# Game of Thrones



## xerolee

Does the tv series do the book justice? I don't like the trailer and find Sean Bean too blunt and angry too play eddard, opinions?


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## Johnny Cosmo

> Does the tv series do the book justice? I don't like the trailer and find Sean Bean too blunt and angry too play eddard, opinions?



I liked it a lot. I don't think Sean Bean was too angry either; he was cold, reserved, serious, and sometimes blunt... but that's no different from the books. 

I suggest you give it a try; in general it's a good adaptation.


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## xerolee

Hmm seems like I should give it go.


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## Johnny Cosmo

There's no harm in watching the first episode.


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## soulless

I have not read the book/s, so coming at this not really knowing anything about it I absolutely loved the first season and cannot wait for season two to begin.


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## hppavmx704

I thought that the series did the book justice. I never did finish the season but from what I saw it was a decent replica of the book.


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## mirrorrorrim

I think it does as good a job as any work can that's trying to adapt a different medium. I started watching the series right after I finished the first book, and to me the series seemed very truncated in comparison, which of course it had to be. I was sad by how many scenes weren't depicted, or were depicted shorter than I'd like, but I feel that's an unavoidable consequence of adapting 700+ pages into roughly 10 hours of film.

Sean Bean's Ned Stark was very different than I'd imagined him, but I'm such a fan of the actor that I didn't really mind. The show-stealer, though, is definitely Peter Dinklage's Tyrion–he's absolutely magnificent in every scene he's in!

One other thing I should probably mention is that the show is _very_ R-rated, but that also reflects the tone of the book, so if you're okay with one, I'm guessing you'll be okay with the other.


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## Xanados

I have never read Martin's books, but I enjoyed the TV series.


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## Giant

I am listening to Book 1 now, and I have to say It is excellent. His detail, the style of his writing, the characters, all well above my expectations. I will watch the show as soon as it is available on DVD.


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## soulless

Season 2 starts 1st April in the US, but I've not heard when we in good ol' Blighty will get it though.


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## Mike Carmel

I also have never read the books and love the TV show, but I think the sex is too graphic


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## Arianna

The books were great and the I thought HBO did a wonderful job with the show! I have watched season 1 three times from start to finish (I got my whole family hooked and re-watched with them) but if you have never read the books jumping right to the TV series can be a little confusing for a while. There are so many characters to get to know and I found the 1st book did a better job of allowing time to get to know the characters. But I honestly think they did a GREAT job with casting, the actors portray their characters beautifully. Of course there were one or two portrayals I thought were awful but that's just my opinion. 

But I would definitely recommend the series to anyone who enjoys fantasy and also the books. Read them they're amazing


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## Kevlar

Having read the first four books and waiting for the fifth to come out paperback (I don't like mixed collections) I have to say I am very impressed by most of the television series and I highly anticipate the second season. Some of the casting could have been better. Some were spot on. Some were unexpected but good. One was horrible and left me vacant for the rest of the episode. Shae.

Ugh, their Shae disgusted me. Where did the accent come from? What happened to being young? IMDB says she's thirty-one, which while not nearly old is almost twice as old as her character. What happened to being a shallow, devious little *ahem*? I could go on but let's suffice to say her representation appalled me.

There are no adequate words for Peter Dinklage as Tyrion. His performance was simply amazing, and many a time I chuckled as he did something minor that Tyrion would do, like subtly trying to get the wine that was just out of his reach in his father's tent. If he was in a scene, yes, he did steal the spotlight. Oh, and for anyone who found it half as funny as me:







Joffrey I wasn't too sure about at first, but by the time drunken him attacked Micah he had me convinced. The kid plays the little git perfectly. Fun fact: I noticed the other day that he was on Batman Begins. I might just be easily amused, but I was... amused.

Jason Momoa as Khal Drogo was pure gold. He really showed strength as an actor, capable of displaying a primal rage that actually makes you believe. One crit, though not about him in particular, is his killing Mago, who is still very alive in the books.

Other great casting included Jaime, Tywin, Jeor, Robert and Littlefinger. Cersei wasn't so great. A few others I'm not so sure about, but most are pretty good.


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## gerald.parson

The biggest issue I have with the show is the age disparity portrayed in the books. All the kids are older, in some cases like Rob, much older. I think the show thus far is better than the books in some regards. There are some things the show has neglected which is understandable considering, but all and all its is pretty decent. Peter Dinklage stole the show, he is amazing. I think they made Jon to strong in the show, not that I dont mind, show wise he is one of my favorite characters, book wise he is a puss. 1st book at least. 
  I loved the books, key word loved, I don't anymore, but I am curious as to how the show will progress.


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## Codey Amprim

I just started watching the series on my computer a few days ago, and even though I have not read the books (I plan to now) I am completely hooked on this. After a few episodes you begin to recognize character names with the actors, and I think hbo did a wonderful job thus far. I'd like to get my girlfriend to watch it, but after what happened in the first episode I doubt she would like to see more... The sex scenes, even though I find some to be pretty funny, really limit the audience for obvious reasons. I understand some are necessary for story reasons but damn lol.

I really want to read the books but I'm afraid I'll never be as gifted and as talented as GRRM at writing if I do read them... Already have enough trouble with living up to LOTR. I am picking up a few nice ideas for my own work.

All in all, I'm glad there's a great fantasy show on television.


