Game of Thrones: The Complete Collection - 4K Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Game of Thrones: The Complete Collection



Movie:
4K Video:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:


WARNING: THE SCORES ABOVE ARE A COMBINED SCORE FROM ALL 8 SEASONS, THE INDIVIDUAL SCORES ARE CONTAINED BELOW IN THE INDIVIDUAL SECTIONS OF THE REVIEW

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Movie
I can’t believe that it’s taken this long for one of the highest rated shows in history (well, until that season 8 finale) has only had TWO seasons in 4K UHD been released so far. The first season got an impromptu release back in 2018 (and a non combo pack release at that) and season 8 got the 4K combo pack release as well as Blu-ray release when it was released last year. As such it kind of left fans a little frustrated when HBO released a complete collection for the series right along the same time line as season 8, but noooooooo word of a 4K UHD release. Well, fast forward a year and we finally get our desires fulfilled as HBO/Warner drop a MASSIVE 8 seasons boxset complete with great artwork, a trio of special features discs and a wicked price for the whole thing (less than $25 per season at retail, sales not withstanding). If us fans had ANYTHING to complain about, it’s that HBO hasn’t followed tradition in release it as a 4K UHD + Blu-ray combo pack, but just a 4K UHD set, and the digital copy included redeems in HDX instead of UHD

Season 1
As I actually reviewed the 4K UHD re-release of Season 1 back in 2018 our link to my analysis of the season's plot can be found HERE for those wanting a refresher course

Season 2
With one of the only stabilizing forces in the kingdom gone, the backstabbing moves up a notch. Joffrey, as insufferable as he was in season 1, becomes an even more hated villain for the series. Lena Headey Cersai Lannister and Peter Dinklage’s Tyrion Lannister start to take a much more active role in the machination. While the Lannisters are loathed by viewers, Peter Dinklage’s roles as the dwarf Tyrion is worth the price of admission alone. I have loved Peter Dinklage for years, but this role is his defining moment, shooting him to popularity that he had not experience as of yet. Maisie Williams amps up her role dramatically as Ned Stark’s daughter Arya and entwines herself deeper into the court of Tywin Lannister (Charles Dance) in an effort to survive. More hints are dropped about the upcoming ice demons and we still grumble and wine wondering when the dragons will actually appear.

To say the show is intense is an understatement. Each season is self-contained in terms of minor arcs, but the show is very much one singular story. Everything that happened earlier will define the show’s upcoming seasons and everything shown HAS a purpose. George R.R. Martin had been courted by Hollywood for years wanting to make an adaptation, but he had refused up until this point. Realizing that only HBO would have the freedom and the budget to nurture his show to fruition, the author started courting the Channel executives until they finally agreed (although it didn’t exactly take much to do that). With 4 seasons on Blu-ray and DVD so far, we can assume that HBO is doing a pretty stinking good job, especially after the show has gotten numerous awards for set, story, acting, and religiously keeping to the source material. The very reason that made me worried about starting the show since so many TV adaptations just throw the source material out of the window, or adapt it so much that it’s completely unrecognizable after the first season.

What made HBO such a perfect fit for the source material is the fact that “Song of Fire and Ice” is definitely an adult novel set. There’s blood, gore, sex, intrigue, characters who are neither good, nor bad, but happen to be different shades of grey. HBO allows the show to revel in all of the twisted dealings and evils that lurk in the hearts of men (I can almost hear Vincent Price saying that). With that being said, yes, there’s a fair bit of nudity and R-rated gore in the show. I’m not talking “Spartacus” levels where it was hyper stylized and nudity and sex was pretty much every 5 seconds, but the show is not exactly what I’d call little Timmy and Jane friendly. The storytelling is superb, and not just for a TV show. Most movies get envious just thinking about achieving what Game of Thrones has done on a narrative levels, even though the budget for the show can rival a lot of big budget films.

