Like much of the country with HBO subscriptions, I have Game of Thrones fever. Granted, this predates the show; I am one of those “fans of the book series” that knows what’s going to happen next. I work at a cable call center and it was there that I met my brother from another mother and future best man, who handed me a book with a man in black on horseback and bade me read what he was handing me, though my eyes were rolling. It looked so shitty.
I was so wrong.
I’m glad I stuck through it because I’m thoroughly immersed now. I have languished in the desert that is the six-year gap between A Feast for Crows and A Dance with Dragons (in fact, all within this timespan I’ll have earned three college degrees). I’ve loaned these books out to other people, especially ones that hate fantasy and I always tell them ‘these books could be about Smurfs and the story would still be utterly compelling.’ The characters jump off the page and the dialogue is great, which isn’t surprising since the author has been a writer for television for a long time.
Perhaps it was that I spent my work days surrounded by posters of The Sopranos, Six Feet Under and The Wire, but I thought to myself… wow, these books could be made into a series for HBO because there’s no way this could all fit into movies. Not two months later, and I read that HBO had purchased the rights. I have harangued every HBO rep that has walked into the building asking about GoT since that time and only until recently have I not been met with stares and puzzled looks. “We’re doing a fantasy series? You heard this, really? I haven’t heard a thing about this. Well, we have this great show called The Pacific coming out soon. Tom Hanks? Steven Spielberg?” Nooooo, miss. I want wolves the size of ponies and epic warfare and deceit.
Since I have this shiny new blog and tons of opinions, I shall write about the show as it progresses but I solemnly make the following promises:
- I swear never to go nerd hipster and decry that “the series was better before George R.R. Martin sold out.” That’s horse crap. I don’t have issues with cover versions “killing” the spirit of the original song nor do I gnash my teeth at movie adaptations of books that aren’t exactly like said book.
As a for-instance, I loved Peter Jackson’s take on Lord of the Rings. No Tom Bombadil? Good riddance to that tangent. Elves at Helm’s Deep? Shit yeah! Characters NOT bursting into song or reciting poetry every 5 minutes? Thank you, kindly director of Meet the Feebles, sir… thank you.
Regardless of GRRM’s heavy involvement in the show, this is a collaborative effort between some very skilled actors, writers, producers, etc. so the story cannot stay 100% faithful to the original. Actors make their characters their own, and inject a little bit of themselves into their interpretations. Writers have 55 minutes to squeeze, weave and juggle plot points so some characters have lines they didn’t originally have. HBO has to sell subscriptions so the show will be both entertaining and not too challenging to follow.
In short: if you want the original, read the books. The author has found a new audience of people reading his material and he’s certainly thrilled about it, especially when they buy the books new. - No spoilers to events that have not yet transpired. I may mention that an event is foreshadowing and which characters you should pay attention to, etc. I may also name characters who have appeared but haven’t yet named. However, if the episode has already aired then you get 24 hours of warning and then I analyze the hell out of it, spoilers be damned.
- Complaints, if any and so far there are none, will be kept to a minimum. If I make comparisons then it’s to illustrate that there are differences between the book and the series, or that I may have pictured characters differently than their portrayals. It’s just anecdotes, not critiques.
We’re about half way through the first season so I am behind but I will say this thus far: they are really nailing it. The opening credit sequences are the best I’ve seen in any show and I was pleasantly surprised that they change depending on the cities/locations. This gives newcomers a sense of scope.
Some things to pay attention to:
- Speaking of scope, the continent that the main action is happening in is about the size of South America. Therefore, the trip from Winterfell to King’s Landing is a substantial undertaking.
- The wolves’ names are as follows: Robb’s wolf is Grey Wind, Jon’s wolf is Ghost, Sansa’s wolf is Lady, Arya’s wolf is Nymeria, Bran’s wolf is Summer and Rickon’s wolf, who we have not yet seen, is Shaggydog.
- There are enough clues so far to know who poisoned Jon Arryn. The motivation behind the assassination has not yet been made known.
- There are events from the past that will continue to shape future events, like the Greyjoy rebellion, the nature of the death of Lyanna Stark and the source of the enmity between Ned Stark and Jaime Lannister. When someone reminisces about something, pay close attention to what they say.
- The links in the chains around the necks of Maester Luwin and Maester Pycelle mean something.
- You will learn more about the seven-sided star motif seen everywhere.
- The actor who plays The Hound is about 6′ 6″. The actor who plays The Mountain is seven inches taller than him. Do the math.
- George R. R. Martin is writing at least one episode per season. If you see his name as the writer in the opening credits, it’s safe to say some shit’s going to go down.
More later. Trust me, there will be tomes later. Jane Espenson, one of my favorite television writers, has written the next episode.