HBO's Game of Thrones pt 2

[Monte Carlo]

I love Game of Thrones. Everything about it. Even that weird chick who gives birth to ghouls occasionally. And Charles Dance owns the entire thing, why not just make a movie with him and Peter Dinklage?

 

Have no intention of reading the books, don't want it spoiling my enjoyment of the TV series

[AGX-17]

 

Book reader vs non-book reader.

 

I still love that .gif.

That was essentially what happened in my house last night. I was more entertained by the female reactions over Robb than the Red Wedding itself (poorly handled, frankly, Rains of Castamere should have been playing over the whole thing like in the book.)

Edited June 3, 2013 by AGX-17

[Majek]

I love the books, especially the first 3 and the Hedge knight stories ...  but i think that HBO's series is a bad adaptation. I barely managed to watch the first season without pausing nonstop,  so i stopped there. And reading some comments here and there about episodes, i'm not missing anything  anyway.

Edited June 3, 2013 by Majek

[Blarghagh]

I would like to refer you to entry number 2.

 

Of course the book is going to be better. I've never read the books*, though, and I don't have any of these issues that people here bring up, so I can say it's damn good TV. Also, I know what the Rains of Castamere is from Cersei describing it, but I had no idea what it sounded like (was it sung once back in season 1?). Hence, the significance of the song that was played during the "wedding" is lost regardless. Some things just don't translate from a book.

 

*Not entirely accurate, I quit halfway through book one because it was terrible. I find the show lacks focus - if they had filmed it as written, it would be completely and unwatchably boring. I do not enjoy having to take notes just to remember the names of unimportant characters.

[WDeranged]

Just finished watching the last episode, it turns out I got spoilered weeks ago, thanks internet...still ripped my guts out though, brutal 

[Monte Carlo]

I wasn't expecting that! Blimey.

[HoonDing]

The fact that Roose Bolton looks almost identical to Vladimir Putin, made this episode even creepier.

[WDeranged]

I wasn't expecting that! Blimey.

 

Yeah, even with a vague idea of the outcome I was blown away by the execution 

[melkathi]

 

Also, I know what the Rains of Castamere is from Cersei describing it, but I had no idea what it sounded like (was it sung once back in season 1?). Hence, the significance of the song that was played during the "wedding" is lost regardless. Some things just don't translate from a book.

 

Bronn sings it in Season 2:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIUyVeDsHfs

 

Though I found the version by The National in the end credits of that episode captured the haunting feeling rather well:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ey9vSYxuAJk

 

 

I think if they had wanted to, they could have handled it quite well. They introduced the song quite well back in Season 2. If they had continued using it, or had already used it sneakily before to underline Lannister actions, then it would have worked for this scene.

But I got the feeling that they don't have much of a plan for the show, taking it one season at a time. And I got a strong feeling that they had only read the original book when they started the show.

[LadyCrimson]

And Charles Dance owns the entire thing, why not just make a movie with him and Peter Dinklage?

I'd pay to see that.

[Hurlshort]

I was a bit unhappy with the Red Wedding, because I felt it took away from Rob getting killed by putting all the focus on his young pregnant wife.  I was actually a fan of them making her a central character as opposed to the books, but I guess they felt it wasn't powerful enough to simply kill Catelyn, Robb, and a bunch of others?

[WDeranged]

I was a bit unhappy with the Red Wedding, because I felt it took away from Rob getting killed by putting all the focus on his young pregnant wife.  I was actually a fan of them making her a central character as opposed to the books, but I guess they felt it wasn't powerful enough to simply kill Catelyn, Robb, and a bunch of others?

 

You're probably right, I've been reading the books after the seasons have aired so maybe I'd feel the same way.  From the perspective of a TV show I think starting the violence in such a shocking way was excellent, it was a big kick in the chest and then the horror just kept unfolding, very traumatic.

[melkathi]

I was very unhappy with how they portrayed her in the show. From the daughter of a Lannister bannerman to an exotic, mysterious Valyrian (is everyone in this bloody series some exotic stranger? Shae, Rob's wife... its a wonder they left Ygritte a northerner). When she got pregnant I asked friends how the hell she could now survive, as Tywin would never let an heir to Robb Stark be born. They fixed that by killing her I guess, when in the books she is quite healthy.