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## gerald.parson

Don't let you stop you from reading them, or at least on of them, GRRM probably wont blow you away with his words, but he can put together a cool store and has a creative mind. It's not an intimidating read by any means. It is a multi-POV style book, which while I prefer, I know some people do not. But never get spooked by reading someones book's that have achieved success, you may be surprised to find that their writing is not the greatest but rather they are wonderfully creative. 



Codey Amprim said:


> I just started watching the series on my computer a few days ago, and even though I have not read the books (I plan to now) I am completely hooked on this. After a few episodes you begin to recognize character names with the actors, and I think hbo did a wonderful job thus far. I'd like to get my girlfriend to watch it, but after what happened in the first episode I doubt she would like to see more... The sex scenes, even though I find some to be pretty funny, really limit the audience for obvious reasons. I understand some are necessary for story reasons but damn lol.
> 
> I really want to read the books but I'm afraid I'll never be as gifted and as talented as GRRM at writing if I do read them... Already have enough trouble with living up to LOTR. I am picking up a few nice ideas for my own work.
> 
> All in all, I'm glad there's a great fantasy show on television.


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## void141

I'm not the biggest fan of the series (and I love the books), but I think that Sean Bean is a great Eddard Stark. He has this irritating seriousness that is necessary if you want to be Eddard.


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## Codey Amprim

gerald.parson said:


> Don't let you stop you from reading them, or at least on of them, GRRM probably wont blow you away with his words, but he can put together a cool store and has a creative mind. It's not an intimidating read by any means. It is a multi-POV style book, which while I prefer, I know some people do not. But never get spooked by reading someones book's that have achieved success, you may be surprised to find that their writing is not the greatest but rather they are wonderfully creative.



Would you be surprised if I felt that way about Tolkien? Yes, I should probably hide under a bunker for saying that, but that is how I truly felt after reading the first LOTR book. I understand his writing style was different, but I honestly began to detest reading it. I just finished the first season of the show, and I am completely blown away. I'm getting these books as soon as I can.


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## gerald.parson

For me Game of Thrones was the best book thus far in the Fire and Ice series. I have read all the ones that are out, some a few times, but as the books went on things just got stale for me. But I suggest reading them non the less. 
And no I am not surprised by your feelings on Tolkien. While the Hobbit was one of my favorites as a child, I found the others to be a bit drab.


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## Codey Amprim

Thank you for your honest suggestion! I could see how a series could turn boring after so much trickery and numerous plot twists to the point that everything is different that what it seemed would happen (I'm guessing this by what I've seen so far). How long are they on average?


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## void141

Mike Carmel said:


> I also have never read the books and love the TV show, but I think the sex is too graphic



I think that is because you haven't read the books. They actually softened the sex scenes up in the show


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## myrddin173

I just finished both rereading and watching Game of Thrones and was very pleased with how it turned out.  I usually don't like sex and gore but the way they handled it was fine with me.  I was a bit worried about Viserys' coronation but it wasn't as bad as I had pictured it.  The only thing that made me sick was when Drogo ripped that guys thoat out.  I already like Tyrion but Peter Dinklage... there are no words.  I think everyone was perfectly cast, even Cersei (does anyone else think she looks like Kate Winslet?)  In the books Varys was an okay character but the show has made him one of my favorites.

Oh and in case you haven't seen it.





I love that they used this converstation for the spoiler, I just read that part in Clash of Kings and perfectly represents the story.


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## Benjamin Clayborne

I'm getting jaded in my old age, but that Season 2 trailer gives me goosebumps


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## Codey Amprim

Benjamin Clayborne said:


> I'm getting jaded in my old age, but that Season 2 trailer gives me goosebumps



The last episode gave me an irregular heartbeat lol


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## Epaminondas

I had never heard of the books until the show started. I was addicted to it pretty early on and started the books a few weeks later. I just bought the hardcover of the last book but haven't started it yet.
Someone mentioned earlier that as the story went along it got a little stale but I'm hoping he can pull it all back together. I'm a little nervous because I haven't heard a lot of good things about the 5th book.


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## gerald.parson

For me it just got to the point that I was saying "oh, this again" all the time. I don't want to spoil anything for those who haven't read the books or haven't gotten to far into them. So I will leave it at that.


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## Codey Amprim

Just a heads up - there's a marathon of it on HBO right now just starting if anyone is interested.


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## mirrorrorrim

Epaminondas said:


> I had never heard of the books until the show started. I was addicted to it pretty early on and started the books a few weeks later. I just bought the hardcover of the last book but haven't started it yet.
> Someone mentioned earlier that as the story went along it got a little stale but I'm hoping he can pull it all back together. I'm a little nervous because I haven't heard a lot of good things about the 5th book.


I just finished the third book, and this is probably the first series where a middle book in a series is even better than the first! So much happens in it, and it doesn't seem stale or repetitious at all. I'm not sure if four and five are different. I've read that George R. R. Martin didn't want to write books four or five, but couldn't write the next book (now book six) without relying on too many flashbacks, so he had to. I could see them suffering a bit because of that. Even then, they were originally only supposed to be one book, but had to be split (in a rather unique manner) because of length, so they may suffer even more for that.

About the trailer: it looks amazing! I watched the first season illegally (I justified it by saying I'll buy, or at least rent, the DVDs when they come out; I still feel guilty ), and it was sufficiently great that I'm considering ordering HBO just to watch the second season. Seeing the trailer has made me want to even more. Half of me, though, is hoping that if I just wait, they'll do a Sex and the City on this, and put a less graphic version on TBS.

Also, at :48, are those Unsullied? I wonder if they're going to go further with Daenerys than the second book did; the third book is so long, it would make sense to put some of it into season 2.


