Best change in character from book to series?

[HairGrowsBack]

Could you give some examples of these changes please? I never cared enough to notice tbh.

Well iirc a lot of his big scenes (involving Sansa notably) were either cut or had him replaced by another character. Overall, he's much less emotional (him laughing after his fight with Beric instead of crying), sterner and calmer.

[Lady cut throat]

I like Cersei better on screen than in the books (in as much as I love to hate her). I feel like she's more human... certain scenes with Tyrion and even with Sansa. And then she blows it in the next scene by acting like a complete cow. But whatever.

[Bini]

By far, Shireen Baratheon

[Ahri Adaran]

Yeah, shame they couldn't dye her hair though. Makes the emphasis on Baratheon kids always having black hair a bit confused.

[Bini]

Yeah, shame they couldn't dye her hair though. Makes the emphasis on Baratheon kids always having black hair a bit confused.

That was indeed a flaw, the "strong seed", as Jon says, was simply ignored.

[Ilúvatar]

I like Cersei better on screen than in the books (in as much as I love to hate her). I feel like she's more human... certain scenes with Tyrion and even with Sansa. And then she blows it in the next scene by acting like a complete cow. But whatever.

I find book Cersei a lot more interesting. Perhaps more than any other character, I think she suffers from the fact that you can't read her thoughts on screen.

[Sarah Lannister]

I love Stephen Dillane as Stannis. Sometimes I try to imagine a red priestess following him around during his portrayal of Jefferson. Sacrificing Hamilton to the Lord of Light would have been f'ing hilarious.

[Currawong]

I find book Cersei a lot more interesting. Perhaps more than any other character, I think she suffers from the fact that you can't read her thoughts on screen.

But you seem to have forgotten that we do not get any POV from Cersei until AFFC! At the end of Season 3 the show is only partway through ASOS, so how can her character possibly 'suffer' by not being able to read her thoughts on screen, when you can't even read them in the books at this stage?!

[Ilúvatar]

But you seem to have forgotten that we do not get any POV from Cersei until AFFC! At the end of Season 3 the show is only partway through ASOS, so how can her character possibly 'suffer' by not being able to read her thoughts on screen, when you can't even read them in the books at this stage?!

Perhaps I should have said that the TV adaptation will suffer. Having read all the books thus far, I have a habit of judging the TV portrayals based on everything we've experienced of a character in the books to date.

Besides, even though the TV show isn't at AFFC yet, Cersei has had an awful lot of screentime for us to see and judge her personality. I'm expecting more of the same and just can't see her ever being as interesting to me as book Cersei.

[Petyr Patter]

I wrote this list in anticipation of Season 4, so it is based entirely on the first three seasons and the five currently published books. I am not interested in plot changes or name changes, so much as how the character behaves or what the character believes. I also avoided characters given minimal screen time, or no screen time.

Obviously, this list is personal, and I would love to hear different opinions.

I have kept book and show spoilers to a minimum.

11. Sansa Stark. I’m including her for one line in the show and one line only, “Oh wait, I just realized I don't care.” She says this to her septa. Sansa is a "good girl." Perhaps, goody-two-shoes is a better description. She would NEVER mouth off to an authority figure. Indeed, her implicit trust and need to please adult figures in her life such as her father and the queen is part and parcel to her character. Other than that, the show does tend to give her a bit more snark than her book inspiration. “I love lemoncakes!” is about as quotable as she gets in the books.

10. Catelyn Stark nee Tully. In the show, Catelyn is presented as a grieving widow and mother who is forced into the game of thrones when all she wants to do is watch her children grow and be safe. This is also true in the books. However, the books take this attitude to its proper conclusion and often make Catelyn a voice for peace. She realizes vengeance won’t bring back Eddard and war will only endanger the children she has left. The show has her willingly embrace Robb’s quest for justice for his father and brothers, with such lines as “kill them all.”

9. Tyrion Lannister. The show does a good job of capturing Tyrion’s sardonic wit, cleverness, and eye for truth behind public lies. So, he won’t scale to high on this list. However, the show fails to capture his pragmatic approach to morality. He’ll design Bran a saddle, but that doesn’t really cost him anything. He’ll ask Bronn to try to prevent rapes, but no more. When the city starves, he feasts and shrugs at the hopelessness of feeding a million. There is a reason why Martin describes him as his greyest character.

