Season 2 Over. Best/Worst NEW casting?

[Baelor Blackfyre]

Best: Ygritte. Most of the new cast was great, but in this case the actor made me like a character I didn't really care for in the books. Book Ygritte was kind of annoying, but show Ygritte was awesome. I can't wait to see more of her interactions with Jon Snow in S3.

Worst: Asha. Gemma is just not the Asha I have pictured in my head. She doesn't look like her, and she doesn't act like her. She was way too serious and sullen on the show, not funny at all. She doesn't play much of a role in the next two seasons, unless D&D shuffle some stuff around that is. I can't say I'll miss her that much.

These are my best and worst too. I personally love Ygritte and man Rose Leslie has not only met my already high expectations of how Ygritte should be played, but has ran away with them as well. She really is knocking it out of the park. Perfect casting.

And I pretty much agree with everything that has been said about Asha's portrayal. The only scene I liked of her all season was the sentimental one with Theon when she said "don't die so far from the sea". Great scene and good acting, and while Asha is a charismatic, witty, and outgoing woman she can also be very serious and down to earth. But not in every freakin scene. I don't understand why she is being portrayed in such a restraining manner.

It makes me thing of Ygritte, nobody wants to see a serious and solemn Ygritte all the time. We want the flirty and funny one all the time, with occasional moments of seriousness.

[Arkash]

I must be the only one who enjoy Yara Greyjoy. Not the Asha of the books, but interesting.

And it saddens me to say I do not like Ian Whyte's Gregor... He could have another role: a tall warrior anywhere, he'd be good at, but he doesnt have what it takes to be the Mountain, not fierce and brutal enough... too nice... Conan Stevens was perfect.

But I want Ian Whyte in the show, but much more as someone like Lemoncloack, or a wildling, or anything else...

[Thunderfist]

My favourites are

Balon Greyjoy - Patrick Malahyde

Jaqen H'ghar - Tom Wlaschiha

Least favourite is probably

Asha, Xaro and The Mountain 2.0

[Long Claw]

It was top quality casting but if I had to pick a favourite,it would be Liam Cunnigham.He was incredibly human and I also loved the way he handled the wit,that I think was added to the TV character.Then again everyone's performance was stellar,so maybe I'm biased since Davos is my favourite new character.

Dilane's Stannis was cold and stern."Calmer" than I had imagined him,but still great and made me root for him earlier than in the books.

Van Houten's Melisandre was very mysterious and ominous.

Patrick Malahide WAS ironborn and he captivated me with just three scenes...

Wlaschiha's Jaqen was both charming and creepy.

But I seriously didn't dislike any performance,it was just that there were so many characters and storylines that not every actor got an equal chance to shine.

[boojam]

And it saddens me to say I do not like Ian Whyte's Gregor... He could have another role: a tall warrior anywhere, he'd be good at, but he doesnt have what it takes to be the Mountain, not fierce and brutal enough... too nice... Conan Stevens was perfect.

I have to say one of the most confounding things this season is the insistence on have Gregor on screen at all this season.

Gregor's appearance in the novel is brief ... easiest thing in work to take him off screen and just speak of him in the dialog.

Poor Whyte looked as if not only was he hiding from the camera, but episode director's seemed to be trying for camera angles that hid him!

I don't think I have seen one positive comment about Whyte as Gregor this season.

He makes a great White Walker.

[Dacie]

Best:

Gwendoline Christie as Brienne

Liam Cunningham as Davos

Stephen Dillane as Stannis

Worst:

Robert Pugh as Craster

The guy who replaced the Mountain

I didn't care for Oona Chaplin as Talisa, but that is more because I didn't really like the character or story line in general, not really because anything she did or didn't do.

I am also in the camp that thinks Gemma Whelan did a fine job as Asha/Yara.

[DurararaFTW]

I don't think I have seen one positive comment about Whyte as Gregor this season.

He has a great voice. On the other hand his lines makes me see him as a full-on reimagining of his character rather then a recast but still.

[Khal Pono]

He has a great voice. On the other hand his lines makes me see him as a full-on reimagining of his character rather then a recast but still.

Early in this thread, I mentioned that my sister called him "handsome" but that's more a compliment to the actor than to his performance

[Bride of Winter]

for my personal favorites, I think its' a toss up between Rose Leslie's Ygritte (I loved her in the series and don't have the slightest complaint about what could have been done differently on the show) and Stephen Dillane's Stannis (who I never liked until ADWD, but he's easily already one of my favorites in the show)

some more of the best, IMO:

The guy who plays dolorous Edd is all kinds of fantastic. exactly how I pictured him.

