Crosstalk: Highs and Lows of the Game of Thrones Season 6 box set

The Game of Thrones Season 6 home box set, available on both DVD and Blu-ray, is out in stores. We reviewed the Blu-ray version, which has more extras, here. Should you buy it as a Christmas gift? Should you buy it right now? Should you buy it at all? Two of the writers at WiC go back and forth on the pros and cons of the set. And…begin.

DAN: One of the coolest things about the box set is that it’s out now. This is easily the earliest we’ve ever gotten it—usually we have to wait until the year after the season airs. Did HBO do this as an apology for the fact that Season 7 will air later than usual? I kind of doubt it, in part because without a new box set coming out early in 2017, there’s going to be an especially long dry spell for Game of Thrones-related chatter. It seems more likely that HBO wanted to get the set out for Christmas 2016, when memory of Season 6 is still fresh. That’s fine with me.

And if the early release forced HBO to cut corners, it doesn’t show. In fact, this box set has more bells and whistles than any before. There’re more commentaries, more History and Lore videos, and bigger behind-the-scenes features.

As usual, the History and Lore videos stand out. With 18 available, it almost seems like the team is scrambling to inform us of the finer points of Game of Thrones mythology now that there are only two seasons left. Euron Greyjoy, who narrates three of the videos, actually makes a better impression than he does on the show. The videos are a good way to show off his charismatic mania. I also loved the video on Northern alliances, narrated by Sansa, and Jaime’s take on Robert’s Rebellion.

What stood out to you on the box set, David?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=14&v=inYO-6uWh_o

RAZOR: If you want to talk about the History and Lore of the Game of Thrones Season 6 box set, my absolute favorite was The Great Tourney at Harrenhal narrated by Ellie Kendrick (Meera Reed).

This is a story only told secondhand in the books, and barely touched on in the show. To see the actual events of the Tourney at Harenhal come to life in such a way was both beautiful and grand. The involvement of the She-Wolf Lyanna Stark has something to do with that, as we found out that she was Jon Snow’s mother in the Season 6 finale.

Going farther, I rather enjoyed the 30-minute behind-the-scenes look at Episode 609, “Battle of the Bastards.” I loved seeing the attention to detail and the planning that went into the actual battle. From the myriad of stunts, the CGI and the use of a real calvary, I was on the edge of my seat just watching how they filmed this amazing sequence.

What else caught your eye, Dan?

DAN: As far as the documentary-type features go, the behind-the-scenes look at the Battle of the Bastards is the highlight. The team makes it look easy, but once you start meeting all the people involved in bringing the battle to life—the person who manages the horses, the ex-drill sergeant they hired to yell at the extras, etc.—you realize how complicated this show is. Hats off to everyone involved.

The other two documentary features—”Recreating the Dothraki World” and “18 Hours at the Paint Hall”—are worth a look, too, but the Battle of the Bastards feature steals the show.

What about the deleted scenes? On the whole, I thought they were much stronger than the ones on the Season 5 box set. The ones in Braavos have to be the best. The production filmed a LOT more of that play than we got to see, so much that I don’t think they ever expected to get it all on the show. It’s not important to the plot, but Benioff and Weiss clearly had a good time aping Shakespeare and writing terrible rhyming couplets.

And yes, having those two old ladies snipe about all the gratuitous violence and sex in the play was clearly a swipe at critics who have made similar accusations about Game of Thrones. (Arya’s response: “Why don’t you leave, then?”) It’s a funny moment, but I’m glad they cut it from the episode proper. Game of Thrones should avoid being too cute with the meta-commentary—it takes viewers out of the story. But again, I’m glad that moment exists. A deleted scene was the right place for it.

RAZOR: For me, the palanquin ride shared by Mace Tyrell and Olenna Tyrell took the award for best scene, and should never have been cut. The dialogue was obviously carried by Diana Rigg, but Roger Ashton-Griffiths carried the facial acting. Just a wonderful scene all around.

“Look me in the eye and tell me there was no singing.” My god, I love Lady Olenna. And then when Mace, who obviously knows his place, dejectedly reminds her that Margaery and Loras are his children, you can her soften as she promises to free them. Because that’s who she is: someone who loves her family above all else.

DAN: The point of the Olenna-Mace scene was to establish that Olenna was joining the Small Council. That message still came across loud and clear in “Oathbreaker,” so I get why they cut it, but I agree it would have been nice to have in there. We didn’t get many personal moments with Mace Tyrell, and this scenes makes his aborted attempt to save Loras from mutilation in “The Winds of Winter” more powerful.

I didn’t like the last deleted scene, where Dolorous Edd fetches Ghost to guard Jon Snow’s body. In particular, I didn’t like how Alliser Thorne just let Edd and Ghost walk on by when he should have known something was up. It made him look kinda dumb, so I’m glad we didn’t see it.

It was fun to see the unfinished special effects on Ghost, though.

Have you listened to any of the commentaries? There are more on this set than ever before. I haven’t heard all of them yet, but the best so far was the one for “Home,” featuring writer Dave Hill. I don’t know if this is just me, but do you ever get the idea that commentaries featuring actors just…aren’t very good? They usually have a good time, but they rarely have any interesting insights into the episodes. Directors and writers are where it’s at.

RAZOR: I always enjoy the commentaries. I still don’t think that the commentary for “The Prince of Winterfell” in Season 2—the one where Michelle Fairley and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau talk through Robb Stark’s sex scene with Talisa—has been topped. However, director Miguel Sapochnik’s commentary on “Battle of the Bastards” is awesome. And there’re also comments from Sophie Turner and Kit Harington…what a treat! The other commentary—from Fabian Wagner (Director of Photography), Steve Kullback (Visual Effects Producer), and Joe Bauer (Visual Effects Supervisor)—was interesting as well.

Then the showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss get involved for Episode 610, “The Winds of Winter,” which makes it that much more special.

DAN: In a way, the commentaries are like getting an extra 13 hours of Game of Thrones…and in other ways its not. At all.

In any case, it’s pretty clear that this box set is giving fans more bang for their buck than ever before. There are bound to be a lot of these under the Christmas tree this year.