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## aderyn

I loved it, but there were a few little things that were different in the series, things that didn't happen or happened differently in the book.  My favorite characters in both the books and the tv series were Tyrion, Ayra and Syrio.


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## sveininge

mirrorrorrim said:


> I just finished the third book, and this is probably the first series where a middle book in a series is even better than the first! So much happens in it, and it doesn't seem stale or repetitious at all. I'm not sure if four and five are different. I've read that George R. R. Martin didn't want to write books four or five, but couldn't write the next book (now book six) without relying on too many flashbacks, so he had to. I could see them suffering a bit because of that. Even then, they were originally only supposed to be one book, but had to be split (in a rather unique manner) because of length, so they may suffer even more for that.



Have you read Robert Jordans A Wheel of Time-series? "A Feast for Crows" and "A Dance with Dragons" is kind of the "Crossroads of Twilight" of ASoiAF. Martin has a lot of POVs and sub-plots, and as we follow so many characters separately the story progression becomes very slow. The POVs is starting to get grouped up during ADwD, though, so come book six we will hopefully get more progress again.


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## mirrorrorrim

sveininge said:


> Have you read Robert Jordans A Wheel of Time-series? "A Feast for Crows" and "A Dance with Dragons" is kind of the "Crossroads of Twilight" of ASoiAF. Martin has a lot of POVs and sub-plots, and as we follow so many characters separately the story progression becomes very slow. The POVs is starting to get grouped up during ADwD, though, so come book six we will hopefully get more progress again.


That bad? _Crossroads of Twilight_ was one of the most boring books I've ever read, and it kind of killed _The Wheel of Time_ for me. I think I'll wait to read books four and five until book six comes out, and hope that those two were just flukes!


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## sveininge

It's been a long time since I read Crossroads of Twilight, but yeah, I think at least A Feast for Crows was that bad. A few interesting scenes, but generally no progress at all. The first half of A Dance with Dragons was just as bad. The last half was clearly better, though, and the story started to progress again. I think book six will be very good, but when you haven't read 4 and 5 you have a frustrating way to go.


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## KellyB

I really enjoyed the first season of Game of Thrones on TV.  Even though it's a bit graphic for my taste, the fantastic story makes up for that.  My husband has been trying to get me to read the books for the last couple years, but I'm more the type that I'll watch the movie or TV show first, and that makes me want to read the books.  So, I'm currently reading the first book!  I've decided that I'll read each book after the season has aired, because there's so many unexpected things that happen and I don't want to spoil the TV show when I watch it.

~Kelly~


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## aderyn

There were a lot of added sex scenes.  Maybe they 'sexed it up' to get maximum ratings?  I'm not prudish (well, not overly) but one of the scenes in the Brothel with Littlefinger gave me the irrits, it so obviously had no other purpose other than for the added perv value.  I'm sure many wouldn't complain, and as a whole I loved this series, but some of those scenes were just irritating.


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## Elder the Dwarf

Haha aderyn I don't think you're being too prudish.  I'm a teenage guy, and when I talked to my friend about the show we both agreed there was too much sex.  That's hard to get two teenage guys to agree on haha.


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## Benjamin Clayborne

aderyn said:


> There were a lot of added sex scenes.  Maybe they 'sexed it up' to get maximum ratings?  I'm not prudish (well, not overly) but one of the scenes in the Brothel with Littlefinger gave me the irrits, it so obviously had no other purpose other than for the added perv value.  I'm sure many wouldn't complain, and as a whole I loved this series, but some of those scenes were just irritating.



Those scenes (especially that one you're talking about, plus the one with Pycelle) have been labeled "sexposition" since their apparent purpose is to allow characters to give exposition, while simultaneously naked women writhe in the background.


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## aderyn

Elder the Dwarf said:


> Haha aderyn I don't think you're being too prudish.  I'm a teenage guy, and when I talked to my friend about the show we both agreed there was too much sex.  That's hard to get two teenage guys to agree on haha.



Ok, well that verifies that 



Benjamin Clayborne said:


> Those scenes (especially that one you're talking about, plus the one with Pycelle) have been labeled "sexposition" since their apparent purpose is to allow characters to give exposition, while simultaneously naked women writhe in the background.



yes! that's exactly what it was!


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## WilliamElse

I hadn't heard that term 'sexposition' before! I like it (I mean the term, not the sex - oh, hey, I like that too!). It does feel faintly patronising, though, as if the makers don't trust viewers not to lose interest during a conversation unless they give them something to ogle at the same time. Perhaps it's a sign of shortening attention spans?

'Spartacus' has really upped the ante for graphic sex and violence recently. The big brothel fight in one of the latest episodes seemed as if the writers had brainstormed all the graphic images they could imagine and then shoehorned them into one scene.


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## Kevlar

Elder the Dwarf said:
			
		

> Haha aderyn I don't think you're being too prudish.  I'm a teenage guy, and when I talked to my friend about the show we both agreed there was too much sex.  That's hard to get two teenage guys to agree on haha.



I thought I might be one of the few teenage guys out there that could think a show could have too much sex. The books had some parts that were a little too much, but never quite as tasteless as the series. The aforementioned brothel scene was the worst. Sure, it gave us some exposition of Littlefinger, but it could have been done in other ways. I can think of a few.

Luckily the good parts overshadow those tasteless ones.


