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Book vs. Show Characters: Better, Worse, Mixed, or just Different?


Rill Redthorn

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Better in the show-


  • Margaery- She doesn’t just make the character more interesting but also the Tyrells.
  • Tywin- He has an intimidating presence that demands respect. I hated him in the books but in the show he steals every scene so I can’t help but have a grudging respect for show Tywin. I also enjoyed the Arya/Tywin scenes in season 2.
  • Joffrey- I hated him so much but he was also an amusing evil jerk at times.
  • Viserys- Didn’t really pay attention to him in the books but the show really brought his character to life.
  • Osha- The show added more warmth to her character that makes you notice her.

(It also helps that all of the above have actors that really fit their role)



Worse in the show-


  • Stannis- Where did all his dry humour go? Also, he is merely Mel’s puppet and comes across as a tyrant, not a dutiful man.
  • Robb- The tragedy of his story was that he was too much like his father- his honour killed him. The ‘True love’ plot really overwhelmed his character and storyline, Talisa even stole the RW scene with her brutal death. I wish they had put more attention on some of the other characters in his plot- Umbers and Dacey Mormont. Their deaths at the RW showed the scale of the tragedy as other Northern families were hit, not just Robb and those he loved (mother and wife). Small Jon throwing over the table at the RW to protect his King was such an admirable scene and showed the loyalty ‘The Young Wolf’ inspired in his men. However, he was more a Husband than ‘The Young Wolf’ in the show.
  • Season 3 Sansa

Equal-


  • Ned

Different-


  • Asha/Yara
  • Jeyne/Talisa
  • Shae
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1) Better in the show than in the books

Olenna Tyrell, Osha, Tywin, Joffrey, Robb (at first)


2) Worse in the show than in the books

Stannis, Mance Rayder, Littlefinger, Melisandre (she doesn't impress me at all), Robb (eventually, what a dumbass), Sansa (not Sophie Turner's fault, I blame the producers for this)


3) Basically unchanged between the show and the books

Jaime, Ned


4) A mix of good and bad changes, hard to separate out

Cersei, Catelyn, Tormund (love this guy in both mediums), Tyrion


5) Completely different in the show and in the books

Shae

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Better!
The team of Margaery and Olenna. Writers have really made them seem more formidable. I love Margaery's attempts to calm Joffrey down.

The team of Cersei and Joffrey. Together they are at their best, never more so than at the purple wedding. They both love their little tortures.

Tywin--formidable in the book, but he owns the show, has the most onscreen gravity.

Renly--poses a much more interesting dilemma on the show, because he actually makes a good case for why he should be king. I daresay he might have been pretty damn good, especially with the savvy Margaery at his back.

Bronn--fan favorite, nuff said.

Catelynn--a formidable actress. She has ruled the show, much like Tywin. She often seems dumb in the book, making some really poor choices. The show made those decisions make more sense.

Worse,
Littlefinger and Varys. I like them on the show, especially Varys, but is far more interesting in the book, where his motives are more elusive. Littlefinger can't pose the innocent charm like he does in the book.

Jon Snow. Actor has his emotional turmoil down, but Jon Snow in the book is the sharpest/smartest POV character other than Tyrion. That is not coming across on the show.

Dothraki other than Drogo.
Daario obviously.

The Mountain.

Different but still cool,
Brienne--harder edge, still cool, not the same character really though.

King Robert--not enough physical presence, but interestingly acted.
Tyrion, for reasons everyone has already cited.
Shae--this could be interesting...
the Hound--great acting, needs to be more scarred and intimidating.

Arya--not as much a killer, still a fan favorite.

Perfect Cast, no difference: Ned Stark, Jaime Lannister, Viserys Targaryen. The last two have been amazing.

