People keep talking about wanting to see Stannis. What is it exactly you want to see? Him sailing on a boat? How is that interesting? He already mentioned his plans a couple episodes back, they've mentioned he is on his way numerous times in episodes since, and we'll probably get more mentions in the next episode. It has been well established that he is on his way to attack King's Landing.
Well, they could have mentioned him at least, something about the upcoming threat and maybe show some war preparations even, during Tyrion's scenes for example.
and actually, i would been okay with some Stannis/Davos interaction, show some more about their relationship.
Well, they could have mentioned him at least, something about the upcoming threat and maybe show some war preparations even, during Tyrion's scenes for example.
and actually, i would been okay with some Stannis/Davos interaction, show some more about their relationship.
They've done this. They did it last week. Tyrion mentions that the war is going to be on their doorstep in days and Joffrey needs to be prepared to act like a King.
They've done this. They did it last week. Tyrion mentions that the war is going to be on their doorstep in days and Joffrey needs to be prepared to act like a King.
Friend was at a bar in NYC last night. I don't have to tell you who the bartender reminded him of. She's already more interesting than the "real" Dany.
Friend was at a bar in NYC last night. I don't have to tell you who the bartender reminded him of. She's already more interesting than the "real" Dany.
People keep talking about wanting to see Stannis. What is it exactly you want to see? Him sailing on a boat? How is that interesting? He already mentioned his plans a couple episodes back, they've mentioned he is on his way numerous times in episodes since, and we'll probably get more mentions in the next episode. It has been well established that he is on his way to attack King's Landing.
I don't mean this to sound like an attack but I don't think you get it either.
It's about building up presence and a sense of threat. "Stannis will be at our doorsteps" is not presence or threat. "Show, not tell," etc etc.
Considering the fact that they got rid of anything having to do with Storm's End, the writers should have come up with SOMETHING to fill in some time in its stead--they certainly have no problems adding stuff everywhere else. Maybe they'll rectify this a bit in the next episode. But so far, 2 episodes with no Stannis makes for a lousy narrative. Book or no book.
Based on the show only, I don't really get any sense of urgency about King's Landing. Neither Robb or Stannis seem to be moving and there's more sibling drama than actual defense preparations going on in King's Landing.
If the characters didn't keep mentioning a war, I wouldn't even know there was one.
I don't mean this to sound like an attack but I don't think you get it either.
It's about building up presence and a sense of threat. "Stannis will be at our doorsteps" is not presence or threat. "Show, not tell," etc etc.
Considering the fact that they got rid of anything having to do with Storm's End, the writers should have come up with SOMETHING to fill in some time in its stead--they certainly have no problems adding stuff everywhere else. Maybe they'll rectify this a bit in the next episode. But so far, 2 episodes with no Stannis makes for a lousy narrative. Book or no book.
But there is no conflict to show. It is literally just Stannis and his men sailing on ships. At this point, the build up and sense of threat needs to come from those in King's Landing. And it has.
But there is no conflict to show. It is literally just Stannis and his men sailing on ships. At this point, the build up and sense of threat needs to come from those in King's Landing. And it has.
At this point I've just seen a silly riot, Tyrion sympathizing with Cersei about her inbred children, and Shae holding up a butterknife to a maid. I don't think the threat has been accomplished at all. The riot represents the fact that there is civil unrest when it comes to Joffrey, and there is no indication that any of that comes, for example, from the fact that (in the books) the entire city was shut down and no person or goods allowed to go in or out because of the war. People are starving and dying on the streets, and that's why there was a riot in the book. For all we know here, someone threw shit in Joffrey's face because he just killed a bunch of babies.
Show me Stannis on a ship. I don't care. He could be sailing the coast and recruiting a lord or something that no longer swears allegiance to Joffrey.
At this point I've just seen a silly riot, Tyrion sympathizing with Cersei about her inbred children, and Shae holding up a butterknife to a maid. I don't think the threat has been accomplished at all. The riot represents the fact that there is civil unrest when it comes to Joffrey, and there is no indication that any of that comes, for example, from the fact that (in the books) the entire city was shut down and no person or goods allowed to go in or out because of the war. People are starving and dying on the streets, and that's why there was a riot in the book. For all we know here, someone threw shit in Joffrey's face because he just killed a bunch of babies.
