some of us are getting too loose-lipped on the spoiler-free thread, so here's one for the book-readers among us

Everyone will be dead by the end of Season 7. Except the dragons

^

and Tyrion. that little fart makes it through everything.

to start us off, things i am excited to see from book 2!

-battle of the blackwater, obviously. it's the second huge on-page battle (with Lannisters vs. Robb's sacrificed men at the river being the first), but the first we'll see on-screen. we've already seen some good clips from the trailers that indicates we'll get a good adaptation of this battle

-tyrion's dynamic with cersei/varys/pycelle/littlefinger. tyrion absolutely owns book 2 IMO, he's just a badass. hopefully we'll see a lot of Bronn, Shagga, and Pod, too

-arya's (mis)adventures and her interactions with Jaqen H'Ghar. just plain awesome stuff here, and Maisie Williams is already a fan-favorite

-Robb's battles in the westerlands. all of this is off-page in the book, only being talked about in retrospect, but the show is supposedly showing a lot more of it to keep Robb in the spotlight for viewers. fantastic move, IMO

-most of Jon's escapades beyond the Wall were somewhat boring in the book to me (except near the end when he went ranging with the halfhand), but from the trailers, it's looking like it'll be a fun ride on-screen. looking forward to how they handle all of that

[This message has been edited by unicyclist_ag (edited 3/5/2012 1:20p).]

For your entertainment, I present Arrested Westeros

Note that some may be a bit NSFW

OMG those are great

The real story to me is going to be how they start to deal with the butterfly effects of going away from the books. Season 1 was easy but each progressive season will require more and more choices.

They didnt go far from the books. Wah they didnt touch Blackfish...so what? They didnt waste 20 mins explaining the donkey keeper going up the Vale.

LOL. That donkey keeper could end up being a dragon rider... cuz she is sure footed as her donkeys and what not!

they also don't have the Reeds nor Ramsay/Reek cast

not totally sure how that'll get reconciled

also those mashup pics are fantastic

The Boltons dont really have a role until the end of the ACOK. Maybe they are keeping the Reeds secret Im betting Ron Weasley and Hermoine Granger...

well roose is cast. cause he'll interact with arya and (probably) robb. but i feel like the Sack of Winterfell is a lot stronger with Reek, cause then you're all "whaaat? that's the guy theon was bossing around before!"

Bill,

I'm just reiterating points that Martin has made as well. A small change now may result in big changes down the line. It's going to happen and honestly I don't see it as such a terrible thing. Some of the additions have been great, some necessary, some bad, and some it is too soon to tell. It would also be a bit boring if EVERYTHING followed the books, it leaves out the added scenes and motivations explained that are best done in TV.

Great:

The fight scene with Ned and Jaime as opposed to him just falling off his horse. Loved the one moment of realization in the Kingslayer's eyes when he realized he might actually lose.

The dialogue with Varys and Littlefinger.

The dialogue with Cersei and Robert right after Ned quit as Hand.

Necessary:

Cutting out the lengthy trip up the Eyrie by Catelyn and the intro of Mya Stone, to a lesser extent the intro of Blackfish.

The added scenes to add historical context like Sansa and her Septa in the Red Keep and some of the Sextaposition.

Bad:

Too much sextaposition and Roz, she is almost a major character in the show but doesn't exist in the books.

Too soon to tell:

Drogo killing Mago. Mago is still alive and a bloodrider to Jhago who Dany just met up with at the end of ADWD.

Cutting out Marillon's tongue. He is certainly a big part of the drama in the Eyrie to come.

BTW, both of those scenes were awesome when they happened I just don't know what the conesquences will be. Going forward having no Reek and no Reeds is going to be interesting. My assumption is they are going to but a lot of the Bran storyline to focus on others. Makes sense in many ways but it will cause some issues down the road if they aren't careful.

I think this will be the cover of the HBO themed paperback for season 2

THE KING OF THE NORTH!!!!!

Found this map of the world that is the best I have seen yet:

http://www.sermountaingoat.co.uk/map/versions/speculative_map.jpg

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THE KING INTHE NORTH!!!!!

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FIFY

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Too much sextaposition and Roz, she is almost a major character in the show but doesn't exist in the books.

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I see her as a McGuffie. Not a character, just a reason to get into an intimate moment with central characters.

1) Theon, he thinks he is the heir to Pyke. He always has thought of himself as Balon's heir. (Then there is that scene with Osha in chains)

2) Littlefinger, he refuses sex with two of his girls. He tells his story of his loves in the Eyrie. He tells how he hasnt given up his love for Cate, this plays into his loyalty and lust for Sansa.

3) Maester Pycelle, proves he is two-faced. Shows that he is losing his marbles. Really proves there is no "non-partisan" servant. (And you need to infer that goes for Varys too, he doesnt do this out of his love for Targaryens or the realm.)

quote:

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Found this map of the world that is the best I have seen yet:

http://www.sermountaingoat.co.uk/map/versions/speculative_map.jpg

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Good find. Nice!