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Better in the show:


Margaery, Joffrey (All hail Jack Gleeson!), Tywin, Cersei, Bronn, Ser Alliser, Ygritte, Robb, Osha



Pretty much on par:


Eddard, Tyrion (Up until this point in the books he hasn't shown his greyness, so the whitewashing argument is not valid yet), Daario (Only if they gave him a Jack Sparrow-like look), Arya, Sansa, Catelyn (Hate that they left out the fact that she is kind of a bitch in the novels, though the excellent performance makes up for it), Davos, Melisandre, Varys, Theon, Balon, Jaime, Robert, Aemon, Samwell, Jon, Oberyn, Roose, Ramsay



Worse in the show:


Littlefinger (Just don't like that they've made him a very obvious villain), Shae (bad actress), Renly, Loras (Please stop making fun and exploiting his homosexuality), Mance


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1) Better in the show than in the books (where "better" doesn't mean "nicer", but rather "More developed" or "More interesting" or "Even more like themselves than I imagined")



Margaery - Her motivations are a lot more clear in the show, or at least her ambitions are, and personally I really enjoy ambitious player Margaery. It's sort of hard to get a handle on whether she's a canny player in the books, or largely a piece used by her family, albeit a politically savvy one.



Cersei - She's given a more sympathetic portrayal in the earlier seasons- presumably this season we will see her descent into less rational behaviour, and indeed, we already started to see it at the wedding feast, but given that we don't get Cersei's POV in the books until her paranoia and irrational behaviour really kicks into gear, it's somewhat harder to sympathise with her. Hopefully this will build a good foundation for the next season, where Cersei will presumably have to carry a lot of the King's Landing action herself. The extra effort in building Margaery's character up might help carry next season too, actually.



2) Worse in the show than in the books (where "worse" is "flatter", "less interesting", and so on, not "meaner")



Petyr - I mean, I love Littlefinger *points at avatar*, and I love Aidan Gillen, seriously, I will buy stuff purely on the strength of his name on the cast list. I really enjoyed him in Season 1, it was one of the contributing factors to LF becoming my favourite. But then it all went a bit wrong in S2 and S3. AG seemed to lose the knack for his accent and it kind of drifts into Welsh a lot- perhaps it was a deliberate choice, given that the character is from the very Welsh themed Vale of Arryn, and the show wanted to emphasise that, but it's not the best accent I've ever heard. Mostly, though, it's the scenes that he gets. In the first episode of S2, he goads Cersei into threatening him and ends up publicly humiliated, then we have the lengthy scene where he threatens Ros and all but twirls his 'tache at her. He does still have good scenes - revealing that he knew about Ros and had killed Varys's spy reminds the audience that he actually IS the dangerous guy that Varys keeps talking about, and the scene where he seems to recognise Arya might be interesting if anything ever comes of it, but it's really inconsistent, and I worry that they're going to get LF right in the upcoming seasons.



Sansa - As others have said, Sansa as a character is really made by what goes on in her head. Sophie Turner does a good job at portraying Sansa's feelings with her eyes, but in the book to show change, you lose out on the inner thoughts- what Sansa is actually thinking whilst she acts courteous, the knowledge that this is her armour, her desire to escape, and later, what she is learning about the game, how she feels about her current role etc. The show doesn't seem to have figured out a way to translate this over to the screen, and again, it's a little worrying for the upcoming two seasons combined with the above.



3) Basically unchanged between the show and the books


Varys - Conleth Hill really embodies the role, he's just perfect.



Joffrey- Again, really embodies the role from the books. Obviously, he's aged up for the show, and there are some things that have been changed from the book (the sadism with Ros, the murder of Robert's bastards, etc.), but he seems pretty true to form throughout.



Jon Snow - didn't care about him in the books, don't care about him in the show.



4) A mix of good and bad changes, hard to separate out



Asha/ Yara- they've made her sisterly affection for Theon more of a theme in the show, and given her a storyline for this season, which I think is necessary going forward in order to get the audience more invested in the Iron Islands storyline once events take their course. I also like the look they went with for Asha- it's very in keeping with the rest of the Iron Islands. And Gemma Whelan does have some scenes where she is very good- it's clear she is taking no shit from her brother. That said, Asha in the book seems to have a confidence and swagger that Yara in the show lacks- often in the show she comes off as quite sullen, or bored, rather than genuinely relishing her interactions with Theon. Maybe it's deliberate- she seems fonder of Theon in the show, so she doesn't enjoy tearing him down as she does in the book, but it makes her maybe a little less fun to watch.



