Game of Thrones Gets 2 Year Renewal

[Abaddon]

I agree, but the 'more than 10' bit will almost certainly be in this season, not Season 6. ASoS was really 1.5 seasons, not 2, and if you pulled out the AFFC/ADWD material from this season plus the wholly invented material from this and last season, you'd fit it in without too much trouble. If we say that AFFC/ADWD is also 1.5 seasons, then you're looking at those three books covering three seasons, which appears to be the case (3, 4, 5).

I'm having a hard time understanding how you can make this claim. Kings Landing (Tyrion, Cersei) will be finishing at par with ASOS. Arya will be finishing at par with ASOS. The Wall storyline might go a bit ahead in Jon's arc but it can't be too much. Stannis will finish at par with ASOS. Dany will finish basically at par for ASOS (maybe one extra chapter, plus a moved-up introduction to Hizdar, but not a lot of actual plot there). Sansa/Littlefinger will have an earlier introduction to the Lords Declarant, but will still end at par with ASOS otherwise. Brienne, Theon/Ramsey, Bran, etc probably go ahead the most but other than Theon that didn't account for much book time. But no way this accounts for half of the S4 time, which will mostly be ASOS material or new scenes invented that fit within the ASOS timeline.

Meanwhile, from AFFC/ADWD, we have these things that won't happen in S4:

- Victarion/Euron story

- Doran/Arianne/Dorn story

- Quentin's journey and demise

- Tyrion's entire journey

- Arya's entire story

- Sansa/Littlefinger post Only Cat

- Most of the Wall story

- Most of Stannis at the wall, all of Stannis in the North

- Sam's journey/Oldtown

- Davos at White Harbor+

- King's Landing w/ Cersei

- A lot of Dany's story (depends where in S5 they do the pit).

- I know I am forgetting a lot here...

Some folks will argue that some/most of this should be cuttable. I don't agree with that, but I'm not going to argue the point right now. I just don't see how you can say that 50% of S4 will be made up of AFFC/ADWD, when to me it seems like the vast majority of it is ASOS or invented material (e.g. Arya and Sandor's journey).

Not sure I understand why you are separating out the invented material, by the way, as it is in the ASOS timeline, not AFFC/ADWD. So it counts in the "ASOS is 2 seasons". I agree it is less than two seasons due to some AFFC/ADWD material creeping in, I just don't see how you can clam it is half of S4.

[Werthead]

And now, with such a good reception (critics, ratings, sales, merchandising, international sales), it is less a risk than in the beginning. For me, this is not a proof that they want to end with 7 seasons. For the moment, those rumors are no more than a marketing trick to promote season 4 as the "pivotal seasons you should not miss!!!".

They don't need the seven seasons to make that claim; regardless of if the show goes 7 or 8 seasons, Season 4 is the midpoint (4.5 being the halfway point in the former case, 4.10 in the latter). And it certainly isn't just marketing. There's been some pretty high-level, and from the sound of it, intense discussions involving D&D, HBO and GRRM at several different points in the show's history on this point.

I'm having a hard time understanding how you can make this claim. Kings Landing (Tyrion, Cersei) will be finishing at par with ASOS. Arya will be finishing at par with ASOS. The Wall storyline might go a bit ahead in Jon's arc but it can't be too much. Stannis will finish at par with ASOS. Dany will finish basically at par for ASOS (maybe one extra chapter, plus a moved-up introduction to Hizdar, but not a lot of actual plot there). Sansa/Littlefinger will have an earlier introduction to the Lords Declarant, but will still end at par with ASOS otherwise. Brienne, Theon/Ramsey, Bran, etc probably go ahead the most but other than Theon that didn't account for much book time. But no way this accounts for half of the S4 time, which will mostly be ASOS material or new scenes invented that fit within the ASOS timeline.

Brienne, Theon/Ramsay and Bran will get a fair bit ahead. Stannis and Davos will dip into ADWD territory before dipping back out again. Arya is a bit of an unknown, although I think we might be ending with her seeing Braavos (since the report is that the ship captain appears in Episodes 8 and 10, suggesting she gets on the boat in the former and arrives in the latter).

Dany will certainly have a lot more going on from ADWD. We're at Meereen now and have just met Hizdahr. They're not going to (and we know from the trailers and previews they won't) spend seven episodes flinging crap at the walls of Meereen before it falls.

In fact, I think the flipside is the case: the only theatres which will definitely remain strictly within the ASoS timeline are King's Landing and the Wall. Granted, that's quite a lot of the characters and what's going on, but I think there is at least the potential for everyone else to start addressing AFFC/ADWD material earlier than that.

[Abaddon]

I think we'll just have to wait how the season plays out. I will be surprised if it is at all possible to attribute 50% of the season's material from AFFC/ADWD (or invented scenes happening within that timeframe). One quibble:

Stannis and Davos will dip into ADWD territory before dipping back out again.

That's not ADWD territory. It is invented material that happens firmly within the ASOS timeline, and it doesn't take the place of anything that happens later, that we know of.

