Just finished the Wedding, and well, I guess Tony is glad he showed up late to the Stark wedding (I know its the Tully wedding, but this made my joke funnier)
Watching this show I find myself liking each group. I am a fan of Jaime now. To me he reminds me of Sawyer of lost.
And even though it's clearly stated the title of the finale episode means "Mother," I couldn't help noticing how much it sounds like another word that would support that analogy.
I had to talk myself into letting it play in case it was real spoilers, even though you posted a smiley face and it was on Conan O'Brien's site....I'm such a little ***** about this show...sigh.
Soooooo..... (No spoilers here) In a recent interview the show runners have stated they are not planning on more than 8 seasons, 80 episodes. That effectively means that the TV series will end before the last book is released or finished. I see this as problematic on a number of fronts. I don't mind being spoiled by the show but it has also been hinted that there may be two different endings. Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2
I don't think it will follow the books as closely, IMO. I just finished season 3, so I haven't read any of the threads or books. How close is the show to the books?
Depends who you ask. Hardcore book fans with no perspective will say that the story and the characters have been ruined. I'm not one of those people. The major points have been hit and the main characters are right where they should be. Season 1 was nearly identical to book 1, but the the two have slowly diverged. I still think that while the details may change as the seasons move along, that the show will continue to hit the major spots and remain true to the story. My worry with the show ending before the last book is the show runners won't have access to the source material to break down and tease out what works and what won't. Another thing is that nearly all of the best lines in the show are taken almost word for word from the book. Having an outline isn't the same
They've done a fine job sticking to the books about as closely as can be expected considering the massive amount of story they have to put into only ten episodes per season. There have been a couple of head scratching moments here and there [Catelyn Stark's random story about Jon Snow comes to mind] but overall they've done well in bringing the characters to life.
GRRM has said he's trying to write faster to keep pace ahead of the show. The show could also slow down, since the 4th and 5th books are both massive and occur concurrently. That would give GRRM more time to finish. They could turn the 4th and 5th books into 3 seasons, with the 6th book coming out next year. So season 4 and book 6 come out in the same year, leaving 2 years for book 7. Or 3 years if they turn book 6 into 2 seasons. Martin is a slow writer, but 3 years is sufficient time to conclude all the plot threads, since he won't be adding any by virtue of it being the last book.
I happened to walk in to GameStop yesterday and saw that there was a GOT game for Xbox that had come out. Has anyone heard about or played it and can tell me if its worth $19.99 of my time? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I don't think there are 3 seasons worth of high quality TV material in books 4 and 5 despite their high page numbers. Below is how I would sketch out the whole thing. I assume that books 6 & 7 are going be be back up to high quality of the first 3 books. 2011 S1: book 1 (book 5 released in mid-2011) 2012 S2: book 2 2013 S3: book 3a 2014 S4: book 3b 2015 S5: book 4-5 2016 S6: book 5-6 2017 S7: book 6-7 2018 S8: book 7 Last I heard, Martin said he was only half way through book 6. A release next year is optimistic, I would think. I agree that the writing should go quicker as the story narrows. It's possible, but it will be tight. I don't think the producers are going to alter their schedule to fit his or put lesser material (imo) in to let him catch up. So I would only put books 4 and 5 in a season and a half at max and leave the last 2.5 seasons open to draw material from the last two books.
The only dating I can find for this timeline is October of 2012. Martin started book 6 in 2011 with completion projected in 2014, assuming 500 pages written per year. So if the book was halfway done last year, then he's on schedule. They either slow the show's pace or stop production for a year. Seasons 1 and 2 were too quick. They're paying for it now.
So here's how Martin originally envisioned the Iron Throne, and presumably how book readers are meant to interpret it.
