OFFICIAL Game of Thrones Thread

[otc]

The producers are really working hard to make joffrey an evil bastard...but why? Everyone watching the show has disliked him from episode 1 so its not like they really need to emphasize it.

First they have him killing the bastards instead of his mother, and now they move straight from him beating Sansa to beating the whores...if anything they are wasting time making the audience feel extra uncomfortable when they could be giving some extra time to Dany or the Wall.

book references (including #5):

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

If they had just gotten rid of the whore-beating (not really the kind of T&A people want to see) they could have pushed for a lot more character development during the Sansa scene. Joff could have been more cruel but then there are a couple of points that didn't come forward.
-I believe the hound says "That's Enough" at some point. IIRC, It wouldn't be the first time he has shown a little bit more tenderness/restraint to sansa in the show but it would build his character up for the future (especially if you believe the hyper-speculative fan-thoughts that have him still alive and rescuing her from the Eyrie and they end up marrying).
-Here was also a place where Ser Dontos gets built up as a potential friend to Sansa. I believe he is ordered to hit her but instead of pounding her with a gauntleted fist as asked, he hits her with a spoiled melon and tries to break up the situation

 

[Neo_Version 7]



I like Jorah's character best, even though Tyrion gets all the limelight.

Jorah is one of my favourites as well. He's on-screen for what seems like 2 minutes per episode but he still owns. Same with the Hound.

 

[I am DIL]

**** yeah on the Jorah + Hound call. They're great characters.

 

[otc]

Yeah, a great solution to the whore beating scene would have been to just show the beginning and then cut outside the door and show the hound holding back a grimace while screams emanate from inside. Would have given the hound more screen time and saved everyone else from having to watch 5 minutes of WTF (hey...at least I wasn't watching it with my mother or something).

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

After giving it some more thought I can *sort* of see an angle for why they are doing this. It gives littlefinger a strong incentive to support other potential rulers. Before it was more just that he could profit from chaos, but now they are actively hurting his business. They showed us early on how much he valued his "investments" and now Joff has probably beat one out of commission and destabalized Ros even more (maybe that will finally get her out of the damn show).
Without room for as much subtle development as the books provide, this provides reasoning for his potential actions towards the other kings and provides motive for his involvement with Joffrey later on.

 

[I am DIL]

Yeah, a great solution to the whore beating scene would have been to just show the beginning and then cut outside the door and show the hound holding back a grimace while screams emanate from inside. Would have given the hound more screen time and saved everyone else from having to watch 5 minutes of WTF (hey...at least I wasn't watching it with my mother or something).
After giving it some more thought I can *sort* of see an angle for why they are doing this. It gives littlefinger a strong incentive to support other potential rulers. Before it was more just that he could profit from chaos, but now they are actively hurting his business. They showed us early on how much he valued his "investments" and now Joff has probably beat one out of commission and destabalized Ros even more (maybe that will finally get her out of the damn show).
Without room for as much subtle development as the books provide, this provides reasoning for his potential actions towards the other kings and provides motive for his involvement with Joffrey later on.

TV shows need characters that people will return and watch, just so that they can ******* hate on them. But I see your point. My girl and I were super uncomfortable -- I'd hate to be the actresses involved. I can't bare to see chix brutalized, even if it's only on screen.

 

[munchausen]



Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

-Here was also a place where Ser Dontos gets built up as a potential friend to Sansa. I believe he is ordered to hit her but instead of pounding her with a gauntleted fist as asked, he hits her with a spoiled melon and tries to break up the situation

Massive book spoilers, do not read!!!!!!

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

Dontos wasn't asked to hit her in this scene. It was either Meryn Trant or Arys Oakheart, the latter of whom doesn't seem to have made an appearance yet. Dontos tries to defuse the situation by whacking her with a melon but it doesn't help. Also, Dontos would have already revealed to Sansa his intention to help her. It's an interesting scene in retrospect because it casts doubt on Littlefinger's statement that she was only helping her for the money. It seems like he really did care about her. Whether or not he would have risked what he did without Littlefinger putting him up to it is another question.