Season 3
Ahhh, Game of Thrones. The series where you’re scared to fall in love with the characters because you never know if they’re going to be around the next episode. From the mind of America’s favorite novelist serial killer, HBO has crafted one of THE best sword and sorcery fantasy series of all time. I was naturally skeptical of HBO trying to adapt 1000+ page books into a 12 episode season, but with the help of author George R.R. Martin they have done so with ease, even surpassing “Lord of the Rings” for depth and accuracy (not to mention being a LOT more adult in the process). The series has become the #1 highest rated show in all of cable television history, with ridiculous amounts of viewers tuning in every week to watch the latest episode (and then spoil it online, insert Mike grumbling and whining when he misses an episode and has to dodge that online minefield). Like with the last 2 sets that we reviewed, HBO has released and re-released the series several times over the last several years, but these steelbooks are considered their premium sets. Collector’s edition packaging is one thing, but adding in a full set of Dolby Atmos tracks (the first television series on Blu-ray to do so) is another thing, which is the very reason that I’m replacing my old editions with these new steelbooks.

I once again must warn you that I can’t go THAT in depth into the description of the show for two reasons. For one it is a show that is HEAVILY multi-layered, with so many intricate plots and double crosses going on with the show that if I start to give away too much it dampens the impact of quite a few plot points along the way. Then of course there’s the obvious answer for someone who’s seen the show. It’s just WAY too complicated without writing out a 5 page analysis of the goings on! People die, people live, 15,000 different political manipulations happen under the surface and the resulting spaghetti entangled story is just that much more headache inducing without watching the show as it unfolds.

With that being said, I have to say that season 3 and 4 are a bit unique. The showrunners decided to split George R.R. Martin’s 3rd book, “A Storm of Swords” into two seasons for very obvious reasons (and rightfully so in my opinion), so these seasons combined in the review come from ONE source (for the most part, there are a few bits of the 4th season that delve into newer material). While we always expect lots of death in the series and very few dragons, season 3 became the weak spot for the series. I usually rate the series a 4.5/5 or 5/5 depending on the season, but season 3 is a definite 4/5 for me. The show is a little bogged down as very little comparatively happens, and was the season that got audiences grumbling about the dragons. Or shall I say, lack of dragons. It’s always been a curse of the show that it hints at great things over the horizon, and the dragons has been the most anticipated inclusion out of all the show’s hints and teases. In season three we feel like we’re JUST on the verge of seeing something awesome, and then we’re having to chew through another whole season where very little happens. However, I will say that season 3 has one of the most shocking and jaw dropping season finales for those who haven’t read the books. I was one of those poor souls who had read the books and watched the finale over at a friend’s house who had never read them. So color me tickled pink as I’m on pins and needles just waiting for his reaction of the red wedding and then laughing hysterically as he nearly fell over. Well, that and the fun of having the gorgeous redheaded wildling, Ygritte made a main character.

Season 4
Season 4 is a distinct pick up from season 3, and back to full form. While I won’t spoils WHO it is, there is finally a death that the audience can simply cheer for. A death that we have waited over 3 seasons to see and it is a joyous occasion indeed (viewers of the show won’t have a hard time figuring out whom I’m talking about either). Not to mention the fact that the war between the watch and the wildlings comes to full force, along with a shocking death for the season. Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage) is still the highlight of the entire show, and his impeccable acting as the illegitimate gimp son of Lord Tywin Lannister is one of the reasons I continued to watch season 3, despite the bogged down plot points. Sadly Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) is still the same old routine, with her raising her dragons and proudly proclaiming “some day!!” while pretty much spinning her wheels and getting rescued by her man in waiting time and time again. She is sadly one of the most annoying main characters in the show and seems fairly useless so far.

While the show definitely lost a little bit of steam in Season 3, the show went back to form in season 4 (and continued in season 5) and the intensity has not let up even into the latest season’s episodes so far. The success of Game of Thrones is nothing short of incredible, as sword and sorcery shows usually don’t get the same accolades that pulp sci-fi (the best comparison in the genre) does. However, the advent of adult cable television has opened up a brave new world for the genre as shows like “Spartacus” and Game of Thrones not only survive, but thrive with record numbers. As the show is starting to wind down (I believe the show runners are considering finishing up the series with season 7) I can safely say that Game of Thrones has solidified itself as one of THE best in the adult cable television lineup (a lineup that has become grossly oversaturated largely THANKS to Game of Thrones).