I love Carice as Melisandre and even Natalie as Margaery, even though I wish they would give her a wig that didn't look like a mop.

The actor who plays Roose is perfect for the role. I think people who dislike him don't always realize that he has to be toned down a little for television, and it worked out really well.

[Knight]

I must be the only one who enjoy Yara Greyjoy. Not the Asha of the books, but interesting.

And it saddens me to say I do not like Ian Whyte's Gregor... He could have another role: a tall warrior anywhere, he'd be good at, but he doesnt have what it takes to be the Mountain, not fierce and brutal enough... too nice... Conan Stevens was perfect.

I agree with you completely - I think the actress playing Yara/Asha does an excellent job in portraying the Iron Islands mentality.

Same for the recast of the Mountain. Somebody on the forum pointed out that the 'tall Lannister guard' who picked the prisoners for interrogation by the Tickler was supposed to be the Mountain - I cringed when I rewatched that scene. Apart from my impression that he is not scary at all, I regret that he does not even portray a sense of...wickedness. I mean, the Mountain is supposed to have these headaches, causing his brute and abnormal behavior. The new Mountain ain't really doing it for me.

[Black Betha]

I actually think the show-Yara is an improvement to the book-Asha. Asha is basically as Mary Sue as you can get in ASoIaF, while this Yara seems a lot more like a real person. She's grim like the Iron Islands, but can be witty or gentle too. And the Gemma Whelan is charismatic as hell (how can you miss that??) so I have no problem seeing all those men following her. Had they portrayed her as an ever-cheerful Mary Sue, it would have ruined her credibility.

I liked her, but I pretty much liked everybody else too. It took me a while to be won over by Stephen Dillane and Gwendoline Christie despite some brilliance already early on, but they had such great scenes in the last few epidoses I can't really wait for season 3! Carice Van Houten makes Melisandre annoyingly likeable, and Natalie Dormer is stunning as Margaery (even though quite different from the books). I quite like Liam Cunningham as Davos and Ian McElhatton as Roose Bolton but I've had such high expectations of those characters that I can't really say I'm completely convinved yet (Davos is too old and cranky and Roose is not creepy enough). Patrick Malahide as Balon Greyjoy was so cool and I wish we'd seen more of him!

I liked Rose Leslie as Ygritte (what a wonderful pair she makes with Kit Harington's Jon Snow!) although she is definitely too pretty. Gilly was fine, Craster and Qhorin Halfhand were nothing special (the latter was mostly poorly written, if you ask me). Talisa/Jeyne was well acted and the actress is very pretty, but the chracter is still a bit meh. Jaqen and Dolorous Edd were both well casted, and so was Podrick. Pyat Pree was the creepiest ever, Xaro Xhoan Daxos not so good.

Well, I guess the only one I didn't like at all was the new mountain. Hope he gets a lot of prepping for next season or that they get Conan Stevens back!

[Giskard Reventlov]

I actually think the show-Yara is an improvement to the book-Asha. Asha is basically as Mary Sue as you can get in ASoIaF, while this Yara seems a lot more like a real person. She's grim like the Iron Islands, but can be witty or gentle too. And the Gemma Whelan is charismatic as hell (how can you miss that??) so I have no problem seeing all those men following her. Had the protrayed her as an ever-cheerful Mary Sue, it would have ruined her credibility.

Problem with Yara/Gema is not that she is grim but that she is lifeless, charmless, bland..etc and Gema Whelan has to be the least charismatic actor I have ever seen. Yara looks like a school bully at best.

Asha is definitely not ever-cheerful but fierce and charismatic and leader of men. Who would follow that cheerless, grey-faced woman they made of her character in the GoT ?

[Elrond Hubbard]

Best - Gwendoline Christie as Brienne

Worst - Ian Whyte as Gregor Clegane

[Chelly]

For me the best are:

Patrick Malahide as Balon Greyjoy. He really altered my view of the character and this man really portrayed the ironborn so well.

Natalie Dormer as Margaery Tyrell. I never cared about Marg in the books, but Natalie is rocking in this role. Not what I was expecting, but pleasantly surprised nonetheless.

Liam Cunningham as Davos Seaworth. This man is so good and he is exactly like Davos in the books. In this case, for me, is a very good thing.

Tom Wlashicha as Jaqen. He really embodied Jaqen and Jaqen, imo, is not an easy character to portray. He is totally shrouded in mystery and there is very little knowledge about him, but Tom was so amazing and captivating in this role. He was seductive, soothing, sort of creepy, eccentric, scary, and dangerous all rolled into one. This is how I view Jaqen in the books and he really brought Jaqen too life.

