Game Of Thrones: The Complete Sixth Season [Blu-ray Steelbook]

Note about the DVD/BluRay release date. It's probably going to be February or March 2017, based on the pattern of the previous 5 seasons which were all released in those months. The streaming video version may come before that, but its not clear when. (Hey, I'm just the messenger. Don't hate me. I can't make them release it faster. I canceled HBO as soon as GoT ended and I want to watch it again too.) That said, there is no point in paying for it now (July 2016) on instant video because you're not going to be able to actually watch it for probably 9 months.As for the show....Things get real in Season 6. With only 2 short seasons remaining after season 6 (Both seasons 7 and 8 are reported to be under 10 episodes each) the scattered storylines are starting to come together into one grand story. Don't worry, I'm not going to give away any details here about who wins and who loses in this season. There might be mild spoilers for here for people who haven't seen the first 5 seasons, but if you haven't see Season 1 - 5 yet you should be no where near this listing for season 6 because you will be so incredibly confused by what's going on that your brain might explode. .Like every other season, some people win. Some people lose. A lot of people die. If you've watch the previous 5 seasons you'll know that's not a spoiler. That's practically a tagline for the series.The story line through season 6 was starting to get really fractured, going in 100 different directions. Season 6 starts to reign them all back in to one main storyline regarding who ultimately gains lasting power over the Seven Kingdoms, which has been the main story arc of the entire series. It's just getting more focused now. (Largely because 90% of the original competitors for the Iron throne has killed each other prior to season 6)Season 6 also hits you with a lot of surprises that you will not see coming. A lot of times when an epic series like this starts to move towards a final resolution there will be a buffer season that sets up major plot points but isn't all that entertaining in the process. That is not the case here. Season 6 may be the best season so far. There are at least 2 episodes that are EASILY in the top 5 of the entire series. And there is one plot reveal that qualifies as the best absolute game changer for the direction of the story. (Don't worry. I'm not even going to hint about what it is or when it happens. Just know that at some point in season 6 your mind will be blown.)Also, without going into detail so as to not spoil anything for people who haven't watched yet....apparently a Lannister always COLLECTS on their debts, too. Shame.........shame........Visually the series continues to be stunning. The production value is just insane on this show. The costumes. The set designs. It's all incredible.The story, both the overall story and the individual smaller storylines, continue to be very entertaining with so much detail packed into them that you feel a part of the show.But the real joy of the series, and in Season 6 more than any other in my opinion, is the character development. Early in the series there were clearly defined good guys and bad guys. Ned Stark was a good guy, pure to his core. Cersei Lannister was an evil Queen, as black hearted as could be. Everyone fell into those defined roles early on. As the show progressed you see more moral grey area and internal conflict in the characters. But in season 6 they take that to a new level. You see new sides of characters showing their internal struggles and that gives them so much more depth. The character development is what really pushes season 6 to the top of the pile for me. You still have absolute bad guys. But most everyone else is dealing with some kind of moral struggle and it's just amazingly good writing.Hand in hand with the great character development is great acting for those characters. The best writing in the world is useless if you don't have actors who can sell the parts. Game of Thrones does not have that problem. Not only are the individual actors amazing, but they've all been working together now for multiple seasons so there is more chemistry between them. The actors play off of one another better because they've been working together for so long. It all makes the entire show more immersive and believable. (As believable as a show with fire breathing dragons can be anyway)

Many thanks to Amazon for setting up the pre-order page. I am hoping it means HBO will release a bit earlier than it did last year.For those of you who haven't seen it on HBO, wow, you're in for a treat.UPDATE: AUGUST 1st release date, yay!!! On its way.Seriously, all you one star rating people must be blind?! You somehow managed to miss the big PRE-ORDER word in orange at the top of the page,just under the description of the show? With the big box around it? I pre-ordered as soon as the page came up weeks ago, and it always made it clear it was PRE-ORDER and that HBO would be announcing when the episodes were to be released. Still waiting as of 7-18-16 but it was not till August last year so I am enjoying re-watching the other seasons while I wait and picking up on lots of things I didn't catch the first or second time around.OKay, on to the review!! =SPOILER FREE REVIEWThe season is not perfect by any means but though it is uneven, there are several standout episodes that IMHO are some of the BESTin TV-5, 9 and 10 are incredible. The director who did The Gift and Hardhome returns for 9 and 10 and they are totally different types of episodes, yet absolutely magnificent. Just give 9 or 10 all the Emmys. Superb.The main issue with the season, IMHO, was really the author. He kept promising a new book, and failing to deliver. The showrunners were trying not to go too far ahead of the books in order to try to stay true to the author's vision. Then, when they could see the book was going to be a no-show, (and STILL IS), they just decided to make absolutely incredible TV and let rip. OMG.After such stupendous work, I really hope the showrunners are not going to wait around for any more books and just treat it like a TV series, because it's more than a year later and there's still no sign of the new book Winds of Winter, let alone the final "Spring" title supposed to be completing the entire series if the author can ever manage it.They have said there will only be 13 more episodes, but possible spin-offs, and the last 2 seasons will be shot all at once so it sounds like they are going for the goal posts without any books. Yay.That being the case, Season 6 is a great payoff from Season 5, with a lot of bits of 3 and 4 resolved as well, which leaves us free to push forward to Season 7 and the projected Season 8. They have a lot left to do in 13 episodes, 7 for season 7 and 8 for season 8, though they are saying they are going to be longer episodes like Season 8, 9 and 10. (10 was the longest ever, and still left me eager for more).The main characters we know and love are in good form, even Sansa, though I am still not that crazy about her. Tyrion treads water a bit at the start of the season, but there's a reason for that. Dany is continuing her story arc in a somewhat predictable form. Bran is getting more interesting-though it is jarring at times to see how 'gawkily' he has aged from the cute kid of the first season. Some fantastic guests include Max Von Sydow and Ian McShane. I love Brinne, Bronn and Pod and only wish we could see more of them.There are a few welcome returns of old faces, but will not spoil the joy for you.I am sure the author will be giving feedback on the scripts to give a general idea of how this is all supposed to end in the next couple of seasons HBO has contracted for, but I hope the powers that be just keep doing what they did at the end, create a fantastic TV show rather than a book adaptation. BTW, the special effects this year were off the charts and the music outstanding, esp % and 10. ENJOY!!