Despite that tumultuous ending, Game of Thrones is still regarded as one of the best fantasy TV shows ever. It didn't stick the landing in Season 8, but it's remained a pop culture phenomenon as the HBO series detailed politics, betrayal and kingdoms in the story of Westeros. Interestingly, while it may have flown under the radar in 2019, Jason Momoa's See could actually be Apple TV's Game of Thrones.
With various rulers making moves and sinister figures -- such as Varys and Littlefinger abound, Game of Thrones crafted a dynamic story, not just with the Lannisters, but with the likes of House Stark and the Targaryens, especially Daenerys. See has kingdoms like this set up in an America where a virus made everyone blind for centuries, with the evil queen, Kane, initially using her base at Kanzua as a stronghold -- akin to King's Landing.
There are other tribes and kingdoms as well. For instance, Trivantes is a land of savage warriors akin to Khal Drogo's Dothraki. Meanwhile, Valeya is where soldiers hide out in the jungles, and they love nature and peace more than war, akin to the Children of the Forest.
All these forces, and the ones teased in trailers for Season 2, will end up jostling as there's been a power vacuum with Kane breaking bad like Dany's dad, Aerys. This fate befell Dany herself, who became a Mad Queen and burned King's Landing, which Kane also did in Season 1. She blew the dam and destroyed her kingdom, thinking they would turn on her.
What makes it even more interesting is she and her sister, Maghra, are manipulating the lands, making them think they're ruling together. Maghra, the younger sister, is actually the one the throne was given to by the king, so it has a Jon Snow feel to it, with a jealous Kane coming off more conniving, showing some similarities to Cersei. Keeping this secret, as well as how Kane killed the war commander, Tamacti Jun, this does work in an angle of deceit. Jun even felt like Jaime Lannister a bit, not wanting Kane to break the people, so there's a lot of morals, ethics and loyalty being bent.
As for the backstabbers, See has its own with Boots, the son of the visionary, Jerlamarel, betraying Momoa's Baba Voss and splitting his and Maghra's family up. It's now led to them trying to reunite a la the Starks, with Baba's adopted kids in grave danger. Hanifa has been taken by Trivantes, with Kofun, Baba and the show's version of the Three-Eyed Raven, Paris, on that quest.
What's interesting is Jerlamarel and his children all have the power of sight, so they're precious chosen ones, like Jon and Bran. This creates conflicts as secrets decide the shifts in power, akin to what George R.R. Martin did. Some of Jerlamarel's seers clamor a dark destiny by helping Trivantes, while others want a free world and to avoid their birthright as wannabe gods.
The sad thing is, once reunited, he and Hanifa will have to figure out how to help their mom, while not enabling Kane's treachery. With greedy, vindictive warlords abound, politicians and rulers who are puppet masters and tribes that are still undecided in the war to come, See does everything Game of Thrones did. Plus, with tech being the deus ex machinas, guns and bombs are the dragon in this post-apocalyptic world. All that remains to be seen is how all these moving parts tie in as Maghra ultimately has to make the Sansa Stark-like decision regarding who really should sit on the throne.
See Season 2 premieres Aug. 27 on Apple TV+.