I remember watching Arthdal Chronicles Season 1, and honestly, I wasn't sure what to expect at first. I've watched quite a few K-dramas, but this one feels very different from the usual Korean series. It throws you into a completely fictional ancient world filled with different tribes, kingdoms and, of course, characters who are constantly trying to figure out how to survive and after watching it for a while, I started honestly started comparing Arthdal Chronicles to Game of Thrones. Th show is that good and i'm not exaggerating.
The first thing that caught my attention is the world building. So amazing, the show creates an entire civilization with different tribes, languages and beliefs, all with competing ideas about who has the right to rule. There is Arthdal itself, which is basically the centre of political and military power, but there are also different groups living outside it, each with their own way of life. The more you watch, the more engrossed you become and this is probably where the Game of Thrones comparison becomes understandable. Just like Game of Thrones, there isn't really one single conflict happening in the background. There are several conflicts happening at the same time, and they eventually begin to connect with one another.
The characters are another reason the series kept me interested. You have Eunseom, Tanya, Saya and Tagon, and they all represent completely different sides of this world. Eunseom is trying to understand who he is and where he belongs, Tanya is dealing with a destiny that she never really asked for, Saya grows up surrounded by manipulation and power, while Tagon is probably one of the most interesting characters because of how ambitious and calculating he can be. What I like is that the characters aren't simply divided into good people and bad people. Some characters do terrible things for understandable reasons, while others can appear sympathetic one moment and become frightening the next.
Now, if I had to compare the two shows directly, Game of Thrones is still the better series overall for me. The scale, character development, dialogue, production quality and ability to make you emotionally attached to dozens of characters are difficult to match. Game of Thrones also had the advantage of having an enormous amount of source material behind it. Arthdal Chronicles is ambitious, but sometimes you can feel that ambition working against it.
Perhaps my biggest takeaway from Season 1. Arthdal Chronicles is that it isn't trying to be another ordinary K-drama. It is much closer to a Korean attempt at creating a large-scale fantasy epic, and while I don't think it reaches the level of Game of Thrones,
