Tyrells in the first season

[Lord Varys]

Margaery does not appear in AGoT. But I'd not be mad (quite the contrary!) if she, and Garlan, and maybe even Mace would accompany Loras to King's Landing (it was always weird that Mace Tyrell's favorite son would come to the Tourney of the Hand with the intention to win it, and none of the family would want to watch; young Mallister did not come alone, and Bronze Yohn, too, came along with his sons).

We could see her sitting and watching, and she could have a talk with Sansa. Somehow they need to introduce House Tyrell properly in the series, and make the audience understand, that these guys are even more powerful than House Lannister (Varys ominous line about Ned being an idiot alienating the Tyrells, while being already a Lannister enemy is fine, but I'm not sure the audience will grab the meaning).

People also won't be so much surprised, then, that Renly has such an huge army in the second season. I was pretty surprised then, when I read the books for the first time.

Also, Margaery visiting court for a short time could be a way to show us Renly and Loras plotting to get rid of Cersei (the whole picture thing is not enough, the audience will not get it), and could also set the stages for Cersei's evolving Margaery hatred. In the books it's actually unknown if she knew that Loras and Renly thought of Margaery as her possible successor, but if she did, it would perfectly fueling her Maggy-induced fears.

[Padraig]

There probably is enough people already in S1 though. :)

IIRC, Loras was at court even before the tournament? He didn't come up from Highgarden especially. He was with Renly.

They could spend a bit more time explaining the Margarey angle in aGoT. But I worry about information overload. At the same time, Renly's coronation does happen in aGoT, so they need to deal with that. Explaining that Loras is son of one of the great lords of Westeros should be manageable. 7 Kingdoms and all that...

[Namorath]

i think loras is enough for season 1 ... he can always explain in that annoying mouthy way teenagers do that his family rocks and is better then all the rest

[pfitz]

Having extra Tyrells would just be unnecessary expenditure

:pimp:

[Brude]

Yeah, they just need to have Loras and make sure they explain how vastly powerful the Tyrells are. It sets up later events, but showing more of them at Court would be over-complicating things. I think it works better to introduce them later in the story, anyway.

[CloudFlare]

Yeah, they just need to have Loras and make sure they explain how vastly powerful the Tyrells are. It sets up later events, but showing more of them at Court would be over-complicating things. I think it works better to introduce them later in the story, anyway.

IIRC Littlefinger chides Ned for giving Loras command of the men sent to hunt down Gregor. This would be the perfect time to introduce their power.

[Green Apple Fossoway]

IIRC Littlefinger chides Ned for giving Loras command of the men sent to hunt down Gregor. This would be the perfect time to introduce their power.

He chides Ned for not giving Loras the command.

[Padraig]

They'll probably use Sansa also as a way to give background info on various people/familes. GRRM himself does that when he introduces Ilyn Payne/Renly and Selmy. She will be especially interested in Loras.

[Lord Varys]

KingDread,

it is Varys, not Littlefinger, who chides Ned. And it is for alienating the Tyrells by not giving Loras the command he wanted so desperately. You make yourself no friends this way. It shows somewhat that there is a real power behind Loras, but I'm not sure if this will be plain enough in the series.

On the other hand, they might just show us Highgarden later in the season, when Renly has himself crowned, and weds. That would be a rather strong picture-

[Padraig]

It shows somewhat that there is a real power behind Loras, but I'm not sure if this will be plain enough in the series.

I really don't think this is a problem. Westeros has 7 Kingdoms. We'll be very familiar with 4 in S1 (Baratheons, Arryns, Lannisters and Stark). When Renly unites 2 (Baratheons and Tyrells) together more or less, it should be clear that they are going to be a challenge to the throne.

Unless they give up the 7 Kingdoms reference altogether.

But it can't be that hard to make it clear that Loras Tyrell is the son of a major lord. He is significant enough in GoT.

[Godlikebuthumble]

Hand's Tourney, pompous hammy loud herald announcing the entry of the Knight of Flowers, son of the mighty lord of Highgarden blablabla, done.

Renly and Loras having some words about Margaery, done.

Possibly even the "who gets to chase after Gregor" thing as well. Done.

Really, I don't quite see why the Tyrells need to be present any more in Season I, since in aGoT, they also kinda barely matter. Sure, they are powerful, but they're not actually represented at court and thus don't matter for most of aGoT, before all of the civil war stuff starts at least.

[JWJ78]

Well from an article I read on WIC- Loras's armor is going to be over the top like it should be from the book. No one has armor like that in the 7 kingdoms unless they are from a rich and powerful family. I'm sure the audience will get the picture that Loras is from a powerful family. (I really hope that the armor and weapons live up to the descriptions from the books- if the valarian steel blades aren't blackish I'll be pissed! same with the detailed helms (Sandor, etc) and armor like the Knight of Flowers).

With the already large season 1 cast there really isn't enough room to add anymore in- plus we have to remember a lot of people are going to die! We need replacements for next season characters!...enter the Tyrells.

[Brienne the Beauty]

There are already so many characters, the average viewer is going to want a cheat-sheet. I know people who gave up on the books because they couldn't keep track of all the characters. That's going to be even worse on TV. I know I could never keep straight who was who in The Wire.

[SpaceChampion]

One could say the Tyrells are so powerful they don't need to appear at court.

[Loras]

I don't think the Tyrells need to be introduced in the first season... I think they can still be introduced organically in the second season when Catelyn rides south to treat with Renly. But I think rather than disappear after Renly's peach they will stick around afterwards. Maybe Loras will be upgraded to a regular: showing his reaction to Renly's death, Renly's "funeral" when Loras buries him beneath a tree overlooking Storm's End. Then showing us Littlefinger and some of his plans in Highgarden, and ultimately Loras becoming Renly's ghost by donning his armour and fighting.

Loras has enough to do in the future seasons to warrent being upgraded and I think it would give some real depth to the world, while allowing the tension to be built up towards the S2 finale and Battle for the Blackwater.

[Lord Varys]

Tyrell scenes in Highgarden with Littlefinger would be problematic, I think, as the story demands that there presence during the Blackwater has to be a surprise. We could see, however, Loras' immediate reaction to Renly's death (he kills two members of Renly's Reainbow Guard on the spot), and elaborate a little on the fact that the Reach as a whole is not going to join with Stannis immediately (the Florents need to be shown somewhere in the background, as Stannis does profit somewhat from Renly's death). Later on, I think, showing Loras and the Tyrells would cause massive changes to the story.

The Tyrells could be upgraded in season 3, however, or there could be scenes in Highgarden during Renly's coronation, but during season 2 there is not much room for them.

[Edward the Great]

They need to have Renly show off his little picture to Ned. A beautiful little teaser of things to come, and one of the better details thrown into the story. Since it will merely be a likeness it will put no restriction on who gets cast as Margaery.