Best addition to the universe that wasn't in the books? Spoilers obv.

[raj34]

Slightly more controversial: the Kingsmoot was by far the lamest part of the books. Thank god it's gone.

AFFC wasn't my favorite, but I thought the Kingsmoot was definitely a highlight.

[Borodin]

Slightly more controversial: the Kingsmoot was by far the lamest part of the books. Thank god it's gone.

There seems to be a divide between people who are drawn to the politics in ASOIAF and people who are drawn to zombies.

[TheLeviathan73]

I think Sansa in Winterfell being abused by Ramsay and chatting with Reek is the best change because I was worried, judging by Sansa's shift at the end of Season 4, that her character was about to evolve into something other than a victim.

I mean, could you imagine if they had of stuck closer to the books with Sansa? It would have meant checking in with her in Season 5 as she blossoms under Littlefinger's tutelage into a budding political mastermind.

That would have been terrible.

Now whose writing fan fiction?

[idio]

I think Sansa in Winterfell being abused by Ramsay and chatting with Reek is the best change because I was worried, judging by Sansa's shift at the end of Season 4, that her character was about to evolve into something other than a victim.

I mean, could you imagine if they had of stuck closer to the books with Sansa? It would have meant checking in with her in Season 5 as she blossoms under Littlefinger's tutelage into a budding political mastermind.

That would have been terrible.

1) I get that you dislike the sexual assault scene but Sansa being in Winterfell instead of fake Arya makes way more sense in the TV show.

2) They have already started to show Sansa as an evolved character in terms of understanding the politics of this brutal feudalistic society.

3) Nothing about this season precludes the continuation of the transformation of Sansa into a strong political player.

4) She was nowhere near a political mastermind in the books heretofore. She has been shown to be clever and to understand the nuances of the game. Mastermind? Hardly. Will she be as she continues her evolution? Probably. But she's not yet, let's not pretend she is just because you like the character.

[idio]

Best:

Everything they did with Bronn (more likable, more involved)

Sansa in Winterfell

Attempting to save Brienne's plotline

Worst:

Sand Snakes, Dorne entirely. Doran Martell was terribly cast, they are peacemealing a meaningless, milquetoast plotline that is poorly written.

[Borodin]

I get that you dislike the sexual assault scene...

No more or less then the thousand other similar scenes. What I didn't like was that it was a betrayal of the character arc. At the end of Season 4, Sansa is shaping up to be a player. There was finally progress in her characer after 4 seasons of victimhood. This season marks a complete reversal. Unecessary change. Bad writing.

but Sansa being in Winterfell instead of fake Arya makes way more sense in the TV show than her not being in the show. What are they going to film? Her riding down the Eyrie on a donkey and being brave for Sweet Robin? Captivating TV, that.

Our choice was not between lots of scenes of Sansa being abused in Winterfell and lots of scenes of Sansa being boring in the Eyrie. We could of had just a few scenes of Sansa in the Eyrie, developing as a character. No more, no less.

Nothing about this season precludes the continuation of the transformation of Sansa into a strong political player.

Except she's stuck in Winterfell being a victim. Her character arc is stalled at best, reversed at worst. She has stopped making sense as a character.

She was nowhere near a political mastermind in the books heretofore. She has been shown to be clever and to understand the nuances of the game. Mastermind? Hardly.

I didn't say she was already a mastermind, I said she was on her way under the tutelage of Littlefinger. That's part of her arc in ASOIAF. In the show, she's just back to being a punching bag.

[protar]

Olly and not-Val are both good. Many seem to dislike Olly, but he gives a face to the dissent within the Night's Watch. Even if it's just a kid's face.

It rather misses the whole point though. Olly is just some kid whose family was killed by Widllings, who wants revenge. That's a fair enough motive but it's vastly simplified from what's in the books. By making Jon's assassination the doing of some kid out for vengeance, it very much doesn't represent dissent within the Night's Watch. Olly's family being killed by Thenns has nothing to do with the centuries of ingrained hatred that the NW has for the wildlings. Plus in the books many people actually have logistical reasons to disagree with Jon's actions - they're low on food and Jon is trying to house hundreds of wildlings, not all of whom can fight; and then Jon expends loads of resources on a failed rescue mission to Hardhome. I think it's no coincidence that Bowen Marsh is a steward. He's barely fought the wildlings, and doesn't really have any specific vendetta against them like Olly does (he was injured by them, but doesn't have anything on the same level as Olly's family being slaughtered and eaten). He's just a man of the NW whose been told that he must hate the wildlings, even though he has little personal experience with them.

This is really a big problem with the show. They have the shocks, but they don't have the motivation behind them.

[protar]

1) I get that you dislike the sexual assault scene but Sansa being in Winterfell instead of fake Arya makes way more sense in the TV show. - It really doesn't. There is literally no logic to LF's plot in the show.

2) They have already started to show Sansa as an evolved character in terms of understanding the politics of this brutal feudalistic society. - She really hasn't. She rolls her eyes and insults her captors to their faces. What happened to "courtesy is a lady's armour"?

3) Nothing about this season precludes the continuation of the transformation of Sansa into a strong political player. - No, but now it will stink of "rape as empowerment."

4) She was nowhere near a political mastermind in the books heretofore. She has been shown to be clever and to understand the nuances of the game. Mastermind? Hardly. Will she be as she continues her evolution? Probably. But she's not yet, let's not pretend she is just because you like the character.

True, but she's on her way. By the end of AFFC Sansa is essentially running the day to day affairs of one of the most important castles in Westeros.

