HBO's adaptation of Game of Thrones - Thread 2. There are a lot of nerds.

You guys going on and on about Sheeran, how quickly you forget that the drummer from Coldplay was in an episode. The drummer from Coldplay!!!!!!

I'd watch the Greyjoy one. As long as someone's babbling about the "iron price" every episode, that is

And members of Mastodon. And the football guy from Green Bay.

the way the crowd chants along in that robson and jerome video like the marching band is playing sweet caroline at a football game is just god awful. why did all of that happen.

football guy was in this?

he threw a hail mary as the night king in one episode.

https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/13/entertainment/aaron-rodgers-game-thrones/index.html

Or if they'd bothered to write Missandei as anything other than a paper thin character who's done something more in the last few seasons than stand around in throne rooms.

― Matt DC, Tuesday, May 14, 2019 5:08 AM (five hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

yeah i mean dany definitely cared about the dragons more than any of her redshirt assistants

― FernandoHierro, Tuesday, May 14, 2019 5:17 AM (five hours ago)

I don't think Missandei was paper thin ... they'd been together for a long time ... if Missandei were a "redshirt" she would Scottie ... idk it's weird that even on ilx people assume their personal values and interests are universal

"paper thin" is stretching it a little bit but she never got more than a couple of notes to play, and they certainly didn't do enough to establish the importance of her relationship with Dany to justify the latter's reaction when she gets Mountain'd

I've been more irritated by Danerys's allegiance to her family and their legacy when the family member she shared the most (only?) screen time with was her brother, who was an irredeemable shithead. Still named one of her dragons after him, only to have said dragon get resurrected and used as a weapon against her.

Her priorities seem to have always been family's legacy > dragons > Jorah > everyone else

GRRM used to be much more involved with the show, writing at least one teleplay per season through season 4. afterwards, he scaled back his involvement (presumably to finish up those darn books). i think he gave them the general outline back in the very beginning of the process, back when they were still getting ready to make the first season

Lol, Missandei wasn’t even as well drawn as that doctor who was on ST:TNG for a single season.

I don't get how they are going off the GRRM outline when arguably the most important plot/character point of the last two seasons has diverged from the books and is Irreconcilable.

the books if ever finished will have to be substantially different

I've been more irritated by Danerys's allegiance to her family and their legacy when the family member she shared the most (only?) screen time with was her brother, who was an irredeemable shithead. Still named one of her dragons after him, only to have said dragon get resurrected and used as a weapon against her.

people who've been in abusive relationships don't always act how you'd expect them to

sorry to interrupt here, but just want to make sure we're all clear on this. if the bells ring, king's landing is surrendering and we will stop our attack. that's right, if the bells ring, it means stop fighting. just want to make sure we all have that because no one is responding to me. so if the bells ring and we keep fighting, that's a betrayal of trust, on our side, and there would be repercussions. we went ahead and had the producers give this episode the title of "the bells" just to make sure we're all on the same page.

ok, glad that's all taken care of.

so one last time, if the bells r-

xp I mean she’d spent most of her life on the run from assassins with her brother pouring shit into her ear - even if you discard the fact he was a cunt, you still are left with the fact that she sees avenging her family as her duty. Don’t know why this is so annoying - characters all over fiction have this same motive all the time. Even in this show series you have Tyrion steadfast loyal to his own family despite everything, that’s a guy who couldn’t cut the cord.

Lol, Missandei wasn’t even as well drawn as that doctor who was on ST:TNG for a single season.

― Mazzy Tsar (PBKR), Tuesday, May 14, 2019 11:39 AM (forty-six seconds ago)

cool. yeah a character has to be "well drawn" in order for someone to empathize/like them ... it's impossible for someone to do based on that character's experiences, identity, what they represent, connections made to the life/experiences/beliefs of the viewer. thanks for explaining how everyone enjoys/relates to television.

xxp that's the point I was going for but failed to make

you _want_ her to grow in ways where the character would recognize being a decent ruler would mean recognizing her family's legacy kind of sucks, but

xxp and this too. Thank you. I’ve seen some stupid reads about how she’s a “narcissist” which rather neatly sidesteps that she was raised in deeply unstable circumstances by her physically & emotional wreck of a brother. Not such a shock that people loving her would be important to her. You don’t see characters who have love in their lives craving it elsewhere like that.

xp lol what were you after? This is recognised in the books, the show leaving it out is that shit writing people are pointing out.

I mean it's "annoying" in that it's something you're meant to feel bad about and is an actual well-crafted important plot device. Same way you'd feel conflicted about someone you knew clinging to the same beliefs.

gyac and Number None otm

i think there is also a significant amount of imposing contemporary value systems and beliefs on a medieval world going on.

I think it's 1-4, based on the first three books. 5-6, sorta but not quite based on and wrapping up GRRMs work, and 7-8 doing Benioff and Wise's ideas and turning into complete shit as a result.

Genuine question here, and maybe I've been really misunderstanding the timeline, but I keep seeing this repeated - so I gotta ask, where did the idea come from that GRRM has little to absolutely no input on the last two seasons come from? It's my understanding that he still gave them the general outline and ending for them to fill in the blanks and while I totally agree there's been a sharp drop-off in writing quality once they shifted off books, but I've always understood GRRM to be just as involved in these last two seasons as he always has been. It just seems weird that there's this consensus that Benioff and Wise have been like sneaking behind GRRM's back to finish the show.

― soaring skrrrtpeggios (jon /via/ chi 2.0), 14. maj 2019 19:52 (forty-seven minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Season 5 was based on books 4-5, and season 6 was mostly wrapping up conflicts drawn from those books (Jon vs Ramsay, Cersei vs the Tyrells, Daenerys in Meereen). So 7 and 8 are the ones that aren't based on plots from the books, but thought up by the showrunners, based on whatever GRRM have told them.

