A Game of Thrones - TV Show Discussion Thread

[Sir Og]

It is clear in the book, if a bit muddled in the show; I'm not sure if the show wants to keep it a mystery for now or not, so I'll put in answer in a spoiler tag:

Spoiler:

In the book, Jon and Qhorin are never captured in the first place, but are trying to get back to the others to warn them of the Wildling army. They eventually get caught by a Wildling group (led by Rattleshirt, including Ygritte), but before they do, Qhorin tells Jon that he must infiltrate the Wildlings to learn their plans, and that he must not hesitate to do anything they ask. When the Wildlings find them, Jon goes over to them, Qhorin calls him a coward, and Rattleshirt orders him to kill Qhorin to prove his loyalty. Jon realized that Qhorin knew that would happen all along.

It's pretty clear in the show too. I simply wasn't paying attention the first time I saw it.
Just watched it again and it is clear.
Of course in the show this is basically only one sentence and it is not very hard to miss it.

[Guynemer]

The fate of Winterfell is also very clear in the book as opposed to the show; some of that is due to the changes the show made to the Winterfell/Theon plotline, and some of it due to the show clearly wanting to maintain some secrecy regarding the issue. I think Imran explained it in a spoiler box upthread a bit.

[Ecthy]

The fate of Winterfell is also very clear in the book as opposed to the show; some of that is due to the changes the show made to the Winterfell/Theon plotline, and some of it due to the show clearly wanting to maintain some secrecy regarding the issue. I think Imran explained it in a spoiler box upthread a bit.

I think there's a reason why they show the talk between Robb Stark and Roose Bolton in the pre-title "recently on GOT" thing. It's to make clear the attack on Winterfell is led by "his bastard". From what the show portrays, at this point it would be reasonable to assume the Ironborn around Dagmer burned down Winterfell on their way out.

[Dinner]

It's pretty clear in the show too. I simply wasn't paying attention the first time I saw it.
Just watched it again and it is clear.
Of course in the show this is basically only one sentence and it is not very hard to miss it.

That's the thing. In the book they spell everything out so it is clear to everyone where as in the show you have 15 seconds to convey an idea and maybe it isn't completely clear to everyone.

[Dinner]

I think there's a reason why they show the talk between Robb Stark and Roose Bolton in the pre-title "recently on GOT" thing. It's to make clear the attack on Winterfell is led by "his bastard". From what the show portrays, at this point it would be reasonable to assume the Ironborn around Dagmer burned down Winterfell on their way out.

Yeah, they tried to drop a hit but leave it unspelled out at the same time.

[Dinner]

So, which one of you is going to be the first to buy one of these?

June 5, 2012, 9:00 am
In ‘Game of Thrones,’ You Win or You Buy: HBO Offers $30,000 Iron Throne Replicas

By DAVE ITZKOFF

One way to obtain the Iron Throne, the ceremonial seat of power in HBO’s “Game of Thrones” that has been made from the swords of hundreds of surrendered lords, is to defeat your rivals in battle and unite the Seven Kingdoms at the cost of thousands of lives and countless treasure. Or if you’re squeamish about the sight of blood and entrails but still have some extra treasure to spare, you could simply buy one for $30,000.

HBO announced on Tuesday that it would start selling life-size replicas of the throne from “Game of Thrones,” its epic fantasy adapted from George R. R. Martin’s “Song of Ice and Fire” novels. The replicas are made not from molten steel but from hand-finished, hand-painted fiberglass and fireproof resin, weigh 350 pounds and measure 7 feet, 2 inches tall; 5 feet 11 inches deep; and 5 feet 5 inches wide. HBO, which also offers artifacts and memorabilia inspired by its other original series, said in a news release about the throne that “calling it impressive is an understatement” but offered no advice on how to sit in a seat constructed from so many sharp and pointed instruments.

[EPW]

30k and its not even made of steel? bah

[Bugs ****ing Bunny]

Uh, what?

A few rather pressing questions present themselves-

1- One minute Gollum Greyjoy is besieged in Winterfell by an army 25 times the size of his own forces, and preparing to go charging out onto their swords in a final blast of glory. The next minute Winterfell is completely deserted. And burned to a crispy cinder. Are we to conclude that the besieging army of Stark allies sat around going "Oh no. If only we had a bucket or some other means of fighting fire. Let's all go and find new homes and not bother about salvaging anything or checking for survivors"?