[Borodin]

This is really a big problem with the show. They have the shocks, but they don't have the motivation behind them.

Once again, you're absolutely right.

[Hos the Hostage]

It rather misses the whole point though. Olly is just some kid whose family was killed by Widllings, who wants revenge. That's a fair enough motive but it's vastly simplified from what's in the books. By making Jon's assassination the doing of some kid out for vengeance, it very much doesn't represent dissent within the Night's Watch. Olly's family being killed by Thenns has nothing to do with the centuries of ingrained hatred that the NW has for the wildlings. Plus in the books many people actually have logistical reasons to disagree with Jon's actions - they're low on food and Jon is trying to house hundreds of wildlings, not all of whom can fight; and then Jon expends loads of resources on a failed rescue mission to Hardhome. I think it's no coincidence that Bowen Marsh is a steward. He's barely fought the wildlings, and doesn't really have any specific vendetta against them like Olly does (he was injured by them, but doesn't have anything on the same level as Olly's family being slaughtered and eaten). He's just a man of the NW whose been told that he must hate the wildlings, even though he has little personal experience with them.

This is really a big problem with the show. They have the shocks, but they don't have the motivation behind them.

Totally agree. Having Olly assassinate Jon will demean Jon, demean Night's Watch and all the complexity and conflicts within the NW brothers. The soundtrack names have released, and there is one track named 'Forgive Me' and it could be D&D version of For the Watch. If Alliser Thorne of Bowen marsh kills Jon saying 'Forgive Me', I wouldn't mind it. Because we know it is for the Watch. But Olly saying Forgive Me instead of For the Watch will just complete everything wrong with the assassination. The whole reason Jon got killed is over-simplified to a little prick wanting revenge not seeing the bigger picture. I could see Bowen Marsh's justifications for killing Jon Snow, and I did not hate any of them when I read the book, even if I love Jon Snow. But I just hate Olly. I'd pay good money to see Wun Wun rip that boy apart.

[The Creeping Knight]

Locke. I really enjoyed his character and I thought the actor was fantastic.

Tormund not being so old and giving him a cooler look.

Hardhome.

KFC Inn.

Qarl of Gin Alley. Fantastic actor, despite the controversy surrounding that storyline.

Arya's scene with Tywin.

"You are the Princess Shireen of the house Baratheon and you are my daughter.)

The Giant archer.

The Stone Men at Valyria instead of The Sorrows. I thought seeing (even the smallest bit) of Valyris was so effin cool!

[lakin1013]

Hardhome, without any doubt in my mind.

NotVal. They gave the actress some lovely moments to both make us respect her and make us care when she died.
Free Folk Women. I like how the show makes it clear that women can be effective killers, seem to have male respect, and they have a place in their community and a voice.
Thenns. In the books, the Thenns were ferocious killers. In the show, they are also quick, smart, brave, hateful, suspicious, and strong.

Tormand. I like the role and look a great deal.
Shireen and Stannis. The show has given them some real warmth that I did not get from the books.

Since the thread is about the 'best' changes, I will stop here.

[SerDoublePost]

These are not necessarily the very best, but some I did not read so far:

-Expanded role for Olenna

-Hints of Shae actually falling in love with Tyrion

-The scythe

-Dontos wearing pants in his introduction

-Pod's sexual powers (i LOL'd)

-Shireen's BBQ

[Xie]

There's a lot, but to date my favorite show addition is Hardhome. I felt it was not only technically speaking a great battle scene to watch, but it also furthered Jon's character development in an interesting and good way, as well as his relationship with Tormund.

When those wights started falling over the cliff, got right back up and started running... damn. I was watching with other people and everyone either sat straight up and leaned forward, or stood up, and multiple versions of "Holy crap" were heard, lol.

[sj4iy]

Hardhome, hands down. A cinematic masterpiece, beginning to end.

[Follmann]

While the show simplified a lot of storylines and characters, it did actually improve on a few.

You guys already mentioned several of those, but I'd like to add one from S1:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CY5As-RP1MM

[Lady Fevre Dream]

Best:

Everything they did with Bronn (more likable, more involved)

Sansa in Winterfell

Attempting to save Brienne's plotline

Worst:

Sand Snakes, Dorne entirely. Doran Martell was terribly cast, they are peacemealing a meaningless, milquetoast plotline that is poorly written.

Oh yes, compelling story, indeed.

https://imgflip.com/i/mrkj8

[YaDingus Roast Lord]

I like Sansa going to WF

Wut

[King Tyrion I]

While the show simplified a lot of storylines and characters, it did actually improve on a few.

You guys already mentioned several of those, but I'd like to add one from S1:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CY5As-RP1MM

Oh, yes.

Seconded. And I love the deer scene. And POD da rod! =o)

[Khal Shaggydog]

Pod being a sexual natural was pretty good - he's also, apparently, a natural warrior. Probably makes for a horribly boring family reunion though, no one seems to be able to carry a conversation.

The Hound/Brienne fight was pretty nice - and I like how they had Arya reject her, instead of indulging in the fantasy of young warrior girl trusting older warrior girl.

Twyin/Arya interplay was well done.

Deer scene was great, at least they used it instead of cutting both the character (Tarly) and his awesome opening.

The hardcore consolidation of Tyrion and Jorah's plotlines was actually pretty well done. Throw in the Valyria/Stone Men, and the JonCon/Jorah greyscale situation, and we're getting dangerously fast on the combinations. Whats next - Jorah has his arm salvadged by a Red Priest/finds a dragonhorn, and now he's gonna try and marry Dany again?