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Game of Thrones - Season 2 - George RR Martin's Song of Ice and Fire - Sundays on HBO

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Dany

Banned
I think 10-13 episodes is fine but it fits into the constraints of the way HBO has done TV, the production timeline, cost per episode and distribution. It would be nice if we got more out of it, but I think the network is just set on not changing this 'fundamental' of their network.
 

bengraven

Member
Fuck that. ASOS
Zombie Catelyn is awesome.

Also, hasn't HBO said that it's one book per season and that's that?

Too bad we (series)
only see her twice in three books. I'm still confused how such a major character in the series, dies, and is suddenly resurrected, but becomes a third tier character.
 
Fuck that. ASOS
Zombie Catelyn is awesome.

Also, hasn't HBO said that it's one book per season and that's that?

No, ASOS is confirmed two seasons, along with this current season having some ASOS in it and some ACOK will be season 3. Of course AFFC and ADWD will have an entire reorganization for the show as well.
 

Magnus

Member
I'm not getting the sensation that the first two episodes of S2 feel rushed, but it seems to be a popular opinion. Anyone wanna discuss that?
 
I'm not getting the sensation that the first two episodes of S2 feel rushed, but it seems to be a popular opinion. Anyone wanna discuss that?

I think they're fine. I felt that way about the first few episodes of the first season, but as far as this season goes it feels better. With the possible exception of the very first scene of the season.
 

Arment

Member
Too bad we (series)
only see her twice in three books. I'm still confused how such a major character in the series, dies, and is suddenly resurrected, but becomes a third tier character.

Series
I think she'll become a bigger player in Book 6. George probably left her alone to keep the air of mystery about her.

No, ASOS is confirmed two seasons, along with this current season having some ASOS in it and some ACOK will be season 3. Of course AFFC and ADWD will have an entire reorganization for the show as well.

Oh good (hadn't read the renewal news). This show is going to be 10 seasons long at that rate. The kids will be full fledged adults and some of the adults will be looking haggard.

In the article they said two of their favorite scenes are in Book 3. Obviously [ASOS]
RW
is one, but what's the other? [ASOS]
Moon Door?
 

bengraven

Member
Series
I think she'll become a bigger player in Book 6. George probably left her alone to keep the air of mystery about her.



Oh good (hadn't read the renewal news). This show is going to be 10 seasons long at that rate. The kids will be full fledged adults and some of the adults will be looking haggard.

In the article they said two of their favorite scenes are in Book 3. Obviously [ASOS]
RW
is one, but what's the other? [ASOS]
Moon Door?

First part:
yeah, Jaime's on his way to her now that I think of it

Second part:
Mountain vs. Viper? "then I raped her while her kid's brains were all over my fists"

Choking scene?

Sansa's castle?
 

Meier

Member
I would be SHOCKED if (ASOS)
RW
wasn't the end of season 3. I think that's the kind of cliffhanger you have to end with. I guess they could go the Ned route and make it episode 9.

I can't quite remember where it falls in the book but they could modify things as needed to make that happen.
 
I would be SHOCKED if (ASOS)
RW
wasn't the end of season 3. I think that's the kind of cliffhanger you have to end with. I guess they could go the Ned route and make it episode 9.

I can't quite remember where it falls in the book but they could modify things as needed to make that happen.

ASOS
It's about 2/3s through the book. And I definitely think it'll cap off season 3. They can spend the entire season building up to it and it will get people talking like nothing else. Some will be pissed and vow to never come back, but they said that with Ned and they came back. Plus there's too much awesomeness in season 4 to ignore.
 

Emerson

May contain jokes =>
ASOS
It's about 2/3s through the book. And I definitely think it'll cap off season 3. They can spend the entire season building up to it and it will get people talking like nothing else. Some will be pissed and vow to never come back, but they said that with Ned and they came back. Plus there's too much awesomeness in season 4 to ignore.

ASOS
I don't think the Ned comparison is totally valid. The Red Wedding is a much more frustrating and upsetting event than Ned's death was. I've heard dozens of readers, these being young fantasy fans or other GAF posters, who quit reading for weeks after that event. When it comes to an average TV viewer, do you really think nobody would quit watching? Add to that the fact that the RW will undoubtedly be worse on TV than it was in the book as we'll be watching Robb over the next 2-3 seasons. Plus a well shot and composed film sequence will be more upsetting than text 9 times out of 10.

