Having read the books, I am aware of the many plot deviations, especially regarding Brienne, Sansa, and Jamie. However, the show has also condensed or omitted the many mundane and tedious characters and plots of book 5, which is quite welcome. I do applaud the HBO directors for moving this story along in a more fluid manner than Martin has recently. Tyrion's arc in book five was such arduous reading, and it was sad to see his character devolve into so many ludicrous situations. Pigs? Really? With all that being said, I am disappointed in the acting thus far in Season 5. Partly this is because many of the strongest characters (Ned, Robb, Catlyin, Twyin, etc.) have been killed off. This means we have lost some of the most engaging actors. More importantly, the overall plot and direction of Martin's book five has some serioius problems, which will undoubetdly affect this season's shows.
