Mad Queen Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 I think some people should definitely stop watching now, because if Ned's death has upset them so much, other events in the future will scar them for life. This kind of story won't please everybody. But I doubt that the "vast majority" of non-readers will stop watching. On TWoP, for instance, only a couple of non-book readers said they MIGHT. And I predict the season finale will set a new record in viewership. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eve Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 Ned's death happened in the first book, yet people are waiting impatiently for the FIFTH book to come out. I really think after this initial shock, the viewers will continue to watch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fall from grace Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 well the non-readers that i've talked to all said ned was their favorite by far. sure they liked jon and tyrion, but ned was the man. also, i didn't say he was the only character i felt non-readers cared about. what i did say was i got the impression that they didn't care enough about the other characters to keep watching. since there is only one episode left i'm sure alot of people will tune in for it. but the second season is already been green-lit so who cares. we'll at least get two seasons.I have about five non-reader friends that are watching, and even though the majority of them are Sean Bean fans, none of them consider Ned to be their favorite character. All of them love Arya and Tyrion and many of them like the Dany story. They all seemed pretty shocked over Ned's death, but are excited to see next week's episode - two of them even mentioned that they picked up book one. :dunno:That being said... I'm totally not going to continue watching if Drogo dies. :angry: ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ser_Niall Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 I think the show will be fine. The characters in the book that keep me reading, as well as many others, are who I consider the real "main characters" of the story: Jon Snow and Dany Targaryen (also Jaime and Cersei, but less so than the previous). In hindsight, the show probably should have played up these two more because they will be carrying the series in the long run. It might have been a bad casting decision to put Sean Bean as Ned Stark, because people automatically think that the big name actors will be around for a long time. If an unknown was playing Ned, non-readers wouldn't be as upset about his death. However, with Bean in the role, it made the scene that much more emotional.The 2nd season will be a challenge. Lots of good storytelling here, but in my opinion its more about the war, and less about character development. Season 3, if the show makes it there, will be incredible. Storm of Swords is my personal favorite of the series so far, and it really develops several characters, like Jon and Jaime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dude Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 Ned's death happened in the first book, yet people are waiting impatiently for the FIFTH book to come out. I really think after this initial shock, the viewers will continue to watch.Yes, a good number of us got over this fact in book one and have stuck with the series despite being strung along for years and suffering worse than Ned's death.I think his death only serves to draw us in deeper (readers and viewers). He's totally set up as the tragic figure, but we don't see it first. We just go along assuming the standard tropes that major protagonists don't get killed off. Yes in hindsight we see that it was inevitable. Yes, it was upsetting but also exhilarating because there's real fear and consequences within GRRMs story.It's what keeps us coming back, too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brush Guy Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 Well not to worry Ned fans! His son Rob really takes after him and will likely fill the void in your hearts.You bastard. :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ferthepoet Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 Honestly, does anyone really thinks HBO would have done themselves a better serving by keeping Ned Alive, turning away possibly all the readers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skillet Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 I know this is a small sample size, but...http://www.sodahead.com/entertainment/game-of-thrones-shocker-were-they-right-to-risk-tv-fan-base-to-stay-true-to-the-book/question-1883435/At the time I posted this, 115 people said that killing Ned (and thus staying true to the books) was a good move, as opposed to 5 people who said that for the sake of the series he should have been spared. I'm one of the 115, and I imagine that at least 95% of the viewership will NOT tune out just because Sean Bean is gone.Ned's dead, baby. Ned's dead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asarlai Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 The non-reader I watch with loved the show, and his favorite part was the Robert-Ned dynamic. Bam, bam, they both died. He's also been looking forward to Drogo invading...Come to think of it, Ned-Robert was my favorite part, too, but the book does a better job of playing up the other characters, and I liked the Jon parts a lot, too, then other parts like Arya. Hopefully the Robb scenes will be much better without the Cat "my little boy fighting a war" POV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Sheep Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 I don't think that anyone who said he's gonna quit watching will really quit. There's only one episode remaining this season, and everyone is gonna watch it, if only to see if the good guys are gonna get their vengeance.Then you'll have a year wait until season 2, and with so many non-readers claiming it's the best thing they've ever seen on TV, it's hard to imagine after such a long wait (well, not so long in our experience...) they won't tune in to get the rest of the story. And I think everyone is gonna get over the loss of Sean Bean. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asarlai Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 Most people will keep watching in spite of the loss of Ned, but will they actually get over it? Should they? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TripleOZero Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 I don't think the death of Ned will impact viewership. HBO has already set a precedent for this. [iNCOMING DEADWOOD SPOILER] (yeah, go figure...)In Deadwood, Wild Bill Hickok was set up as a fan favorite in the first three episodes. At the end of the fourth episode, he gets murdered without any warning. He was simply shot and that was that. The series used his character to make an early statement that no one is safe, even characters that viewers may love. Those who were not familiar with the source material (in this case, 'Wild West' history) would have never saw it coming. I kept watching anyway.Sounds familiar? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellroy Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 Honestly? Even if the TV show bombs because the audience cannot cohexists with some autentic storytelling I really don't care. If people do not want to be challenged that's not the show for them. ASoIaF is meant to be depressing and shocking and if they change the core of the story to please the audience I would be really pissed. Better if they leave now because it's only the beginning of a very dark ride and the thing will get very worst before they begin to get better (I mean, book 5 on the horizon and things are still looking pretty badly :D).At the end, I still have my books and for me the TV series (while excellent in itself) is just a nice and entartaining extra. I'll buy the DVD and what not, but most of all because of GRRM's interview.What disturbs me most is the lack of sophistication and the sense of entitlement of the viewing public. I mean, by the part was so upset by Ned's death: their criticism are far from legitimate. ASoIaF has a story. If you do not like it stop watching the show: no one is forcing you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ser Pistus Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 1. Some people just hate watching a show that rips their heart out. They want to be entertained. SOME sad moments are okay, but something like this crosses the line.Are there a lot of such hardcore Ned-fans? When I read the book, I liked Ned because he is a good guy, and I rooted for him to succeed with his investigation. But he was never my favorite, and I guess most readers (and viewers) like Tyrion and/or Arya best - like I did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ferthepoet Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 Yah I think the death of Ned is the least of the threats to Game of Thrones viability, the biggest threats are I think:1. The cost of producing the show which should be among the highest ever for a TV production2. Real life game breaking events, for example, if Dinkleage or Masie Williams were to die it could be doom for the series as I think no one would accept recast of those roles or the show without those characters. 3. The volatility of the reader fan base. I think most of us readers have all been contributing to the success of the show, and I would dare bet that each reader has practically forced at least one non reader be a friend, family member or significant other to watch the show. But the reader fan base could turn on the show at any moment if they do a sufficiently significant deviation from the books. Keeping faithful to the books would be a huge task and definitely impossible if they do intend to adapt the whole of ASOS in 10 episodes.4. Another show becoming the network darling, right now HBO seems to be very happy with the show and could even be considered more popular than previous flagship True Blood, but if another show in the network became much more popular than thrones while at the same time being much cheaper to produce it could lead to HBO giving thrones the Ax. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gotthammer Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 Well not to worry Ned fans! His son Rob really takes after him and will likely fill the void in your hearts. :agree: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dracarys! Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 I don't think it will suffer that much - the story offers many other characters besides Ned one can root for.I converted many of my non-reader friends to the TV series and most of them were shocked that such a seemingly important character was offed, but they didn't threaten to stop watching. Actually I think it only piqued their interest and made them focus on other characters (they all love Tyrion and Arya).On another hand, I have a friend who read aGoT and was so pissed at Ned's death that she stopped reading altogether :dunno: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xanderpanda Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 The thing that bothers me about most the raging I've seen in various forums, news article comments etc is the weird belief that none of the other characters can hold the show. Episode 8 and 9 barely had any Ned yet people were highly praising them until he died and now they act like the show can't possibly be good without him.Some of the comments on the HBO thread are funny to read but scary too. Honestly though I think in the end the majority of people will tune in for the final and get over it. Those that don't wont effect the viewership much especially considering the rise season 2 will probably receive from buzz anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nihilist Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 Most people I know who watch the show are not going to continue.Main complaints:"This doesn't make sense, really unbelievable""Ned Stark dies!""Why didn't we see any battle at all? They build up for nothing?""I can't hear what he is saying over the moaning whore."And all legitimate. Don't really blame them for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ferthepoet Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 Most people I know who watch the show are not going to continue.Main complaints:"This doesn't make sense, really unbelievable""Ned Stark dies!""Why didn't we see any battle at all? They build up for nothing?""I can't hear what he is saying over the moaning whore."And all legitimate. Don't really blame them for it.The First two I don't think are legitimate at all, The second two though, yah, they need to work on that for the second season Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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