Game of Thrones thread with lots of books spoilers inside spoiler tags

Bollocks.

Episode 6 was awesome. I could tell right away when they were setting up the episode early on that we were getting both the thing with Bronn and Viserys. The golden crown was just as horrific as I imagined, but Bronn's fight was kind of 'eh'. For one, I imagined Bronn as a much thinner, much younger person than they casted him as. You certainly didn't get the idea that Bronn is a "quick on his feet" type person, and that the knight (forgot his name) was getting worn out as the fight went on due to his armor. I would have liked it better if they had Bronn take a few swings only to have it deflected by the Knight's superior armor, but show the Knight panting after awhile. The skydoor change was fine with me though.

Also, holy shit, I never thought I could despise Sansa more than I did when I read the books, but they really upped her bitchiness in the show. I mean god damn, at least in the books she was trying to be lady like.

i got the idea that bronn was very swift on his feet, it was evident by how much he danced and dodged around and to an extent he looked quite silly, like a fish flapping about out of water, but it was still cool. on the other hand, i haven't read the book yet so i can't compare the descriptions.

edit: i've been thinking, in regards to joffrey

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in episode 6, they seemed to make a big deal of ned coming to the realization that joffrey had golden hair, and this coupled with his suspicions has lead him to understanding about the incestuous relationship between cersei and jaime, but why has no one else - seemingly - made the connection that roberts son has golden hair in a long line of family members with black hair? ned can't of been the first to comb through the book of baratheons and put the pieces together re: black hair then suddenly golden hair. did i missing something here?

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Well, Jon Arryn was putting it together, and then he got all murderized. Also, I'm sure plenty of others suspect it (littlefinger, Varys) but its not like they can mention it and keep their heads.

Syrio up in this bitch! Fuck your problems, boy; we dance!

Also, I had really been looking forward to the crown scene. I was not disappointed.

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i suppose, just seemed like what quite a dramatic reveal for what was really quite simple and obvious to work out. i guessed it from the minute i saw him anyway... well, no, it took me an episode or two to put names together and the like but yeah, still.

worst thing about watching episode 6 to 7 back to back is that there's not going to be a new one for me next week. oh well, got lots of deadline work to do anyway so it's for the best, i guess.

i started reading a game of thrones last night, read the prologue and bran so far as it was late but yeah, this is pretty well written stuff. the encounter in the woods alone is so wonderfully detail and descriptive.

can't wait to get some time off to read it more extensively.

I'm several chapters into the first book. I like it, the writing style doesn't seem to be totally consistent but I wouldn't fault that of any author trying to start a new series. So far I've enjoyed it and appreciated the writing with the exception of a few slight fumbles here and there.

Yeah, it really levels out once you're like halfway through the first book. I mean, the guy wrote the first part of the book like, decades ago. I think a lot of the early stuff got left in there when he reviewed it prior to finishing GoT. Like when Tyrion does a flip off the roof or whatever, its totally out of character and clearly a hold over from his old concept of who Tyrion was going to be.

Hahaha yeah I actually thought that part was odd.

I am so sad that there is no episode for me this Sunday since I already watched it

yeah, tell me about it. this sucks

oh well, got the book to read!

You poor impatient fools. Though it has been incredibly difficult to not just succumb and watch it. I probably would have already if I didn't watch it with my friends each week.

impatient maybe, but those episodes were paired for a reason - they work absolutely wondrous when played back to back. the set up and execution of all the shit that goes down in episode 6 gets even better in the next hour.

The whole tournament was pretty lamesauce. We saw two jousts that gathered the same sized crowd as a youth league baseball game. You certainly didn't get the "huge event" idea at all. It was supposed to be a tourney where knights from across the kingdom came to attend, with droves of people pouring into the city to watch the events.

Enjoying the series, but having worked my way through almost all the books now I have to wonder how on earth they are possibly going to handle the battles etc. The scope of the books is just too vast I think.

Remember the epic battles in Rome? Oh yeah, that's right.

Sansa: "Where are you from, anyway? The north or the south?"
Septa Mordane: "I come from a very small village in a—"
Sansa: "Oh wait. I just realized... I don't care."

I can't believe I'm saying this, but turning Sansa from an irritating, naive and stuckup tween into a massive bitch is actually making me like her.

Also, I found Dany eating the stallion's heart unsettlingly hot.

...

I know nothing of season 2 but the "epic" battles from Rome sucked ass.

Well that's the problem Dan. Unfortunately they are going to have to step it up at some point (Kings landing springs to mind) and that's going to be problematic even if they went down the CG route simply because of the time scales involved. It's one thing to get some matte paintings done on a TV schedule, it's another thing entirely to have a big assed battle going on. Not everything can simply be relayed through Basil Exposition.

