What Will Go From Season 3?

[Westeros]

Charlie Jane Anders over at io9 contacted me the other day to ask some questions related to a piece she was working on related to Game of Thrones. Namely, she was curious as to what storylines I thought were likeliest to disappear from the third season of Game of Thrones which, in good part, will be adapting the third novel in the A Song of Ice and Fire series, A Storm of Swords. I shared some speculation with her (and, to emphasize, it’s just speculation, based on various remarks and reports published over the last months) and the article including some of those speculations, as well as her own, can now be found over at io9.

A couple of clarifications, based on remarks I’ve seen since. Spoilers below:read on >>>

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[Yago]

I agree with most of it, and don't have a big problem with any. Most of it are details that aren't that important. An Inn's just an inn, no problem for me if they do Arya's/ Jaim + Brienne's scenes somewhere else. Don't care much for Hoster's dead. As long as there's some wildlings including Tormund I won't complain. Silvertongue shows another side of Tyrion, but too difficult to introduce him at this point, and it's not that important. Bran an Rickon spliting up a bit later than in the book doesn't change much actually. The old woman ("Ghost of High Heart") was interesting, but again not that important to the storyline. I'm ok with it if they introduce Dorne in the next season- we already have plenty of new actors for this season. Coldhands, Edric and Daenerys storyline would mean somewhat bigger changes, but I don't see much harm in it. Or maybe it's just that I don't care for Dany.

[The Anti-Targ]

Do we need Oberyn, ever? I think Bronn's storyline for the TV series becomes irrelevant after Tyrion's trial. So Bronn could easily replace Oberyn. Tyrion offers him a whole lot of gold to fight for him. Bronn mortally wounds The Mountain, same as Oberyn but decides to whisper something in the mountains ear as he dies (probably something about the Hound) and the mountain has one final burst of energy.

[Frumpus]

I wouldn't be surprised if they are planning to drop all of the Martells. Their storylines simply aren't compelling enough to be included and the few times they do make some impact on the other storylines can easily be replaced.

[Gertrude]

Oh but I do think we need Oberyn. He is a fantastic window into the Dornish mind and what their motivations are for things that happen later in the series. What would Bronn's motivation be anyway? He's got what he wants now, why would he risk it for Tyrion? If they re-write it so he does it out of friendship, I would wail and gnash my teeth, etc.

eta: ok, seeing Frumpas's post - would they cut out the Martells? (visually, anyway - they've already send Myrcella away) Possible, but kind of an atrocity. Since they have already been introduced, I would imagine we will see them at some point. Even allowing that Quentin's story went nowhere and the Myrcella thing could be told, the Sandsnakes are now headed to KL for hijinks unknown. I think they will be used much more sparingly than even the books, but not gutted entirely. I imagine that justice, vengeance, fire and blood will have some sort of payoff. And if it does, we need to know the people involved.

[Myrish Swamp Thing]

We can get Oberyn in Season 4, no problem there.

I won't miss any of the changes really, exthept the abthenth of lithping.

[GoodGuyA]

I don't agree with the whole wide-reaching assertion that Tyrion will never get "grey". The fact is that, just like Arya, they're delaying his arc for a time that it will become most relevant to the story. The fact of the matter is that he will have plenty of opportunity to go this route, and it doesn't take the exact events to get him to go that way. Silvertongue is more irrelevant for the fact that it is, well, irrelevant. An incident that is simply solved with no real meaning.

I agree with a lot of the others in the fact that "Season 2 might not get there". I don't agree that Ser Dontos has just been dropped. It may be jarring, but they'll likely use him for his purpose, just like other characters who have gone out of the story temporarily. I find it unfortunate that Hoster Tully's all ready dead. More moments for Cat are solely needed this season... I think the most anticipated change will be Jamie's storyline, since things could go either incredibly badly, or incredibly awesome!

[PatrickStormborn]

I agree with most of the changes, but I don't think it's possible at all to reduce Dany's story to one city. It's a ridiculous idea. She needs two this season, and she's probably going to need one next season unless they want to change her story entirely.

Astapor was taken through treachery, and it's relevant to the plot that she leaves it behind. The only reason she stays in Slaver's Bay is because Astapor and Yunkai both fall back into slavery. They could merge Yunkai and Meereen, I guess, but like I said it leaves very little for Dany to do next season.