I don't know that I'd say it'll doom the show like some would say, but I do think a not insignificant portion of viewers will quit watching if they end Season 3 that way. Especially if Joffrey's death doesn't quickly follow it.
 

bengraven

Member
ASOS
It's about 2/3s through the book. And I definitely think it'll cap off season 3. They can spend the entire season building up to it and it will get people talking like nothing else. Some will be pissed and vow to never come back, but they said that with Ned and they came back. Plus there's too much awesomeness in season 4 to ignore.

Exactly. SOS is pure awesome. No need to worry that after THAT scene people will lose interest.

My god, if they did the final scenes of season 4 similar to the ending of The Godfather - "montage style", people would be demanding season 5 likerightfuckingnow.




Also:

Amy_Dawson.jpg


She almost looks cute here.
 

Wray

Member
You could easily end it on (SOS)
Dany freeing Yunkai and Jon fleeing the Wildlings
, I reckon. Pretty much where Part One ended, give a chapter or two of Part Two, I guess.

I still think Yunkai as a location is going to be cut, and the events there merged with Mereen. I think S3 will be all about Astapor and S4 will be all about Mereen.

I think Jon's S3 arc will end with Ygritte dying during the initial skirmish before the main Battle at the Wall.

And I think the cut will be the Red Wedding. There is simply no way they are going to push it back to S4. It's the logical ending to the season and the climax of Robb's, Cat's, The Boltons, The Tullys, and The Frey's story arc for S3/SoS. You cant build up to it all season and then push back the climax to the first or second episode of S4. It's just not gonna happen.

ASOS Spoilers
I really think we need the Red Wedding in Season 3 and that's where it should end, either in episode 9 or 10. Every season needs a defining moment. In season 1 it was the death of Ned, in season 2 it will be the Battle of the Blackwater. There's nothing to level of those in the first half of ASOS. Saving the Red Wedding for season 4 leaves season 3 with too little and season 4 with too much.

Agreed. But mainly, like I said above. It's the climax for what's likely going to be a season long story arc, and that arc is one of the biggest and most important in the whole series.

I agree about the former but I think the latter needs to be at the end of whatever season the big event is in. That's an integral part of the plot arc.

That scene should either end S4 or S3. You could definitely move it up to S3 if you did
The Red Wedding in Ep9. But they'd have to give Zombie Cat some stuff to do in S4 then. Possibly showing some of the exploits of the Brotherhood instead of just hearing about them second hand.


I completely disagree (ASOS)
I've already said in this thread today why ending season 3 on the RW is a terrible, terrible idea, so I'll address your point about not having enough in the first half. Yes, most of the climactic mind-blowing shit happens in the second half, but Dany conquers Astapor and Yunakai in the first half. Having Jon escape the wildlings at Queenscrown, Sam and Gilly getting saved by Coldhands, and Dany routing the Yunkish army in the season finale is a fine place to end it. It may not be as "shocking" as the RW, but letting themselves take some time with the story will really help the pacing, I feel. You can already feel the rushed pace in the first two episodes of Season 2, and it would only get worse if you rushed season 3 just to end it at the RW. Splitting the seasons roughly where the book was split would allow them to spend more than 2 minutes per character in any given episode.

Season 4 can easily be fleshed out by including
the Ironborn stuff from Feast into it and adding in some of the early chapters from Dance. Namely Jon's chapters. Ending S4 with him lopping off Janos Slynt's head would work well. Plus they'll have plenty of room to add new scenes and possibly even a flashback or two.

ASOS spoilers
Not to mention all the stuff you've mentioned, but most importantly for me is that RW is the beginning of what is basically one long rolling conclusion of many of the character arcs and plot lines from the first three books. It makes much more narrative sense for them to all happen in the same season.

Disagree. For me The Red Wedding is a perfect ending point of a season long arc. After the RW, you don't really see the Freys, Tullys, or Roose much until the events of Feast and Dance.

Also, now that S3 is officially a go, let's start the casting discussion!