To be fair, there's only been two battles with POV characters in them in the series thus far (three if you count Cat's observation of the Whispering Wood). The rest were done in background exposition. And even at that, they were short and focussed entirely on the characters' experience of them. They could obviously just approach the battles in a different manner, but in terms of TV economy, sticking to the books' limited POV would be smart. I think we only need to worry if they decide to portray many of the battles--that would be a stupid move on their part.

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Well there's quite a bit of conflict that needs to be put across, and can't really be omitted, like the angry city folk mobbing the Lannisters after they see the princess off from the docks and things all going hideously wrong for example (plus god knows what they are going to do about the dragons). However as long as everything isn't too cardboard it should be good. The big question mark really is whether HBO will sustain it past the agreed season 2. Rome & Deadwood spring to mind as great shows cut down before their prime by the logistics of TV production and GoT looks like it's on par for breaking the bank in that respect.

Also I know book 5 is due out next month or so, but Martin needs to get his arse in gear and get the other two rest written.

i think dan might be being sarcastic in regards to referencing rome and ''epic'' battles.

Yeah, thats the point. The battle scenes in Rome were turdsauce, and wont cut it for GoT because theres a lot more "story" happening during the battle in GoT than in Rome. That said, I dont think it will be much of an issue, as it seems HBO is quite assured of the show's sucess and can begin filming and CGI-ing the thing very early on. The cost should be much of an issue really, not with the kind of budget they're working with since its a lot cheaper now-a-days than it was in the ancient Rome days.

for the record, i agree with his sarcasm. the battles in rome were awful.

cracks have already started to show with the scale in game of thrones with making the hands tournament a couple rows of people, and reducing the dothraki horde to a couple of fallout/mad max esqe bandits travelling about on horses.

not too worried though, show is great regardless.

Good point. Though hopefully the re-usable sets, props, etc can free up some money to do the battles properly.

Well they were never integral to the action, and also because the show had a historical context they could afford to skip them by and large.

^This. I was actually quite surprised with how many extras they managed to muster with some of the scenes earlier on in the series, but now it does seem to be lessening off and we are very much in the realm of costume drama played out in tents & castles. I fear the show will have to drop many of the more colourful side characters (like the mountain men for example) which will be a pity really.

It's probably not so much cost that's the issue, but the logistics. Cost wise it's sensible to do all your location shooting in one hit. So for example all the Winterfell, Wall & frozen North stuff would of been done over a couple of months (same with the Dothraki plains & exterior shots), then they'd have headed to the studios and sound stages to do all the interior work. As the series progresses and the locations become more diverse that could prove troublesome.

absolutely, i don't fault rome for it, nor will i fault game of thrones if it's to the same standard.

Sadly the lame battles of Rome were still so expensive they cancelled Rome due to the cost. I'd rather the scope of GoT be turned down rather than have HBO cancel after just two seasons due to expenses.

^ A lot of the expense of Rome was filming in Italy, it's very pricey to shoot there.

I thought it was only planned to be one season, and they tacked on a second season because it did well. I would rather see a prequel with the Gaulic wars and Vercingetorix and the battle of Alesia. That would require a pretty huge budget to show well.

No, I believed it was planned for several seasons. For some reason I want to say seven even. Thats why the pacing was so rushed in the second season, and it spans such a long period of time. They had to shove all the stuff they planned for later seasons into the second one, because the later seasons were cut. They cut them because BBC backed out of it after the first season, leaving the entire financial burden on HBO.

Also, I just watched episode 7. Good lord Drogo was pissed. That was probably the coolest scene so far, besides Syrio of course. The guy who made up the language is very, very good, and Drogo's actor pulls it off like its nothing.

Season 3 and Season 4 were originally going to depict the war between Mark Antony and Octavian, with season 4 mostly taking place in Egypt. Season 5 was going to show the rise of the Messiah in Palestine and the impact that it has on Rome.

drogo had been pretty lame up until now, but that scene really reinforces his character. isn't he going to be the new conan or something? dudes gone up in my books now.

Just got the Book set for $17.99 with free shipping, also I want to read the books before I watch the show, is that the best way to experience this series?

I guess it depends if you are more interested in learning more about the story, or if you want to enjoy the show more. Either way, they both tell the same story. If it was me, I would wait and watch until season 1 is finished, then read all of the books in order and by then the 5th book should be out, and depending on how slow or fast you are at reading books (they are close to 1000 pages all of them and will take a long time if you only read a chapter a night), there may be a 2nd television season released by the time you are finished the first 5 books. It's essentially a one year Song of Ice and Fire immersion plan.

Son. of. a. ****ing. biiiitch.

Just watched the last 3 eps.

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Dear God, that "golden crown" scene... the sky cells... the creepy mother and son relationship... the double ****ed Ned... the lesbian "sex" scene... the jousting... Drogo snapping... the everything. Also, ****ING LITTLEFINGERRRRRRRRRRR

.... sounds ****ing excellent. I am on it.