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


Stubby

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I think GRRM created an amazing world and great characters, but I don't think he has what it takes to shepherd this gigantic epic to a close. :idea: Not many people can have an expansive idea and then be responsible for all the details that go into making that idea come alive. I personally think that the show writers have made this story tighter, more coherent, and more consistent.



Part of me thinks that having the show may compel GRRM to finish the books quicker. But, I'm far more interested in the story than the format and I didn't particularly care for books 4&5. They are meandering and needed tightening and editing; the writing is just not great. The show will be amazing and then I'll read the books in 15 years when volume 8 finally comes out.


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I will certainly continue watching the show, but I will be just as intrigued by how this site will be affected.



Somewhere, GRRM, Benioff and Weiss will have a three-person forum thread where they smugly comment on the entire Unsullied of westeros.org. It will be awesome.


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I will certainly continue watching the show, but I will be just as intrigued by how this site will be affected.

Somewhere, GRRM, Benioff and Weiss will have a three-person forum thread where they smugly comment on the entire Unsullied of westeros.org. It will be awesome.

I can't WAIT for that XD

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At this point I'm not even sad about the idea of quitting the show, just about potentially losing the community that comes with it. I sincerely hope that there are strict rules in place here to prevent any spoilers (providing the final seasons are actually anything like the books.).


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I've never felt like adaptions are a good as the books they come from. Something is always lacking for me because they can't put it on the screen 100% like it was in the book and invariably someone's favourite stuff gets cut somewhere along the way.

Initially I didn't want to get into the show because I was pretty certain they'd at some point move beyond the published material and I'd have to stop watching. I loved season 1, and thought it was quite close to the books in its adaption, but since then I've enjoyed the show less than I did in the first season. I intend for season 4 to be the last season I watch, if we ever get LS I'll watch that reveal on YouTube or something. My primary love is for the books and I intend to wait for them as long as I have to, and maybe after that I'll gorge myself on the remaining season of GOT I've yet to see.

For a lot of my friends their choice of continuing to watch or not depends on how they first got into the show, the ones who started with the books seem more inclined to wait for the books and try not to get spoiled, but the one who started with the show and then got into the books are quite happy to watch the show first because it didn't stop them enjoying the books knowing some of what was going to happen. I do think in some ways it helps that a lot is left out of the show, so even if you do watch the show and then read the new books when they come you'll still have plenty of stuff that isn't already completely spoiled.

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At this point I'm not even sad about the idea of quitting the show, just about potentially losing the community that comes with it. I sincerely hope that there are strict rules in place here to prevent any spoilers (providing the final seasons are actually anything like the books.).

For your sake, I hope they do a better job than with the casual TWOW spoilers that get thrown around.

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At this point I'm not even sad about the idea of quitting the show, just about potentially losing the community that comes with it. I sincerely hope that there are strict rules in place here to prevent any spoilers (providing the final seasons are actually anything like the books.).

It will be quite liberating for the show forums, as anyone who wants to remain unspoiled as a book reader will need to just stay elsewhere. Once the show is past the books, there's no way to know if something is or isn't going to ruin a story that hasn't been published yet.

I think I will call the situation 'Schrodinger's Spoiler'.

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It will be quite liberating for the show forums, as anyone who wants to remain unspoiled as a book reader will need to just stay elsewhere. Once the show is past the books, there's no way to know if something is or isn't going to ruin a story that hasn't been published yet.

I think I will call the situation 'Schrodinger's Spoiler'.

I can't wait for that, honestly. There's always been a few book readers who troll non-spoiler forums posting spoilers just to be asses, it will be nice when they can no longer do that to the people who wish to have an unspoiled conversation about the episode. It'll also be nice without the constant comparisons to the book, and to finally just be a tv show for once.

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I only started reading the books after my daughter bludgeoned me into watching Season 1 during its re-run at Christmas 2011. I got hooked on the characters, so picked up the books. There's a rattling good yarn going on amidst all the soap opera, but the bloat is hard to cope with sometimes. ADWD contained some really awful prose in places, yet had some equally beautiful passages. When I re-read all 5 books, critically, not just for the story/characters, I noticed more and more flaws. But I still loved the characters, so I'm generous to George. I cut him an awful lot of slack. I extend this to the show too.



However, I have been an avid reader for over 50 years now, and there are still far too many good books on my to-read list. I'm not as devoted to GRRM as some posters here, nor do I hold him in as high a reverence as those said posters. I have still not decided whether I will buy Winds - the released chapters don't fill me with much confidence, but I do realise that they are probably second drafts and will be much more polished in the final version. I will probably let the show finish the story for me. If I do decide to read the next instalment, it will no doubt be because my curiosity gets the better of me. However, if the show finishes (as I am certain it will) before the final book is published, I am pretty sure I would never read it.



Being as honest as I can be here. :)


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I can't wait for that, honestly. There's always been a few book readers who troll non-spoiler forums posting spoilers just to be asses, it will be nice when they can no longer do that to the people who wish to have an unspoiled conversation about the episode. It'll also be nice without the constant comparisons to the book, and to finally just be a tv show for once.

