If you’re a movie fanatic who loves the battle between good and evil, then you probably worship the popular Game of Thrones vs Lord of the Rings series. People claim they have a lot of similarities, but many are also debating which is the best.
We researched and compiled a head-to-head comparison between the two fantasy stories!
Game of Thrones or Lord of The Rings: Which is Better?
Fantasy genre fans have definitely watched the two famous modern fantasy series - Game of Thrones by George (TV Series) and the Lord of the Rings trilogy by Tolkien. Both have numerous similarities, but there are still obvious and unique differences between the two.
Thrones fans claim it is better than the latter because it is more expensive to produce an exciting story with complex casts showing unique qualities, struggles, and limitations.
On the other hand, the Lord of the Rings trilogy has more advantages in special effects, computer graphics, world-building concepts, friendships, perseverance, and strength in each character.
Head-To-Head Battle
Battle Scenes
The massive battle scenes make an epic fantasy and interesting story.
Tolkien created magnificent scenes in his own way, including the Helms Deep and the Battle for Minas Tirith from LOTR that hooked many people [1]. They made sure to nicely blend live-action with special effects nicely. The budget allotted for this film series has a significant impact on the outcome of the cinematography, which enhanced the battles on the screen.
GoT also has notable battle scenes like the Battle of the Blackwater Bay. However, people say that Martin could not create epic masterpieces as epic as LOTR.
Take a look at our top GoT episodes here.
Characters
Queens
The two films introduced similar and complex queens, each unique in character. Lady Galadriel is the Elven Queen of extraordinary beauty in Middle-Earth from the Lord of the Rings trilogy. The idea of Tolkein is for her to be seen as gentle, calm, and eternally radiant.
Meanwhile, the queen in the Game of Thrones series, Yara Grejoy, is an aggressive and confident character who gets everything she wants. Queen Cersei, the 20th ruler of the Seven Kingdoms, also exists in GoT. However, she and Jaime were killed, which halted her reign.
One of the similarities between these two queens is that they are honest and do not deny their true emotions.
Evil Kings
These fantasy genre films have their unique idea of kings.
The Game of Thrones characters featured many kings and queens in eight seasons. In this historical fiction, Jon Snow, the son of Ned Stark, accepted the title of King in the North (although he isn’t exactly wicked). However, the Night King, who existed since the age of the First Men, was the Supreme leader of the Army of the Dead and is definitely one of the wicked ones.
Meanwhile, the witch-king in the Lord of the Rings is Nazgûl (also called Witch-king of Almar) was once corrupted by one of the nine Rings of Power. They also have King of the Dead, who brought a curse to himself, and he and his people got condemned to eternal restlessness.
Heroes
Fans are definitely looking for battle scenes from a big-screen famous movie and TV show, and with these epic battle scenes comes the hero who saves the day.
Aside from Sam and Frodo, Aragorn from the Lord of the Rings is a famous hero whose subtle heroism and undying kindness and loyalty cannot be matched.
Like Aragorn, Jon Snow is indisputable a genuine hero who fought against the wicked and protected the masses from the unjust rule. However, it could be hard to determine the “heroes” because it sometimes depends on whoever does a “good thing” in a particular season.
Villains
A feel-good story without villains can be boring for some. Believe it or not, villains spices up the mood in every scene.
Martin created villains in the Lord of the Rings, like Gollum, who destroyed the ring despite his obsession with it. Sauron is also one of the powerful antagonists who aim to rule the whole of Middle-Earth.
He is not far from Joffrey Baratheon from Game of Thrones, who is considered a sociopath and gains happiness by torturing strangers.
Witches
Aside from the main characters, an epic fantasy will not be complete without witches.
The Lord of the Rings has Galadriel, one of the elves who might as well be considered the witch-queen of Lorien, who has a ring that gives her powers of protection, preservation, and concealment from wickedness.
Meanwhile, Martin created witches sorceress who made the first season up to the final season of the Game of Thrones more exciting. One of them is Maggy, a woods witch known for being a fortune teller living near Casterly Rock.
Wizards
The wizards from Game of Thrones and Lord of The Rings help build continents, control the oceans, and guide the moon and sun.
The Lord of the Rings has the Order of the Wizards, whose names are Saruman, Gandalf, Radagast, Alatar, and Pallando.
On the other hand, the water wizards from Game of Thrones can call great water spouts that knocked Valyrian phrases dragon riders out of the sky.
Shop The Game of Thrones Collection NowSword Fighting Legends
These fantasy movie stories are full of epic battles and magical things, including the swords of complex characters.
The Lord of the Rings has Andúril used by Aragorn. This helped him raise the cursed army from the Paths of the Dead.
Arthur Dayne bore the Sword of the Morning in Game of Thrones. People say that he is the best sword fighter in every battle in Westeros, even when he is already long gone.
Fantasy Elements
Meanwhile, the Lord of the Rings has a complex history starting from the creation of Arda to be used as an aid against Morgoth. There are also lots of wizard spells and wicked creatures in this trilogy.
The Game of Thrones has outstanding fantasy elements aside from the wizard spells and evil glowing eyes that Jackson injected to improve the movie. This includes dragons, white walkers, ice zombies, tree gods, shadow babies, and fire-summoning witch cults, which helped avoid cliches.
Set Design & Visual Effects
Like the classic and original Star Wars films, the Lord of the Rings and the Game of Thrones became a cultural phenomenon as it portrays modern times enhanced by an extraordinary set design.
