Anybody enjoying Game of Thrones? (HBO TV series)

[Alexander the Pretty Good]

If GRRM is satisfied I think makeup will take care of the rest.

[TinCow]

Surely I can't have been the only one thinking someone more like actress Dot Jones; http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0427963/
6'3", 15 time world arm wrestling champion.

That woman looks like a waif, and only 'ugly' in Hollywood.

CR

She's not a small girl.

[Hooahguy]

Wow, what long legs she has.

[Crazed Rabbit]

She's not a small girl.

In my defense, that was before I had any other info than that picture. It does seem like she's right for the role;
(This is a music video of a bad song notable only because it has the actress in it)


CR

[Tratorix]

Now I'm hoping for a Brienne and Tyrion scene, just to see them try and get her and Peter Dinklage in the same shot.

[Hooahguy]

CR

Wow that is bad.

[Centurion1]

that was so bad i couldnt even watch it. the music video was stupid too

[The Stranger]

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

i hate catelyn even more now she is a zombie

[johnhughthom]

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i hate catelyn even more now she is a zombie

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I'm very curious as to where he is going with that one, I see an epic meeting with one of the kids she thought was dead, probably Rickon, in the future.

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Loving ADWD so far, I'm sure nobody was too upset with the first character killed off!

[GeneralHankerchief]

I finished up ADWD last night. Loved it.

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Also, I'm pretty sure GRRM just set a record for "most cliffhangers to end a series installment with".

[Hooahguy]

A Song of Ice and Lego

[johnhughthom]

I finished up ADWD last night. Loved it.

I'm nearly there. Best yet. Only another 5 or 6 years until the next one then...

[Hooahguy]

People really think ADWD is the best one yet? Wow, Ill need to pick it up soon.
That is, once I finish AFFC...

[econ21]

Just finished the second book - it seemed rather slow going at first, so I was reading only a chapter a day (and the chapters are many and short). But towards the end, it had really heated up, so I devoured the last third in an afternoon. I won't give any spoilers outside of the tags, but I was curious who would replace Ned as the heart of the story - at least in the TV series, he was the focal point for me. In the second book, it was Tyrion who became the central figure imo, which was a rather uncomfortable switch given his opposed allegiances to Ned's. However, he is a very well written character and Peter Dinklage probably has imbued him with even more charm (the Tyrion in the book is supposed to be ugly, whereas Dinklage is rather sweet).

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Tyrion in the second book also occupies a similar geographic and functional position as Ned in the first book - a besieged King's Hand in the capitol of the Kingdom.

[johnhughthom]

I've never really understood the need for a central character, and I never saw Ned Stark as central to the first book anyway. To me he was just somebody caught up in a world he helped create, but didn't understand. Finding out more about Tyrion was what kept me reading A Game of Thrones, without him I probably wouldn't have bothered reading the second book, never mind the entire series.

[Centurion1]

It surprises me as well with the uproar about ned stark dying. His importance to the story is minimal at best.

Been reading ADWD one day and 200 pages read.

[TinCow]

I finished up ADWD last night. Loved it.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Also, I'm pretty sure GRRM just set a record for "most cliffhangers to end a series installment with".

Do not read unless you have finished the book! You've been warned!

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Overall, the book was superb. It really moved the plot, particularly in the North where things advanced at blazing speed. Also, it's great to have Tyrion back for for the first time in, what, 8 years? A few major complaints though:

1) I actually got a bit annoyed with the number of cliffhangers he gave, as pretty much all of them strike me as fake. First we had the fake deaths of Tyrion, Davos, Asha, and Danaerys in the middle of the book (did anyone believe any of those?), and at the end he tosses in John Snow and Stannis. After four fake-out deaths in the middle of the book, I don't think the two at the end are remotely believable. Stannis is alive and it's just a fake-out by Bolton who's already lost Winterfell, while John actually is 'dead' but there's conveniently a Red Priest about 5 feet away from him and we've seen a certain Red Priest be rather handy with fixing dead people many times before. All of these 'cliffhangers' seemed a lot more contrived to me, specifically designed to shock and not really relevant to the actual storyline which will continue on as if they never happened.

2) Dany's plotline bored me to death. It pretty much never went anywhere and while her decisions may be 'realistic' under the circumstances, they don't advance the plot at all and they're just plain dull. It also seemed incredibly out of character for her to suddenly be so afraid of the dragons and essentially abandon them. Where did that come from? She was totally badass in book 3, then suddenly she loses her spine over a few charred bones? Please... the girl's personally responsible the the deaths of what, tens of thousands of people? Her spinelessness seems misplaced.

3) I don't understand the point of the random new Targaryean guy. Why does he even exist? It completely erases the 'Dany is the last Targaryean in the world' thing and pretty much re-writes what was one of the basic premises on which the original story was based. What purpose can that guy possibly serve in the story that Dany doesn't already serve? At the rate Martin is bringing dead people back to life, he'll soon erase his giant body count. Killing off minor characters like Kevan and Pycelle doesn't make up for it.

[johnhughthom]

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I think one of Stannis and Jon will stay dead, like you say the fake deaths thing is getting old and GRR has to know it. You could also ask if the Dornishmen were really necessary, it seems like they were just there to release the dragons.

