Game of Thrones

[psychic vampire.]

NSFW: show

Yeah, the thing with her was far more bothersome to me than the Cavalry ex Machina, it's just that the show has had all of 4 big battle scenes/episodes, and 3 of them ended more or less the same way, BUT two of those three that ended that way (and the only two of the four that were in the books) ended exactly that way, so it's not the show's fault entirely, i get it.

And when i read spoilers for the battle a few months ago i thought it sounded very disappointing, but then watching it last night was glorious. One of the best historical battle scenes i've watched in recent memory.

[bigchiefbc]

I mean, i don't seek to convince you, i meet plenty of people who prefer the show, or have simply never even read the books. It's fine. I think there are a lot of things that are still very enjoyable about the show, i just am frustrated by the selective ignorance that leads to things like

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characters getting stabbed repeatedly in the guts and jumping into dirty water and being fine to go for a run the next day.

But that is not to say that GRRM doesn't do similar things sometimes in the books. There are plenty of instances of plot armor or just kind of selective ignorance in both mediums. Show is just fresher on my (and many people's) minds bc there hasn't been a new book in half a decade.

I prefer the books, but that's for other reasons. Or these reasons and others.

I've read all of the books, and don't prefer one or the other across the board. I loved the first book, found the second book a bit of a slog, especially Arya's arc. I loved the 3rd book, and then found books 4 and 5 nearly unreadable. Martin can be brilliant at times, and other times gets so far up his own ass that it kills me. I've found that a large percentage of the changes they've made on the show have been improvements, because most of the stuff they've cut out was the stuff I found to be insignificant crap in the books. Especially with eliminating or consolidating similar characters, especially when one of them just gets rubbed out 3 chapters later anyway.

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Examples: Combining Gendry and Edric Storm. Merging Jayne Poole's character into Sansa. Combining Victarion and Euron. Getting rid of Zombie Cat (thank christ). These are the things that Martin should have done if he had a decent editor. The only character missing from the show that I would have liked to see was Strong Belwas. I love what they did to simplify Arya's second season storyline, making her Tywin's servant instead of Weese/Lorch/Bolton, plus more Charles Dance, fuck yes sign me up.

I don't have a problem with people preferring the books, that's fine. But I found so many book guys (especially over at westeros.org) to be so vociferous about the show being absolutely crap, that anyone who enjoys the show is stupid, and that Weiss and Benioff have sullied this sacred text.

[popvulture]

Oh I don't think that the show sucks or anything—not at all. I know that concessions must be made with any adaptation from book to screen, unless the book just happens to be unusually short. Nor do I think GRRM is some amazing writer, rather a sometimes excellent storyteller who admittedly gets way sidetracked by his own imagination.

I think I just get kind of bummed seeing things edited down, because the hugeness and unruliness of the novels are specifically what I like. Sure, there were more than a few points (all of FfC, first half of DwD) that were tough to slog through, but I still admired the vastness of it and the insane attention to detail. Like I said with respect to the show's changes though, that's just adaptation for you—I do, however, hate it when the new season gets too Hollywood.

[psychic vampire.]

I appreciate that you feel that way, Bigchiefbc. It turns out, like popvulture, the hugeness and unruliness of it is also what gets me. It's just so vast and easy to get lost in bullshit minutiae, and i love fictional worlds that offer that.

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Also, some of the things that got edited out i really loved. I think Lady Stoneheart and Aegon VI/fAegon/Young Griff are two of the best surprises or reveals in the whole series. AFfC took me the longest of any of the books, but i think that could be blamed as much on depression as on it being tough. It gives point of view chapters to the Ironborn and makes a left hand turn that was, frankly, necessary after the Red Wedding and Purple Wedding.

The show changes i will gripe the hardest are changing Jeyne Westerling into Talisa Maegyr, since it completely changed Robb's character and the nature of the betrayal of the Red Wedding, and editing out the part where Jaime tells Tyrion that Tysha, his first wife, was in fact not a whore but a regular woman who genuinely loved him, since it changed everything about Tyrion's character arc after escaping from prison. Other than that, there is shit - like the Jaime going off to Dorne to be a one handed action hero - that i think is sorta rubbish, but i'm still sticking with the show.

Really, i love the show for its differences; i get to see characters i love in the fictional world i love in two different stories, how cool is that? I just hate shit like characters getting stabbed a bunch of times and falling into an infection river just to be fine a day later. I hate shit like the logic of "I'm mad you're not avenging your brother who died avenging his murdered family, so i'm going to murder the rest of his family." Because one of the most popular and highly budgeted shows on television can afford to have some better writing that. And, gods forgive us, Bad Pussy. Who the fuck wrote that line? I hate those little HBO moments.

But if i spend less time talking about the things i love, it's just because they're bigger and harder to name. Last night was amazing.

[Strange Tales]

I personally just want to bitch and moan because I consume media and I feel it's my duty to bitch and moan about things that don't actually need it.

I only want a few things from this series:
Jamie and Brienne fuck scene. Like seriously, the sexual tension is snapping me in two here.
Arya riding Nymeria in a massive wolf pack murking some undead.

I'm a simple man who wants simple things.

[psychic vampire.]

Ew, Jaime.

Give me Brienne & Tormund any day. Except, give me Jon and Tormund first.

[goosekevin]

Ew, Jaime.

Give me Brienne & Tormund any day. Except, give me Jon and Tormund first.

spent the whole last few episodes wanting jon and tormund to get it on

i generally like the books a bit better than the tv show but think it does a good job and like the idea of two diverging storylines, i kind of wish they would go further off the rails?

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definitely agree with a lot of things in this thread though i wish the Lady Stoneheart, Strong Belwas and Young Griff storylines were included. Also agreed on the total fucking up of the Jamie/Tyrion storyline. Fucking cool battle scene this week though

[fcknoise]

Just saw the latest episode. That last minute is one of those moments you live for.

[bigchiefbc]

Jesus H Christ

[gnomethrone]

That was quite a body count.

[psychic vampire.]

NSFW: show

That after all that, Cersei wasn't in the room when Tommen suicided, is kind of just ridiculous.

[SPACERITUAL]

viewtopic.php?f=42&t=52973

[Gone Fission]

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Jamie staring at Cersei going "You know, I killed Aerys just for wanting to do what you actually did . . .

So the scoreboard:
Starks: kinda back, with local enemies wiped out, but not smooth sailing ahead.
Tullys: maybe back if Arya lets her uncle out of the Freys' cell.
Arryns of the Vale: on the board but with a weak child for a lord.
Martells of Dorne: hostile takeover, In it for revenge.
Baratheons: even through the lie of Cersei's kids, gone.
Tyrells of High Garden: except for the queen of thorns, the top has been cut off. Revenge is what's left.
Lannisters: alienated the other houses, including their most needed allies. One heir took a vow not to have kid or inherit, the other has a patricide issue that isn't going away without regime change. Oh, and they pissed off all the religious zealots now.
Targaryens: boats, (some) Iron Born, unsullied, a big ass horde, and Dragons. And they do call it "the Narrow Sea."
Winter: coming. With a fucking vengeance.

[Strange Tales]

ARYA'S VENGEANCE QUEST.

VEANGEANCEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE QUESTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

[pigmaker]

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Targaryens: boats, (some) Iron Born, unsullied, a big ass horde, and Dragons. And they do call it "the Narrow Sea."
Winter: coming. With a fucking vengeance.

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as far as the narrow sea goes, seems like they've already crossed it and picked up Varys in Dorne.

When I saw Cersei & Qyburn standing over Tommen, my first thought was that they were going to Pet Semetary him