Game of Thrones - HBO part 2

[Siby]

Spoiler

The guy can change his face with magic. Odds are he can change other parts of his appearance too. But yeah, it's nothing more than a fun theory and even I'm not particularly convinced. Just pointing out that it's plausible.

Correction: They will try to continue to follow the books, for now. There are lots of factors involved in running a show; especially one of this scale - and the least of it is creativity. What if the execs or the showrunners decide [blackout]Sean Bean's[/blackout] character is too much of a fan favourite to be killed off and still retain viewers? Or what if any of the various child actors decide to focus more on school and cuts back on the time spent filming? Or what if an actor decides to move on to another project before the planned six or seven years needed to fully tell the story as per the books (assuming GRRM can get the last book out in time)?

Any of these things can happen, have happened to other shows in the past and will happen in shows to come, and would completely blow original plan to bits.

I think GRRM has enough control over the show to not let that absurd stuff from happening, like letting a character that died in the books live in the show. These books have such a tightly written narrative that changing something major would ruin or alter the story way too much, making some of the plot lines pointless or seem silly.

What if Robert hadn't died because the fans or executives loved the character and/or actor? Without Robert, who was a keystone to the stability of the seven kingdoms, nothing else would have happened that we have seen happen after his death.

Anyway...

I really wish there was a way the show would tell us how much time has passed.

The last episode was awesome. Like somebody else, I kept wondering why Syrio didn't pickup a real sword to right the last guy. I also find it hard to believe that someone of his caliber would be defeated by some random soldier.

When Drogo was sitting in his throne, I thought how much that scene and stage looked Conan-esque. I was surprised Drogo let that slave tend to his wounds and not a Drothraki healer. Also, that wound didn't look that bad to have everybody so worried about it.

HODOR!

 

[ChickenScratch]

And that right there would be the biggest reason to deviate from the source material. One of the biggest appeals of the Song of Fire and Ice series is that there is genuine shock and tension since any of the characters (including the POV ones) can die at any point. Not so with the TV series; since it's retreading what's already been told.

As for dealing with the hole left by actors who (for whatever reason) leave the show, would you honestly prefer the show pull a Darrin instead of just being pragmatic about it?

I'm not going to say you don't get it, but the narrative is so huge and things interconnect and hang together in such a way that proceeding forward as written is pretty much the only way to go. Yes, I don't mind recasting at all, especially in a case like this where the story is way more and way bigger than the characters.

 

[Siby]

I don't have any problems with recasting either. After all the actors are portraying a character, they aren't THE character. I watch the show for the story and the characters, not for the actors.

 

[Rage]

I agree with ChickenScratch. You can't change the story willy nilly in GOT... everything is just so tightly woven together. The ripples of one character surviving when they should not could alter the events of the future forever! (Gawd... I sound like Doc Brown in Back to the Future)

I do think that there is room to create scenes and maybe go into character depth in places the books did not, to help the viewer to better understand the characters and the events around them... or to make things a little more exciting (like Khal Drogo's fight and injury instead of Dany coming up to him and Drogo already being injured)

 

[Buford The Sly]

Back when the producers (David and Dan) came to GRRM about pitching this to HBO they pretty much reassured him that they wouldn't be taking the story off in wild directions. There will be changes due to adaptation issues like there already have been but the overall spirit of the story will remain intact according the producers. FWIW this series was not the first time he'd been approached about adaptations. He's gone on record about rejecting movie offers because it just wouldn't work in that form.

 

[RockSP]

The last episode was awesome. Like somebody else, I kept wondering why Syrio didn't pickup a real sword to right the last guy. I also find it hard to believe that someone of his caliber would be defeated by some random soldier.

Yeah, the not picking up a sword thing didn't make sense. As for his defeat, it seemed to me the other soldiers were starting to get back up, so I guess he got teamed up on.

 

[mr. peasant]

I'm not going to say you don't get it, but the narrative is so huge and things interconnect and hang together in such a way that proceeding forward as written is pretty much the only way to go. Yes, I don't mind recasting at all, especially in a case like this where the story is way more and way bigger than the characters.

Correction: They either remain faithful or change something and go down a completely different path (perhaps an idea GRRM didn't pursue?). But to each their own. I view them as independent of one another (as in this is just Game of Thrones, inspired by A Song of Fire and Ice, and not 'A Song of Fire and Ice: The TV adaptation) and place greater importance on internal consistency over faithfulness. I was just pointing out that compared to most other TV adaptations of books, the show has a few challenges that they do not due to its protracted production length.

 

[Watson]

Yes he's dead.

I thought that issue was left pretty vague in the book too, actually. He could still be alive.

 

[Shawn Wayne]

I think GRRM has enough control over the show to not let that absurd stuff from happening, like letting a character that died in the books live in the show. These books have such a tightly written narrative that changing something major would ruin or alter the story way too much, making some of the plot lines pointless or seem silly.

What if Robert hadn't died because the fans or executives loved the character and/or actor? Without Robert, who was a keystone to the stability of the seven kingdoms, nothing else would have happened that we have seen happen after his death.

Anyway...

I really wish there was a way the show would tell us how much time has passed.

The last episode was awesome. Like somebody else, I kept wondering why Syrio didn't pickup a real sword to right the last guy. I also find it hard to believe that someone of his caliber would be defeated by some random soldier.

When Drogo was sitting in his throne, I thought how much that scene and stage looked Conan-esque. I was surprised Drogo let that slave tend to his wounds and not a Drothraki healer. Also, that wound didn't look that bad to have everybody so worried about it.