2- While we're on the subject of Gollum, I marvel at the ingenuity on display. He's completely surrounded by forces totally focussed on finding him, personally, and killing him. So how do they get him out? They put a bag over his head. Forget about the option of secret tunnels they completely failed to find out more about before impaling the source of the secret info- go for the old bag-over-head option. It never fails.

"Hey you Iron Islands marauders! We need to check if Gollum's with you. Who's that completely featureless bloke with you?"

"This? Oh, that's just Baghead. He doesn't look anything like Gollum, does he?"

"No, you're right. Nothing like him at all. Be off with you, and your fabric-faced friend immediately!"


3- That world's crappest evil sorcerer. "Mwahahahahahahahahahahaha! I trick you all with my mysterious magic disappearing acts and make entire worlds from your memories appear at the top of my multi-dimensional tower of Wow! And make chains magically appear on your wrists! Nothing can stop me! OH ****, THE DRAGON BREATHED FIRE!!! I HAD NO IDEA THEY COULD DO THAT!!!! AAAAAAAAAAHHH!!! I STOOD TOO CLOSE TO THAT DRAGON AND BY SOME ASTOUNDING AND UNFORESEEN EVENT IT BREATHED FIRE!!!! AAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!"


4- "Bugger. We've closed off too many unresolved arcs and have no cliffhanger ending. Time to bring back characters who've done nothing for half he series and throw zombies at them in the last two minutes of screen time, completely out of the blue!"

[Fistandantilus]

The fall of Winterfell part is very different from the books and presents loopholes, I agree.

[kittenOFchaos]

Uh, what?

A few rather pressing questions present themselves-

1- One minute Gollum Greyjoy is besieged in Winterfell by an army 25 times the size of his own forces, and preparing to go charging out onto their swords in a final blast of glory. The next minute Winterfell is completely deserted. And burned to a crispy cinder. Are we to conclude that the besieging army of Stark allies sat around going "Oh no. If only we had a bucket or some other means of fighting fire. Let's all go and find new homes and not bother about salvaging anything or checking for survivors"?

2- While we're on the subject of Gollum, I marvel at the ingenuity on display. He's completely surrounded by forces totally focussed on finding him, personally, and killing him. So how do they get him out? They put a bag over his head. Forget about the option of secret tunnels they completely failed to find out more about before impaling the source of the secret info- go for the old bag-over-head option. It never fails.

"Hey you Iron Islands marauders! We need to check if Gollum's with you. Who's that completely featureless bloke with you?"

"This? Oh, that's just Baghead. He doesn't look anything like Gollum, does he?"

"No, you're right. Nothing like him at all. Be off with you, and your fabric-faced friend immediately!"


3- That world's crappest evil sorcerer. "Mwahahahahahahahahahahaha! I trick you all with my mysterious magic disappearing acts and make entire worlds from your memories appear at the top of my multi-dimensional tower of Wow! And make chains magically appear on your wrists! Nothing can stop me! OH ****, THE DRAGON BREATHED FIRE!!! I HAD NO IDEA THEY COULD DO THAT!!!! AAAAAAAAAAHHH!!! I STOOD TOO CLOSE TO THAT DRAGON AND BY SOME ASTOUNDING AND UNFORESEEN EVENT IT BREATHED FIRE!!!! AAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!"


4- "Bugger. We've closed off too many unresolved arcs and have no cliffhanger ending. Time to bring back characters who've done nothing for half he series and throw zombies at them in the last two minutes of screen time, completely out of the blue!"

1. I think HBO wanted to put the audience in the same position as the rest of Westeros - not knowing who burnt down Winterfell. This will become clear later on.

2. I can understand the confusion. Perhaps they didn't want Theon knowing that they betrayed him. In an earlier scene Rob said that any Ironborn that surrendered would get to return home, except for Theon. Theon is being handed over...it isn't some ruse involving a man with a bag over his head. I did enjoy your interpretation of events.

3. Yup, that was unconvincing. He also appeared to wear particularly flammable clothing.

4. Totally agree.

However, I loved Theon's speech and his response to the horns being blown to keep them awake.

[Krill]

The scene with Theon in Winterfell is actually pretty funny.

[kittenOFchaos]

The scene with Theon in Winterfell is actually pretty funny.

Who said it wasn't?

[Krill]

I'm agreeing with you.

