GAME OF THRONES

[Quintus 5,399]

Overall good, but I preferred the first season. Season two was a mixed bag, complimented by a couple of absolutely brilliant episodes, the feverishly paced opener being one of them.

[Nick1Ø66 4,722]

How is season 2? A must buy?

No. But it's a must-see.

[Jay 37,374]

Saw episode 4 now. I enjoyed the developments all the stories are taking, including Ed Stark investigating the king's hand's death, the white-haired queen lady getting her brother in line, everything going on with the wall and the training of Sam, and Ed's wife having the brothel draw swords on the imp at the end. Every episode so far has been great!

[BloodBoal 7,538]

[Jay 37,374]

OK!

[BloodBoal 7,538]

[BloodBoal 7,538]

[KK 3,307]

uhmm....why?

I guess we just don't get good posters anymore...

[BloodBoal 7,538]

[Brónach 1,302]

Random guy climbing the wall is my new favourite character.

[BloodBoal 7,538]

[BloodBoal 7,538]

[Jay 37,374]

How can they possibly know how long it will take to tell the story when the final 2 books aren't even written yet? Idiots

[Incanus 5,716]

12 "Avatar" Character Posters

Rather paltry effort don't you think?

uhmm....why?

I guess we just don't get good posters anymore...

Yup so it seems.

[A24 4,346]

This week I saw the first episode of season 2 and I had great trouble with getting into it. It's like I didn't know who most of the characters were or what they were talking about. I remember the dwarf, the wicked queen with long blonde hair, that adviser fella who thinks knowledge is power, the dragon girl, the chap in the prison cage (the brother of the queen, I think), that cool Jedi-like guy who travels with the dragon girl, ... But all the others I simply didn't know or I don't remember them from the first season. It's almost as if some data/background is missing or that the series is made for those who have read the books.

Alex

[Quintus 5,399]

It's jarring learning about and accepting the new characters and places at first, but settles down once they've been revisited a few times. I was exactly the same.

[Incanus 5,716]

It's jarring learning about and accepting the new characters and places at first, but settles down once they've been revisited a few times. I was exactly the same.

Especially if it has been a while since you watched the show. No wonder that you do not remember the name of character mentioned in a conversation once in the first season so it is pretty certain people like Stannis might not be obviously recognizable and it might take a while to figure out why are they important. For those who know the story only through the show dropping in a whole new cast in the new season it might take a while to settle in and connect faces and names. Heck the novels have a huge list of character names in the Appendix just because there are so many characters in the book series it is nearly impossible to remember the minor character mentioned once 2 books ago.

[BloodBoal 7,538]

[BloodBoal 7,538]

[Incanus 5,716]

Ooh very cool footage! Thanks for the videos Messenger!

[Brónach 1,302]

This story just seems to go so mind numblingly slow.

[Quintus 5,399]

Really? Pace is one of the finer tuned elements of the show, I have no complaints whatsoever in that regard.

[KK 3,307]

Likewise. I personally think the first season was really tight. And while the second season was more ambitious, it was more messy (thank you gratuitous sex scenes!). I suppose with all the many storylines to follow, it is to be expected. I just hope they'll keep season 3 on a tighter leash.

[Incanus 5,716]

Likewise. I personally think the first season was really tight. And while the second season was more ambitious, it was more messy (thank you gratuitous sex scenes!). I suppose with all the many storylines to follow, it is to be expected. I just hope they'll keep season 3 on a tighter leash.

Considering that they split the book 3 into two seasons I would expect a bit tighter leash because they have time to tell the story in a less cramped space. Fitting these dense mammoths of a novel into 10 episodes/season is a feat unto itself but too much compression of material did plague the 2nd season a bit. There was (contrary to Chaac's opinion) rather many plot points that were merely glanced over too quickly.

[A24 4,346]

The dwarf should speak with an American accent instead of trying to speak with a British one. He's a good actor, and I like the character, but I do find it distracting. I know, he does it to blend in with the rest of the cast but still ... it's obvious that he is forcing it.

[Incanus 5,716]

Too late for that now.

