[NO SPOILERS] General Opinions on the TV Show

[iamaita]

I am really enjoying the show so far. I think that they did a pretty good job with casting for the most part and absolutely nailed it with Cersei and Tyrion. I am not sold on Sansa, yet. We will see. I think from some of the scenes they have shown in about the show type clips, that Dany will be great. I think they are trying to show her growing self confidence. I am still waiting for one of Viserys' temper tantrums. He has been fairly cool so far even when angry. Maybe we will see some apoplectic rage in the next show?

All of the kids are a couple of years older than they were in the books, but I think this was necessary to avoid putting younger children in situations that would offend people and also because it would probably be hard to cast a very young child who could act well enough to portray the emotional depth of the characters, especially the Stark children. The children in the books were not allowed to be children. They are expected to learn the skills, courtesies, and responsibilities required of them as members of their house at a very young age. I think it would be very difficult for a lot of viewers to accept the maturity and competence of the characters if they were shown as their actual ages in the book. In general our 14 year old boys don't step up to lead the household or join the army - they play videogames.

That said, I do have a few complaints:

I agree with the criticism of the costumes, and I am not impressed with the props in general. (Although I think the sets and scenery are pretty awesome for a TV show budget.) GRRM created a visually stunning world and provided a lot of vivid descriptions that I wish the prop/costume directors had paid attention to. He goes into quite a bit of detail on the opulence of the noble class and the detail of their family crests. I agree that the house sigils are not prevalent enough in the show. I think it would help newbies follow who is who, but more importantly they are important to identifying loyalties and family pride. So much of each character's identity is tied to their family name and their duty to their family honor, and the house colors and symbols show this visually. The prevalence of the lion and crimson in the Lanisters wardrobes, the way they display their colors more prominantly than the Baratheon colors or Jaime's kingsguard white, is a strong symbol of their ambitions and loyalty to themselves above every other obligation. I think it was a mistake to leave this out. Do you think people who haven't read the books will still catch on to this? Or that they will understand the omen of the broken antler in the wolves throat? When you don't have a thousand words to explain why things are happening, then you should use every visual symbol you can to make the picture tell the whole story. I haven't watched the making of section about the costumes yet. I will have to do that, and I hope this decision will make more sense afterwards.

I was disappointed with how the Others were portrayed in the first scene, too. Where was the icy armour? In the book they are described as gleaming, pale and other worldly. On the screen I was reminded of Sasquatch. Did they decide to only show reanimated dead wildlings instead of the Others? Why?

I didn't like Cersei's touching moment with Catelyn either. I don't remember any story about a stillborn baby from the books. Have I forgotten something? This scene seems out of place with Cersei's character and the facts from the book. Are they trying to establish love for her children as a major driving force for her character?

I hated the way the dragon's eggs looked in the show. They are supposed to be as beautiful as gemstones, but they were ugly and looked cheap and weren't the right colors. I pictured almost irridescent swirling colors that show up in the light and smaller more subtle scales. The inattention to detail here makes me sort of nervous to see how they handle other more critical things in later episodes.

My complaints are all pretty nitpicky. I am super excited about the show and glad HBO has signed up for book II.

[Sijjvra]

My own views thus far:

I'm a pretty big fan of the books and have read them several times. The show is good, but I still feel it's not quite up to par with the books - and that's not unusual. Very rarely does a show or a movie reach the level of the original text.

In any case, overall it's enjoyable. I do feel there are strong and weak points, and parts I'm still on the fence about.

Weak: The Dothraki and how they are portrayed. Why does Khal Drogo have a Hollywood pure white smile with even teeth, why is he never dusty after a day's ride? I don't know, to be honest how the Dothraki are portrayed just seems too clean and too pretty, and more than a little campy. I don't think they captured the vision of what these horselords really were supposed to be like.

Also not a fan of how Dany is portrayed. But then, I'm not a Dany fan to start with... so I have to say she ( Clark) is doing what she can with a so-so character. In my opinion.

I know this is nitpicky but the dire wolves are pretty doggish looking. I completely understand they needed to have the most wolfish looking dog as possible (and they did a good job at picking an appropriate breed) because having real wolves working with children was just too risky, but my mind just can't wrap around the notion that those are -dire wolves-. Half-dire wolf maybe ;)

The pacing does seem a bit fast, but I understand that they're trying to cram a lot of content into a relatively short amount of time frame and have to skip some of the details to do so. Months have passed, but I'm not sure they've done the best job in conveying that. It feels like a few days have passed, not months, since the kids first found their wolf pups. The only way we know a few months have passed are very brief mentions and the fact the pups are half grown now. Other than that? It "feels" like a week has gone by, if that.

