Who do you support in the War of Five Kings? (Game of Thrones on HBO)

[dead0man]

Is back story ok?  If not, don't highlight the rest of this post   (no spoilers, just stuff that happened before the events in the show)

The Targaryens often married siblings to each other and often had "crazy" kids because of it.  The last Targaryen King was called "the Mad King" because he was nuts.  So crazy runs in the family.  Plus she was born during the war that saw her family all killed except for her asshole brother and her.  Then abused by him (I believe the books hint that it's sexual abuse, but the TV show is less clear on that) and then forced into marriage with a barbarian.  Then repeatidly raped by that barbarian....yeah, I'd be a little nuts too.

[John Dibble]

Just watched the 1st episode of this Game of Thrones thing.

Pretty good so far, but that blonde guy (who's sister is hot) is somewhat crazy.

Not as crazy as everybody else around him.  Jamie has actually grown on me a bit.  Sure that thing he did at the end of the first episode is despicable (suffering succotash), he's just playing his role in the game and doing it quite well.  I won't say he is a likeable character, but more likeable than his sister and much more so than his....ahem...."nephew".

No, I mean the blonde guy who forced his sister to marry that warrior guy, not that other blonde guy who f[inks]ed that woman in the tower while being watched by the 10 year old boy.

Easy for us to get that confused - the two going at it in the tower are siblings as well.

[Leftbehind]

Guessing this is the no-spoilers thread, given the new thread started, so I'll stop avoiding it.

To answer the question: Rob Stark - Northerners rule!

[Nhoj]

Stannis or dany are for me are the only ones I can support, and both honestly have legitimate claims to the throne.


Big spoilers for all books in small text below
besides everyone else on that list is dead.

[bgwah]

Great finale, but I don't want to wait a whole year.

Those little dragons are just so darn cute.

[Platypus]

Just finished watching the first season.

I know this is a cliche, but...

THE BOOKS ARE SO MUCH BETTER.

The show has lost so so so much detail.

[John Dibble]

Just finished watching the first season.

I know this is a cliche, but...

THE BOOKS ARE SO MUCH BETTER.

The show has lost so so so much detail.

It's the inevitability of adaptation from book to visual media. You can't include everything. I do think the series is about as good an adaptation as you could get, though.

[World politics is up Schmitt creek]

I was just talking to a friend last night about how I personally would love some really cheesy, camp classic adaptation of A Song of Ice and Fire where the acting and scripts were good but for example Dany's dragons were clearly animatronic and the Wall was an obvious matte painting. Sadly, I doubt anybody else would.

[dead0man]

HBO sorry over 'George Bush' head in Game of Thrones
link
[quote]The makers of Game of Thrones have apologised for a decapitated head resembling George W Bush that appeared in the first series.

HBO said it was "deeply dismayed" about the head's likeness to the former US president.

It appears in a scene where King Joffrey shows Sansa Stark her father's head on a spike.

Show creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss also put out a statement apologising for any offence caused.

They explained that the show used many fake body parts, many which were rented out.

"After the scene was already shot, someone pointed out that one of the heads looked like George W. Bush.

"In the DVD commentary, we mentioned this, though we should not have.

"We meant no disrespect to the former President and apologize if anything we said or did suggested otherwise."

HBO's statement also described the matter as "unacceptable, disrespectful and in very bad taste".

"We made this clear to the executive producers of the series who apologized immediately for this inadvertent careless mistake.

"We are sorry this happened and will have it removed from any future DVD production."

The head appears in profile in the final episode of the first series.

In the DVD commentary to the show, David Benioff and D.B. Weiss mention its apparent likeness to George W Bush.

<snip>

[Tender Branson]

After seen Season One, I voted "Robb Stark".

BTW: How does this head look like GWB ? It's only a side view.

[President von Cat]

Yeah, not sure I get what all the hullaballoo is about.

Has anyone here NOT read the books? I have finished A Storm of Swords, and OH MAN does it turn everything on its head!

[Tender Branson]

Has anyone here NOT read the books?

I didn't read them.

[dead0man]

Me either.

[Tender Branson]

I found a good offer (all 5 books in English for 30€) and ordered them.

Too bad they have more than 5000 pages though ...

[patrick1]

Game of Thrones Political Attack Ads

Friend forwarded these courtesy of Mother Jones. Pretty funny stuff.