Show me Stannis on a ship. I don't care. He could be sailing the coast and recruiting a lord or something that no longer swears allegiance to Joffrey.
Tyrion and Cersei have talked about Stannis coming multiple times now. One whole episode dealt with the plotline where Tyrion wants to know what Joffrey is doing in preparation, Cersei refuses to tell him, Tyrion gets the info from Lancel, goes to the alchemist and finds the wildfire. In the latest episode, Tyrion and Cersei again talk about Stannis sailing to King's Landing and whether they are prepared for battle. I agree that the riot could have been tied to the war a bit better, but you can't say there has been no build-up at all from within King's Landing.
If they were to just show Stannis sailing on a ship, without there being any conflict, it would be decried as a waste of a scene. And if they created conflict that wasn't directly related to the impending battle, it would be decried as a waste of a scene.
At any rate, (ep8)
it sounds like we will see Stannis and Davos in this week's episode and I wouldn't be surprised if the episode ends with Stannis' fleet sailing into Blackwater Bay as Tyrion and Co. watch from the Red Keep. So hopefully that will be enough to establish the upcoming battle in most viewers' minds.
My only issue with this season is that to expand some actors' roles they're creating new scenes (which are all very good, that said) but it makes certain things draaaaag out.
Certain events that took up half a chapter in the books take 2 or 3 episodes to go through. That's what I don't like.
At this point I've just seen a silly riot, Tyrion sympathizing with Cersei about her inbred children, and Shae holding up a butterknife to a maid. I don't think the threat has been accomplished at all. The riot represents the fact that there is civil unrest when it comes to Joffrey, and there is no indication that any of that comes, for example, from the fact that (in the books) the entire city was shut down and no person or goods allowed to go in or out because of the war. People are starving and dying on the streets, and that's why there was a riot in the book. For all we know here, someone threw shit in Joffrey's face because he just killed a bunch of babies.
Show me Stannis on a ship. I don't care. He could be sailing the coast and recruiting a lord or something that no longer swears allegiance to Joffrey.
I must say, between many of the opinions here and a fellow I work with, I am extremely happy I have not read the books prior to watching the show.
It's LOTR all over again, with constant nitpicking and complaining about this being left out or this being different or not enough focus on this.
The show is the show, and the book is the book. This MUST be understood, y'all are really just doing yourselves a disservice. I don't WANT the TV show to the be the book. I'd rather just read the damn book.
And there is no way the budget on this is getting raised. It's already the most expensive show by far for HBO, and when you look at True Blood, which costs a third as much with a much higher viewership, we ought to be lucky they spend what they do.
And there is no way the budget on this is getting raised. It's already the most expensive show by far for HBO, and when you look at True Blood, which costs a third as much with a much higher viewership, we ought to be lucky they spend what they do.
It may be the most expensive currently running series but HBO has dropped $100 million+ on mini-series like John Adam, Band of Brothers and the Pacific. Considering the DVD/BD sales I think HBO knows that upping the budget would be a good investment for the future.
A bit more spectacle would help draw more people in.
Friend was at a bar in NYC last night. I don't have to tell you who the bartender reminded him of. She's already more interesting than the "real" Dany.
One single guy yelled "Please, your grace, we're hungry." That does not convey that the entire city has been starving for months, or its causes. If the entire crowd was chanting "Food, food, food" you'd maybe have a point, but the scene consists of like four extras yelling one phrase each while everyone else is in silence.
It always boggles my mind when people reduce every complaint from anybody who has read the novels to 'lol books/television are different nerdz' even though most of the people complaining don't hate all of the changes only some of them.
I think that David & Dan have made a conscious decision to focus on the micro story (characters and their relationships) over the macro story (battle tactics, political upheaval, etc.). We get a sense of the latter, but it's not really the focus and certainly it's not as fleshed out as it is in the books.
