
    The settings are the show's greatest strength. They do a fantastic job of removing you from Earth and placing you in an exotic location from long ago. The characters have great potential, but some of them are just too one dimensional. Evil for the sake of being evil isn't much fun to watch, especially when the majority of virtuous types face brutality on a regular basis. The plot...wellThe settings are the show's greatest strength. They do a fantastic job of removing you from Earth and placing you in an exotic location from long ago. The characters have great potential, but some of them are just too one dimensional. Evil for the sake of being evil isn't much fun to watch, especially when the majority of virtuous types face brutality on a regular basis. The plot...well that comes and goes. Some of the stories are dull and aimless, and some stories just seem like a contrived way to put bare breasts on TV. The shame walk at the end of the season was particularly egregious in this regard. 10 seconds into that scene we got the point of it, but I guess they needed a few minutes of bare breasts to meet the season quota.

    Specifically for Season 5, the biggest weakness was the Arya plot. It doesn't tie in with any of the other plots (which is a common problem for this show), but more importantly, it was just completely boring and nonsensical.    … Expand
  29. All_ButTrU4
    Dec 11, 2021
    6
    The introduction of Dorne feels like an after thought despite it's importance in the book and in the show as a foreign power. Muting stellar performances through rudimentary dialogues and copied characterisations an immovable achievement questions the longevity of quality in a show going further than what is written for it. Unfortunately the anxiety of shifting alliances and circumstancesThe introduction of Dorne feels like an after thought despite it's importance in the book and in the show as a foreign power. Muting stellar performances through rudimentary dialogues and copied characterisations an immovable achievement questions the longevity of quality in a show going further than what is written for it. Unfortunately the anxiety of shifting alliances and circumstances feels dulled as most apparently through Daenerys who's character who had never been particularly compelling before (Despite emilia clarks award worthy performance) seems to just be nearing threat of unreasonable luck. Her obstacles being surmounted too conveniently as well as her struggles becoming less compelling. The now infamous sands snakes fight scenes choreography to the forgotten storylines make this a dirge to get through. Until the last 4 episodes which come to show the shows capability for quality control of previous seasons proportions.… Expand

Awards & Rankings

5
#5 Best TV Season of 2015
10
#10 Most Discussed TV Season of 2015
60
#60 Most Shared TV Season of 2015

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
91

Universal acclaim - based on 29 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 29 out of 29
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 29
  3. Negative: 0 out of 29
  1. TV Guide Magazine
    Reviewed by: Matt Roush
    Apr 16, 2015
    90
    It's a lot to digest but well worth the effort. [20 Apr - 3 May 2015, p.13]
  2. St. Louis Post-Dispatch
    Reviewed by: Gail Pennington
    Apr 13, 2015
    100
    In the four episodes provided for preview, the action seldom lags, but just when we think we’re in for a fun ride this season, something darkens the sun.
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  3. Vox.com
    Reviewed by: Emily VanDerWerff
    Apr 13, 2015
    90
    Everything that was always good about Game of Thrones is still good. The ensemble cast remains one of TV's richest, from top to bottom, and even actors who seemed weak in the past (like Sophie Turner, who plays increasingly embittered Sansa Stark) continue to rise to the level of much better material.
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