Game of Thrones *Tagged Book Spoilers, Please Read OP* |OT| Season 3 - Sundays on HBO

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Jibbajabbawockky said:
With Sam and the Night's Watch, the scene itself was fine but the presentation and complete lack of tension and suspense with everything they've been doing north of Wall is baffling to me. Go back to last season with Halfhand and Jon- [ACoK]
the material with Halfhand is super suspenseful and thrilling as they scout the Wildlings only to be chased down and backed into a corner. Instead in the show we get Jon trudging around with Ygritte on a leash for a couple episodes and the Night's Watch guys looking like dolts.

Then this season, instead of chaotically fleeing for their lives after getting ambushed and decimated by Others and wights, the Night's Watch guys are just calmly walking back to the Wall like its nothing. And in that, on a pretty tame looking day, Sam collapses and claims he can't go on? I always pictured that flight from the Fist of the First Men as some desperate shit, trudging along in a whiteout, barley able to see in front of yourself with White Walkers and Wights hot on your tail. Sam collapsing and wanting to just lay down and die makes sense in the books. In the show it looks like Sam is just lazy. Maybe part of the problem is that they didn't show any of the Others actually ripping up the Night's Watch on the Fist. So you don't have much tension since we didn't see any of their destructive power first hand- they told us but didn't show.
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Disagree with your assessments of season 2. They have been denting the Jon/North of the Wall story bit by bit the whole time. At this point when I consider what the show is going to cover, I've probably got the least feelings about how they handle that going forward. I guess I chalked up Jon's shit to being a lost cause at this point. Nothing with the Halfhand was convincing at all. The motivations were flat and jumbled too boot. Nothing's changed yet with Mance's camp and everyone was just 'checking-in' this week to maintain status quo.

The Sam stuff is completely uneventful. They are content to focus on budget-controlled scenes of Sam being dead weight so they can avoid showing anything that would really be motivational. Where's the threat they faced? Someone mentioned the torches and the endless white fog/storms that blocked out the line walking. Would that have been so hard to depict?
 
Ratrat said:
The script is horrid, the pacing is wrong, it focus' on unimportant crap while removing great material. The fight choreography is shit and it's refusal to show battles annoying.
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Comparing reactions in this thread to ones in the other is always gold.
 
Ratrat said:
The script is horrid, the pacing is wrong, it focus' on unimportant crap while removing great material. The fight choreography is shit and it's refusal to show battles annoying.
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Can you give an example of good medieval fight choreography?
 
Ratrat said:
The script is horrid, the pacing is wrong, it focus' on unimportant crap while removing great material. The fight choreography is shit and it's refusal to show battles annoying.
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I haven't read the books but following the storyline from the TV show I don't feel like we miss out on major battles in the last two episodes? And focus on unimportant crap? They're introducing new characters into the show and continue storylines of the characters we already know. Maybe I'm just not so critical, but I feel like you're going a bit overboard here.
 
wow, I loved it
margaery is great, much better than in the books, I already loved her scene with renly and loras in season 2
thoros is great
vargo hoat is great
I see much potential in reek, really like his looks, and glad to see he does the good old getting hopes up just to crush them game
mance was bad, again, ciaran hinds way to speak did not please me at all, just fellt off

my biggest disappointment in the show, next to the beanpole mountain, is shae though.
not even because of her acting, but in the books
she was such an adorable character, I really liked her, which made her betrayal all the worse. but show shae has been a bitch from the beginning. I dont see why tyrion likes her and I dont see me feeling sorry for her or her betrayal in season 4

oh, and how come no one is excited to finally have lemon cakes again in the show? about time
 
We get a lot of direwolf material this season. Think we've seen more of them in these two episodes than the previous season in it;s entirety.
Eidan said:
Comparing reactions in this thread to ones in the other is always gold.
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It's not an action show. Some folks just want Spartacus 2.0. Wrong show. The fact that with an exception or two GRRM skips all battles as well tells you something of their importance.
 
Linius said:
I haven't read the books but following the storyline from the TV show I don't feel like we miss out on major battles in the last two episodes? And focus on unimportant crap? They're introducing new characters into the show and continue storylines of the characters we already know. Maybe I'm just not so critical, but I feel like you're going a bit overboard here.
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Uhm, are you sure you want to be in this thread?
 
The camerawork during that first Sansa scene was...odd. Like they're talking with the camera at a strange angle, then bam suddenly I get a faceful of Sansa's cleavage because the camera is weirdly placed.

Good episode, anyway, lots of returning characters and introductions. They don't NEED to have Tyrion scenes in every episode, though. This one felt a bit pointless. Jaime and Brienne are a really entertaining double act, I'm glad they have a spark as they did in the books.
 