In a perfect world, where time and money are not a hindrance, they would be able to accurately portray both facets of the story. But if there must be concessions made, I'd rather it be on the macro story. Because a TV show where we know all the details of the political situation and the battle tactics being employed, but don't care one whit about the characters, is a bad TV show.
This is the biggest issue for me, it sucks when your favorite story lines have to be on the receiving end of it. Especially if nothing is gained from the change. [series spoiler]
Why does Ygritte even need more screen time? She is going to have plenty of it for season 3 and 4.
In regards to your spoiler, it is the same reason Theon got as much screen time in season 1 as he did. It is BECAUSE of the importance of the character in the following seasons.
Why aren't the show runners just making a checklist of events that happen in CoK, i'd truly enjoy a visual sparknotes of the book more that what they've been able to do in the first 70% of the season?
They're jumping around to much, why didn't they include Stannnis Mellisandre and Davos in the last episode and the Tyrells also.
It shouldn't; when an adaptation begins to take liberties that stray further away from the source material complaints will ensue - it's inevitable. Especially when season one was a highly faithful adaptation, and the opening episodes of the second season appeared to follow suit. The vast majority of those voicing complaints in this thread don't appear to be stating they dislike the shows current level of quality simply because there have been changes made from the original story. I'd expect there to be more complaints given they've either cut out or put little focus on the more interesting scenarios presented in the novel [that they're adapting]. Failing that the shows quality in almost all aspects bar visual spectacle has wavered to some degree. Weak direction, acting and pacing have been the norm this season.
I don't believe anyone here thinks the show should be a direct copy of the books and follow it without deviating at all. Most seem to be quite pleased with the Arrya and Tywin scenes. However some of the decisions being made just seem to add nothing while taking up valuable screen time. Jon spending the better part of two episodes walking around with Ygritte seems like a waste while the book handled their encounter it in a much more efficient way. Considering how many parts of the book is being cut because of time constraints, the Jon and Ygritte scenes seem wasteful.
It shouldn't; when an adaptation begins to take liberties that stray further away from the source material complaints will ensue - it's inevitable. Especially when season one was a highly faithful adaptation, and the opening episodes of the second season appeared to follow suit. The vast majority of those voicing complaints in this thread don't appear to be stating they dislike the shows current level of quality simply because there have been changes made from the original story however.
But the problem is most book readers do not, and even cannot, acknowledge the preconceived notions they have before even watching the episode.
You HAVE to put yourself in the head space of a normal viewer. And no, I don't just mean a normal viewer who likes fantasy, just a normal viewer in general.
Balancing all of these aspects, whilst balancing budgetary issues along with casting screen time issues (SAG stuff), proper planning for set and costume re-use, etc., it becomes so much more complicated than is given credit for.
HBO doesn't give two craps about the book reader viewership. They will watch regardless barring the series being crapped up to an irrecoverable degree, in which case no one will watch anyways. They are spending big bucks to try and get True Blood-ish audience levels, that transcend the usual genre expectations.
I'm curious. Is anyone on here actually going to give up on the show? I'm guessing, most will ride out the rest of the season, but if it fails to live up to your expectations are you done?
But the problem is most book readers do not, and even cannot, acknowledge the preconceived notions they have before even watching the episode.
You HAVE to put yourself in the head space of a normal viewer. And no, I don't just mean a normal viewer who likes fantasy, just a normal viewer in general.
Balancing all of these aspects, whilst balancing budgetary issues along with casting screen time issues (SAG stuff), proper planning for set and costume re-use, etc., it becomes so much more complicated than is given credit for.
HBO doesn't give two craps about the book reader viewership. They will watch regardless barring the series being crapped up to an irrecoverable degree, in which case no one will watch anyways. They are spending big bucks to try and get True Blood-ish audience levels, that transcend the usual genre expectations.
One single guy yelled "Please, your grace, we're hungry." That does not convey that the entire city has been starving for months, or its causes. If the entire crowd was chanting "Food, food, food" you'd maybe have a point, but the scene consists of like four extras yelling one phrase each while everyone else is in silence.
Sorry but you're reaching and your idea sounds terrible. People are clearly yelling for food, Tyrion yells at Joffrey that they're starving because of the war he started and then slaps him in the face to make his point. I'm not sure what else you need. Maybe a person looking directly into the camera and making "food in my mouth" motions.
In regards to your spoiler, it is the same reason Theon got as much screen time in season 1 as he did. It is BECAUSE of the importance of the character in the following seasons.
Yeah but it is the wrong decision when it is crucial to [ACOK]
give Qhorin and the rangers more screen time and they won't even be around next season. In all honesty I didn't even have a huge problem with giving her more screen time, but then they went too far and had Jon already get captured. I want to wait and see what they do but there is definitely a risk they have really screwed up on Jon's story.
Sorry but you're reaching and your idea sounds terrible. People are clearly yelling for food, Tyrion yells at Joffrey that they're starving because of the war he started and then slaps him in the face to make his point. I'm not sure what else you need. Maybe a person looking directly into the camera and making "food in my mouth" motions.
I'm not necessarily reaching. I just looked it up and in the books they chant for bread. But you're right about the Tyrion/Joffrey part, just rewatched the scene. The extras are still not looking very desperate for much of anything, though. You can't call me crazy for expecting a couple people to be groveling on their knees or something.
Anyway, I don't want to post any more criticisms until the new episode (if it merits them). I think both sides have presented their arguments and we're just going in circles now.
I don't believe anyone here thinks the show should be a direct copy of the books and follow it without deviating at all. Most seem to be quite pleased with the Arrya and Tywin scenes. However some of the decisions being made just seem to add nothing while taking up valuable screen time. Jon spending the better part of two episodes walking around with Ygritte seems like a waste while the book handled their encounter it in a much more efficient way. Considering how many parts of the book is being cut because of time constraints, the Jon and Ygritte scenes seem wasteful.
Completely disagree. The books pretty much shoved their romance down our throats, and I never really bought the chemistry. In the books, Ygritte pretty much just threw herself on Jon cause he was a pretty boy who saved her life. The show is doing a much better job at developing their relationship. The only downside to the screen time they're getting is that it's coming at the expense of Qhorin. That complaint I can understand, even though it may be premature as we still have 3 episodes to go.
The only failing of this adaptation imo is that they're doing a poor job tying all the narratives into one cohesive whole. But this is the challenge of adapting a story with such a large scope. Moreso than S1, CoK is largely comprised of 5 or so different story arcs that are completely disconnected from the other, and we might as well be getting separate shows on the Adventures of Jon Snow, Daenerys Targaryen, Arya Stark, etc. I remember before the season aired, most of us were anticipating scenes with Renly and Robb, making use of the show's more omniscient PoV. The end result though was that most of Robb's rom-com scenes feel tacked on, underdeveloped, and ultimately a waste of screen time. His scenes have made the rest of the show feel even more spread thin.
I'm still enjoying the show though and am fine with most, if not all the changes. Arya/Tywin dynamic is some of the best in the season. Dany's storyline has been given a breath of life. Jon Snow's character may be coming off as even more stupid and indecisive, but I'm loving his scenes with Ygritte nonetheless. S2 is definitely not as strong as S1 though thus far.
But the problem is most book readers do not, and even cannot, acknowledge the preconceived notions they have before even watching the episode.
You HAVE to put yourself in the head space of a normal viewer. And no, I don't just mean a normal viewer who likes fantasy, just a normal viewer in general.
Balancing all of these aspects, whilst balancing budgetary issues along with casting screen time issues (SAG stuff), proper planning for set and costume re-use, etc., it becomes so much more complicated than is given credit for.
HBO doesn't give two craps about the book reader viewership. They will watch regardless barring the series being crapped up to an irrecoverable degree, in which case no one will watch anyways. They are spending big bucks to try and get True Blood-ish audience levels, that transcend the usual genre expectations.
This is not true, people do care, probably now so more than ever about core fanbases and their general reaction. A core fanbase can do a lot of things, they don't serve you just as viewers, although I presume a good chunk of the people watching are book readers.
This is not true, people do care, probably now so more than ever about core fanbases and their general reaction. A core fanbase can do a lot of things, they don't serve you just as viewers, although I presume a good chunk of the people watching are book readers.
My exaggeration caused a misunderstanding here. I do not mean to imply they couldn't care less at all about the opinions of book readers, because they clearly are committed to the source material and being faithful, which in itself panders to the book readers.
What I mean to say is, they WILL NOT compromise the average, non-book reader/fantasy lover viewer to appease the book reader further.
I'm curious. Is anyone on here actually going to give up on the show? I'm guessing, most will ride out the rest of the season, but if it fails to live up to your expectations are you done?
Personally it takes a lot for me to drop a show. I have liked 3 of the 7 episodes so far at this season and I have high expectations for episodes 9 and 10, but even if I hadn't liked any of them I'd still be watching. Even when I think it isn't very good as a tv show I still get good level of satisfaction out of it as an adaptation as it is still very faithful, and particularly over the next few seasons there's a lot of scenes to look forward to. As long as the high points remain high I can put up with a lot of mediocrity in between.
If I was still a non-book reader I think I'd be frustrated with the pacing of this season, but at the end of the day the its still an amazing story even if the delivery hasn't always been great the need to know what happens would still be a huge driving force for me.
edit: oh and to chime in on the riot discussion, I liked the scene and think it was well done, but (and yes this is a nitpick) I will never understand why they chose to omit
Friend was at a bar in NYC last night. I don't have to tell you who the bartender reminded him of. She's already more interesting than the "real" Dany.
Ygritte basically stands up for Jon because he spared her life and let her go in the books. I'm not exactly sure how they're going to pull that off now after the situation Jon is in. I also felt like their relationship grew after Jon joined the wildings and the show can use that time to build their relationship. After all she is pretty girl hanging out with a guy who has never been with a women and needs to prove he is no longer a brother of the nights watch. He develops feelings for her during that time and the show should use their time together to further their bond. It would make sense for Jon and Qhorin to use this time to build their relationship while Jon and Ygritte will have plenty of time next season once Qhorin dies and Jon joins the wildings.
I posted this yesterday but I suppose it was too late or not interesting enough, but I do want an answer still.
I've been wondering something for the longest time, but I'm not really sure how to ask this without prompting a response that spoils the books. So please, don't spoil the books for me I guess...
In the show Rome,
the young boy Octavian is kidnapped. He is helpless and lying on the ground, and you figure he may die. Of course, this is not to be, and the events of the show/history lead him to outlast just about everyone. He's smart as a whip and you sense there's something about him which will lead to great things.
Likewise, the first season of Game of Thrones presents an origin story for all the characters which has them all together coexisting in relative peace (compared to now).
When the shit hits the fan, people are killed and scattered. But like many a tale you've seen before, the creators of the show framed these events in such a way that you think these younger characters are destined for great things.
Arya on the run, disguises who she is. She was there when her father was executed. Probably wants to kill anyone even remotely affiliated with the Lannisters. But she cannot just yet.
Bran (at least temporarily) overseeing Winterfell. He was crippled by one Lannister and had his father stolen from him by another.
Theon - Here's the opposite situation. An evil seed you see from the beginning. A figure of ridicule at first, but growing stronger as a Greyjoy with each new pillage and/or murder.
Tyrion - A character who immediately became the moral compass of King's Landing when he was sent to be the hand of the king.
Jaime Lannister - Chained and in the mud for a number of episodes, you just get the sense that this guy is going to have his day again. They'll wish they had killed him when they had the chance.
So there are other examples but here is my point. The common thread that ties these characters together is the biding of time. Preparations, imprisonment, subterfuge. A search for self amid all the chaos.
So like I said, this story is one you see played out in many a movie, book, or TV show. Was this intentional or is it just a coincidence?
I posted this yesterday but I suppose it was too late or not interesting enough, but I do want an answer still.
I've been wondering something for the longest time, but I'm not really sure how to ask this without prompting a response that spoils the books. So please, don't spoil the books for me I guess...
In the show Rome,
the young boy Octavian is kidnapped. He is helpless and lying on the ground, and you figure he may die. Of course, this is not to be, and the events of the show/history lead him to outlast just about everyone. He's smart as a whip and you sense there's something about him which will lead to great things.
