[Minor Book Spoilers] How will the show deal with aging children?

[Prankster]

You want to see a child actor's rapid aging throwing off a show, watch Lost. Having a 48 days pass in a year of real time led to their child actor becoming a hulking adolescent who had to be written out of the show. I'm still amazed how badly planned that was. But even then, they were able to have him appear a couple of times and it didn't seem too out of whack. Compared to that, GoT will be the most natural thing in the world.

[Thefalconemperor]

I don't see it as a problem. It's not like each book takes only a few weeks like later Wheel of Time ones.

Oh, and Storm of Swords is just about a third longer than Game of Thrones. I don't see why it couldn't be done in 14 chapters.

[Valmy]

This has probably been mentioned before but it sorta bothers me.

Ok so let's say next year we do have all of book 2.

And then they split book 3 into two seasons.

And then they combine book 4 and 5 into three seasons.

Won't Sophie Turner be about 20 by then? Heck even if they do one book a year she would be a young adult by the end.

Is this going to be a problem you think?

[Hyper]

Sophie is already very tall, so it probably won't be too much of an issue. I think the look of Maisie (Arya) will be a bigger issue, but some of her material can probably be rewritten to fit her older look.

[Talleyrand]

Cryogenic freezing between filming. The parents might complain but we always have extra fridges

[Prankster]

This has probably been mentioned before but it sorta bothers me.

Ok so let's say next year we do have all of book 2.

And then they split book 3 into two seasons.

And then they combine book 4 and 5 into three seasons.

I seriously doubt they're going to do this, honestly. I don't see any reason why aSoS can't be done in one, perhaps slightly longer than normal, season. It would involve cuts, which I'm sure most people wouldn't want, but it could be done. Of course, this is why we're hoping the show is successful enough that HBO greenlights a larger budget with a higher episode count for S3. But even 13 episodes, a fairly standard season order, would probably be enough to do aSoS, and maybe they'll even be able to squeeze a few more episodes in if the show is successful enough. As for books 4 and 5, book 4 is fairly slim AND contains a lot of non-vital stuff (all the Dorne stuff, most of the Iron Islands stuff, and segments of all the other plotlines are padding--not uninteresting padding, but it's in the "Tom Bombadil" category of stuff that could be trimmed without affecting the story). So book 5 can easily spill over into "one and a half" seasons, with book 4 making up the other half in terms of screentime.

As for the ages of the kids--again, they're SUPPOSED to get older. That's part of the story. And once a kid is past puberty, it's not hard to play younger than they are--in fact, the vast majority of TV teenagers are older than the age of the characters they play. (Remember the original Beverly Hills 90210? Admittedly that show was made fun of for this, but a couple of the "teenagers" on that show were in their early 30s. For that matter, I'm pretty sure Emilia Clarke is a lot older than 16.) So even if it's an issue--and aside from Arya being able to pass as a boy, I can't see any ways in which it makes much of a difference whether the character is a few years older--it's not going to be that hard to pass off the kids as younger. The difference between 16 and 18 is much less than the difference between 11 and 13.

Besides, isn't it suggested by the titles that we're going to pass through a long winter all the way to spring before the series ends?

[StrongBelwas]

I've been considering the issue of the aging child actors and I conclude that the subject is only an issue with Arya and Bran

Robb - actor is older, and if you are aware of the story that concerns Rob (no spoilers here, don't worry) his screen time is finite.

Sansa - I don't see a big problem here. The Actress is older which is a positive factor.

Joffery - Also finite Screen time

Rickon - I noticed that we haven't even seen him yet. I suspect this is to put off

the child actor until Clash of Kings or perhaps later. Robb refered to Rickon to his mother in the room with Bran, but I cannot recall having seen him. Perhaps I'm wrong that he hasn't been seen if some wants to correct me, but I don't recall him.

Tommen & Mycella - have we seen them too? I don't recall. If HBO can put these two off a season it will help (like Rickon)

Arya and Bran - major problems exist with these actors. The only solution I can come up with is to actually shoot each and every scene from Clash of Kings to Dance With dragons that concerns them. This is, of course, impossible. Winds of Winter (book 6) takes place 5 years after DWD, giving HBO some elbow room with the issues of aging.

If there is a show by then that is...I've watched for years as networks cancel extremely good shows (Firefly for example).

[Rand]

I don't really see a problem with Arya. Personally I think Maise Williams still looks like a girl in last episodes scene, and rather than guards mistaking her as a boy because of looks I've always assumed it's because of how she dresses. This is a medieval setting remember, where girls where dresses and don't play rough like the boys. In character people should assume Arya is a boy because she's scrubby looking and wearing pants. Maise could be 12 or she could be 16, shouldn't really make a difference to pull this off.

[Which Tyler]

To Strong Belwas:

We've seen Rickon at least twice - once laughing at Bran's archery skills, and once having his ruffled by Robert on arrival at Winterfell.