Season 5
America’s favorite serial killer is back with a new season! And by that I mean George R.R. Martin. Yes, the man who can create sweeping epics with the stroke of a pen (even though it’s sometimes a stinking decade between books!) and in that same stroke of the pen kills off just about everyone in the book/series. No one is safe, and nothing is predictable (unless of course you’re read the books). 5 years ago I would laughed in your face if someone had told me that a TV series would have been made of the series. Not only a TV series, but the highest rated TV series in the last 20 years. Sword and Sorcery books are a passion of mine and they hold a dear dear place in my heart, but they have sadly not done so well on the TV screen. Usually fantasy series are cheesy or light, but Game of Thrones was something that just would NOT fit that mold. In fact I thought it was an undoable situation. However, HBO has the purse strings and the sheer bargaining power to make something like Game of Thrones possible on the big screen, especially since they have very limitations on propriety being a premium cable provider. The only issue was whether the show would be popular and bring in the big bucks that would be required for such an undertaking. Amazingly with George R.R. Martin’s involvement the show has taken off in a way that almost no other fantasy show has ever dreamed of. 5 seasons later the series is going as strong as the day it took off, and the rich source material is being followed incredibly closely, allowing for an amazing viewing experience for the mature fantasy aficionado.

Big changes are in store for Season 5. Winter is coming and with it comes the monsters of the north and of course the incredibly in depth and complicated relationships that the happen between the myriad of interconnected heroes and villains (with varying shades of grey) of the series. Sadly I can’t keep ALL spoilers out of the show, but I do try my best as the shows dense and complicated series of character developments requires SOME spilling of beans or I couldn’t say anything at all.

We’ve always known that George R.R. Martin’s rather LONG time between books will someday effect the TV series to the point where the show is outpacing the novels. It’s been a big worry for some fans and right fully so. If the show outpaces the books will it follow the path of many anime series, where they adapt the source material up to a point and then just make stuff up as they go along? Or will they cut it short or what? Interestingly enough, Martin has stated that he is supplying HBO and the storywriters with his outline for the rest of the series so that they can go ahead and continue the show. It’s a strange arrangement as the show, for the first time, will actually be the predecessor to the novels in terms of new material from Martin. It’s weird sort of “horse before the carriage” situation, but from what I’ve heard Martin will have enough surprises and twists in the novels that just would not fit in a 13 hours TV show, even as dense as the series is.

The complications from last season roil over into this season with the Lannister family in disarray and Jon Snow (Kit Harrington) struggling to unite the wildlings his men of the north (to no avail it seems). Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage in the role of a lifetime) is off on a luxurious island where he has stowed away too (in a hysterical turn of events that soon enough turns dark and brutal), and Cersei (Lena Headey) and Jamie Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) are continuing their incestuous relationship. Surprisingly they take a more serious tone with this one, showing the rocky foundation the two have laid for each other and even some fear over the creation of offspring and the natural health issue that might occur from such an occurrence. With Tywin Lannister (Charles Dance) dead, things are in disarray and once again the power of the iron throne is up for grabs and the Mistress of Dragons (Emilia Clarke) is finally making her move now that her dragons are coming into adulthood and her power center is more secure. I hate to leave it at that, but there is so much going on in a game of thrones season that you just CAN’T get to it all or you spoil the ending, or even worse, write a 14 page review that would make a scholar get a headache from the amount of detail. It’s just THAT dense of a series.

This season seemed to play at a bit slower pace than some of the previous seasons, most likely due to the fact that they were hoping to get more input from Martin on the series as the books have run dry to pull from. This is both a blessing and a curse, as the show can take a slight differing change from the steady pace that it has gone on and actually offer some surprises to the readers of the novels. At the same time it also can cause less creative minds to offer input and change the series away from the intended tone as so many other series and shows have done in the past once a writer left or source material ran out. However, with Martin’s input in the show I somehow doubt that will happen, or at least happen as drastically.

