Game of Thrones: The Complete Fifth Season (Blu-ray)

+++Warning, this contains spoilers from the prior season, but no major season five spiolers+++ The fifth season of GoT was adapted from parts of three different novels in the Song of Ice and Fire series, namely, A Feast for Crows, A Dance with Dragons, and a Storm of Swords. Of course, the show started catching up with the books (as George R.R. Martin is a notoriously slow writer) and the producers and writers of the show were doing their best to get as much material from the books before they would have to essentially make the rest of the story up with just a rough outline from Martin. This season sees a shift in many of the story arcs of the various characters. After the deaths of Joffrey and Tywin (finally) Varys and Tyrion flee Westeros to Meereen to meet Daenerys, whom Varys believes may be worthy of the Iron Throne. Jon is torn between an offer from Stannis and his duty to the Night's Watch, with the ever-increasing threat of the White Walkers looming, and Sansa goes from one bad situation to another. Cersei is basically ruling as a transition from Joffrey to Tommen, who is now set to marry Margaery Tyrell, which does not exactly thrill Cersei. Jaime and Bronn travel to Dorne to bring Myrcella back to King's Landing and have to deal with a revenge-seeking Ellaria. Arya sails to Braavos to attempt to cash in on her mystical coin to learn from Jaqen H'ghar. The season ends on numerous cliffhangers that leave the fate of nearly every single main character in some kind of doubt and/or jeopardy. For those who get the blu-ray set, the A/V quality is again top-notch. As far as extras go, as has been the case with the prior seasons, each episode has an in-episode guide that can be played, a recap at the beginning of the episodes, and a preview at the end. There are twelve different commentary tracks. Every episode except episode seven gets at least one commentary track with various members of the cast along with the director and/or writer of the episode. Episodes eight and nine each have multiple commentary tracks (three, and two respectively). Then there are a series of behind-the-scenes and making-of featurettes that range in length from just under eight minutes to just under thirty minutes. There are also some animated shorts that feature voice work by the actors in character, then there is an animated Dance With Dragons animated feature that outlines the Targaryen civil war, and finally about eight minutes of deleted scenes. So, there are again a ton of extras if you like going through them, but like in the prior season releases, to go through everything you will have to watch each episode multiple times, so it may be helpful to pick and choose what you watch. Overall, the season is very good. The storyline advances well, and like in prior seasons no character is safe from the possibility of being killed off, which makes for a lot of edge-of-your-seat suspense. It is very violent and has a lot of sex and nudity in it, so it is most definitely not a family-friendly show (or something that someone that is easily offended would go for). That said, it is very well acted and mostly well-written. Of course, because it is an adaptation of extremely long books, there are some storylines in the books (and many characters) that never appear in the series. This season, I would say the standouts among the cast are Iwan Rheon who plays Ramsay Bolton, Sophie Turner whose character arc is greatly expanded this season, and Maisie Williams. That said, the entire cast nails all of their characters and do an extremely good job. So, if you have been a fan of the first four seasons, you will very likely enjoy the fifth season. If you have not yet seen the series, you definitely have to start at episode one and watch all the way through, otherwise, almost nothing will make sense if you jump into the series over halfway through.

