60 replies to this topic

[Chelly]

I was inspired by the Characters Undeserved by the Adaptation thread.
This is about the flip side of that and discuss which characters you think come off better in the tv show, than in the books.

I am going to start with Samwell Tarly. The actor playing him was perfect and I feel that Sam on the show is much more likeable than Sam in the books. I still like Sam from the books, but I like him more on the show. He had some great lines on the show, "I always wanted to be a wizard." and his humor is a good counterbalance to Jon's seriousness. In season 2, I found his interaction with Gilly to be very sweet and endearing.

Another character I think benefits from the adaptation is Cersei. I know many people feel the opposite, but I much prefer Cersei on the show, than in the books. I felt after reading AFfC that Cersei was sort of cartoony evil and some of her actions were so ridiculous it makes it very hard for me to sympathize with her. I think the show had done a good job of showing some of her more human sides. I don't mind pure evil characters like Ramsay, The Mountain, the Bloody Mummers, or Qyburn but I don't think a major player or pov character like Cersei should be one of them. Yes, she's done some horrible things, but I would have liked more added dimensions to her. Her conversations on the show like the ones with Robert, Joffery, and some of the bits with Ned kind of displayed different facets of who she is.

What are your thoughts? Anyone else feel some characters come off better on the show?

[Ran]

Cersei's less interesting to me on the show. There's a certain wishy-washness to her, perhaps in large part due to Headey's peformance, I don't know, but she never captures the fire and vigor of Cersei. Cersei is a bad person, a terrible person, but there's layers in the novel, there's genuinely tragic moments, that I think the show's given up on by making her more ... I don't know. Relatable? Not every character needs to be "us". The point of the novel's depiction is that, yes, she really is an awful person -- but there are things you can sympathize with, things you can understand and see how that shaped her to be the terrible person that she is.

[The Non-Human]

No characters come off better in the show than in the novel.

EDIT: Ok, yes, there is one: Osha. Thats it.

Edited by The Non-Human, 25 April 2012 - 07:25 PM.

[The King of Ashes]

The Non-Human, on 25 April 2012 - 11:46 AM, said:

No characters come off better in the show than in the novel.

I think this is a really ignorant approach. I know book purists can be stubborn but this is ridiculous. For instance we barely ever see Robb Stark in the novels but they've gone much deeper with him in the series. Richard Madden has taken the character to a whole new level.

[Morvran]

The King of Ashes, on 25 April 2012 - 11:56 AM, said:

For instance we barely ever see Robb Stark in the novels but they've gone much deeper with him in the series. Richard Madden has taken the character to a whole new level.

Agree.  Think about how angry you were when he was betrayed in the book!?  It wasn't so much because of Robb as a character (for me) as it was the hope of the North being crushed.  But in the series, especially with all the cheese they seem to be about to throw on his budding romance, it's clear they want to develop him more so they can really tear peoples' hearts out.

I think Tywin benefits from the series as well, not in small part due to the acting.

Actually, I have to say that Theon, for me, is a more rounded character in the adaptation.  When I read the first book, even on repeated readings, Theon comes off as cocky and brash, and it seems like you can always see his greed and resentment shining through.  It's not a huge surprise that he betrays Robb.  But in the adaptation it seems that he genuinely loves Robb and if not for his trip to Pyke he may have served faithfully until death.

[DaveSumm]

I wouldn't say it was ignorant, for the show to achieve the incredible character development and depth that five books has would be an extremely difficult task. One that, I think, someone would be entitled to believe it hasn't done. Not that that's a criticism, I think the show is by and large the best conceivable adaption we could ask for. It's just the nature of one having 6 or 7 thousand pages and the other 14 hours (and counting).

Having said that, I'll throw Bronn in the mix. He's has some great lines in the show, and I think the emphasis on his non-chalance has worked well for him.

[The Non-Human]

The King of Ashes, on 25 April 2012 - 11:56 AM, said:

I think this is a really ignorant approach. I know book purists can be stubborn but this is ridiculous. For instance we barely ever see Robb Stark in the novels but they've gone much deeper with him in the series. Richard Madden has taken the character to a whole new level.

Showing him more =/ Portraying him better.

No, Richard Madden has not. He is a fine Robb, but he has not done anything all that noteworthy. For me at least. Not really for book purism reasons or whatever. I do enjoy the show a whole lot.

The really ignorant thing is to assume we are all going to agree on this.

Edited by The Non-Human, 25 April 2012 - 01:12 PM.

