Spoiler Overall, slow but understandable they have to make sure everyone is caught up and introduce all the storylines. A couple of scenes I take issue with: Littlefinger/Cersei: I don't recall Littlefinger ever being so blatantly confrontational to someone who could have his head. Definitely not in character. Joffrey/Cersei: Little shit that he is, I still don't see Joffrey speaking to Cersei that way. MAYBE behind her back, but to her face? No way. It's been a while since I've read the books, but as I remember it those scenes really failed to do their characters justice. Also, despite Melisandre being gorgeous (especially in episode 2, I hope we see more of her naked), the scene with the Maester was a bit off. In the book, she kind of hints at him that his little murder-suicide plan isn't the best idea and gives him a chance to back off. Here, she's portrayed as simply waiting for him to die. Moreover, the poison used was the Strangler...as in, it asphyxiates you. It doesn't makes you pour blood from your mouth like a damn faucet. I understand this is a TV show, and they need to simplify/dramatize a few things for the sake of a wider audience than just the people who have read all the books and nerdily discuss them on internet boards, but come on. The pacing is better, there were some cool scenes (Meli nude, Robb facing Jaime down ((which IIRC was Catelyn in the books), and seeing Joffrey get slapped again) but overall I'm not all that impressed yet.
Joffrey was absolutely played correctly vs Cersei. Once he became king, she lost all control of him. That was kind of a theme in book 2, from what I remember.
Haven't read the books, just watching the show one week at a time. Can someone clarify for me why there is an expedition north of the wall? Are they looking for the zombies? Who were those not quite human guys with the glowing blue eyes from season one? The zombie we saw last season didn't look quite the same as the blue eyed monsters that killed those guys in the beginning of the show...
Repped you some of the answer but I'll just post. I read book 2 like a year ago but I'm pretty sure they went to question wildlings, learn more about the white walkers and find Benjen Stark who went missing early season 1 (when his horse returned but he was nowhere to be found). The White Walkers are those blue eyed fuckers that killed those rangers in the beginning of season 1 episode 1. From what you can gather from season 1, they can reanimate the dead and control them (when they acted dead then came alive and attacked Jon at night). Additionally, that explains why all of those corpses the ranger found during the pilot mysteriously all disappeared, and the reason he saw the little girl corpse staring at him with those big blue eyes.
I haven't read the books either, but this is what I've taken away from it: the "monsters" are the White Walkers, which apparently just caused all sorts of bullshit before they were sent behind the wall. A lot of people think they were either legends or have all been killed, which is apparently not the case. They can raise the dead, which is what you saw on two different occasions last season: the dead girl with the blue eyes near the beginning and the guy that got set on fire in the house later on. I actually just got the books and plan to start reading them very soon, so I have a bit more of an idea of what's going on. Edit: Apparently I was one minute too slow in answering.
The White Walkers are the creatures with the blue eyes (from the first scene of the show in Season 1) who haven't been around in thousands of years and people believe to be ancient myths. Not much is known about them, but they are obviously the scariest and most powerful things around. The zombie-like creatures are called wights. When something is killed by a White Walker, it becomes a wight. Jon Snow is attacked by one in Season 1 and kills it with the help of Ghost, his direwolf. The rangers are going outside of the wall to check on the generals happenings, but also on the wildlings (as per their conversation with Craster in the last episode). The wildlings are just humans that live north of the wall and aren't part of any kingdom. There will be more information soon/eventually; this should all be non-spoiling info for those who haven't read the books though.
Ill say this. I'm still not convinced the woman that plays Cersi isn't a terrible actress that was cast perfectly because she just looks like a raging bitch. I don't know if I want even try to watch The Sarah Conner Chronicles. I also am not cool so far with this New Age looking woman from Dragonstone. Reminds me to much of new age hippies preaching about the healing power of crystals.
Spoiler This episode blew the first away. The last scene with John seeing the white walker fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck. -I mean there are ten million characters, fifty five kings, and some random mythical animals to keep track of. But damn I want to see more of this new black pirate. Fucking dude seems cool as hell. -Redheaded witchy woman? Hot naked. Still reminds me too much of Stevie Nicks. -Theon finger blasting his sister. Dude might be the biggest lecher in the history of TV. Totally Tony Hawkward scene beginning to end. His dad was cool too. Grizzled bastard. -I think Tyrion's line about the beauty of the wall was his best line of the episode. -I like where Ayra's story is going well too. I know the title of the second book is Clash of Kings but good lord, I do wonder how vast you can make a book/show without some fucking burnout. 85 stories, 15 different kings plotting to battle, super natural necromancers, a bitch with dragons, Stevie Nicks. Something's got to give. Anyway if you respond to this post DO NOT POST about anything from the the second book or the rest of the books. Only the TV series and the first book.