5) Completely different in the show and in the books



Shae is the obvious choice. There's also Talisa, who plays the same role as Jeyne Westerling in the books, but with a totally different personality, backstory and name. And then the characters like Ros who were invented for the show, and have no book counterpart (or no close book counterpart, I know she does fulfill part of Alayaya's plot purpose).


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Better


Robert


Viserys


Drogo


Sam


Pod


Seleyse


Bronn



Worse


Littlefinger


Stannis


Renly


Mance


asha/yara



equal


tyrion (even if different)


Jaime


Brienne


Davos


Mel


arya


shae( i like her just as much in the show as in thebooks,which is not much)


cersei


tywin(Charles Dance IS Tywin)


Joffrey(same as Dance, can't really imagine anybody else but Jack Gleeson)


varys



Mixed


Jon,


tormund( i like him, but he's a lot different than his book counterpart)


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Lots of people are mentioning Osha as being better in the TV series, but I think i'd put her in the mixed catagory. Even though she's more interesting in the show, it sometimes feels like the actress playing her takes the "wild" in "wildling" a bit too far compared to every other wildling we see. Especially when she's first introduced, she skulks around too much like an animal.

That could just be the fault of the producers though being undecided about how to portray wildlings.

Seriously, I hate her stupid little "crazy eyes skulk" thing she does. Its just weird and fake.

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I know I'll get flamed for this, but I think people who say Stannis is the most different are wrong. Yes, they're taking his character development much, much slower but they're doing ASOS in two seasons. Is he done very well, not really. The absolute worst adaption? I don't think so. Early in ASOS, Stannis was burning people just like in season 4. Early in ASOS, Stannis was Melisandre's bitch. Early in ASOS, Stannis was ready and wiling to kill his child nephew (and in this scenario the show actually made him look better since Gendry is a grown man) and ready and willing to execute Davos when he sent Edric away... We don't see as much of Stannis's good side in the show, but it's hard to say that they are making him a villain when he isn't really doing anything worse than in the books.

The show takes things slowly (look at Arya, it took her way longer to become a killer). I think Stannis will eventually pay off- Dillane is awesome (perfect casting, yet not so perfect writing). I think that when we enter ADWD territory they will begin to do the opposite- instead of making Stannis look bad they'll do everything to make him look good. That's the way the show handles things (Jamie managed to redeem himself in the show even after killing his own cousin- on top of all his show crimes).

I'm optimistic about the future of Stannis. I think he was great in season 2, and will be great again when his arc gets into its ADWD high point.

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Lots of people are mentioning Osha as being better in the TV series, but I think i'd put her in the mixed catagory. Even though she's more interesting in the show, it sometimes feels like the actress playing her takes the "wild" in "wildling" a bit too far compared to every other wildling we see. Especially when she's first introduced, she skulks around too much like an animal.

That could just be the fault of the producers though being undecided about how to portray wildlings.

I feel the opposite, I think the rest of the wildlings could take a page from her book. Themes are promising though. They need to be more eccentric in general.
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I know I'll get flamed for this, but I think people who say Stannis is the most different are wrong. Yes, they're taking his character development much, much slower but they're doing ASOS in two seasons. Is he done very well, not really. The absolute worst adaption? I don't think so. Early in ASOS, Stannis was burning people just like in season 4. Early in ASOS, Stannis was Melisandre's bitch. Early in ASOS, Stannis was ready and wiling to kill his child nephew (and in this scenario the show actually made him look better since Gendry is a grown man) and ready and willing to execute Davos when he sent Edric away... We don't see as much of Stannis's good side in the show, but it's hard to say that they are making him a villain when he isn't really doing anything worse than in the books.

