Anyone watching Game of Thrones? (spoilers)

[Greg Bernhardt]

I just finished season 1! I'm a huge fan now!

 

[jedishrfu]

What ever happened to reading the book? :-)

I saw a few episodes during one weekend when HBO was free but never got to see the rest. My son has read the books and likes the HBO series a lot too.

 

[Dotini]

Yes! I've watched all 3 seasons and read all 5 ASOIAF novels. I've also read the 3 Dunk and Egg prequels, and now I'm perusing Martin's earlier award-winning sci-fi, horror and fantasy. ("Armageddon Rag" is a novel that should appeal to rock music fans of the 60's). He's a fantastically good storyteller, on a par with the greatest of all time, IMHO. He uses symbolism that works on several levels, and like Shakespeare, writes in such a way as to appeal to a wide variety of readers. I've noticed a consistent theme of infracaninophilism, and a certain preoccupation with blood and its properties.

 

[Borek]

I have seen all three seasons, episode daily, in October.

Rule number one: don't get attached to any person/fraction/family.

 

[Dotini]

Rule number one: don't get attached to any person/fraction/family.

This is but one good reason why Game of Thrones is so refreshing and popular with viewers and critics; it demolishes stereotypical expectations of what a series drama should be.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

5 books so 5 seasons? I agree with your comment borek. I like how most characters at least in season 2 were all complex not without faults. Obviously there are some people you end up rooting for though.

 

[Yanick]

He hasn't finished writing the series yet. The last two books to come out were supposed to be 1 book, but it got so big that he split it into two.

I haven't seen the show but have read the books and they are amazing but I'm getting pretty PO'ed at Martin because he is moving at a snail's pace with this story. Each book simply expands the story further and barely gets you any closure. At this point, I don't think the guy will even finish the story, seeing as he takes so long to put out an installment. He seems to be too busy raking in the cash (IMO) to finish the damn story. I'm suspecting that if he ever does close this story, it will be in a rush to just get more movie/show deals or whatever.

 

[Borek]

He hasn't finished writing the series yet. The last two books to come out were supposed to be 1 book, but it got so big that he split it into two.

I believe he said in the case he won't have time to finish it, there is always a Red Comet solution - it hits Westeros, and kills everyone.

And judging from what have happened during all three seasons it is not an ending to be ruled out.

 

[Bandersnatch]

Hmmm, I loved the first season to bits, but the second one lacked that special something, that I can't put my finger on. It felt cheaper, gratuitious, deflated and forgettable.
So forgettable, in fact, that I can't remember whether I watched the third season after that.

 

[Dotini]

5 books so 5 seasons?

Yes, HBO are producing the series - the most popular cable TV series since The Sopranos - at a rate of one season per book. Five books (4,194 pages) have been published since 1996 from a currently projected total of seven. The sixth novel, "The Winds of Winter", is not likely to be finished before 2015. So its clear HBO will run out of material before the seventh and final book is published. They may be producing the prequels in the interim. Although Martin supposedly has had the story ending in mind from the beginning, he is understandably fussy about the quality of his work and his life. At age 65, he cannot be expected to hurriedly turn a word mill for his demanding fans.

 

[Curious3141]

Rule number one: don't get attached to any person/fraction/family.

I think it's quite safe to get attached to Tyrion Lannister. He's far and away the most interesting character on the show. So I don't think either George R R Martin or the HBO scriptwriters/producers are going to be willing to get rid of him for a very long time.

If they do it just to defy expectations, I predict it will backfire. Droves of people will simply stop watching.

 

[Dotini]

I think it's quite safe to get attached to Tyrion Lannister. He's far and away the most interesting character on the show. So I don't think either George R R Martin or the HBO scriptwriters/producers are going to be willing to get rid of him for a very long time.

If they do it just to defy expectations, I predict it will backfire. Droves of people will simply stop watching.

"I have a tender spot in my heart for cripples and bastards and broken things."
Tyrion Lannister - A Game of Thrones

This is also expressing how George feels about Tyrion - and really about underdogs in general.
Tyrion will be there at the end; of that we are pretty sure.

