Game of Thrones

This thread seems refuses die. Yes I'm trolling again on it.

I've said already that I've read books (three of them from this serie to be exact). In the book it didn't surprise me when Eddard Stark got executed. Then again I've never consider him as a "lead character" anywhere at all so…
Killing the wrong character? Bah, there are no wrong characters in those books. Or better put, all characters in books are wrong. At least in first three books, as I got so annoyed and I refuse to pay for more milking and read some more (the same) crap. There are ways better fantasy/horror books than these ones. Martin's books simply didn't induce in me something called "reader's passion". The problem I had with his books was that I couldn't care less what happens next. A few spoilers of a sort… Stark's kids… What in the name of the lord was happening there? Stark is taking daughters with him (for what reason? to marry the older one, and another? to sell her to brothel maybe?), he's leaving sons back home (imagine your son gets paralyzed - wouldn't you take him *with* you to a bigger place/palace/town and search for doctors/witches/horrorcratures who could possibly help him?) and he's sending one of his bastards away to some guarding the country punishment job - AFTER he executed one of "deserters" from that job. And now I'm reading here that Eddard Stark is a major character and yet positive. Positive my arse. He's actually neutral character with some serious issues in his head. Like 99% of other characters in Martin's books are.
Joffrey? That was Queen's son, right? Meh… Gets the power, uses the power irrationally, he is not suppressed homosexual turned sadist nor testosterone exploding brat - he's just a plain stupid creature who does things just because he *can*. Cliche. You still want to analyze him? I really don't see why.
Sorry for saying again that Martin's books were one of worst things I've read in years.

In any case I hope you're enjoying the filmed version, it simply can't be worse than books were.
 
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Joffrey is just a young boy with high testosterone levels, also the actor is fantastic.
Of course i don't expect him to stay long in power .

I have not read the books but if the nord guy tortures Jof's father into admitting of the incest who becomes the legit king ?

As Ned alluded to, Stannis Baratheon is the next rightful heir...
 
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Sorry for saying again that Martin's books were one of worst things I've read in years.

In any case I hope you're enjoying the filmed version, it simply can't be worse than books were.

I don't understand why you get so emotional about it. Some people, including me, actually enjoyed the series very much and *were* interested in "what happened next." So I have a hard time seeing why you feel the need to tell those people that they are basically wrong, because this seems more than just opinion sharing. Almost seems like you have a deep hatred... for a book?
 
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I'm still not too impressed with the show, but I have to acknowledge something is there - since I catch every episode.

I often get this "thing" - this feeling of being inside the head of the writer, and then everything falls to the ground, because it's so predictable.

For me, the mark of true greatness is when I CAN'T get inside the head - so I can be genuinely moved and shocked.

My "measuring stick" is kinda about how long it takes me to get to that point.

I had to watch Babylon 5 a couple of times, for instance, before Straczynski's thinking became clear - and then I started getting sick of his over-the-top motivational speeches, spewed by characters in nearly every episode - and his many direct lifts from Tolkien. But it DID take me a while to get there, and I love the show because of how I responded initially. I was much younger, of course, and would likely have a different reaction if I saw it today for the first time.

Unfortunately, I feel like I'm already inside the head of the GoT author - and as such, I see what he's trying to do with each character - and what's going to happen to them in many cases.

To me, many characters are too one-sided and extreme just for the sake of being extreme. The author(s) (I don't know if Martin is responsible for everything in the show) - is clearly going for shock effect over plausible behavior in many scenes, which is especially jarring because in other scenes it's the other way around.

I just don't enjoy the amount of extreme characters - including Joffrey, Jamie, Khal Drogo, the "Golden Crown" brother, and so on. They're too far removed from plausible individuals, even in a fantasy setting, for me to be able to forget it's 100% entertainment.

I hope his writing matures as the books go on, and that they capture that in the show.
 
Personally, I think that Game of Thrones is brilliant. The characters all have a certain depth about them, and I appreciate that as a reader/viewer, I seem to find myself empathizing with nearly every character because the fiction does a wonderful job of avoiding black and white fantasy cliches.