Asses cut both ways, and people excitably talking about something they enjoy aren't always going to be careful. Book readers that want to talk about the story and don't want to be spoiled by the show will have to avoid swathes of the internet and be careful on social media.

I agree that the constant comparisons are obnoxious when whiney, but it has been fun to see and ponder the choices made in the adaptation. It has made me much more aware of how stories are told in TV shows, and it is interesting to discuss with people what makes a story good or bad, what makes a character complex or trite, ect. The odd situation that the series is in can be fodder for great discussions.

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Asses cut both ways, and people excitably talking about something they enjoy aren't always going to be careful. Book readers that want to talk about the story and don't want to be spoiled by the show will have to avoid swathes of the internet and be careful on social media.

I agree that the constant comparisons are obnoxious when whiney, but it has been fun to see and ponder the choices made in the adaptation. It has made me much more aware of how stories are told in TV shows, and it is interesting to discuss with people what makes a story good or bad, what makes a character complex or trite, ect. The odd situation that the series is in can be fodder for great discussions.

No, I'm talking about the actual assholes who do it on purpose...not just here, but on other sites, too. The ones who have to our spoilers in every comment section on every article about GoT, no matter what it is. I've read the books, but I don't understand the childish mentality of anyone who would do that. Yes, they are trolls and trolls are everywhere...but one less weapon for a troll (like foreknowledge from books) isn't a bad thing.

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No, I'm talking about the actual assholes who do it on purpose...not just here, but on other sites, too. The ones who have to our spoilers in every comment section on every article about GoT, no matter what it is. I've read the books, but I don't understand the childish mentality of anyone who would do that. Yes, they are trolls and trolls are everywhere...but one less weapon for a troll (like foreknowledge from books) isn't a bad thing.

It only really reverses the situation. Now it's going to be the show watchers spoiling the book readers. Which doesn't really help anything unless one is the vindictive type.

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I personally think that the show writers have made this story tighter, more coherent, and more consistent.

I love the show, but it is not at all consistent in any way. That I think the books certainly have over the show. I think the show is less sprawling and easier to follow, and that's what's going to appeal to plenty of people. One of the reasons friends of mine don't get into the books is because they're far too long and they would rather stick with the show given that you're investing lesser time there.

I think I'll have to take the books over the show, it's mainly because I enjoy reading a lot more than I enjoy watching the show.

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I love the show, but it is not at all consistent in any way. That I think the books certainly have over the show. I think the show is less sprawling and easier to follow, and that's what's going to appeal to plenty of people. One of the reasons friends of mine don't get into the books is because they're far too long and they would rather stick with the show given that you're investing lesser time there.

I think I'll have to take the books over the show, it's mainly because I enjoy reading a lot more than I enjoy watching the show.

I agree, there's a lot of logical inconsistencies within the show that aren't in the books. Like why the guards at the Bloody Gate are willing to let Arya Stark and The Hound, a valuable hostage and a wanted criminal respectively go along their way. Or why Stannis lingers on Dragonstone for weeks (apparently to the point that they're out of food) even though he'd just been told that the Wall had urgent need of him. Or why Xaro Xhoan Daxos has the means to take over an entire city and yet doesn't have the security to prevent a couple dozen conspicuous Dothraki plus three dragons wander into his house. Or how Robb leaves the Westerlands and then comes up with a plan to go all the way to the Twins and then back to the Westerlands to take Casterly Rock. And for that matter how Robb calls The Freys the most formidable force yet to commit to a side when actually it's the Vale. etcetera etcetera etcetera.

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For me, it's more inconsistencies with character motivations that I find more glaring. This season has seen the Jaime and Cersei relationship become very muddled, and the actions of those characters makes very little sense to me anymore. I agree with some of the statements you've put up there, but I'm willing to look past those as for me, those are minor compared to some of fairly idiotic things the show has put forward when it comes to the actions of specific characters and their motivations.


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For me, it's more inconsistencies with character motivations that is more glaring. This season has seen the Jaime and Cersei relationship become very muddled, and the actions of those characters makes very little sense to me anymore. I agree with some of the statements you've put up there, but I'm willing to look past those as for me, those are minor compared to some of fairly idiotic things the show has put forward when it comes to the actions of specific characters and their motivations.

I would agree with that as well especially in regards to Jaime and Cersei's relationship.

ETA: And while the things I point out are minor, they turn up without fail every time there is any major deviation from the source material which is one of the reasons I doubt D+D's writing, and one of my main complaints about it. Even otherwise good deviations have this. For example I loved Ser Rodrik's beheading, it was a great change. But isn't Ser Rodrik supposed to be returning to Winterfell with an army? How did the Ironborn capture him alone and what happened to the forces he took to fight the Ironborn? (Am I remembering all this right it's been a while since I saw Season 2.).

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