[Wezil]

4- "Bugger. We've closed off too many unresolved arcs and have no cliffhanger ending. Time to bring back characters who've done nothing for half he series and throw zombies at them in the last two minutes of screen time, completely out of the blue!"

Oh well, Breaking Bad returns soon.

[OzzyKP]

2- While we're on the subject of Gollum, I marvel at the ingenuity on display. He's completely surrounded by forces totally focussed on finding him, personally, and killing him. So how do they get him out? They put a bag over his head. Forget about the option of secret tunnels they completely failed to find out more about before impaling the source of the secret info- go for the old bag-over-head option. It never fails.

"Hey you Iron Islands marauders! We need to check if Gollum's with you. Who's that completely featureless bloke with you?"

"This? Oh, that's just Baghead. He doesn't look anything like Gollum, does he?"

"No, you're right. Nothing like him at all. Be off with you, and your fabric-faced friend immediately!"

Wow, you're dumb. Robb offered to spare the life of all the Iron Islanders except Theon. So his own men handed him over, or so we (those of us actually paying attention) are led to believe. I marvel at the ingenuity on display.

[Guynemer]

whoa whoa whoa, slow your roll there, guy. No need to start flinging around insults; there was just the one scene about sparing any IIer other than Theon, and it was a couple weeks ago, with Blackwater as the intervening episode. Easy to forget, especially if one doesn't see the "previously on".

[OzzyKP]

It was pretty obvious. If he wasn't sure what happened he should have said so, instead of acting like a giant tool.

[Bugs ****ing Bunny]

I think you'll find my version is funnier, and therefore correct.

[Dinner]

At least in the books there was a more logical and believable build up to the events in the north. HBO seems to have just ran out of minutes in the show and had to cut everything down to just two minutes which precludes much in the way of build up found in the books.

[Imran Siddiqui]

I think the show also wanted to remind people about the impending threat from the far North. The better question is how they'll do it in the upcoming seasons.

[Ecthy]

3. Yup, that was unconvincing. He also appeared to wear particularly flammable clothing.

I think this is meant to tell us something about the characteristics of dragonfire. After all, it was substituted for wildfire when the dragons were gone. Not too implausible to assume that dragonfire would carry a substance that keeps burning.

[Bugs ****ing Bunny]

Which makes the decision to enrage it, stand right in front of it, and have a good old chortle even more open to constructive criticism.

[Ogie Oglethorpe]

SuperPACS Westeros style


http://www.motherjones.com/politics/...nes-attack-ads

[Guynemer]

Did Ogie just provide a link to Mother Jones?!?!


I think I need to lie down.

[Ecthy]

Which makes the decision to enrage it, stand right in front of it, and have a good old chortle even more open to constructive criticism.

Fully agreed. How a dude who runs such a cool tower building on his own (he was by himself was he not?) couldn't at least calculate some risk about the dragons starting to spit fire, is totally beyond me. Although we didn't see them do that earlier on, so it may have been unforseeable, in a way. Still, a risk had to be taken into account.

[demonbinder]

I had read the first book before HBO did the series and wondered why it looked so familiar. Then my brother gave me the rest of the books so I am now caught up to what George has done so far (yes, I do know him, though I haven't seen him for a few years). I'm glad he is keeping a tight rein on what HBO is doing, but I wonder at some of the changes, esp. the Winterfell scene and how the Iron Islanders escape with a whole army surrounding them. I'll have to talk to him at Worldcon in September about some of that stuff.

Overall, I've enjoyed the HBO handling of it, given their time restraints. I wonder how long they will keep it going, though. Wasn't happy when they cancelled Deadwood and never did the two part show they promised to wrap it up. My favorite characters (like most everyone) are the dwarf and the youngest Stark daughter. Can't wait until the next season.

[Dinner]

In these dark days of no new Game of Thrones episodes we must content ourselves with any news we can get. Here's a behind the scenes on Season 3 from the BBC.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-18879742

[rah]

Last weekend the did a marathon and played all the episodes. I watched most of them back to back. A good reminder of how good they were. (yes, there are flaws, but nothing is perfect)

[Wezil]

In these dark days of no new Game of Thrones episodes we must content ourselves with any news we can get...

Breaking Bad is back.

All is right in the TV universe.

[DaShi]

Last weekend the did a marathon and played all the episodes. I watched most of them back to back. A good reminder of how good they were. (yes, there are flaws, but nothing is perfect)

Bush-head or no Bush-head version?