Game of Thrones: The Complete Collection 4K UHD (2011-2019)

[ThulsaMike88]

Originally Posted by serenityncc880

I am fine with where things ended in the final season. (Well most. There is a particular character that spent most of the series on a massive redemption arc that is entirely flipped 180 degrees suddenly during the last couple of eps). It’s how they got there that I thought was handled very poorly. There were episodes that felt like filler in a 6 episode season, where characters ended up/exited the series, regardless if it was foreshadowed, felt rushed and unearned. I know that last point makes it seem like “it just didnt happen the way I wanted it” not at all, in fact some I predicted where it would go but it wasnt handled very well. They hyped up “biggest battle ever” and it ended up being overlong, had idiotic battle tactics and just did not stack up to any of the battles that came before it. All of this is subjective of course, and its great there is a group that liked it, but to be dismissive of the opinion held by a fairly large majority of fans who to just simply being they didn’t get what they wanted and nothing other than that I feel is not accurate. If you read criticisms online outside of this form you will find many better articulated opinions and analysis than what I can offer myself. I am still someone who defends the series and remains a fan (that’s why I am here) but I can not justify the final season as being much other than a disappointment overall.

Agreed. As a huge fan of the show, it wasn't so much that the ending was bad or didn't make sense, but how everyone got there that was the problem for me. "Rushed and unearned" as you put it, is a good description. Either way, I'll forever be grateful for the journey and the first 5ish seasons (which I think are brilliant), and the final few seasons which were overall great.

[Jaybob]

I still don’t see what

[Show spoiler]Jaime did

goes against the redemption arc. In fact the opposite. He’s chosen to pay for his sins while learning to accept who he is.

[MarkosC]

I think this is a pretty good summary.

Originally Posted by serenityncc880

I am fine with where things ended in the final season. (Well most. There is a particular character that spent most of the series on a massive redemption arc that is entirely flipped 180 degrees suddenly during the last couple of eps). It’s how they got there that I thought was handled very poorly.

There were episodes that felt like filler in a 6 episode season, where characters ended up/exited the series, regardless if it was foreshadowed, felt rushed and unearned.

I know that last point makes it seem like “it just didnt happen the way I wanted it” not at all, in fact some I predicted where it would go but it wasnt handled very well. They hyped up “biggest battle ever” and it ended up being overlong, had idiotic battle tactics and just did not stack up to any of the battles that came before it.

All of this is subjective of course, and its great there is a group that liked it, but to be dismissive of the opinion held by a fairly large majority of fans who to just simply being they didn’t get what they wanted and nothing other than that I feel is not accurate. If you read criticisms online outside of this form you will find many better articulated opinions and analysis than what I can offer myself. I am still someone who defends the series and remains a fan (that’s why I am here) but I can not justify the final season as being much other than a disappointment overall.

I'd add that it's not the overall story arc, but IMO how it was put together. In particular the coherence and plotting of the story.

(I'd also opine the show hasn't been really special - just more workmanlike TV - in terms of cinematography. And that many of the seasons - especially after season 2 - IMO were just basically several hundred minutes divided up into 10 parts that gave even amounts of time to each plotline in each episode)

Mind you, I'm not a "it diverges too far from the books", "GRRM would have done better" or "the books are better than the show/movie" type of person.........

[Show spoiler]

The way the Jon Snow - Aegon Targaryen VIII reveal was handled was awful. The tower of joy scene was - exaggerating a bit because I'm not interested in googling and calculating the exact numbers - maybe 10 minutes of finished footage leaked two minutes at a time over 5 episodes. And the in-universe-reveal and implications of that was also dragged out over seasons 7 and 8.

I'd agree with many critics about how the Nights King was portrayed. In the end he was a big bad, without much backstory or motivation. And he was dispatched with all the aplomb of a video game's 2nd level boss monster. (you cannot beat him but if you try this odd angle and method you can totally obliterate him in a strike).

