Winterfelled

But that's exactly how it plays out in the book, so what's the complaint? She DOES burn MMD in the books, and the mad king DID go crazy and start burning people alive.

If Ros' necessity to the show isn't clear yet to some of you, I guess you just don't care to understand. She's obviously a vehicle for the show to get glimpses into (for now) ancillary characters while maintaining a sense of cohesiveness. She's how we learn about Theon's insecurities and overcompensation, how we get to find out Pycell isn't quite the feeble old coot we thought he was, and what makes Littlefinger tick. Yes, the scenes could have been played without a single unifying character, but none of those scenes would have played as strong without her there. It's not just some nameless, voiceless extra, it's an actual actress who knows how to listen and how to react and how to sell these moments. Roz's reaction to Pycell's rambling anecdote was what grounded the entire scene, so how could her presence be bad? It's such a silly nitpick. And if you think it's a coincidence that the one HBO-invented character just so happens to be taking the brunt of the fan backlash, you're mistaken. People hate her for no other reason than the fact that she isn't in the books. That's it, and nothing more.

10. How can it be anything less? Every cliffhanger was perfect, there was variety, humor, sentimentality. They put three episodes' worth of awesomeness into one. We got everybody, and yet we didn't feel shorted. I really don't understand the nitpicking of certain characters. Who gives a shit about the changes they made to Shae? It makes her a more interesting television character. It's an adaptation, guys. If you want the book, read the book.

No, it's not a legitimate enough gripe. You're complaining that the TV series didn't show the Whispering Wood battle, even though in the books the battle is only heard, not seen. So really your complaints are ridiculous. And then you scoff at the notion of budgetary constraints like a petulant child who wants a new toy. How could you possibly expect to be taken seriously?

All that noise, and you don't address my point. What a surprise. You wanted the show to do what the book did, and it didn't. That's the beginning and end of your complaint, and it is rooted in fanboy-ism and irrespective of the quality of the show itself. Therefore your complaints "as a paying customer" amount to nothing but petty, childish whining. The question was "How would you rate the show?" not "how closely did the show follow the book?" The battle might have lessened the quality of the show, for all we know, so to say that the show was somehow lacking without it is silly. So take some of your own advice and "Just live with it" The show was fine without the battle. It left more time for what the series is really about--the characters.

Sigh. More nitpicking nonsense based on things they didn't do just like the book. Juvenile nonsense, I swear to the Seven. The episode was a ten. All the episode have been watchable, several have been very good, but this one was the first great episode in the Game of Thrones series. Without question. The final scene was beyond thrilling, and Sean Bean breathed life into a moment which, in the book, was outside of Ned's head. He died confused and terrified, but ever the good soldier. We didn't get a sense of that in the books, but we definitely got it here. Great scene, great episode. Tyrion's backstory was so well done, but the drinking game was maybe even better. Such examination of character, such great acting by Jerome and Peter. Stop whining that they didn't do a battle a certain way. Just stop it.