Which Game of Thrones character are you?

[Spacecadet]

No, just a very rich family, and an army.

<slight spoiler>
And a little tulip of a grandson who's the king.
</slight spoiler>

more importantly, will Cersei ever get her norks out?

[VectraMan]

more importantly, will Cersei ever get her norks out?

Maybe for Jamie, if he ever gets back.

[MyUserName]

more importantly, will Cersei ever get her norks out?

Doesn't look like it - if she was up for it they probably would have done it in the first episode :-(

[Bunk]

Does this Tyrell chappie have a corporation?

No, just a very rich family, and an army.

<slight spoiler>
And a little tulip of a grandson who's the king.
</slight spoiler>

Just realised that's Tywin I'm talking about. Although the Tyrells are also rich and also have an army, but the spoiler is wrong

[nomadd]

Perhaps we are looking at it differently?

SPOILERS

Stark's army have lost their way as Rob lost his focus. He went the funeral, got married etc and is now struggling to actually keep his army in one piece so it can do anything. It makes sense as one the initial eurphoria of "yeah lets get 'em" and a few victories as the Lannisters underestimated him has started to fade and he is realising just how massive the task he has undertaken is and how difficult it is to be a king.

We have seen Baelish scheming, have a look at what Baelish has managed to swing for himself (his new wife and holdings etc). Varys has not been featured much which is a shame as he is an awesome character. However we have the new scheming of Joffrey's wife to be, her grandmother and Lord Tywin to watch. Along with the Lord of Fire's sevants emerging. Dani's ingenious scheming with the unsullied etc.

The major political battle now seems to be between the Lannisters and Tyrells. Margaery is running rings around Joffrey, has buried Cersei and her grandmother stomped on Tyrion although she hit a wall when meeting Tywin. The battle over Sansa was fascinating to watch as they cold war raged over her marriage.

I agree that they could find more for Arya to do other than rant how unfair things are.

Tyrion has become less prominant but I think this show was a force Lord Tywin really is, even Cersei is reduced to doing what she is told when he is there. Tyrion does not seem to be doing a huge amount compared to last series so far, which is a shame as he is awesome too and my wife has a crush on him(!).

I like finding more out about Jamie too and I like Briene as a character.

SPOILERS END

Sorry, but I've have to agree with VectraMan's comments here.

The whole "endless romance" with Rob and his wife has made for several immensely dull scenes so far. And they added yet another long one to this weeks episode. None of this happens in the books, which handle Robs tale in a much better fashion. This is just wasted airtime that could have been used so much more effectively, IMHO.

Baelish and Varys scheming came to a bit of a melodramatic head at the end of last weeks episode. As did Jon's climbing of the wall. Both very cheap scenes, again neither of which appear that way in the books.

Margaery? Don't get me started. Most of the scenes in the tv show - like her standing up and publically declaring her love for Jof in order to steal him away from Sansa have been very cheap. And, once again, it isn't like that at all in the books (she isn't even in King's Landing at the time...) Think back to Ned Stark fighting Jamie in Season one: never happens in the books; ditto the fight being concluded with a spear in the back of the leg. Another cheap take on completely different events in the books.

Arya? Well, the whole of Season two with her at Tywin's side was about as far from the books as you could get... Again, cheaply done I feel.

Agree about Jamie and Briene. But, once again, look how the bear fight scene finished in last weeks episode. Very cheap, nothing like the gritty realism of the book version.

Tyrion? Difficult to say, as I know what comes next (so no spoilers.) Still, looks like we may have wait another year as season three only covers have the third book for Tyrion's tale to light up. EDIT: I do agree he's become woefully underutilised; and the replacement of much of his story with a constantly whining Sansa is a huge disappointment.

I loved season one as it seemed to keep the realism of the books - well, for the most part (still, lots of nudity cut out, as the lead actors/actresses wouldn't agree to appear that way, which made things look rather imbalanced; scenes being skipped/rewritten as they didn't have the budget to do them justice, etc.) But season two and season three have been written to have so many long, drawn out romantic scenes or "cheap thrills" at the expense of the books, I find myself liking the tv series less and less. Still, I'll stick with it for completions sake.

[Bunk]

Stuff

That's why I'd say not to read the books first. You're always going to compare them and complain about the differences, except that sticking rigidly to the books would likely make for a terrible TV show. The pacing, while perfect in a book, would be far too slow even for a TV show over the course of a season. The story needs to be adapted for TV and then broken into episodes which stand alone. It's not a fair comparison, so they should be judged separately, on their own merits.

Edit: I should also mention that The Hobbit kept coming to mind as I was writing that. A good example of making a movie adaptation far too long.

[MyUserName]

Sorry, but I've have to agree with VectraMan's comments here.
The whole "endless romance" with Rob and his wife has made for several immensely dull scenes so far. And they added yet another long one to this weeks episode. None of this happens in the books, which handle Robs tale in a much better fashion. This is just wasted airtime that could have been used so much more effectively, IMHO.

I prefer Rob's wife in the series to the book, she has character and is more interesting. I do not recall finding any of
their scenes particularly dull, not exciting but that does not mean they are dull.

Margaery? Don't get me started. Most of the scenes in the tv show - like her standing up and publically declaring her love for Jof in order to steal him away from Sansa have been very cheap. And, once again, it isn't like that at all in the books (she isn't even in King's Landing at the time...)