 

[Neo_Version 7]

Though technically introduced in Season 1, Hot Pie is my favourite new character this season. Hands down.

 

[AR_Six]



The producers are really working hard to make joffrey an evil bastard...but why? Everyone watching the show has disliked him from episode 1 so its not like they really need to emphasize it.
First they have him killing the bastards instead of his mother, and now they move straight from him beating Sansa to beating the whores...if anything they are wasting time making the audience feel extra uncomfortable when they could be giving some extra time to Dany or the Wall.

While I sort of agree, I also sort of don't. I think the scene with the whores was great in terms of adding depth. It's not just "Joffrey = total ******* jerk" at that point. With the throne room scenes and him generally acting like a spoiled kid on steroids you can get the impression that he's just been given the throne too soon and his immaturity is the source of all of his behaviour - Bronn's "picking the wings off of flies" comment. Given what he does in that scene there is no question that the guy is a sadist. It's not "Joffrey bad", it's about what KIND of bad guy he is.

As for the bastards, there may be some appetite on the part of the show's producers to give Cersei some added depth as a character as the story progresses, rather than just an arrogant manipulative *****. I hope that they do add that other dimension. Like most characters she's more interesting when she has some relatable motivation driving her.

Book stuff to varying degrees -

Spoiler

To that end, I think they can do more with Varys and Littlefinger. GRM does a great job on the slow, subtle reveal with Varys, by the end of bk3 you're pretty convinced that he actually DOES care more about the kingdom than anything else.

I think Gillen is capable of carrying off Baelish's inferiority complex but there hasn't been much of that introduced into the show. Though his performance has been fine, now there's not much to the character other than "conniving" at the moment.

Everyone's super into Jorah but he hasn't even gotten interesting yet. The series of events leading to his being cast out is what will determine how well the character plays out on screen.

By the way the dude from the Thirteen was spot on. I don't remember that scene from the books but he was great.

 

[javyn]

<3 Ser Jorah. He's the best in the show. Real stand up guy, kind of like Ned Stark, but his priorities are actually in the right place.

 

[Blackfyre]



While I sort of agree, I also sort of don't. I think the scene with the whores was great in terms of adding depth. It's not just "Joffrey = total ******* jerk" at that point. With the throne room scenes and him generally acting like a spoiled kid on steroids you can get the impression that he's just been given the throne too soon and his immaturity is the source of all of his behaviour - Bronn's "picking the wings off of flies" comment. Given what he does in that scene there is no question that the guy is a sadist. It's not "Joffrey bad", it's about what KIND of bad guy he is.
As for the bastards, there may be some appetite on the part of the show's producers to give Cersei some added depth as a character as the story progresses, rather than just an arrogant manipulative *****. I hope that they do add that other dimension. Like most characters she's more interesting when she has some relatable motivation driving her.
Book stuff to varying degrees -

Spoiler

To that end, I think they can do more with Varys and Littlefinger. GRM does a great job on the slow, subtle reveal with Varys, by the end of bk3 you're pretty convinced that he actually DOES care more about the kingdom than anything else.
I think Gillen is capable of carrying off Baelish's inferiority complex but there hasn't been much of that introduced into the show. Though his performance has been fine, now there's not much to the character other than "conniving" at the moment.
Everyone's super into Jorah but he hasn't even gotten interesting yet. The series of events leading to his being cast out is what will determine how well the character plays out on screen.

By the way the dude from the Thirteen was spot on. I don't remember that scene from the books but he was great.

That scene wasn't in the book at all, and xaro isn't a summer islander either.