I have a feeling he was around in the background when Rob hosted Tyrion too, but don't quote me on that.

We've seen Tommen and Mycella at the breakfast scene in Winterfell.

As with all the characters though; I don't think it's much of a problem.

As mentioned, they're supposed to age in the story; and didn't GRRM want them to be 5 years older in time for books 4&5? they've been started as 3 years older, so there's another 3 years to be had through splitting seasons; not filming in contiguous years etc etc.

Things like Cersei's dominance over Tommen can easily be written around; simply use a different type of domination. playing with his seal is nice, but hardly central to the plot; and he can be given different little eccentricities (or maybe even hint at slightly retarded development due to inbreeding?).

Things like Arya changing physically between seasons - a role of bandage can do the trick, and gradually let it out over the first couple of episodes to show a passing of time - facially would be more difficult, but changes are much more subtle, and makeup is your friend there. Bran's voice is reasonably easy - called acting, have his voice breaking over the course of a couple of episodes, slipping between registers - hard to fake as an adult, easy as a kid who's just gone through it anyway. Bran changing physically would be the hardest, and I can't really see a solution to that - in terms of trying to show him changing, as opposed to just being between seasons.

I don't see any deal-breakers there, and certainly nothing that's more jarring than a re-cast; I also don't think anyone would really notice on TV, only on DVD/BR. However, viewers are pretty forgiving of that sort of thing, especially on DVD, and I don't think it's much of a problem.

[The Fan]

Great googly moogly, I didn't realize Maisie Williams was 14 now... I knew she was older than book Arya, but I thought only a year or two...

I agree with what others have said above, as long as she doesn't gain a foot of height and a tunic full of.... :unsure: muscles, this shouldn't be a problem, and she will pass as a boy for quite some time.

Even when she and SC are seen riding together, (Rory) is so much bigger (6'6"?) that it wouldn't be an issue.

Also, I wonder (and wouldn't doubt it) if a younger sibling has ever replaced an actor/actress who outgrew a role? I know Rory Culkin has darker hair than Macauly Culkin, but I think the Culkin's had at least a half dozen children.... for example.

[StrongBelwas]

Ah yes, we have seen Rickon twice. Honestly I just flat out missed it. If I were in charge of casting I would spend my time refering to Rickon in season 1, but not showing him. His involvement in plot is extremely minor, with only one scene of real importance that takes place....(spoilers follow)

when he sneaks into the crypt following Ned's death. It's implied that Rickon, like Bran, has a touch of the magic of the old gods. In the case of Bran it's warging. Rickon is like Jojen Reed with greensight....though where Jojen sees possible futures, Rickon sees what has actually happened elsewhere, kinda like a form of divination. If they want to explore these matters in the show they must show something related to the crypt scene, when Rickon climbs into the tomb made for his father after claiming that he spoke to Eddard's ghost.

So if they truly want to tell that part of Rickon's story, then they will need him in full frame, speaking to the camera. Not cool when the character is 6 and you have (possibly) 4 more seasons to shoot. Much easier to write this part out and only show the boy in passing.

[howland_reed]

After watching episode 6, it struck me that there's one child that aging up in this production may be a problem by Book 4:

Robert Arryn

All the other children have plotlines where they mature, so it's fine that they do in fact grow older in real life. But it's going to be very awkward when Sansa arrives at the Eyrie, and the actor who plays Robert, who'll likely be 12-13 (hopefully doesn't have a growth spurt), still has to act the immature brat who suckled on his mother's teat for too long.

[Werthead]

Winds of Winter (book 6) takes place 5 years after DWD

No, it doesn't. Current info is that TWoW picks up very quickly after ADWD. The five-year gap GRRM had planned for the series was eliminated in 2001 and isn't coming back.

[Frumpus]

After watching episode 6, it struck me that there's one child that aging up in this production may be a problem by Book 4:

Robert Arryn

All the other children have plotlines where they mature, so it's fine that they do in fact grow older in real life. But it's going to be very awkward when Sansa arrives at the Eyrie, and the actor who plays Robert, who'll likely be 12-13 (hopefully doesn't have a growth spurt), still has to act the immature brat who suckled on his mother's teat for too long.

I am pretty sure they will just replace his current actor with a new one given how minor of a character that is.

[StrongBelwas]

No, it doesn't. Current info is that TWoW picks up very quickly after ADWD. The five-year gap GRRM had planned for the series was eliminated in 2001 and isn't coming back.

Ah. Honestly I didn't know that. I've been following the series for years but it's sometimes hard to keep up on everything.

As to Little Sweetrobin, I agree that there is a problem here. The actor is right at the wrong age: 11-ish. We have a lot of ground to cover before Sansa meets him and yes indeed, I agree he might end up a lanky teen which will not play well. (ala Walt from Lost)