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[BOOK SPOILERS] Watching the show if it overpasses the books [Part 2]


Stubby

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Faint,



AFAIK, this season is still safe:



[spoilerS] E9 depicts the Battle of the Wall, ending with "Stannis! Stannis!". Before that, it's been reported that Stannis will visit the Iron Bank of Braavos asking for funds (apparently he'll be refused, only to obtain the bank's backing next season when Cersei stops paying).[/spoilerS]


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If someone asked you "hey, are you gonna read the summaries of the chapters before reading The Winds Of Winter?". The answer obviously would be NO. The problem of course is that with the show you risk being spoiled big time even if you don't watch the show. So that's the only thing to ponder, really. How someone could spoil the books with the TV show (specially when the Tv show is SOOOO inferior) on purpose is beyond me.

One doesn't read a book just to see how it ends.

Your statements kind of contradict each other there. I read the wiki summaries before I finished reading the books. I don't feel like it demeaned the experience. Like you said, I'm not reading to find out how it ends. I'm reading to experience the full richness of the story from within the point of view of its characters. Knowing whether they'll live or die in the end doesn't make a huge difference to the enjoyment. I derive pleasure from a lot more than just being surprised. In fact, the reason I ended up reading the summaries while I was still in the middle of the books is surprise character deaths were starting to seriously upset me and were preventing me from just enjoying the story.

Fair point about Sixth Sense, but that's Shyamalan. The entire point of the story is to surprise you with a twist ending. Give Martin a little more credit than that. There is a lot more to be enjoyed in his writing even if you know where it's going.

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Your statements kind of contradict each other there. I read the wiki summaries before I finished reading the books. I don't feel like it demeaned the experience. Like you said, I'm not reading to find out how it ends. I'm reading to experience the full richness of the story from within the point of view of its characters. Knowing whether they'll live or die in the end doesn't make a huge difference to the enjoyment. I derive pleasure from a lot more than just being surprised. In fact, the reason I ended up reading the summaries while I was still in the middle of the books is surprise character deaths were starting to seriously upset me and were preventing me from just enjoying the story.

Fair point about Sixth Sense, but that's Shyamalan. The entire point of the story is to surprise you with a twist ending. Give Martin a little more credit than that. There is a lot more to be enjoyed in his writing even if you know where it's going.

I agree, and for me its more about the mysterious and esoteric elements too.

But even if the show finishes first, that doesn't mean you still can't get the full story by reading the books whenever they are published.

I mean, it would be better if the books come first...just sayin.

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I don't really recall seeing anything in the books with Bran, Green dream people, Melisandre or anyone seeing a throne room with snow covered Iron Throne like Dany saw in season two or

Bran saw this season.

.



Saying that they'll still be in book material season 5 doesn't mean they won't be forshadowing events for season 6.

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I don't really recall seeing anything in the books with Bran, Green dream people, Melisandre or anyone seeing a throne room with snow covered Iron Throne.

To be honest I think the Iron Throne covered in snow or ash is rather lazy foreshadowing in the sense that it could be retconned to mean virtually ANYTHING. At the most banal, it could just symbolize winter is coming (not that you'd know it from the weather in Season 4 King's Landing). Or it could mean a bastard will sit on the throne. Or it could mean a bastard (Snow) is already sitting on the throne - and Joffrey and Tommen are both sort of bastards (not their "father's" children, anyway). Or it could be ash from the burning of everything. Or it could be ash simply indicating that dragons have returned. Or it could be ash indicating the suffering of the realm. Or the disappearance of the roof could indicate that the Iron Throne itself is no more. Or the emptiness of the hall could indicate how few people will survive. Basically it indicates that something gloomy is coming, which I wouldn't consider much of a revelation.

Don't get me wrong - it's an effective image. But it can be twisted to fit pretty much any prediction of the ending.

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I really don't see why people would stop watching the show if it overtakes the books. Those who can't differentiate between two different mediums of storytelling are strange to say the least. Also, the books will doubtless have countless nuggets of information that the show won't so it is possible to enjoy both. There is no reason why viewing order should matter. If you don't like the show now than why are you even watching? And for those who don't want to be spoiled by the show, there will be absolutely no way to avoid show spoilers unless you take up the life of a hermit.