Here's the main list we likely need/want for S3.

Ramsay Snow
Mance Rayder

Edmure Tully
The Blackfish

Vargo Hoat
Qyburn

Meera Reed
Jojen Reed

Beric Dondarrion
Thoros of Myr

Strong Belwas
Missandei
Grey Worm

Queen of Thorns
Mace Tyrell
Randyll Tarly

Tormund Giantsbane
Val
Styr


I think
The Red Viper and Darrio
will be pushed back to S4. I also think the
Greyjoy Brothers will be in S4, but it's possibly they can introduce Victarion or Aeron early. Especially Victarion, since he's basically just reaving The North during the events of the first half of SoS and the writers could easily bring him to Winterfell to interact with Asha and Theon.
 

Emerson

May contain jokes =>
I still think Yunkai as a location is going to be cut, and the events there merged with Mereen. I think S3 will be all about Astapor and S4 will be all about Mereen.

And I think the cut will be the Red Wedding. There is simply no way they are going to push it back to S4. It's the logical ending to the season and the climax of Robb's, Cat's, The Boltons, The Tullys, and The Frey's story arc for S3/SoS. You cant build up to it all season and then push back the climax to the first or second episode of S4. It's just not gonna happen.

Structurally it is no more the climax of those plotlines than it is the preamble to the rest of the book.
 
D

Deleted member 30609

Unconfirmed Member
I still think Yunkai as a location is going to be cut, and the events there merged with Mereen. I think S3 will be all about Astapor and S4 will be all about Mereen.

And I think the cut will be the Red Wedding. There is simply no way they are going to push it back to S4. It's the logical ending to the season and the climax of Robb's, Cat's, The Boltons, The Tullys, and The Frey's story arc for S3/SoS. You cant build up to it all season and then push back the climax to the first or second episode of S4. It's just not gonna happen.
Yeah, upon reflection I agree on all counts. Merging Dany's story like that makes a lot of sense.
 

Dany

Banned
ASOS
I don't think the Ned comparison is totally valid. The Red Wedding is a much more frustrating and upsetting event than Ned's death was. I've heard dozens of readers, these being young fantasy fans or other GAF posters, who quit reading for weeks after that event. When it comes to an average TV viewer, do you really think nobody would quit watching? Add to that the fact that the RW will undoubtedly be worse on TV than it was in the book as we'll be watching Robb over the next 2-3 seasons. Plus a well shot and composed film sequence will be more upsetting than text 9 times out of 10.

I don't know that I'd say it'll doom the show like some would say, but I do think a not insignificant portion of viewers will quit watching if they end Season 3 that way. Especially if Joffrey's death doesn't quickly follow it.

I will bathe in the tears of the TV viewers! You say upsetting, I am PUMPED for htat, my heart was racing reading that scene and I was FREAKED they were going to off arya aswell.
 
D

Deleted member 30609

Unconfirmed Member
How could people stop reading after that?! It was one of most ballsy moves in the series to that point. That's crazy.

I might read another chapter of AFFC now.
 
ASOS
I don't think the Ned comparison is totally valid. The Red Wedding is a much more frustrating and upsetting event than Ned's death was. I've heard dozens of readers, these being young fantasy fans or other GAF posters, who quit reading for weeks after that event. When it comes to an average TV viewer, do you really think nobody would quit watching? Add to that the fact that the RW will undoubtedly be worse on TV than it was in the book as we'll be watching Robb over the next 2-3 seasons. Plus a well shot and composed film sequence will be more upsetting than text 9 times out of 10.

I don't know that I'd say it'll doom the show like some would say, but I do think a not insignificant portion of viewers will quit watching if they end Season 3 that way. Especially if Joffrey's death doesn't quickly follow it.

ASOS
I think any viewer loss would be negligible. People who have been with the show for three years aren't just going to ignore it. Some will be pissed, how could they kill my favorites. But 9 months later when previews start rolling around and the hype builds most will come back, and those that don't will come back once the series gets rolling again and all the awesome shit starts happening.

How could people stop reading after that?! It was one of most ballsy moves in the series to that point. That's crazy.

I might read another chapter of AFFC now.