That's pretty freaking cool. Might look silly on TV, but actually makes sense given the context of the book that it was made with like 1000 swords
How do we buy time for GRRM to catch up? How do we avoid slowing the pace or skipping a season? Simple... Let's have a Robert's Rebellion prequel. It works on a number of levels. 1. Financial- After 5 seasons, the major actors contracts are up and they'll all be negotiating for a higher price. If season 5 were a Roberts Rebellion prequel, they could put off those contracts for another year, saving themselves some money while GRRM is writing. 2. Storylines – There are juicy and relevant stories throughout Robert's Rebellion. All of which tie into the present. It will also allow HBO to address stories they've so far neglected, which appear to be meaningful to the end game of the series. 3. Characters - We'll get o be re-introduced to many characters we know like Robert, Ned, Tywin, Cersei, Jaime, Vary's, Pycell, etc... This serves two purposes. We get to see the evolution of various characters in the current/present timeline through understanding the events of the past which shape them. And we get to spend more time with our favorite characters who weren't long for the world in the present. In addition, we'll get introduced to new characters who have been quite legendary. 4. The next installment of the book series to be adapted to cable is going to be A Feast for Crows. However, that book alone won't likely hold up to an entire season to due to three major characters being M.I.A. Likely, AFFC and the next book A Dance with Dragons will likely have to be intertwined. Not sure if there's two full seasons there or not. Back to the storylines... I’m not sure how I would introduce the concept of the prequel season to the audience. I have ideas, none of them concrete… Anyway, think of all the great events we might get to see. Spoiler *In no particular order* I would love to see, off the top of my head… 1. Southern Ambitions - Seeing the lords Stark, Tully, Arryn, Baratheon, plot against the Mad King by marrying their children off to one another, securing each others allegiance against Arey's, rather than marrying them to their bannerman to consolidate domestic power. 2. "Mad" King Aery's vs. Tywin "Machiavelli" Lannister, during the downturn of his power, scheming to consolidate the power of the crown to his family with a plan to marry Cersei to Rhaegar (thwarted by Aery's) while plotting with the potential usurpers to marry Jaime to Lysa Tully. Aery's bringing Dorne and their military might into the fold. Then we have the defiance of Duskendale, in which Tywin tried to get Aery's killed with bad military/negotiating tactics, thus paying his debt to him for denying Cersei to Rhaegar. Overextending his had, Arey's lives, and then names Jaime to the Kingsguard to ensure his loyalty from there on out, causing Tywin to have no ability to marry into the usurpers alliance. Only to comeback later, sack Kingslanding, and killing off Rhaegars bloodline of succession. All the while Vary's is kicking the hornets nest, playing all sides against the middle, for some unknown purpose... Awesome. 3. Tournament at Harrenhall - Rhaegar winning and shocking the kingdom by naming the already brotheled Lyanna Stark, the winter of roses. Then kidnapping/eloping, depending on how GRRM wants it, I suppose he could be vague with the usurpers arguing kidnapped and Targs arguing eloped. 4. The duel - Brandon Stark and Littlefinger duel for Catelyn's hand in marriage, and subsequent birth of a political prodigy. 5. King's Landing trial - Rickard and Brandon's stark trial by combat, which Aery's calls upon fire as his champion. 6. Battles - There are so many. Summerhall, where Robert won three battles in one day, Ashford, Robert's only defeat to Randyll Tarly (Sam's dad and arguably the best military commander of his time), Battle of the bells, etc... Obviously, the battle at Trident is a must! I'm especially interested in Randyll Tarly, because he may be making a powerplay for himself soon enough in the next book. Getting to know him better would help going forward. 7. And obviously the Tower of Joy. The epic final battle between Eddard Stark and The Kingsguard. If information of this event is too sensitive, perhaps they could skirt around it, while giving the audience the same clues book readers have. . The story and characters are terrific and could really lend insight into the endgame of the Game of Thrones. The hardest thing to do, IMO would be recasting. HBO has done such an amazing job with their casting, I have a hard time seeing anyone else as Ned, Tywin, Jaime, etc... Perhaps they could recast the same actors (Sean Bean, Charles Dance, etc...) and make them "younger" in appearance in some way.
It almost seems like the actress playing Sansa is more like the character of, and the actress playing Arya is a silly version of Sansa.