I bought this mainly for the collectible steelbook and magnet. — MULTIPLE COPIES — You get three different copies of the series: 1) Blu-ray (physical discs) 2) UltraViolet 1080p HD version (digital copy, HD only available on some devices) 3) iTunes 1080p HD version (digital copy) The digital code gives you two digital versions (which is rare and appreciated). — STEELBOOK and MAGNET — This steelbook has artwork designed by Elastic, the agency that created the Emmy Award-winning opening credits, and has a magnet on the cover that can be removed and used as a regular magnet, or left on to show off as a collector's piece. Each season represents one of the major houses of the series, and this season five steelbook represents the slave city of Meereen, with the House Targaryen sigil on the magnet. The steelbook is in a matching decorative plastic outer case that holds the magnet in place so it doesn't scratch the steelbook. The outer plastic case is thicker than the previous four seasons (which was easy to crack). — THE SHOW — The show is great—in acting, in storytelling, in visuals, in music, and in writing. I've watched everything at least three times, and there are so many new things you see when re-watching, and with the knowledge of future episodes. The fifth season follows the journey of our favorite characters in new settings. Saying any of their names would constitute a spoiler, as you would know who survives, so I'm keeping it vague. One of this season's highlights is the meeting of two strong characters; sparks are instant and the game changes. There are also episodes directed by David Nutter (of The X-Files fame), who directs two very thrilling episodes. Lastly, the finale makes us feel so many feels; it all builds up to something we think we know how we'll react to, but it gets the completely opposite reaction. I have converted many friends who previously used to think this was about "dungeons and dragons and lord of the rings," (like I did) who are now *all* addicted to the show. If you don't already know, this show isn't about what you think it may be about. This is currently THE only good show on television, and if you don't like it, you probably don't understand good television (sorry, not sorry). It has been the number one torrented show in every single year since it came out for a reason (which is a blessing and curse for the producers). After watching this, everything else on TV becomes: "why I am watching all these other crappy shows?" This is one of those series that I will buy the individual season sets, and whatever big box set comes out in the future. GAME OF THRONES! Recommended.

I've become a big fan of Game of Thrones. The early seasons tended to be a bit on the "risque" side... partially because HBO wanted that (to sell a new series people might not ready for) and partly (and appropriately) to point out the DECADENCE of the "Seven Kingdoms" and many of the main characters (in all cases, so far, to illustrate how they change over time... see, for example, Tyrion Lannister) This may have been the best season of the series so far... and that's saying a lot. We're finally seeing things coming together... all the prior seasons have been setup, and rising-action, and how we're into the meat of the story. Which, ultimately, is going to be "how do the seven kingdoms unite, and thus are able to defeat the White Walkers?" Well, we see now. We have had the "setup" characters removed, for the most part. We now see which sides people will fall onto, and we know who is going to sit on the iron throne when it's all said and done. We know that the "fire" in this "song" is Dani and her dragons (and while she's going to ride one of them into battle, there are two other dragons who still lack riders... my guess is that the other riders will be Tyrion and Jon, but time will tell) At the end of this season, Dani seems to be lost... but we see that she's going back to her original storyline (which opens up things for some very interesting developments in Season 6). Jon seems to be "lost" as well, but we've seen people come back from the dead in this series before... both in good ways and in bad ones... and never forget, those on the wall never get to leave until they die... so this is the only way that Jon can leave the wall without being an oathbreaker! Aria Stark is clearly on a very dark road... with the questions posed in this season, and how the season ends for her, all about "who she is" and more importantly "who she wants to be." I think we can all tell that she won't remain part of the "faceless men" sect forever, but she's learning things that will make her a formidable force in the future (whether for good or for evil, though, we can't be certain, can we?) Sansa Stark's story is very, VERY dark... and has been from the middle of the first season, if you were paying attention. She's lost all of her innocence now, and while she SEEMS to be on the side of "good," I have strong misgivings about her as well... I can imagine her eventually becoming a major villain, taking the role currently filled by "Littlefinger" (who I'm convinced is the real "big bad" behind everything we've seen go wrong in this series!) What remains unclear is... where does Jaimie Lannister fall into the grand scheme of things? We're being given hints that he may well become one of the major heroes, though I personally suspect he'll simply redeem himself by ridding us of a major threat, sacrificing himself in the bargain. We see the end of the "War of the Kings" this season... Stannis Baratheon, Renly Baratheon, Rob Stark, Mance Rayder... all gone. There is, once again, only one throne. And that throne, at this point, is held by a weak, easily manipulated (albeit nice) boy. We can all see where this is going... a full-on "cold war" between the "High Sparrow" and Circe Lannister. The boy king will not end up in charge in any case, and will undoubtedly be a casualty, regardless of which of the two wins in the end. Which will set us up for the inevitable "rising action" of the Seven Kingdoms, under either the Sparrow or Circe, being invaded by Dani and her newly re-acquired Dothraki hoard, along with all her other forces (including her three dragons). And then, to the final climactic conflict where the White Walkers will be defeated (and, I presume, they'll start getting annual summers and winters!)