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## myrddin173

Another new trailer for Season Two


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## Elder the Dwarf

So excited.  Also it is the only series that I can watch/read and enjoy where the whole time watching that trailer I said, "Ooh, I hate him so much.  I hate him.  Hate him.  REALLY hate her."


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## Arianna

Oh my I got goosebumps! I am so so so excited for the season 2 premiere!!


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## Elder the Dwarf

Thought just hit me: If people can walk around wearing team jacob shirts why the hell don't we have some serious game of thrones gear going around?  I want my #TeamSnow and #TeamTommen shirts today.  (Hey, Tommen is a vastly underrated character.  Tommen is the s***.  I _will_ fight you over this.)


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## Codey Amprim

Get rid of the hashtags and I'll be okay with that. I was thinking more along the lines of team Stark and such


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## Elder the Dwarf

That would probably make it better, I just did it because the shirts I have seen for twilight and such have hashtags.  Also, I'm in a twitter mood.


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## gerald.parson

Elder the Dwarf said:


> Thought just hit me: If people can walk around wearing team jacob shirts why the hell don't we have some serious game of thrones gear going around?  I want my #TeamSnow and #TeamTommen shirts today.  (Hey, Tommen is a vastly underrated character.  Tommen is the s***.  I _will_ fight you over this.)



No one of worth really dies in Twilight. In when they do, they are really not dead. Everyone dies in A Song of Fire and Ice. Rest assure Jon Snow is dead, if he isn't, I will be shocked. Tommen is as good as dead.


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## Benjamin Clayborne

#TeamHotPie


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## Elder the Dwarf

There we go Benjamin, at least someone is getting into the spirit.  We also need hate shirts.  Cersei will sell out within the hour.


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## myrddin173

Elder the Dwarf said:


> There we go Benjamin, at least someone is getting into the spirit.  We also need hate shirts.  Cersei will sell out within the hour.



There are no words for how right this is.  Her viewpoint makes me want her dead soooo much in the books.


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## Elder the Dwarf

I know, right?  I'd like to kill her myself.  There are so many people I hate in the books, but somehow there are less than in the beginning.  Somehow Martin tricked me into liking some of my most hated characters.


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## kadenaz

fine photography there, but in the book they all die in the first ghost-zombie attack, while in the movie it looks like they just flee


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## topazfire

Elder the Dwarf said:


> I know, right?  I'd like to kill her myself.  There are so many people I hate in the books, but somehow there are less than in the beginning.  Somehow Martin tricked me into liking some of my most hated characters.



I have just started Feast for Crowns (the fourth book) and I totally agree. I nearly threw the book when I saw that Cersi had a POV. I did not want to be inside her twisted head. Jaime on the other hand - totally love him. Martin made a complete 180 with his character and I actually feel sorry for him and want him to succeed. Brienne kind of annoys me, but it's partly because I don't think she truly owns who she is and how awesome she can be. Unlike Sam who is similar in his lack of confidence/acceptance of himself - he is really coming into his own. 

And really, who isn't on #TeamArya !! Full Stop.


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## Legendary Sidekick

Elder the Dwarf said:


> We also need hate shirts. Cersei will sell out within the hour.


I'm watching the HBO series for the second time around.

Just saw episode 2 last night - the one where Cersei refuses to tell what really happened after the prince claims it was Ayra and the butcher's boy who attacked him. My wife already hates Cersei.


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## Elder the Dwarf

Topazfire- yeah, I was talking about Jaime, but I didn't want to give away any spoilers for those early in the books.  Also, I kinda liked Brienne.

Sidekick- I'm telling you, there is a serious market haha


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## Aiden Sawyer

aderyn said:


> There were a lot of added sex scenes.  Maybe they 'sexed it up' to get maximum ratings?  I'm not prudish (well, not overly) but one of the scenes in the Brothel with Littlefinger gave me the irrits, it so obviously had no other purpose other than for the added perv value.  I'm sure many wouldn't complain, and as a whole I loved this series, but some of those scenes were just irritating.



I know exactly the scene to which you refer, and I had the same thought. Pure gratutious and unnecessary waste of time footage...


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## gerald.parson

Adds to the whole theme and world. And adds ratings. Sex sells.


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## Aiden Sawyer

I enjoyed the books (through book 3 where I stopped until he finishes book 6), but I'm not really big on some of the POVs which to me could have been eliminated or at the very least treated as a separate book/series altogether. Still the general storyline (when Martin sticks to it) is interesting and the majority of the characters are compelling. As for the HBO adaption, my only knock on it (even though I understand the reasoning) is that the settings were not as grand as depicted in the books. Winterfell is very rustic instead of this ancient structure of untold history, and Kingslanding could not possibly live up to the granduer with the budget the production had. Still, these are aesthetic nuances that I can overlook considering the many virtues of the production, cheifly the quality of the acting (which speaks to the quality of the directing) and the overall casting which has already been covered in numerous posts. I'm thinking, the next season (and hopefully beyond) could actually eclipse my regard for the books if they cut the POVs that seemed to bog down the story rather than progress it.


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## gerald.parson

I have a theory, and I may be wrong, but from someone like myself that has read all the books ( that are available) well before the series was even thought of, well the first 3 at least, I think it is going to run into the same issue many of the books did with reader's such as myself. Too many good characters die off and too few decent characters are introduced, and everything become predictable. I think next season when "they" get killed and the viewers are left with a few familiar characters the ratings will drop, and by 3rd season the show will be dead. 
  Of course a lots depends on the casting, if they continue casting strong actors that exceed expectations they might alright. But overall I think the whole thing gets redundant, and Game of Thrones ( or in this case the 1st season) was just the beginning of a long stretch of much of the same thing.