Seemed all a bit pointless to me.

Then again they killed Xaro Xhoan Daxos last season and had Dany betrayed by one of her handmaidens *shrug*

[WDeranged]

Not knowing the book I accepted her pretty easily, half the time I suspected she was an assassin or a spy, especially when she was writing letters in Valyrian while distracting Robb from the war.

[Zoraptor]

In the books there was at least an exotic connection, iirc. Her mother (grandmother?) was a foreigner or gypsy/ mystic type.

 

Don't really know why they didn't use the book set up with the Westerlings, as it actually makes Tywin look even more clever. Also no "Jaime Lannister sends his regards?"

[Hildegard]

Don't understand why so many people are pointing fingers at HBO like they are the original writers. And if you can't handle main characters being killed go watch Steven Segal's movies or something. 

Edited June 3, 2013 by Hildegard

[Rosbjerg]

Imgur wins..

 

Followed by this gem of a comment ..

"Best Wedding ever, by Dothraki standards."

[Oner]

 

 

Also, I know what the Rains of Castamere is from Cersei describing it, but I had no idea what it sounded like (was it sung once back in season 1?). Hence, the significance of the song that was played during the "wedding" is lost regardless. Some things just don't translate from a book.

 

Bronn sings it in Season 2:

They sing it early in season 3 too, when Arya and co. meet the Brotherhood Without Banners.

 

I'm surprised people talk so little of the ending of episode 6. Ros may not have been an important character, but that whole monologue and scene caused me goosebumps.

It was like, the Morpheus conversation of Deus Ex. Chaos is a ladder indeed.

[melkathi]

I'm surprised people talk so little of the ending of episode 6. Ros may not have been an important character, but that whole monologue and scene caused me goosebumps.

It was like, the Morpheus conversation of Deus Ex. Chaos is a ladder indeed.

 

 

She also wasn't a character from the book, so she never sat well with quite a few fans. Everyone understood that things from the book would need to be cut, but replacing then adding a new, made up character didn't sit well with everyone.

 

My reaction to her death scene was "Oh, another Ros scene, whatever."

[WDeranged]

Yeah I didn't feel much when Ros "the exposition whore" died, mildly surprised maybe.

[Oerwinde]

I was a bit unhappy with the Red Wedding, because I felt it took away from Rob getting killed by putting all the focus on his young pregnant wife.  I was actually a fan of them making her a central character as opposed to the books, but I guess they felt it wasn't powerful enough to simply kill Catelyn, Robb, and a bunch of others?

 

They also miss out on the conspiracy theories by killing her off. What with Catelyn and Jaime's descriptions of Jeyne Westerling differing causing speculation that the Blackfish replaced her so that Robb's heir would survive. Showing his wife's death rules that theory out.

[Blarghagh]

The thing is, George R.R. Martin is actually a staff writer, he wrote one episode every season and they double check everything with him. So that theory, by nature of them doing it differently, is thereby pretty definitively Jossed.

[Oner]

 

My reaction to her death scene was "Oh, another Ros scene, whatever."

 

The point of that scene wasn't (just) Ros's death, it was Littlefinger's exposition and essenatially a summary of the show's theme.

Ros's part was just the visual representation. How and in what way the climbers reach new heights and how the losers fall.

Edited June 7, 2013 by Oner

[Hurlshort]

She had a really good screen presence though.  

 

I have a feeling that the show will actually be guiding the books a bit from now on.  Martin might have had a whole Jeyne Westerling storyline planned in the books, but decided it worked better to do it the way it was done in the show.  

 

In the long run this might be beneficial.  The books were starting to drag, you can't do that with a 10 episode season.  We will see, I suppose. 

[Blarghagh]

I thought some of the episodes this season dragged. The show suffers from too many characters. The first three FULL episodes of this season was nothing but short "where are they now after last season" vignettes and almost nobody got character development. I'm actually thinking killing off a bunch of characters is the best thing for this show and they shouldn't stop at The Red Wedding. Thankfully since Robb kicked the bucket after Melisandre's spell, I'm thinking Joffrey is about to throw off his mortal coil as well and with him would come another major upheaval.

Edited June 7, 2013 by TrueNeutral