 

[Ryan_m_b]

I've read the books and watched the TV series. The TV show is one of the few examples of something I think is as good as, if not better than, the book. Though as others have mentioned the TV show is being made at a rate of one series per year whereas GRRM took eleven years to release the last two. It will be interesting to see the show catch up and have to finish the story for him.

 

[Dotini]

Before Game of Thrones, George did a long stint in Hollywood as a writer/producer, has worked on The Twilight Zone, Beauty and the Beast, and various feature films that were never produced.

So when he hooked up with HBO, he was careful to retain the fullest possible authorial control of the rights by contract, and continues to work very closely together with them. He personally writes one HBO episode per season.

Alright, it's a fretful worry of some viewers and readers on fan forums such as westeros.org as to how a 7th season (!) of the popular series will be pulled off. But you've noticed how closely the TV production adheres to the general Song of Ice and Fire storyline, no matter how necessarily thinned down from the rich texture and complexly satisfying content found in the novels. So there will be no red comet wiping out Westeros, and no ginned up, non-canonical ending.

 

[Borek]

So there will be no red comet wiping out Westeros

Any source for that? Red comet theory has backing from GRRM himself:

And you know, if I really get pressed, I've already established that red comet. I can just have it hit Westeros and wipe out all life.

http://www.empireonline.com/interviews/interview.asp?IID=1496

I am sure he said that with tongue in cheek, still, these are his own words.

 

[Dotini]

Any source for that? Red comet theory has backing from GRRM himself:



http://www.empireonline.com/interviews/interview.asp?IID=1496

I am sure he said that with tongue in cheek, still, these are his own words.

I've been reading numerous threads on westeros.org, viewing the Westeros history analysis on Youtube put out by Elio Garcia and Linda Antonsson, and reading "Beyond the Wall", a collection of ASOIAF literary criticism by editors and writers.

(mild spoiler alert)
People seem to agree that the red comet is a symbol or omen, viewed differently by characters all over The Known World as well as the continent of Westeros, that somehow reflects uniquely either the heraldic colors, wars and political agenda, family destiny, religious faith, etc., of the separate viewers. It is seen briefly then passes on. The comet is traditionally an omen of impending crisis in the physical and/or spiritual worlds - and in the realms of man. And don't forget the Others, briefly glimpsed in the prologue! They may be symbolized by ice, much as dragons and Targaryens may be symbolized by fire - or a fiery red comet. So, the comet works at a lot of levels. As a deus ex machina, prematurely ending the series for an impatient, frustrated audience, I don't think it works at all.

 

[1MileCrash]

I just started watching, on season 2 ep 3 now, loving it.

I want syrio to return, by far the coolest character.

 

[Office_Shredder]

I just finished season 1! I'm a huge fan now!

I know you've literally been living under a rock for the past couple months but geez what took you so long?

 

[Borek]

Decoding HD video is quite a job. Perhaps Greg has watched the episodes on an old, slow computer. My estimates show that if the device is capable of displaying around 0.14 frames per second, it takes two months to watch the first season (no pee breaks nor sleeping).

 

[phion]

I will have to give this show a try.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

Half way through season 2 and I can already see the story is already slowing down and widening. Still good though.

 

[1MileCrash]

Half way through season 2 and I can already see the story is already slowing down and widening. Still good though.

I'm about half-way into season 3, and I think it's starting to pick up (not to spoil anything, but there is a part involving the Targaryan girl in the third season that was just awesome). Keep the faith!

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

Finished season 2! Guess I have to wait till Feb for season 3 to get one Amazon Instant. Great cliff hanger at the end with the White Walkers!

 

[1MileCrash]

There are a lot of streaming sites out there, if you want to do it that way.

 

[Borek]

Asking around should be enough

 

[strangerep]

Finished season 2! Guess I have to wait till Feb for season 3 to get one Amazon Instant. Great cliff hanger at the end with the White Walkers!

At least you've only got to wait a couple of months. I finished season 2 ages ago. [Frustrating wait...]

