Yeah, that's what I was thinking too - if Tyrion had been rescued from the pit and brought to the dais by an act of mercy, it seems like he'd be a lot scruffier. But if he's there as an advisor or part of her entourage, then wow we've moved fast into book 6 - and cut out a lot in Book 5.
I wonder how much GRRM is working with the writers to make sure that the overall plot arcs stay in the right direction, and how much is them writing their own story. I'm okay either way - it's an adaptation, not a word for word transcription, and often stuff that works on the page doesn't onscreen. But it seems likely to me that we could end up with two very different stories that end at the same major place (R+L=J; Others invasion; fighting the dragons - whatever the "big reveal" ends up being.). Which would be very strange.
I wonder how much GRRM is working with the writers to make sure that the overall plot arcs stay in the right direction, and how much is them writing their own story. I'm okay either way - it's an adaptation, not a word for word transcription, and often stuff that works on the page doesn't onscreen. But it seems likely to me that we could end up with two very different stories that end at the same major place (R+L=J; Others invasion; fighting the dragons - whatever the "big reveal" ends up being.). Which would be very strange.
It's always his tale, and the books stand completely alone from the tv show. But if HBO tells the end of the story on TV, it does affect the books readers because it changes the way they'll read the rest of the story. Even if every path to get there is different, you'll still know ahead of time that Bran wargs a dragon, or Jon kills Dany, or the Others will win and destroy all of Westeros, or that Dolorous Edd becomes the king, or whatever the ending is. It's a completely different reading experience when you know the ultimate ending. Still great, but not the same, and Martin knows that.