Daenerys Targaryen: Wrong For Dragons, Wrong For The Realm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ao4HVlV7wZU&list=UUbWB33FQvFiV0Pq9Calkgzw&index=3&feature=plcp

Joffrey Baratheon: Where Is The Birth Certificate?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yzw2ZiMt3y4&list=UUbWB33FQvFiV0Pq9Calkgzw&index=2&feature=plcp

Robb Stark: The Biggest Celebrity in The North
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6r9CdNenuk&list=UUbWB33FQvFiV0Pq9Calkgzw&index=1&feature=plcp

[Cobbler]

I'm supporting Daenerys for the throne, but if Joffrey's power wanes (and Tywin/Tyrion's grows) than I'm conflicted and might support Lannister.

I'm also partial to Greyjoy purely because the Kraken is an awesome sigil.

[Zioneer]

Stannis is the rightful king. Dany is of the blood of the crazed King Aerys, Robb Stark is an overgrown boy who is immature and unreasonable, Balon Greyjoy is a pathetic pirate, Joffrey is a little monster, and Renly, well, the less said about him, the better.

Stannis would bring order and stability to Westeros! And he's the only one who recognizes the threat of the Others.

[John Dibble]

[Minor spoiler, nothing specific. Highlight to read]

With so many votes for Robb and Dany, there must be a lot of non-readers here. All else aside, both prove themselves horribly incompetent and at least somewhat unlikable over the next several books.

Guess I'll spoilerify my response, though won't post any blatant spoilers.

I think in both cases "horribly incompetent" isn't justified. Inexperienced might be a better term. Rob is quite competent at war strategy, but not dealing with political crises and his youthful passion made him make that one really big blunder. You know the one. Dany is quite competent, but she lacks experience and is fully aware of that fact, which is why she opted to get some before heading to Westeros.

[World politics is up Schmitt creek]

I was just talking to a friend last night about how I personally would love some really cheesy, camp classic adaptation of A Song of Ice and Fire where the acting and scripts were good but for example Dany's dragons were clearly animatronic and the Wall was an obvious matte painting. Sadly, I doubt anybody else would.

I'm imagining something like Ralph Bakshi's take on LOTR. I'd watch.

I was thinking more like a cross between a Ray Harryhausen creature flick and old-school Doctor Who.

[Tender Branson]

Hmm, after watching the episodes thru Season 2, Episode 7 it seems that Theon is quite crazy as well ... I thought he'd be more of the good ones.

[dead0man]

Yeah, that wasn't what I was expecting from him either.  I don't know what happens to him, but I've heard the audience will end up feeling sorry for the guy.  I'm not sure how that's possible after what he does in season 2.

[Niemeyerite]

I'm watching the 8th episode of Season 2, and, for the moment, I support Daenerys Targaryen and Robb Stark. I'll read the books this summer, I can't wait until 2013. And my favourite character is, by far, Arya Stark, followed by Daenerys and Tyrion Lannister.

[Tender Branson]

I'm watching the 8th episode of Season 2, and, for the moment, I support Daenerys Targaryen and Robb Stark. I'll read the books this summer, I can't wait until 2013. And my favourite character is, by far, Arya Stark, followed by Daenerys and Tyrion Lannister.

Do you watch it in English or Spanish-dubbed ?

Because in Austria/Germany, only the 7th episode of the 2nd season is dubbed. With 3 still missing, but those will be aired in the next 3 weeks here.

[Niemeyerite]

I'm watching the 8th episode of Season 2, and, for the moment, I support Daenerys Targaryen and Robb Stark. I'll read the books this summer, I can't wait until 2013. And my favourite character is, by far, Arya Stark, followed by Daenerys and Tyrion Lannister.

Do you watch it in English or Spanish-dubbed ?

Because in Austria/Germany, only the 7th episode of the 2nd season is dubbed. With 3 still missing, but those will be aired in the next 3 weeks here.

They're all dubbed, but I've watched some chapters in English, to improve my comprehension skills.

[John Dibble]

Hmm, after watching the episodes thru Season 2, Episode 7 it seems that Theon is quite crazy as well ... I thought he'd be more of the good ones.

Theon isn't crazy, he's human. You don't have to be crazy to do terrible things to other human beings. Theon is isolated and desperate for acceptance - he's been a hostage for most of his life and so wasn't fully accepted by the Starks, his own father let him be taken and then treated him like garbage when he returned, and his own people don't respect him. Since he can't really go back to the Starks, he has to try to get the acceptance of his own people. Unfortunately his people happen to respect leaders with a brutal streak.

Yeah, that wasn't what I was expecting from him either.  I don't know what happens to him, but I've heard the audience will end up feeling sorry for the guy.  I'm not sure how that's possible after what he does in season 2.

I won't spoil anything for you, but since Theon isn't a sociopath it's actually possible to empathize with him even when he's done terrible things. He's leagues away from being the worst monster in the series.