Oh well, at least The Desolation of Smaug will hit my cinema in,... oh good,... it's just over a week.
I hope they can improve over the first installment.

 

[1MileCrash]

Oh well, at least The Desolation of Smaug will hit my cinema in,... oh good,... it's just over a week.
I hope they can improve over the first installment.

It is awesome, lots of action. People say it deviates from the book, but they always are lost for words you respond with "who cares?"

 

[strangerep]

[Desolation of Smaug] is awesome, lots of action. People say it deviates from the book, but they always are lost for words you respond with "who cares?"

I guess I don't mind if they deviate in a way consistent with Tolkien's underlying intent and mythos. I was ok with some of the deviations in LoTR, but not all of them.

The biggest thing that p*sses me off in the LoTR and Hobbit films is the way that non-Uruk-Hai orcs seem quite happy to run around in broad daylight.

 

[Dotini]

At least you've only got to wait a couple of months. I finished season 2 ages ago. [Frustrating wait...]

You can see it right now by signing up for HBO and seeing it On Demand.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

Just finished the third book. I absolutely adore this series. Sometimes it's a bit slow in development, but overall it's a fierce and interesting world.

 

[strangerep]

I bought the Season 3 dvd last week -- and watched it all within a few days.
The seasons are too short (but of course I understand why).

It's curious that seasons 1 & 2 were rated "R-18+", but season 3 is only MA-15+. I would have thought the final throat-cutting scenes qualified as "high level violence".

I'll probably never understand the rating system.

[...] not to spoil anything, but there is a part involving the Targaryan girl in the third season that was just awesome

If it's the scene I think you refer to... well,... hmmm,... I guess you like cars with large trunks?

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

So funny thing. I watched the first two seasons and then read the third book. After reading the third book I am now 2 episodes into the 3rd season and I don't like it as much. So much is changed and missing. The first two episodes end and I feel like nothing has happened. Right now my feeling is the book is vastly superior.

 

[strangerep]

Right now my feeling is the book is vastly superior.

Isn't this normal?

E.g., leaving out the special effects, the LOTR books are superior to the films.

 

[1MileCrash]

So funny thing. I watched the first two seasons and then read the third book. After reading the third book I am now 2 episodes into the 3rd season and I don't like it as much. So much is changed and missing. The first two episodes end and I feel like nothing has happened. Right now my feeling is the book is vastly superior.

It should be noted that there does not exist a trivial one-to-one correspondence between the books and the show seasons.

The nth book does not cover the nth season exactly. It is all over the place. You'll be well into season 4 from the third book, iirc.

 

[arildno]

Isn't this normal?

E.g., leaving out the special effects, the LOTR books are superior to the films.

As a longtime LOTR books fan, I totally disagree. Books are books and films are films, and there ain't nothing in between. Besides, there are better character developments of, say, Frodo, Merry and Pippin in the films than the books have to offer.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

The nth book does not cover the nth season exactly.

I agree and it's kind of problematic for me lol. I noticed a few big things not happening in season 3 that happened in the book.

 

[HomogenousCow]

I hate to be that guy, but the books were better.
There I said it.

 

[Dotini]

Game of Thrones is some kind of cultural phenomenon into which I became ensorcelled in 2012.

The five books become intellectually and emotionally involving, and the HBO production is acquiring a reputation as a cure for depression and a source for artistic inspiration.

 

[strangerep]

[...] the HBO production is acquiring a reputation as a cure for depression [...]

Really? Do you have a source link for that?

 

[Dotini]

Really? Do you have a source link for that?

Yes, I'm very pleased to say that I do.:!)

http://www.vanityfair.com/online/oscars/2013/10/game-of-thrones-stevie-nicks
Game of Thrones has been a point of obsession and intrigue for us over
its past three seasons on HBO. But if used correctly, Fleetwood Mac
front woman Stevie Nicks claims, the medieval fantasy series can also
have vaguely therapeutic applications--or at least it did for her.

While speaking to the Herald Scotland on the European leg of Fleetwood
Mac's current tour, Nicks segued a question about grieving her
mother's recent death to the HBO show. After she died, Nicks says, "I
didn't leave the house for almost five months.