Strong:

I really am enjoying Mark Addy as Robert. I know some people aren't, and physically he's not quite how I imagined (I imagined Robert to be a really tall, broad man with a huge beer gut ;) but still some muscle left) but he's charismatic enough to make you believe that Robert is a likable fellow when not sitting the throne. Like he's a buddy you want to go hang out with, but not the guy you'd leave in charge of running a business.

Grittiness of the north: The costumes -could- be better but I like to see the dirt, mud, and smoke caked on everything. It gives what's happening in Westeros a much more "raw" feeling that HBO's portrayal of the Dothraki/Dany/that story-line seems to be lacking entirely.

The Stark Kids - so far all have seemed to do an amazing job and fit their roles very well, especially Arya. And as much as I dislike the character - Jack Gleeson is doing great with Joff and making me want to smack him at every turn.

Dinklage is also turning out to be a wonderful Tyrion, but was there any doubt of that?

On the fence:

Catelyn's character "changes" from book to TV. In the book, she's the one that encourages Ned to go off. HBO has her throwing fits over this same thing, and trying to guilt-trip Ned into staying. Not sure I like the changes they've made here.

The Hound - part of me likes the fact they've toned him down from an almost campy sort of "bad guy"... the flat coldness, if Rory can play it out, could be just as effective and bring a real shock when he -does- explode into violent rage. And that's the big if. IF he can play it out that way. I suspect we'll find out when Sandor escorts Sansa back from the tourney in the next episode or two and tells her just how his face got scarred.

Cersei - again, she's changed a bit from the books. I always thought of her as volatile, pompous and sarcastic. Headey is playing her as an ice queen...it may work, it may not. We'll have to wait and see.

overall: 7.5-8/10

[Maaya]

My opinions on what I've liked/disliked are pretty similar to everyone else. I did really like the added scene between Jaime and Jon though. I think it was really interesting because people who haven't read the books just see it as Jaime being a jerk, but if you've read the books then you can see that Jaime might be offering Jon some advice about taking up the Night's Watch. The "its only for life" part was great.

[Xenophon]

I did really like the added scene between Jaime and Jon though. I think it was really interesting because people who haven't read the books just see it as Jaime being a jerk, but if you've read the books then you can see that Jaime might be offering Jon some advice about taking up the Night's Watch. The "its only for life" part was great.

That's a really good point. I thought Jaime was being a grade-A jerk, but I had forgotten that he's actually in a similar position as a member of the Kingsguard. I wish they'd made that clearer.

[Arya The Assassin]

I am still waiting for one of Viserys' temper tantrums. He has been fairly cool so far even when angry. Maybe we will see some apoplectic rage in the next show?

They've shown some clips of him getting really angry, but I'm not sure if it'll be shown in the next episode.

All of the kids are a couple of years older than they were in the books, but I think this was necessary ... to portray the emotional depth of the characters, especially the Stark children.

In the TV series they seem to be at about the same age as I remember them from the books. The funny thing is that even though Arya wasn't even a teenager in the first book, I always imagined her to be in her early teens. Maise Williams, who plays Arya, was 13 years old when season one was shot. Sophie Turner, who plays Sansa, was 14 (in the first book her character was 11). I don't know how old Isaac Hempstead-Wright (Bran) was, but he's probably not much older than Sophie.

I was a bit more concerned about Dany's age, although I understand why they had to pick an older actress for that role (as I mentioned earlier). I found out that Emilia was 22 or 23 years old last year, which means she's about 10 years older than her character from the first book. So strictly speaking it would've been possible for the director/producers/casting directors to pick a slightly younger actress. On the other hand, they probably didn't want to take any chances and pick an actress who didn't look adult enough, given the nude scenes.

I found out that the actor who's playing Viserys was 27 (which is pretty close to my "mid-to-late 20's" guesstimate earlier in this thread). If Viserys was 23 in the book, then Harry isn't that much older than Viserys, although I'd always seen Viserys as a much younger character.

I haven't watched the making of section about the costumes yet. I will have to do that, and I hope this decision will make more sense afterwards.