The political complexity is enjoyable as well; the heroic, honorable characters don't win in the end just because they are the "good guys," and in the case of Eddard Stark, his obligation to always take the honorable route and refusing to make difficult "gray area" choices for the greater good was ultimately his undoing. (As a side-note, I've always wanted this type of choice and consequence in an RPG, and The Witcher is just about the only series that attempts this sort of thing.)

So yes, I'm a pretty big fan of Game of Thrones and I think that that the complex story and engaging characters are nothing short of fantastic.
 
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Personal I was watching it last night and thinking to myself maybe the writers of the show should do a game. I find the show 100% than 95% of the games I have played in the last few years.
 
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I posted a bunch of thoughts about it on this thread already. Overall I thought it was very good, and exceeded my pessimistic expectations. Now that they've green lighted a second season, I hope they throw more money at it and keep up the momentum.

It certainly has weak points, but entertained the hell out of me nevertheless. I never, ever watch series or drama TV shows like this either. I will likely put my HBO subscription on hold until next year as well. Nothing else on any of their channels interests me.
 
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I'm still not too impressed with the show, but I have to acknowledge something is there - since I catch every episode.

I often get this "thing" - this feeling of being inside the head of the writer, and then everything falls to the ground, because it's so predictable.

For me, the mark of true greatness is when I CAN'T get inside the head - so I can be genuinely moved and shocked.

My "measuring stick" is kinda about how long it takes me to get to that point.

I had to watch Babylon 5 a couple of times, for instance, before Straczynski's thinking became clear - and then I started getting sick of his over-the-top motivational speeches, spewed by characters in nearly every episode - and his many direct lifts from Tolkien. But it DID take me a while to get there, and I love the show because of how I responded initially. I was much younger, of course, and would likely have a different reaction if I saw it today for the first time.

Unfortunately, I feel like I'm already inside the head of the GoT author - and as such, I see what he's trying to do with each character - and what's going to happen to them in many cases.

To me, many characters are too one-sided and extreme just for the sake of being extreme. The author(s) (I don't know if Martin is responsible for everything in the show) - is clearly going for shock effect over plausible behavior in many scenes, which is especially jarring because in other scenes it's the other way around.

I just don't enjoy the amount of extreme characters - including Joffrey, Jamie, Khal Drogo, the "Golden Crown" brother, and so on. They're too far removed from plausible individuals, even in a fantasy setting, for me to be able to forget it's 100% entertainment.

I hope his writing matures as the books go on, and that they capture that in the show.

I am going by the books here but there 2 characters I hated in books 1 and 2, Cersei and Sansa. Like you say they felt like one-sided and extreme in their own way. However when I finished the last book, I felt that I cared more about these 2 than some of the other "main" characters. I think I even like them now! This kind of thing never happened to me in any books and the subtle way in which the author turned these character around are testament to his writing abilities.
 
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In any case I hope you're enjoying the filmed version, it simply can't be worse than books were.

Well, it is a matter of taste. I could refute a great deal of your argument, but it's pointless.
 
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I am going by the books here but there 2 characters I hated in books 1 and 2, Cersei and Sansa. Like you say they felt like one-sided and extreme in their own way. However when I finished the last book, I felt that I cared more about these 2 than some of the other "main" characters. I think I even like them now! This kind of thing never happened to me in any books and the subtle way in which the author turned these character around are testament to his writing abilities.

I think the same. Most folks give these two characters short shrift but they are very powerful, just not at the same time. As Cersei's power declines, Sansa's increases. At the end of the last book, it's starting to look like Sansa will eventually out Balish-Balish.

Those two Stark girls are going to be horrifically powerful....
 
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for what it is worth, I like game of thrones very much (also the books, but read them a looong time ago). But then again, I always take everything at face value (or try to). No expectations is key, sure there are flaws but I try not to actively look for them, otherwise I wouldn't enjoy any tv show and/or game anymore...

I'm a big fan of steven erikson and his malazan empire of the fallen books. Just because it has such a complex story with a multitude of characters, and nothing is giving for free to the reader. I admit I don't understand it all 100%, but that is just the way I like it. On the other hand, all those references and complex story lines might get a bit much on you, so I off course also enjoy much simpler books/tv shows (such as a song of fire and ice :p)
 
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