Game of Thrones. Book vs. TV Series

[Cosmo_ac]

First off, and please read this and pay attention, their will be spoilers in this thread, which go up to the third book of the Game of Throne Series. This, for those who don't know, goes beyond the end of the third season of the TV series. Apparently, they only used half of the third book for the Season 3 of Game of Thrones. So, those who are concerned about possible spoilers, please do not read, or read very carefully. And those who have read past the third book, please try and not give any spoilers for those who have not read as far.

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Now, as far as this post goes, I'm curious who here enjoys the TV series more then the books. I admit, that at this point, I have enjoyed the TV series more then the books. I think part of that is that in the TV series, there are less characters, and they seem to be built up more then in the book. Shae, Bronn, Podrick (The part with Podrick visiting the ***** and them giving him his money back for being so give was hysterical), Cersie, Jamie, to name a few, are given more detail and certainly more lines (I think Jamie says less then 50 words in the first book vs. the first season, and the same goes for Cersie) then their book counterparts, which makes me feel that the chars are more well rounded and fuller. That being said, certain things are seemingly left out of the TV series that were in the book, such as the fact that John Snow and Arya are also Wargs, like Bran is, though with less experience and control.

I've recently finished the third book, and I have to admit, I was more then a little surprised. Part of that surprise is the characters who died. The death of Joffery came as a slight surprise, though lets face it, the boy needed some serious killing. However, I was shocked to see Lord Tywin die, but in particular, seeing Shay die was probably the most surprising, and of course part of that was because of how fully they developed her character in the TV series. In the TV series, she is shown to care very much about Tyrion, so I very much wonder how they will handle her death in the TV series, if at all.

At any rate, everybody please feel free to share your views, but please try and keep content within the first three books of the series to not ruin surprises for anybody.

 

[c7_assassin]

I'm very happy to have been introduced to Song of Ice and Fire by the TV series. I think that the first season of Game of Thrones is one of the all-time best examples of serialized, long-form televised storytelling.

I find that the last two seasons haven't lived up to my expectations... but then, those expectations were conditioned by the first season, and the fact that it
inspired me to go ahead and read the books. With the benefit of HBO's phenomenal casting and world-building, my expectations were probably unreasonable. On the other hand, it's cynical to invest in world-class talent when you know it will only be needed for one season; I miss Robert Baratheon almost as much as Ned Stark. 🙁

Of course, we've had other happy surprises, like Stannis Baratheon; I never really understood his character in the books, picturing him as some bearded, tyrannical figure. Stephan Dillane was perfectly cast and brought that character to life (such as it is); ascetic, emotionally closed-off, ambitious. And Brienne; again, perfect casting meets intuitive understanding of character. I wish things worked out better for her and Jaime in the end...

But after next season, assuming it takes us to the end of Storm of Swords or even a little beyond, I think the series is going to be in real trouble... Feast of Crows and Dance of Dragons are dense with filler, and that's already become the principle GoT problem; too many characters, not enough for them to do. You couldn't pay me to be on the writing staff of Game of Thrones' fifth season. (Subtext: that is a lie. You could absolutely pay me to do that. I would do such a good job, HBO. Hire me now.)

 

[ChapInTheHat]

My main concern at the moment is something George RR Martin has been referring to as the 'butterfly effect'. Minor changes made by the showmakers that may cause MAJOR problems in the storyline later on. There have already been a couple of cases where characters have died in the TV series, despite them still being alive in the books. Some of those characters may have important roles in future books (remember, Martin still has 2 left to write) and may force the TV series to diverge more and more from the source material.

That said, I love both the show and the books. I'm so glad the general public has embraced the TV show, and not just the already established book fanbase. The various reactions to a...certain incident in series 3 is a real testament to its impact on popular culture.

 

[Cosmo_ac]

Just curious Chap, but which characters have died in the books but are still alive in the TV series? (please remember to keep it within the first three books, if your answer extends beyond that, just say so.)

 

[ChapInTheHat]

Just curious Chap, but which characters have died in the books but are still alive in the TV series? (please remember to keep it within the first three books, if your answer extends beyond that, just say so.)

The most significant one is probably Robb's wife. Although she hasn't had a major role in the books since the RW, we don't know if Gorge R.R. Martin has anything planned for her in the remaining two books. The other one is the Dothraki who Drogo kills in season 1 by a rather nasty bit of tongue-tearing. I forget the guy's name, but he pops up again a bit later, although we don't know what significance he's going to have yet.

Its nothing that's affected the storyline so far, but we really don't know how things are gonna go in the future.

 

[Cosmo_ac]

I totally forgot about Rob's wife. As for the Dothraki, they can probably replace him with somebody else, depending. That being said, I do agree, the show writers are going to have to be careful.