ASOS
Yeah, I don't understand why people would quit reading after that chapter. After reading it, my reaction was "Damn that sucks, but damn that was so good," what happens next? What will be the fallout? Shit just got incredibly real!
 

Emerson

May contain jokes =>
ASOS
I think any viewer loss would be negligible. People who have been with the show for three years aren't just going to ignore it. Some will be pissed, how could they kill my favorites. But 9 months later when previews start rolling around and the hype builds most will come back, and those that don't will come back once the series gets rolling again and all the awesome shit starts happening.

I think if one thing's obvious it's that there's going to be no agreement about this and people will probably be arguing about it from now until that finally airs and probably after as well. Certainly no disrespect towards any who I disagree with, I just truly want to see this book done justice on TV. It's a real shame HBO can't afford to produce a long season because it's clear that the problem arises from having to divide such a fucking masterpiece of a book in the first place. Every event in that book is so well interlaced that I seriously do not envy the job of having to split it up.
 

KingK

Member
ASOS
I don't think the Ned comparison is totally valid. The Red Wedding is a much more frustrating and upsetting event than Ned's death was. I've heard dozens of readers, these being young fantasy fans or other GAF posters, who quit reading for weeks after that event. When it comes to an average TV viewer, do you really think nobody would quit watching? Add to that the fact that the RW will undoubtedly be worse on TV than it was in the book as we'll be watching Robb over the next 2-3 seasons. Plus a well shot and composed film sequence will be more upsetting than text 9 times out of 10.

I don't know that I'd say it'll doom the show like some would say, but I do think a not insignificant portion of viewers will quit watching if they end Season 3 that way. Especially if Joffrey's death doesn't quickly follow it.

I agree with this entirely.

You people are deluding yourselves if you think they won't suffer a significant drop in viewership if they choose to end a season on that scene. If the book had ended there and I had to wait a year to see what happened next, I wouldn't have even bothered coming back because I was so pissed. And I imagine reactions of TV viewers will be even worse.

Also, for people talking about Ned's death ending season 1, that's wrong. It ended with Dany hatching fucking dragons. I'm sure if episode 9 was the last episode of season 1 they would have lost a lot of viewers.

a 15/16 episode season would have been about perfect. But yeah, given budget and time constraints, they just can't do it.
I'll agree with this.
 
ASOS
I think any viewer loss would be negligible. People who have been with the show for three years aren't just going to ignore it. Some will be pissed, how could they kill my favorites. But 9 months later when previews start rolling around and the hype builds most will come back, and those that don't will come back once the series gets rolling again and all the awesome shit starts happening.

ASOS
RW is not just about the death of key characters, it's about the complete and instant destruction of a Kingdom, the forces that almost everyone is pulling for. I honestly put the book down for a few days after that. In the show it will be much worse, and I think they've nailed the Starks in the show and pull like those characters more than in the books, and obviously Robb is a much bigger character in the show, and is all sorts of badass (Richard Madden's performance is so awesome). I do think it's absurdly cruel to end a season like that, and yes, some viewers won't come back, but I still think that RW should be in season 4 for narrative reasons more than cruelty of ending a season like that or concerns of losing viewers.

I do realize that RW ending season three is relatively likely though, and it can still be great there, but I personally think about 1/3 through season 4 is the better narrative choice, especially if these rumors of the sacking of Winterfell being pushed to season 3 are true. My 2 cents.

I agree with this entirely.

You people are deluding yourselves if you think they won't suffer a significant drop in viewership if they choose to end a season on that scene. If the book had ended there and I had to wait a year to see what happened next, I wouldn't have even bother coming back because I was so pissed. And I imagine reactions of TV viewers will be even worse.

Also, for people talking about Ned's death ending season 1, that's wrong. It ended with Dany hatching fucking dragons. I'm sure if episode 9 was the last episode of season 1 they would have lost a lot of viewers.

Season 1 had the King in the North scene, which pretty much made up for Ned's death in pure awesomeness.
 

Arment

Member
ASOS
All those tasty tears can't come fast enough.

I still find it hard to believe people were attached to Ned that much.

I find this talk of entertaining the idea of viewers leaving and never coming back because of ending on that particular scene hilarious. Like it's even a credible threat. I hope they end it there now just for the comedy.
 