My gripe is with them changing **** unnecessarily. The scene with the tickler, mountain, and tywin is totally off. Joff beating the whores, dany arriving at qarth. They changed all this, and for what reason. If they truly think they can do a book a season now then they're deluded. I'd rather a book be two seasons so characters and events can be fleshed out properly than cramming it all into a single season. It's not ******* working. If they're ******* up ACOK by squeezing it into one season than how in the **** are they going to fit ASOS into a single season when it has a whole lot more **** going on.

 

[javyn]

Spoiler

I liked the Tickler scene, and appreciate the differences from the book, for the most part. I hope the show continues to cut away the chaff and actually show us stuff when they add scenes. Reading ACOK now and am getting very irritated being constantly built up only to have the chapter end right before the action happens. It does it again, and again, and again.

I'm beginning to think I'll never "see" an actual battle in this series.

Now, did I do this right? I think I was vague enough not to spoil anything? Or are you girls going to get your panties in a wad over this post too?

 

[Blackfyre]



Spoiler

I liked the Tickler scene, and appreciate the differences from the book, for the most part. I hope the show continues to cut away the chaff and actually show us stuff when they add scenes. Reading ACOK now and am getting very irritated being constantly built up only to have the chapter end right before the action happens. It does it again, and again, and again.
I'm beginning to think I'll never "see" an actual battle in this series.

Now, did I do this right? I think I was vague enough not to spoil anything? Or are you girls going to get your panties in a wad over this post too?

That's one of the things I like about the series is the build-up. Makes you want to get to the payoff that much faster.

Can someone tell me if Ned ever dispatched Beric in season 1?

 

[Joffrey]



While I sort of agree, I also sort of don't. I think the scene with the whores was great in terms of adding depth. It's not just "Joffrey = total ******* jerk" at that point. With the throne room scenes and him generally acting like a spoiled kid on steroids you can get the impression that he's just been given the throne too soon and his immaturity is the source of all of his behaviour - Bronn's "picking the wings off of flies" comment. Given what he does in that scene there is no question that the guy is a sadist. It's not "Joffrey bad", it's about what KIND of bad guy he is.
As for the bastards, there may be some appetite on the part of the show's producers to give Cersei some added depth as a character as the story progresses, rather than just an arrogant manipulative *****. I hope that they do add that other dimension. Like most characters she's more interesting when she has some relatable motivation driving her.
Book stuff to varying degrees -

Spoiler

To that end, I think they can do more with Varys and Littlefinger. GRM does a great job on the slow, subtle reveal with Varys, by the end of bk3 you're pretty convinced that he actually DOES care more about the kingdom than anything else.
I think Gillen is capable of carrying off Baelish's inferiority complex but there hasn't been much of that introduced into the show. Though his performance has been fine, now there's not much to the character other than "conniving" at the moment.
Everyone's super into Jorah but he hasn't even gotten interesting yet. The series of events leading to his being cast out is what will determine how well the character plays out on screen.

By the way the dude from the Thirteen was spot on. I don't remember that scene from the books but he was great.

Totally agree. I think she was more interesting last season when it appeared she was only trying to protect her family. This season she's lost a bit of that.

Anyway, I guess I'm the only one that likes Joffrey. I also agree he's turned the way he has through his demented upbringing (his mom did tell him he could do as he please because he was the future king). He's just not capable or mature enough to get past that.

 

[otc]



That's one of the things I like about the series is the build-up. Makes you want to get to the payoff that much faster.
Can someone tell me if Ned ever dispatched Beric in season 1?

I believe so. I seem to recall a scene where Ned was hearing the complaints of the people and people were saying that the mountain was raiding towns. After that he sends out Beric (and maybe Thoros) to protect the villages.

 

[lefty]

Yes. He would have gone himself but for his speared leg. He also sent 20 or so of Winterfell men along with Beric to capture Gregor Clegane.

At this point the books are going to be more or less a guideline for the show. It would be impossible for the series to try and follow the meandering storyline and useless characters that Martin is fond of.

lefty