On the same subject, the destiny of the two Targaryen dragon riders is slightly signaled in the show, is a major implied destiny of the book, and is central to the overall plot. it was dealt with very perfunctorily in S8E3 and very little came of it. Like the whole "long night battle" sequence was basically a big fantasy battle sequence and nothing more. (and lots of which made little sense)

The coda was awful. Jon Snow/Aegon T VIII is in prison, they have a big meeting, fine. This major "who sits on the iron throne" story arc ends by (pretty shitty) exposition (that not even Peter Dinklage can fix) - the throne should go to the person with the best story.........

That said, I think Dany's arc went well, though again I think it was handled clumsily-to-indifferently.

And for the record, I also think the show's end is basically GRRM's end - it fits the books well.

An ending needs to at the very least conclude the main story arcs and themes, let the viewers say goodbye to the characters, in a satisfying manner. "Lost"'s ending I think did OK on the first and pretty good on the second. (for a story that's basically made up as it went, as far as I understand). Breaking Bad did fairly well. I just finished a relatively modest budget AMC series - the Terror: Infamy (uneven but generally pretty interesting Japanese bakemono series mated with the WWII Japanese American experience) which I thought did this well.

GOT didn't do this well, IMO, and is a major downer for what - for at least the first 3-4 seasons, maybe longer (I'd have to rewatch ) - was an awesome show.

[Filmmaker]

Originally Posted by MarkosC

Breaking Bad did fairly well.

BREAKING BAD never did anything fairly well. It did everything to absolute crystalline perfection.

[bratpack]

Originally Posted by MarkosC

I think this is a pretty good summary.



I'd add that it's not the overall story arc, but IMO how it was put together. In particular the coherence and plotting of the story.

(I'd also opine the show hasn't been really special - just more workmanlike TV - in terms of cinematography. And that many of the seasons - especially after season 2 - IMO were just basically several hundred minutes divided up into 10 parts that gave even amounts of time to each plotline in each episode)

Mind you, I'm not a "it diverges too far from the books", "GRRM would have done better" or "the books are better than the show/movie" type of person.........

[Show spoiler]

The way the Jon Snow - Aegon Targaryen VIII reveal was handled was awful. The tower of joy scene was - exaggerating a bit because I'm not interested in googling and calculating the exact numbers - maybe 10 minutes of finished footage leaked two minutes at a time over 5 episodes. And the in-universe-reveal and implications of that was also dragged out over seasons 7 and 8.

I'd agree with many critics about how the Nights King was portrayed. In the end he was a big bad, without much backstory or motivation. And he was dispatched with all the aplomb of a video game's 2nd level boss monster. (you cannot beat him but if you try this odd angle and method you can totally obliterate him in a strike).

On the same subject, the destiny of the two Targaryen dragon writers is slightly signaled in the show, is a major implied destiny of the book, and is central to the overall plot. it was dealt with very perfunctorily in S8E3 and very little came of it. Like the whole "long night battle" sequence was basically a big fantasy battle sequence and nothing more. (and lots of which made little sense)

The coda was awful. Jon Snow/Aegon T VIII is in prison, they have a big meeting, fine. This major story arc ends by (pretty shitty) exposition (that not even Peter Dinklage can fix) - the throne should go to the person with the best story.........

That said, I think Dany's arc went well, though again I think it was handled clumsily-to-indifferently.

And for the record, I also think the show's end is basically GRRM's end - it fits the books well.

An ending needs to at the very least conclude the main story arcs and themes, let the viewers say goodbye to the characters, in a satisfying manner. "Lost"'s ending I think did OK on the first and pretty good on the second. (for a story that's basically made up as it went, as far as I understand). Breaking Bad did fairly well. I just finished a relatively modest budget AMC series - the Terror: Infamy (uneven but generally pretty interesting Japanese bakemono series mated with the WWII Japanese American experience) which I thought did this well.

GOT didn't do this well, IMO, and is a major downer for what - for at least the first 3-4 seasons, maybe longer (I'd have to rewatch ) - was an awesome show.