[Myrish Swamp Thing]

I've expected them to merge Yunkai and Astapor, but yeah, in any case reducing the Slaver Bay cities to two makes sense.

[boojam]

Ser Dontos - I have a feeling that D&D made a slight goof going into season two. I think they did have a bigger role for Tony Way to play ... but changed it on the fly. The Dontos character serves as only a Go-fer in the novel , even GRRM disposes of him. I wonder just how much of Way's scenes were filmed? I am sure they saw that , for the plot, it was faster to cut to the chase.

Slaver Cities - I would think you are right, there maybe only two. It's just my conjecture but methinks the story in Astapor is too compelling. I think it is Yunkai that will be left out and the conquest of Meereen more or less elaborated. Hoping Yunkai is mentioned because George evolves Dany's character very well in SoS ... from Astapor to Yunkai to Meereen she becomes an 'abolitionist' Alexander the Great (why George stops this dead in water , after SoS, passes beyond by understanding).

Still I can't see jamming both the Astapor story , and all the fringe stuff, the Daario soap opera and such like , and Meereen into one season seems too much. I can see the siege of Meereen and it's conquest put into season four.

The Inn of the Kneeling Man. Yeah , both Arya and Jamie and Brienne arcs are straight forward travel ripping yarns. Keeping those narratives as they are but cleaning them of the prose trapping (we so love) really makes a lot of teleplay sense. For me, I found Arya's story across the whole of SoS the most entertaining , especially Travels with the Dog!

Brave Companions - It's one of those head scratchers D&D pull.... keeping Vargo , yet economizing the narrative would seem logical , I am hoping some day in the distant future D&D will be asked questions about their aesthetic motivations for what seem personal choices than necessity.

Eric Storm - Now substituting Shireen for Storm does not make much sense to me. It's something that I would not think would be in Melisandre's calculation. I can see some kind of manufactured story for Davos to get the plot points done at Dragonstone. By the by we sure have few characters at Dragonstone makes me wonder how events there will be elaborated.

I think Salladhor Saan will make an appearance in the first two episodes of season three.

I puzzle tho over the whole thing. I will go out on a limb and say that D&D will get season four and they know it. This must color their thinking about fitting SoS into two season , plus a little of future novels.

[cantharella]

As much as I want the show to be as faithful to the books as possible, I do agree with some of these.

Ser Dontos - personally, I always felt that this character was grotesque, not very believable and didn't "fit" into the whole thing. How would a guy like this even survive for so long, in such a dangerous world? There are a few drunkards & losers, but he beats them all. He's just so yuck :ack: I found it really odd that Sansa, even in her desperation, was willing to be around him. It looks like Ros will, on behalf of Littlefinger, help Sansa escape. If they play it well, it might make sense - with Ros being from the North etc.

Dorne - Oberyn comes to KL for Joffrey's wedding, so this will happen in season 4. But what they should do with the whole Dorne storyline, I have no clue. We already have so many characters, should we add Arianne, Doran, etc.? Will the non-readers be able to keep track? I feel sorry for the writers, I would not be able to make a decision.

Coldhands - I love this character in the books and think Bran's journey north will not work without Coldhands. But if he's in season 3, then it won't be until at least season 6 when his identity is revealed (if ever!!!). Not sure if that's going to work on television - the viewers finding out in a few years that the mysterious guy in the hood was actually the same guy who dissapeared in season 1. Also, who would play him? The most popular theory is that he's Benjen Stark - would they have Joseph Mawle play Coldhands? How to keep the character's identity secret in this situation? Even if he has his face covered, his voice modified, there is still so many things that might be a giveaway - the actor would have to hide the fact that he's working on GoT. It's a really tricky situation. Unless, Coldhands IS NOT Benjen.

[Padraig]

Oh but I do think we need Oberyn. He is a fantastic window into the Dornish mind and what their motivations are for things that happen later in the series.

I agree. And the ending of aSoS is brilliant as it is. D&D have introduced us to the idea of the Martell's with Myrcella, to pave the way for Oberyn's introduction. Beyond aSoS is a different question.

