Usually they blow their wad on the 9th episode of the season. NOT THIS YEAR. That was awesome 
They did so much fan service that I thought I was watching a different show.
The whole episode was a thing of beauty: arya, tyrion, brienne (THAT SWORDFIGHT BTW).
that was a trip now the long wait commences 
As a book reader, I was disappointed with what could have been. But it made sense with where they were/are going with the adaption, so viewing from a completely televised standpoint it was perfect.
Well you have to remember budget constraints (#3). A book costs less cash to make than a TV production or Movie production.
Eh, that’s not it. If that were it, they could have spent less time and money on that beetles monologue, the ridiculous skeleton fight, or the tiring Meereen scenes and Daenerys’ titles of varying length.
It has more to do with the pacing, flow, and overall thematic structure of each season. There’s a lot to put in each season if they were totally faithful to the books, and plenty of that doesn’t translate to screen well. It’s a shame, since what was on paper was magnificent and what is on screen is a condensed abridged version. Still good, don’t get me wrong, but the character development, plotting, and overall airtight consistency and story arcs pale in comparison next to the novel. I just hope more and more show watchers are inspired by what the see on screen to read the marvelous books one of the best television shows currently being aired is based off of.
But the beetle talk was crucial to the plot development!
Also, I read the books AFTER I watch GoT on TV. That way I can enjoy the series twice.
I think it’s ok to talk about Tysha. It doesn’t contain spoilers about future events in the series, but rather how the show chose to handle Tyrion’s storyline differently.
Read on if you wanna know what actually happened in the books (again, no show spoilers of any kind):
[color=’#131313’]Tysha was Tyrion’s first wife. After marrying her, his family tells him that she was a whore and just wanted money; and that he had been tricked into marrying her. How could someone love a monstrosity like him? Then they sent the whole army to rape her and forced him to watch. This bit of the story was featured on the earlier seasons of the show, not sure which one though.
Before sending him off with Varys, Jamie confesses that Tysha actually wasn’t a whore, she was just a peasant girl who really loved Tyrion. This essentially breaks Tyrion. He snaps and starts to tell Jamie things to piss him off; his own brother had let the only woman who had ever loved him suffer so much, he had let Tyrion suffer so much. So he tells him that Cersei has been fucking Lancel, and that he actually had poisoned Joffrey (although he hadn’t actually done so). The discovery of this lie is THE reason why he decides to go and kill Shae and Tywin.
The way they handled it on the show was cleaner but it feels like Tyrion’s actions didn’t have as much justification.
It also potentially fucks up any future reunion that Jaime and Tyrion may have, since in the books their parting was very rough, but here it was all hugs and kisses.
Also, everything after Tyrion learns about Tysha is in a dull dizzy haze, and it is in this haze that Tyrion kills Shae in cold blood. It’s a rage so dull and defining that he is emotionally vacant. It’s not a murder that’s partially in self-defense. He definitely doesn’t apologize afterwards. She mockingly calls him her lion, and he twists the necklace around her neck and then goes off to search for his father. Shae is hardly mentioned in their conversation. Instead, they discuss Tysha, what happened to her, and where she ended up. Tywin calls her a whore, Tyrion threatens him not to use that word then asks where she went. Tywin responds “Wherever whores go.” Enter crossbow shot to the bowels and the revelation that Tywin, in the end, did not in fact shit gold.
I don’t really get why they make changes like that. They basically just simplified it. I guess it would take more time to explain all that.
Sure, but they could’ve put Stannis’ arrival on the previous episode instead of making it solely about the siege. That way they would have had enough time on the last episode to treat this properly.
In the book, wasnt he actually shot in his dick tho? I can’t remember.
Nah, bowels.
Also, I was really hoping for Stannis the Mannis to show up at the end of episode 409. That’s an example of something that doesn’t happen til just a bit later in the books but would be awesome to see on screen. Think about it, Night’s Watch getting hammered, defeat is within sight, Ygritte is dead, Jon Snow is crouched over her corpse in complete resignation…only for the attack to suddenly be repelled. Armored riders arrive, bearing unfamiliar (to the denizens of the wall and the Wildlings) banners, and the chants of “STANNIS! STANNIS! STANNIS!”. Credits roll.
A bit poetic if you ask me. But if they did that, you KNOW a bunch of people would whine and complain that that ending was too predictable.
So I’m not quite halfway through A Dance with Dragons and I’ve just started watching the TV show.
I’m finding it disconcerting, because almost none of the characters in the show look anything like I imagined them. Even some of the locations and castles are different how I pictured them. It took me way too long to figure out that one of the guys at Winterfell was Robb Stark, because not only was he totally different from the image in my head, [[color=’#171717’]I’d actually forgotten his character ever existed].
What’s really weird, though, is that the show follows the books so closely it’s almost boring. I’ve read most of these scenes, and seeing them acted out feels kinda repetitive. It’s to the creators’ credit, no doubt, but it’s a weird feeling.
From what I understand, the books and the show begin to move apart gradually. Someone correct me if I’m wrong. But eventually they will distinguish themselves from one another.
Pretty much correct.
Finally finished A Dance with Dragons, so I’m completely caught up with the series now! \o/
It was good, too. George RR Martin has finally managed to make me feel genuinely bad about the (likely) death of a main character. (This is probably a major spoiler if you only follow the show.) [[color=’#171717’]Poor Jon Snow. I also felt pretty bad about Brienne, but someone spoiled that for me ahead of time, and also her fate has since been left up in the air. Jon’s stabbing hits especially hard, because he’s been a major character for five very long books.]
That said, I have no idea what was going on at the end of the book’s Epilogue. Am I missing something I should be connecting it with, or has GRRM really just introduced a completely new threat out of goddamn nowhere?