Character arcs for many are wrapping in (in a typically Game of Thrones violent manner) and other arcs open up at the right time, introducing new main characters and new avenues of power to contend with. The more mystical side of the show is coming out as the Dragons are gaining age as well as the impending winter that is coming. Some amazing actions sequences are put forth as well as the brutal and bloody knowledge that NO ONE is safe in the show. Especially with another blood soaked finale that will have jaws hanging to their knees and eyes popping out of their head

Season 6
Once again I’m forced to be a bit tentative on how much I give away of the show, as it REALLY will spoil seasons that come before it, as well as ruin the viewing experience of this season. However, I will try my best to get us through this without too much spoiled. Last season left us reeling as Jon Snow (Kit Harrington) was killed off, once again proving that Martin is a literary serial killer. However, this death is short lived as Davos finds Snow’s dead corpse and brings it back to a private chamber where Melisandre’s magic brings him back to life once more (yay! Someone who actually survives in Game of Thrones!). Ironically you would think that Melisandre would be kept working overtime at resurrecting bodies as the body count in season 6 gets to some pretty epic proportions, and sadly we won’t be seeing those characters again.

While Snow is getting a happier sort of tale, others are once more beset upon by dire circumstances. Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner) is rambling through the wilderness in her attempts of escaping, only to be set upon by evildoers before being rescued by Brienne. Others don’t exactly meet that sort of kindness, as they are killed left and right (season 6’s death count is beyond ridiculous at times) and fate of the throne is still in utter peril as the Mother of Dragons approaches, and the machinations of the Lannisters are still as devious as ever.

Honestly, while the latter half of the show has some very good seasons, Season 6 was where I started to have reservations. We were already past where Martin had written about in the books last year, and the writers have obvious had some stumbling blocks. Luckily season 7 picks up the pace a good bit, but season 6 was the lowest point of the series by a noticeable amount. The revitalization of Jon Snow seemed to be a bit too “television cheesy” for many viewers (myself included) and done a bit too early in the season to make his death impactful. It felt like a broadcast TV show where a huge death happens at the end of the season, and then the very next episode the writers say “psyche!” and we go along with business as usual.

The good does outweigh the bad though, as the battles and action in show are still utterly spectacular. The Lannister’s hold on the world is slowly slipping, and some really cool side characters are introduced (I won’t spoil it, but there are some fun ones this year). While I had hoped for top notch Game of Thrones, we can be at least satisfied with GOOD Game of Thrones.


Season 7
As with Season 1, Season 7' was reviewed here back in 2017 and it's plot analysis can be found HERE

Season 8
The 4K UHD set of Season 8 was also reviewed last year and the plot synopsis can be found HERE




Rated TV-MA by the MPAA




4K Video: Video:

I briefly considered writing separate reviews for each season’s video scores, but then decided against it simply because the entire series is so incredibly similar in look. Even though 8 seasons have gone by, the show has maintained a very stable and VERY similar level of quality across all their releases. After chewing through the set the last week I have to conclude that the new 4K UHD releases are all worthy of the same score (except maybe season one, which has a slightly softer look than the subsequent seasons, but it is VERY slight).

The general consensus is that these 4K UHD upgrades are almost always a good upgrade, and many times a GREAT upgrade over their 1080p counterparts. The digitally shot show is bathed in shades of blue and gray for a majority of the time, but there are more than enough various counterparts to that moire with other nations that are sparkling with tan and brown, or dashed about with brightly colored clothes. The 8th season tends to be the darkest and grimmest as winter has finally come, but when compared to the Blu-ray releases I am very pleased. Colors are more deeply saturated and fine tuned, and fine details along the rough and craggy landscape is impeccable. Sometimes we still do see a bit of black crush, but that’s something that has plagued the series since the series began, and is still less noticeable on the 4K discs than the Blu-ray (something I noticed in my reviews of season 1 and season 8 on 4K UHD).

