Game of Thrones - HBO part 2 - Part 4

[Thundercrack85]

I would like to see some more locations. Like the Lannister's hangout. It's funny cause, even though most major characters are Lannisters, we've never actually seen their capital.

Thus far it seems like this war has just been fought in fields. No sieges, or anything.

 

[omid17]

they did a really sick job with Harrenhall and Qarth, costumes looks awesome as well. Davos and Stannis are bad asses and poor Sansa she is just getting tossed around lol

 

[Thundercrack85]

I almost forgot about Stannis. They need to give him more screen time.

 

[omid17]

poor John Snow got back stabbed by killians irish red lol. i think it would be pretty cool if Ghost came to the rescue

 

[OtherwiseKnownAs]

Sorry to interrupt the bickering but we have confirmation that Edmure Tully will be in next season!

http://winteriscoming.net/2012/05/leaked-audition-tape-confirms-edmure-tully-will-be-cast/

Now Matt will have another character to complain about

Has the Blackfish been cast yet?

 

[DACrowe]

Excellent news about Edmure!! He needed to be included from that point on. Now introduce the Blackfish as well please!! I have faith that he wil. And I do wonder whether Hoster Tully will make an appearance, even if it's only for an episode or two.

The Blackfish doesn't really need to be introduced beyond Jaime's dealings with him in AFFC. For television, he's really a minor character for the overall narrative. Hoster has the great [blackout]funeral on the river[/blackout] but again has very little to do with the actual story. Seeing people struggle with so many characters right now, we don't need to overload on Tullys when the only ones of vital importance are Catelyn, Edmure and Lysa. The rest can be left out.

 

[Spidey-Bat]

There is no need to be a jerk.

It was a joke, hence the

Has the Blackfish been cast yet?

No. The actor in the Edmure audition tape is just auditioning, hasn't gotten the part yet.

 

[mr. peasant]

So, you're worried they may have to change things down the road (cough-AFFC-cough), thus they should just ditch the books now? It really doesn't make sense. Obviously, the show as it is now--basing its story in large scope on the books--is doing something right considering it has been nominated for Best Series by the Emmys and Globes, will be again for this year, and has won Best Supporting Actor twice. Not to mention it is a ratings hit and HBO's second biggest show after True Blood and selling like hotcakes on DVD. So, as a more straightforward adaptation, it's had critical and commercial success thus far.

Essentially, yes for reasons you continually choose not to acknowledge and so not see my line of thinking. There are problems and issues that the show will have to face and that aren't going away. By adhering to the books (especially past season/book 1 which was essentially setup for the show's premise of a bunch of factions vying for rulership of some sort), it sets precedence and expectations amongst fans (particularly fans of the book); in that by remaining faithful to the books, fans will expect the show to always be faithful to the books. The show will be hard pressed to deviate now as seen by the uproar to occurs amongst the book fans whenever even a small change is made. Had the creators played it fast and loose from the get go, there would be less outrage by book fans (certainly less validity to it) as the show would always have been a loose adaptation to begin with.

My arguments have less been that this show isn't of good quality but that it is setting itself up for trouble down the road as in order to be completed it requires to go right things that are far out of the creators' control; from the child actors deciding to continue pursuing an acting career (e.g. the girl playing Sansa will be of university age in a couple years and may decide to further her education instead of staying with the show) to GRRM finishing the remaining books before the show catches up (which conceivably may not happen given his current pace of writing) and the show continuing to be renewed to last 7-8 seasons (which is no easy feat, especially for a story driven, non-formulaic series).

 

[Kane52630]

I thought I would post this here since it's so amazing.

Game of Thrones Theme - Piano Edition

[YT]1kBWtd4lujk[/YT]

 

[rayc1971]

are they gonna show ramsey bolton? from what i have been told we should have seen him tel theon to kill those kids.so they changed this from the book

 

[Spidey-Bat]

He'll be in next season.