[GeneralHankerchief]

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Overall, the book was superb. It really moved the plot, particularly in the North where things advanced at blazing speed. Also, it's great to have Tyrion back for for the first time in, what, 8 years? A few major complaints though:

1) I actually got a bit annoyed with the number of cliffhangers he gave, as pretty much all of them strike me as fake. First we had the fake deaths of Tyrion, Davos, Asha, and Danaerys in the middle of the book (did anyone believe any of those?), and at the end he tosses in John Snow and Stannis. After four fake-out deaths in the middle of the book, I don't think the two at the end are remotely believable. Stannis is alive and it's just a fake-out by Bolton who's already lost Winterfell, while John actually is 'dead' but there's conveniently a Red Priest about 5 feet away from him and we've seen a certain Red Priest be rather handy with fixing dead people many times before. All of these 'cliffhangers' seemed a lot more contrived to me, specifically designed to shock and not really relevant to the actual storyline which will continue on as if they never happened.

2) Dany's plotline bored me to death. It pretty much never went anywhere and while her decisions may be 'realistic' under the circumstances, they don't advance the plot at all and they're just plain dull. It also seemed incredibly out of character for her to suddenly be so afraid of the dragons and essentially abandon them. Where did that come from? She was totally badass in book 3, then suddenly she loses her spine over a few charred bones? Please... the girl's personally responsible the the deaths of what, tens of thousands of people? Her spinelessness seems misplaced.

3) I don't understand the point of the random new Targaryean guy. Why does he even exist? It completely erases the 'Dany is the last Targaryean in the world' thing and pretty much re-writes what was one of the basic premises on which the original story was based. What purpose can that guy possibly serve in the story that Dany doesn't already serve? At the rate Martin is bringing dead people back to life, he'll soon erase his giant body count. Killing off minor characters like Kevan and Pycelle doesn't make up for it.

ADWD spoilers in my answer:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

1) Agreed with you about the North, and that's what I'm most looking forward to with the next installment, mostly because we have no freaking idea of what's going on up there (as opposed to the South and in Essos, where there are also cliffhangers but we can make educated guesses). I share your opinion that Jon isn't "dead", with the practical reasoning of that now, Martin has no viewpoint character at the Wall (Melisandre had one chapter in ADWD, but she doesn't count). Less certain about Stannis, I plan to go back and reread Ramsay's letter to Jon to see what I think of it again.

2) The biggest disappointment for me was that at the start of ADWD, a bunch of characters and a half were making their way to Dany and Meereen. Tyrion, Jorah, Victarion, etc. Now, 1,000 pages later and with the exception of the Dornish Dumbasses... they're still making their way to Dany and Meereen, and Dany isn't even there anymore. Argh. Really wish Tyrion had called out to Barristan during the fighting pits scene.

3) My only complaint about this issue was that Martin pulled Lil' Aegon out of nowhere. All other stunts he's pulled like this have at least been previously hinted upon. I seriously doubt this Targaryen duality is going to last though, mainly because we last see Lil' Aegon saying he's going to lead the charge at Storm's End, aka the single-most impregnable castle in Westeros (there's the Eyrie, but who's counting). I need to go back and reread that whole "prophecy" sequence in Qarth in A Clash of Kings to see if this was foreshadowed at all.

[TinCow]

ADWD spoilers in my answer:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

1) Agreed with you about the North, and that's what I'm most looking forward to with the next installment, mostly because we have no freaking idea of what's going on up there (as opposed to the South and in Essos, where there are also cliffhangers but we can make educated guesses). I share your opinion that Jon isn't "dead", with the practical reasoning of that now, Martin has no viewpoint character at the Wall (Melisandre had one chapter in ADWD, but she doesn't count). Less certain about Stannis, I plan to go back and reread Ramsay's letter to Jon to see what I think of it again.

2) The biggest disappointment for me was that at the start of ADWD, a bunch of characters and a half were making their way to Dany and Meereen. Tyrion, Jorah, Victarion, etc. Now, 1,000 pages later and with the exception of the Dornish Dumbasses... they're still making their way to Dany and Meereen, and Dany isn't even there anymore. Argh. Really wish Tyrion had called out to Barristan during the fighting pits scene.

3) My only complaint about this issue was that Martin pulled Lil' Aegon out of nowhere. All other stunts he's pulled like this have at least been previously hinted upon. I seriously doubt this Targaryen duality is going to last though, mainly because we last see Lil' Aegon saying he's going to lead the charge at Storm's End, aka the single-most impregnable castle in Westeros (there's the Eyrie, but who's counting). I need to go back and reread that whole "prophecy" sequence in Qarth in A Clash of Kings to see if this was foreshadowed at all.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Re: Stannis, I think he's not dead for several reasons.

First, we don't see a death. The death of Stannis would be a major secondary character death, on par with Robert and Renly and Rob. Martin has never made any of those deaths ambiguous. They were deader than a doornail, and you knew it when you read it. We don't get that with Stannis, we just get a letter from the Bastard, who's not exactly known for telling the truth all the time.