Linius said:
I haven't read the books but following the storyline from the TV show I don't feel like we miss out on major battles in the last two episodes?
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While I liked both episodes okay enough and give them both a 7, you don't feel like you missed out on a huge battle with the Night's Watch vs the white walkers army? Even though everything else on the show is solid, what they did so far with the beyond the Wall segment these two episodes is a shame.
 
Jibbajabbawockky said:
I don't know where they're going with Robb and Cat and how they're handling the news from Winterfell. [ACoK/ASoS]
Why are they not simply having Robb and Cat think Bran and Rickon are dead? Thats a HUGE part of what drives Cat to do the things she does in the books- that is the main reason that drives her desperation to release Jaime in the books. And probably a huge reason she turns into Stoneheart- even at that stage she thinks every one of her children is likely dead, except maybe Sansa. Are the writers just waiting to drop that bomb on them at a later point?

I can't help but feel like they're maybe going to try and integrate Theon into however they resolve the Bran/Rickon news. But I'm not sure how exactly. Especially since I think they have to be careful in revealing Ramsay's identity too soon or else it might become clear way before the RW that the Bolton's are traitors. The books set things up in such a way that Ramsay seemed like a loose cannon before the RW, kind of going rogue from Roose before the RW, so maybe that'll be the angle they take. I don't know...
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In regards to the first spoiler, it seems like they may be playing up
her guilt over failing to keep her promise with Jon as to what drives her into becoming stoneheart. Also, from the books, I always thought that she released Jaime for the sake of Arya and Sansa, not because of the "death" of Bran and Rickon.

As for the second spoiler
I do think that they are going to portray Ramsay as the loose cannon he is. I recall Roose not finding out that Theon was even still alive (and being tortured) until he reaches Ramsay in ADWD so it is entirely plausible for the audience to assume that Roose is unaware of what Ramsay is doing and will keep that "traitor" aspect concealed for as long as need be.

I am going to reserve judgement for this season. So far I am happy with where its heading. I actually feel like its movie pretty fast considering how its supposedly split book 3 into 2 seasons.
 
This show's forte has never been action, I wouldn't expect it to ever be so. Blackwater was a nice surprise in light of it
 
Of the two episodes so far, I get a pretty big Season 2 vibe. As in, I still love the shit out of it because the writing and acting are rock solid, and the cinematography is awesome. And, in general, I really like all kinds of exposition. But, like a lot of Season 2, it really hasn't gone anywhere, instead just fleshing out what we know a bit more. It does seem like setup for big things to come, and I hope that's true. I really like all the talky talk and exposition, but the punch of Season 1, where every episode was consistent with big developers and usually ended on a massive hook, was hard to come by in Season 2, and isn't there yet in Season 3.
 
RaidenZR said:
I guess I chalked up Jon's shit to being a lost cause at this point. Nothing with the Halfhand was convincing at all. The motivations were flat and jumbled too boot. Nothing's changed yet with Mance's camp and everyone was just 'checking-in' this week to maintain status quo.
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I agree- what I'm saying is that in the books at least, I feel like the stuff with Jon and Sam is relatively full of tension, uncertainty and suspense. The show has done a crummy job translating any of that.

RaidenZR said:
The Sam stuff is completely uneventful. They are content to focus on budget-controlled scenes of Sam being dead weight so they can avoid showing anything that would really be motivational. Where's the threat they faced? Someone mentioned the torches and the endless white fog/storms that blocked out the line walking. Would that have been so hard to depict?
Click to expand...
Agreed- really, the beginning of the season opener was more of what I was expecting most of the flight from the Fist to look like- whiteout with conditions that look genuinely threatening to one's survival.

Maybe they just wanted to show off more of the Iceland landscape and get their money's worth from shooting up there?

EatChildren said:
Of the two episodes so far, I get a pretty big Season 2 vibe. As in, I still love the shit out of it because the writing and acting are rock solid, and the cinematography is awesome. And, in general, I really like all kinds of exposition. But, like a lot of Season 2, it really hasn't gone anywhere, instead just fleshing out what we know a bit more. It does seem like setup for big things to come, and I hope that's true. I really like all the talky talk and exposition, but the punch of Season 1, where every episode was consistent with big developers and usually ended on a massive hook, was hard to come by in Season 2, and isn't there yet in Season 3.
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I haven't seen episodes 3 or 4 yet, but the buzz from people that have seen them is that episodes 3 and 4 pick things up considerably and both end on some significant hooks.
 
aronnov reborn said:
damn kids growing up and puberty and all.... loved the episode.. couldn't unsee or unhear brans age increase though :(
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That scene with Bran kind of running around with a bow and arrow made me think "what if".

I think Bran would have been an amazing character if he'd made a full recovery from his injury but still running around with the Reeds. His injury is supposed to make us feel more for his character, but it's so much more limiting than it is anything else.
 