And yes, as UMS is saying, Euron can't be based on the books.

fiction written in the present day is a commentary on the modern using the backdrop of history! or in this case, fantasy, unless medieval times had actual dragons and talking trees or whatever

I get you - but I’ve always found the thing about “oh her dad was mad so she’ll be as well” deeply daft - books and show - you’re removing agency from a character on the basis of, what, bad blood? Much more interesting to see someone fall because of their own choices.

where did the idea come from that GRRM has little to absolutely no input on the last two seasons come from? It's my understanding that he still gave them the general outline and ending for them to fill in the blanks and while I totally agree there's been a sharp drop-off in writing quality once they shifted off books, but I've always understood GRRM to be just as involved in these last two seasons as he always has been.

Also imposing contemporary caffeine receptacles on a medieval world

Xp

fiction written in the present day is a commentary on the modern using the backdrop of history! or in this case, fantasy, unless medieval times had actual dragons and talking trees or whatever

― mh, Tuesday, May 14, 2019 11:51 AM (thirty-one seconds ago)

of course! but it often works as commentary in the sense that the historical fiction work is fixed in time, and either shows the parallels between the contemporary and the historical, or shows where _we_ in the modern day have options and choices that the historical fixed world characters did not have ... like we can learn from the past and not make the same mistakes (or in some cases, we can try and return to that golden era). Like, the point isn't that we should expect the historical characters to act like members of contemporary society ... like, why doesn't Dany just say, fuck ruling Westeros, I'm going to start a media empire of interconnected topical blogs!

Yeah, the people saying Dany should be a blogger are really misreading the show, I'll give you that.

Also imposing contemporary caffeine receptacles on a medieval world

Lol!

xp - my point is that is an absurd idea, totally alien to the world these characters inhabit. Also alien to that world, is _not_ continuing the legacy of your family to rule if you are a member of the ruling class and you are the designated family member to do so. Like, it was a big weird deal when Aemon said fuck the throne I'm going to be a Maester on the Wall ... it is not what is done.

Like one of the major themes of the show (from my perspective) is the individual's relationship to power, and how power enables and limits and corrupts the individual. And also, this being a medieval era world, there aren't very many avenues to power, ways in which an individual can have power ... unlike in contemporary society, where one can have power as CEO of a blogging empire.

xp yes thank you for mentioning Maester Aemon, that was something I thought of but obviouslu didn’t mention. otm

I know I shouldn't bite, but Daenerys and Viserys grew up in the much less feudal world of the free cities of Essos.

Also, and I know this is nerdy, but tons of other characters have given up on their birthrights, including Jamie when he went to the kings guard instead of staying heir to Casterly Rock, Jon Snow who is basically the real Targaryen heir, and who before that gave up on being King in the North, and Bran who stays a three eyed raven.

Meanwhile for fans of terrible Sophie Turner content...

Meanwhile in Winterfell...#GameofThrones
pic.twitter.com/ioRwL9DfHg

— Samantha Michelle (@sbazzini8) May 14, 2019

It is weird and chilling that they decided not to show Dany's face during the fire bombing. I wondered if it was possible she'd been warg'd (but that is simply too far-fetched). If it was just a direction decision it's a strange but effective one

tons of other characters have given up on their birthrights, including Jamie when he went to the kings guard instead of staying heir to Casterly Rock, Jon Snow who is basically the real Targaryen heir, and who before that gave up on being King in the North, and Bran who stays a three eyed raven.

― Frederik B, Tuesday, May 14, 2019 12:53 PM (ten minutes ago)

Jaime - doesn't want to end up married so that he has to hide from a wife the fact he's fucking his sister; joins the kingsguard so he has most proximity to said sister; does the most appropriate thing befitting someone of his station that still allows him to fuck his sister without hurting someone else
Jon - didn't know shit about his birthright until a few episodes ago?
Bran - obviously a special case

including Jamie when he went to the kings guard instead of staying heir to Casterly Rock, Jon Snow who is basically the real Targaryen heir, and who before that gave up on being King in the North, and Bran who stays a three eyed raven.

okay so ... you have named 3 characters. hardly "tons"

Sam gave up his birthright by being Sam

He was pretty much forced to do so by his asshole dad?

He was forced to take the black or his dad would arrange for him to have “an accident”.

Jon made the mistake of thinking that he could tell people about his parentage without the attending repercussions (he's the rightful heir to the throne, people knowing that is damaging to Dany's claim to the throne). He has to either keep it a secret and renounce his claim or if he's going to tell people he has to stake his claim. he has the stark habit of not being very smart with the wielding of power and information (see ned stark). dany's actions will probably spur him into action in the finale but it's too late for all the burned folk in king's landing

A big shout out to Lena Headey who made $1,000,000 an episode this season for standing at a window drinking a glass of wine. An icon. pic.twitter.com/n44MAQsK0b

— James Potter (@dontforgetjames) May 13, 2019

also robb stark

"I'm going to kill joffrey and the lannisters"
"who will be the king then?"
"don't know, not me, i'll be going home to winterfell"
"..."

once he got to the Wall, it was pretty well established that his circumstances were highly unusual, as the majority of nightswatch were either peasants, bastards, or criminals

with the occasional younger sons of noble families (uncle benjen) ... probably modeled to some extent on the way that in medieval times younger sons would join the church.

when i think about it a bit of a pivotal scene was jon telling dany about his parentage. her being solely concerned with this meaning he was the rightful heir. and silly ol' jon being more concerned about the whole incest thing and not interested in claiming the throne.