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HBO series possible changes


Jonias Snow

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I was mulling over possible changes that HBO might make to the series, for the purpose of keeping the budget manageable and to tighten the storyline. I was thinking one possible change would be Arya's journey to Bravoss. If Arya's travels take her back to Westeros in lieu of perhaps traveling to Dany, to me it would make sense to keep her in Westeros, as the expense of creating extra sets and hiring actors for such a personal and brief plot device to me might be considered a waste of resources. It appears to me that Oldtown is to become a major setting, and furthermore it is similar in setting and cultural styling to Bravoss. A very old and multi-ethnic, cultural center of power with many different religions, guilds and political factions. The layout is similar also with it's bay, rivers, canals, marshlands. We have the gargantuan Oldtower lighthouse in lieu of the Colossus. I can see the coin taking her to Oldtown instead, where she has the same adventures but now we can have JH be her tutor, one less actor to concern ourselves with and he can disappear for long periods of time where we eventually discover he has been hiding among the Maesters whilst working alongside the mage. Sam can show up then, and Aemon still dying at sea, so in essence nothing has really changed, just the setting. The storyline has tightened, the costs have been kept reasonable and we still have the same plot devices to move the story along. I am also confident that Brienne's story arc will be tightened in a similar fashion to the joy and chagrin of others.

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I don't know, man. I really think that something 4 seasons off is outside the scope of their thinking at this stage.

The easy thing to do, BTW, would be to relocate Arya's chapters to Pentos, which is going to be using Malta anyways. Then you just have her revisiting a previously-visited location where the production already has some history and production contacts. I don't think Oldtown is going to be that major a location, but who knows?

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I don't know, man. I really think that something 4 seasons off is outside the scope of their thinking at this stage.

The easy thing to do, BTW, would be to relocate Arya's chapters to Pentos, which is going to be using Malta anyways. Then you just have her revisiting a previously-visited location where the production already has some history and production contacts. I don't think Oldtown is going to be that major a location, but who knows?

I am not saying they are pondering the Arya in Bravoss storyarc, I am using that as an example of what they might change in the future. Just place that subject into this season and hopefully next season, and then ponder what changes they might take. I believe they relocated the Castle Darry scene to the Crossroads Inn, so what other changes might they make for this season, to cut expenses (so they can spend on other more important parts of the series) and tighten the story for television.

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There is a ton of stuff from aCoK that they could cast a critical eye on. Arya's journey, the prologue, a lot of Davos stuff etc

The prologue is funny to mention, since they are apparently keeping the prologue from the first book largely intact. I remember after the pilot was optioned, I think (or maybe it was before that, when the show was optioned), reading some fan stating that the producers needed to start the show with the prologue from the first book, and I thought that was just a bit silly, and thinking that the show will never be anywhere near as faithful to the books as some fans expect; I thought the prologue from AGoT was extremely cut-able, since it has so little to do with the rest of the book (and since the story is so confusing already, with so many characters, so I didn't think adding a barely related scene just off the bat was necessarily a great intro). OTOH, it sets up the impending horror of the Others (I wonder if they'll punch them up a little bit in the first season as compared to the books, to keep them in the viewers' minds), which is important.

The prologue for ACoK, OTOH, fits in absolutely perfectly with the season/book-long storyline, immediately introducing a major new character, Stannis, setting him up, setting up the major players around him, Davos and Melisandre, and ending with the awesome revelation of Melisandre's power (though, now that I think about it, I don't know that the whole poisoning bit will work as well onscreen as it did in the book; seems like it would be confusing).

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I really don't expect the ACoK prologue to be in any danger, nor any of Davos's chapters really. Other than the Blackwater, it's all pretty small scale stuff, and he provides us the only window to Stannis.

Arya's trip isn't so awful, either. It's not like it has a lot of locations. Generic riverlands roads, mostly.

I think the AGoT prologue is important as the first taste of what the ultimate enemy is. It sets up the notion, right from the start, that all of these people are tearing a realm apart that needs to be united more than ever. If you just save it for the end, it becomes much more of a mystery thing, less of an impending doom.

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Oh...well, I doubt they would get rid of the prologue or Davos. But I wouldn't be surprised if the focus is more on Mel and Stannis and less on Davos/Cressen. They'll find a way to make the attempted poisoning work on screen, i'd expect. That's a good scene. Similarly, they may drop some of Arya's encounters (e.g. somebody previously suggested that Lorch's role may be largely given to Gregor). They are all small enough changes I suppose.

I think the AGoT prologue is important as the first taste of what the ultimate enemy is. It sets up the notion, right from the start, that all of these people are tearing a realm apart that needs to be united more than ever. If you just save it for the end, it becomes much more of a mystery thing, less of an impending doom.

Yes, I think the aGoT has a very significant purpose. ACoK prologue does too but its more easily edited I think.

And this ignores the fact that they may add stuff also. Although GRRM in Australia suggested that we wouldn't see a lot of Jaime in S2 (like in the books).

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I don't see why the ACoK prologue needs to be cut down too much, or cut out. It's really just the first Davos chapter, in a way - at least in how it will be perceived on screen. Remember, the format for film/TV is very different than the books. We'll just see it another cold opening to a season where somebody dies, like the first time, but it's also just getting us right into the Stannis/Davos/Melisandra part of the story.

It's a great introduction to Mel and Stannis, especially - I don't think Davos stands out as much in the chapter, if memory serves. Instantly, we know Mel is powerful and dangerous and a new force to be reckoned with as Season 2 dawns. And we learn that there's another claimant to the throne, something we get no notion of in Book/Season 1. Instant additional conflict added to the story.

No, I don't think it will be cut. It will make a fine opening five to seven minutes for the new season.

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No, I don't think it will be cut. It will make a fine opening five to seven minutes for the new season.

You are probably right. There is stuff at the beginning of the chapter that is less important (we are introduced to Shireen, Patchface and the other maester IIRC) but there is a lot of very interesting stuff also. :)

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