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## Legendary Sidekick

Aiden Sawyer said:


> I know exactly the scene to which you refer, and I had the same thought. Pure gratutious and unnecessary waste of time footage...


Yeah... _that_ scene. I'm not looking forward to watching that part with my wife. She slept through that episode the first time, and I remember wanting those girls to _put something on (besides each other) before my wife wakes up!_

Trying to convince my wife that I'm into the show for the plot must come out to her as "I read Playboy for the articles."


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## Elder the Dwarf

Legendary Sidekick said:


> Yeah... _that_ scene. I'm not looking forward to watching that part with my wife. She slept through that episode the first time, and I remember wanting those girls to _put something on (besides each other) before my wife wakes up!_
> 
> Trying to convince my wife that I'm into the show for the plot must come out to her as "I read Playboy for the articles."



Haha my dad was sleeping too.  I changed the channel about six times thinking he was waking up.


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## Legendary Sidekick

Which one of us would have been in more trouble?


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## gerald.parson

I cranked up the volume, turned on the DVR, and watched it liked a man!


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## Elder the Dwarf

Legendary Sidekick said:


> Which one of us would have been in more trouble?



He saw it a couple of days later and it wasn't bad.  He pretty much said that it was a bit ridiculous.  I'm too old to get in trouble for something like that but it is still a bit awkward with parents. So I guess you win that one.


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## Legendary Sidekick

gerald.parson said:


> I cranked up the volume, turned on the DVR, and watched it liked a man!


I watched it with my arm around my wife. I didn't say anything about not watching it!

It was just easier to watch it while my wife slept than if she had been awake... I think. Hard to say. She'll always complain about those scenes but... I don't think she's ever really that upset. It's hard to say why I think that.

On a totally unrelated note, if our dragon turns out to be a boy, should I name him "George" or "Martin?"


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## topazfire

I watched those scenes with my husband and just laughed at how over the top they were (I didn't hear him complaining...). It is what I expected of HBO, and considering the amount of detail there is in the books, it really doesn't depart from the tone that Martin wrote with. 

As for the dragon... go with R.R. for sure


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## Elder the Dwarf

Legendary Sidekick said:


> On a totally unrelated note, if our dragon turns out to be a boy, should I name him "George" or "Martin?"



I'm pushing for Samuel but I may be a bit biased


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## Benjamin Clayborne

Legendary Sidekick said:


> I watched it with my arm around my wife. I didn't say anything about not watching it!
> 
> It was just easier to watch it while my wife slept than if she had been awake... I think. Hard to say. She'll always complain about those scenes but... I don't think she's ever really that upset. It's hard to say why I think that.
> 
> On a totally unrelated note, if our dragon turns out to be a boy, should I name him "George" or "Martin?"



Neither. You name him _Syrio._


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## Kit

Elder the Dwarf said:


> Thought just hit me: If people can walk around wearing team jacob shirts why the hell don't we have some serious game of thrones gear going around?  I want my #TeamSnow and #TeamTommen shirts today.  (Hey, Tommen is a vastly underrated character.  Tommen is the s***.  I _will_ fight you over this.)



Too bad y'all didn't get on the boat early. George's wife ran a t-shirt company and made shirts for all the major houses during the first book or two. You can't get 'em now. I have a House Stark and a House Lannister... if I'd known about the TV show and how big it would get, I would've spent every penny I had on a truckload of shirts and would be selling them NOW for about 10x what I paid for them.


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## Elder the Dwarf

Benjamin Clayborne said:


> Neither. You name him _Syrio._



I like it.  Syrio Forel Haley.  Badass


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## Legendary Sidekick

topazfire said:


> I watched those scenes with my husband and just laughed at how over the top they were (I didn't hear him complaining...).


He was probably too immersed in the plot or too polite to talk during a movie to voice his outrage.

...

My wife didn't buy that one either.



topazfire said:


> As for the dragon... go with R.R. for sure


Pronounced "Rrrrr!" - a good name for a dragon!



Elder the Dwarf said:


> I like it.  Syrio Forel Haley.  Badass


Syrio Forel... boy's name or girl's?


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## Legendary Sidekick

*Season 2*

For the first time, I actually watched the show at 9:00 instead of having to wait for it to show up on On Demand! I forgot it was on, but my brother was over and he reminded me.

My favorite part that I can talk about without a spoiler tag:


Spoiler: those who think if I say anything about last night's show, it's a spoiler



Captain America armor!



My wife missed the 9:00 show, so we watched the 11:00. After seeing it twice, there's a question that I just can't get out of my head... and I fear it will never be answered, but I'll ask anyway.


Spoiler: anyone who thought the previous tagged message really was a spoiler



Why does she wear a belt?



Spoiler: anyone who claims to have no idea who I'm talking about



BS! You know who I mean!


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## Kit

Legendary Sidekick said:


> Syrio Forel... boy's name or girl's?



Syrio- boy
Syria- girl


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## Agran Velion

Legendary Sidekick said:


> My favorite part that I can talk about without a spoiler tag:
> 
> 
> Spoiler: those who think if I say anything about last night's show, it's a spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> Captain America armor!


Thank God I'm not the only one who noticed. 



Legendary Sidekick said:


> Spoiler: anyone who thought the previous tagged message really was a spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> Why does she wear a belt?
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler: anyone who claims to have no idea who I'm talking about
> 
> 
> 
> BS! You know who I mean!


