Boxes of Joy

Game of Thrones The Complete Collection (HBO)

Chances are by now you’ve seen HBO’s signature series, Game of Thrones. But if you’ve watched all 73 episodes/eight seasons only once, you haven’t fully appreciated the genius of author George R.R. Martin and GoT’s adoptive TV dads, showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss. Watch a few of their interviews—there are many throughout this massive set—and you’ll soon understand that Benioff and Weiss have a deep respect for, and encyclopedic knowledge of, the elaborate fantasy world that they inherited. Their obvious love for this saga can’t help but become ours as we journey to every far-flung corner of Westeros in search of justice, an effective defense against the army of the dead, and by the old gods and the new, a worthy ruler for the seven kingdoms!

Although Martin’s final two volumes remain unpublished, the show’s creators had a clear vision from the beginning of the complete story they wanted to tell. Upon repeat viewings, their long game is revealed as a masterclass in foreshadowing,