Did the show subconsciously or otherwise influence your opinion/project itself onto the books for you?

[StannisBamfatheon]

I admit I only discovered ASOIAF through Game of thrones...but thankfully I discovered the series all the same. However the show already kind of preconditioned me on certain characters. One of them was King Robert. I admit Mark Addy was delightful as Robert, breast plate stretcher, black berry jam, Bow you shits, I thought everything he said was comedic gold. I also thought these funny scenes were contrasted well with the more melancholic moments such as "She belonged with me" in Lyanna's tomb and his deathbed where he pleads with Ned to help his son and call off the assassination of Daenerys.

So when I read AGOT I already had a positive opinion of King Bob and it just kinda stayed that way. In turn when I got on the board I was totally shocked to see how many people didn't like him. I thought we were talking about different characters or something. Now having been here for awhile I totally get why theres dislike. But did anyone else encounter this, willing or no, the show shaping characters/events for them and being genuinelly surprised when other fans of the books saw them differently?

Another one would be show Jorah, I would watch a spin-off starring Iain Glen. His voice is like the sound of wisdom.

[Frey Pentos]

I find it impossible to think of Tyrion now without seeing Peter Dinklage.

[assjfjgjsgjljljglgjfjsduar]

Iain Glen is far more fetching than I ever would've pictured Jorah.

And yes, it's impossible to read Tyrion without seein Dinklage.

[Été]

Well, Varys simply is Conleth Hill now. And the preposterously magnetic Harry Lloyd has actually made Viserys somewhat charismatic in my head-canon.

Also, I always had trouble visualising the sheer scale of the Wall, so GoT has helped with that.

[Pod The Impaler]

It did, definitely. Aside from seeing Tyrion as looking like Dinklage, this is true with regard to many other characters for me.

Example: Arya Stark / Maisie Williams.

A more complex example:

Renly. In the books he's portrayed as much more of a big strong guy, a younger Robert. The show had him smaller and more submissive with regard to Loras. Then again, in the show Loras and Renly seem closer in age than in the books too.

I find this is true for 1st season characters more than it is for 2nd. With them, I find in almost every case I think of the look of the TV characters, before the book description.

I have no problem seeing Stannis and Davos as how they are in the show. But Margaery, I still picture differently than how she looks on the show.

The biggest difference for me from 2nd season is that I really expected the Ironborn to look different - long-haired and viking-ish. And Asha / Yara - pictured her very different in my head (but I think most did).

[Kittykatknits]

Iain Glen is far more fetching than I ever would've pictured Jorah.

This. I watch the show and want to tell Dany to take him and take him now. Then I remember the books.....

I knew the books long before the show so I don't see the show influencing my perceptions of the series much. I find what tends to happen is that I grow frustrated every time the show deviates from the books. Some of the characters I feel that I know well enough that it's almost painful to see something different on the screen. *coughSandorJaimeRobbCatelynJonTyrionTywinCerseiAryaSansaStannisLFcough*

[The Taupe Grace]

I had a soft spot for Mark Addy's Robert as well - there's just something about a drunken hoary englishman that wins you over. And I definitely preferred Iain Glen's soft-spoken Jorah to the hirsute man-bear described in the books.

I think Catelyn is much more sympathetic in the TV series - Michelle Fairley brings out a humanity to her, even when she says 'it should have been you' to Jon - it's much more heart-wrenching. She's much more maternal in the series; in the book she's almost stubbornly hard-headed. I was surprised to find, reading the book after the series [looks down in shame] that Ned and Catelyn's roles reverse in deciding whether he should go to King's Landing after learning of Jon Arryn's murder. Perhaps the TV writers felt it would be unfitting for a woman to actively persuade her husband to leave home and prioritise honour and duty.

[StannisBamfatheon]

This. I watch the show and want to tell Dany to take him and take him now. Then I remember the books.....

I knew the books long before the show so I don't see the show influencing my perceptions of the series much. I find what tends to happen is that I grow frustrated every time the show deviates from the books. Some of the characters I feel that I know well enough that it's almost painful to see something different on the screen. *coughSandorJaimeRobbCatelynJonTyrionTywinCerseiAryaSansaStannisLFcough*

If I may...How'd you discover the series K3? I'm gonna sound like an illiterate hillbilly or something but I had never heard of A song of Ice and Fire until watching Game of thrones and reading that it was inspired by books. The series had me hook line and sinker when Ned told Bran "the man who passes the sentence should swing the sword" and I scurried away to my local barnes and noble soon after to get AGOT.

[Chaircat Meow]

I'm the same as Kittykatknits.

Read the first three books ages ago so very few people are really anything like I imagine them.

My Tyrion is soooooooooooo not like Peter Dinklage.

Which is good because the show character is a lot less interesting than the vindictive, insecure, deformed grotesque running around in my mind.

I get panicky watching the show sometimes though, thinking, is this really what Dany is like at this point, i.e. in season 2? She's a total brat. I can't stand her. She's not my favourite person in the books either but I don't remember her being so bad.

[Chaircat Meow]

If I may...How'd you discover the series K3? I'm gonna sound like an illiterate hillbilly or something but I had never heard of A song of Ice and Fire until watching Game of thrones and reading that it was inspired by books. The series had me hook line and sinker when Ned told Bran "the man who passes the sentence should swing the sword" and I scurried away to my local barnes and noble soon after to get AGOT.