ASOS
All those tasty tears can't come fast enough.

I still find it hard to believe people were attached to Ned that much.

I find this talk of entertaining the idea of viewers leaving and never coming back because of ending on that particular scene hilarious. Like it's even a credible threat. I hope they end it there now just for the comedy.

Yeah, I don't get it either. When a show takes an incredible dip in quality and you're bored senseless by it, then I can see people leaving. This is the exact opposite. Pissed people will come back for curiosity's sake. Plus 9 months later is plenty of time to heal butthurt..
 

Arment

Member
Sean Bean loves to die though, that was foreshadowing enough. A huge direwolf with the exact amount of pups for each of his children with Stag antlers through it's face was the other hint.
 

jett

D-Member
ASOS
All those tasty tears can't come fast enough.

I still find it hard to believe people were attached to Ned that much.

I find this talk of entertaining the idea of viewers leaving and never coming back because of ending on that particular scene hilarious. Like it's even a credible threat. I hope they end it there now just for the comedy.

I don't know about but it sure shocked the shit outta me while reading the first book. When I started the next chapter I was almost hoping he had actually made it alive somehow. :p
 
ASOS
I don't think the Ned comparison is totally valid. The Red Wedding is a much more frustrating and upsetting event than Ned's death was. I've heard dozens of readers, these being young fantasy fans or other GAF posters, who quit reading for weeks after that event. When it comes to an average TV viewer, do you really think nobody would quit watching? Add to that the fact that the RW will undoubtedly be worse on TV than it was in the book as we'll be watching Robb over the next 2-3 seasons. Plus a well shot and composed film sequence will be more upsetting than text 9 times out of 10.

I don't know that I'd say it'll doom the show like some would say, but I do think a not insignificant portion of viewers will quit watching if they end Season 3 that way. Especially if Joffrey's death doesn't quickly follow it.

Big block of black text incoming!
ASOS
Yeah, I agree completely. Here's what I said about the whole thing a couple months ago:
It is heavily foreshadowed... but I think Martin masterfully wrote it in a way where the audience reading it gets into a complete shroud of denial until it actually happens. I think why it remains so effective is that so much crap happens to the Starks, that despite the rug being pulled out from under you multiple times in the previous books (Ned, Winterfell razed, and basically every Stark thinking every other Stark is dead) you see Robb amassing his armies, Arya heading to the Twins to meet her brother and mother, and a compromise made with the Frey's with the next step to take the battle to King's Landing and you can't help but fall into thinking that this could be traditional narrative where there's a happy reunion, and the Starks are redeemed. The Red Wedding literally is a complete severance of Robb's arc as a hero, which despite being in Martin's world for some 2000 pages by that point, you can't help rooting for. It's like if Luke and Leia were brutally betrayed and murdered by Mon Mothma and the Rebels in ROTJ during the planning of the attack of Endor.

This being said, Martin was VERY VERY careful to make sure that the audience always had some degree of distance from Robb. He was never a POV, nor did we have a POV that was directly with him during most of his exploits in ACOK, and only heard about him from hearsay that the POV characters heard.

I mentioned before a long time ago that I was curious though how the show would address this. It looks like they expanded his role, so I wonder how this will change the impact of the Red Wedding. With an expanded role, he'll no longer be a distanced character but right up front and center, perhaps even becoming the defacto "protagonist" that the audience wants to win. I do agree with PhoenixDark that this'll make the event even more tragic in the show.

I also just have to say that I still think it's the height of stupidity to end a season (like S3:Ep 10) DIRECTLY on the Red Wedding, mainly for the reasons above. With Ned, it was different; he tried, he failed, he died, end of character. He really had nowhere else to go. As I was saying above with Robb, it's a totally different story where an expanded role will mean his hero arc is disrupted, and as huge of a troll that it would be, I can see basically a lot of the TV only audience saying "fuck this show" and MEAN IT this time, and not watch it when it comes back 8 months later since they've already written it off. I think you need to give the audience some levity.
Look, I think it'd be the greatest troll in the world to end S3 on the bodies of Robb and Cat, but it's just not a breaking point. When you read it, you had a few hundred pages to go through. When Ned died, you had an episode to go in the last season, and I think for the sake of the audience you NEED to have levity fairly quickly after an event like this; not a year later.
 