Likewise, the first season of Game of Thrones presents an origin story for all the characters which has them all together coexisting in relative peace (compared to now).
When the shit hits the fan, people are killed and scattered. But like many a tale you've seen before, the creators of the show framed these events in such a way that you think these younger characters are destined for great things.
Arya on the run, disguises who she is. She was there when her father was executed. Probably wants to kill anyone even remotely affiliated with the Lannisters. But she cannot just yet.
Bran (at least temporarily) overseeing Winterfell. He was crippled by one Lannister and had his father stolen from him by another.
Theon - Here's the opposite situation. An evil seed you see from the beginning. A figure of ridicule at first, but growing stronger as a Greyjoy with each new pillage and/or murder.
Tyrion - A character who immediately became the moral compass of King's Landing when he was sent to be the hand of the king.
Jaime Lannister - Chained and in the mud for a number of episodes, you just get the sense that this guy is going to have his day again. They'll wish they had killed him when they had the chance.
So there are other examples but here is my point. The common thread that ties these characters together is the biding of time. Preparations, imprisonment, subterfuge. A search for self amid all the chaos.
So like I said, this story is one you see played out in many a movie, book, or TV show. Was this intentional or is it just a coincidence?
I think that's a fairly accurate take on things from your perspective. I'm only speaking to the parts that are recap, not the predictions (since I've read the books).
It always boggles my mind when people reduce every complaint from anybody who has read the novels to 'lol books/television are different nerdz' even though most of the people complaining don't hate all of the changes only some of them.
I posted this yesterday but I suppose it was too late or not interesting enough, but I do want an answer still.
I've been wondering something for the longest time, but I'm not really sure how to ask this without prompting a response that spoils the books. So please, don't spoil the books for me I guess...
In the show Rome,
the young boy Octavian is kidnapped. He is helpless and lying on the ground, and you figure he may die. Of course, this is not to be, and the events of the show/history lead him to outlast just about everyone. He's smart as a whip and you sense there's something about him which will lead to great things.
Likewise, the first season of Game of Thrones presents an origin story for all the characters which has them all together coexisting in relative peace (compared to now).
When the shit hits the fan, people are killed and scattered. But like many a tale you've seen before, the creators of the show framed these events in such a way that you think these younger characters are destined for great things.
Arya on the run, disguises who she is. She was there when her father was executed. Probably wants to kill anyone even remotely affiliated with the Lannisters. But she cannot just yet.
Bran (at least temporarily) overseeing Winterfell. He was crippled by one Lannister and had his father stolen from him by another.
Theon - Here's the opposite situation. An evil seed you see from the beginning. A figure of ridicule at first, but growing stronger as a Greyjoy with each new pillage and/or murder.
Tyrion - A character who immediately became the moral compass of King's Landing when he was sent to be the hand of the king.
Jaime Lannister - Chained and in the mud for a number of episodes, you just get the sense that this guy is going to have his day again. They'll wish they had killed him when they had the chance.
So there are other examples but here is my point. The common thread that ties these characters together is the biding of time. Preparations, imprisonment, subterfuge. A search for self amid all the chaos.
So like I said, this story is one you see played out in many a movie, book, or TV show. Was this intentional or is it just a coincidence?
This is a fantasy and there are always certain types of narrative arcs your characters will fall into because as humans we just relate to and like to construct these sorts of stories . The thing about George is that he tries to play with your expectations. I think the quote he uses is "it's all the same old story a quest for love and glory", but he is going to put his own twist on it.
The other aspect is that converting it to a television show means you need to streamline and simplify it so you don't see all the complexities of the story that you saw in the book where the author had more time to spend on detail and the character thoughts.
Yeah but it is the wrong decision when it is crucial to [ACOK]
give Qhorin and the rangers more screen time and they won't even be around next season. In all honesty I didn't even have a huge problem with giving her more screen time, but then they went too far and had Jon already get captured. I want to wait and see what they do but there is definitely a risk they have really screwed up on Jon's story.