I got them recommended to me by my dad who likes fantasy. I've always been more into historical fiction so he thought they'd suit me, which they did.

[Aemrys]

Actually the Show kind of ruined the Wall for me, if you think about it. I mean the height is just enormously overkill. When even GRRM admits this fact it's indisputable.

Just thinking of Mance vs Wall in ASOS, and you look at the show and how freaking far it's down to the ground where the trees look like ANTS. How the hell will the watchers have a shred of chance of hitting ANY target that they actually aim for and make it believable? In the siege, they aim for the giants and kill them. They launch barrels down on them and hit the ram right on target. It's just no way to make it believable with how huge they made the Wall. They should have said "screw it. Even GRRM admits having made it way too big. Let's make it slightly smaller." I mean, 300 feet would still be INCREDIBLY large, but make it believable for arrows etc to hit. Although it would take some immensity and awe from the Wall...

[Été]

I get panicky watching the show sometimes though, thinking, is this really what Dany is like at this point, i.e. in season 2? She's a total brat. I can't stand her. She's not my favourite person in the books either but I don't remember her being so bad.

See, I'm on the other side of that coin. I find HBO!Dany more sympathetic than POV!Dany. I don't think Emilia Clarke is the most accomplished actress ever, but she brings a desperation to Dany that I don't get from the books - and with it, some sense of urgency to her storyline. And let's be honest, Dany's Adventures in Essos need all the damn urgency they can get. (Frankly, it's an achievement on the show that they managed to make the Qarth deviation even more painful than in the novel.)

[Kittykatknits]

If I may...How'd you discover the series K3? I'm gonna sound like an illiterate hillbilly or something but I had never heard of A song of Ice and Fire until watching Game of thrones and reading that it was inspired by books. The series had me hook line and sinker when Ned told Bran "the man who passes the sentence should swing the sword" and I scurried away to my local barnes and noble soon after to get AGOT.

I've been reading the series since April of 2000. Found out about them through my husband who has the same taste in books that I do. He picked up GOT in the bookstore while browsing and then I read it after him. Read Clash right after it and then had to actually wait a little bit for Storm to come out. Pulled an all-nighter to finish that and then waited years and years for Feast. :)

I'm the same as Kittykatknits.

Read the first three books ages ago so very few people are really anything like I imagine them.

My Tyrion is soooooooooooo not like Peter Dinklage.

Which is good because the show character is a lot less interesting than the vindictive, insecure, deformed grotesque running around in my mind.

I get panicky watching the show sometimes though, thinking, is this really what Dany is like at this point, i.e. in season 2? She's a total brat. I can't stand her. She's not my favourite person in the books either but I don't remember her being so bad.

Yeah, Dinklage is doing a great job of acting but Tyrion in the show is soooo boring compared to the books. I like the ruthless, vindictive, insecure, self-pity Tyrion much better. He's much more complex whereas on the show he's more of a straight up good guy.

I don't even know what to say about Dany. For the most part, I think the actors are doing an amazing job but she's one of the few exceptions. Combine her acting with the S2 storyline and it's awful. They turned her in to a real brat this season. I thought the regressed her character, same as Jon.

[Winter's Knight]

I too discovered the series from the show (I usually avoid post-50's fiction). Because of how the show cleans up Tyrion's image, the book-Imp shocked me and I believe that this is partially why I dislike him so much.

A friend who is currently in the middle of Clashhad the same reaction-she mentoned to me yesterday that Book-Tyrion is "a right little prick".

Same for Jorah.

[Kittykatknits]

Actually the Show kind of ruined the Wall for me, if you think about it. I mean the height is just enormously overkill. When even GRRM admits this fact it's indisputable.

Just thinking of Mance vs Wall in ASOS, and you look at the show and how freaking far it's down to the ground where the trees look like ANTS. How the hell will the watchers have a shred of chance of hitting ANY target that they actually aim for and make it believable? In the siege, they aim for the giants and kill them. They launch barrels down on them and hit the ram right on target. It's just no way to make it believable with how huge they made the Wall. They should have said "screw it. Even GRRM admits having made it way too big. Let's make it slightly smaller." I mean, 300 feet would still be INCREDIBLY large, but make it believable for arrows etc to hit. Although it would take some immensity and awe from the Wall...

IIRC Martin talked about this after the show started production. If he had seen that image, he would have made the wall much shorted. 700 feet didn't seem so big when he first wrote GOT.

[Gar Weg Wun Sygerrik]

Irri in the show is super cute. That is all.

[Jamie Lannister]

Well, when it turned out Lysa wasn't portrayed as an obese behemoth, I pretty much gave up on the show completely. Syrio Forel having hair was just the nail in the coffin, the last insult, a true spit in the face for all true fans; I went straight to the nearest computer to complain vigorously about this unforgivable bastardization.

[Gar Weg Wun Sygerrik]

Well, when it turned out Lysa wasn't portrayed as an obese behemoth, I pretty much gave up on the show completely. Syrio Forel having hair was just the nail in the coffin, the last insult, a true spit in the face for all true fans; I went straight to the nearest computer to complain vigorously about this unforgivable bastardization.

Why does Syrio's hair matter?

[Winter's Knight]

Why does Syrio's hair matter?

He's joking.

[Gar Weg Wun Sygerrik]

He's joking.

Damn got me again! I've heard people rant about this, and its difficult to seperate them :dunce: