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[Book Spoilers] Project: Screen-time of Characters


teemo

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I admit that number seemed a little off to me too, so I am going to go back and check it later tonight when I add in the Hound, Sam, Gendry, etc. It's possible though, because while going through it I remember she was in a lot a scenes, but they were all very short (around 1:30 each). Kind of surprised me how little I was jotting down her screen-time. I think her presence is always very memorable though, which could make it seem like she's in it more than she actually is. Could be a miscalculation, however. It does seem very low for Cersei.

Tywin also may be a good one to do, right now he hasn't done much but it would save you having to go back if he's important later in the season

You're absolutely correct. Added to the list. Thank you.

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This Ros fixation by people on the forum is getting ridiculous.

No, it's really not. There's a good reason pretty much everyone hates the character and D&D's retarded fanfiction.

This data is proof that this is not the "Ros Show", despite the moaning that indicates that. Just for an example, some have been complaining that Dany has virtually no screen time this season. Well, guess what. She has far more than Ros. Get over it.

Far more? She has 3 minutes more (so far) and she is a MAJOR POV CHARACTER whereas Ros was made up. Sansa is also a POV character and she has only 30 seconds more! And then there's Bran's story, completely gutted, and despite being a POV, has less screen time than Ros. People are right to think this is stupid, and to hope that this trend for the first four episode isn't representative of the whole season.
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It's not D&D's fault that some are not understanding the nature of her character. She is part expositional device, part a composite of several whore (& lowborn) characters. There is a method to their "madness".

This is not the books. It is an adaptation of the book, that is not following the POV structure of the book. That alone will throw off the character presence timings compared to the book. And due to adaption choices and economies of casting, some composite characters will be created. I think that we'll have a much better sense of how this will hold together at the end of the season. Just the books have varying amounts of the characters (not an even distribution of chapters per POV), some storylines will ebb and flow throughout the season. Renly and the Tyrells are going away for a while after the next episode. Bran & Dany will get more screen time.

HK47,

Thanks BTW for this effort - it is very interesting data. Any possibility of doing the same for season 1? :cool4: (I know it must be a crapload of work)

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Thanks a lot for the stats OP.

Anyway... Sansa. What is she supposed to do? Sit around and cry and be abused? Her time to shine will be later in the season and during the Battle of the Blackwater.

Bran... Listen to boring old bannermen complain about their disrepaired castles? They didn't cast the Reeds so there isn't anything for him to do. Wait for Theon Turncloak to show up.

These stats after episode 20 will appease you guys I'm sure.

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HK47,

Thanks BTW for this effort - it is very interesting data. Any possibility of doing the same for season 1? :cool4: (I know it must be a crapload of work)

Glad you like it :) I've been thinking about doing that, actually. I get a one day summer break, maybe I'll try it then.

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It's not D&D's fault that some are not understanding the nature of her character. She is part expositional device, part a composite of several whore (& lowborn) characters. There is a method to their "madness".

This is not the books. It is an adaptation of the book, that is not following the POV structure of the book. That alone will throw off the character presence timings compared to the book. And due to adaption choices and economies of casting, some composite characters will be created. I think that we'll have a much better sense of how this will hold together at the end of the season. Just the books have varying amounts of the characters (not an even distribution of chapters per POV), some storylines will ebb and flow throughout the season. Renly and the Tyrells are going away for a while after the next episode. Bran & Dany will get more screen time.

But the thing for me is that, to this point, Ros hasn't been used as an expositional device to show us anything we don't already know. In the Joff scene we learn nothing new, we already get it he's a bad dude. I guess you can say we learned he's a sexual sadist but I don't see the need to spend five minutes to add another bad point to a guy that already has tons of them. In a series mostly full of grey characters they don't need to do everything they can to show how bad he is. Besides that the Sansa beating scene gave insight into the fact Joff is a sadist.

In her littlefinger scene we once again learned nothing we didn't already know. So Littlefinger is ruthless, the show already showed this in his betrayal of Ned in a much more impactful and emotional way. Sometimes I feel like they are just trying to prove Ros can be in a scene with her clothes left on just to prove a point that she's a good actress or something this season. She had value last season for exposition but as the story grows and the number of characters increase she has become a waste of space. And for those who say Bran has nothing to do with the Reeds cut, well without Ros they could afford to keep the Reeds in it and start exploring his ability to warg and green seer. Or they could add Sansa-Hound scenes or Sansa-Dontos etc, just streamlining her storyline rather than rushing it when everything else is happening in the last 6 episodes.

It's true I'd rather a show with Ros in it than no show at all but that doesn't mean I can't discuss what I think would improve the show. Especially when my favourite character, Bran, has seen his storyline destroyed.

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But the thing for me is that, to this point, Ros hasn't been used as an expositional device to show us anything we don't already know. In the Joff scene we learn nothing new, we already get it he's a bad dude. I guess you can say we learned he's a sexual sadist but I don't see the need to spend five minutes to add another bad point to a guy that already has tons of them. In a series mostly full of grey characters they don't need to do everything they can to show how bad he is. Besides that the Sansa beating scene gave insight into the fact Joff is a sadist.