Because they're cheap.


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## Elder the Dwarf

Have to wait 'til I get home to see it!  Was the episode good?


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## Legendary Sidekick

I certainly enjoyed it.

And since Syrio Forel came up earlier (man... I totally blanked out on the name back there!), I have a question. What ever becomes of that guy? Death implied but not confirmed?


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## Phin Scardaw

mirrorrorrim said:


> The show-stealer, though, is definitely Peter Dinklage's Tyrion–he's absolutely magnificent in every scene he's in!



YES! I just bought Season One and watched it in 2 days about a week ago. Read only the first bit of the book, wasn't pulled in, but I'm very impressed with the HBO production, especially the Imp! The opening sequence, the sets, and pretty much all of the acting is phenomenally good, and much better than I expected.


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## Agran Velion

Legendary Sidekick said:


> I certainly enjoyed it.
> 
> And since Syrio Forel came up earlier (man... I totally blanked out on the name back there!), I have a question. What ever becomes of that guy? Death implied but not confirmed?



I believe I had read that George RR Martin confirmed he was dead, which sucks because Syrio could have become an even more amazing chracter.


Also, agreed. Dinklage is amazing, not just his character, but his acting as well.


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## Kit

Legendary Sidekick said:


> And since Syrio Forel came up earlier (man... I totally blanked out on the name back there!), I have a question. What ever becomes of that guy? Death implied but not confirmed?



Yes.

And Peter's doing a great job- what a dream role for him- but I continue to maintain that he's way too good-looking to be Tyrion.


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## Elder the Dwarf

Haven't been able to watch episode three yet, so I brought this over here instead of posting on the other thread.  One problem that I see cropping up is that with so many characters in the new season, it has clearly gotten hard for the show to spend more than a couple minutes with each "group" for lack of a better word.  The people making the show are doing a great job of handling it, but still.


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## Mike Rapino

Elder the Dwarf said:


> Haven't been able to watch episode three yet, so I brought this over here instead of posting on the other thread.  One problem that I see cropping up is that with so many characters in the new season, it has clearly gotten hard for the show to spend more than a couple minutes with each "group" for lack of a better word.  The people making the show are doing a great job of handling it, but still.




I believe this is why we are only seeing groups of characters per episode. The first episode had everyone because they needed to recap everyones position. But in the last two episodes we see storylines and characters dropping in and out. This worked well last season and helped the show develop better.


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## SeverinR

Got a free preview week(end?) of HBO, loved this show, watched every episode they played.
Did not like HBO enough to subscribe, but loved this show.

The last episode I saw the woman in the ashes with baby dragons clinging to her. 
NO! don't stop now! I leave town tomorrow!


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## King Raven Stark

Just wondering what does everyone think of gsme of thrones. I like almost everything; Love Emilia Clarke she's one of my favorites the others are Tyrion, Robb Catelyn, Stannis, Jon, and Bran


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## Legendary Sidekick

I'm counting down the hours until the next episode.

Or, more realistically, the 11 PM showing of tonight's episode. By the time the kids settle down, it's doubtful that my wife will be ready to watch the 9 PM showing. I'm psyched that I finally got her into the show! During April Vacation (Apr 15-20), we watched season 1 episodes 5-10, so she's all caught up now.


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## Janga

I'm finding as the new season progresses, they are deviating more and more from the book. The show is great, but I find most of the deviations unnecessary.


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## King Raven Stark

True as long as it doesn't go down the same way as they did to the true blood books you know by changing everything it should be fine


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## Elder the Dwarf

It really is an awesome show.  That being said, there are several Game of Thrones threads already up, both a general thread and several specific ones, so it might be easier just to continue the conversation on one of those.


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## Legendary Sidekick

Good point. I merged the two general Game of Thrones threads, but not the episode-specific ones.


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## King Raven Stark

Why did you merge the two threads?


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## Elder the Dwarf

The mods merge threads because it prevents cluttering up the site with multiple threads about the same topic and keeps all relevant information in one place.  Or at least that's why I assume they merge them.  I would never presume to know the mind of one so confusing as Sidekick here


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## Legendary Sidekick

Elder the Dwarf said:


> The mods merge threads because it prevents cluttering up the site with multiple threads about the same topic and keeps all relevant information in one place.  Or at least that's why I assume they merge them.


What he said.

Plus, you capitalized the "T" in "Thrones," so by merging the threads, we keep all the posts AND the tread title is properly capitalized.

I'll tell ya... that lowercase "t" was driving me nuts.



Elder the Dwarf said:


> I would never presume to know the mind of one so confusing as Sidekick here


What he said.


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## Elder the Dwarf

Legendary Sidekick said:


> Plus, you capitalized the "T" in "Thrones," so by merging the threads, we keep all the posts AND the tread title is properly capitalized.
> 
> I'll tell ya... that lowercase "t" was driving me nuts.



I knew there was something more to it...


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## ArielFingolfin

Janga said:


> I'm finding as the new season progresses, they are deviating more and more from the book. The show is great, but I find most of the deviations unnecessary.



Part of it is trying to keep costs down by using less characters and consolidating plots a little. I haven't found any plot deviations that have really gotten under my skin, which is saying something since they've already done a book and a half by now. And if being economic allows them to do all of the books, then I'm alright with it so long as they stay true to the heart of the books, which I think they've done, at least in my view.


