Flashbacks or no flashbacks?

[The Anti-Targ]

[quote name='jousha' post='1616681' date='Dec 12 2008, 13.10']As an example of how well that could work, Al Swearengen in Deadwood comes to mind. I Loved Swearengen from the beginning, but I hated some things he did. Granted, he monologued whilst being orally pleasured and he talked to a decapitated head in a box, but that shows there are ways of thinking "out loud".

Sandor was sympathetic enough as a non-POV character. Not gonna lie, part of his likability was in not knowing his thoughts.

As to flashbacks, I'd say they should use them wisely, sparingly, or not at all.[/quote]

Part of Sandor's likeability was the fact that he would occasionally tell his masters to piss off if they wanted him to do something that he thought was not reasonable, or was beneath him. I imagine most people became endeared to Sandor at about the time he refused to administer a beating to Sansa, even though he stood by while members of the KG did it instead.

[BrightSider]

As long as they don't do the flashbacks one whole episode devoted to flashbacks (-cough-Heroes-cough-), I'm good. I'm more concerned though about how they're going to do all of Bran's supernatural stuff. I've never been a fan of dream sequences, and throwing in a child actor? it'll either be very good or cringe-worthy. But then again, it is HBO...

[Rinso]

The way I see it, they [i]will[/i] have to use flashbacks at different points. Things like the death of Rhaegar at the Trident, the slaughtering of his wife and children, the murder of Rickard and Brandon Stark, the kingslaying that defines Jaime's fate, maybe even bits of Greyjoy's Rebellion and probably one huge pile of other moments would work better if they are shown instead of told.

[red snow]

Thanks for the list, Smouldring hound!
I agree with others, now they mention it, that Ned seeing Jaime on the king's thrown has to be televised. I also agree that we should see a flashback in later episodes showing why Jaime became the kingslayer.

Sort of flashback-like are most of the adventures/battles Robb has. I think it would be cool to actually have the events happening, rather than just hear reports on them (which is what happened in the book). This could really flesh out Robb into a central/POV character in the show but it depends how much they can stretch the budget.

[Horza]

Constant flashbacks. All the time.

And slow-mos.

Even when totally unneccesary.

Especially then.

[red snow]

[quote name='Horza' post='1618086' date='Dec 13 2008, 12.27']Constant flashbacks. All the time.

And slow-mos.

Even when totally unneccesary.

Especially then.[/quote]


If we're going dowm that road, the slo-mos also have to be accompanied by a sample of "Hippolyta" by Sigur ros ;)

[Horza]

[quote name='red snow' post='1618088' date='Dec 13 2008, 23.31']If we're going dowm that road, the slo-mos also have to be accompanied by a sample of "Hippolyta" by Sigur ros ;)[/quote]

Or Barber's Adagio for Strings.

[The Anti-Targ]

do you think the leaked script description linked to in [url="http://asoiaf.westeros.org/index.php?showtopic=33006"]this thread[/url] gives us some indication of the place of flashbacks in the series?

According to the description

SPOILER: pilot script spoiler

there are no flashbacks in the pilot, when there easily could be.

[Loras]

Flashbacks work really well in adding depth to characters, for example the relationship between Jaime and Eddard won't be as defined if we don't see the scene where Eddard finds Jaime sitting on the iron throne. That moment on screen would capture the loathing between the two better than one hundred scenes of the two talking. Its that old nugget: a picture tells a 1,000 words.

However I think that some of the flashbacks would work equally well as dreams. Cersei's flashbacks in book 4 are a good example, Maggy the Frog could be present as a figment of Cersei's imagination - which would emphasis the fact that she is losing the plot.

[Brude]

Flashbacks may have a place later in the series. It may have been avoided in the pilot merely for budgetary reasons. As is, we've already got a lot of locations in the pilot including two major castles (Red Keep, Winterfell), 2 cities (Pentos, King's Landing), some fancy CGI for the opening credits that will show the exterior of at least one more castle (The Eyrie), the throne room in the Red Keep...etc, etc. So, adding more locations with flashbacks in the pilot would have been needlessly complicated, probably.

Raegar, the Ruby Ford, the great tourney, maybe Jamie's rembrances of the last day of fighting in King's Landing during Robert's rebellion and what he did that day...some other possibilities come to mind as well.

[palaeologos]

[quote name='Andhaira' post='1613366' date='Dec 8 2008, 23.46']So have we decided on a consensus for this? Now I personally do NOT want flashbacks to earlier periods, since IMO its a pretty cheesy method of storytelling. I would rather the characters just offer bits and pieces of roberts rebellion and other events during the show and have the intuitive watcher put 2 and 2 together. Kind of like in AGoT.

Now Ned's flashback regarding Arthur Dyne: This could either be done as a one off fevered dream sequence, or we coudl just have a dream scene where ned stands over the corpses of the KG and his allies while we hear Lyanna's scream and her pleading with ned.

Thoughts? IMO flashbacks reduce overall quality and imply plot handholding. ASOIAF doesn't need that.[/quote]

The problem is that in TV (or film, come to that) it can be deadly to have a character standing in a scene delivering a page and a half of exposition.

I don't have a problem with the occasional, sensitively done flashback. Overused, it could be cheesy and obvious, as you say, but a certain amount of it will probably be necessary.