[BloodBoal 7,538]

[Quintus 5,399]

I actually don't mind his take on the accent. Most of his pronunciation is actually fine, it just veers off a little every now and then but that's okay. It doesn't distract me in the least and I've heard far, far worse. An odd American character in the midst of Englishness would grate much worse for my money.

[A24 4,346]

I rather have a neutral American accent than a forced British accent. It's not a real deal breaker. It's a fun part and the dwarf is a good actor.

I must say, after 4 episodes, I'm starting to dig the show again. It's getting better and rougher. The atmosphere is great (that colorful scene when they stand before the gates of Qarth!) and I usually don't like fantasy.

Alex - signing off to watch episode 5

[Brónach 1,302]

Likewise. I personally think the first season was really tight. And while the second season was more ambitious, it was more messy (thank you gratuitous sex scenes!). I suppose with all the many storylines to follow, it is to be expected. I just hope they'll keep season 3 on a tighter leash.

Considering that they split the book 3 into two seasons I would expect a bit tighter leash because they have time to tell the story in a less cramped space. Fitting these dense mammoths of a novel into 10 episodes/season is a feat unto itself but too much compression of material did plague the 2nd season a bit. There was (contrary to Chaac's opinion) rather many plot points that were merely glanced over too quickly.

It goes over many things too quickly, but at the same time, it feels like the whole thing advances slowly. Actually, the idea of waiting eight years to complete the show weirds me out a bit.

I have the same impression as a friend of many: to us (me a viewer of the series, she's read the books) the main story seems to be about the stuff beyond the wall, as if that was our particular "destroy-the-ring" storyline, and at some point with everything else you start feeling like "yeah, right, but let's go back to what I perceive to be the important stuff". Of course, the variety of the source material causes viewers to be more interested in some things than others.

[BloodBoal 7,538]

[Brónach 1,302]

"I shall show you no mercy" = horribly bland outside of context.

Escalator dude still rocks.

[Jay 37,374]

I don't see any way that the show can adapt the entire book series in only 8 seasons......

With 7 books to cover, and them splitting books 3-7 into two seasons each, isn't that 12 total seasons?

2011, Season 1 = Book 1, A Game Of Thrones (704 pages)

2012. Season 2 = Book 2, A Clash Of Kings (768 pages)

2013. Season 3 = HALF of Book 3, A Storm Of Swords (992/2 = 496 pages)

2014, Season 4 = HALF of Book 3, A Storm Of Swords (992/2 = 496 pages)

2015, Season 5 = HALF of Book 4, A Feast For Crows (753/2 = 376 pages)

2016, Season 6 = HALF of Book 4, A Feast For Crows (753/2 = 376 pages)

2017, Season 7 = HALF of Book 5, A Dance With Dragons (1056/2 = 528 pages)

2018, Season 8 = HALF of Book 5, A Dance With Dragons (1056/2 = 528 pages)

2019, Season 9 = HALF of Book 6, The Winds Of Winter (not published yet)

2020, Season 10 = HALF of Book 6, The Winds Of Winter (not published yet)

2021, Season 11 = HALF of Book 7, A Dream Of Spring (not published yet)

2022, Season 12 = HALF of Book 7, A Dream Of Spring (not published yet)

Right?

Also, breaking that down makes me realize something peculiar - they announced that Season 3 would only cover half of book 3.... but then, they also announced that Season 3 would essentially be 11 episodes long instead of hte usual 10 (by adding 5 minutes length to each episode).... so they are adapting WAY LESS pages in MORE tv time? Seems contradictory to me.

Maybe Season 3 is in actuality more like 3/4s of Book 3, and Season 4 is the rest of Book 3 and most of Book 4? Book 4 is shorter than Books 2 and 3, so it probably doesn't need two entire seasons to itself, right?

I dunno.

[Brónach 1,302]

I didn't know they were splitting the following books as well.

Funny. Reminds me of how the books were published here divided in two volumes.

[BloodBoal 7,538]

[Brónach 1,302]

I'm falling in the same trap as last season. I thought I disliked some things in the show and that I wasn't very interested. Then second seasn came and I thought it would be cool to watch it. Then I got more annoyed and I thought I had lost interest. And now I'm curious about seeing the third season, because I don't remember my disappointments with the previous season.