The show takes things slowly (look at Arya, it took her way longer to become a killer). I think Stannis will eventually pay off- Dillane is awesome (perfect casting, yet not so perfect writing). I think that when we enter ADWD territory they will begin to do the opposite- instead of making Stannis look bad they'll do everything to make him look good. That's the way the show handles things (Jamie managed to redeem himself in the show even after killing his own cousin- on top of all his show crimes).

I'm optimistic about the future of Stannis. I think he was great in season 2, and will be great again when his arc gets into its ADWD high point.

For me, deciding to save the Wall WAS his highpoint. Blunting it's impact by stretching out the decision to go after learning of the message weeks all but kills the character for me.

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1) Better in the show than in the books: Robert, Margaery, Rickon, Theon, Viserys

2) Worse in the show than in the books: Dany

3) Basically unchanged between the show and the books: Ned, Varys, Jon, Drogo, Cersei, Jaime, Arya, Sandor

4) A mix of good and bad changes, hard to separate out: Tywin, Stannis, Catelyn

5) Completely different in the show and in the books: Shae, Jorah

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So many good choices but I am going to pick my person #1 for each category.



Better:


#1) The Hound: I really love the way he is played in the show, I agree that it is slightly different than the books but I actually think it is better (at least for a TV show).




Worse:


#1) Barristan Selmy: He did have the badass scene when he was fired from the KG but other than that he just doesn't have the same gravitas that the character in the book has. I don't blame the show for this since most of the aura of Selmy is created through all the backstory in the book and that couldn't really be replicated in a show. Also for obvious but disappointing reasons they took away one of his coolest chapters (when it is revealed to Dany and Jorah who he is).



#2) Honorable mention for all the secondary characters that don't get as fleshed out in the show (I suppose Selmy could be part of this list). Thoros, Belwas :crying:, Jory, Mance, Qyburn, Gregor, Big John, etc.



Spot-on (or close enough that I don't mind):


#1) Tyrion - There are so many in this category that it's tough to pick just one but this was a role Peter Dinklage was born to play (and not because of his height). I also think that a character like Tyrion would be so easy to mess up because he has to walk a fine line between being likeable but also sarcastic and somewhat manipulative. Also, Tyrion is a fan favorite and a central character so he gets bonus points because messing up Tyrion would be harmful to the entire show.


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Better in the show



None for me, I do find Margaery more enjoyable but I think George always has a reason for not exploring characters like her and don't feel at all cheated when they're non-characters in a way. We have plenty of characters he clearly sees as important to the plot and I'm content with them. Perhaps I enjoyed Robert Baratheon more on the show.



On par/ characters they got right and I was quite happy with



Ned


Barristan


Theon


Jaime (so far... The latest season is worrying me)


Robert Baratheon


Viserys



I'll think of others soon...



Worse in the show than in the books



Renly


Littlefinger


Sansa


Catelyn


Bran


Arya


Dany


Tyrion


Cersei


Robb


Stannis


Melisandre


Tywin


The Brotherhood Without Banners



A mix of good and bad changes



I liked how they explored Cersei and Robert's relationship more but I dislike how they portray her in general, making her more "sympathetic"



Completely different in the show



Loras Tyrell, I actually liked him the books and felt for the guy after he lost Renly but in the show he just seems like a lewd teenage boy who'll hump any man at sight even after losing Renly.


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Better in the show:

-Shae- as long as the end will be the same... She is an actual character and was pretty lovable at first (until she became annoying this season). We shall see in the end if this is truly a good change, I like to think it is.

-Margery- a real player

-Tywin- he's an obvious bad guy in the books, but his interaction with Arya in the show gave me mixed feelings about him... Which is great! More dimensions to show Tywin

-Cersei- same deal as Tywin. They gave some of her bad deeds to Joffrey, which makes her seem a bit less like a heartless psycho. I do think that she will get there, though.

-Osha- I really liked her in the first two seasons. Her cat fight arc with Meera wasn't the best, though.

-Locke- better than Vargo

-Ygritte- very good writing. She's quite funny. But I don't like the romantic kissing on the Wall pan out shot.