Hoping Yunkai is mentioned because George evolves Dany's character very well in SoS ... from Astapor to Yunkai to Meereen she becomes an 'abolitionist' Alexander the Great (why George stops this dead in water , after SoS, passes beyond by understanding).

I think he just wanted to show us consequences. Alexander found it easy to conquer but he never ruled. But yes, I expect more that just one city in S3. I think they should try a different Dany ending than another dragon attack.

I think we might see Silvertongue. Something has to pave the way for the end of aSoS.

[King Tommen]

1) As far as the Martell's being cut, if that were the case, the show would have never included sending Myrcella to Dorne or discussed how much the Martell's hate the Lannisters. I think it's a strong bet that we're going to explore that relationship in depth but as with some of the other characters (the Reeds, the Tullys etc), their introduction will be delayed slightly until they're more important to the story.

2) I think the entire "countless changing hands of Harrenhall" plotline has been dumped for the sake of simplicity as it is overly convoluted in the books and would be really confusing to attempt to dramatize on screen without losing the audience who already is having trouble following all of the different allegiances as it is. Vargo Hoat is a colorful character but the presence of the Brave Companions is not necessary in the larger story. You've already got the BwB as the sketchy rogue group with questionable allegiances, no need to have another. They've skipped Weasel soup and Arya has already left Harrenhall. There is no good reason for the show to depict the North taking it now since that was mainly to have Arya interact with Roose through her POV.

If in Season 3, you want Roose to somehow take Harrenhall (from the Mountain who is currently running things there), then you also need to find a way for the ownership to revert back to the Lannisters by the end so that the Mountain is back in charge which doesn't seem to make a whole lot of sense. The show also made a big deal out of Littlefinger getting Harrenahll in the Season 2 finale so my guess is that if they're going to show anything there, it may be Littlefinger eventually taking up residence there and possibly interacting with Lysa and Robin who have been confirmed to appear in Season 3. I have a feeling they're going to sideline the Mountain this season entirely and (hopefully) bring back Conan Stevens in Season 4 for his big scene in King's Landing.

Making Noah Taylor (who is a great and creepy actor) into Locke is a good hint that he's going to fulfill the Vargo Hoat role but as Locke was a minor Bolton man in the novels, it stands to reason that they're going to make the group that captures Brienne and Jaime be a travelling Bolton crew. He'll most likely be portrayed as an overzealous and rash commander. They'll have the same interactions and chop off Jaime's hand. Qyburn will be introduced to do the healing since he's an important character later in the story. Roose will meet up with them and have basically the same interactions with Jaime and Brienne, it just won't be at Harrenhall, rather some undetermined camp or village. We know the Bear Pit scene has been filmed but there's nothing stating that the Bear Pit needs to be in Harrenhall really.

3) I'm glad they're dumping Ser Dontos, he was a complete tool and unnecessary plot device. I do like the idea that Littlefinger may possibly conscript Ros into the role of helping Sansa as it would give the character something to do that relates to the existing story. If the show had some balls, in Season 4 they could even have Ros be dispatched by Littlefinger just as Dontos was as a way of LIttlefiinger cleaning up loose ends and as payback for Littlefinger learning that she was also acting as a spy for Varys.

[Le Cygne]

No Brave Companions takes a lot away from Brienne's story, not only in this book, but AFFC.

[King Tommen]

Locke and his men can be just as cruel to her as the Brave Companions were. Rorge and Biter are also on the show so I'm sure she'll deal with them as well. I fail to see how that is going to impact her that significantly.

[Gertrude]

It looks like Ros will, on behalf of Littlefinger, help Sansa escape. If they play it well, it might make sense - with Ros being from the North etc.

I thought about this, but am not sure how this would play out. Ros could help, but not much as she would be recognized by Cersei as Tyrion's whore. it would be very dangerous for her to be seen in the palace, especially with Tywin around and his no-whores tolerance for Tyrion. Plus we have Varys trying to poach her away from Littlefinger, so she may have another role to play. I'd say that if they hadn't used Ros for Alayaya, then they might have been able to use her for Dontos.

[Crown]

1) As far as the Martell's being cut, if that were the case, the show would have never included sending Myrcella to Dorne or discussed how much the Martell's hate the Lannisters. I think it's a strong bet that we're going to explore that relationship in depth but as with some of the other characters (the Reeds, the Tullys etc), their introduction will be delayed slightly until they're more important to the story.