I'd recommend the costume-featurette. I think it makes sense.

I didn't like Cersei's touching moment with Catelyn either. I don't remember any story about a stillborn baby from the books. ... Are they trying to establish love for her children as a major driving force for her character?

I think perhaps that they wanted to show how cold and calculating Cersei could be: She was involved in the "accident" and yet she pretends to be on Cat's side, praying for the kid's health.

I hated the way the dragon's eggs looked in the show. They are supposed to be as beautiful as gemstones, but they were ugly and looked cheap and weren't the right colors.

I don't remember exactly how the eggs were described in the books, but I agree that the eggs looked a bit "cheap". But it's not a big issue for me though. I think it's much more important that they get the look of the creatures "right".

[Hooded Man]

First of all, I haven't read the books, and I wasn't very optimistic in advance either, because the plot didn't seem that interesting.

But the tv-series is so well written and so well made, with such great actors that I am gloriously hooked.

I loved it from the very first image, and to the last.

HBO doesn't suffer the restraints ruining practically every other tv-series. They make tv for adults, for mature human beings, and I just love that.

It isn't just the fornication and nudity, but the thoughtfulness put into every conversation. HBO doesn't treat their audience like idiots, like many of the production companies do, and it shows.

[ja4161]

Peter Dinklage is proving to be a fantastic actor. I've only ever seen him in one other production... Lassie I think. My only problem..., he's not ugly. Tyrion is described in the books, by both himself and by others, as being hideously ugly. This is one of the reasons his wit is so sharp.

Lena Headey is a beautiful woman but I wasn't too thrilled with her portrayal as Cersei at first. That said, after watching episode two, I'm beginning to think she can play every bit of the snake that is Cersei Lannister. She needs to be a bit more animated though. While being stoic and reserved might be more realistic, it's not as interesting to watch.

I don't like the actor playing Joffrey. I don't know what it is but there's something that's very distracting about him.

I noticed early on that Catelynn Stark seems much more aged than she was presented in the book. At first this seemed wrong but I think her acting has been awesome thus far. You can really tell she hates Jon Snow. In addition, I'm reminded of a picture taken by National Geographic of an Afghan girl some time ago when she was 12 I believe. Recently, the photographer was able to find the girl again. She was 30 when they found her but because of the harsh living conditions in the Afghan mountains, she looks closer to 60. I don't think you'd find a woman from the north who has born four children looking like a Victoria Secret model. The casting of Catelynn Stark is starting to grow on me.

The costumes. I think they're great. The house sigils should be included though. I agree there. During the second episode, I noticed that the King's costume had stains on it from where he'd dropped food or whatnot. Excellent! The cloaks aren't pristine either. Look at the bottoms of the cloaks. They're dirty and ragged where they've been dragged on the ground. Fantastic! The northerners are dressed in drab clothing because it's the north. It suppose to be a harsh, difficult life. They take what they can get. This is even mentioned in some of the HBO specials by the costume designer.

[ja4161]

First of all, I haven't read the books, and I wasn't very optimistic in advance either, because the plot didn't seem that interesting.

But the tv-series is so well written and so well made, with such great actors that I am gloriously hooked.

I loved it from the very first image, and to the last.

HBO doesn't suffer the restraints ruining practically every other tv-series. They make tv for adults, for mature human beings, and I just love that.

It isn't just the fornication and nudity, but the thoughtfulness put into every conversation. HBO doesn't treat their audience like idiots, like many of the production companies do, and it shows.

Hi Hooded Man,

The characters in the books are some of the best characters you'll ever find in literature. I know that's a bold statement but suffice it to say that characters you find yourself hating today..., those same characters might grow on you later. You may find yourself becoming sympathetic to their circumstance regardless of what evils they've done. This is a very hard thing for a writer to accomplish. It's also one of the reasons HBO has to nail it in the beginning. Someone mentioned the Hound was not portrayed as gruff as he was written. If true, that change may backfire later and may weaken the character as a whole.

And as far as the plot goes..., you really aren't going to see a concrete plot for some time to come. It will come though and when it does..., you'll probably be as pissed off and angry as I was reading it (in a good way). That's when you'll be sucked in. Don't assume you've nailed the plot yet either. These books were as unpredicable as any I've read. M. Night Shyamalan should take a lesson or two from Mr. Martin.