"I worked on the edit of my documentary about the making of In Your
Dreams. And then I got pneumonia. With my pneumonia and my mother's
death I watched the entire first season of Game Of Thrones--so that was
great! That certainly took my mind off everything."

Not only did the series distract the Grammy winner, but it re-ignited
her creativity, inspiring her to write some G.O.T.-centric fan poems.
Explains Nicks, "I've written a bunch of poetry about it--one for each
of the characters. On Jon Snow. . . On Arya. . . On Cersei and Jaime."
She also says that she has a talent crush on the author of the Game of
Thrones book series, George R. R. Martin, who is her age, and "would
love to write some music" for the show.

 

[Fredrik]

I agree and it's kind of problematic for me lol. I noticed a few big things not happening in season 3 that happened in the book.

Season 3 is only half of the third book.

 

[mrmjp]

The wife and I watch it.

 

[wukunlin]

I hate to be that guy, but the books were better.
There I said it.

After seeing some of my favourite sci-fi/fantasy books butchered by their TV adaptations, I have long decided to avoid them like plague and stay with my books

 

[HomogenousCow]

I don't like how they're rushing the series, they should take it slow and take advantage of the fact that this is a TV series and not a movie.

 

[Ryan_m_b]

Game of thrones is one of the very few things I've seen that I think is better than the books. I've read them all and I find the inability to maintain a well paced story arc a massive drag. The series is better paced IMO.

 

[HomogenousCow]

Game of thrones is one of the very few things I've seen that I think is better than the books. I've read them all and I find the inability to maintain a well paced story arc a massive drag. The series is better paced IMO.

I admit that the books do tend to meander about (especially the latest two books), however the scope and background offered by the books are far superior to that of the series.

 

[Fredrik]

After seeing some of my favourite sci-fi/fantasy books butchered by their TV adaptations, I have long decided to avoid them like plague and stay with my books

The biggest complaint I've heard from the book readers is that the bit that took place in Qarth was disappointing. It was kind of bad, but it's a relatively small part of the second season. Now that Breaking Bad is over, this show is vastly superior to anything else on TV. So it would be a shame if you miss it because of a principle.

If you think it will be a problem that you know most of what's going to happen, think again. It wasn't a problem for me when I rewatched seasons 1-3 in december and january.

 

[Dotini]

A new HBO viewership record was set Sunday night with nearly 7 million tuned in for 404, "Canon not found", as some have joked.

The show is increasingly departing from Martin's original epic fantasy, and a national chorus of controversy is still raging over the (Jaime/Cersie) Sept scene in episode 3 of this, the 4th season of a projected 7.

Martin himself is writing some of these departures, and they are mostly entertaining improvements of the POV-limited novels, and greatly expanding the character development of fan favorites like Brienne, Bronn and the Hound.

The shock reveal in the circle of ice stalagmites in 404 must now restore to readers the sense of suspense and apprehension we've missed in the show so far. A good thing!

 

[Hepth]

A new HBO viewership record was set Sunday night with nearly 7 million tuned in for 404, "Canon not found", as some have joked.

The show is increasingly departing from Martin's original epic fantasy, and a national chorus of controversy is still raging over the (Jaime/Cersie) Sept scene in episode 3 of this, the 4th season of a projected 7.

Martin himself is writing some of these departures, and they are mostly entertaining improvements of the POV-limited novels, and greatly expanding the character development of fan favorites like Brienne, Bronn and the Hound.

The shock reveal in the circle of ice stalagmites in 404 must now restore to readers the sense of suspense and apprehension we've missed in the show so far. A good thing!

I think that's the key. We have to remember that Martin is overseeing any changes, and so really just think of them as things that have been cut from the books bought are now sort of a DVD extra. They should still be considered cannon and not thought of as diverging from the story in any meaningful way. (though the Sept scene really pisses me off because it can possibly change your emotions toward some characters and it changes their motivations. I think I know why they did it, but it wasn't a good reason. I felt the same way about some Shae/Tyrion stuff too.)

 

[Borek]

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