[Book Spoilers] EP201 Discussion

[Arrogant Bastard]

Say what?! Where?

There's a brief glimpse of Rattleshirt in the "Coming Weeks" preview at the end of the episode. I'm almost positive there's nothing in the first episode itself.

[HokieStone]

Say what?! Where?

Rattleshirt wasn't in the episode - you got a quick glimpse of him in the previews for the rest of the season.

[Little Miss Sunshine]

So Joff did know he was a bastard......Did they ever imply that in the books?

I don't think so. In the books he never gave me the impression that he knew, let alone confront Cersei about Robert's whoring the way he did in this episode.

[ShadowRaven]

The episode was overal good/okay, however I did not like how Tyrion just suddenly arrived in KL. Didn't he only arrive in KL just as Sansa was stripped of her clothes so to speak?

I liked the Bran thing though; epic! Now they need to introduce Meera and Jojen Reed.

[ShadowRaven]

I don't think so. In the books he never gave me the impression that he knew, let alone confront Cersei about Robert's whoring the way he did in this episode.

Didn't Joffrey say that about Jaime in the episode though?

[TheEvilKing]

You see her first washing the blood off the floor on Joff's tourney, and then when Cersei and LF are talking about getting Arya back the girl is seen again by LF.... can be me totally seeing more than what was there, but I had the impression it was a like a hint

I was fairly certain that it was one of Varys's "little birds".

[modehead]

This 10 hour format is going to prove to be disappointing. There's no way they'll give the plot justice in 10 hours.

BTW, Ros replaces Chataya, right? That's why she exists?

[luacuof]

Sorry to sneak into this topic, but I don't know where else I could put this: is there ANY way I can watch the episode online? Legally, illegally, with some dark magic or sorcery..? Please! :bowdown:

The show won't be aired in my country untill May and I just can't wait that long... I need to see it now! Can anyone help me? Thank you :bawl:

[Little Miss Sunshine]

Didn't Joffrey say that about Jaime in the episode though?

Yes, in the episode he did. In the books, as far as I remember, never.

Here he says to Cersei he heard a story about her and Jamie. And then proceeds to say he's the rightful heir so he doesn't have a "claim". But in the book he never confronts Cersei about her twincest or Robert's whoring.

EDIT - @TheEvilKing- that's another possibility which crossed my mind, but I'm more inclined towards her as Fake Arya because we know it's LF who deals with that matter, not Varys. But we'll just have to wait and see ;)

[TC_Chaos]

This 10 hour format is going to prove to be disappointing. There's no way they'll give the plot justice in 10 hours.

BTW, Ros replaces Chataya, right? That's why she exists?

They're kicking some of the stuff into season 3, so I won't be too bad I think. My initial reaction was the same considering book 2 is longer, but I noticed that this episode has some stuff from book 1 so I can see what the creators are trying to do.

Some of the events be pushed up and pushed back. Personally, I think its fine because its hard to adapt the text exactly the way it is and make every episode ends with a bang.

I like how this episode they focused on Stannis' introduction only and not put in Renly and his crew or the Greyjoys. Next episode will be introduction for the Greyjoy and Renly & crew, I am sure. My initial reaction when I was reading book 2 was that the first 200 pages were a big ass introduction to the book. The comet and everyone's perception of it was pure genius to kick start the book.

I'm glad to see they're staying very faithful to the book's dialogues while adding more of their own. I find that as a fan who read the books, sometimes the dialogues are just too predictable because I know them. So, when with the creators' dialogues, sometimes, its just a little refreshing for fans who are too familiar with the books.

[Francis Buck]

The episode was overal good/okay, however I did not like how Tyrion just suddenly arrived in KL. Didn't he only arrive in KL just as Sansa was stripped of her clothes so to speak?

I liked the Bran thing though; epic! Now they need to introduce Meera and Jojen Reed.

Tyrion arrives in Sansa's first chapter of ACoK, during the jousting at Joffrey's nameday.

[TC_Chaos]

Yes, in the episode he did. In the books, as far as I remember, never.

Here he says to Cersei he heard a story about her and Jamie. And then proceeds to say he's the rightful heir so he doesn't have a "claim". But in the book he never confronts Cersei about her twincest or Robert's whoring.

EDIT - @TheEvilKing- that's another possibility which crossed my mind, but I'm more inclined towards her as Fake Arya because we know it's LF who deals with that matter, not Varys. But we'll just have to wait and see ;)

It seems that they're making Joffrey more of a man on this show. In the book, he's just a kid who follows his mother's words and sometimes act dumb. They're beefing Joffrey up in this season, just as last season.

[TheEvilKing]

EDIT - @TheEvilKing- that's another possibility which crossed my mind, but I'm more inclined towards her as Fake Arya because we know it's LF who deals with that matter, not Varys. But we'll just have to wait and see ;)

Just seems a little early to introduce the fake Arya storyline unless they plan to bring it forward quite a lot.

Checked out the previews, Rattleshirt's costume is dope. I hope they make him a bit more badass in the show. He's a cartoonish villain in the books that everyone runs rings around.

[Little Miss Sunshine]

It seems that they're making Joffrey more of a man on this show. In the book, he's just a kid who follows his mother's words and sometimes act dumb. They're beefing Joffrey up in this season, just as last season.

Which is fine by me, as long as they keep his cowardness. I always thought it was Cersei who gave the order to kill the bastards, but they apparently are passing it to Joffrey on the show and oddly it doesn't seem that out of character for me

[Little Miss Sunshine]

Just seems a little early to introduce the fake Arya storyline unless they plan to bring it forward quite a lot.