This is my problem with it too. Hopefully it works out though. ACOK
Jon escaping and joining back up with Quorin, but time being extremely finite, I don't see that happening. Quorin will be captured and Jon will kill him to prove himself no longer a crow. That just feels wrong to me, but maybe they can make that work, we'll see.
That seems like a strange question. I guess I just don't understand what you're asking exactly. Are all these characters intertwined in a realm that shares the same fate? or does the show jut happen to be based in the mythopia of westeros/ASOIAF and the writer just bumbled along and they happen to meet and interact? If the answer could be/ was no does that mean the show is just supposed to be a bunch a random people chilling and that their actions don't directly or indirectly affect the world and other characters around them?
Can you please rephrase the question?
I really disagree.
There has been one scene of Tyrion doing anything to check the city's defenses. And even that scene included him doubting the plan due to the dangers of wildfire; yet apparently he has come up with no alternative or extra plan.
In discussions with Cersei, he complains about Joffery not preparing the city, yet it often falls to a Hand to do such things. So why is Tyrion apparently doing nothing but walk around the castle talking to his sister?
Finally in the book, Tywin leaves Harenhel immediately after hearing Stannis has secured Renly's men and ships. In the show Tywin is amused by the news and takes absolutely no interest in Stannis - in fact he hasn't mentioned him this season. You would think Tywin of all people would be concerned that Stannis has suddenly acquired 200 ships and thousands of men. It looks like Tywin will finally leave Harenhel in the next episode, and I wonder what will prompt him to do so.
So I certainly agree the show has dropped the ball by trivializing Stannis; I also find it weid Melisandre hasn't had a scene since her shadow baby shocker. I'm not asking for scenes of him sailing on a ship. But the lack of any preparation in King's Landing, or even a sense of foreboding/war is very odd. While Joffery is certainly crazy in the book and especially the show, I could see him being somewhat involved in the city's preparations and defenses. At the very least, a scene of Tyrion attempting to discuss the danger with him would make sense.
Tyrion and Cersei have talked about Stannis coming multiple times now. One whole episode dealt with the plotline where Tyrion wants to know what Joffrey is doing in preparation, Cersei refuses to tell him, Tyrion gets the info from Lancel, goes to the alchemist and finds the wildfire. In the latest episode, Tyrion and Cersei again talk about Stannis sailing to King's Landing and whether they are prepared for battle. I agree that the riot could have been tied to the war a bit better, but you can't say there has been no build-up at all from within King's Landing.
If they were to just show Stannis sailing on a ship, without there being any conflict, it would be decried as a waste of a scene. And if they created conflict that wasn't directly related to the impending battle, it would be decried as a waste of a scene.
At any rate, (ep8)
it sounds like we will see Stannis and Davos in this week's episode and I wouldn't be surprised if the episode ends with Stannis' fleet sailing into Blackwater Bay as Tyrion and Co. watch from the Red Keep. So hopefully that will be enough to establish the upcoming battle in most viewers' minds.
There has been one scene of Tyrion doing anything to check the city's defenses. And even that scene included him doubting the plan due to the dangers of wildfire; yet apparently he has come up with no alternative or extra plan.
In discussions with Cersei, he complains about Joffery not preparing the city, yet it often falls to a Hand to do such things. So why is Tyrion apparently doing nothing but walk around the castle talking to his sister?
Finally in the book, Tywin leaves Harenhel immediately after hearing Stannis has secured Renly's men and ships. In the show Tywin is amused by the news and takes absolutely no interest in Stannis - in fact he hasn't mentioned him this season. You would think Tywin of all people would be concerned that Stannis has suddenly acquired 200 ships and thousands of men. It looks like Tywin will finally leave Harenhel in the next episode, and I wonder what will prompt him to do so.
So I certainly agree the show has dropped the ball by trivializing Stannis; I also find it weid Melisandre hasn't had a scene since her shadow baby shocker. I'm not asking for scenes of him sailing on a ship. But the lack of any preparation in King's Landing, or even a sense of foreboding/war is very odd. While Joffery is certainly crazy in the book and especially the show, I could see him being somewhat involved in the city's preparations and defenses. At the very least, a scene of Tyrion attempting to discuss the danger with him would make sense.