I never learn.

[BloodBoal 7,538]

[Jay 37,374]

It makes no sense though. They were able to adapt all 704 pages of Book 1 into the 10-episode Season 1, and all 768 pages of Book 2 into the 10-episode Season 2.

Now they are taking the 992 page Book 4, and turning it into TWO seasons of 11 episodes each??

They went from 70.4 pages per episode in season 1, to 76.8 pages per episode in season 2, to 45.09 pages per episode in seasons 3/4????? Doesn't make sense.

The only explanation is that Season 3 covers MOST of Book 3, and Season 4 is the rest of Book 3 and most or maybe half of Book 4, etc...

[BloodBoal 7,538]

[Brónach 1,302]

You can't measure that in pages.

[BloodBoal 7,538]

[Jay 37,374]

What? I'm afraid I don't understand what you're saying.

What don't you get?

I thought I explained my self pretty simply...

[BloodBoal 7,538]

[Jay 37,374]

You can't measure that in pages.

+1. Adaptations aren't maths, LeBlanc.

Of course not, but going from one 700 page book per season to half of a 1,000 page book in a LONGER season is a HUGE difference....

[BloodBoal 7,538]

[Jay 37,374]

I think the producers comments of season 3 being "half" of Book 3 was just approximate, and it will likely be "most" of Book 3.

And yes, Books 1-3 bounce around between all stories, but Book 4 covers ONLY the main Westeros stories that happen right after Book 3, and Book 5 covers only the North and Essos stories that take place right after Book 3, so the tv show will have to bounce between both books when it gets there.

So anyway, I think GRR Martin has until at least 2017 or so to publish Book 6 before the show writes have nothing to adapt, I think....

It's not a longer season, as far as I know. It will have 10 episodes, same as the first two. Well, each episode will be about 5 minutes longer, but still...

EXACTLY! Adding 5 minutes to 10 episodes = Adding 50 minutes to the season, which is the same thing as adding an entire episode! I'm telling you, something doesn't add up, unless they are drastically slowing down things and spending more time on each character instead of advancing the plot as often.

[BloodBoal 7,538]

[Jay 37,374]

Thinking more pragmatically now... You know, it's entirely possibly that when reading Book 3, the producers saw many areas they would want to expand for the television show, such as more elaborate battles and such, and it made sense to them that splitting it into 2 seasons made the most sense.

Conversely, maybe when they read books 4 and 5 they thought there was a lot of filler that wouldn't need to be included in the show at all, so they won't have to be split like Book 3 was.

So maybe their 8 season plan is:

2011, Season 1 = Book 1, A Game Of Thrones (704 pages)

2012. Season 2 = Book 2, A Clash Of Kings (768 pages)

2013. Season 3 = First half of Book 3, A Storm Of Swords (992/2 = 496 pages)

2014, Season 4 = Second half of Book 3, A Storm Of Swords (992/2 = 496 pages)

2015, Season 5 = Bouncing between Book 4, A Feast For Crows and Book 5, A Dance With Dragons ([753+1056]/2 = 905 pages)

2016, Season 6 = Bouncing between Book 4, A Feast For Crows and Book 5, A Dance With Dragons ([753+1056]/2 = 905 pages)

2017, Season 7 = Hopefully Book 6, The Winds Of Winter is published by then!

2018, Season 8 = Hopefully Book 7, A Dream Of Spring is published by then!

I guess luckily for them, the show is a big enough hit that if GRRMartin can't seem to finish Book 6 in time, they can expand the Book4/5 adaptation into Season 7 if they need to while waiting for him to finish it.

[BloodBoal 7,538]

[Jay 37,374]

It probably all depends on their content, I'd imagine.

I do think there is a Harry Potter effect going on here on the author's side...

by that I mean Harry Potter 1-4 were tightly written novels, written before there was a movie deal and before they were worldwide sensations. Books 5-7 were written after success and fame changed her and her writing style and they all have a fair amount of bloat in them.

While I haven't read ASOIAF, it seems that Books 1-3 - published just before the LOTR movies revived the fantasy genre and before there was a television deal - are much tighter novels than Books 4-5 are and 6-7 likely will be.