I recently applied for a writing job that asked me to produce some samples of work relevant to current media news. Naturally, I chose the just-released-season-premiere of Game of Thrones, since it was a topic hot as dragon-fire at the time. Well, in the game of writing jobs, you win a position or your article’s relevance dies. Unfortunately, I didn’t get the position. However, as it still feels (mostly) relevant, I figured I’d share the shorter of the two pieces here:
Season 8 of Game of Thronesis finally here and winter has come at last! The final season promises all kinds of dramatic changes—something made abundantly clear before the first scene even started. To see just how different things are, you need only check out newGame of ThronesSeason 8 opening credits. Past seasons showcased different parts of the world map, but this season focuses on three specific locations. Here what the opening credits tell us.
The Wall
The Wall has been breached. The one defense which previously separated the Seven Kingdoms from the threats of Wildlings and the Others now has a massive hole in it. The opening credits used to show the Wall from the southern side as the camera ascended along an elevator-like lift to the top, but now the cameras swoops in from the north through the breach, even as the tiles of the Earth are flipped upside down, representing how the invading army of the dead are turning the land to a frozen ruin.
Winterfell
For the first time, the credits show Winterfell as more than just battlements and a blossoming weirwood tree. The camera swoops beyond the weirwood grove through a series of castle gates before passing into the Great Hall, and then down into the crypts below Winterfell. Later in the episode, we see all the heroes have converged on Winterfell. This is a citadel about to be under siege, each gate forming a layer of protection against the Night King’s forces. Additionally, the Great Hall is where the characters gather to make their plans, even as the crypts honor the past of those dead characters like Ned and Lyanna whose legacy has been inherited by the surviving Starks. The past and present must be reconciled at Winterfell if they are to survive the siege.
King’s Landing
The battlements of King’s Landing clearly demonstrate the strength of the villains residing here. But now we go through the battlements, down a tower’s spiral stairway, through dungeons, and up to the throne room, where a Lannister lion is perched over the Iron Throne. Though Cersei thinks herself secure here, the emphasis on the city’s fortifications suggests the city will also be under siege, and that the strength of her armies will falter at the end of the season when a different coat of arms will appear over the throne.
The Modern Skald 