In her littlefinger scene we once again learned nothing we didn't already know. So Littlefinger is ruthless, the show already showed this in his betrayal of Ned in a much more impactful and emotional way. Sometimes I feel like they are just trying to prove Ros can be in a scene with her clothes left on just to prove a point that she's a good actress or something this season. She had value last season for exposition but as the story grows and the number of characters increase she has become a waste of space.

As you note, the "Ros scenes" are never about Ros herself. Let's examine her appearances this season:

Episode 1: This scene was a segue into the brothel baby slaughter.

Episode 2: Her scene had two purposes... A) To show how cruel LF can be and B ) to show that the life of whores are far from happy (a legit criticism for season 1 IMO)

Episode 3: No scene, correct?

Episode 4: This is all about Joffrey. Does he need more evidence that he is a villain? Perhaps not. BUT there are several instances of Joffrey sadism/brutality that the show has NOT show, and they did not go as far with Sansa as in the book. So I think this scene has two purposes to illustrate what Joffrey is thinking:

- 1. As an outlet for his frustration. He was not allowed to "finish" with Sansa, so he is taking out his frustration on the whores. This also shows us partially what *could* have happened to Sansa.

- 2. To show that Joffrey is starting to fight back against Tyrion. He is sending a deliberate message to Tyrion.

Are the Ros scenes perfect? Oh no. Some are very awkward. But they serve a better function this season, IMO.

And for those who say Bran has nothing to do with the Reeds cut, well without Ros they could afford to keep the Reeds in it and start exploring his ability to warg and green seer. Or they could add Sansa-Hound scenes or Sansa-Dontos etc, just streamlining her storyline rather than rushing it when everything else is happening in the last 6 episodes

But they *have* explored Bran's warging. Two scenes already this season. More will undoubtedly come. And Bryan Cogman has assured us in interviews that Sansa/Sandor and Sansa/Dontos scenes are coming.

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Exactly, her character adds nothing worthwhile. The only time I wasn't annoyed at seeing her was her first appearance with Tyrion, and the bastard purge scene.

Also, somewhat related to that, "sexposition" is a retarded concept. Does anyone really pay attention to what is being said when there is explicit nudity and loud moaning sex noises going on? Seriously, I dare any non-reader to summarize the gist of Littlefinger's rant, or her conversation with Theon (a non-reader from another forum is STILL not clear about what was Theon's situation with the Starks...), or what Doreah was talking about with Viserys (I bet you'd hear "something-something dragons" if you asked a casual viewer), or hell even the dialogue between Renly and Loras (not really a sex scene but I bet everyone focused about "oh wow they're gay??" rather than pay attention to what Loras said about his family, about the crown, etc. -- actually I'll take that bet, "omg gay people" was pretty much the only thing people retained from that scene >_<). A sex scene is the worst possible way to provide exposition or world-building, really.

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Alright, I fixed Cersei (was under by 4 minutes) and added the following characters:

Sandor Clegane/the Hound

Samwell Tarly

Balon Greyjoy

Gendry

Tywin Lannister

Xaro Xhoan Daxos

I had the exact number of Gendry's lines, and then I did something really dumb and deleted it by mistake :bang:

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Doing a running total of screen time is a little misleading, especially so early in the season. There are now so many characters and storylines that it is quite impossible to follow them all in any one episode, so in adapting the story and putting into meaningful format for TV, D&D are obviously focusing on a particular theme each episode, or else concentrating on parallel story lines from only a few characters.

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:bang: Really? Really? Lets add up some more minor characters - Oh NO their time is more than a major character. SHOCKING.

This Ros fixation by people on the forum is getting ridiculous. This data is proof that this is not the "Ros Show", despite the moaning that indicates that. Just for an example, some have been complaining that Dany has virtually no screen time this season. Well, guess what. She has far more than Ros. Get over it.

This is so true, thanks.

Bye the way, you can say you dont like a character, but you dident have do go berserker-mode, like the most of the people here, when it comes to those two.

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I can absolutely understand if people don’t like Ros or her scenes, but if you removed her from the show it wouldn’t open up more screen time for Arya or enable the possibility of a Ramsay.

Like someone else said, her scenes are never about her, if there was no Ros D&D would still use that screen time on LF or Joffrey or whoever is part of her scenes as it is now. You may think they overdo Joffrey’s brutality but the people in charge obviously don’t so the beating of whores scene would have been in the show somehow, with our without Ros.

There is a lot of things Im starting to dislike about the show, some of it which I can’t understand for the love of good, but it’s easy to see why they have the Ros character and personally I don’t mind it even tho her scenes usually are boring thanks to the exposition nature of them.

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As you note, the "Ros scenes" are never about Ros herself. Let's examine her appearances this season:

Episode 1: This scene was a segue into the brothel baby slaughter.

I agree about this scene it did segue into an important sequence.

All the rest are really such trivial additions to the story that they add nothing.