-The Hound- he loves his chicken. Such a badass.

-Ellaria Sand- her introduction was pretty amazing in the show. "She likes you." "She has good taste"

EDIT: Yara/Asha- attacking the Dreadfort? Very interesting deviation. I like Yara being a bit more warm to Theon in the show. And if she ends up being a badass too, that'll be great.

EDIT: Bronn

Better in the books:

-Mance- I have nothing against the actor or his skills, but he is NOT Mance Raydar. He is far too old and doesn't have as much of a presence.

-Stannis- I think so far they aren't really helping an already hard-to-like character (we're talking early ASOS), hopefully it improves this season

-Loras- he was supposed to be a badass and comes off as a gay stereotype more often than not (not that I'm a fan of book Loras)

-Jon Snow- in the first season he was great, in the second season he fell pray to bad deviations and in the third season... It wasn't THAT bad, but the last scene was overplayed in my opinion. He came off really whimpy, just the fact that Ygritte was able to catch him when he was on a horse is a testament to the failure that show Jon is (again, not specifically because of Kit Harrington). I will say that he seems back on track in season 4.

-The Mountain in season 2.

Spot on, or close enough:

-Arya

-Bran (with added age)

-Dany

-Catelyn

-Ned

-Brienne (but she is a bit more brutal in the show)

-Olenna

-Tyrion

-Theon!!! Alfie Allen is amazing

-Ramsay

-Oberyn (from what we've seen so far)

-The Mountain in season 1

EDIT: and Jamie of course!

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Pretty much on par:

Tyrion (Up until this point in the books he hasn't shown his greyness, so the whitewashing argument is not valid yet)

Forgive me for being late, but ...what? He's certainly very grey throughout ACoK and ASoS, not just in ADwD where it's more pronounced. Remember what he did to Tommen? Cersei (and not just the poisoning)? Symon Silver Tongue?

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Okay folks, I promised to tabulate the votes at some point, so here we are. You are welcome to keep posting votes, including votes for characters you didn't weigh in on the first time (though I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't double-vote!) and I will keep tabulating whenever I have a chunk of new votes to work with.



For those who went outside the lines of my original categories, I did my best to put your votes in where they seemed to fit.



I didn't tally any votes for any post that just commented on other people's choices. You can go ahead and post that stuff if you want but it won't be counted in the tally.



Here's a general summary of the way things are trending as of post #55. I've listed any character who got more than three votes in any single category.



Mostly better on the show:


Bronn


Cersei (although she also got a lot of votes for "mixed")


Joffrey (also got votes for "perfect")


Jorah


Margaery


Olenna


Osha


King Robert


Sam


Sandor (The Hound)


Tywin


Viserys (also a lot of votes for "pefect")



Mostly worse on the show:


Catelyn


Danaerys


Gregor Clegane (The Mountain)


Jon Snow


Mance Rayder


LIttlefinger


Renly


Robb


Sansa


Stannis (also got votes for "mixed")



Perfect/the same on the show:


Davos


Ned


Jaime


Theon (also got votes for "better")


Varys



Mixed reaction: some good changes, some bad


Melisandre


Tormund


Tyrion (also got votes for "worse")



Completely different:


Jeyne/Talisa


Asha/Yara (also got votes for "worse")


Shae



(I wanted to post my whole tally sheet but the table formatting is borked...anyone know how to deal with that on this board?)


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Forgive me for being late, but ...what? He's certainly very grey throughout ACoK and ASoS, not just in ADwD where it's more pronounced. Remember what he did to Tommen? Cersei (and not just the poisoning)? Symon Silver Tongue?

To be fair, there was no room for these scenes in the show. Even in the book they happened mostly off-page. And assuming the show goes through with the Shae thing... It would paint a MUCH darker image of Tyrion since book Shae was a fraud while show Shae actually loved him. And he hurt her pretty hard trying to save her, which kind of puts a lot of blame on him. I think a lot of viewers won't know what to think if that happens- which could be delicious.

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