Basement X

I just noticed we don't have a Game of Thrones thread. I can't be the only one watching that show.
So anybody else enjoying the badassness of Peter Dinklage?

I just started watching before the newest season started and I love it! The last few episodes have been awesome, hate that we have a skip week now.

We do?

Did you read the books?

For some reason they decided not to have a new episode this upcoming week.

And I'm a third of the way through Book 1 and enjoy it, taking a short break to read other stuff but eager to go back.

I'm not watching, actually. I watched the first season, read the books afterwards and found myself not really looking forward to spending an hour a week on rehashing the stories again.

Although I must say that Dinklage is awesome. And I do want to see the trial by combat, next episode probably?

Yes, it's next episode. I wish they didn't skip a week.

I've started rereading the books. It's so good.

I know a bit of what happens in the trial by combat and it's going to be quite exciting!

What I am wondering about is that some storylines have almost caught up with the books while others are still way way behind.
I'd like to know how they will manage that. They are creating stuff to stall the storylines (like Jon's team going back to Craster's Keep and also Bran being captive there) but I don't think they could create stuff that would happen after the books.

I saw the first 2 seasons and was concurrently reading the books. I just finished reading book 5 several weeks ago. However, very annoyingly, I never theater episode of season 2. My disc crapped out on me.

I loved the series and show but while reading the books I couldn't help but feel that certain characters and their storylines felt like they weren't going anywhere at all that they became a bore. I won't give away any spoilers but in book 5 I got so bored Daenerys storyline that I would dread reading it.

As the show goes: Dinklage is indeed great as was he boy who portrayed Joffrey. He did such a great job portraying someone so hateable.

One of my favorites is Lena Heady as Cersei Lannister. She just keeps digging her own grave. And while I don't care much for the evil Cersei has caused, I hate Margary Tyrell for inadvertently taking down Cersei

I'm with you on some storyline getting boring. I'm a lot more interested in the power plays and politics in King's Landing than I am about what happens in Pyramid City.

What do you think of the dragons in the show? They really nailed the look of them.

What did you guys think of this week's episode? Lot of buildup but all I could think of was how awesome The Viper vs The Mountain fight was going to be, and damn did it pay off! I'm still feeling queasy after watching it!

I just watched it. I knew how the fight would end but that ending still tied my stomach in a knot.
They made the Viper a very great character so his demise was even more saddening.
The disgrace of Jorah was also a sad thing to see. All the plots are moving forward and I can see what the last 2 episodes are going to feature.

On a sidenote : it's a strange feeling to watch gory GoT while your very innocent 5-days old daughter sleeps on the sofa next to you.

Nah, you introduce them to blood and gore at a young age so they're desensitized to it growing up. No need to have a squeamish daughter

I was disappointed to see that happen to Jorah, I thought he had redeemed himself in the viewers' eyes with his actions, especially in stopping the poisoning. Now I really want to look up spoilers in the books to find out what happens to him.

While I'm still only a third of the way through the first book (and taking a break right now), I do know some of the stuff that happens. I knew of what happened in the fight last night but I didn't know the exact details and was very shocked they went with what they did, an excellent dose of cinematography! And yeah, The Viper was such an excellent addition to the cast it sucks he was so short lived. Valar morghulis

So, obviously SPOILERS!!!

I agree with you guys. They did a fantastic job with Oberyn that to see how the episode ended it makes you disappointed that that's the last you'll see of him. In the end, Prince Oberyn was just another character George R.R Martin has used to 'Rob Stark' us with.

I like the small changes they made to the fight scene for the TV. I felt the book went for a slow fight where Oberyn kind of jabbed the Mountain with his spear for 10 rounds before knocking him on his feet. For the TV they went with a more spectacular looking fight. Us book readers expected the teeth, eyes and bashed skull moments, but this advanced knowledge doesn't do much to prepare your stomach for what is a very sickening devastation of someone's head.
In the book they drew our attention to Oberyn's namesake and what additional elements he added to his spear(s) (singular in the book). I hope they keep this and make mention of it in the next two episodes.

I'm reading Feast of Crows at the moment, I haven't got to Dance with Dragons. I understand the Theon and Ramsay stuff comes from Dance.

Sidenote:
Is Petyr Baelish's accent breaking? Everyone notice he's sounding more Irish. The actor is in fact Irish. Notice how he speaks out of the side of his mouth a lot as well. What's happened there?

I figured that the scene where Oberyn's helper/whatever was wiping the blades was a rag soaked in poison/venom. Since I've only read summaries of the books, I wasn't expecting THAT much of a devastation to Oberyn, for some reason I thought he was disemboweled.

I didn't exactly remember how Oberyn died, just that he lost the fight. When the Mountain started pushing his fingers into the eyes sockets, it came back to me and was all "oh fuck!". I wonder if for people who never read the books, this a a more shocking moment than the Red Wedding.

And yeah, there is something changed with Baelish voice. I'm not good enough to distinguish accent but he does sound different from the other seasons.

Also, how cool was Arya laughing at Gates of the Vale? Like she just doesn't give a fuck anymore what fate is handing to her.

I took it as Baelish not needing to pretend to be so prim-and-propper as he did at King's Landing, that he's more comfortable on his own away from the spying he was under before.

XIII wrote:I didn't exactly remember how Oberyn died, just that he lost the fight. When the Mountain started pushing his fingers into the eyes sockets, it came back to me and was all "oh fuck!". I wonder if for people who never read the books, this a a more shocking moment than the Red Wedding.

I doubt it. The Red Wedding took care of a few major characters in a about one bookpage. While Oberyn was awesome, he'd not been around that long. Isn't his character more a setup to his daughters? It's been a while since I've read the books, so I could be a bit mistaken here.

His daughters, the Sandsnakes, are featured in the last 2 books but they don't do anything very significant. It's his niece that we see a lot, Arianne Martel.
If you think of it this way, Oberyn is more an introduction to Dorne which starts to be fully featured, with PoV characters, in Feast for Crows and Dance with Dragons.

Daughters, niece... it's simply been too long. And to be honest, I skimmed a lot of parts. I couldn't give a fuck about Theon, for instance.

When is a new book due?