8. Danaerys Targaryen. The show first presents Danaerys as a scared girl who overtime becomes an ambitious, daring, and fearless woman. While there is certainly truth for this in the book, the transition isn’t nearly as complete as presented in the show. She is consistently plagued by doubts about her chosen course of conquest, she even uses this as an act to get enemies to underestimate her. However, she is so horrified by the cruelty built into the slave system, that she decides nothing is wrong in the pursuit of ending said system. A younger, female John Brown. So, instead of an emotional queen who is driven by conflict of doubt of self and absolute certainty of cause, season 3 gives us a stoic and confident Danaerys who acts like she has nothing left to prove. Frankly, the book version is more interesting, and scarier than the unstoppable monolith the show has built up Danaerys to be.

7. Varys. The show has taken Varys’s one line to Eddard Stark, “I serve the realm, somebody must” and based most of his characterization on it. He is typically portrayed as the sensible humanitarian who would rather achieve peace and save lives even as he works hand in hand with the Lannisters who do anything but. However, in the books he is subtler and his motivations far harder to pin down. Admittedly, this means the show didn't have a lot to work with when deciding how to write Varys. However, the fifth book reveals a Varys playing the game of thrones to get his own chosen pretender on the throne, even as it sends Westeros into even more warfare. Varys never tells more than half the truth, and the degree he serves the realm or helps others is doubtful.

6. Littlefinger. George Martin himself says Petyr Baelish changed the most from his mind to the screen. I don’t agree with this, because in both formats the Lord of Harenhall is evil, scheming, immoral, murderous, and abusive to women. However, I will say Baelish in the books would NEVER insult the reigning queen to her face. He is way to smooth an operator and embraces the “everyone’s friend and humble servant” role.

5. Cersei Lannister. In the books Cersei does love her children, and does scheme to have inconvenient people killed. However, the show presents her as a tragic figure who tried to make the best of unideal situations. She is also presented as competent and of above average intelligence. Oh, and self aware. Admittedly, in the first three books one might think she was these things. However, the last two novels made Cersei a Point-of-View Character, and the fog was lifted. If Cersei ever accomplished anything, it was because her last name was Lannister, and the rest of the King's Landing schemers preferred her to remain in power. She shows an utter lack of empathy, is constantly blaming others for her own failings, and utterly no positive traits for readers to identify with. Even her love of her children comes into question as she begins to abuse Tommen for "meekness." I suppose the show writers thought a greyer character would be more interesting, but the destructive to self and others Cersei from the books is a joy to read in her combination of paranoia, arrogance, and shortsightedness.

4. Renly Baratheon. You know, I didn’t even realize Renly was gay in the books? And I had a pretty good idea of who Jon’s mother was before Eddard left Winterfell. Regardless, Renly is presented as a skilled and handsome lord. He is also tall, strong and self-confident. His decision to claim the Iron Throne almost certainly comes out of his own ambition, and not out of Loras convincing him it’s the greater good. He also insults Brienne behind her back. In essence, he is a politician. He does what he does to get people to like him, views all morality as situational, and deep down is not a fundamentally good person. The show, perhaps knowing the tragic turn his story would take, decided to add tragedy by making Renly much more sympathetic.

3. Stannis Baratheon. Of all the characters changed between mediums, this is the one personally upsets me the most. Book Stannis is not a likable guy. He might very well be a high functioning autistic. However, he is RIGHTEOUS, and he is in CHARGE. He embraces R’hollor because Melisandre proved her power and predicted his victory. In other words, a pragmatic choice. He also didn’t realize Melisandre was going to kill Renly with magic, and his own reaction to Renly’s death was sadness that his brother failed to respect his claim. However, the worst changes come during season 3. HBO has him burn unbelievers, needs Davos to convince him not to sacrifice his nephew without proof, changes his mind after one leach ‘worked’ instead of insisting upon all three, requires Melisandre to convince him to go to the Wall, and actually orders Davos’s execution where he was only contemplating it in the book. So, they got unlikable right, and got the fact he is a scary individual. However, they show him as a follower of Melisandre, not the other way around, and somebody only partially concerned with the "right thing do it." They also show him as a true believer of R'hollor, as oppose to a suspicious convert.