So I was going through Season 1 again, and in the season finale they show a scene where Grand Maester Pycelle is shown faking his old age. I've read 4.5 books so far, and am I crazy or was this not discussed in the books???

Oh no, he isnt faking his age, he is faking his frailty. He is very spry and very sharp. When Tyrion starts torturing him, he quits the act of being impartial servant and outs himself as a Lannister operative. If I recall while Cercei is in prison, Pycelle is the head of the small council and calls on Kevan for Hand. Pycelle dismisses the Kettleback who commands the City Watch.

speaking of pycelle, i reeeeally hope they keep in the scene where tyrion has shagga shave his beard off. that was so awesome in the book

BTW anyone else notice the passage Ned reads from the book he gets from Pycelle? He reads about an Umber who ends up dying because of a wound in a bear hunt.

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Cutting out Marillon's tongue. He is certainly a big part of the drama in the Eyrie to come.

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They didn't get this far in S1, unless I'm forgetting a major part of the show. I don;t remember them cutting out the musicans tounge.

Also, have they come out and said the Reeds will not be a part of the show? I haven't seen anywhere, where that has been mentioned; I predict this season (on their part) with Theon killing the other kids, burning them, and then putting them on the spikes.

[This message has been edited by OnlyForNow (edited 3/9/2012 11:00a).]

Bill,

I understand the reasoning for why Roz was created and she does serve a purpose, I just think they are on the edge over overuse on occasion. I really thought the lesbo scene when Littlefinger was talking was over the top. Loved the info but the scene just didn't fit. I also didn't really get the Pycelle scene either and thought it was odd. I would have rather them created a scene where Pycelle was showing his evil side more than the "I'm really spry and fit" side.

Realize these are very small criticisms, the task of converting these books to film is a true challenge. I want to get the DVD's of Season 1 just to hear the commentary. I saw this and it really fired me up: http://youtu.be/uaErTddleCQ

It's just deception. Not he's young and spry and fit.

That scene was put in there to show you that he is lying to everyone (at least everyone but his wh0res).

Very cool link.

This goes to show that GRRM clearly has his hand in the "beyond the book" scenes, like Varys/Littlefinger. I doubt GRRM had much to do with Roz's scenes just because they are kinda "meh." (Not that I dont like redheads or amazing tits, but because they are usually long and they give only limited insight into the character). Here is the problem with translating a book into a show: all the prose that we take for granted and are integral parts of the books, they have to find a way, short of a soliloquy, to express a character's motivations.

Take Tyrion for example, some of his BEST snarky comments he never makes because he is in the middle of a dicey situation. In Season 1 he had no problem smarting off, in Season 2 he cant be as flippant with his tongue.

Speaking of Tyrion in Season 1, I could watch this all day long:

new trailer!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-OsD-1snV0

this is a change of pace from the ones we've been getting. it seems to focus on all the romances of the series, with some new stuff

-margaery actually talking in this one, there's a short clip of her and renly kissing...not sure how far they'll go with this, she was supposed to be a virgin in the books

-tyrion and sansa talking, loved sansa's lie about her devotion to joff :P

-tyion and shae too

-jorah coming on to dany a lot more in this...complete with dany's line, "i'm not your little princess!" might get some good tension in season 2 between these two

-shot of ygritte! so badass! i'm excited to see her on screen

-also a shot of theon and asha, or yara, or whatever they're calling her, on horseback. i think they're keeping in the scene where she tricks him into coming onto her

wooooooooooooo just a few more weeks!!

Theon and the shipwright's wife

What book does Sansa get married?

Was that at Tywin's command in book 3?

i don't think that's who that is. why would she be on a horse with him? pretty sure it's his sister

yes, that's book 3, cause it's after tyrion's scarring

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i don't think that's who that is. why would she be on a horse with him? pretty sure it's his sister

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Asha claims to be the shipwright's wife and she flirts with him. Then they take her horse to Castle Greyjoy (or w/e) on Pyke. While on the horse Theon tries grabbing her tits as they ride and she keeps fighting him off.

The shipwright's wife =/= the captain's daughter (who was chubby and clingy and was Theon's voyage hoe)

oh right, i thought you were talking about the woman he was ****ing on the ship. that was the captain's daughter, my mistake

i hope they keep what you were talking about in the show

also, some of the episode titles have been released:

3 What Is Dead May Never Die - probably the first good look at Pyke, that's a common ironborn expression
4 Garden of Bones - my guess is Vaes Tolloro (sp?), the place where dany settles with her khalasar for a bit before she goes to Qarth
5 The Ghost of Harrenhal - obvious! "valar morghulis"
6 The Old Gods and the New - something to do with stannis and mel, i'm guessing