 

[Havok83]

This got lost on the last thread bc of the cutoff but IGN released a GoT app for iOS. Its an AMAZING resource taht Id reccomend to anyone

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ign-guide-for-game-thrones/id518106574?mt=8

 

[ChickenScratch]

Essentially, yes for reasons you continually choose not to acknowledge and so not see my line of thinking. There are problems and issues that the show will have to face and that aren't going away. By adhering to the books (especially past season/book 1 which was essentially setup for the show's premise of a bunch of factions vying for rulership of some sort), it sets precedence and expectations amongst fans (particularly fans of the book); in that by remaining faithful to the books, fans will expect the show to always be faithful to the books. The show will be hard pressed to deviate now as seen by the uproar to occurs amongst the book fans whenever even a small change is made. Had the creators played it fast and loose from the get go, there would be less outrage by book fans (certainly less validity to it) as the show would always have been a loose adaptation to begin with.

My arguments have less been that this show isn't of good quality but that it is setting itself up for trouble down the road as in order to be completed it requires to go right things that are far out of the creators' control; from the child actors deciding to continue pursuing an acting career (e.g. the girl playing Sansa will be of university age in a couple years and may decide to further her education instead of staying with the show) to GRRM finishing the remaining books before the show catches up (which conceivably may not happen given his current pace of writing) and the show continuing to be renewed to last 7-8 seasons (which is no easy feat, especially for a story driven, non-formulaic series).

Wait, someone who never read the books complaining about possible problems down the road. Based upon what exactly? You don't know the material, you come back to the thread surprised every week. If you could point out one specific in story instance down the road one single change that is "necessary" to the narrative, but you don't because you don't know the material. Problems down the road for you is based purely on speculation because you have never come upon a series like this. Nobody has really, it's not meant to be like any other series ever. It's almost as if you like the sandbox and the characters GRRM created but don't like his story, so yu wished they ditched it from the get go.

GRRM knows the ending, he told the TV producers and writers the ending. Not that he's knocking on death's door anyways. So what if they have to recast roles or if the show is even cancelled. Should they make concessions to this story to wrap it up nice and neat so it can finish? I would rather it end unfinished like Rome, than have some crap, TV trope ending.

It's not meant to be like other fantasy. It's not about wars and dragons and all that high fantasy drivel. A lot of people seem to get tied up in waiting for the next big fight or something of the sort when the show actually plays in the dialog, the castle intrigue. I always thought of GRRM like John LeCarre in the sense that the action is not even closer to the impact of the dialog.

 

[DACrowe]

Essentially, yes for reasons you continually choose not to acknowledge and so not see my line of thinking. There are problems and issues that the show will have to face and that aren't going away. By adhering to the books (especially past season/book 1 which was essentially setup for the show's premise of a bunch of factions vying for rulership of some sort), it sets precedence and expectations amongst fans (particularly fans of the book); in that by remaining faithful to the books, fans will expect the show to always be faithful to the books. The show will be hard pressed to deviate now as seen by the uproar to occurs amongst the book fans whenever even a small change is made. Had the creators played it fast and loose from the get go, there would be less outrage by book fans (certainly less validity to it) as the show would always have been a loose adaptation to begin with.

My arguments have less been that this show isn't of good quality but that it is setting itself up for trouble down the road as in order to be completed it requires to go right things that are far out of the creators' control; from the child actors deciding to continue pursuing an acting career (e.g. the girl playing Sansa will be of university age in a couple years and may decide to further her education instead of staying with the show) to GRRM finishing the remaining books before the show catches up (which conceivably may not happen given his current pace of writing) and the show continuing to be renewed to last 7-8 seasons (which is no easy feat, especially for a story driven, non-formulaic series).

You're under the assumption that the show is mostly watched by book-readers or that if that demographic is upset that the show will suffer. They have been and its not. They've taken way more liberties for S2 than they have in S1. Jon going camping with Ygritte, no Reek, Theon executing Ser Rodrick himself after taking Winterfell, no Damphair, no siege of Storm's End, no Riverrun, Tyrion making Bronn Commander of the Gold Cloaks, Sansa being almost raped, no Jorgen and Meera, no dead city for Dany, Irri dying, Pyatt stealing the draogns, Xaros killing the other Thirteen and declaring himself King of Qarth, Arya not going exploring in the wartorn riverlands, Arya serving as cupbearer to Tywin and killing Ser Amory Lorch in a non-accidental way, etc. etc. etc.