Funny thing is I like Esmé Bianco. I thought she had been hired because she was some unknown actress who would do nude scenes. While not a major , she has done a fair about of movie and TV work.

D&D have said they liked her, and I thought her sexposition scenes the first season served some purpose.

I have now come to think of her is a good actress, but alas, D&D can't seem to fit her into the story , most of the time, so there is plot advancement, and that is a a problem when one has limited time per episode.

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Alright, I fixed Cersei (was under by 4 minutes) and added the following characters:

Sandor Clegane/the Hound

Samwell Tarly

Balon Greyjoy

Gendry

Tywin Lannister

Xaro Xhoan Daxos

I had the exact number of Gendry's lines, and then I did something really dumb and deleted it by mistake :bang:

Balon and Samwell are both under 8minutes, but they sure have done well with that time. I could listen to Balon all day long so I wish his character were featured more. His voice....it is heavenly. I like his face and eyes too, really nice :-)

Sam is always great, the actor who plays him just manages to convey genuine kindness with such ease.

I actually hadn't noticed that Gendry had little dialogue compared to his onscreen time. He's great though.

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As you note, the "Ros scenes" are never about Ros herself. Let's examine her appearances this season:

Episode 1: This scene was a segue into the brothel baby slaughter.

Episode 2: Her scene had two purposes... A) To show how cruel LF can be and B ) to show that the life of whores are far from happy (a legit criticism for season 1 IMO)

Episode 3: No scene, correct?

Episode 4: This is all about Joffrey. Does he need more evidence that he is a villain? Perhaps not. BUT there are several instances of Joffrey sadism/brutality that the show has NOT show, and they did not go as far with Sansa as in the book. So I think this scene has two purposes to illustrate what Joffrey is thinking:

- 1. As an outlet for his frustration. He was not allowed to "finish" with Sansa, so he is taking out his frustration on the whores. This also shows us partially what *could* have happened to Sansa.

- 2. To show that Joffrey is starting to fight back against Tyrion. He is sending a deliberate message to Tyrion.

Are the Ros scenes perfect? Oh no. Some are very awkward. But they serve a better function this season, IMO.

But they *have* explored Bran's warging. Two scenes already this season. More will undoubtedly come. And Bryan Cogman has assured us in interviews that Sansa/Sandor and Sansa/Dontos scenes are coming.

I can think of quote a bit more than could have been accomplished with those scenes than retreads. You can show Joff fighting back against Tyrion in a 5 second blurb in a scene like the Sansa punishment scene.

Prior to the Ros scene last episode. My wife already said, "That actor is perfect for playing a little ungrateful psycho shit!". Point was taken about Joff LAST season. It's ridiculous, and they've been heaping more of Cersei's psychotic behavior on to Joff already this season. It's enough.

Littlefinger's scene could have been deleted for something more developmental on the greyjoys/protecting of kings landing (chain/wildfire)/wall/stannis as well.

Obviously Baelish is ruthless, we have known he's a pimp for about 10 episodes so far. How many pimps are nice people?

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Exactly, her character adds nothing worthwhile. The only time I wasn't annoyed at seeing her was her first appearance with Tyrion, and the bastard purge scene.

Also, somewhat related to that, "sexposition" is a retarded concept. Does anyone really pay attention to what is being said when there is explicit nudity and loud moaning sex noises going on? Seriously, I dare any non-reader to summarize the gist of Littlefinger's rant, or her conversation with Theon (a non-reader from another forum is STILL not clear about what was Theon's situation with the Starks...), or what Doreah was talking about with Viserys (I bet you'd hear "something-something dragons" if you asked a casual viewer), or hell even the dialogue between Renly and Loras (not really a sex scene but I bet everyone focused about "oh wow they're gay??" rather than pay attention to what Loras said about his family, about the crown, etc. -- actually I'll take that bet, "omg gay people" was pretty much the only thing people retained from that scene >_<). A sex scene is the worst possible way to provide exposition or world-building, really.

This matches my observations with friends quite well. They miss what is being talked about. The Theon sex scene especially. They ignored Pycelle as they want to think about him having sex.

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:bang: Really? Really? Lets add up some more minor characters - Oh NO their time is more than a major character. SHOCKING.

This Ros fixation by people on the forum is getting ridiculous. This data is proof that this is not the "Ros Show", despite the moaning that indicates that. Just for an example, some have been complaining that Dany has virtually no screen time this season. Well, guess what. She has far more than Ros. Get over it.

It is shocking actually. There are so many more major characters in the show that have to be developed and characters that have been cut from this season, and this time is given to Ros, a made up character.

People have already made great points about why the time with her is wasted, so I won't retread it, but it is clear that too much time is spent on her, and it is really sad.

Lol..so 3 minutes more is far more? And her having more time than Bran Stark or all the other characters below her isn't a joke? I am going to have to disagree with you there.

Has anyone ever said it's the "Ros show"?

Lastly, no..I won't get over it, and I am allowed to comment on her screen time and presence so far.

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