In the annals of television history, Game of Thrones will surely go down as one of the most visually ambitious. This show, more than any other, showed that the medium of television is, in fact, capable of capturing the grandeur and epic scale more typical to full-length features.
A great deal of that success has to do with the ease with which the series shifts between scenes that are real and those that are CGI, often suturing us into the alternate reality of Westeros. Today, we'll look at several excellent examples from both sides of the coin.
10 Real: The Road to Meereen
One of the most traumatizing moments in the entire series (and that’s saying something) comes from seeing the road to Meereen lined with crucifixions. In this instance, Dany has decided that the most fitting way to inaugurate her conquest of the city (and to show her devotion to ending slavery) is by crucifying the former Masters, leaving their corpses as a warning. It’s all the more troubling for the visceral reality of it, and it is a harbinger of the dark things to come.
9 CGI: The Overhead Shots of Braavos
The city of Braavos, famous for its assassins and for its fencing masters, is loosely based on the city of Venice. Unlike some of the other cities in the series, it is actually portrayed with quite a lot of detail, and we are even treated to a magnificent overhead shot of its expanse. It’s quite a breath-taking view, and the fact that it is CGI is a potent reminder of just how much technology can accomplish.
8 Real: Ned’s Execution
Game of Thrones made audiences everywhere gasp when they killed off one of their main characters at the end of the first season. What makes it even more compelling to watch is that you know that these are real actors reenacting this traumatic scene from the novel upon which the series is based.
Sean Bean deserves a lot of credit for bringing Ned Stark to life, in particular imbuing his last moments with the tragic nobility that is such a part of his character.
7 CGI: The Wildlings Climbing the Wall
Though it is based on the real Hadrian’s Wall in the north of England, the Wall of Westeros is far more vast in scope, towering many, many times the height of a giant (let alone a man), and imbued with powerful magic. It comes as no surprise, then, that the series uses CGI to bring it to life. This allows them to show us how truly vast this construction is, particularly when juxtaposed to the tiny humans crawling upon it, desperate to reach the lands of the south.
6 Real: Dany and Viserys in Pentos
At the beginning of the series, we are treated to several scenes of the siblings Dany and Viserys walking through the sun-drenched city of Pentos, where they are the guests of one of the city’s powerful merchants. The fact that these scenes are real rather than CGI gives them an immediacy, a sense that we, too, are there in that space of security, a place where Dany can have at least a little bit of peace before she begins her path toward power and madness.
5 CGI: Dany Riding Drogon
One of the most exciting scenes is when Dany first begins to ride Drogon. It’s a potent reminder of just how powerful these beasts are, and how they fundamentally change the nature of the war that Dany is about to wage against her enemies in Westeros. The fact that, somehow, the wizards in charge of the series’ CGI made Drogon, as well as the other dragons, so convincingly realistic is a testament to their tremendous skills.
4 Real: Tommen and Margaery’s Wedding
Beneath her pleasant and disarming exterior, the character of Margaery Tyrell (played by the inimitable Natalie Dormer) shows again and again that she has the cunning and the subtlety to survive the Game of Thrones (for a time, anyway). Her marriage with Tommen marks the second time that she is bound to the fates of House Baratheon and, as one of the scenes that is actually shot rather than CGI, it’s a reminder of the splendor that the royal court can summon.
3 CGI: Cersei Watching the Burning of the Sept of Baelor
Cersei’s magnificent plan to destroy the Great Sept of Baelor (as well as everyone inside of it) is one of her crowning achievements as a character, however terrible it may be.
Even though we know that it is produced through the magic of CGI, it is still breathtaking and horrifying to watch this magnificent structure that has stood for so long as the heart of the Faith of the Seven reduced to nothing but smoldering ruins, a sacrifice on the altar of Cersei's vengeful ambition.
2 Real: Jon and Dany Meeting on Dragonstone
It is one of the meetings that would reshape the entire history of Westeros, the fateful encounter between Jon Snow and Dany, one of them the bastard nephew of the other. Once again, the fact that it is real makes it so that one can sense the energy crackling between these two people, both of whom have their own ambitions, their own purposes for Westeros, that will eventually set them on a collision course. The beautiful, if imposingly austere set design is also to be appreciated.
1 CGI: The Sailing of the Targaryen Fleet
Sometimes, there is nothing as exhilarating to watch as a magnificent fleet setting sail on a voyage of conquest. That is certainly the case when Dany’s fleet at last sets sail from the continent of Essos, bringing an army with which she hopes to finally conquer Westeros and bring about the fruition of all of her dreams. At this point, we do not yet know how her journey will end, and so we can simply immerse ourselves in the beauty of watching the ships brought to life.
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