2) I think the entire "countless changing hands of Harrenhall" plotline has been dumped for the sake of simplicity as it is overly convoluted in the books and would be really confusing to attempt to dramatize on screen without losing the audience who already is having trouble following all of the different allegiances as it is. Vargo Hoat is a colorful character but the presence of the Brave Companions is not necessary in the larger story. You've already got the BwB as the sketchy rogue group with questionable allegiances, no need to have another. They've skipped Weasel soup and Arya has already left Harrenhall. There is no good reason for the show to depict the North taking it now since that was mainly to have Arya interact with Roose through her POV.

If in Season 3, you want Roose to somehow take Harrenhall (from the Mountain who is currently running things there), then you also need to find a way for the ownership to revert back to the Lannisters by the end so that the Mountain is back in charge which doesn't seem to make a whole lot of sense. The show also made a big deal out of Littlefinger getting Harrenahll in the Season 2 finale so my guess is that if they're going to show anything there, it may be Littlefinger eventually taking up residence there and possibly interacting with Lysa and Robin who have been confirmed to appear in Season 3. I have a feeling they're going to sideline the Mountain this season entirely and (hopefully) bring back Conan Stevens in Season 4 for his big scene in King's Landing.

Making Noah Taylor (who is a great and creepy actor) into Locke is a good hint that he's going to fulfill the Vargo Hoat role but as Locke was a minor Bolton man in the novels, it stands to reason that they're going to make the group that captures Brienne and Jaime be a travelling Bolton crew. He'll most likely be portrayed as an overzealous and rash commander. They'll have the same interactions and chop off Jaime's hand. Qyburn will be introduced to do the healing since he's an important character later in the story. Roose will meet up with them and have basically the same interactions with Jaime and Brienne, it just won't be at Harrenhall, rather some undetermined camp or village. We know the Bear Pit scene has been filmed but there's nothing stating that the Bear Pit needs to be in Harrenhall really.

3) I'm glad they're dumping Ser Dontos, he was a complete tool and unnecessary plot device. I do like the idea that Littlefinger may possibly conscript Ros into the role of helping Sansa as it would give the character something to do that relates to the existing story. If the show had some balls, in Season 4 they could even have Ros be dispatched by Littlefinger just as Dontos was as a way of LIttlefiinger cleaning up loose ends and as payback for Littlefinger learning that she was also acting as a spy for Varys.

Really? Glad to hear about it! You have a source?

[King Tommen]

Really? Glad to hear about it! You have a source?

http://winteriscoming.net/2012/10/filming-rumors-and-reports-taylor-is-in/#more-20563

The bear pit scene from the third book has been filmed. Noah Taylor was present for this, as was Nikolaj Coster-Waldau wearing a bandage-style sleeve over his lower arm to convey that Jaime’s lost his hand. It appears that the removal of the sword hand occurred before the bear pit, as in the book.

[oierem]

I agree with most of the changes, but I don't think it's possible at all to reduce Dany's story to one city. It's a ridiculous idea. She needs two this season, and she's probably going to need one next season unless they want to change her story entirely.

Astapor was taken through treachery, and it's relevant to the plot that she leaves it behind. The only reason she stays in Slaver's Bay is because Astapor and Yunkai both fall back into slavery. They could merge Yunkai and Meereen, I guess, but like I said it leaves very little for Dany to do next season.

You are right, but creating three different looking cities may be too expensive and difficult.

And it's true that if they reduce the number of ciites, Dany won't have much to do, but then again, having her conquer one foreign city after another, so far away from Westeros... will that be compelling enough?

However, having Dany stay in one city for the whole season is just a repeat of season 2.

in conclussion, I'm still not sure what's the best option here lol.

Oh, and about Dontos, I'm glad he'll not be back. I found the actor portraying him one one of the very worst actors of the show, and I never liked the character either. I thik they DID shot more scenes with him but decided to cut them for whatever reason (apart from the poor acting, the whole storyline wouldn't lead anywhere in season 2, so it would've been just a waste of time).

[Crown]

http://winteriscomin...-in/#more-20563

Awesome! I expected them to cut that scene for sure.