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## Tamwen

I'm seriously loving Stephen Dillane as Stannis. He's one of my favorite characters in the books and Dillane is doing a marvelous job. And Catrice, the woman who plays Melisandre, is just... gorgeous. Seriously, there are some angles were I don't even believe she's real. 

AND THEY'RE CASTING SHIREEN!

Team Dragonstone, just take all my regards why don't you?


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## ArielFingolfin

I'm looking forward to seeing Ygrette and Tormund. And Val. Go Team Wilding!!


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## Legendary Sidekick

I can't help but notice that wildling girls tend to be spared by the boys of House Stark.


Auto-correct made me type "willing girls," but I caught it.

Anyway, a lot went on in that one hour. My wife is really into it, which is not really surprising at this point. The nudity and sex doesn't even affect her now. If anything, it makes it easier to identify some characters. This is best left unexplained.


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## Elder the Dwarf

Honestly, I was really upset at last night's episode.  Good tv, but there were WAY too many changes, and some were big changes.  Theon's character arc was my favorite part of the second book.  I think they might have ruined it already.  And Meera and Jojen still haven't shown up.  I'm starting to worry they never will.


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## Tamwen

Elder the Dwarf said:


> Honestly, I was really upset at last night's episode.  Good tv, but there were WAY too many changes, and some were big changes.  Theon's character arc was my favorite part of the second book.  I think they might have ruined it already.  And Meera and Jojen still haven't shown up.  I'm starting to worry they never will.



They've said that so many characters were introduced the second book that they've moved them to the third. Examples are Shireen and Patchface, the Florents, and, of course, Meera and Jojen. 

And am I the only one who's starting to think that they're deliberately making Robb screw up more in the show than the books.

And the full-frontal nudity is very disproportionate. Seriously, completely naked Osha but no Theon? /psht/ I swear, one of the writers is a thirteen year old boy.


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## Legendary Sidekick

Tamwen said:


> Seriously, completely naked Osha but no Theon? /psht/ I swear, one of the writers is a thirteen year old boy.


My wife only needed to see _him_ once. Now she only knows him by the nickname she came up with after his full frontal shot.


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## Tamwen

Legendary Sidekick said:


> My wife only needed to see _him_ once. Now she only knows him by the nickname she came up with after his full frontal shot.



It's not so much that I wanted to see Theon. But seriously, the nudity is really one-sided. Melisandre gets completely naked, but not Stannis? And every chance they get, they throw in naked whores. It's like slapping Joffrey. It doesn't need context. It's like the writers think every single goddam episode needs some naked breasts.


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## Steerpike

A screenwriter once told me that male genitalia is still considered an area that is questionable and will offend more people than other nudity. Apparently breasts and rear-ends of both sexes are considered relatively non-offensive, and frontal nudity of a female doesn't often present much more than breasts (at least in any detail). That was his explanation as to why you don't see a lot of front nudity of men.

I think there is also the perception that males are more likely to respond to visual stimuli like nudity, and so if that's your goal you get more mileage out of naked women.

Not sure either of these things are true, but even the perception of them might play into it. I don't know.


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## ArielFingolfin

I am getting a little sick of the nudity. Even Martin, for all his R-ratedness, doesn't have someone stripping in every single chapter like the show's doing. I'm fine when it's in context or adds to the story, but now I think they're doing it just to do it. Or maybe you're right about the 13 year old.


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## Legendary Sidekick

Tamwen said:


> I swear, one of the writers is a thirteen year old boy.


Adam Friedberg isn't a writer; he's a creative consultant.

CLICK HERE


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## Benjamin Clayborne

For a good take on Game of Thrones, check out *Emily Nussbaum's review in The New Yorker.*

To me, the show is sort of a "Wouldn't it be neat to see these characters on camera?" Having read the books (twice), I really can't objectively judge the show. I can tell in one sense that it's well-acted and well-produced, but I think that to those who haven't read the books, it's a very different story, emphasizing very different things in a lot of places.

Which isn't to say it's better or worse; just different. Joffrey is somehow even worse in the show than he was in the books, because Jack Gleeson is doing such a great job at making him a petty psychopath. Jaime (of whom we've seen very little this season; but he's barely in book 2, so it makes sense) is somewhat gentler and more conflicted in the show than he is in the books. Arya in the books was angry a lot, but Maisie Williams just seems really annoyed with everyone.


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## ArielFingolfin

I actually love how Jamie is in the show; he's one of my favorite characters after book 3 because of his multiple layers, and I like how they started that up right off the bat.

I think Maisie is doing a better job in the second season than in the first; she's sort of settled into the role. In the first season, I agree, the spitfire was a little overdone. 

Just saw the latest episode, and we've finally hit the point for me where I think they've taken the changes too far. Particularly the first scene Ygrette is in; I love that scene in the books because it's so tension filled and just so beautifully written, and I'm really mad that they butchered it, not to mention changing the entire plot completely. And the stolen dragons??? Well, I guess you can't have everything.


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## Steerpike

ArielFingolfin said:


> I actually love how Jamie is in the show; he's one of my favorite characters after book 3 because of his multiple layers, and I like how they started that up right off the bat.



I like that character a lot in the books as well. Is this series available online anywhere, such as some place where you can maybe pay per episode to have it streamed?


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## Benjamin Clayborne

Steerpike said:


> I like that character a lot in the books as well. Is this series available online anywhere, such as some place where you can maybe pay per episode to have it streamed?



HBO Go is their online service, but you already have to be an HBO subscriber through a cable company.

In other words, unless you actually have a subscription to HBO (or know someone who does), the only way you can watch Game of Thrones is to pirate it.


