Greylander Posted May 16, 2011 Share Posted May 16, 2011 I almost started a thread about this a week or so ago, and a recent not-a-blog post by GRRM leads me to start this topic now.As George mentions there, a not insignificant number of fans became angry at the the death of Lady and announce that they refuse to watch the show further.As fans of the books, I'm sure nearly all on these forums loves the gritty "reality" of this fantasy series, turning simplistic good vs. evil tropes on their heads, and especially that no one is safe. These are a significant part of what makes the books, and now the tv series, great for us.Given this kind of reaction to Lady's death... I wonder how many fans will be lost to upcoming [[[big spoiler event -- you know what I mean]]]. You know... fans who would stick with it if only their favorite characters don't get hurt.My girlfriend, while enjoying the show, said that she is not to invested in questions of "what is going to happen". For example, in reference to Tyrion's capture: "I know he's not going to die." It would be so perfect if she had said that about Ned instead... but I don't know for sure how she will take it. In general she does not like movies with sad endings.There does seem to be a large segment of people who, when bad things happen in fictional stories to characters they like... they become angry at the story and the author, and rather than (or in addition to) the villains.How much should we fear that Game of Throne will lose ratings as such people drop out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BMB Posted May 17, 2011 Share Posted May 17, 2011 Well if they didn't like Lady dying then they certainly wouldn't like what the Mountain That Rides did to his ride in episode five.I have more of a fear of people tuning out due to the multitude of characters that have small but important roles at this point. Theon's scene in Episode 5 threw my wife for a loop, having not read the books. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seerow Posted May 17, 2011 Share Posted May 17, 2011 Has anyone found the blog posts and the like with people claiming they were going to stop watching the show over Lady's death? A quick google search by me finds nothing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Souza Posted May 17, 2011 Share Posted May 17, 2011 Has anyone found the blog posts and the like with people claiming they were going to stop watching the show over Lady's death? A quick google search by me finds nothing.I found a small article about it with a decent amount of comments.http://popwatch.ew.com/2011/04/25/game-of-thrones-viewer-outrage-over-cute-characters-death/I also remember reading an interview with George in which he mentions his past experiences with reader outrage over the course of the series. He said that he had heard from people who literally threw their books into the fireplace (ASOS) in a fit of rage and disbelief. People who then went on to rush out to the book store to buy another copy to find out what happened next. Very funny stuff and it was a great example of how emotion people can get, I'll try to track it down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xenophon Posted May 17, 2011 Share Posted May 17, 2011 How much should we fear that Game of Throne will lose ratings as such people drop out?Well, there was pretty much no drop off between episodes 2 and 3, despite the direwolf death, so I wouldn't be too worried. Maybe there are some Sean Bean fans who will stop watching after Ned's death, but if they're Sean Bean fans, they should be used to it by now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BMB Posted May 17, 2011 Share Posted May 17, 2011 ... but if they're Sean Bean fans, they should be used to it by now.excellent !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Tywin Posted May 17, 2011 Share Posted May 17, 2011 Interesting. Upon my first (of two) reads, Lady's sad fate was what got me hooked on Game of Thrones.Not because I liked it - quite the opposite. I'm not an emotional guy, but as a dog lover Lady's death got to me. I'd had a little trouble getting into the series up to that point, but it grabbed me because either a) I was mad at the author and needed to see if he was just a sadisitc bastard, or B) I wanted to find out more about Cersei & Joffrey, and what would make such powerful individuals so petty and cruel. Most of all, I wanted to see them (Cersei & Joff, not GRRM) get their comeuppance. It's hard to predict how viewers new to Song would react. All I can say is, staying true to the story was the right choice. I'm not sure exactly how much the show needs to emphasize that this world is harsh and brutal, but it does need it, and that scene is a shining example of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tarantella Posted May 17, 2011 Share Posted May 17, 2011 I did stop reading A Storm of Swords for a couple of weeks after the Red Wedding. Just put the book down. I love the realism and power politics and ruthless bloodiness of the series, but that was too much. One of the reasons I want to finish the series now is to see that old crabby murderous bastard Frey get what's coming to him.It takes a great writer to make you love and hate characters so strongly. I'd hate to see the TV series founder because not enough of the audience had the stomach for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lifefullofwords Posted May 17, 2011 Share Posted May 17, 2011 I'm sure the show will be too violent, intense, and depressing for some viewers but I also think those same qualities are what makes it a perfect HBO show. GoT actually seems less violent and depressing than most of their dramas so far. The Sopranos was far more intense at this point in its first season IMO. Not that GoT is on par with The Sopranos but if viewers abandon the show en masse it's not going to be because the series is sad and bloody since that's standard fare at HBO. This is the network that has brought us The Wire, Rome, and Deadwood after all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tall Tyrion Lannister! Posted May 17, 2011 Share Posted May 17, 2011 I've never considered puttinga book down because of something like a death of a favorite character or something like the Red Wedding. It makes me want to see if the characters responsible get theirs, so I keep reading at my normal pace. Most you'll ever get from me is a "Oh hell no" or a shocked face. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SergioCQH Posted May 17, 2011 Share Posted May 17, 2011 The evidence does not support the hypothesis that Lady's death caused viewers to stop watching GoT. Ratings went up from episode 2 to episode 3 by over 200k viewers according to Nielsen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gogorath Posted May 17, 2011 Share Posted May 17, 2011 Nor is the typical HBO viewer one that is used to or requires happy endings. And that same viewer is also unlikely to have a the same typical characters as their favorites. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cereal Forel Posted May 17, 2011 Share Posted May 17, 2011 Nor is the typical HBO viewer one that is used to or requires happy endings. And that same viewer is also unlikely to have a the same typical characters as their favorites.I came here to say this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L’Age d’or Posted May 17, 2011 Share Posted May 17, 2011 The type of viewers who quit the show because of Lady's death (some random direwolf they only saw twice) are not worth discussing, dont you think? I personally believe even the producers dont care for that kind. Lets be honest here, GOT is not your everyday fantasy show, its not legend of the seeker or some other mainstream -lets all be friends no violence please- series. Season two premier will be the determining factor in showing the true number of actual hooked viewers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brienne the Beauty Posted May 17, 2011 Share Posted May 17, 2011 Doing something different is a great virtue in a world of very bland and same-y media properties. For every viewer that is put off by the grimness of the world, there will be another that finds it original. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xray the Enforcer Posted May 17, 2011 Share Posted May 17, 2011 [mod] If you have a question about a moderator's decision, please PM one of the mod team to ask for clarification. Thank you. [/mod] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greylander Posted May 18, 2011 Author Share Posted May 18, 2011 I'm not too worried about the viewers who quit the show simply because of Lady's death, and not surprised if more new viewers have been added than viewers lost to that event (hence overall increase in ratings). There must be quite a few who couldn't take Lady's death, or at least they must have been very vocal, for GRRM to have mentioned it on his blog.I am much more concerned about Ned's death, and Robb and & Catelyn's deaths in season 3. I can't at the moment think of a particularly heart-wrenching death in CoC for season 2.Sean Bean fans may be used to him dying (lol, that is the first thing I thought of when I heard his casting... oh he gets to die another tragic/heroic death!)......but Ned Stark fans may not take it too well. Many reviewer remark on Ned as the "heart" of the show... and one wonders what happens when the heart gets cut out? From the books, I think Tyrion in many respects takes over as the "heart" of the series from aCoC thru aFfC, but will that work on screen?On the whole I am optimistic. I think there is a large audience craving just this sort of "fantasy" epic, and we will stick with it.On the other hand, though, one of the reasons that "main characters" are always "safe" in TV and movies is for precisely this reason -- so many people cannot stand to have the characters they've become attached to die. Especially for TV series, it is audience attachment to characters, more than story, that usually keeps the series going, and the "safety" of those characters is one thing that always diminishes the drama of the stories.I'm glad HBO and GRRM have decided to trust their audience. :thumbsup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ser Warpechowski Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 Doreah dies in CoC, and considering the actress that portrays her I consider it quite a loss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snow Wight Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 Ned's death in the first book was one of the things that hooked me into the series and let me know this was not going to be like any other series of books I'd been used to. I think people either like, or don't like that kind of storytelling. If you look at television, and shows like the Sopranos, the Wire, the Shield (sensing a naming theme here) that kind of storytelling is not unknown to TV audiences either, and people have been fine with it in the past. Those sorts of people will be fine with this series and enjoy it.I think what has made the series interesting to me is how my viewpoints of characters has evolved with the reading, and each time I go back to the series, I change opinions on which characters and chapters are the most interesting and compelling. Yes, since the Red Wedding, I've wanted to see what, if anything, comes to Walder Frey. I've come to love the audacity and evilness of the schemers. I read it for different things than perhaps when I started, but that's a good thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pat5150 Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 What do you think of HBO's GoT??? New poll on the Hotlist here.Patrick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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