I also get the feeling that
that particular crossbow is gonna show up again down the line. Much easier to load, you know.
 
Dark FaZe said:
That scene with Bran kind of running around with a bow and arrow made me think "what if".

I think Bran would have been an amazing character if he'd made a full recovery from his injury but still running around with the Reeds. His injury is supposed to make us feel more for his character, but it's so much more limiting than it is anything else.
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Have you read ADWD?
The set up for Bran was a long time coming, but the payoff is going to be incredible.
 
Dark FaZe said:
That scene with Bran kind of running around with a bow and arrow made me think "what if".

I think Bran would have been an amazing character if he'd made a full recovery from his injury but still running around with the Reeds. His injury is supposed to make us feel more for his character, but it's so much more limiting than it is anything else.
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Isn't his injury
part of the reason he and Jojen share that psychic bond? That whole near death experience? I think if he makes a full recovery, he doesn't end up with that bond
 
Brashnir said:
Have you read ADWD?
The set up for Bran was a long time coming, but the payoff is going to be incredible.
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I haven't actually, which is crazy because I've read the series twice over and was waiting forever for Dance to come out.

I'll highlight your spoiler once I finish it lol
 
Jibbajabbawockky said:
I agree- what I'm saying is that in the books at least, I feel like the stuff with Jon and Sam is relatively full of tension, uncertainty and suspense. The show has done a crummy job translating any of that.


Agreed- really, the beginning of the season opener was more of what I was expecting most of the flight from the Fist to look like- whiteout with conditions that look genuinely threatening to one's survival.

Maybe they just wanted to show off more of the Iceland landscape and get their money's worth from shooting up there?
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I dunno. Nothing from either the Jon or Sam scenes seem that out of line with my interpretation of the book.

ASOS
Jon doesn't spend much time interacting with Mance when he's with the wildlings, and most of his time is spent getting his cherry popped by Ygritte and being generally mistrusted by some in the wildling camp. We haven't seen nearly enough of this story to really say whether the show's depiction is or is not faithful to that.

As for the Night's Watch, we've seen even less of this storyline, and it pretty much is going exactly as I remembered. The Watch is broken and beaten, spirits are low, and Sam is a bitch.
 
Yonafunu said:
Uhm, are you sure you want to be in this thread?
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I think that every time someone spells a name really wrong. I don't see how anyone can spell some of these names so wrong if they read the books then I remember some people only listened to the audio books. I couldn't imagine that being my only experience with the series before the show.
 
About Arya:

I have read ACOK, ASOS and part of AFFC, but not AGOT: was Arya ever shown to become really strong thanks to Syrio's training? Cause if she hasn't, I don't get the complaints about her looking like she hasn't learnt anything at all and just sucks at swordfighting. From ACOK onwards that is exactly the feeling I got: she's just a novice in the art of wielding a sword, plus she's a young girl, so she always gets tossed around like nothing. In that sense I don't see how they're butchering her story in the show.

The only things that she could learn relatively quickly were courage and self-confidence, which she shows plenty of in the face of danger even though she knows she's no match for anyone (yet?).
 
Forsaken82 said:
In regards to the first spoiler, it seems like they may be playing up
her guilt over failing to keep her promise with Jon as to what drives her into becoming stoneheart. Also, from the books, I always thought that she released Jaime for the sake of Arya and Sansa, not because of the "death" of Bran and Rickon.

As for the second spoiler
I do think that they are going to portray Ramsay as the loose cannon he is. I recall Roose not finding out that Theon was even still alive (and being tortured) until he reaches Ramsay in ADWD so it is entirely plausible for the audience to assume that Roose is unaware of what Ramsay is doing and will keep that "traitor" aspect concealed for as long as need be.

I am going to reserve judgement for this season. So far I am happy with where its heading. I actually feel like its movie pretty fast considering how its supposedly split book 3 into 2 seasons.
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Regarding your second spoiler ADWD/ASOS
Roose knows the whole time. He offers Cat a piece of Theon's skin as a wedding present at the Red Wedding and she refuses. Roose just didn't know the extent of how bad Ramsay fucked him up till ADWD.
 
Kilrogg said:
About Arya:

I have read ACOK, ASOS and part of AFFC, but not AGOT: was Arya ever shown to become really strong thanks to Syrio's training? Cause if she hasn't, I don't get the complaints about her looking like she hasn't learnt anything at all and just sucks at swordfighting. From ACOK onwards that is exactly the feeling I got: she's just a novice in the art of wielding a sword, plus she's a young girl, so she always gets tossed around like nothing. In that sense I don't see how they're butchering her story in the show.

The only things that she could learn relatively quickly were courage and self-confidence, which she shows plenty of in the face of danger even though she knows she's no match for anyone (yet?).
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Nothing in AGOT even hints at the idea that Arya is a skilled swordsman.
 