Spoilers through ep 2: Spoiler I really don't think it's that bad. Admittedly I've read the books, but I don't think the geopolitical situation is that complicated. If you view it as the 8 principal regions Westeros: The North: Ruled by Robb Stark The Riverlands: Allied with Robb The Vale of Arryn: Sitting out The West: Seat of the Lannisters The Stormlands: Held by Renly The Reach: Allied with Renly Dorne: Sitting out Iron Islands: On their own The only real "complexities" are that Stannis has very weak holdings in Dragstone, and needs his family's seat at Storm's End and the soldiers of the Stormlands to really press his claim, and that means taking them from his brother Renly. Also the jockeying between Cersei and Tyrion for control of the Lannister administration (Tywin obviously holding down the military for the time being). Everything else is pretty straightforward "this region vs that region."
I have a non-reader question: This series is done so that each season represents each book. There are seven books in the series, and Martin has writen five of them. From the looks of it, he probably won't be finished the final one for almost two decades. Are they just going to simply "Stop" the series after season five and leave it utterly incomplete? I mean, there's no chance in hell that we'll see both book finished, much less even one by the time the fifth season of the show ends.
HBO is going to be on his ass about finishing the books before the train that is the series comes barreling down.
I recall reading an article last year, I think an interview with GRRM but not sure, that said HBO would just continue the series on its own if the author couldn't keep up. I really hope they don't make books 4 and 5 into 3 seasons. There is so much material in them that should be cut to make good television that dragging them out that long would be mind numbing. It would be a weird reversal of what usually happens with adaptations from novels.
Well Ive read the first book and watched the first season twice. Keeping up with the underlying story is easier now. But, still it depends on how long they can keep up the track record of making almost every single character compelling and having them perfectly cast to boot (which helps keep it compelling). In all of the HBO watching Ive done only Deadwood has been able to keep compelling stories and characters going for an extended period of time, they also had an almost perfect record for casting in my book. Still by the third season there were cracks showing in how far they were spreading the story. Spoiler I'd have to rewatch the second episode but it is now probably one of my series favorite so far. Little Fingers scene with the whore, was amazing. Cersi and Tyrion's whole scene was among the best of the series in my mind. Almost as strong as her scene with the King talking about Ned's dead sister that wasn't in the book. Also, I don't know about the rest of the books (again please be careful here) but having just read book one, Theon was almost a side note in the book. They gave him much more meat in the first season then he got in the book.
Spoiler I think that's largely a function of him only being seen from Catelyn's perspective, and a little from Bran's perspective. It's Robb that he's important to, and has the bond with, and with the series showing Robb (as opposed to the books in which he is observed through his mother's eyes) you get more of a sense of Theon.
For those that don't know, I'm just reading the Wikipedia description of episode 2 and it looks like they definitely are tossing in some differences from the book. Nothing major, just a few shotcuts and things that could have gone either way like Renly being overtly gay in the show as to just lightly implied in the book. Not sure if this was mentioned already Sibel Kekilli who plays Shae was a Turkish porn actress and her material can be easily found. And just to be a nerd douchebag book reader (I never get to do this) I think it is actually Wight Walkers, since they're wights.
I thought Renly was outed last season when that fairy Squire of the king shaved his chest and then sucked his cock? Anyway thanks for the heads up on the porn. I guess she had a rhinoplasty as she had a schnozzola in the videos I have found, wikipedia confirmed this. I also believe it is White Walker, as they are their own species who can reanimate dead people, not actual reanimated dead people, which are the wights.
Wights are the "White Walkers", The Others are something entirely different who control the Wights, just got to that part in book 3, and its crazy fucking shit I might add. I'm just happy "white" is referring to something evil for once, muahahaha. Yeah, definitely had the snoz worked on. Sibel also had a ridiculous tramp stamp she must have had removed or is covered up on the show.
Aren't White Walkers both the wights and The Others in the show? I know they use both names in the books but I assumed they just call them all White Walkers on the show because Others would end up sounding like LOST.
That wasn't the King's squire. The King's squire is Lancel Lannister (who is later seen boning the queen, cause that chick just digs her some incest). Renly's lover is Ser Loras Tyrell, who was the knight who unhorsed Gregor Clegane in the joust. We haven't seen him much in the series yet, but in the book he's established as having legitimate fighting street cred.
I have watched every episode and I like the series, my question is should I get the books and give them a shot? I like to read but I don't read this type of fiction, just looked on Amazon and for $21 for the first 4 books in paperback I will most likely end up ordering them.