2. Mrs. Robb Stark. This represents one character being completely removed for another, different character. They serve the same function in terms of narrative, a woman Robb marries in spite of his vow to wed a Frey of the Twins. However, in the books Robb marries Jeyne Westerling, the daughter of Gawen Westerling… one of Tywin Lannisters bannerman. Robb does so not for love, but because he slept with her while occupying their family’s castle (it was consensual). Not being a virgin before marriage is a big deal for the nobility, and Robb felt honor bound to marry her after bedding her. She doesn’t get much screen time, but mostly comes across as a very nice girl who wants to make her surprise husband very happy. She isn’t from a foreign land, certainly isn’t a nurse, never becomes pregnant, and perhaps most interestingly is still alive. In other words, a completely different character than Talisa Maegyr. Who could possibly have undergone a more significant transition between mediums?

1. Shae. Shae is introduced in the first novel as a young, pretty, and verbally gifted whore. It is also apparent that she develops her relationship to Tyrion for the money, gifts, and lifestyle. Fortunately or unfortunately, she is so good at “girlfriend experience” that Tyrion does fall in love with her. However, the show has presented Shae as older, experienced, world-weary, and legitimately returns Tyrion’s love for her. So much, that she refuses wealth for the chance to continue their relationship. Shae from the books was after the money and the lifestyle, not Tyrion himself. Then she has a big sister relationship with Sansa compared to her “insolent” looks to Sansa in the books. In the show, Shae also pulls a Mediterranean angry woman act on Tyrion when he suggests she hide their relationship or work a manual labor job. The book Shae plays Tyrion by always using soft persuasion and protest, typically accompanied by sex. In fact, the only thing these two characters have in common is both are prostitutes and Tyrion falls in love with them.

[Khal Porno]

I'm confused, you wrote all that as if these are negatives, but this thread is about the BEST changes. Are you saying you liked these things or is this yet another list of people hating on the writers' choices?

[Petyr Patter]

I'm confused, you wrote all that as if these are negatives, but this thread is about the BEST changes. Are you saying you liked these things or is this yet another list of people hating on the writers' choices?

Well, the intention was to start a new thread, but the moderator said it had to go into an existing thread, so, not much else I could do.

Hmmm... Is suppose the list does come off as negative, though it was mostly my intention to highlight, DIFFERENT, and avoid value judgements like better or worse.

[Ser Desmond Wine's Bane]

Well, the intention was to start a new thread, but the moderator said it had to go into an existing thread, so, not much else I could do.

Hmmm... Is suppose the list does come off as negative, though it was mostly my intention to highlight, DIFFERENT, and avoid value judgements like better or worse.

Its a pretty darn good list nonetheless. One I have kind liked is the softening of Cersei a bit... or I did like it early on. In the books I felt she was perhaps a bit too one-dimensional. A bit softer in the show has worked for me but I accept that many may find the whitewashing went too far. Either way the 'Please don't make me do it again Father" was a home run moment in the show.

[DurararaFTW]

I wrote this list in anticipation of Season 4, so it is based entirely on the first three seasons and the five currently published books. I am not interested in plot changes or name changes, so much as how the character behaves or what the character believes. I also avoided characters given minimal screen time, or no screen time.

Obviously, this list is personal, and I would love to hear different opinions.

I have kept book and show spoilers to a minimum.

11. Sansa Stark. I’m including her for one line in the show and one line only, “Oh wait, I just realized I don't care.” She says this to her septa. Sansa is a "good girl." Perhaps, goody-two-shoes is a better description. She would NEVER mouth off to an authority figure. Indeed, her implicit trust and need to please adult figures in her life such as her father and the queen is part and parcel to her character. Other than that, the show does tend to give her a bit more snark than her book inspiration. “I love lemoncakes!” is about as quotable as she gets in the books.

Book Sansa had a pretty nice take down of Renly in Book 1 tho.

[Guard of the Rainking]

Better: Tywin, Roose, Sandor, Jorah, Davos, Sam, Margaery, Olenna and Varys.

Worse: Edmure, Brynden, Stannis, Robb, Littlefinger and Styr.

[SlowLoras]

Jorah. I warm much more to his character on the show - I never had an issue with him being in love with Daenerys, except for when he began to act upon it. I'm actually quite glad that hasn't happened so far - Jorah's taking his "friendzoning" much more gracefully.