The HDR and Dolby Vision upgrades are subtle, but noticeable, even if they don’t drastically change the look of the show. Colors are better saturated and I noticed a richer sheen to the black levels, but you’re not going to have your jaw dropping to the floor when it comes to compared the colors back to the Blu-ray. Black levels gain the most as the black crush I mentioned above is definitely less noticeable than in the Blu-ray, and shadow detail really stands out as being superb.

Just to let everyone know, being how MASSIVE this set was, It just wasn’t feasible to go and watch every episode as I would with an individual season release. Seasons 1 and 8 were already reviewed and watched in it’s entirety, but I still went back and spot checked the two seasons to refresh my memory, and I watched 1-2 episodes per disc for all of the others to get a feel for how the 4K UHD looks for seasons 2-7.




Audio:

The first 4 or 5 seasons got an upgrade to Dolby Atmos over the DTS-HD MA 5.1 tracks that they originally had some years ago, and each subsequent season past that was given an Atmos track from the get go. I’ve luckily reviewed all 8 seasons over the years (whether on this site or another) and they’ve always been fantastic, bordering on the edge of perfection. The fantasy nature of the show allows for copious battle scenes and action sequences that really allow the Atmos mixes to shine, whether that be dragons roaring overhead (in said overheads), or the roar and clash of sword play during battles. However, it’s the more subtle aspects of the mixes that make these truly special. Creaks and groans from ship boards can come from any angle, as can the rumble and sound of footsteps in a castle hallway. Bass is crushing at times, with great low frequency response down into the teens (for a few short scenes) and the light and airy nature of the directional shifts are truly amazing. If it does ANYTHING right, Game of Thrones is legendary for having amazing TV audio mixes, and they never once let us down, even during the disappointing final season.




Extras:

Season One

• Histories and Lore
• Making of Game of Thrones
• Character Profiles
• Creating the Dothraki Language
• The Night's Watch
• From the Book to the Screen
• Creating the Show Open
• Cast Auditions
• Anatomy of an Episode: A Golden Crown
• 7 Audio Commentaries

Season Two

• Histories and Lore
• Deleted Scenes
• Creating the Battle of Blackwater Bay
• Game of Thrones: Inner Circle
• The Religions of Westeros
• Character Profiles
• 12 Audio Commentaries

Season Three

• Histories and Lore
• Deleted Scenes/Extended Scenes
• Inside the Wildings
• The Politics of Marriage
• New Characters
• A Gathering Storm
• 12 Audio Commentaries

Season Four

• Histories and Lore
• Deleted Scenes
• The Fallen: A Roundtable
• Behind the Battle for the Wall
• The Politics of Power: A Look Back at Season 3
• Bastards of Westeros
• New Characters & Locations
• Season 4 Blooper Reel
• 11 Audio Commentaries

Season Five

• Histories and Lore
• New Characters / New Locations
• Anatomy of an Episode: Mother's Mercy
• The Real History Behind Game of Thrones
• A Day in the Life
• Deleted Scenes
• The Dance of Dragons
• 12 Audio Commentaries

Season Six

• Histories and Lore
• The Battle of the Bastards: An In-Depth Look
• 18 Hours at the Paint Hall
• Recreating the Dothraki World
• Deleted Scenes
• 13 Audio Commentaries

Season Seven

• Histories and Lore
• From Imagination to Reality: Inside the Art Department
• Fire & Steel: Creating the Invasion of Westeros
• 11 Audio Commentaries

Season Eight

• Histories and Lore
• When Winter Falls
• Duty is the Death of Love
• Game of Thrones: The Last Watch
• Deleted Scenes
• 10 Audio Commentaries

Final Score: ​

Game of Thrones has been an incredible run. It revolutionized “mature” Cable TV shows to the point where there are a million clones (many of them cheap and junky), and a plethora of series that have learned and made even BETTER shows based upon the success of it’s TV-MA boundary pushings. Broadcast TV is almost an after thought, and big name actors are now switching to Television from film due to the excessive budgets and notoriety that it garnered, and we actually got some of the best medieval fantasy ever made (well, the last season notwithstanding). Fantasy has largely been relegated to the big screen, with TV shows for the genre being very lackluster at best, or cultish in nature. This set is quite impressive for fans who have been begging for seasons 2-7 to get the 4K upgrade, with only ONE real caveat, the lack of a Blu-ray to make it a “combo pack”. I’m pretty sure the decision was done to save space as this is a MASSIVE set as it is, and adding the Blu-rays would almost double it’s size, but still. My brain has been so ingrained with the idea of combo packs that I’m actually keeping my Blu-ray sets just because of that little OCD point (don’t judge me!). That being said, great set, great video, and the remastered Atmos audio that the steelbooks and later seasons got makes this an AWESOME set. Must Buy


