You're supposed to hate Cersei, OH and she gets better. Lena Headley is a killer fucking actress. I've been in love with her since 300. Apparently when she auditioning she was the only one that didn't try to bring the wicked witch vibe, and brought a little sarcasm and wit to the character.
Honestly, I'd be surprised if they brought Strong Belwas in. He was a pretty good character in the books, but the show is spread so thin character wise as it is that he would easily get lost in the shuffle. (edit: got beat to it). I thought the books made Selmey out to be more of a badass when he was Arstan Whitebeard, mostly because he refused to use a sword (at least until after he revealed himself to Dany and joined her Queensguard), so he'd just beat guys down with his walking stick. It went a long way to show how Selmy, despite his age, was still one of the best warriors alive. I'm hoping they demonstrate that more with the show. Also, they completely ruined any tinge of surprise that Selmy showed back up by showing him in the "previously on..." scenes. I know all dramas do this, but it spoils the shit out of things. They're saying "Hey, remember this guy! I know he hasn't been around, but you can bet your balls he'll pop back up this episode!" While this is a fantastic show, my only minor complaint about the story as a whole is that it does get spread so thin that they can't spend more than 5 minutes an episode on any given character, if those characters show up at all (i.e. Jamie and Brienne weren't anywhere to be found; neither was Bran, or Arya). Personally, I think the best storyline shaping up is the battle of wits between Margeary and Cersei. Cersei used to love to fuck with Sansa, because she knew Sansa wasn't the type to try to outwit her, and that Sansa was the kind of girl that Cersei could just poke and prod at with zero repercussions. Now she has to deal with the significantly more cunning and politically powerful Margeary, and watching those two is going to be fun. A close second will be the Jamie/Brienne storyline, and pretty much anything with Tyrion. This episode (much like the book its based on) was a lot of setup. I expect a lot more setup over the next couple of episodes, too. I just don't know how far into the book they're going to get. You knew last season would culminate with the battle of Blackwater Bay. I just don't know how far they'll go now that they seem content to not cram an entire book into one season.
Watching Cersei vs. Margaery play out is going to be one of the highlights of this season, mark my words.
Yeah, as far as I know they're doing book 3 in two seasons. Spoiler I'd assume they'll end this season with a wedding
You think so? I think that would probably be next season with most of this season being the build-up to it with a few shockers thrown in to keep interest.
Agreed, and it's a lot of time for something that is not especially vital to the plot. Nothing important plot-wise is really lost. I agree with silway, because you need a natural climax to the season. Just in terms of narrative structure, there should be a Blackwater/Ned beheading/dragons. It's just the most natural break.
They've already said they're splitting the book in two, and its definitely the mid point of book 3. I'd bet cash money on it. Also nothing else would be climatic. If they didn't pull that out, and finish with it, Season would be a disaster. Book 3 is also the longest book until Book 5 by about 200 pages in most standard paperback visions.
The last two episodes are entitled "The Rains of Castamere" and "Mhysa" respectively. Take from that what you will about predicting whether the Spoiler Red Wedding will happen this season or next. <a class="postlink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_of_Thrones_(season_3" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_of_Thrones_(season_3</a>)
Spoiler Pretty sure The Rains of Castamere were playing during the wedding right before the carnage happens in the book. I could be wrong.
Yes, the scene with them at dinner was fucking great. Somehow they made women's catty bitchiness interesting, compelling, and something to look forward to. I think on the other end of the spectrum after watching last nights episode I could care less about the Stannis/Milisandre storyline. I dug Sir Davos last season and I hope they can tie him in well again this season but Im kind of over Stannis.
I really wish Bronn wasn't a secondary character. He chews up the scenery every time he's on camera and he fears nothing. And I want that bone handle knife he carries.
By the way, remind me never to apply for a job with this dude: ...I really hope to see more of this man, because I want to see what other atrocities he is happily capable of while oozing confidence the entire time. Kind of reminds me of Drogo a little, you want to hate him because he's such a bastard but he's too awesome to hate. This may also include Mel Gibson. "Tell the old man he smells of piss"... my favourite line of this year so far. I hope to see The Unsullied in battle in the near future.
In the books, their particular storyline is great. I love seeing someone FINALLY getting into a position to go after Cersei, and Margeary said it best last season. She doesn't want to be A queen, she wants to be THE Queen, which means Cersei is in her way. Margeary comes from almost the same background as Cersei: very wealthy family, with a renowned knight for a brother, and a penchant for politics. They're on almost equal footing, which is what makes it so intriguing. Neither one really has a major advantage. As for the Stannis/Davos/Melisandre storyline, it slows down a bit here. To me, though, Davos is the closest thing to Ned Stark left in this world. There are very few honorable men in this universe. Davos used to be a smuggler, but in reality the guy seems to be one of the few guys who wants to do the right and honorable thing. The point of Stannis is that he was a guy that was completely and totally hamstrung by his morals: if he thought something was the right thing to do, he was going to do it (which was why Davos respected him so much). I really liked Davos's storyline in the books and watching him deal with Stannis basically becoming corrupted to gain the power he feels he rightly deserves; He knows Stannis is the rightful king, but he is watching Stannis betray literally everything else he ever believed for that crown. I just hope they can do it justice because right now, its kind of the weakest storyline they have going. I look forward to how they develop Jamie and Brienne... Spoiler Somehow, GRRM managed to take one of the most unlikable characters in the first book, Jamie, and though the story with Brienne, make him much more sympathetic and likeable. He doesn't change much, but just the revelation of some of his motivations and his interactions with Brienne did a LOT to make him one of the most compelling characters in the series. The show has made Jamie even MORE unlikable and dark, so it'll be interesting to see if they can do in the show what GRRM did so well in the books. Oh, and Ygritte is pretty god damned hot. No wonder Jon Snow is hitting that in real life. I already had a thing for red heads...
Book change I didn't like. The Unsullied in the books were given puppies as kids to raise and their final test is to kill THEIR dogs they put effort into. You could argue that going to kill a slave baby is a mercy killing due to the fact that baby was going to have a shitty life as an abused slave. Yeah it requires some cold blood but the puppy thing is way more heart wrenching. Probably skipped it because everyone loves dogs now more than people, but that's another debate. Also wasn't the baby massacre enough especially since Spoiler There are going to be some babies on spikes coming in the future. I bet they'll change that to adult women or something because showing dead babies just won't fly.
I swear it was mentioned in two separate instances that they had to do both? I distinctly remember the whole "the woman isn't compensated for her loss, the master is" bit. I also like that they made their uniforms a lot more badass. If you remember, there's a few unsullied just hangin' out in their spiked helmets during Danaerysis's wedding in Season 1, and they look fucking stupid. Anyone else notice that the slave dealer is Tim Driscoll from Deadwood?