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## Steerpike

Benjamin Clayborne said:


> HBO Go is their online service, but you already have to be an HBO subscriber through a cable company.
> 
> In other words, unless you actually have a subscription to HBO (or know someone who does), the only way you can watch Game of Thrones is to pirate it.



I can't believe companies like HBO still haven't realized that they could monetize this sort of thing quite easily by providing a way for non-subscribers to view on a per-episode basis.


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## Benjamin Clayborne

Steerpike said:


> I can't believe companies like HBO still haven't realized that they could monetize this sort of thing quite easily by providing a way for non-subscribers to view on a per-episode basis.



I don't think it's reasonable to believe that HBO "hasn't realized" this. They're smart cookies at HBO; they're well aware of other distribution models.

One problem is that they have contracts with scads of cable providers that most likely say that HBO is not allowed to offer their shows to people who aren't subscribed to HBO via some cable service. It's a giant mutual lock-in that means that HBO is pretty much only available through cable TV providers. The reason is that cable providers don't want to pay for content that their subscribers could get through other channels. Since cable providers tend to be local monopolies, a given resident (say, me) will then have only one choice for getting HBO: my local cable provider (I can't easily go to another cable provider, so as long as HBO is only available through cable providers, my local provider is happy with that).

Publicly, they say that they don't believe it would work, or that they're happy with this model, but it's possible that they're just stuck with it. Another issue is that the amount of money they earn from contracts with cable providers might be A) more reliable, and B) larger than what they could get with an a la carte model. HBO is very successful and profitable, and shifting to another model that _might_ increase their revenue (but might not) is a risky thing for any exec to undertake.


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## Fnord

I've actually enjoyed the show a lot more than I suspected I would.  And I don't even *mind* the plot deviations all that much--though so far the deviations have mostly been the sorts of things I didn't care for in the books anyway (like Stannis' daughter and Patchface).  I also realize that some of those deviations have to be put in to A) make the action move forward in the TV format and B) establish some things like the history and backstory more explicitly in order to keep viewers engaged rather than confused.  And we have to remember that the books have a lot of characters engaging in "inner dialogue" and that doesn't work so well when crossed over to film.  Littlefinger engaging in a long monologue about something would bore most TV watchers--having that same monologue take place over a gratuitous lesbian sex scene?  Well, a bit much but I guess it worked, eh?


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## Legendary Sidekick

One question I meant to ask last night to my brother, who has read the first two books:

Regarding last week's episode, when several commoners at King's Landing rebelled... were some of those guys fighting monks or something? There was a bald guy in an orange robe who attacked the Hound's sternum with his fingertips. The attack was ineffective and the Hound killed the guy easily.

But what I'm wondering is if the rebel was a monk who had the ability to rip a man's heart from his torso. It looked like he was trying to do that, and I'm wondering if that odd-looking attack is something we'll see actually work later on.

Or am I just overanalyzing some strange fight choreography?


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## Benjamin Clayborne

Overanalyzing. There's nothing like that in the books. I think the guy was just trying to foolishly grab the Hound, and Sandor just smacks him down.


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## Harbinger

Last nights episode was the best so far of the new season. Readers will either hate or love the changes to the story but I for one am glad the writers are allowed to experiment and stretch their legs. There is so much material that they could almost  make an entirely new series from it


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## ArielFingolfin

One thing that I like about the books is that there are a lot of strong female characters (which seems to be sorely lacking in the fantasy genre). But in the show the men are almost portrayed as slaves to the opposite sex. All a girl has to do is drop her clothes and instantly a formerly strong, commanding male is a helpless idiot. Any male thoughts on this?


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## Benjamin Clayborne

ArielFingolfin said:


> One thing that I like about the books is that there are a lot of strong female characters (which seems to be sorely lacking in the fantasy genre). But in the show the men are almost portrayed as slaves to the opposite sex. All a girl has to do is drop her clothes and instantly a formerly strong, commanding male is a helpless idiot. Any male thoughts on this?



It bothers me more in a dramatic sense than in, say, any kind of cultural or ethical sense. Would Theon really be so stupid as to trust Osha when she drops her robe? He's not actually _depicted_ as being generally moronic, he's just sort of a yutz. It's done for dramatic reasons and isn't really consistent with his character as depicted on the show (or even in the books).


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## Legendary Sidekick

Harbinger said:


> Last nights episode was the best so far of the new season. Readers will either hate or love the changes to the story but I for one am glad the writers are allowed to experiment and stretch their legs. There is so much material that they could almost make an entirely new series from it



The most recent episode gave me a smile. A red smile.


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## Ankari

I have to share this.  It's beautiful

[video=youtube_share;sn2l2_v6Ur8]http://youtu.be/sn2l2_v6Ur8[/video]


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## Legendary Sidekick

*"Half Man! Half Man! Half Man...!"*

My wife missed last night's episode. The perfect excuse for me to see it again!

They just keep getting better... I'm almost sorry it's about to end.

I'm also not building up too much expectations for the finale. Season One's best was Episode 9. Because they didn't slam us with a "Ned's dead" type twist this season, I do expect this finale will offer a little more of an exciting wrap-up, especially considering the resolution needed for any character not in King's Landing.

This may be the summer where I start catching up with the books.


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## Elder the Dwarf

I loved how they included The Rains of Castamere in the show.  Really cool.


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## ArielFingolfin

I loved the little bit between Bronn and the Hound. It's a fight I'd love to see, not sure who would win though.


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