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Peter Dinklage, Lena Headey, Emilia Clarke, Kit Harrington, Sophie Turner, Maisie Williams, Lian Cunningham, Alfie Allen, Iain Glen
Created by: David Benioff, D.B. Weiss
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 HEVC
Audio: English: Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Core), English, French, Spanish, German, Italian DD 5.1, Spanish DD 2.0, Portuguese, Czech, Hungarian, Polish DTS 2.0, Russian DTS 5.1
Subtitles: English SDH, French, German, Italian SDH, Portuguese, Spanish, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Korean, Mandarin (Simplified), Norwegian, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Swedish, Thai, Turkish
Studio: HBO/Warner
Rated: TV-MA
Runtime: 4185 Minutes
Blu-Ray Release Date: November 3rd, 2020

Recommendation: Must Own


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[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. I can now start on season 1.

 

[Epoxy1]

Great review Michael. I'm keeping my Blu-ray's as well. I just wish HBO had sent out the Steelbooks to reviewers...that are so beautiful looking

 

[Michael Scott]

Great review Michael. I'm keeping my Blu-ray's as well. I just wish HBO had sent out the Steelbooks to reviewers...that are so beautiful looking

Lol. I would have loved those steelbooks too

 

[Todd Anderson]

Okay... time for true confessions... I haven't seen Game of Thrones. My wife and I tried watching the first season and she bagged after one episode. I just never picked it up after that! We just aren't a TV show kind of house. We did just make it through Ozark (1-3) and enjoyed it... that actually was the first full-fledged show we've watched in years!

So, this is almost looking like a must buy... perhaps good Christmas list material!

 

[Michael Scott]

Okay... time for true confessions... I haven't seen Game of Thrones. My wife and I tried watching the first season and she bagged after one episode. I just never picked it up after that! We just aren't a TV show kind of house. We did just make it through Ozark (1-3) and enjoyed it... that actually was the first full-fledged show we've watched in years!

So, this is almost looking like a must buy... perhaps good Christmas list material!

wait? what? you haven't seen ANY season???? well now

 

[Epoxy1]

Okay... time for true confessions... I haven't seen Game of Thrones. My wife and I tried watching the first season and she bagged after one episode. I just never picked it up after that! We just aren't a TV show kind of house. We did just make it through Ozark (1-3) and enjoyed it... that actually was the first full-fledged show we've watched in years!

So, this is almost looking like a must buy... perhaps good Christmas list material!

Todd, my wife and I were the same way. Took three tries to get through the first season. She begrudgingly watched Season 2 and fell in love with the strong female characters (plus the smut was toned down in season 2). We loved the show up until the final season when they jumped the shark, but it's still well worth watching.

 

[Michael Scott]

Todd, my wife and I were the same way. Took three tries to get through the first season. She begrudgingly watched Season 2 and fell in love with the strong female characters (plus the smut was toned down in season 2). We loved the show up until the final season when they jumped the shark, but it's still well worth watching.

stepping out of reviewer shoes for a moment and into my own personal one as Michael Scott....Jumping the shark was an understatement. they jumped over that shark and beat it to death with a morning star

 

[Sonnie Parker]

I started watching the first episode and couldn't get thru it during a free trial of HBO. After 5 or 6 seasons and tons of smack about it, I finally gave in and watched it via rental. It's really a rough and gruesome show, so much so it was difficult to get thru some of it, and I could have easily done without portions of it, but it has a fantastic storyline. If they would just clean it up a bit I'd like to own and watch it again, but I know that ain't gonna happen.