I'd normally agree with you, but they stressed out so much the importance of finding Arya in this episode... Tyrion talking to Cersei, Cersei to LF, Cersei to Joffrey... It was just a thought, now I'll wait to see what they'll do.

[mrnegativity]

Couple of people already mentioned - but WTF is going on with Littlefinger's voice?

Dude nailed it in the first season, felt like he was trying a little too hard to 'do' the same voice, came off sounding pretty odd.

Craster - awesome, like most I didn't picture him that well-fed or well-groomed but it worked well.

Davos, Melisandre, Stannis - awesome. As I pictured them from the books but better.

Including the bastard killing - intense, and a good call. Marshalling anti-Lannister sentiment among viewers, making us remember why Janos Slynt is an asshole, emphasising Joff and Cersei's paranoia / legitimacy of Stannis' claim. GG all round.

The LF/Cersei scene was the only real 'WTF' moment, the rest was pretty spot on.

[legba11]

First impressions:

I liked it, though it as very much a somewhat disorganized intro to 5.5? stories. I think they would have been better served by sticking to three (the Iron Throne stories) and add the others next week. People would have been upset to not see Jon and Dany, but they are side stories this season.

I strongly disagree with many folks here about Cersei/ Littlefinger (This is the TV show, Game of Thrones, not some moving pictures to go along with the books). It is a perfect setup for their futures. You see Cersei's problem as a ruler. She thinks just because she has the strongest hand in the present, that is all she needs to rule. She has the power, yet she is so unsure of her standing she lashes out with grotesque displays of power and makes enemies for no reason other than to remind herself that she currently has power. This has two aspects for LF. First, we get to see what was only told to us before (how the true power houses crap all over him) and more importantly, Littlefinger has to realize how unstable this ruling "family" is and he is safer outside of their immediate reach. So what does he do? (in the near future) He goes to Highgarden and returns with a queen and army loyal to him, and then quickly leaves again to claim his true power (in SoS). The hated Ros scene also backs this up. He has transferred control of his moneymaker to her, so he can leave King's Landing. This scene perfectly sets the table for Cersei's and LF's futures.

I agree that Craster was a bit too refined for my taste. I pictured him as a past-his-prime brute. Otherwise, a good scene, Mormont's reaction to Jon was a bit much.

Opening scene was brilliant, almost perfect. I don't understand the dislike of Sophie Turner, I think she has been perfect in 1.10 and this episode.

Joffery is MUCH stronger than he was portrayed in the books. His scene with Cersei dramatically changes the dynamic in KL until May 2013. (Countdown to that begins NOW).

The writes wisely made Catelyn a much more palatable character. I find how terrible of a mother she is distracting in the books. She tries to do the right thing and Robb makes her do what is best for the realm rather than her family (damn that Stark blood).

Dany scene was meh, but her entire arc in CoK is meh, so anything good that comes out of it is a huge plus. (She becomes my second favorite character starting with Book 3, so this isn't Dany hate).

Stannis/Melisandre/Davos are perfect. Great scene, though I agree you don't feel for the maester's attempted sacrifice. They instead use that scene to really push Melisandre as a seriously dangerous force.

Bran's wolf scene was a nice plus.

[Peter1982]

@ luacuof: maybe we are not supposed to, but just try googling something like: watch series game of thrones. or: craving for game of thrones.

They have clearly upgraded the position of Joffrey and Robb. I like it. They are to opposites. Just like Renly and Stannis. It will clearly strengthen the epic drama for the events of Season 3 and 4. It means we are going to see a lot of Joffrey to. He is fantastic. It makes me wonder which psychopath is going to play Ramsey Bolton (if they ever come that far).

THe infanticide was masterly done. It is a minor event in the book. But brought into view, it shows the gruesome cruelty of westerosi politics. The cruelty of a mother like Cersei ordering the killing of children to save her own children.

I don't mind about Craster's keep. Craster looked a bit to clean in my eyes. But it doesnt matter as Craster is such a minor character. I thought it was nice how they introduced the question where Craster leaves his sons and introduced Gilly

[megamutt]

“We share that view, sweet child.” Tyrion turned to Sansa. “My lady, I am sorry for your losses. Truly, the gods are cruel.”

Sansa could not think of a word to say to him. How could he be sorry for her losses? Was he mocking her? It wasn’t the gods who’d been cruel, it was Joffrey.

“I am sorry for your loss as well, Joffrey,” the dwarf said.

“What loss?”

“Your royal father? A large fierce man with a black beard; you’ll recall him if you try. He was king before you.”

“Oh, him. Yes, it was very sad, a boar killed him.”

“Is that what ‘they’ say, Your Grace?”

Joffrey frowned. Sansa felt that she ought to

can't belive that was not in the show.

[Francis Buck]

I had no real problems with it honestly. I'm not a book purist, so the changes don't bother me, and a direct adaptation would be boring anyway. The only thing I felt could have some more attention was the whole Dragonstone sequence. I just think they could have devoted a little more time to it, especially being new characters and all. But otherwise I though everything was great. The Robb, Jaimie, and Grey Wind scene was an awesome addition. The part with Littlefinger and Cersei didn't really bother me at all, I actually kind of liked it. And I like how they did the ending, it was a clever approach, especially since there wasn't really an obvious ending point in the books. And the entire episode had easily the best looking cinematography in the series so far. I'm psyched for next week.

EDIT: I also really liked how they handled the warging (even if it was very brief). I was worried about how they would do that, since it's something that could very easily have turned out cheesy looking, but it actually felt quite realistic (I'm curious as to how they did it at all, with the way the camera moved and such).