Author Topic: A Game of Thrones (HBO)  (Read 249397 times)

Offline Nicklab

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Re: A Game of Thrones (HBO)
« Reply #120 on: April 19, 2012, 08:48 PM »
What I took from this story was that Cersei killed her son in the same way she killed John Arryn.

Correct on the first part, but not on the second.  I won't say any more than that because the books and eventually the series will reveal that. That being said, it seems clear that John Arryn had been on the verge of informing King Robert of the true parentage of  Joffrey, Myrcella and Tommen.
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Offline Tracy

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Re: A Game of Thrones (HBO)
« Reply #121 on: April 20, 2012, 08:04 AM »
What I took from this story was that Cersei killed her son in the same way she killed John Arryn.

Correct on the first part, but not on the second.  I won't say any more than that because the books and eventually the series will reveal that. That being said, it seems clear that John Arryn had been on the verge of informing King Robert of the true parentage of  Joffrey, Myrcella and Tommen.

I assumed because they both died of a fever she must have used the same poison on both of them - because her son was King Robert's and because John Arryn was about to reveal her secret.  Thanks for not spoiling it = appreciate it!
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Offline Nicklab

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Re: A Game of Thrones (HBO)
« Reply #122 on: April 23, 2012, 09:41 PM »
It's been said in the series that poison is indeed a woman's weapon.  The books have expanded on the John Arryn storyline a bit.  I suspect that the show may revisit that in season 4.  I'm in the midst of reading the 1st book - I skipped it but read the rest of series.  and that might go into the story of Cersei's first child with King Robert.

As for last night's episode?  Where to start?

Robb's attack on the Lannister camp is something I seem to recall from book 2.  However the Volantene woman was an interesting addition.  It was also cool to see Roose Bolton introduced.

I had to do something a double-take with the Harrenhal sequence.  That's due in large part to the recasting of Ser Gregor Clegane.  I was watching Spartacus - Vengeance on Starz a few weeks back and remarking to myself "Hey, isn't that the same guy who played The Mountain on Game of Thrones?"  Sure enough it was.  And from what I've read online the role of Ser Gregor was recast because of a scheduling conflict with Conan Stevens who played the part in Season 1.  The new actor is apparently 7' 1", but he didn't seem anywhere near as brutal.

As for the rest of Harrenhal?  They definitely nailed it as a very eerie place.  And I started to recognize some of the people who wind up in Arya's prayer.  The Tickler came across as very obvious.

As for the Stannis/Renly storyline?  It seems as though the show has done some story consolidation there.  Especially the parts with Davos and Melisandre.
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Offline Nicklab

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Re: A Game of Thrones (HBO)
« Reply #123 on: April 28, 2012, 06:04 PM »
Season 3 confirmed!  :D

http://grrm.livejournal.com/276653.html

I finally got around to reading this.  Of course the news that Game of Thrones has been picked up for a third season is fantastic news.  You certainly had to expect it since the viewer numbers have gone up significantly from the first season.  But this sentence from George R.R. Martin was great to read:

Quote
Like the first two seasons, it will be ten episodes long. This one will cover (roughly) the first half or thereabouts of A STORM OF SWORDS, the third novel in the series.

It looks like HBO is taking the long view on the series.  And splitting up the television series like this will definitely give George R.R. Martin some time to catch up writing book 6 & book 7.

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Offline name

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Re: A Game of Thrones (HBO)
« Reply #124 on: April 30, 2012, 07:37 AM »
So apparently we won't be meeting the Reed siblings on screen.
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Offline BillCable

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Re: A Game of Thrones (HBO)
« Reply #125 on: April 30, 2012, 09:04 AM »
Why do you say that?  I forget how they were introduced, but I don't see why they wouldn't pop up at some point.  They're pretty critical to that particular arc.
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Offline name

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Re: A Game of Thrones (HBO)
« Reply #126 on: April 30, 2012, 11:57 AM »
Jojen Reed is who had the green dream about the sea coming to Winterfell...last night it was Bran. The Reeds are also who taught Bran about green dreams in the first place - a role that Osha seems to filling on HBO.

