Game of Thrones - TV Series (NO BOOK SPOILERS)

[Paratus]

Just remember, every time someone asks GRRM when the next book comes out he kills a Stark.

 

[KentState]

The reality is that you cannot count on the expected. Life throws curveballs at you and you never know what is going to happen. Tolkein and other works are predictable "hero" stories, the outcome is pretty much known. Martin takes the opposite approach, he wants to keep people guessing all the while developing characters inevitably. The problem is people attach themselves to perceived "good" or "bad" characters without even thinking about the story.

If you want braindead prosaic tripe where the hero always wins, go read that. If you want real life chaos, especially unbridled chaotic grabs for power, then you will appreciate these books.

Didn't anybody get Littlefinger's monolog? There was a point to that. In a grab for power anybody can die and most who aren't bright enough to seize power while they can, will. Those who thrive on chaos, the game, will win.

Personally I find the whole thing refreshing and a lot more entertaining than most books.

The problem is not people attaching themselves to characters they perceive as one thing or thing other. It's that three books are dedicated to a story and then it's wiped away and you are left with a bunch of characters, beyond Tyrion, that I would give two shits about. What is compelling in the story to keep me watching or reading?

 

[AstroManLuca]

You don't get it man! It's supposed to be super dark and edgy. If it's not dark and edgy, it's for little babies!

I'm not going to complain too much about what has happened because this was all written years ago. But I am disappointed because it's like, why bother developing all these characters and stories just to kill them all off? I used to look forward to each episode, now I don't really care anymore.

 

[JEDI]

You don't get it man! It's supposed to be super dark and edgy. If it's not dark and edgy, it's for little babies!

I'm not going to complain too much about what has happened because this was all written years ago. But I am disappointed because it's like, why bother developing all these characters and stories just to kill them all off? I used to look forward to each episode, now I don't really care anymore.

yeah, same here.
i read the wiki about Ser Jorah Mormont (Mother of Dragons knight). his future storyline looks stupid and is uninteresting to me. kinda how i feel about theon's currently story line

 

[Black Octagon]

I personally like how GRRM did something a little different with his story by having the balls to kill main characters off. Makes us take future perils to main characters more seriously.

Not to say that the series is as great as some crack it up to be. I see some notable deficiencies with the story that put it clearly in the B grade of fantasy. But killing off main characters is not one of those deficiencies

 

[steve wilson]

I think the killing off of main characters is one of the best things about it. Who thought that Ned Stark was actually going to be executed? My jaw dropped when that happened after watching shows like 24 were Jack Bauer always survives somehow. I have read all the books and loved them. Also loving the show, but don't really like how they have deviated from the books. It has to be done sometimes because the cast is already massive.

 

[nageov3t]

The problem is not people attaching themselves to characters they perceive as one thing or thing other. It's that three books are dedicated to a story and then it's wiped away and you are left with a bunch of characters, beyond Tyrion, that I would give two shits about. What is compelling in the story to keep me watching or reading?

personally, I like the overarching story enough to keep reading.

as old characters die, new ones get introduced and existing ones continue to grow.

I'm actually a little jealous of the people who haven't read the books, though. I found it impossible to get myself attached to characters like Robb Stark simply because I knew what fate had in store for him already (and his overall dumbassery)

 

[Possessed Freak]

I'm not going to complain too much about what has happened because this was all written years ago. But I am disappointed because it's like, why bother developing all these characters and stories just to kill them all off? I used to look forward to each episode, now I don't really care anymore.

All character development for Robb was done in the miniseries. From the lack of development that Robb had in the books, you could KNOW that he was doomed. He was NEVER a main character, never a central character, no different than Renly or anyone else.

In the books, chapter titles are named after the characters they are about. Guess how many chapters Robb had? If you go by the titles alone then only 2 main characters have died thus far in the show... Eddard and Catelyn.

 

[Bateluer]

All character development for Robb was done in the miniseries. From the lack of development that Robb had in the books, you could KNOW that he was doomed. He was NEVER a main character, never a central character, no different than Renly or anyone else.

In the books, chapter titles are named after the characters they are about. Guess how many chapters Robb had? If you go by the titles alone then only 2 main characters have died thus far in the show... Eddard and Catelyn.

Spoiler

Catelyn's not actually dead.

 

[Red Storm]

You don't get it man! It's supposed to be super dark and edgy. If it's not dark and edgy, it's for little babies!

I'm not going to complain too much about what has happened because this was all written years ago. But I am disappointed because it's like, why bother developing all these characters and stories just to kill them all off? I used to look forward to each episode, now I don't really care anymore.

Exactly. The way he just discards characters you've spent several books reading about just makes me no longer give a damn about anyone or anything. I could care less who lives or dies anymore, I just want to see the ending and be done with it. That's not good story telling.

Spoiler

Catelyn's not actually dead.

I remember that part in the books. I thought it was REALLY stupid, and I hope the show doesn't even try it.