I remember at the time of breaking bad season 5a people saying it was boring and slow , nothing is happening etc
There will always be critics but I do believe GOT problems got magnified just by the insane amount of viewers and the worldwide phenomenon it was pulling in at this point in the show not to say season 8 was perfect it definitely was not but like every other tv show it’s a late entry season and they mostly do get lesser as they go on that’s the nature of the beast really isn’t it

[JerryMaFNGuire]

Sopranos, Mad Men, and Sons of Anarchy beat em all.

[JSK23]

Originally Posted by recS-12

So this current sale price of $169.99 is the lowest it has ever been? I plan on price matching at Best Buy today. I also have $10 in rz certificates to bring it down even lower if this is the case.

It is. I am tempted to try a price match at BB as well. I said it jump if this was under $140-150, and with the BB rewards I have, I can get it at that price. Very tempting.

[pwsdaddy]

So I am on episode 6. So far it is beautiful and sounds great. Here are my few gripes. (My pardons if these have been expressed earlier).

1. It does not remember where you were when you resume playback.
2. The subtitles load from the bottom of the list and English is listed first. So it is a pain to wade through the 20 others to get to English.
3. As stated many times Atmos is not the default audio choice.

Overall it is still a great purchase. I price matched and got it for the $169.99 price at BB.

[NotASpeckOfCereal]

Originally Posted by pwsdaddy

So I am on episode 6. So far it is beautiful and sounds great. Here are my few gripes. (My pardons if these have been expressed earlier).

1. It does not remember where you were when you resume playback.
2. The subtitles load from the bottom of the list and English is listed first. So it is a pain to wade through the 20 others to get to English.
3. As stated many times Atmos is not the default audio choice.

Overall it is still a great purchase. I price matched and got it for the $169.99 price at BB.

1.5. It also does not remember subtitles, even if you don't eject the disc, so you must reselect it every time you power on.

But I've said that before. I'm mainly replying that your #2 is new to me. You must mean from the disc menu (GoT software menu). I've never turned on subtitles that way before, instead using the button I have on my Sony player's remote. If you have such a button, you might try that, because mine comes up with English as the first option.

Chris

[mckee74]

Originally Posted by JerryMaFNGuire

Sopranos, Mad Men, and Sons of Anarchy beat em all.

As much as I like Sons of Anarchy, it would be a better show if the Irish season could be cast into a dark, dark pit without chance of escape.

[pwsdaddy]

Originally Posted by NotASpeckOfCereal

1.5. It also does not remember subtitles, even if you don't eject the disc, so you must reselect it every time you power on.

But I've said that before. I'm mainly replying that your #2 is new to me. You must mean from the disc menu (GoT software menu). I've never turned on subtitles that way before, instead using the button I have on my Sony player's remote. If you have such a button, you might try that, because mine comes up with English as the first option.

Chris

Thank you. I also have a Sony and that worked. Unfortunately to turn them off I have to still run through them all as hitting the subtitle button again just changes it to the next language.

[LiemaxUnenhanced]

So what's the deal with the digital codes expiring? You mean to tell me a physical release has codes that expire within 3 months of release?! What a joke.

Edit: This is based off some reviews I've seen for the set on Amazon, however they may be for older blu-ray sets as the reviews are mixed all together for the different formats. In any case I ordered from Amazon and will report back if my 4k collection does come with expired codes.

Codes fine.

[Gacivory]

Originally Posted by LiemaxUnenhanced

So what's the deal with the digital codes expiring? You mean to tell me a physical release has codes that expire within 3 months of release?! What a joke.

I’ve bought stuff with codes that have expired and they still worked.

[Bostonyte]

Originally Posted by LiemaxUnenhanced

So what's the deal with the digital codes expiring? You mean to tell me a physical release has codes that expire within 3 months of release?! What a joke.

Edit: This is based off some reviews I've seen for the set on Amazon, however they may be for older blu-ray sets as the reviews are mixed all together for the different formats. In any case I ordered from Amazon and will report back if my 4k collection does come with expired codes.

FYI - no expiration date listed on GOT 4K redemption card

[KiLLPaTRiCK]

Now i watched the last season again in 4K. I liked it. Picture quality was amazing compared to SD-version from HBO when i saw it last. I never liked Dany so for me her demise was nice positive surprise. Very RR Martin type of ending. And it was not too fast. 10/10 series.