I'm not sure if there is any bad casting acting wise. I guess Craster is not what I imagined in my mind, but the actor played Craster really well.

[l3ol3o]

I agree with most of the previous posters: I wasn't all too impressed with Asha

Although - and I'm sure many will be quite to her defense - I was not impressed with Oona Chaplin as Talisa either.

I didn't like Talisa at all, mainly because it was so different from the books and changed Robs character too much I think. In the book her took the maidenhead of a highborn woman so he married her so she wouldn't be dishonored. TV show changed this a alot.

I agree with you on Asha too. When I heard who they cast for her I looked her up on google and was happy with the choice. She looked much different in the show though. Asha was one of my favorite book characters but I can careless about her. Friends that watch the show but haven't read the book don't even know her name.

[Chaircat Meow]

Casting beyond the Wall.

Craster was terrible. He needed to look wild but instead he looked as though he just popped in from the local tavern.

Gilly was very well cast though, poor thing does look a bit inbred with her boogly eyes and her big teeth. Attractive though.

Qhorin Halfhand was not especially good casting either, he needed to be tall and dignified although it was the lousy writing that really killed his character.

Dolorous Edd was good although I have no idea what he looked like from the books.

Show Ygritte obviously looks nothing like book Ygritte (which I guess was inevitable) and she seems like a different character anyway. I preferred book Ygritte because HBO's version seems an uninteresting cliche. It doesn't help that her dialogue sounds like it was penned by a fourteen year old afflicted with chronic masturbation.

[Vandalism]

Asha Greyjoy being played by Gemma Whelan was a mistake. Sorry, but the actress is not in the least bit attractive and more importantly lacks the persona Asha is supposed to have. She looks sullen.

Craster was badly done. Could they seriously not make him appear rougher and less clean shaven and organized? He's a wildling.

[dni]

Best

Davos: He's exactly how i pictured Davos while reading, i could of ran into this guy in character on the street and been like, "hey.. you really remind me of this character from a book I read." Fits the character that well

Ygritte: I really enjoyed rose leslie's ygritte, she might be a bit pretty for the part but I don't mind. Had good chemistry on screen with Jon too so I'll be looking forward to those two next season.

Margarey: Liked this actor a lot too, i didn't really pay much attention to Marg in the books, mostly because she seemed young and her grandma was more interesting but it's nice that she's actually useful in the show.

Good

Brienne

Melisandre

Bad

Yara: I agree with people's comments, she was too gloomy, didn't have that swashbuckling pirate feel of book Asha

Stannis: This guy was allll over the place, I always pictured Stannis as a grim but determined guy, he's a very grey character in that he's very law and order, but what he's willing to do in pursuit of law and order is shadow baby scary. As far as expression i expected a lot of control from Stannis, a lot might be going on under the surface but i pictured him having an iron grip on all of that, maybe some teeth grinding, a lot of tension, stress etc. but a fairly even keel throughout... not too much overt emotion, he's a strategist after all. In the show he couldn't make up his mind though, he came off as tense, then timid, then he'd randomly be charging the walls of KL and fighting like legolas, next episode he's choking a bitch... He came off as pouty alot of the time and not as a strong leader, just a pouty brooding child adult with some really strong and determined supporting characters.

edit: not sure what's worse... forgetting Talisa or remembering... anyways... Tallisa: you're in a medieval fantasy world... this is not a college campus, there is no green peace or amnesty international or w/e. Just wandering around a warzone by yourself would get you raped instantly in the books... making small talk and flirting with Kings in the middle of camp? Not believable at all. She'd have to be some total secret bad ass or faceless man or something.

[Gandalf the Grey]

Balon was exactly as I imagined him...you have to think of Asha as a whole different character. I thought Ygritte was very good and Brienne was excellent. Talisa made me want to puke. But I can see why she was added in. For people who hadn't read the books her character might seem interesting, although I thought she was just a boring cliche. It also leaves one less thing to worry about when they're filming a Storm of Swords.

I thought Pyat Pree was very good. Stannis wasn't how I imagined him, but I think was still quite good.

[Ser Elfor the Landstander]

I'm surprised so many people liked Yara (I won't insult Asha by using the same name). One of my favorite characters was destroyed by Gemma Whelan's performance. I'm not sure who's to blame (producers, director, actress?), but that was not Asha.

And Liam Cunningham's Davos was just perfect. Even better than the image I had in my head.

Honorable mention to Rose Leslie's Ygritte. I'm looking forward to her scenes in season 3.