Television show buffs can all agree that The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones are legendary hit shows.
Each series has flown off its original pages and made massive waves in the world of entertainment.
They have created massive, dedicated fan bases that would go to war over which show is better.
Which show is better: The Walking Dead or Game of Thrones?
The Origin Story
Game of Thrones started as a series of novels by George R.R. Martin which he continues to write to this day.
The first book in the series is A Song of Ice and Fire, which was released in 1996.
Two years later, Martin released the second book in the series, A Clash of Kings.
Martin started the early 2000s with the third book in his series, A Storm of Swords.
In 2005, A Feast for Crows was published and added a fourth book to the series.
The most recent book in the series is A Dance with Dragons, which Martin released in 2011.
Two more books are planned for the series, The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring, but they have yet to receive a release date.
The Walking Dead is a newer series than Game of Thrones.
The Walking Dead was a comic book series by Robert Kirkman, with art by Tony Moore and Charlie Adlard.
Kirkman published the first book in the series in 2003 with Image Comics.
There are 193 issues in The Walking Dead series.
The last comic of the series was released in 2019 when the series was discontinued unexpectedly.
Kirkman explained that he wanted to end the series on his own terms and that he felt he had run out of proper material to keep the series going while still being proud of his work.
The Walking Dead series is a vastly easier series to sit down and read, even though it may have more books in its library.
A comic book series is less intimidating to go through and read than massive series of novels that are prone to causing reading fatigue, like the Game of Thrones series.
This makes it better for new readers to jump into.
However, if you prefer wordy novels to comic books, then you may prefer the Game of Thrones series.
Their Small Screen Debuts
Fans of The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones series have the shared experience of finding out that their favorite niche made their way to the television screen.
Many fans were glad that they had a way to show their loved ones the incredible stories of each series.
It was the beginning of many people’s weekly traditions to watch the shows together with friends and family.
The Walking Dead wanted to give their new television show a proper introduction to the world.
Appearing on AMC, The Walking Dead premiered Halloween, 2010.
The writer for the television show, Frank Darabont, is one of the best horror screenwriters, having previously written masterpieces like A Nightmare on Elm Street III: Dream Warriors and The Shawshank Redemption.
In the first season alone, the show amassed 5.24 million viewers.
The Game of Thrones series premiered on April 17th, 2011 on HBO. The first episode, “Winter is Coming”, was almost an hour long and got 2.22 million views, in the United States alone.
As the series went on, they gained more and more viewers. By the end of the first season, they amassed 3.04 million viewers.
Many writers have stepped in to help write scripts for the show, but George R.R. Martin has always been a crucial part of keeping Game of Thrones authentic to his books.
Game of Thrones has done a better job of staying true to the original story, which is something that has always pleased the fans of the novels.
Many fans of The Walking Dead comic books have complained about the liberties and changes that the television made, compared to original stories and characters.
Although The Walking Dead had an extremely creepy and atmospheric introduction, the hard-hitting pilot episode of Game of Thrones involved you in the world of Westeros better and made viewers crave more.
Fan Favorite Characters
The biggest difference between The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones is the consistency and likeability of their characters.
While all the previous dividing factors have kept the two series close in a head-to-head battle for the title of the better show, the characters of each show are where Game of Thrones takes a firmer lead, with its cast of dynamic characters.
Even if you haven’t watched Game of Thrones, you could probably point out some of the show’s characters.
Since the premiere of Game of Thrones, Halloween parties everywhere have been graced by the appearance of at least one Daenerys Targaryen, who is played by the beautiful Emilia Clark.
People have fallen in love with the troubled Jon Snow, played by Kit Harington.
Peter Dinklage’s role as Tyrion Lannister once again showed how talented an actor Dinklage is.
Unlike Game of Thrones, it can be hard to pinpoint who exactly is the main character, but most fans point to Jon Snow and Tyrion Lannister, as they receive the most screen time.
Unlike Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead series has a clear main character, Rick Grimes, who is played by Andrew Lincoln.
Critics of The Walking Dead say that Rick can be a bit of a bland character, but with the colorful and unique lineup of side characters and villains, he often acts as a balancing force in the show.
Most fans consider side characters like Neagan, Daryl Dixon, and Ezekiel to be their favorite character.
While Rick Grimes may lose a sense of his character as the series goes on, the side characters seem to stay truer to themselves.
Consistency Is Key
The Walking Dead has 147 episodes for fans to enjoy while Game of Thrones only has half as many, at 73.
While having fewer episodes may seem like a disadvantage, it actually works in the favor of Game of Thrones.
It allows Game of Thrones to keep its characters consistent without allowing the show to get boring.
The biggest gripe that many fans of The Walking Dead have is that there is a point in the series where the story begins to evolve into something that the show wasn’t before.
Fans point to Season 6 as being the last good story arch in the series.
After the introduction of Neagan, the story became more focused on the protagonists trying to survive against other humans, rather than the zombies that the show was named after.
The zombies become as much of a nuisance as coyotes and become significantly less scary.