As far as exposition about Bran's abilities go, the Reeds are now obsolete.  I haven't read Storm of Swords yet though, so maybe they become more than just a green dream device.
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Offline Nicklab

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Re: A Game of Thrones (HBO)
« Reply #127 on: April 30, 2012, 06:41 PM »
The Reed children would have to turn up in the next few episodes if they're going to be a part of the series.  And considering their part in Bran's journey you would think they would get introduced.  And then there's the matter of how their story may eventually link up with Howland Reed.  His story may be interwoven with the a key story from Robert's rebellion.
« Last Edit: April 30, 2012, 06:41 PM by Nicklab »
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Offline Nicklab

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Re: A Game of Thrones (HBO)
« Reply #128 on: May 1, 2012, 05:21 PM »
I did a little refresher reading, and it seems that Meera & Jojen Reed could still come into play very soon.  Their presence at Winterfell in this week's episode may not make sense, since the storyline of the raiding Ironmen is only just beginning.  It was those raids that prompted Howland Reed to send Meera & Jojen away.  And Theon and Yara's ships were only just departing from Pyke in this latest episode.
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Offline Nicklab

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Re: A Game of Thrones (HBO)
« Reply #129 on: May 25, 2012, 12:16 PM »
Check out this Rolling Stone article.  They've detailed some of the more significant ways that the second season of the HBO show has diverged from the second novel in the series, A Clash of Kings.
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Offline name

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Re: A Game of Thrones (HBO)
« Reply #130 on: May 25, 2012, 03:17 PM »
Good stuff...some of that changes have made perfect sense to me and some had me scratching my head and going back to the book to see if I wasn't remembering things right. 

The stealing of the dragons makes sense to me from a plot perspective....Dany will need a motivation to get to the House of the Udying, and at the pace they're going it needs to be something more urgent than the books presented.

This weekend - the Battle of the Blackwater!!!
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Offline Scott

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Re: A Game of Thrones (HBO)
« Reply #131 on: May 28, 2012, 10:39 PM »
Sunday was the first time I was a little disappointed that this was on TV and not some sort of movie...the battle scenes while alright were nowhere near what Peter Jackson had done with Helm's Deep and Minas Tirith.  It was almost laughable to see the amount of soldiers attacking the city...the other thing I've had a little bit of a hard time with is that it has been almost 7 years since I read the book so I can't remember what is supposed to happen and what they changed from the book.  Stannis didn't lead the charge up the walls did he?

Offline Nicklab

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Re: A Game of Thrones (HBO)
« Reply #132 on: May 29, 2012, 07:19 AM »
I had mixed feelings about the Battle of the Blackwater.  I do think that having this episode focus solely on the battle was the right thing to do.  It's the climax of A Clash of Kings.  However, I also understand the compromises that had to be made in order to translate this for the screen.  Budget has been a significant consideration for the series, and this was no doubt the most expensive episode of the series to produce.

The show definitely changed some significant things:  no catapults shown or mentioned.  No chain across the Blackwater.  No barges to make a bridge from one bank to the other. 

There were definitely some liberties taken with Stannis.  In the book Stannis was across the Blackwater from Kings Landing, waiting with the bulk of the forces.  Ser Davos was on one ship, and two of his sons each commanded a ship.  The change of Stannis leading the assault on the walls was not in the book.  And the show put Davos and Matthos on one ship, and the other son never came to light.

But I think some key things made it in.  Notably, the Hound's story.  I think that Rory McCann has done great work as the Hound.  And Sansa has come into her own in a big way.  Oh, and what about Tyrion?  Peter Dinklage has been doing an amazing job bringing this character to the screen.  And when he was wounded in the battle?  It was fantastic to see Podrick come to his aid.

Oh, and the wildfire explosion?  That was a lot more spectacular than I had imagined it!
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Offline BillCable

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Re: A Game of Thrones (HBO)
« Reply #133 on: May 29, 2012, 08:42 AM »
You can't expect an HBO series to match Helm's Deep.  That's just an impossible standard.  We're talking $100+ million for 2 hours v/s < $5 million for 1 hour.

I thought the episode was awesome.  Very thrilling.  Surprisingly gory.  Great character moments.  Drunk Cersei is a trip.  The wildfire explosion was stunning.

Stanis taking the wall was a bit of a head-scratcher.  Good to see him leading the charge as a contrast to Joffrey.  But now we gotta wonder how he got away.  I'm guessing that's something they'll ignore, but it's not easy scaling back down the wall after your forces are in shambles.
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Offline Scott

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Re: A Game of Thrones (HBO)
« Reply #134 on: May 29, 2012, 09:28 AM »
You can't expect an HBO series to match Helm's Deep.  That's just an impossible standard.  We're talking $100+ million for 2 hours v/s < $5 million for 1 hour.
I know you can't, which was my point, the precedent was already set and it was so far from what was in LOTR that again, it was almost laughable.  There is no way GoT could ever be a movie and the TV route is more than acceptable