This is the thread to discuss the George R. R. Martin A Song of Fire and Ice (BOOK) series of epic fantasy novels as well as the HBO Series Game of Thrones (SHOW).

In this thread you can compare and contrast the two series, and discuss adaptions made for various media. You may also use this thread do discuss preview chapters that Martin posts or any other corollary materials related to the BOOK or SHOW.

It is understood that this thread may contain spoilers for anyone who has not read all of the books or seen all of the shows, participation in this thread is at the readers own risk!

By participating in this thread you waive your right to claim that a post must go in either the BOOK or SHOW threads and further waive your rights to criticize someone for posting a "spoiler"

4/1/2013 12:30:57 PM

I'm really disappointed that the first episode did not have much Arya. The "previously..." intro included the faceless man so I was hoping we would begin with an Arya story arc but I couldn't remember exactly where it fit in the books. Hopefully we see more Arya next episode, she is my favorite character and I think the actress does a fantastic job.

4/1/2013 12:33:34 PM

Can't wait till this fad is over

I'm Krallum and I approved this message.

4/1/2013 12:38:05 PM

I can't wait untill this fad about being upset about what's in the books thread and what's in the TV show thread is over too Krallum.

4/1/2013 2:02:40 PM

Pretty good episode. I actually like that they left out a few characters. I think it makes sense to give certain characters more time each episode then to just try and stuff as many story lines into an hour as possible. As far as changes from the books, they are basically reaping what they sow at this point, with changes from previous seasons having a ripple effect as the show progresses. I thought Dany's scenes were wonderful, as well as Tyrion's confrontation with his father. The only thing I didn't really like was how they changed the reason Jon gave to Mance for why he was deserting the night's watch.

4/1/2013 2:09:37 PM

What did he say in the book? I thought it was different, but couldn't remember.

4/1/2013 2:13:45 PM

Quote :

"And did you see where I was seated, Mance?” He leaned forward. “Did you see where they put the bastard?"

4/1/2013 2:23:39 PM

oh yeah, thanks

[Edited on April 1, 2013 at 2:31 PM. Reason : .]

4/1/2013 2:31:30 PM

sansa is whinier on the show, liked her better in the book

4/2/2013 9:05:09 AM

from the show thread: http://hbowatch.com/peter-dinklage-april-season-four/

Quote :

"We want to take Tyrion in a more comedic, farcical direction and everyone including Peter agreed that he just wasn't the man for the job."

uh...what?

i've only read the first 3 books...does tyrion become a court jester or join a midget-tossing act later in the series?

4/2/2013 9:08:39 AM

April 1, 2013

4/2/2013 9:18:13 AM

I ADMIT IT, THEY GOT ME

the day after april fools

4/2/2013 9:25:09 AM

Quote :

"sansa is whinier on the show, liked her better in the book"

i agree, i don't think the actress is very good, way too whiny. Sansa in the book is certainly naive and spoiled, but she wasn't constantly whining about something.

4/2/2013 10:28:02 AM

TV Sansa ruined book Sansa for me.

4/2/2013 10:30:11 AM

I was never a huge fan of Sansa in the books. She definitely is a little more annoying on the show though.

4/2/2013 10:32:13 AM

Except TV Sansa is hot.

Also...its her character. She was also "growing" a lot in the most recent ASOIAF books. I imagine she'll be a pretty strong character by the end of the series.

4/2/2013 10:37:42 AM

She definitely grew as a character in the book and became stronger (though she remained naive), hopefully the actress has enough range for it.

4/2/2013 10:38:41 AM

SPOILER

















By the time she goes with Littlefinger to the Vale, she really has her stuff together.

4/2/2013 11:15:22 AM

you don't need a spoiler here

and while it is more together, i wouldn't say she has her shit totally together at that point

4/2/2013 11:58:05 AM

^

4/2/2013 1:11:42 PM

I actually like the editing from the book to the show so far

no need to jerk us around with Arstan Whitebeard when we can clearly see the actor's face, etc

wished they had kept the fact that Dany knows High Valyrian (and therefore knows everything the slaver says, including his insults in her direction), but it's not really super important

4/2/2013 7:04:19 PM

Yeah, i kept waiting for that. Maybe next episode?