I like Margaery in the series, I like how manipulative and cunning she is. It is done differently than the book but things often have to be streamlined for TV.

Think back to Ned Stark fighting Jamie in Season one: never happens in the books; ditto the fight being concluded with a spear in the back of the leg. Another cheap take on completely different events in the books.

Baelish and Varys scheming came to a bit of a melodramatic head at the end of last weeks episode. As did Jon's climbing of the wall. Both very cheap scenes, again neither of which appear that way in the books.

Arya? Well, the whole of Season two with her at Tywin's side was about as far from the books as you could get... Again, cheaply done I feel.

I am not entirely sure what you mean by cheap? I am aware the books and TV series are different as they are different mediums and using a novel as a screen play is not going to work, you must have expected deviations?

Tyrion? Difficult to say, as I know what comes next (so no spoilers.) Still, looks like we may have wait another year as season three only covers have the third book for Tyrion's tale to light up. EDIT: I do agree he's become woefully underutilised; and the replacement of much of his story with a constantly whining Sansa is a huge disappointment.

I am a bit disappointed that they are not doing more with him, he is a great character.

I loved season one as it seemed to keep the realism of the books - well, for the most part (still, lots of nudity cut out, as the lead actors/actresses wouldn't agree to appear that way, which made things look rather imbalanced; scenes being skipped/rewritten as they didn't have the budget to do them justice, etc.) But season two and season three have been written to have so many long, drawn out romantic scenes or "cheap thrills" at the expense of the books, I find myself liking the tv series less and less. Still, I'll stick with it for completions sake.

It seems almost like your chief resentment is that the series is not like the books but you have read them so you know how deep and complicated they are. A TV series that covered all of that would be a hundred episodes long and would need to be watched several times each to keep up with the subtleties. What you are getting with the series is Game of Thrones Lite which you can watch to get a simpler plot which starts at the same place as the books and then goes where it needs to.

[shaunbhoy]

Mrs SB opted to get the books and is currently onto the last one. I have decided to confine myself to watching the series on the gogglebox for now. She is itching to tell me what is happening but I keep rebuffing her saying I don't want her to spoil it for me.
Am I being unreasonable?

[MyUserName]

Mrs SB opted to get the books and is currently onto the last one. I have decided to confine myself to watching the series on the gogglebox for now. She is itching to tell me what is happening but I keep rebuffing her saying I don't want her to spoil it for me.
Am I being unreasonable?

Nah I would do the same, however even if she does tell you something it is quite possible that the series will be different anyway!

[nomadd]

I prefer Rob's wife in the series to the book, she has character and is more interesting. I do not recall finding any of their scenes particularly dull, not exciting but that does not mean they are dull.

Desperately dull, clichéd romantic twaddle. Doesn't happen at all in the book - in fact, by the time we meet her for the first time, Rob's already married her. In the tv show, she's portrayed as a clichéd Florence Nightingale and dragged out for several episodes before she even marries him. And the "love" scenes between them drag, and drag, adding nothing to the real predicaments Rob faces - i.e. how to become King of the North at such a young age and with so little experience; and the loss of his father's guidance, especially as Rob faces the foes responsible for his father's death . Still, his new wife does look nice naked, I'll give you that.

I like Margaery in the series, I like how manipulative and cunning she is. It is done differently than the book but things often have to be streamlined for TV.

Again a transformation into a cookie-cutter, clichéd character. Dulled (dumbed) down for tv. The real power and wisdom of the Tyrells (remember how things progress in book three?) lies with the aged grandmother, not a sixteen year old girl who has no experience of life. A pretty girl getting her norks out is just cheap, as I was explaining above.

I am not entirely sure what you mean by cheap? I am aware the books and TV series are different as they are different mediums and using a novel as a screen play is not going to work, you must have expected deviations?

See all the above, and the scenes I mentioned earlier in the post you responded to. Now go and compare them with the books. They are all re-written to contain clichéd characters and scenes overly-simplified - or "actioned-up" - and ultimately dumbed-down for tv; shame, as the books deserve better. And they did get better, in season one, which remained true to the first book (mostly) and was all the more gripping and engaging for it, IMHO.

It seems almost like your chief resentment is that the series is not like the books but you have read them so you know how deep and complicated they are. A TV series that covered all of that would be a hundred episodes long and would need to be watched several times each to keep up with the subtleties. What you are getting with the series is Game of Thrones Lite which you can watch to get a simpler plot which starts at the same place as the books and then goes where it needs to.

Of course you couldn't bring the books in their entirety to tv - we all appreciate that; they would have too long a runtime and would be far too expensive to shoot. But they still managed to get the first season right. But since then, the quality has reduced dramatically. I just feel it's a shame tv has to constantly be dumbed down this way.

Now GoT has mostly become ponderous and disappointingly predictable; scenes are shamefully re-written to excite twelve year old viewers (look at the example of Jon climbing The Wall that I quoted and compare it to the book - was there any reason for such silliness? No. Ditto the "bear fight" ending the way it did. Or Jof filling a Whore full of arrows. And so on, and so on...)

I guess I just feel the source material is strong enough to stand on it's own two feet, without the need for "dumbing down for a tv audience" interference.

Here's hoping they can get back on track in future episodes.