And I imagine they'll do more in the coming seasons. Particularly Season 4 and onwards, because quite frankly AFFC is kind of boring and I haven't heard high praise for ADWD. That's fine. But why rush it. The creators have shown that when they see a way to bring something out for television (Twyin/Charles Dance's presence, more early development of Ygritte, etc.) they'll take it. And the hardcore book-readers, who you can see on IMDB or any comment section about the show, have already gone ballistic.

But they're a tiny fraction of the show's audience. For HBO to completely discard the books in S1 simply as to not risk pissing off fans when they reach AFFC is ridiculous. The first three books are great stories and make for captivating television. When the time comes, they'll do what they have to do. The creators shouldn't be criticized for staying relatively close to the first two books when the results have been fantastic.

 

[DACrowe]

Wait, someone who never read the books complaining about possible problems down the road. Based upon what exactly? You don't know the material, you come back to the thread surprised every week. If you could point out one specific in story instance down the road one single change that is "necessary" to the narrative, but you don't because you don't know the material. Problems down the road for you is based purely on speculation because you have never come upon a series like this. Nobody has really, it's not meant to be like any other series ever. It's almost as if you like the sandbox and the characters GRRM created but don't like his story, so yu wished they ditched it from the get go.

GRRM knows the ending, he told the TV producers and writers the ending. Not that he's knocking on death's door anyways. So what if they have to recast roles or if the show is even cancelled. Should they make concessions to this story to wrap it up nice and neat so it can finish? I would rather it end unfinished like Rome, than have some crap, TV trope ending.

It's not meant to be like other fantasy. It's not about wars and dragons and all that high fantasy drivel. A lot of people seem to get tied up in waiting for the next big fight or something of the sort when the show actually plays in the dialog, the castle intrigue. I always thought of GRRM like John LeCarre in the sense that the action is not even closer to the impact of the dialog.

I didn't realize he hadn't read the books. Is he just talking about recasting? BTW on the Sansa thing, the actor who plays Joffrey is entering his third year of university and admits when he's done with GOT (not gonna' tell you non-book readers when that is ) that he's giving up acting. But until then, he his happy to stay on the show. I think all the actors signed like a 6-8 year contract, so I really am not too worried about that.

As for being canceled early, I'd hate for them to try and "Rome" this series. In Rome S2, the first 6 episodes are essentially what S2 was going to be and they just crammed the story highlights they had in mind for S3 and S4 into the last 4 episodes of the series. I could see viewership declining for GOT, but not until S5 or S6. If they have to wrap it up early, I hope they know in advance to the final season and the show their own way, because I prefer finality to open-ended frustration. Not every show gets a Serenity reprise after all. Just saying.

 

[Dark Sentinel]

I thought I would post this here since it's so amazing.

Game of Thrones Theme - Piano Edition

[YT]1kBWtd4lujk[/YT]

 

[Dark Sentinel]

Wait, someone who never read the books complaining about possible problems down the road. Based upon what exactly? You don't know the material, you come back to the thread surprised every week. If you could point out one specific in story instance down the road one single change that is "necessary" to the narrative, but you don't because you don't know the material. Problems down the road for you is based purely on speculation because you have never come upon a series like this. Nobody has really, it's not meant to be like any other series ever. It's almost as if you like the sandbox and the characters GRRM created but don't like his story, so yu wished they ditched it from the get go.

GRRM knows the ending, he told the TV producers and writers the ending. Not that he's knocking on death's door anyways. So what if they have to recast roles or if the show is even cancelled. Should they make concessions to this story to wrap it up nice and neat so it can finish? I would rather it end unfinished like Rome, than have some crap, TV trope ending.

It's not meant to be like other fantasy. It's not about wars and dragons and all that high fantasy drivel. A lot of people seem to get tied up in waiting for the next big fight or something of the sort when the show actually plays in the dialog, the castle intrigue. I always thought of GRRM like John LeCarre in the sense that the action is not even closer to the impact of the dialog.

This.

I really enjoy the "palace intrigue" aspect of the show over the other elements (the "high fantasy drivel" as you put it). As a fantasy writer I enjoy the depth of the world the story takes place in almost more than the action. There's something to be said for fleshing out the realism of a fantasy story.

But I also like the diversity of the stories themselves. There's such a wide scope to cover, from the Far North to Essos and even Westeros itself, I think that is what will keep viewers watching for the next couple seasons.

