Game of Thrones

[bop_radar]

Hmmmmmm. Yet another unpopular fannish opinion from moi. None of the contained-herein opinions are meant as offense to anyone (of the many millions!) who loves this show. Carry on! Be well in your fannishness! I am happy for you. But just can't agree

Comments

[gildinwen]

The thing about Cersei they're trying to soften her I and it might play better on screen to have so upset to convey her fears that the Martells will do to Myrcella what she's been doing to Sansa. Otherwise IDK.

As for Brianne she's Hollywood ugly....but that's still very pretty. Same thing with Tyrion.

And IDK what the hell they've done with Loras. I mean *him*???/ Really????

[bop_radar]

Oh they're definitely trying to soften Cersei! But apart from not liking that direction overall, I think one problem with it was betrayed in this episode. They'd already had her be so emotional all the time that the actress had nowhere to go in this scene... so it became this ridiculous OTT performance. I shouldn't need to see her SMASH something to get how distressed she is.

Exactly: Hollywood ugly. Which I'm sick to death of. And when it's for one of my most loved characters who has as one of her defining (if not THE defining) characteristic that she's ACTUALLY ugly, I get really upset. :((

Loras is AWFUL. Every time he makes that squinty little pissed-off-squirrel face it gets even worse!! Renly is far more handsome than him which skews the dynamic really weirdly. It's like a totally different character than in the books.

[anarchicq]

I'm only now half-way through Clash of Kings and this week I found my first real "...that was way better in the books...", when Arry et al were attacked and the barn goes up in flames and the horses are burning and it was so confined and the smoke was strangling her and the heat was unbearable and OMG!

SO LET'S FILM THAT OUTSIDE WITH MILES AND MILES OF TREES TO ESCAPE INTO!
Though I did like how she managed to "save" Gendry.

Kit Harrington (Jon Snow) is playing Vincent in the next Silent Hill movie. THIS DOES NOT WORK FOR ME.
From this: http://silenthill.wikia.com/wiki/Vincent_Smith
to this: http://silenthill.wikia.com/wiki/Vincent_Carter

The only thing that's keeping my faith in the movie is Malcolm McDowell, Carrie-Anne Moss and a cameo of one of my favourite characters.

[bop_radar]

Omg, SO much better in the books! This ridiculous localised fire right around the cart was STUPID. And the prisoners were in no way scary in the television series! GAH.

LOL, your links made me laugh. Oh I feel your PAAAAAAAIN. That ridiculous shot of him!!!! UGH. (I have no attachment to Silent Hill personally but I would be pissed as hell if that guy invaded anything else I was attached to.)

[anoel]

I am starting to have a really complicated relationship with the show. I didn't read the books watching S1 and it took me long time to start liking the characters and really caring about the plot but by the end I was loving it. Then before S2 I worked hard at finishing the first book and (barely) succeeded and through reading I fell in love with almost everyone in the books as well as the plot and started devouring the book. But of course I am really strict about book-adaptations so all the changes really bother me especially when they add things or change things that mess with character development or just make no sense to change. And there's as you mention, I'm not feeling like the show is capturing the heart of the book, the reasons why I love and engage in it. Right now my passion is for the books (I'm halfway through the third) and the TV is nice getting to see stuff and thinking about vidding it but I'm bummed I'm not feeling the love. It probably would be better for me to have just read the books AFTER the TV show for me but I'

[bop_radar]

((((hugs)))) it's hard being in the place you are now. I am glad though for the fact that you have connected with the heart of the books because they are really rich. I do have issues with the books too (later on really) but the characters and the world is one of the most vibrant in my inner landscape... I adore Arya, she's one of my all-time favourite fictional characters, and like you I would have loved to vid her. But I'm not feeling it from the TV series

[jlvsclrk]

That's so funny - I hated the first half of book 2 on my first reading (so many new characters irritated me) and book 4 just about killed my interest in the series for so many reasons (esp since Jon and Dany are my favorites). I like all the odd number books and feel the even number books do a lot of set up.

[bop_radar]

Yeah, from your other comment it seems like we have a pretty different reading of the books (and different favourites).

[jlvsclrk]

I can't say I disagree with you, though I'm willing to give this season a few more episodes to get into the swing. I remember from season 1 that I felt similarly let down around this time (although S1 had a great Pilot, the next 3 or 4 episodes were very exposition heavy

[bop_radar]

Mmm, see, I can't agree that the problem stems from Martin or the number of characters. For me, the issues are primarily ones of adaptation. It is true that the Iron Islanders are boring, but they didn't even blip on my radar as a major issue at this stage. But I do think adapting Book 2 will be more challenging than Book 1. Book 1's plot was much more tightly focused.

Cersei is problematic, yes. However it is my personal view that it was far more powerful from a narrative stance to have her be seen from the *outside* at first, and to have her be viewed as truly unlikeable. I seem to be one of the rare people that found the withholding of her POV to be very powerful. But I think Martin held it back too long in the books for most readers. They have swung totally to the other extreme in the television series and I hate it.

took the view that the earlier descriptions of her actions and motives were all distorted by the POV character's attitudesWell of course they were! All of the characters have biases and that's one of the most

[jlvsclrk]

I agree with everything you say about Cersei - I'm just trying to give the showrunners the benefit of the doubt for the changes they've made. Because as brilliant as I find Martin's POV approach, it doesn't translate well to film.

[bop_radar]

Oh, I know *why* they did it. I just don't like the result and I think they overdid it. For me it has a very distancing effect (which I know is not the case for most people, who seem to love the new direction).

[random_serious]

Got has been an excruciating experience. (And it horrifies me that this thing is a hit, as with True Blood, since IMO they are both horridly bad,)I haven't read the books, but I began to see red immediately, when I read someone telling how the book author responded to accusations of misogyny, sexism, by saying that 'that's how it was in the middle ages, so...' The moment you write shit that has dragons, and odd winter-zombies, the whole 'that's how it was'-excuse is dead. I really, really actually dislike GoT. (Why am I watching this? I want to know what happens...?) I hate how the women are sidelined, mistreated, de-fanged, both by the story and the choices the show makes. I hate that all women in GoT are whores, abused, about to be abused, dis-enfranchised

[bop_radar]

So you're watching but hating? Seriously DON'T keep watching. I bailed on True Blood ... I kind of revelled in the crack of it for a while but I had a breaking point where I couldn't take it any more and it actively nauseates me now. Life's too short

[random_serious]

See, that's the thing! I keep watching to see what kinds of lenghts of bad judgment can the showrunners go. I, too, hate how HBO goes 'all tits all the time, except when there can be whores giving bj's and women generally mistreated' -route. The books *seem* dense, and 10 eps isn't much time to get through massive stories th multiple storyliness, and yet we get all kinds of carnality, and even when there is some information given, there is some ridiculousness like the time Littlefinger gave some speech while *couching* his employees to ply their trade... I just keep watching to see how stupid it gets. And, oddly, I want to know if Dany gets to queen of all things. Well, her or Cersei who gets the unfair treatment by both story(teller) and show, but I love that she has some backbone even she if horrid

[bop_radar]

Yeah, seriously there is tons cut out of the books! But Littlefinger's brothel-coaching is apparently ALL IMPORTANT. *eyeroll