[Book Spoilers] Yara?

[Ghost714]

Have you considered the possibility not everyone shares your opinion who's attractive or not. Just a thought. In this very thread plenty of posters wrote that the actress who plays Yara/Asha looks fine to them, and I agree with them. You make it sound like she's some deformed monstrosity that nobody ever could find attractive at all, which is ridiculous.

I don't know where your from, but where I am from, a woman that looks like Yara is not desirable, in the least. If you think I sound harsh, you should hear my girlfriend voice her disappointments about this Yara.

Like I said before though, it's not just the fact that she is not some what physically attractive like Asha, it's the fact that nothing about her was attractive, and nothing about her made me remotely think of Asha. Her bored lifelessness wasn't a turn on, her mannerisms are not appealing... I can't think of one thing about Yara that embodies the character of Asha. It's like she didn't do any character development or something. I personally think the actors should read the books to better understand their characters, and a lot of the actors have, but I don't think that's the case with the actress for Yara.

It's not like I am the only one extremely disappointed here with Yara. Even the Wiki pictures of Asha look attractive(and I mean the real sort of attractive, not the everybody is beautiful in their own way bull shit).

@lotun

Asha as a name is a million times better than Yara. I agree with others that they could have given her the name Esgred or something, which is the name Asha gave Theon when she wanted to figure him out, before revealing who she was. Esgred would have still been better then Yara at least.

[Silverx2]

I`m not arguing the pronunciation is different, im arguing that similar or not, it should not be changed, it`s a person`s name, you dont have to like it, just go with it.

if you want to get technical its a characters name, and while i agree Yara is a stupid name, i have no issues with them changing her name.

[David Selig]

I don't know where your from, but where I am from, a woman that looks like Yara is not desirable, in the least. If you think I sound harsh, you should hear my girlfriend voice her disappointments about this Yara.

Like I said before though, it's not just the fact that she is not some what physically attractive like Asha, it's the fact that nothing about her was attractive, and nothing about her made me remotely think of Asha. Her bored lifelessness wasn't a turn on, her mannerisms are not appealing... I can't think of one thing about Yara that embodies the character of Asha. It's like she didn't do any character development or something. I personally think the actors should read the books to better understand their characters, and a lot of the actors have, but I don't think that's the case with the actress for Yara.

So in your country there are some totally universal standards of attractiveness and everyone adheres to them? I find this hard to believe.

Anyway, I got it already. You don't find her attractive at all, good for you, taste is subjective and she's certainly no supermodel. But all your talk how you couldn't imagine anyone could find her attractive at all and how Alfie Allen is a hero for acting this way is quite annoying, to be frank.

[Envie]

Anyway, I got it already. You don't find her attractive at all, good for you, taste is subjective and she's certainly no supermodel. But all your talk how you couldn't imagine anyone could find her attractive at all and how Alfie Allen is a hero for acting this way is quite annoying, to be frank.

Again, everyone keeps pinging on the physical attractiveness of the actress chosen and that's NOT IT at all. Have you ever heard of someone saying a person's not that physically attractive but their personality seems to transform them into someone gorgeous? Vitality, spirit, aura...whatever it is, some people just have it and they do NOT have to be super model gorgeous to be found attractive. There are many actors and actresses who are famous and fit this very interpretation of attractive.

Instead of criticizing one guy, who says where he's from (who cares where that is) he and his girlfriend both felt "Yara" wasn't attractive. My suspicion, if I could talk to his girlfriend, is that she too feels like me and half a dozen others who have replied to this thread... its not her exact LOOKS that's the problem, only part of it.

Lets face it, this woman is NOT Asha. She doesn't carry herself the same way (slouchy), she doesn't have the same facial expressions described by Martin (this woman was dull-eyed and insolent looking instead of flashing eyes and confidently lifted chin), and she doesn't even talk with the same arrogant confidence Asha had.

"Attractive" does not have to equal physical beauty. It's personal opinion but most agree the actor fell flat in conveying Asha's spirit.

[Ghost714]

Again, everyone keeps pinging on the physical attractiveness of the actress chosen and that's NOT IT at all. Have you ever heard of someone saying a person's not that physically attractive but their personality seems to transform them into someone gorgeous? Vitality, spirit, aura...whatever it is, some people just have it and they do NOT have to be super model gorgeous to be found attractive. There are many actors and actresses who are famous and fit this very interpretation of attractive.

