Watch the Throne

"I didn't do it for you. I did it for the seven kingdoms." — Varys, "Game of Thrones"

On Sunday night TV's best series returned for its fifth season. "Game of Thrones" has become a phenomenon, reaching even more of the culture as a TV show than it did as a series of novels from George R.R. Martin.

Of course, there are a lot of reasons for that. It's a sprawling fantasy epic. There's a lot of fantasy elements to the show, and a lot of directions in which it could go. For me, the most fascinating part of the show hasn't been the White Walkers, dragons, or other fantasy elements — it's been the people and the political intrigue.

Arguably the two most popular shows on TV are "Game of Thrones" and "The Walking Dead." Both shows have dystopian or fantasy elements, but what unites them both is a complex ideology. They're really about the nature of man, the nature of society, what's worth living for, what's worth fighting to preserve, and what's worth dying to protect.

Last season's "Thrones" finale set up the potential to ramp up the mystical fantasy elements. I don't mind that, but I wasn't excited by the prospect. Instead, the premier of this season indicates a reckoning is coming, but it's one of family, fealty, and ideology. The players are moving around the chess board and setting up the long brewing war.

Don't get me wrong, I don't expect to see much of that war actually fought over the next nine weeks. But the players will continue to be tested, stretched, and pushed out of their comfort zones. And that's fascinating.

Equally as fascinating is seeing how the players continue to evolve and react to a world that, at times, seems violent, dark, and hopeless. There have been two overriding principles in the world of "Game of Thrones," principles reinforced since the series began. First is that, in the Game of Thrones, you win or you die. Those that have failed to appreciate the game have often seen their run end prematurely. Just ask Ned and Robb Stark.

The second is the common catch phrase "Valar morghulis." That is a construct of Martin and the world of "Thrones" that roughly translates to "All Men Must Die." And that's been an apt description of the brutal world of "Game of Thrones."

But as another iconic warrior once said, "All men die, but not all men really live." We've seen a lot of death and despair in the past four seasons, but the season premier Sunday ushered in something possibly different — hope. The hope that those who remain might have a plan, might make the most of the hand they've been dealt, and might actually change the game.

That's what Varys preached to Tyrion in regard to Daenerys. Now we just have to see if it can actually happen.