[Drogon's Personal Trainer]

I agree about Theon in the series.  In the books I absolutely loathed and despised this character.  He was such a whiney victim from the start, and - forgive me - I couldn't even muster any sympathy for him in the Ramsay situation.  I remember thinking that he was such a weak person, with his typical victim mentality, that Ramsay could get away with his torture so easily.  That was a harsh judgment, I know, but it's just the way I felt about him.  I also loathe all the Ironborn in the books - they bore me rigid.

However, series Theon is quite a different prospect.  Alfie Allen has managed to gain my sympathy by bringing to the screen Theon's sense of not belonging anywhere far better than the books did, IMHO.  I also loathed Asha in the books and Balon, but again, the scenes have intrigued me so far and I think they've been played well.  Needless to say, I don't agree with everyone's thoughts on the actress who plays Yara/Asha.  To me she's more likeable than in the books.  But each to his own.

I think everyone else is more or less how I pictured them.  I'm re-reading Swords at the moment, and am finding it hard not to hear the actors' voices now.  But I must say in fairness, that I watched Series 1 before reading any of the books, so I've not had the years of living with these characters that many of the members on this forum have had.  That MUST colour my judgment to a degree.

Edited by Drogon's Personal Trainer, 25 April 2012 - 01:26 PM.

[the hound of sansa]

i think Jorah, Gendry and Davos are excellent in the show. i likes them a lot in the books but now they have become my favourites. and their scenes are a pleasure to watch
i will also add Theon. Alfie Allen has helped me sympathise with the character

[The_Gallows_Knight]

I'd like to add Jory also, had he not been portrayed as he was in the series I probably wouldn't have noted him that much when I started to read the books.
And his scene with Jamie was one of my favourites of the added scenes.

[Vandalism]

1. Ned Stark. The books never really drove home the fact that he was a warrior and a fighter, whereas Sean Bean's portrayal did. Sean Bean's presence is that of a BA warrior and veteran, and he was a perfect Eddard Stark.

2. Renly, believe me or not. In the books he was always a spontaneous, outgoing man with a fake air of knightly chivalry. Gethin Antony properly portrayed Renly's less masculine side better than the books did; his love for decorations and clothes and his extravagance and what not.

3. Theon. In the TV series, Theon's small scenes had a lot of character development in them and showed us truly how he felt about not belonging anywhere. In the books we had to wait till ADWD and the later part of ACOK to see this.

[dtones520]

How about Osha? She is made very interesting on the show, where in the books she is kind of an after thought.

[Mr Motte]

Robb has to be mentioned here. Since Robb didn't have a POV we never really got to see just him. He was sort of one dimensional.

Osha. GRRM even commented that Natalia Tena (I think thats her name, correct me if I'm wrong) adds a whole other dimension to her.

I will say that I liked Robert more because of Mark Addy's performance.

[The Monkey]

Probably Theon, Tywin and Lord Commander Jeor Mormont.

[Dragon greyscale]

Yoren, tywin, robb, osha, bronn, gendry, lysa, viserys, joffrey, balon. Basically, characters that weren't fully fleshed out in the novels(except Joff: that's more to do with the actor). It makes sense since there weren't any high expectations for them to begin with. Without a POV, I find it very hard to have clearly delineated mental image of a character. Therefore I don't think people can make a good case against their tv appearance. It can only be neutral or better, not worse.

[The King of Ashes]

Personally, I think Yoren is the best example of this. When it comes to more major characters its Jorah that springs to mind, he really is the only reason I'm even remotely interested in Essos at the moment. Losing Harry Lloyd and Jason Momoa was a tragedy.

[Arkash]

Robb, Theon, Viserys, Yoren, Osha, Bronn, Balon...

[HouseLancaster]

So mainly the second tier characters then...?

[greatgeek]

Robb, Tywin, Joffrey, Osha, Yoren, Varys, Theon

[The Non-Human]

Dragon greyscale, on 25 April 2012 - 03:11 PM, said:

Yoren, tywin, robb, osha, bronn, gendry, lysa, viserys, joffrey, balon. Basically, characters that weren't fully fleshed out in the novels(except Joff: that's more to do with the actor). It makes sense since there weren't any high expectations for them to begin with. Without a POV, I find it very hard to have clearly delineated mental image of a character. Therefore I don't think people can make a good case against their tv appearance. It can only be neutral or better, not worse.

It very much depends. They can very well butcher a character to the extreme of making it clearly worse. Not saying it has happened, but its a fairly real possibility.