Second, when the Iron Bank of Braavos guy shows up, he says that he just came from Winterfell, where he talked with one of the Umbers. Clearly the Braavos guy is a major Stannis-backer at this point, which indicates that the Umbers may switch sides. Plus, we already know that all the White Harbor guys are going to turn on the Boltons. The only traitors available to betray Stannis are the Karstarks, but the Braavos guy already knew about their plans and he showed up in camp and went to talk to Stannis. He definitely told him about that. So, we've got 1 and potentially 2 traitors on the Bolton side and no traitors on the Stannis side. Plus, Stannis isn't even assaulting the walls. Bolton got impatient and sent his guys out after Stannis, which removes the whole defensive advantage of the castle.

Third, if Stannis loses the entire plotline with the runaway Karstark girl is pointless, as the Thenns will get squashed in 5 seconds by Bolton's army. A Bolton victory would also make Theon's very intricate recovery/rehabilitation pointless, since Theon will also be dead.

[tibilicus]

On a certain death that is being discussed:

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No, not Jon, Stannis. I have my doubts over the letter too. It certainly is believable but if we look at the events surrounding the situation in the North it seems a push for it to be plausible, unless GRRM has something planned out.

Firstly, The Braavosi Banker. Now Stannis has the backing of the Iron Bank of Braavos, a wealthy institution which is part of the most powerful free city as stated, what sense would it make to kill him off? Why introduce something that could rapidly turn Stannis' fortunes around only to kill him off screen?

Secondly, Theon and "Arya" are now at his camp. The northern banners bar two are bound to the Boltons because they have the Stark heir captive. What reason do they have to fight for Roose and Ramsey now? I'm pretty certain the Freys don't even have the northern hostages anymore as Jamie commanded them to be released by decree of the king.

Thirdly, the letter itself. Ramsey asks for his bride back and his "reek". He assumes they are at the wall but given the time span how could they possibly be their? It took Stannis and his host weeks to march through the storm, lets hypothesis Stannis did lose and "Arya", Theon and Asha fled before they were recaptured. Why would they even go to the wall? There are numerous more safe places to go. Quite frankly Jon seems stupid for taking the bait. Even if it real, why march? Ramsay's host wouldn't by logic wouldn't even march on the wall. They have no one they can trust to guard Winterfell on their behalf.

Fourth, the wording of the letter. The repeated reiteration of bastard. The language is sharp and provocative, not controlled like you would expect from a man who claims to be in control of so much. Also why is Roose not writing the letter, why is the Warden of the North letting his bastard send out threats? Is Roose even still alive?

Fifth, Manderley. Roose sends him, his troops and then the Freys out to find and fight Stannis. Why would he not just turn on the Freys? He's already eaten some in a pie and we know where his loyalties lie. I cant see him going out to butcher Stannis, at this point the North's best hope of reinstating the Starks.

Finally, Stannis is a renowned military commander, Established as one of the best in Westeros. Even with his rag tag army I find it hard to see him losing. He knows his stuff. Also the Karstark betrayal which I forgot to mention, essentially Bolton's secret weapon should reach Stannis either by the Braavosi banker, Theon or their travelling companions. Kill the Karstarks, take their supplies and his situation is still bad but certainly a lot less bad.

Of course it remains a mystery how Ramsey would know of the "magic sword" and, more importantly Mance, but you can make your own judgments. I personally thing GRRM would have a lot of convincing to do though if we were to believe Stannis perished.

[Centurion1]

hahahaha who else loves wyman manderly now

[Alexander the Pretty Good]

hahahaha who else loves wyman manderly now

Seriously.

Also Alys Karstark. I hope we see more of her - she's got moxie.

[GeneralHankerchief]

hahahaha who else loves wyman manderly now

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Somewhere on the internet there lists a site dedicated to recreating all of the various food that Martin describes over the course of the series. They need to add Frey Pie to that list, STAT.

[johnhughthom]

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I rarely get genuinely emotional reading books, but when Davos reached White Harbour I was livid with Manderly. I had to put it down for ten minutes and tell myself "it's just a book."

I was so relieved when it turned out to be a ruse, I always liked him as a character.

[Centurion1]

just finished..... book lasted me 4 days and now i have to wait for four years............. dammit.

Stunned ill post some more thoughts later.

[Lemur]

Moar casting news for season 2. All of these actors sound perfect for their roles: "Dutch actress Carice van Houten will wear the red robe of Melisandre, a mysterious woman with connections to Stannis Baratheon and who has all of Westeros seeing red. van Houten has appeared in the films Repo Men and Valkyrie. Stannis will be played British actor Stephen Dillane, who played Thomas Jefferson in HBO's acclaimed John Adams. Those of you who've read the books will see that once again the Game of Thrones casting team has done a great job. [...]The role of Davos, the smuggling Onion Knight, has also been cast: Irish actor Liam Cunningham (Camelot) takes the role."

[Hooahguy]

Wow this is exciting, cant wait for next season!

[The Stranger]

hmm carice is a good casting i think. she kinda looks like i imagined melisandre :P

[Centurion1]

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hmmmm, least favorite character? Most southorn knights and lords

What a bunch of stupid *****