Shae's one redeeming feature is that the actress who plays her is stunningly beautiful, thus reducing my irritation at her presence somewhat.

Brienne comes across as less whiny on the series, although granted we see her through Jaime's eyes (I'm yet to encounter her as a POV character, which I expect will happen soon.) She's a legit badass in both, though.

Renly feels much more fleshed-out on the show, in part due to expanding upon his relationship with Loras. There's a certain vulnerability to him in his interactions with him and Margaery which makes him seem a lot more human (and therefore fragile, making his death - for me, anyway - a bit more tragic than just a story event.)

[Annara Snow]

2. Mrs. Robb Stark. This represents one character being completely removed for another, different character. They serve the same function in terms of narrative, a woman Robb marries in spite of his vow to wed a Frey of the Twins. However, in the books Robb marries Jeyne Westerling, the daughter of Gawen Westerling… one of Tywin Lannisters bannerman. Robb does so not for love, but because he slept with her while occupying their family’s castle (it was consensual). Not being a virgin before marriage is a big deal for the nobility, and Robb felt honor bound to marry her after bedding her. She doesn’t get much screen time, but mostly comes across as a very nice girl who wants to make her surprise husband very happy. She isn’t from a foreign land, certainly isn’t a nurse, never becomes pregnant, and perhaps most interestingly is still alive. In other words, a completely different character than Talisa Maegyr. Who could possibly have undergone a more significant transition between mediums?

So, you think Robb was lying whenever he talked to Cat about his love for Jeyne, and when he told the Freys he married Jeyne because he loved her, but he only told the truth when he told Cat he had to marry her because he had slept with her?

As for the lack of virginity being a big thing for the noblemen... yeah, that must be why Amerei Frey can't find a husband, and why Tywin wasn't able to get a prestigious marriage for Cersei. Oh, wait...

[HouseHarrison]

The show has undoubtedly made Cersei more sympathetic, which I think is great for the character given her future.

[Annara Snow]

11. Sansa Stark. I’m including her for one line in the show and one line only, “Oh wait, I just realized I don't care.” She says this to her septa. Sansa is a "good girl." Perhaps, goody-two-shoes is a better description. She would NEVER mouth off to an authority figure. Indeed, her implicit trust and need to please adult figures in her life such as her father and the queen is part and parcel to her character. Other than that, the show does tend to give her a bit more snark than her book inspiration. “I love lemoncakes!” is about as quotable as she gets in the books.

"After my name day feast, I’m going to raise a host and kill your brother myself. That’s what I’ll give you, Lady Sansa. Your brother’s head.”"

"Maybe my brother will give me your head."

"On my honor as a Lannister, I will not touch you until you want me to."

"And what if I never want you, my lord?"

"Harrenhal has withered every hand to touch it."

"Then give it to Lord Frey."

Just limited to the lines she speaks aloud, there are lots of good quotes in her thoughts that she's not foolish enough to tell people openly.

[Daemon Dagoghlor]

I pretty much agree with Petyr Patter in his analysis of characters. I dislike alot of the translations for the exact reasons that most people like them. Tywin being an unapologetic asshole is a major part of his character, his beloved wife died and all the joy in Tywin's life died with her. Now it is his mission in life to ensure the dominance of his family. Female characters like Catelyn and Cersei are much more sympathetic in the show, which feels like pandering to the female audience, and everything has a modern slant, such as Margaery basically telling Sansa that she's already fucked a bunch of dudes.

A big one for me is Brienne. The fact that she is so sheltered and innocent and has such a romantic view of knighthood and chivalry is a huge part of her character in the books. She kills for the first time very late in the series and, even though it's three guys who obviously had it coming, it has a big impact on her outlook. Compare that to the show where she is a stone cold killer from the get go, in addition to being a much stronger warrior. There's no denying that book Brienne is a skilled fighter, but in the show she defeats Loras no problem and pretty much swats Jaime like a fly. In the show she kills the two nameless Kingsguard knights in Renly's tent without hesitation, even though they had every reason to believe she had killed him, and when she fights the three Stark soldiers who recognize Jaime she murders one in cold blood. Brienne in the books would never dream of doing either of those things.