Game of Thrones (HBO) for those who have read Game of Thrones, etc

Yes, this happened to me in when I read GoT the first time. When Ned was killed I knew all bets were off about who would live or die, and that this was a different kind of fantasy series. Others I’ve spoken to about this exact same thing have expressed the same reaction.

So let me throw this question out there to everyone…

What aspects/plotlines of the SOIAF novels do you expect to be dropped or modified for the HBO series?

Who is playing her?

PS - HBO’s new all-flash website is horrid.

Game of Thrones - Ned Dead Redemption

With Martin heavily involved with the project and the obvious love and respect the show creators have for the source material, I don’t think there will be any huge deviations from the books in terms of plot and characters. We’ll see the usual stuff that happens when books are adapted to film, there will be some timeline condensing, some events that happen in slightly different locations (to save on the number of sets needed) and some minor characters who end up being amalgamations of multiple characters from the books. None of that is going to change the way the story plays out, so it’s all fine with me.

There really is no way that you could bring Song of Ice and Fire to the screen, big or small, word-for-word and character-for-character without spending far more than you could ever make back. I’m looking for them to keep true to the main characters, the main storyline and many of the important sub-plots. If they deviate somewhat on minor plot points here and there or introduce new or mixed together characters for the sake of brevity and focus I’m not going to cry foul.

Well for me the first novel starts out simply enough; it’s what they do AFTER season one (assuming one season = one book) that will be boggling. Winterfell naturally, exposition of the Starks, Jon taking the black, Caetlyn not losing any sleep over it, then the journey with the king back to King’s Landing which will be the main setting for the remainder of the season. Cuts frequently to the Dany storyline on another continent. I’m struggling trying to remember where book one ends however. I wonder if they’ll even hint at the Reed children (green sight), the fostered Greyjoy teen and some of the byplay from other Houses like the Lannisters or the Tullys or any of the Southron

I think what I’m most looking forward to in the HBO production is when Arya meets Syrio and everything with him after that.

Anything involving characters introduced int he most recent book is kind of up in the air. Are the Iron Islands characters really that important to the overall plot? What about the Dournish?

They all seems fairly secondary to me, but only GRRM knows for sure.

Almost forgot… The Wall. Looking forward to see how those scenes come out.

Oh yeah. Umm.

Well, some people don’t want to know how an episode goes, despite the fact that they may already know the plot. They want to experience it for themself, then talk about it. I know, weak.

— Alan

I’ve been wondering about this. Are all bets really off just because Ned died? Yes, Ned seemed like a main character, the sort who goes through life with an author shield in any other fantasy series – but it turns out we were mistaken on that. Martin exploits our assumptions, and misdirects us into thinking that Ned’s the hero. Now there’s no question he’s absolutely ruthless it killing of minor characters. But I think main characters are still secure, and after 4 books it’s a lot more clear who the real heroes are. So let me ask you: do you really think Jon, Arya, or Dany are going to die? I feel like they’ve got shields.

(This could be revisionist history, since I’m sure Cat felt more like a main character before she got got.)

I thought for sure that a certain son was completely safe, but GRRM showed me I was wrong.

Shae is played by Sibel Kekilli. Apparently a great actress who also dabbled in amateur porn previously. Sounds like good casting!

She’s won the German equivalent of the Best Actress Oscar twice.

And, yeah, she did porn in her early years, which pretty much caused her Turkish parents to disown her.

Yeah, Martin has killed off major characters with some regularity. Although I imagine the Big Three are safe (Dany, Jon, Tyrion), I don’t know. That’s what’s great about the books. Rhaegar already had the experience of believing he was the chosen one and then suddenly eating a gigantic warhammer. Others could follow!

Any speculation about Ned living is just crazy-talk. I assume what Martin is doing there is preserving the surprise. You can even hear the bit of hesitation in his voice as he says it, which may have been a deliberate wink to readers of the book. But for those who don’t know what happens, maintaining their expectations is crucial to people really appreciating the book (or series). Whenever I loan my AGoT to someone, I keep absolutely quiet about what happens to Ned, and if they’re partway through and want to talk to me about how great Ned is as a character or whatever, I play right along. “Yeah, he’s terrific. Definitely one of my favorite characters” (which is true, anyway). One of my friends was like, “Boy these Lannisters sure are stupid breaking his leg and all that. They’re going to get what’s coming to them,” and I was like “Yeah, there’s definitely some fallout from that. Keep reading.”

You can tell who the main characters are because they get maimed. Tyrion took an axe to the face, Jaime lost his hand, Arya went blind, Jon got his face shredded by a were-eagle, Bran is a paraplegic, etc.

The fact that Dany hasn’t been maimed leads me to believe she’s going to die really soon.

Or at the very least be gang-raped. By her dragons.

RIPSNORTED!

You miss the whole rendered barren scenario when she tried to save her hubby?

Rob and Ned dying didn’t seem likely because we thought we knew what their stories were supposed to be. It turned out the we were wrong and Martin had a different story to tell.

However I can’t see Dany dying anytime soon simply because I can’t imagine what story he could possibly make out of that. Her dying now seems like it would make her entire plot-line a waste of time. Jon seems a little hard to kill off for the same reasons but not immune. Arya could easily die in some tragic finale (i.e. give her character a role in one of the larger plots and then kill her off after she plays it out). The same could happen for Tyrion who could be sacrificed in some way suitable to his character. Imagine him, for example, dying to save Jaime in a heroic fashion and, in so doing, instilling Jaime with a purpose towards some end goal of the books (not claiming that’s likely, just that it’s plausible).

Rob and Ned were lucky. They were both Starks and both lost their heads. Consequently, they each got to stay dead.

For the other two Starks who died and DID NOT lose their heads, they got to come back as the Walking, Talking Dead.

Accordingly, if you are a Stark, it’s pretty clear by now that:

Dead = Ok.
Mostly dead = NOT Ok.

I’ve read all the books but can’t remember who is the second stark who comes back undead? I thought Arya was only blinded.