Instead of criticizing one guy, who says where he's from (who cares where that is) he and his girlfriend both felt "Yara" wasn't attractive. My suspicion, if I could talk to his girlfriend, is that she too feels like me and half a dozen others who have replied to this thread... its not her exact LOOKS that's the problem, only part of it.

Lets face it, this woman is NOT Asha. She doesn't carry herself the same way (slouchy), she doesn't have the same facial expressions described by Martin (this woman was dull-eyed and insolent looking instead of flashing eyes and confidently lifted chin), and she doesn't even talk with the same arrogant confidence Asha had.

"Attractive" does not have to equal physical beauty. It's personal opinion but most agree the actor fell flat in conveying Asha's spirit.

Exactly. I have said many times that's there is not just a problem with her physical looks. It is the lack of everything that makes Asha who she is. The charisma, the confidence, the passion for who she is, etc...Yara doesn't embody any of it.

So thank you for your post, in seeing that i am not just saying she doesn't work because she isn't "hot". Because its not just Asha's physical appearance that makes her so appealing.

[howland_reed]

Anyway, I got it already. You don't find her attractive at all, good for you, taste is subjective and she's certainly no supermodel. But all your talk how you couldn't imagine anyone could find her attractive at all and how Alfie Allen is a hero for acting this way is quite annoying, to be frank.

I understand taste is subjective, but just cause we don't find Yara attractive, does not mean we expected a "supermodel" to have been cast for Asha.

No, I did not expect or imagine Asha to look like Kate Upton or Megan Fox or Alessandra Ambrosia, even while reading the books. These women are stunning beauties, near perfect 10's, and hell, not even Lena Headey or Emilia Clarke compare to them. But Headey and Clarke are still beautiful women in their own right.

But if you're telling me there's no actress whose looks are inbetween those models and Gemma Whelan:

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http://www.accesshol...ader_165610.jpg

Then you need only look outside and see plenty of better looking women in the real world, not just in Hollywood.

I understand that people may feel chastising her looks is exacerbating society's issue of placing a really high standard of beauty for women. At the same time, I feel like Whelan's looks detract from the Asha we're presented in the books. Instead of seeing her confidence and swagger as likable and attractive, she comes across to me as a bully. I'll give her more time than one episode to win me over, but initial impressions for me are not good.

[teemo]

I think everyone needs to calm down and give her another episode or two. Remember, most of her dialogue is when she was pretending to be Esgred. And honestly, this focus about her physical attractiveness when she wasn't even very attractive in the books is making me a little sick. If this was Loras who didn't live up to the "physical beauty" of the books there wouldn't be all of this hate. I agree that she seemed to lack a little fire, but let's just give it a little more time.

[David Selig]

I feel we are talking past each other. I never said people were expecting a supermodel or that "there's no actress whose looks are inbetween those models and Gemma Whelan".I said I can certainly understand why people don't find her attractive at all, I just disagree personally. Physical attractiveness is a really small part of Asha's persona in the books anyway. And all this talk about lack of swagger and charisma after she had 4-5 minutes screen time is really premature.

[Travy1991]

Is that quote supposed to support your argument? Cause Gemma Whelan does not fit a single description of that Asha.

I'll reserve further judgment cause Mark Addy didn't fit the description of King Robert, nor did Michelle Fairley for Catelyn Tully (although that was just mainly aging her up), but both actors have been phenomenal in their role. Perhaps Whelan can do the same.

This is my problem with some of the fans of the series. There appears to be lots of sexism. Catelyn in the books is described as beautiful and regal looking with auburn hair and blue eyes. In my opinion, Michelle Fairley is quite attractive for a woman in her late 40s yet when she was initially cast, many fans whined and whined about ageing Catelyn up. It's funny that these fans didn't care about them ageing up Ned. In fact, Michelle Fairley pretty much resembles the Catelyn of the books while Sean Bean did not have Ned's long face or grey eyes. (By the way I'm not knocking Sean Bean as Ned, just saying he doesn't match physically).

Gemma Whelan is not going to be everyone's idea of attractive and her performance isn't going to sway everyone. She's by no means a supermodel but is reasonably attractive and looks quite like the other actors cast as Greyjoys. I do understand where people are coming from with how she plays Asha a bit sullen but to me, Whelan manages to convey a relaxed, dryly humourous and tough woman who shows a lot of promise for Asha. I think one episode is far too early to make up your mind just yet.