Fuzzy said:
I think that every time someone spells a name really wrong. I don't see how anyone can spell some of these names so wrong if they read the books then I remember some people only listened to the audio books. I couldn't imagine that being my only experience with the series before the show.
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This show is really good even without having read the books. Only gets a bit confusing at times because of the many characters and plotlines you have to memorise. I read the first book btw, need to get to the rest now but I'm caught up in too much stuff to do so. I was really amazed by how well they adapted the first season, some lines from the book came literally back in the show. It was an interesting read.
 
Kilrogg said:
About Arya:

I have read ACOK, ASOS and part of AFFC, but not AGOT: was Arya ever shown to become really strong thanks to Syrio's training? Cause if she hasn't, I don't get the complaints about her looking like she hasn't learnt anything at all and just sucks at swordfighting. From ACOK onwards that is exactly the feeling I got: she's just a novice in the art of wielding a sword, plus she's a young girl, so she always gets tossed around like nothing. In that sense I don't see how they're butchering her story in the show.

The only things that she could learn relatively quickly were courage and self-confidence, which she shows plenty of in the face of danger even though she knows she's no match for anyone (yet?).
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She became well balanced/swift on her feet.
The sword she has now is much too heavy for her, using needle is where she was most comfortable.
They never showed the battle in season 2 where she was supposed to actually do some needlework.
 
Linius said:
As long as everybody uses spoilers correctly I don't see why not? I like to read peoples opinions in this thread and just dodge the book spoilers.
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The thing is, I wouldn't want anyone's enjoyment ruined because of some book readers criticism. I think it may colour your opinion a bit if all you hear is "this was much better in the books, this actor sucks he doesn't play <insert name> right, why did they change this it was much better in the books, this series sucks" etc.
If you're completely sure nothing will influence your enjoyment at all, no problem. I just don't want anyone to new to the series be negatively influenced by us (book readers).
 
Like myself, did anyone start reading the books after they watched a season or 2 of the show?
I would imagine that it's a completely different feeling than say if you read the books before the show was released.
 
Violater said:
Like myself, did anyone start reading the books after they watched a season or 2 of the show?
I would imagine that it's a completely different feeling than say if you read the books before the show was released.
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Read all the books after watching season 1.
 
Eidan said:
I dunno. Nothing from either the Jon or Sam scenes seem that out of line with my interpretation of the book.

ASOS
Jon doesn't spend much time interacting with Mance when he's with the wildlings, and most of his time is spent getting his cherry popped by Ygritte and being generally mistrusted by some in the wildling camp. We haven't seen nearly enough of this story to really say whether the show's depiction is or is not faithful to that.

As for the Night's Watch, we've seen even less of this storyline, and it pretty much is going exactly as I remembered. The Watch is broken and beaten, spirits are low, and Sam is a bitch.
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[ACoK/ASoS]
Yeah, my complaints with Jon go back to last season mostly with Halfhand and how he barely spent any time with him. This season has been fine, relatively speaking.

The actual events they're showing have been fine, its just the way in which they're choosing to portray them could be better, Sam specifically. I just always pictured a greater sense of urgency with Sam and the rest of the NW fleeing. They're just a ragtag group at this point thats struggling to make it back to the Wall, with people getting picked off and others just dying from the cold. And then Sam, Grenn and another NW guy fall behind and get caught by an Other, leading to the whole Sam the Slayer thing. I'm guessing they're just moving that moment to later, but the whole retreat from the Fist feels like they're just mildly uncomfortable from the cold, not running for their lives with the Wights and Others picking off people and others dying from the elements.

i_am_not_jon_ames said:
End of last season, his own guys knocked him out and dragged him off with a bag over his head.
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They haven't explained what happened to the rest of the Ironborn have they?

Violater said:
Like myself, did anyone start reading the books after they watched a season or 2 of the show?
I would imagine that it's a completely different feeling than say if you read the books before the show was released.
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I read A Game of Thrones right before Season 1 aired. Then after Season 1, I read the rest of the books that summer.
 
Yonafunu said:
The thing is, I wouldn't want anyone's enjoyment ruined because of some book readers criticism. I think it may colour your opinion a bit if all you hear is "this was much better in the books, this actor sucks he doesn't play <insert name> right, why did they change this it was much better in the books, this series sucks" etc.
If you're completely sure nothing will influence your enjoyment at all, no problem. I just don't want anyone to new to the series be negatively influenced by us (book readers).
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It's the same in The Walking Dead thread with comic readers. I think reading between the lines is the key here. I know where you guys come from because it's inevitable to compare the books with the show and adaptions are almost in any case less than then original content.

But it's also nice to see more in depth views on stuff going on.
 
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