HODOR!

I thought that too about Drogo/ Conan. I hope he plays Conan in a similar way. Great episode! Am I the only one who want to donkey punch Sansa?

 

[ChickenScratch]

I thought that issue was left pretty vague in the book too, actually. He could still be alive.

He's from Bravos, if he were alive we would know it. Boldness in the face of enemies is a huge deal to them. If he lived he would have happily remained in the 7 kingdoms apart of the war and when not killing Lannisters would be talking about it.

When you get to the third book there's another Bravosi character who one can learn a lot about Syrio's attitudes from.

 

[Monsieur Xavier]

The "Bravos" is a House, a fraternity or a fighting style ?

 

[ChickenScratch]

It's a country that's equal parts Japan, Korea, India and a couple Arab nations thrown in. Braavos (excuse me spelling it without the extra "a") represents the exotic east. It's a collection of more than a hundred islands in the narrow sea united under one banner. They are known for producing great, proud warriors (analogous to Knights, Samurai, Hwa Rang) and even better assassins (very similar to Ninja, Sulsa and Hashishin).

 

[Raiden]

Without spoiling anything, does Sansa as a character get better later on? Because right now I just want to smack her.

 

[ChickenScratch]

What do you mean by "better?"

 

[Raiden]

What do you mean by "better?"

As in "more sympathetic" and less "want to smack around like red-haired stepchild".

 

[ChickenScratch]

Well you can't tell where people's alliances lie for any long stretch of time or what they may consider in their own self interest in any given moment. So no, I can't say Sansa gets any "better" or any worse for that matter, but she does have a good arc.

 

[Donut]

Instead of Eddard going into that room with that piece of paper he should have brought the thing that said that Joffery was not the kings son. Why did he not do that ?

 

[mr. peasant]

As in "more sympathetic" and less "want to smack around like red-haired stepchild".

Let's just say a lot of bad things happen to people in this story and Sansa is by far the most innocent character; setting her firmly as a Woobie. Thus, how sympathetic she gets depends on the actress and you, the viewer.

 

[Rage]

So far (in the books) Sansa has made some questionable decisions... but ones she pretty had to make (other than one big blunder)

Spoiler

Going to the queen to tell her about her father packing the family up for Winterfell.

The rest of her decisions (so far... only 200 pages into Clash of Kings) have been survival decisions and not decisions based on what she wants personally.

 

[ChickenScratch]

She's also a 12 year old girl who thinks she's a princess and will one day be queen.

 

[Siby]

Instead of Eddard going into that room with that piece of paper he should have brought the thing that said that Joffery was not the kings son. Why did he not do that ?

What I don't understand is why people, such as Sir Baristan Selmy, the old codger Maester, uphold the King's words on that piece of paper. Cersie should have been cut down for tearing up a king's edict that way. It makes no sense for people to have just gone with what she was saying rather than turning on the freaking Hand of the King.

Furthermore Joffery can't become King until he is of age, which he clearly is not, so how can people just forget all the rules and crown him King?

 

[Buford The Sly]

What I don't understand is why people, such as Sir Baristan Selmy, the old codger Maester, uphold the King's words on that piece of paper. Cersie should have been cut down for tearing up a king's edict that way. It makes no sense for people to have just gone with what she was saying rather than turning on the freaking Hand of the King.

Furthermore Joffery can't become King until he is of age, which he clearly is not, so how can people just forget all the rules and crown him King?

Had the Goldgloaks been with Ned she might have been. But they weren't and she knew it. She was one step ahead of Ned the whole time. What the Lannisters did was basically usurp the Throne without it appearing so.

 

[Raiden]

Well you can't tell where people's alliances lie for any long stretch of time or what they may consider in their own self interest in any given moment. So no, I can't say Sansa gets any "better" or any worse for that matter, but she does have a good arc.

I know she's a young girl and all, who has a crush on Joffrey like girls do with their Twilight hunks, but she should've always put her family first.

What I don't understand is why people, such as Sir Baristan Selmy, the old codger Maester, uphold the King's words on that piece of paper. Cersie should have been cut down for tearing up a king's edict that way. It makes no sense for people to have just gone with what she was saying rather than turning on the freaking Hand of the King.

Furthermore Joffery can't become King until he is of age, which he clearly is not, so how can people just forget all the rules and crown him King?

Yeah, that scene perplexed me; I mean, even after death King Robert's signature should've still be treated as the law of the land. Cersei made an act of treason by tearing up that piece of paper, but no one seemed to be willing to oppose the queen.

 

[Buford The Sly]

Chicken Strach are you Omar B over at AICN?

 

[mr. peasant]

I know she's a young girl and all, who has a crush on Joffrey like girls do with their Twilight hunks, but she should've always put her family first.

As pointed out in the show a few episodes back, Sansa can't afford to oppose Joffrey because she is betrothed to him. Doing so would cause her a lot of problems in the future; should the marriage happen.

Yeah, that scene perplexed me; I mean, even after death King Robert's signature should've still be treated as the law of the land. Cersei made an act of treason by tearing up that piece of paper, but no one seemed to be willing to oppose the queen.

The instructions had been read and recognised; what happened to the piece of paper after that doesn't really matter (they can't be storing every letter written by every king forever and ever; meaning, it is legal to dispose of the paper itself). Moreover, the Kingsguard at that point serve two masters; the previous king's will and his successor. And Joffrey was not exactly telling them to cease his mother.