The main problem I have with this thread is how a bunch of superficial people are knocking down a slightly plain actress and acting as though she is one of the most hideous looking human beings in the world.

[WetHair]

I too am disappointed with Asha but I don't fault Gemma Whelan. I think GOT put a huge amount of effort into casting and even though I am totally unfamiliar with her, I'm sure she is a very fine actress or she wouldn't have been hired. I think she gave them the Asha they asked for and rather than criticizing Gemma the criticism may better be directed to the powers that be.

Speaking of her looks though, what is funny is that in the picture that was posted of her when she was cast she had short, dark hair. I thought to myself oh, she is lucky, she won't have to wear a wig like everyone else. I'm puzzled as to why they gave her longish, blond hair instead. Maybe the thought was that since everyone else has to suffer it's only fair that she must suffer as well. :)

[howland_reed]

The main problem I have with this thread is how a bunch of superficial people are knocking down a slightly plain actress and acting as though she is one of the most hideous looking human beings in the world.

And around and around we go. Why keep arguing the extremes? Some of us find her unattractive. That doesn't mean she's the most hideous person in the world (or even on the show), nor does it mean we were expecting a model to play her.

I'm done belaboring this point. Let's just leave it at some people find Yara attractive and others don't. I still don't like how this Yara is being portrayed/characterized, but that is likely more the fault of the showrunners/director than it is the actress herself.

[Free Northman]

On a related note - as I don't see a Balon thread here - isn't Balon just the most awesomely adapted character bar none?

I thought Balon was utterly scary looking, exactly like I imagined him to look in the books. The sense of menace, ferocity and pent up hatred that he exuded was just off the scale.

I wish this actor was rather chosen for a more prominent character, like Stannis or someone. He is perfect for the Ice and Fire world.

[Sixshells]

On a related note - as I don't see a Balon thread here - isn't Balon just the most awesomely adapted character bar none?

I thought Balon was utterly scary looking, exactly like I imagined him to look in the books. The sense of menace, ferocity and pent up hatred that he exuded was just off the scale.

I wish this actor was rather chosen for a more prominent character, like Stannis or someone. He is perfect for the Ice and Fire world.

I liked his scene a lot, and the way Theon seemed more and more like a little boy while he calmly tears him down was very well done. It really gave a sense of how hard and authoritative that character is.

[Envie]

I always felt sorry for Theon (well up until his Winterfell invasion anyways) because his story is such a tragedy from beginning to end. He really didn't have a choice in matters and his Father didn't try to keep in touch with him once he was taken hostage with the Starks. I imagine him feeling very much a 'little boy' as Balon tears him down and its kindof sad honestly. I think he really did want to do the right thing by Robb Stark, but once he started trying to please a Father who no longer wanted him after returning to Pyke, everything seemed to start falling apart for Theon.

I also really love the actor they got for Balon. Spot on portrayal.

[teemo]

I also really love the actor they got for Balon. Spot on portrayal.

So spot-on that it's eerie...I swear that's exactly how I've imagined him forever.

[Fredwin]

So spot-on that it's eerie...I swear that's exactly how I've imagined him forever.

He's pretty damn convincing. I got to say, the one character I feel weird about is not Asha, but Melisandre. I can't quite put a finger on what it is though. She's certainly attractive and has a mystique to her(apparently super important for the female characters). Something is not jiving with how I imagined her though.

[teemo]

dont drink and post

[Methisto]

they changed her name because the actress played a different character with a very similar name on a different show

[lyvyathan]

On a related note - as I don't see a Balon thread here - isn't Balon just the most awesomely adapted character bar none?

I thought Balon was utterly scary looking, exactly like I imagined him to look in the books. The sense of menace, ferocity and pent up hatred that he exuded was just off the scale.

I wish this actor was rather chosen for a more prominent character, like Stannis or someone. He is perfect for the Ice and Fire world.

Oh heck yeah. Seeing Patrick Malahide play Greyjoy was sheer pleasure. Wow! I really loved his acting. Awesome - it makes up for the ridiculous Ros+LF screentime.

[Milcov]

OMG someone finds the actress attractive....someone tell Ghost714!!!

Think they were on about Mel not Asha. But the actress is fine it's the name that bothers me.