4/2/2013 9:13:12 PM

Yeah...I figure she'll bust it out right before her dragons scorch his ass.

4/3/2013 1:33:58 AM

^

4/3/2013 8:18:16 AM

the wildling camp looked exactly like i pictured it when reading, but the giant is not how i thought they looked



(this show is killing bittorrent records, I hope HBO sees it as incentive to hurry up and launch a online-only subscription plan that doesn't require cable.)

4/3/2013 10:04:51 AM

I liked how they used a lot of perspective shots on the giant, as opposed to green screen/CGI whatnots.

Oh, and also, for some odd reason I had pictured Mance to be handsome. Guess not!

[Edited on April 3, 2013 at 10:39 AM. Reason : .]

4/3/2013 10:37:00 AM

i never really pictured him "handsome" so much as charismatic and charming. I think Cirian Hinds pulls that off well.

4/3/2013 11:14:27 AM

Quote :

"(this show is killing bittorrent records, I hope HBO sees it as incentive to hurry up and launch a online-only subscription plan that doesn't require cable.)"

i'd like that as well but expect that to be a long ways out. Someone did an article last year talking to HBO and discussing how there are several things that don't make sense for them to do that right now. They said things could change in the next 5-10 years so they aren't saying it would never happen but the scenarios weren't right for it right now based on their current business model and tie-in to Time Warner. Another portion was that they said even though the online presence of people who would love streaming-only HBO seems so large, it still made up a small fraction of their total viewership.

[Edited on April 3, 2013 at 12:13 PM. Reason : ]

4/3/2013 12:12:08 PM

http://beta.fool.com/adamlevy/2013/04/02/why-hbo-wont-go-solo-anytime-soon/28590/?source=eogyholnk0000001

4/3/2013 1:00:56 PM

Why was Robb's wife Queen Jeyne Westerling replaced by someone of a different name in the show? Lady Talisa. I never understood this point.

4/6/2013 12:02:15 AM

I think the actress vocal fry is why she sounds so whiny, I don't understand the vocal fry trend for teenagers, they all sound whiny when they do it

4/6/2013 3:47:02 PM

Soo many changes from the book

4/7/2013 9:56:19 PM

they sure as hell sped up Theon's timeline (and what's with this guy trying to release him?)

not that I mind at all: at least the Boltons are more involved now

and I actually really like that they're making a lot more out of Margaery's character than is in the books

plus, Diana Rigg is so good as Olenna

[Edited on April 7, 2013 at 10:36 PM. Reason : .]

4/7/2013 10:10:41 PM

Reeds! Yay!

p.s. Vocal fry isn't a trend.

4/7/2013 11:58:06 PM

I really wish they had left some mystery to Orell's scouting ability. They never said he was a warg in the books. But in the who it was too in your face.

"Hey everyone he's a warg, and there is no doubt about it, and this is what a warg does, and oh there are other wargs too."

One can pretty much assume at this point that Sixskins will be cut from the show. That's a shame too, because Sixskins character definitely brought in the ethics and social acceptance questions about warging.

4/8/2013 7:49:14 AM

i think they may use jojen reed to cover those issues more

4/8/2013 9:47:15 AM

I like the way they are handling and describing greendreams/warging.

I don't think they've suggested it in the show yet, but I wonder if they will ever show Jon/Ghost warg...especially after Ygritte was all like "you've never heard of a warg before??" Or maybe Orell will teach him. Who knows.

I'm interested to see how they handle the Queenscrown portion of Bran/Jon's story. Could be dope to show Bran seeing Jon through Summer's eyes.

^^I agree about Sixskins. Would hate for that to get cut from the show.

4/8/2013 9:55:10 AM

I can't wait for the no-book viewers to see what happens to essentially all the rest of the Starks (if they stick with it, they've already diverged quite a lot).