Although the show started as the perfect blend of horror and drama, as the seasons go on, the show leans more and more towards the drama side of things.
The Game of Thrones series does an excellent job of staying consistently amazing.
The first four seasons followed the first three books of the series, but the difficulty to bring George R.R. Martin’s original plot line of his fourth book was even recognized by the author himself.
However, Martin is still proud of the abridged version of the remaining story.
Having the original creator of the story on set and playing such a large role in production helps keep the original feel of the show that drew fans in.
The Art Of Cinematography
How a show is shot can cause a major difference between how a television show is perceived versus another.
There are many aspects of cinematography, all of which can make up for characters or storylines.
The Walking Dead’s cinematography is monumental.
Although Game of Thrones may have the better soundtrack, The Walking Dead has extremely memorable shots and spectacular sound design.
The Walking Dead is heavily inspired by George A. Romero’s inspiring masterpiece, Night of the Living Dead.
George A. Romero is often thought of as the father of zombie movies.
The Walking Dead uses 16mm film to give the show an authentic zombie movie look by adding a slight graininess.
Most modern shows are done digitally.
The only time The Walking Dead uses digital recording is when they’re using a green screen.
By using 16mm film, it helps cover up the flaws in the zombies’ makeup and prosthetics, making the zombies feel more realistic.
The Walking Dead is also known for having breathtaking, silent shots that firmly hold the viewer’s attention.
These shots are called Deep Focus shots, an art that was mastered and popularized by Romero.
Although The Walking Dead has the better cinematography, Game of Thrones’s cinematography is some of the best of modern television.
Game of Thrones is shot digitally, with ALEXA digital cameras, giving the show a high-quality, clean look.
While Game of Thrones has pictures of better quality, the cinematography loses charm and creativity.
The cinematography of the show is focused on the setting, rather than the story.
While the show has some gorgeous screenshots, there aren’t many full scenes in which the cinematography shines.
Setting The Scene With Scenery
The beginning of The Walking Dead has Rick Grimes stumbling around a hospital right after waking up from a coma to a city that has been overrun by the living dead.
The hospital and city share a cluttered and anxiety-inducing feeling that helps viewers feel what Rick is going through mentally.
The set designer, Gia Grosso, takes a unique approach to designing each set in the show.
Grosso focuses on the characters’ current traits.
In Grosso’s eyes, the characters have left who they were before the dead began to rise, becoming survivors trying everything they can to live another and keep their loved ones safe.
Each piece of every set is carefully thought out and is used to define the world that the characters live in.
However, when your only goal never changes, it creates a lack of variety or importance in location.
The only reason locations are memorable is that they often overstay their welcome.
The scenery is another aspect of Game of Thrones that is better than The Walking Dead.
There is a heavy focus on set design in the production of Game of Thrones.
Game of Thrones uses the locations of scenes to help draw viewers deeper into the Westeros and make Westeros more believable.
Deborah Riley, production designer and art director, claims that designing the sets of Game of Thrones has been the most challenging and rewarding job she has ever been a part of.
The production team looks to make each shot more visually astonishing than the last.
Although the pressure of such a goal has been intense, the production team of Game of Thrones has made visuals more beautiful than diamonds.
You could take any scene of that show and turn it into a beautiful photograph or painting.
The Better Show
A good television show is more than just the story, characters, or the world in which they take place.
A successful and memorable show is created by heavy consideration of every aspect and how all those aspects come together.
Both Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead do a vastly better job of considering all of these parts of film than the majority of shows on television.
While one show may be better than the other, neither of them is anything to snuff at.
The shows are iconic pieces of their time and pop culture.
When people think of the 2010s, they will point towards these shows the same way that people point to shows like Hawaii Five-O and M*A*S*H* of the 1970s or Cheers and Murder She Wrote of the 1990s.
Sadly, there can only be one winner, and that winner is Game of Thrones, though the first six seasons of The Walking Dead are some of the best entertainment a viewer can have the pleasure of watching.
The first six seasons have a few story pacing problems, but the creative cinematography makes up for the problems in spades.
As The Walking Dead seasons go on, they begin to lose some of that original charm and the problems with the series begin to pile up.
Later seasons of the show just felt like a cash grab.
The dedication to costume design and physical acting of the zombies stays consistently fantastic, but that isn’t enough to make The Walking Dead better than Game of Thrones.
From a film buff’s perspective, the Game of Thrones series is mystifying and enchanting.
It draws viewers into the world of Westeros and makes viewers crave the magical land and characters.
Everyone wants to be King or Queen of the Dragons or have their very own Dire Wolf.
Game of Thrones doesn’t suffer from the same problems as The Walking Dead series.
While Game of Thrones is willing to touch vastly more taboo topics and may not be the best show to watch with your parents, watching each episode is vastly more of an enveloping experience.
Fans crave more of Westeros and the characters, and many of those fans who don’t typically read books find themselves trying out the novel series.
If you’re considering starting one series or the other, the better option is Game of Thrones.
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Esau says
No need to hate. Walking dead is better in almost every way