[pat5150]

Episode 3 preview here. :)

Patrick

[Cereal Forel]

We must be watching a different show because to me Addy is right up there with Williams and Dinklage as the best casted to suit their characters in the series. He perfectly portrays Robert's likeability and his hatred of all things Targaryen.

[Songlian]

I have entirely too many opinions on every aspect of the show, so I'm going to start easy by commenting on some that have been already stated lest I make a 3K words post.

As for the casting goes, I like them all except for Jon, Robb and Theon. Its gonna bother me a lot since Jon is one of my favorites of course as everyone :D Robb I always imagined as better looking and softer,[...] Theon looks like a farm boy not an heir apparent to a people.

I like Jon much more than I thought I would, but that's easy to accomplish since I don't like him at all in the books. KH's acting really nails it for me.

Robb is perfect as far as I'm concerned.

I agree with you on Theon, though. I kind of like the way AO plays him, but that is not the character from the books. I'm not sure why he's derailed so much.

I thought the second episode was a huge improvement on the pilot. The first episode was rushed, understandable I suppose with so much to cram in, and for whatever reason there was something felt off about it. That Dany/Drogo scene was poorly executed on screen and that irked me quite a bit. Also, I guess the actors were just getting used to their characters in the pilot. They felt a lot more assured of their roles in the second episode.

My thoughts exactly, on every point.

The pacing does seem a bit fast, but I understand that they're trying to cram a lot of content into a relatively short amount of time frame and have to skip some of the details to do so. Months have passed, but I'm not sure they've done the best job in conveying that.

I really am enjoying Mark Addy as Robert.

Agreed on these two points. The time passing is completely fuzzy, while Mark Addy makes a great Robert.

Thus far, I am incredibly impressed with the casting, especially Peter Dinklage, Lena Headey, and Sean Bean.

Sean Bean as Ned is growing on me. Same for Peter Dinklage. Lena, on the other hand, she's playing a very different Cersei from what I imagined. Many other people have commented on this before, so I'm not going to say it again.

HL as Viserys and NCW as Jaime are my favorites as far as acting goes.

I'm quite fine with costumes, especially the male ones. The furs on the Starks are gorgeous. Winterfell as a location looks more rustic than I imagined it.

All in all, I was expecting more. Maybe that's the whole problem.

[Prince of Dinas Emrys]

In general I find the series (so far) to be masterfully, superbly realized. I have minor complaints that others have also voiced, but nothing so far has been a deal-breaker. Overall I think the writers, producers, cast and crew have done a miraculous job bringing this incredibly complex world to full, vibrant life.

RE: The costuming, I think it works for the most part; it makes sense that the Northmen wear furs and leather rather than silks and velvets. (I especially like the criss-crossed leather chest-straps that seem to be a distinguishing Westerosi feature.) Still, the color-coding is important, and I feel that the Starks' furs and leathers could be gray-and-white rather than strictly black-and-brown. As it is, it's difficult to distinguish the inhabitants of Winterfell visually from the black-clad brothers on the Wall. Gray-and-white for House Stark, with the sigil of the Direwolf on the breast or collar, should really have been the order of the day, and I think the costume dept. dropped the ball there.

The casting and the performances are stellar IMHO -- again for the most part. Cersei is more cool and reserved to a purpose -- first, so that the audience does not outright hate her from the beginning; and second, so that when she does reveal her true depth of evil and hate, it's that much more of a surprise. The same can be said here of Viserys and the Hound: if their performances were as vile and loathsome as they're described in the novel, there would be no doubt in the audience's mind regarding the extent of their villainy. Better, IMHO, to keep these things in reserve; keep the viewers guessing to a certain degree, until those meany-heads explode in some pivotal scene, and reveal their true, malevolent colors.

The only real gripe I have so far? Hair color! And not just for aesthetic reasons or to match the descriptions in the book -- but for essential plot reasons. Jaime needs to be a little more golden-yellow, to match his twin; they are supposed to look almost exactly alike. Robert and Renly (whom I've seen in behind-the-scenes featurettes) should have coal-black hair, a defining Baratheon feature which comes into play as a major plot point in the later chapters of the book. Robb Stark should have more recognizably reddish hair, so we can distinguish him better from Jon in the early episodes. And Theon is a muddy blond? Bleccch, that just isn't right. Even Ned himself needs darker hair, IMO -- Martin describes his color as "dark brown", not sandy, blondish brown. It's a minor complaint, perhaps, but these features are important for working out who is related to whom, as we'll see towards the end of the first season.