This makes sense because this throne looks more uncomfortable. The one on the show looks like a seat I wouldn't mind sitting on. He constantly talks about how uncomfortable the Iron Throne is in the books.
Agreed. plus that chair looks fearsome. even Joffery looks bad ***. Although, the show did a great job of using the chair and it's lack of accuracy compared to the legend as a metaphor for the kingdom the chair represents quite well. that scene with littlefinger and varys is one pf my favorite of the series so far.
That's a pretty good idea, and I like it. But as you point out, it requires recasting, and that costs money and time. They would also, for the sake of big reveals that have yet to be made, need to skirt around several big issues in a way that wouldn't work very gracefully, IMO. This would all be moot if Martin would just write faster. Less descriptions of clothing and meals, and more assistants to handle the time consuming self-research to avoid continuity errors. Martin has said that's a big reason why it takes a long time to write, so maybe the guy just needs some help in the fact checking department.
Honestly, I would love a Robert's Rebellion prequel season regardless of whether it serves to give GRRM more time to write. It's such a fascinating story, full of machiavelli moments worthy of the title of the show, flush characters, familiar and unfamiliar. And because of certain events in that story, I'd almost feel cheated if they weren't shown in full, as they may provide tons of context into what we've already seen and more importantly, what we haven't... One fear that I have, is they'll use those RR stories randomly and they'll look like a Dues Ex Machina.
I know I sound like a killjoy but I wouldn't hold my breath for a Roberts rebellion miniseries thing. If Martin can't write fast enough the show will move along at one season per year and finish at 8 seasons. They will end it with the info given to them. The rebellion is also problematic for a major, not yet confirmed reason. Jmo Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2
If the series catches up before A Dream of Spring, something will likely have to be done. In which case, Robert's Rebellion makes the most sense as it's a major part of a song of ice and fire and much of the history is not covered on the show. Perhaps, RR would be a standby where it takes place before the final season if need be? As for the problems of RR that I think you're thinking of... Spoiler Lyanna and Rhaegar = Jon? I think that's actually pretty easy to work around, while leaving the same cryptic clues GRRM left in the books. GoT has two types of characters. Players and pieces. Rhaegar, while considered a future player, was a piece at this point in time. Which means background character. Same for Lyanna. She was a piece to moved on the board by the whims of whomever. Neither will be major characters as they're not the players. The major players will be Rickard Stark, Jon Arryn, Hoster Tully, Tywin, and Aery's. It's their game of thrones that acts as the seed for Robert's Rebellion. Ned and Robert will rise to central characters once the trial of King's Landing takes place and Rickard and Brandon are executed. Really, the only major event Rhaegar and Lyanna would star in, would be the tournament at Harrenhal where they meet and presumably fall in love. I think the show can explore that without being conclusive. Once this event is complete, they disappear and all hell breaks lose. Rhaegar returns for Trident following a mysterious leave, and is all business when he returns, no Lyanna discussion. At the tower of Joy, Ned finds Lyanna covered in blood from the waist down and dying. Perhaps we see the shape of a pregnant belly under the bloody sheets. Again, nothing conclusive. Ned rushes to her and she tells him to promise her... Ned looks puzzled and that's it. From there, he and Robert make peace (they have a fall out because Ned hates the way Rhaegar and Elia's children *hint hint* were killed) over Lyanna's funneral. Ned mentions a promise... to return Lyanna to winterfell to rest. He goes to Ashara Dayne's home to return Dawn to her family. After swooning for her at Harrenhal Tourney, he stays awhile... He leaves eventually with a child. Returns home and forbids Catlyn from asking about his origins noting that Jon is his blood... and mentioning a promise to raise him as a Stark. Given his infatuation with Dayne at Harrenhal there's a logical argument Jon is hers and would be shamed because he can't marry her, he's already married to Catelyn. So he takes Jon with him to spare her the shame of a bastard and assumes responsibility fully. Plenty of suggestibility (more so for R+L=J) but nothing concrete and certainly not anymore than the book readers know. That said, a RR season is likely a pipe dream, despite it's potential to be an amazing season.