[Will Snow]

That's not ADWD territory. It is invented material that happens firmly within the ASOS timeline, and it doesn't take the place of anything that happens later, that we know of.

In fact it adds to the story, and makes Davos look like a stronger hand. Though, if he keeps having these epiphanies while hanging out with Shireen, I might grow a little dubious of the writers.

[Werthead]

That's not ADWD territory. It is invented material that happens firmly within the ASOS timeline, and it doesn't take the place of anything that happens later, that we know of.

It does, however, introduce an ADWD-centric storyline, character and faction, just with an extra scene that's not in the books. It's very much providing extra set-up for that storyline.

[dooog]

Good to see. Seems to me that this news means that Feast and Dance will be spread over season 5 and 6, and they've obviously taken the decision to announce 2 years of filming to avoid the pov character splits as in the books and make in easier to plot each character's 10 episode arc.

I'd also hazard a guess that one or two early resolutions from the Winds of Winter will be included in to the end of season 6, as that book will likely open with some dramatic arc resolutions which would be perfect for a S6/E9 blockbuster type of ninth episode we're accustomed to.

[Werthead]

I will never understand why people are so desperate to see Daenerys sitting immobile in Meereen for two-and-a-half seasons, and risk the show having to put all of Books 6 and 7 (and maybe more) in just 10 episodes. It would be completely insane for HBO to even consider taking that risk.

The bulk of AFFC and ADWD will be done by the end of Season 5, maybe the opening episode of Season 6 at the absolute latest. If they don't do that, they are taking a very severe risk with being able to bring the show to any kind of reasonable on-screen conclusion.

[boojam]

I will never understand why people are so desperate to see Daenerys sitting immobile in Meereen for two-and-a-half seasons, and risk the show having to put all of Books 6 and 7 (and maybe more) in just 10 episodes. It would be completely insane for HBO to even consider taking that risk.

The bulk of AFFC and ADWD will be done by the end of Season 5, maybe the opening episode of Season 6 at the absolute latest. If they don't do that, they are taking a very severe risk with being able to bring the show to any kind of reasonable on-screen conclusion.

D&D must have season 5 already planned out by now.

A point has been reached where some re-invention will finally be a REAL worthwhile move.

Feast and Dragons are 'reader's' books, because of GRRM narrative skill as a story teller.

Yeah I know there are some readers who don't like them, and in both novels 4 and 5 George does seem to spend a lot of time 'circling the field' and I found that frustrating too, but on balance I enjoyed these novels.

As visual drama there is a lot of meat that can be reworked if enough imagination is applied.

(This viewer and reader has gotten tired of Kings Landing's power play soap opera.)

(1) Development of the Greyjoys could really be minded for some rich material, such an outrageous crew!

(2) I think in novels 4 and 5 Arya's story in Braavos just intrigued the hell out of me and has fine subtle sort of 'off the wall' development. Braavos is a very exotic place , with the exception of Slaver's Bay (I have appreciated the D&D's lowering of some of George's hyperbole in Slaver's Bay, I can't say I even found that particularly entertaining on the page.)

(3) Seems to me plenty to mine in the also kind of screwy Wall story. Even the Stannis - Bolton confrontation , which, I guess George is going to develop?

(4) I liked Tyrion's travelogue but think it needs to be tightened.

(5) Sam's travelogue needs a ton of work , it just spins in the wind too long, I don't really know how to fix it.

(6) If we move away from KL and if Dorne REALLY plays a role in the future story lot's could be done with that.

All this means D&D and Bryan (and maybe even George) need to put on their thinking caps and apply some strong imagination, to keep the visual narrative 'fantasy ADULT' (no I don't mean the naughty bit stuff) and eschew any comic book arrested adolescence (God I see way too much of that on the movie screen these days).

Big thing worked toward:

Season 1 - Ned's fate.

Season 2 - Blackwater

Season 3 - RW

Season 4 - Battle for the Wall (I am thinking they will do an even better job her than Blackwater)

Season 5 - ?(Will he breaking of the siege of Meereen end in a huge sea and land battle, could.)

(Daznak's Pit is very spectacular, maybe that is the BIG THING in season 5?)

Season 6

Season 7

? GRRM has hinted at a Ragnarök with the Others. That could be very operatic and BIG , huge Dragons and all, you know, but never can tell with George.

[Abaddon]

It does, however, introduce an ADWD-centric storyline, character and faction, just with an extra scene that's not in the books. It's very much providing extra set-up for that storyline.

It does not, however, cover any ADWD material. Making Talisa from Volantis, and having her backstory divulging content about Volantis, doesn't suddenly make her plot ADWD material.

[Abaddon]

In fact it adds to the story, and makes Davos look like a stronger hand. Though, if he keeps having these epiphanies while hanging out with Shireen, I might grow a little dubious of the writers.

I really like the idea of this addition, in fact, assuming it works like I think it will. It gives the show a chance to restore some of the surprise when Stannis shows up at the wall (because the Bank turns him down, so he doesn't have enough men). And it's actually a pretty sensible thing for him to do.