Peter Jackson did a great job with the special effects in Lord of the Rings from the very beginning up to every battle scene. Adding spoken elvish to these scenes makes them even more mind-boggling (and amazing!).
In GoT, Martin combined visual effects and real-life scenarios through acting, directing, cinematography, editing, and sound design using Pixomondo and Screen Scene. In turn, the battle scenes and the monsters became even more terrifying and almost true to life.
Languages
The authors of Game of Thrones and The Lord of the Rings have a big difference when it comes to languages. Tolkein is a language nerd while Martin is not.
Tolkien created fictional languages since he is known for creating fictitious languages (also known as glossopoeia). Many languages were used in Middle-Earth but were merely mentioned in his novels.
The Valyrian, on the other hand, is from a fictional language family that Martin used in Game of Thrones. Astapor, Meereen, and Yunkai speak varying dialects of Low Valyrian, but they are considered to be mutually intelligible.
Multiple Perspectives
Game of Thrones and LOTR have multiple perspectives that reflect on the past and their own history.
LOTR has several characters revolving around Frodo and Aragorn. It shows different character shifts and perspectives, including Boromir, Arwen, and even Gandalf.
On the other hand, GoT is a complex story because of its vast array of diverse characters. To understand its dynamic story, the viewers must follow historical backgrounds, stories, and perspectives.
Realistic Angle & Darkness
Aside from the characters, people admire Game of Thrones because of its realistic angles and darkness in every scene, including the Red Wedding and the execution of Ned Stark.
This factor is one of its edges compared to The Lord of the Rings. The first one showed countless deaths, endless wars, and betrayals that reflect human history. On the other hand, LOTR conveys a sense of darkness too, but it is more focused on its spectacular visual effects than this feature.
GOT stands out more by making the scenes more realistic and dynamic, making the viewers engage more despite the less budget they had compared to LOTR.
Good Vs Evil
Game of Thrones and Lord of the Rings conveys historical fiction, which introduces evil and good, both male and female characters who symbolize the past and present point in time.
LOTR successfully delivered an inspirational tale of humankind by creating timeless mythological tropes (both wicked and good guys) and fantasies that people often look forward to.
GoT, on the other hand, produced a classic tale of good and wickedness. Nonetheless, the team has successfully encapsulated viewers’ attention that helped to increase its popularity.
Fictional World
The Lord of the Rings takes its edge to look stunning and invokes the viewer’s imagination with its magical world with elves, wizards, and trolls.
However, Game of Thrones has more in-depth moments by including the history and culture of numerous environments [2]. The production created a parallel between the relation of human history and mythology. You may also observe the touch of religion in Westeros and Essos Culture, including the Andal Faith of the Seven and Iron Islands’ Drowned God.
Iconic Scenes
Numerous iconic scenes blew the mind of viewers after watching Game of Thrones and The Lord of the Rings.
Gandalf has a lot of notable moments both in the books and films, making a lot of people remember him. His fight with Balrog, where he mentioned “You shall not pass,” has been quoted many times.
The Red Wedding is what the Game of Thrones can lay here, as a wedding feast turned into a bloody massacre involving many important and main characters.
Dragons
The dragons in both movies played a vital role in helping the bad and good guys and highlighted the film’s fantasy elements.
Urgost from the Lord of the Rings is known for being ferocious, greedy, intelligent, and powerful. He has razor-sharp claws, a dark tongue, flaming yellow eyes, and a wide jaw.
Meanwhile, the last three dragons in the world were used by Targaryen and his sisters in the Game of Thrones to unify the Seven Kingdoms, especially King’s Landing.
Parental Guidance
Watching these two films require strict parental guidance, especially when watching with the kids. But with all honesty, the Lord of the Rings is more child-friendly than the Game of Thrones.
The Lord of the Rings did not expose much of smoking, alcohol, and drugs, unlike GoT.
GoT has more morally grey roles and other characters compared to Lord of the Rings. GoT also shows nudity and sexual content. The series also showcases more violent and intense scenes, including stabbings and beheadings.
Read: 20 Best Game of Thrones Gifts
FAQs
Is Game of Thrones inspired by Lord of the Rings?
Yes, Game of Thrones is inspired by The Lord of the Rings [3]. It is confirmed by the author of GoT, George R.R Martin. He was inspired by LOTR when he was 13 years old. It is one of the reasons why viewers cannot deny their point similarities despite having different storylines.
Which series is longer, Lord of the Rings or Game of Thrones?
Game of Thrones is longer than The Lord of the Rings. GoT has eight seasons, while LOTR has only three. However, George R.R Martin, one of the most famous writers globally, has mentioned that he plans to make ten seasons for Game of Thrones with a couple more episodes.
Final Thoughts
Game of Thrones and the Lord of the Rings are both famous movies and series recognized in the entire world. They attracted fantasy fanatics because of their twisted plots, amazing casts, and of course, their magical and fantastic scenes.
They have a lot of similarities, including the genre, since the writer of GoT (Martin) revealed that LOTR inspired him after reading the story when he was young.
Viewers believe that Lord of the Rings is better than Game of Thrones. Aside from the story flow and visual effects, its ending is more hopeful than GoT. However, this depends on who’s watching, so we’d like to leave the decision up to you.
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Shop The Lord of the Rings Collection NowReferences:
- https://www.cnet.com/news/features/how-lord-of-the-rings-changed-big-screen-battles-forever/
- https://screenrant.com/lord-of-the-rings-vs-game-of-thrones-comparison/
- https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/24/books/george-rr-martin-winds-of-winter.html