[dcowboy7]

$166.49 now.

Black Friday 2021 $99.99 ??

[LiemaxUnenhanced]

So is there a definitive list of what Special Features are missing from the 4k set? I skimmed the thread but wasn't really able to find anything besides the Walmart Exclusive Season 8 Special Effects feature and if I recall correctly The Dothraki Language featurette was missing on the Season 1 standalone 4k.

[cuzzin]

Originally Posted by KiLLPaTRiCK

Now i watched the last season again in 4K. I liked it. Picture quality was amazing compared to SD-version from HBO when i saw it last.

[Show spoiler]I never liked Dany so for me her demise was nice positive surprise.

Very RR Martin type of ending. And it was not too fast. 10/10 series.

What kind of dinosaur are you, that you were actually watching this show in standard definition? lol

Also, you should probably use spoiler tags, especially for spoilers that big, as this is not a show discussion thread.

[minister_x]

Originally Posted by LiemaxUnenhanced

So is there a definitive list of what Special Features are missing from the 4k set? I skimmed the thread but wasn't really able to find anything besides the Walmart Exclusive Season 8 Special Effects feature and if I recall correctly The Dothraki Language featurette was missing on the Season 1 standalone 4k.

It doesn't look like the Dothraki featurette was missing from the S1 4K set. I believe the In-Episode Guides and Complete Guide to Westeros bonus view features are missing, as are all episode previews/recaps (present on early pre-Atmos blu sets). Not sure whether or not the 'new' Histories and Lore hour-long feature for S1 4K is just an amalgamation of the bonus view content - doesn't seem to be on the regular S1 blus?


In terms of exclusives:

Season 1:
- Target Exclusive ==> included on bonus disc #2
- Walmart Exclusive ==> included on bonus disc #2

Season 2:
- Target Exclusives
---- "Westeros at War" interview with George R.R. Martin (18:44) ==> included on bonus disc #2
---- "Invitation to the Set" featurette (2:32) *** missing ***
---- "Arya's Stark New Look" featurette (1:19) *** missing ***
---- "Art Direction" featurette (1:46) *** missing ***
---- "Weapons" featurette (1:58) *** missing ***
- Walmart Exclusive ==> included on bonus disc #2

Season 3:
- Target Exclusive
---- "An Evening With Game of Thrones Q&A" (HD, 86:22) *** missing ***
- Walmart Exclusive ==> included on bonus disc #2

Season 4:
- Target Exclusive ==> included on bonus disc #2
- Walmart Exclusive ==> included on bonus disc #1

Season 5:
- Target Exclusive ==> included on bonus disc #2
- Walmart Exclusive ==> included on bonus disc #1
- Barnes & Noble Exclusive ==> included on bonus disc #2

Season 6:
- Target Exclusive ==> included on bonus disc #1
- Walmart Exclusive ==> included on bonus disc #2

Season 7:
- Target Exclusive ==> included on bonus disc #1
- Walmart Exclusive ==> included on bonus disc #2

Season 8:
- Target Exclusive
---- "How the Storm was Born" featurette (30:21) *** missing ***
- Walmart Exclusive
---- "From Renderings to Reality: The Visual Effects of Season 8" featurette (26:09) *** missing ***

[NeoTechnicJ]

Finally finished watching all 8 seasons on UHD. Had issues with Season 5 disc 2 initially, I had to wipe the disc down several times for it to work. So if you have a disc not working, I recommend repeatedly cleaning it before going on ebay. Very odd issue in any event.

The detail really does improve as the seasons go on. Definitely enjoyed the Long Night more since I could actually see what was going on lol.

On a side note I personally enjoyed seasons 4 & 6 the most. Still feel like seasons 7-8 where a bit unbalanced, both taking time for non-plot centric fan service (wouldn't it be cool if character A had a convo with character B!) and rushing certain character arcs and the ending in general... but it is what is... Martin will probably never finish his book(s) so at least there is one ending.