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To be honest I think the Iron Throne covered in snow or ash is rather lazy foreshadowing in the sense that it could be retconned to mean virtually ANYTHING.

i may be remembering this incorrectly and hope it wasn't already mentioned but wasn't there a behind-the-scenes during season 1 where they spelled snow with a capital S?

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http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/news/george-r-r-martin-the-rolling-stone-interview-20140423



There is even the chance that the HBO series might arrive at key plot points before the books do, and though Martin once dismissed that possibility, he's now mindful of it. "I better get these books done," he tells me, on a drive through the streets of Santa Fe.

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Yeah, i'd still watch it. I saw the show first before reading the books (seasons 1-2), so i had an idea of events to come, but i had my own mental image of the characters and storyline when reading the books. I wasn't "ruined" by the show, .:)


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I watched the first three seasons before I started reading the books, so you'd probably think that this is an easy choice for me but it's actually not. To my surprise, I got more enjoyment out of reading the books than I did watching it! I'd ideally like to read the end of the series before watching it, but I think the temptation and the risk of spoilers from the show would be too much to handle! So, yes, I probably would watch it.

Same with me. but 2 seasons

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I really don't see why people would stop watching the show if it overtakes the books. Those who can't differentiate between two different mediums of storytelling are strange to say the least. Also, the books will doubtless have countless nuggets of information that the show won't so it is possible to enjoy both. There is no reason why viewing order should matter. If you don't like the show now than why are you even watching? And for those who don't want to be spoiled by the show, there will be absolutely no way to avoid show spoilers unless you take up the life of a hermit.

Someone who's read the books may want to know the ending and plotlines told in that medium first though. While they can still get all the differences and extra information, they won't have that same feeling of reading it because they'll roughly know how it ends.

I'll happily watch the shows ending and it'll be hard not to be spoiled by it, but that doesn't mean everyone should automatically be happy to see it finish first when they might've read the books first and would prefer to see the plot told through it first.

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I would stop watching the show if it wasn't for the internet, I guess :D


Preferably I would like to first read the whole story and then see how it translates to the screen, but as I know there would be no way to keep me from spoilers over what could be years, I then prefer to at least see it first hand and not read about something major in a two-liner on facebook or somewhere.


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How likely does everyone think it is that the show will overtake th books? Will it be the first example of something like this happening?

I just think it's so ridiculous that that could happen. Wouldn't they hold back the series? Maybe wait two years for a new series like with Sherlock. That did no damage to the fan base, and serve only to build up bigger hype. I'd be really disappointed if it were to happen. Here's hoping GRRM will exercise some power if it ever comes that far, or just speed up, honestly nobody else takes as long as him, not to say that I don't enjoy his work though.

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How likely does everyone think it is that the show will overtake th books? Will it be the first example of something like this happening?

I just think it's so ridiculous that that could happen. Wouldn't they hold back the series? Maybe wait two years for a new series like with Sherlock. That did no damage to the fan base, and serve only to build up bigger hype. I'd be really disappointed if it were to happen. Here's hoping GRRM will exercise some power if it ever comes that far, or just speed up, honestly nobody else takes as long as him, not to say that I don't enjoy his work though.

Welcome to the forum!

It is all but inevitable the show will overtake the books. We have already had one scene from the WoW in the show. This will only increase in the next couple of years.

A production pause would be all but disastrous due to the difficulties in warehousing all the actors and having to re-employ the legions of production staff.

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I wonder if they will split Season 5 into two parts. They could broadcast 8 episodes (Season 5A) next year, and broadcast 6 episodes (Season 5B) in 2016. Season 5 will be adapted from two lengthy novels, so there is enough material to possibly justify this.



They would then be able to broadcast the adaptation of The Winds of Winter as Season 6 in 2017. There would be an outside chance they could then tie up the series in 2018 with their adaptation of A Dream of Spring.


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Do people have a choice? Unless you avoid the internet and media completely, you'd be spoiled at some point. I read the books way before the show, and initially resisted to watch the show (various reasons; not always fond of adaptations, the books aren't finished yet, etc), but now I have I think that's it. Even if I stop I would know how it ends.



And I believe we'll get twow at some point... ados, not so much.


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