[Reaper]

One of the weirdest things about the TV show thus far (as compared to the books) is Sansa. She looks like she's 20 - 25 years old in the TV show, and Joffrey looks to be about 12-14 years old.

They did a terrible job casting Sansa. The only thing they got right is that she's pretty.

[Prince of Dinas Emrys]

Oh, Sansa does not look "20-25". The actress, Sophie Turner, was born 21 February 1996, making her 13 at the time the pilot was shot in 2009, 14 during the re-shoots in 2010, and 15 now.

Source: http://gameofthrones.wikia.com/wiki/Sophie_Turner

She's just tall, that's what's throwing you off.

[Cereal Forel]

Edited out since this is a "no spoiler" thread. blah.

[Arya The Assassin]

First of all, I haven't read the books, and I wasn't very optimistic in advance either, because the plot didn't seem that interesting.

The ASoIaF-books feature some of the most intriguing and dramatic plots I've ever found in any book. What you've seen in the trailers and featurettes is really only the tip of the iceberg (they don't want to reveal too much or spoil anything). The first episodes focus primarily on exposition and the introduction of characters, so things might seem to move a bit slowly at first, but as the plot unfolds there will be more focus on drama, intrigue and character development.

But the tv-series is so well written and so well made, with such great actors that I am gloriously hooked.

One of the things that I really like about the books is that you can't take anything for granted: The plot takes unexpected, even shocking turns and you never know for sure who's going to die next :)

It isn't just the fornication and nudity, but the thoughtfulness put into every conversation.

Some people who haven't read the books (and I'm not talking about you), mistakenly believe that HBO has thrown in some sex and nudity for its own sake, but they fail to understand that there's a lot of sex and nudity in the books as well. I think all the sex, nudity, profanity and graphic violence in the books add to Martin's dark, gritty, realistic depiction of an era that reminds me of ancient and medieval times.

HBO doesn't treat their audience like idiots, like many of the production companies do, and it shows.

If they'd tried to aim for a more "family-friendly" adaptation the show would no longer be faithful to the books, at least in my opinion.

[Reaper]

I don't really care what the actresses actual age is to be honest. She just looks too old and too mature to be the silly, immature girl Martin portrays in AGoT.

Many characters look too old in TV series. I understand why, especially if they are sexually active, but their physically maturity does not fit in with the mental immaturity that is in the books.

Maybe it's just me however ..

[Knight Of The North]

May I make alittle stand for Richard Madden and Kit Harrington here? First off, Richard is playing Robb - he's honourable, he's temperamental at times, but he's also very warm. In Episode 2, all us poor sobs have seen, I felt pain for him, as I've been through such serious situations, and I felt Richard conveyed that 'biting of the lip for the good of all' attitude, aswell as the simple anger at a parent who has broken down. Madden can only get better, and has some pretty damn good acting chops.

He also looks spot on, age wise.

Kit Harrington, on the other hand, displays his ability in the 'Goodbye, Bran' scene, and the confrontation with Tyrion in the first episode. In the former, he manages to convey the hurt Jon feels at being shunned by Catelyn even at this moment, but also the daring to go on because this may be the last time he sees his little brother. Just look at his eyes before he kisses Bran on the forehead.

Anyway, that's just me waving and adding my two pennies worth.

[Prince of Dinas Emrys]

Sansa strikes me as pretty silly and immature, esp. in the 2nd ep. Her lies before the King and Queen come off as appropriately girlish and fool-headed.

At age 14 when the 2nd ep. was shot, the actress hardly looks "too old and mature". You're entitled to your opinion, Reaper, but it happens to contradict factual reality.

[Bormon]

I think the casting and the show are pretty spot on. I am very impressed so far.

I do have one criticism, and that is the lack of attention to the relationship of the Stark children and their dire wolves.

In the books the children all establish a bond and a connection that goes beyond "loyal dog" which has basically the way they have been presented.

Cat kept Summer (though in the book he had not been named yet) away from Bran's room. That's why it was such a big deal he came and saved the day. Cat changed her opinion about the wolves after that. That message has been losted.

Even though the actors all did a fantastic job of conveying the remorse for the execution of Lady..... I feel like as part of the audience it was portrayed like the killing of a family pet. (while that is horrific, it has more meaning for these children)

Ghost, Grey Wind, and Shaggydog have not been seen at all.