I’m sure that’s great for people that exclusively watch the series and aren’t reading the books, but having read Clash of Kings and just begun the third book, while following the series, I can attest to the fact that the plots have already diverged somewhat.
What the fuck just happened?
This episode was a major departure from the books on many levels, but the bit at the end was simply mind blowing.
Yeah I really wish they’d just stick to the books.
I’m hoping that tower the dragon thief was heading toward is related to the warlocks during the next episode. But, yeah, I told the wife literally every scene in this episode was a departure from the books. Kind of hard for a Faceless Man to live up to his org’s standards of making the deaths seem natural when the victim topples forward with a dart in his neck.
That ending was beyond lame. Purloining the Dragon is the new Jumping the Shark!
Wow, some pretty major departures.
So, let’s see what works -
Arya’s story is still on track . . . A bit off, but on track.
King’s Landing and the Tyrells/Lannisters/Baelish - on track . . .
Winterfell . . . on track . . .
But holy cow, Qarth and Jon Snow . . . wonder how this will play out
They’re trying to pump up Dany’s somewhat slow time from book 2. Wouldn’t surprise me if they skip the House of the Undying scene (arguably the most important few pages in all of book 2) in lieu of Jorah going Uncharted to get the dragons back.
The end has to do with the fact that Dany only has like three chapters in A Clash of Kings. She’s on the sidelines until Book 3, where she really starts to kick ass and take names. The problem is that they needed something a bit more for the TV series for her to do. Hence the Amber Alert ending.
Man, I’m so bummed they left out the “Brotherfucker” chant. God, that would have been awesome, and even better having everyone at work tomorrow chanting Brotherfucker.
Jag
3869
I figured it was the Warlocks tower.
A man was in a rush.
I think the Joffery-getting-slapped Youtube montage is gonna need a new edition!
It’s more than likely the Warlocks tower… maybe it makes her go there, goes through the visions, suddenly gets them back, it’s burned down, etc.
I did like the part about Loach, and the look on Jaqen’s face is hilarious.
— Alan
Going back to my ‘GRRM with an editor’ approach towards the series.
I’m beginning to think the Westerlings have been cut entirely.
As have the Tullys, including the Blackfish.
And the Brotherhood.
These cuts I can live with, although I’m not sure how they will bring the story back around to Stoneheart . . . . maybe Stoneheart is cut, as well?
Agreed - and I’m not really worried wtih the changes there - who really cares about what happens in Qarth?
It also appears that Daenerys lost almost all of her Khal . . . which doesn’t matter , they were all redshirts anyways.
Heheheheh.
I can’t wrap my head around the changes for Jon.
Does his motivation shift from a direct order from Halfhand, reluctantly followed . . . to Jon being simply another Theon, following where ever his c__k leads him?
If they continue with that as Jon Snow’s motivation . . . it is a ‘Han shot first’ level change to me.
It’s going to be weird the next time I watch a Harry Potter movie with Tonks in it.
Especially now since you’ve seen her Hairy P!
Maybe I missed something but I’m not worried yet. A lot depends on what happens next, it seems pretty easy to fall back in line with the book here and with them having spent the night together it gives validity to Ygrettes cover for Jon later when she vouches for him.
The Jon stuff doesn’t worry me overly much as of yet. It would be easily, as forgeforsaken points out, for them to simply use the time spent together as the reasoning for Ygritte to vouch for Jon later on. They can simply have Jon rediscover the Rangers, decide to let Ygritte go before rejoining them, then have the whole scene with Rattleshirt play out just as it did in the books shortly thereafter.
The stuff with Robb worries me somewhat more. Are they really going to cut the Westerlings entirely and have Robb fall for a glorified camp follower? It totally screws with the motivations of several characters later on, and makes Robb look kind of ridiculous. I suppose it doesn’t matter as long as it all leads to the Red Wedding anyway, but why change this when the original material would have worked just as well?
King’s Landing changes have been minor so far, as have Harrenhall. Both are palatable, though I’m disappointed so much was omitted form the riot scene and that Ser Amory was a Jaqen victim rather than given to the bear as in the books. I did laugh out loud though when he opened that door only to look mildly surprised and fall face first into Tywin’s chambers. A man does entertain. I will miss Jaqen after the next episode or whenever the Harrenhall story is done. I hope they leave in the part where he says goodbye to Arya and changes faces in front of her, that should be pretty cool.
What to say about Quarth. Holy shit. I guess in the grand sceme of things it doesn’t matter, as long as the Palace of the Undying ends up destoyed and Dany’s reputation cemented. I suppose theft of the dragons is as good a reason as desire for magical assistance to go pay the Warlocks a visit, and in the end I suspect the dragons will still have their day and Jorah will rescue Dany from the flames as the Undying prove unworthy of their title. Still, having most of the Dothraki slain, including yet another of her Bloodguard (seems only one is left now) was kind fo excessive. I wonder if they are trying to pare down Dany’s retinue so that when she starts travelling all over the place they only have a half dozen people to show.
I’m not totally horrified or disgusted yet as a reader, but I am really curious to see how all the changes play out.
Also, no Jojen and Meera, I am disappoint.
Watching Tyrion lay the smack down of Joffery never gets old.
Teiman
3878
All I can think of is …
What is double weird, is that I have read the books, but I don’t remember much.
We’ll see . . . I had not considered this possibility.
Too many characters no one will ultimately care at all about, maybe - they did need to focus some more story on Robb and the romance and not have it occur entirely off camera. I don’t see a huge difference between a minor lady and a major camp follower . . . given the Stark honor regarding deflowering women.
We ride tonight. Ghost horses.
The change to Robb’s story didn’t surprise me the moment I saw Florence Nightingale for the first time. The real change is that the show has made Robb a “POV character” of a sort he wasn’t in the books - so what to do with him and his “destroys self with romance” plotline? Sure they could’ve adapted what happened in the book, but the book’s pointed-hatted maiden-in-tower stuff may have seemed a bit fusty for HBO, quite apart from being back-loaded in terms of the campaign chronology.