 

[Possessed Freak]

Spoiler

Catelyn's not actually dead.

I am aware of that.

Spoiler

Further I would argue that she is dead, the magic that GRRM tosses around in this series is laughable and she is certainly not living

 

[techs]

They dead. They so dead.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mO4Rv-NNHvs

 

[crashtestdummy]

Exactly. The way he just discards characters you've spent several books reading about just makes me no longer give a damn about anyone or anything. I could care less who lives or dies anymore, I just want to see the ending and be done with it. That's not good story telling.

I think the above and the various rebuttals others have provided say a lot about the different reasons people read/watch fiction, and what they get out of it. On this topic at least, there seem to be two distinct camps.

The first camp wants something to root for. They want to latch on to a person/people they like and watch their steady rise to victory. Fiction for them is, among other things, an outlet to reaffirm their belief that being morally right means you can win against terrible odds (or at least a chance to live in a world where that is true). Martin is going to agitate these people, because he seems to take particular delight in upsetting this notion. Fortunately for these people, though, most fiction is written for them.

The second group (including myself) gets frustrated with most fiction, because its predictability makes the suspension of disbelief difficult. I tend to get bored at supposedly suspenseful moments in most books because I know that the protagonist will survive. We're less interested in finding someone to believe in than we are in finding a story to believe in. Settings like A Song of Ice and Fire are great for us, because the real story is the world, and interesting characters come in and out of it, just as they do in real life.

In fact, if you really think about it, up to this point in the show, none of the really interesting characters (Tyrion, Daenerys' dragons, Varys, Littlefinger, Arya, Sandor, Jaime, Davos, Samwell, etc.) have died. Robb and Ned were kind of boring, and Catelyn was getting whiny with her obsessive grief. It's just that there's a sense now that the truly interesting characters could (and very well may yet) be killed.

 

[nageov3t]

I remember that part in the books. I thought it was REALLY stupid, and I hope the show doesn't even try it.

for the makeup department alone, I wonder if they'll tone it down.

Spoiler

in the Red Wedding episode, for example, she's not clawing off her face like she was in the book... on the other hand, I wonder if they'll accelerate the timeline lest she not be on the show at all for an entire season.

 

[nageov3t]

 

[MustangSVT]

I didn't read the book and I was like HOLY FUCK??! probably most surprising and shocking moment for me on TV/movies in 2013!

 

[orenero]

Man. I always cringe when a pregnant girl gets stabbed like that. Sheesh!

Do things ever get better for the Starks?

I cringed hard during that, had trouble not fast forwarding. Definitely messes with your head.

 

[GTaudiophile]

Sorry but after sleeping on it, the "killing a pregnant woman by stabbing the uterus" scene was just uncalled for. Especially if this is not how it goes down in the book. HBO stepped over a line IMO.

 

[Possessed Freak]

Sorry but after sleeping on it, the "killing a pregnant woman by stabbing the uterus" scene was just uncalled for. Especially if this is not how it goes down in the book. HBO stepped over a line IMO.

??? Slitting her throat would kill her and the baby just as well. The fact that she was not present in the book for the scene is the only difference.

People die pregnant all the time. When a purge occurs, do you think they are off limits or do you think every potential heir/usurper is killed immediately?

 

[Aharami]

Yes. Mega spoiler

Spoiler

her mother becomes a vengeance driven zombie hellbent on killing Freys and Lanisters.

is that really true? or you just being facetious?

edit: i guess it is...based on others' comments

 

[ZaneNBK]

is that really true? or you just being facetious?

It's true.

 

[PottedMeat]

Sorry but after sleeping on it, the "killing a pregnant woman by stabbing the uterus" scene was just uncalled for. Especially if this is not how it goes down in the book. HBO stepped over a line IMO.

it was great, especially her and then his reaction

and there is no line.

happy couple discussing baby named after ned, then getting gut stabbed - what better way to show walder's pissed

 

[steve wilson]

is that really true? or you just being facetious?

sad to say it...but it is actually true

 

[MikeyLSU]

Sorry but after sleeping on it, the "killing a pregnant woman by stabbing the uterus" scene was just uncalled for. Especially if this is not how it goes down in the book. HBO stepped over a line IMO.

if you remember in the beginning of season 2, Cercei went around killing all of Robert's bastards including infants.

Also, it looks like you missed out on another horrifying thing they do to Robb after killing him. I won't spoil it in case they still do it next episode, but

Spoiler

they put grey winds head on Robb's body

Also think of what Gregor Clegane did. Things left out of the show, he raped girls just for the fun of it because a girl's Dad asked him for a favor.

There are many sickening and dark things that happen in a war.

 

[Zeze]

it was great, especially her and then his reaction

and there is no line.

happy couple discussing baby named after ned, then getting gut stabbed - what better way to show walder's pissed

That's what you get for naming the baby Eddard. Dumbasses.