KingK

Member
ASOS
All those tasty tears can't come fast enough.

I still find it hard to believe people were attached to Ned that much.

I find this talk of entertaining the idea of viewers leaving and never coming back because of ending on that particular scene hilarious. Like it's even a credible threat. I hope they end it there now just for the comedy.

I loved Ned, and was pissed when he died, but at the same time I was excited to see what would happen next because of it.

With (ASOS)
the Red Wedding, I was just pissed and full of blind rage. I wasn't excited about what this would result in, I just wanted to punch GRRM in the face and throw the book into a fire. The only faction with any measurable amount of power that I had any sympathy left for had been completely destroyed. It was devastating and if the book had ended there I wouldn't have even bothered picking up the next one.
 
D

Deleted member 30609

Unconfirmed Member
I don't know about but it sure shocked the shit outta me while reading the first book. When I started the next chapter I was almost hoping he had actually made it alive somehow. :p

Yeah. Martin seems to love setting up road-maps for characters that seem super interesting ("Ned will take the Black!" ---> omg, Jon and Ned at the Wall storyline) only to fucking crush them a few chapters later.

One of the less dramatic, but still fairly frustrating moments in SoS
was when Sansa was set up to move to Highgarden. The characters surrounding her there seemed, at the time anyway, super-interesting and it gave her character something significant to do, or a chance to grow, or something, only to have her locked in King's Landing for the rest of the book a few chapters later. Also, while I'm here inside SoS spoiler tags, I was kind of devastated that we never got to see more of Oberyn. For as little screen-time (...yes, screen-time) as he got in the book, he was such an amazing character.
I love it. I love that nothing is sacred in this series. It's what makes it so interesting. I love that the world is robust enough to support new characters and stories when one dramatically ends.
 

Arment

Member
I don't envy the writers with their task of making that work, that's for sure. I might have to re-read ASOS and figure it out for myself.
 
Yeah. Martin seems to love setting up road-maps for characters that seem super interesting ("Ned will take the Black!" ---> omg, Jon and Ned at the Wall storyline) only to fucking crush them a few chapters later.

One of the less dramatic, but still fairly frustrating moments in SoS
was when Sansa was set up to move to Highgarden. The characters surrounding her there seemed, at the time anyway, super-interesting and it gave her character something significant to do, or a chance to grow, or something, only to have her locked in King's Landing for the rest of the book a few chapters later. Also, while I'm here inside SoS spoiler tags, I was kind of devastated that we never got to see more of Oberyn. For as little screen-time (...yes, screen-time) as he got in the book, he was such an amazing character.
I love it. I love that nothing is sacred in this series. It's what makes it so interesting.

ADWD SPOILERS
Jon leading an army of wildlings to take back Winterfell from Ramsay... in this instance he crushed your hopes just a few paragraphs later.

ASOS spoilarz:
Considering that this season will feature Jeyne Westerling, their romance sets up the repercussions of the RW for next season. So regardless if the RW happens in the last third of ASOS, it seems as if the writers are thematically setting it up to close out season3. If they hold the RW for season4, which I would be shocked if they do, it would happen early - so much so that there would not be any real time to build up to it. With Jeyne's presence this season, RW for season 3 seems almost in the bag.

Yup.
 
ASOS spoilarz:
Considering that this season will feature Jeyne Westerling, their romance sets up the repercussions of the RW for next season. So regardless if the RW happens in the last third of ASOS, it seems as if the writers are thematically setting it up to close out season3. If they hold the RW for season4, which I would be shocked if they do, it would happen early - so much so that there would not be any real time to build up to it. With Jeyne's presence this season, RW for season 3 seems almost in the bag.
 
Yeah. Martin seems to love setting up road-maps for characters that seem super interesting ("Ned will take the Black!" ---> omg, Jon and Ned at the Wall storyline) only to fucking crush them a few chapters later.

Yeah, he can still catch you.
ADWD spoilers

Yeah Jon!! Take the battle to Ramsay! Let's get this going!