Another great season of Game Of Thrones 👍👍10/10

A great show

My review is specific regarding a problem I encountered when trying to access the commentary tracks of the episodes. Never had a problem playing the commentary tracks for any other Blu-ray title, among dozens of others. I tried changing to the commentary track during playing of each episode using the menu, tried selecting it from the menu before playback - nothing worked. For those owners of the "Game of Thrones: Season 5 Blu-ray" who have an issue of being unable to access the commentary tracks on the Blu-ray episodes, the solution for my particular BD player, an OPPO BDP-103 came from OPPO's tech support: "If the Audio Commentary tracks are to be played over the normal audio, then before inserting the disc you will need to set Secondary Audio to ON under Audio Format Setup. Please note that this will lower the quality of audio (in general) from Blu-rays, so you will want to disable it when not in use." This solved the problem for my Blu-ray player, which by default had the Secondary Audio set to 'OFF'. The commentary tracks are definitely on the discs, as I've now listened to several entire episodes with the various writers, directors, and actors sharing their experiences. Checking to see if your Blu-ray player's Secondary Audio feature is 'ON' in the player's setup may be the solution for those that encounter a problem accessing the episode commentary. Oddly, I didn't need this player feature enabled for any of the dozens of other Blu-ray titles with commentary tracks just to hear them. The "Game of Thrones: Season 5 Blu-ray" is another good addition to my library but the way the discs were authored seems a bit unconventional compared with many other Blu-ray movies I own. Not sure why they just didn't have the commentary as an ordinary alternate audio track, rather than a Second Audio type of track.

The film of course is great. The package is cool, but the function of the package is down right bad. The cool magnet that comes with the steelbook is neat for the idea, but the magnet is basically useless in that it slides right off. The discs themselves are hard to read (horrible printing) and they feel like they are going to crack when you try to remove them from the case. Again, looks outstanding, but function is a 1-star. Of course I give a 4-star for the simple fact that the included downloaded HD video is worth it all.

**NO SPOILERS OR PLOT POINTS DISCUSSED** This review will only be for my opinion of the season overall, and the packaging, extras, and video/audio quality. Let me start by saying that Game of Thones is one of my favorite shows of all-time. The story is brutal and tragic, yet engrossing and compelling. The characters are wonderfully written, and everything from character motivations to the dialogue and action sequences are superb. The show also has top notch production values, as the environment, props, and wardrobes look magnificent. GOT is a beauty. The packaging is awesome, as it has been on all of the season blu rays. The discs are in flip book, which go into a sleeve, which has a plastic sleeve over top of it all. This season has gold and brown artwork, which looks lovely. Very happy with the packaging. All 10 episodes this season are included on 4 blu rays. Extras include in episode guides, histories and lore, audio commentaries, deleted scenes, and a plethora of behind the scenes featurettes. The episodes look amazing on blu ray. The 1080p really shines on this series, and everything look breathtakingly beautiful. The characters, scenery, wardrobes, etc all look excellent. The 5.1 audio is great too. The score is brilliant and the metal swords and armor clanging sound great. Sound and Video are easy 10/10. Overall this is another solid season in this great series. I enjoyed every episode, and always recommend this show to anyone I talk to about movies/tv. What else can I say? Game of Thrones gets my highest recommendation, and the blu ray sets are glorious. This is the best show on television, in my humble opinion. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! *** If you like this review, please mark this review as helpful! Also, feel free to ask me questions about the season 5 blu ray set! ***