By the way has Beric Dondarrion been cast yet?

 

[Thundercrack85]

Speaking of recasting, the new mountain just doesn't have the screen presence of the old one. Probably doesn't help that his scenes thus far have consisted of Tywin chastising him.

 

[mr. peasant]

Wait, someone who never read the books complaining about possible problems down the road. Based upon what exactly? You don't know the material, you come back to the thread surprised every week. If you could point out one specific in story instance down the road one single change that is "necessary" to the narrative, but you don't because you don't know the material. Problems down the road for you is based purely on speculation because you have never come upon a series like this. Nobody has really, it's not meant to be like any other series ever. It's almost as if you like the sandbox and the characters GRRM created but don't like his story, so yu wished they ditched it from the get go.

Uhm... what? Think you're confusing me with someone else, mate. Fact, I haven't even been posting here until this week. I find it funny that you assume that I've not read the books. At no point do I even allude to this or even express surprise at the show's turn of events. As a matter of fact, I have read the books. As for citing necessary changes to the narrative, of course I won't be able provide them since I neither work on the show nor have insider knowledge of the goings-ons behind-the-scenes.

What I can point to you are incidents that have forced the writers to sacrifice the TV show's setting's cohesion in order to preserve fidelity to the books - such as there now being two Gregor Cleganes (Conan Stevens in season 1 and Ian Whyte in season 2), owing to the former leaving for another project.

I can also cite incidents things have already deviated from the book - such as Rakharo dying (I believe because his actor also left for another project), Irri dying, the Arya-Tywin interactions and just about the entirety of Qarth's events, not the least of which being the dragon-napping. Whether these were borne out of necessity or creative spark and willingness to deviate, I can only speculate.

Lastly, I can cite potential areas that I feel will present challenges to the adaptation process. Daenerys' sections as per the books continue to be boring and overly convoluted, a number of the show's core characters' continued loss of relevance/involvement in the main plot in favour of newer faces, and the younger actors growing up faster than in the books (how much longer before Isaac Hempstead-Wright/Bran hits a growth spurt and becomes too tall and heavy to be continually carried around by Kristian Nairn/Hodor?).

GRRM knows the ending, he told the TV producers and writers the ending. Not that he's knocking on death's door anyways.

Only broad brushstrokes from what I hear. And even then, GRRM has proven that he is willing to change his mind down the road - as proven by how 'A Dance with Dragons' got rewritten almost from scratch when he was halfway through. And it's not so much a question of the books never being made but that they aren't out in time to be adapted. A Feast for Crows took 5 years and A Dance with Dragons took 6. Following this pattern, it might be another ten years before GRRM releases the last book - which would be too late given the show's pace of adaptation.

Should they make concessions to this story to wrap it up nice and neat so it can finish? I would rather it end unfinished like Rome, than have some crap, TV trope ending.

Yes, and this is why I feel we can't see eye to eye. I personally see the show and the book to be their own separate entities. What happens in the show has no bearing or impact whatsoever to the books. As such, if the show was to end earlier than planned, I would like to see it receive a proper ending rather than not the same way I like all stories to have proper endings.

 

[mr. peasant]

You're under the assumption that the show is mostly watched by book-readers or that if that demographic is upset that the show will suffer. They have been and its not.

I'm under the assumption that the show's creators do try to pander to the book readers as much as possible since the readers' continued approval does contribute a significant positive buzz online since they are very vocal even if a minority (how much of a minority, I don't know though remember that 49% can still technically count as a minority ).

And I imagine they'll do more in the coming seasons. Particularly Season 4 and onwards, because quite frankly AFFC is kind of boring and I haven't heard high praise for ADWD. That's fine. But why rush it. The creators have shown that when they see a way to bring something out for television (Twyin/Charles Dance's presence, more early development of Ygritte, etc.) they'll take it. And the hardcore book-readers, who you can see on IMDB or any comment section about the show, have already gone ballistic.

Perhaps, though for the moment, they've only gone as far as to add to the events rather than any kind of actual independence from the books' chain of events.