Two pages later...

SERIOUSLY?! WHAT THE FUCK?!

Edit: Dammit dude, you beat me by like seconds.
 
D

Deleted member 30609

Unconfirmed Member
I can't highlight either of your posts, I'm still only a few chapters into AFFC.
 

Emerson

May contain jokes =>
Yeah, I don't get it either. When a show takes an incredible dip in quality and you're bored senseless by it, then I can see people leaving. This is the exact opposite. Pissed people will come back for curiosity's sake. Plus 9 months later is plenty of time to heal butthurt..

ASOS
I don't think it's quite as simple as that. The Red Wedding essentially symbolizes the destruction of (almost) all hope that the "good guys" will have any sort of victory in this world. When Ned dies it's shocking because he was clearly a good guy and you see that that doesn't work in this world. But quickly you shift your loyalty to Robb, who seems a smarter Ned, and seems to be doing pretty well in his war. And then he and his mother are murdered in a brutal way.

Plenty of readers felt hopeless after the RW. Who is there to root for? There's nobody who is both likable and in a position to have any success. If you leave the viewer in this position for 9 months rather than having the ability to read another 300 pages of awesome right away, I think you're discounting too much the possibility that people will just stop caring.

On another note which others have mentioned, there is in my opinion zero chance that season 3 actually ends with the RW as a cliffhanger as some people seem to want. HBO doesn't work that way (see: Ned dies in episode 9 and the structure of almost every other HBO series). If the RW is in season 3 Joffrey will die there too, which will probably save them quite a bit.
 
D

Deleted member 30609

Unconfirmed Member
While ADWD is mentioned here, is it possible to read AFFC and ADWD concurrently, as they take place concurrently? Or is it still a case where ADWD will spoil events of AFFC inadvertently?
 
I can't highlight either of your posts, I'm still only a few chapters into AFFC.

Ha! We had posted the exact same thing. And yeah, for the love of God do not highlight.

While ADWD is mentioned here, is it possible to read AFFC and ADWD concurrently, as they take place concurrently? Or is it still a case where ADWD will spoil events of AFFC inadvertently?

It's possible. I'm sure there are guides out there, but I wouldn't recommend it.

ASOS
I don't think it's quite as simple as that. The Red Wedding essentially symbolizes the destruction of (almost) all hope that the "good guys" will have any sort of victory in this world. When Ned dies it's shocking because he was clearly a good guy and you see that that doesn't work in this world. But quickly you shift your loyalty to Robb, who seems a smarter Ned, and seems to be doing pretty well in his war. And then he and his mother are murdered in a brutal way.

Plenty of readers felt hopeless after the RW. Who is there to root for? There's nobody who is both likable and in a position to have any success. If you leave the viewer in this position for 9 months rather than having the ability to read another 300 pages of awesome right away, I think you're discounting too much the possibility that people will just stop caring.

On another note which others have mentioned, there is in my opinion zero chance that season 3 actually ends with the RW as a cliffhanger as some people seem to want. HBO doesn't work that way (see: Ned dies in episode 9 and the structure of almost every other HBO series). If the RW is in season 3 Joffrey will die there too, which will probably save them quite a bit.

Boardwalk Empire Season 2 Spoiler
We'll get kind of a test run here in a bit. At the end of Season 2 Jimmy got shot in the face and the internet was filled with the tears of his fan. We'll see what happens when season 3 rolls out.
 
While ADWD is mentioned here, is it possible to read AFFC and ADWD concurrently, as they take place concurrently? Or is it still a case where ADWD will spoil events of AFFC inadvertently?

The 2nd half of ADWD takes place after AFFC and even includes POVs from AFFC characters. I wouldn't recommend reading them concurrently.
 

Arment

Member
ASOS
I don't think it's quite as simple as that. The Red Wedding essentially symbolizes the destruction of (almost) all hope that the "good guys" will have any sort of victory in this world. When Ned dies it's shocking because he was clearly a good guy and you see that that doesn't work in this world. But quickly you shift your loyalty to Robb, who seems a smarter Ned, and seems to be doing pretty well in his war. And then he and his mother are murdered in a brutal way.