[Edited on April 8, 2013 at 10:36 AM. Reason : .]

4/8/2013 10:34:39 AM

I'm at the end of book 3. Thought the way the Reeds were introduced last night was pretty hokey. Jojen is perfectly smug, though.

4/8/2013 10:37:23 AM

Quote :

"I can't wait for the no-book viewers to see what happens to essentially all the rest of the Starks (if they stick with it, they've already diverged quite a lot). "

My fiancee is going to flip the fuck out with the Red Wedding. I think she cried when they be-headed Ned Stark.[quote]

4/8/2013 11:12:23 AM

Would like to add that I'm also interested to see what they do with the Catelyn/Lady Stoneheart stuff. There's a lot of stuff in the books that seems to be a little "far-fetched" or too much fantasy for the show...but then I remember that they had a shadow come out of Melisandre's vagina...so I guess they aren't scared of fantasy.

4/8/2013 2:12:33 PM

i was talking GoT to some TV only fans this weekend. they were mind blown when I told them that Robb Stark was not a central character in the books and that everything that happens to him is told via third person or discovered via other characters hearing it told themselves. Then I just said "yeah, you'll love the next two seasons!" and smiled inside

4/8/2013 2:29:04 PM

The perception in the book is that he's a huge character, though.

Yes he never had his own POV, but George solidified in the readers' heads that Robb was the fucking man.

4/8/2013 2:33:10 PM

^ This.

His death is pretty much the "wtf, they killed Ned Stark?!?" of this book/season. I don't think there was a death like that in 2nd season/book...Renley maybe? Although he wasn't that big of a character. Killing him off was similar to killing off King Robert.

4/8/2013 3:29:53 PM

I think Joffrey's death is going to catch a lot more people off guard than Robb's.

4/9/2013 12:10:48 AM

Meh...you had to figure some Lannisters would die off at some point.

Since Ned Stark's death in the first book, the only death that has surprised me was Rob's. Jon Snow's was the next...but I guess he's not dead. He'll either recover or live through his direwolf. I was thinking Martin would keep alive one major member of each family and I thought that person was going to be Rob for the Starks. I thought Jon was going to be stuck in the part of the stories behind the wall and that the girls had their own thing.

So it has to be Bran or Jon for the Starks now (I can't imagine Rickon will ever be a main player).

4/9/2013 6:21:06 AM

haven't read books, but spoilers don't bother me...that said re: hbo go discussion, hbo is actually mulling over tying hbo go through broadband contracts so it would tie in with your Internet bill solving a lot of the problems outlined previously of them doing a stand alone service

http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSL1N0CD7WP20130321?irpc=932

4/9/2013 9:16:09 AM

I don't think Bran will be "that character" for the Starks. I think there is a good chance Bran will no longer be human in the truest sense. And I agree that Rickon won't ever be a major player.

Jon isn't dead. It's obvious why they introduced Sixskins in the Dragons prologue. I do think Jon will even return to human form.

Until proven other wise this series in my head is basically called...

A Song of Jon Snow

4/9/2013 10:29:41 AM

Quote :

"Specter All American 6271 Posts user info edit post I think Joffrey's death is going to catch a lot more people off guard than Robb's. 4/9/2013 12:10:48 AM jbrick83 All American 17035 Posts user info edit post Meh...you had to figure some Lannisters would die off at some point."

i dont know, the wife really hates the Olenna because she thinks the Tyrells are going to turn on Sansa and are just being nice to throw shade

4/9/2013 12:05:16 PM

Yeah, Jon's not dead. Despite Martin's reputation as a sadistic murderer of main characters, he's only actually killed one character that had POV chapters in multiple books. And she's technically not even dead. Like ^^ said, Jon Snow is way too important to the story to kill off at this point. It'd be like Frodo dying at the end of Two Towers.

[Edited on April 9, 2013 at 12:06 PM. Reason : ^]

4/9/2013 12:05:24 PM