I didn't realize he hadn't read the books. Is he just talking about recasting? BTW on the Sansa thing, the actor who plays Joffrey is entering his third year of university and admits when he's done with GOT (not gonna' tell you non-book readers when that is ) that he's giving up acting. But until then, he his happy to stay on the show. I think all the actors signed like a 6-8 year contract, so I really am not too worried about that.

I might be wrong but the longest contract I've heard is that Peter Dinklage might have a 6-year contract with the show but even then, that's just rumour without confirmation. For the most part, actors don't sign on for long periods at a time (I believe the norm being 3-4 years with the option to renegotiate down the line). While not discussing the show, here's an interesting article highlighting the issue of retaining cast members; or rather the challenge of having to do so for a long-running series.

Regarding the 'Sansa thing', I don't think we can so easily use Jack Gleeson (Joffrey) as an example. With him, I believe he was already a university student when he was acting on the show; meaning, he was on a course that allowed for part-time or disrupted study. Depending on the course she enrolls in should she decide to go to university, Sophie Turner (Sansa) may or may not have that option.

 

[smashmode]

WiC speculates that the *casting speculation*

Spoiler

the reeds might be in based on latest casting calls:

It seems likely they are looking for extras to play the diminutive crannogmen, which would mean the Reeds are in! The prevailing theory is that a group from Greywater Watch will be sent to Winterfell, including Jojen and Meera, and that they will run into Bran and Co. along the way. Either that or David & Dan will pad Bran’s journey even more and have him head to Greywater Watch first, where he will meet Meera and Jojen. Eventually, the latter will tell him they need to go north and their journey will commence from there. But that would mean having to build a new set and possibly having to cast Howland Reed, so that seems much less likely than the other theory. Either way, this whole thing is a good sign for all you Reed fans!

 

[mr. peasant]

And now, for something completely opposite to my criticisms/reservations about the show's concept. Not sure if anyone's come across this or if it's been posted before. Just thought this was too hilariously cute not to:

Nerdy Nummies - Game of Thrones Pizza

Somebody cut me a slice of that pie!

 

[CrypticOne]

You're under the assumption that the show is mostly watched by book-readers or that if that demographic is upset that the show will suffer. They have been and its not. They've taken way more liberties for S2 than they have in S1. Jon going camping with Ygritte, no Reek, Theon executing Ser Rodrick himself after taking Winterfell, no Damphair, no siege of Storm's End, no Riverrun, Tyrion making Bronn Commander of the Gold Cloaks, Sansa being almost raped, no Jorgen and Meera, no dead city for Dany, Irri dying, Pyatt stealing the draogns, Xaros killing the other Thirteen and declaring himself King of Qarth, Arya not going exploring in the wartorn riverlands, Arya serving as cupbearer to Tywin and killing Ser Amory Lorch in a non-accidental way, etc. etc. etc.

And I imagine they'll do more in the coming seasons. Particularly Season 4 and onwards, because quite frankly AFFC is kind of boring and I haven't heard high praise for ADWD. That's fine. But why rush it. The creators have shown that when they see a way to bring something out for television (Twyin/Charles Dance's presence, more early development of Ygritte, etc.) they'll take it. And the hardcore book-readers, who you can see on IMDB or any comment section about the show, have already gone ballistic.

But they're a tiny fraction of the show's audience. For HBO to completely discard the books in S1 simply as to not risk pissing off fans when they reach AFFC is ridiculous. The first three books are great stories and make for captivating television. When the time comes, they'll do what they have to do. The creators shouldn't be criticized for staying relatively close to the first two books when the results have been fantastic.

I haven't been watching this on HBO, but they really changed all that?! Reek, Meera, and Jorgen seem like important characters, to me.

Spoiler

I'm in the middle of A Storm Of Swords, right now.

They really switched some things up, huh?

 

[Monsieur Xavier]

I have a question about the seasons : do they last a very long time in the other parts of the world too ( Dothraki land / Qarth etc ) ?

 

[Buford The Sly]

I have a question about the seasons : do they last a very long time in the other parts of the world too ( Dothraki land / Qarth etc ) ?

Not all the areas of the Essos globe are affected by winter. It seems like it's more a Northern hemisphere type of thing however it hasn't been fully explained in the books. For example Dorne does not get a full fledged winter like the rest of Westeros does. Braavos seems to get affected by winter but that is a Northern city on the continent that the Dothraki are located on.