Plenty of readers felt hopeless after the RW. Who is there to root for? There's nobody who is both likable and in a position to have any success. If you leave the viewer in this position for 9 months rather than having the ability to read another 300 pages of awesome right away, I think you're discounting too much the possibility that people will just stop caring.

On another note which others have mentioned, there is in my opinion zero chance that season 3 actually ends with the RW as a cliffhanger as some people seem to want. HBO doesn't work that way (see: Ned dies in episode 9 and the structure of almost every other HBO series). If the RW is in season 3 Joffrey will die there too, which will probably save them quite a bit.

ASOS
I'm more of a Tyrion and Daenerys fan myself. When Rob and Catelyn died I was like, "Holy shit." Put the book down for 10 minutes and then kept going. There's plenty of people to root for like Jon and Daenerys (personally I always root for Tyrion too). As far as power goes, aren't the good guys supposed to have it tough? Can't have the good guy on top 3 seasons in to a 8 season (minimum) show.
 

methodman

Banned
I hope people who are highlighting the spoilers on the last few pages, especially the last couple posts have read the series up to ADWD. Would suck if they haven't, lol (I've been reading this shit since '98, bought every book other than Game of Thrones on day 1)
 
That's a remarkable amount of black text from this thread tonight, gentlemen. Fine work. :)


I did a rewatch of The Night Lands tonight. The Arya-Gendry-Hot Pie-Lommy scene at the river is pure gold. Hot Pie is hilarious.

A couple potentially gif-able moments if Plywood has the time/interest:
- Bronn's smile when they arrest Janos Slynt
- Arya shoving Gendry
- Theon's "I bet you can" and look at Yara
- Balon ripping the necklace/cloak off Theon
 

Arment

Member
That's a remarkable amount of black text from this thread tonight, gentlemen. Fine work. :)


I did a rewatch of The Night Lands tonight. The Arya-Gendry-Hot Pie-Lommy scene at the river is pure gold. Hot Pie is hilarious.

A couple potentially gif-able moments if Plywood has the time/interest:
- Bronn's smile when they arrest Janos Slynt
- Arya shoving Gendry
- Theon's "I bet you can" and look at Yara
- Balon ripping the necklace/cloak off Theon

The Arya-Gendry scene was so adorable. Gendry is a million times better in the show after that scene.
 

KingK

Member
ASOS
I don't think it's quite as simple as that. The Red Wedding essentially symbolizes the destruction of (almost) all hope that the "good guys" will have any sort of victory in this world. When Ned dies it's shocking because he was clearly a good guy and you see that that doesn't work in this world. But quickly you shift your loyalty to Robb, who seems a smarter Ned, and seems to be doing pretty well in his war. And then he and his mother are murdered in a brutal way.

Plenty of readers felt hopeless after the RW. Who is there to root for? There's nobody who is both likable and in a position to have any success. If you leave the viewer in this position for 9 months rather than having the ability to read another 300 pages of awesome right away, I think you're discounting too much the possibility that people will just stop caring.

On another note which others have mentioned, there is in my opinion zero chance that season 3 actually ends with the RW as a cliffhanger as some people seem to want. HBO doesn't work that way (see: Ned dies in episode 9 and the structure of almost every other HBO series). If the RW is in season 3 Joffrey will die there too, which will probably save them quite a bit.

Yup, and on your last point (ASOS)
I completely agree that if the RW is s3 ep9, then Joff's death is ep10.
I also think that that is possible, but it would kind of rush the book a bit. It would also mean having to introduce some of AFFC/ADWD into the latter half of season 4, which, as I've said, would just leave that season as an absolute clusterfuck in terms of pacing.

I would much rather them just take their time, give us more than 2 minutes of a character in an episode, and split the seasons roughly where the book splits.

I think we can all agree though that the ideal situation would be like a single 15-18 episode season.
 
D

Deleted member 30609

Unconfirmed Member
I hope people who are highlighting the spoilers on the last few pages, especially the last couple posts have read the series up to ADWD. Would suck if they haven't, lol (I've been reading this shit since '98, bought every book other than Game of Thrones on day 1)

As I was reading ACOK, I realised it was released in '98. I was seven years old. There's something horribly bizzare about that.
 
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