[BOOK SPOILERS] Screentimes of Characters

[Nezzer]

I already clearly stated that Roose is my third favorite character and I'm biased. So there's that answer. On my first read, he was my second favorite.

I just dont see how you can not take not of Roose until the RW. Seems impossible unless you're being an unabashed show apologist (that's not directed at Nightisdarkansfullofturnips).

Well, Roose is my fourth favorite character now and I didn't pay much attention to him until the RW :P

It's not like I didn't notice him, he just didn't stand out too much for me. I paid more attention to other bannermen who were closer to Robb than Roose, like the Greatjon or the Blackfish. These two stood out a lot more for me. Roose only became a major character and one of my favorite characters in ADwD.

[DarkAndFullOfTurnips]

It's not like I didn't notice him, he just didn't stand out too much for me. I paid more attention to other bannermen who were closer to Robb than Roose, like the Greatjon or the Blackfish. These two stood out a lot more for me. Roose only became a major character and one of my favorite characters in ADwD.

Roose's whole persona is not really to stand out much to be honest. He seems like one of those don't be the best and don't be the worst so as not to draw attention to yourself types. This is why I really struggle to figure out his motivations for everything he's done, but I particularly love one of Tze's theories that Roose's doing everything he does for revenge on Ramsay (For killing Domeric).

[Dove]

Prior to Jaime in ASOS most of Roose's material comes from Arya's viewpoint, and when you've got over-the-top people like the Tickler, Amory Lorch, Vargo Hoat, and Gregor Clegane running around in addition to all the other sinister characters it stands to reason that Bolton wouldn't stand out too much aside from one or two bizarre leeching scenes - being unremarkable and discrete is kind of his gimmick.

And when these books are as big as they are, that's just not much to go by until you're re-reading with the knowledge you've gained from later in the series.

[teemo]

For some reason, the description of his eyes always made him stand out to me. Cat not trusting his eyes and commenting on their coldness was a huge red flag to me.

[Mark Antony]

For some reason, the description of his eyes always made him stand out to me.

I had not realized until now... what a wicked old harpy you really are.

JK, Roose stood out to me ever since Robb thought

"He only looks at me and all i can think of is that room they have in The Dreadfort where the Boltons hang the skins of their enemies"

way back in AGOT

[teemo]

I had not realized until now... what a wicked old harpy you really are.

JK, Roose stood out to me ever since Robb thought

"He only looks at me and all i can think of is that room they have in The Dreadfort where the Boltons hang the skins of their enemies"

way back in AGOT

Hah, when I saw that Mark Antony quoted me in my inbox I thought of the same line :P

[Dove]

For me a lot of mistrust came from the stories about his son in book 2 and what ultimately happened in Winterfell. Before the RW he hands Cat a piece of Theon's skin and says something like "Yeah my son's kinda cruel I guess"

no shit??

That and the fact that Arya got enough bad vibes to not even reveal herself to a supposedly trusted bannerman of Robb's. Gotta trust the cool kid's gut instinct.

[1234567]

Thanks Schala. Great work and fascinating as always.

Sad to see the Hound is still only getting as much screen time for major parts of his story as Bronn is for filler.

[Mulled Wino]

You also have the benefit of reading about Roose in aDwD which, to me, really changes one's perspective of him. Of course you liked him before and I don't doubt that at all, but this idea you have of Roose in your head includes all you've read and discussed about him, which is obviously considerably more than Roose before he even converses with Jaime.

As soon as Roose got to HH and he started to make everyone shit their pants in the first 5 minutes, I took notice. By the time Arya broke out of HH, I was rereading his dialogues and chapters before I moved on.

[Mulled Wino]

Prior to Jaime in ASOS most of Roose's material comes from Arya's viewpoint, and when you've got over-the-top people like the Tickler, Amory Lorch, Vargo Hoat, and Gregor Clegane running around in addition to all the other sinister characters it stands to reason that Bolton wouldn't stand out too much aside from one or two bizarre leeching scenes - being unremarkable and discrete is kind of his gimmick.

And when these books are as big as they are, that's just not much to go by until you're re-reading with the knowledge you've gained from later in the series.

Except that Arya knows almost instantly that Roose is way more dangerous and cruel than all of them.

And he scares the Young Wolf.

[Mulled Wino]

JK, Roose stood out to me ever since Robb thought

"He only looks at me and all i can think of is that room they have in The Dreadfort where the Boltons hang the skins of their enemies"

way back in AGOT

Yup. As soon as I saw that, I was looking out for him. Idc what creepy shit anyone does, skinning people trumps all.

And thanks Schala! Looove these

[DarkAndFullOfTurnips]

There are plenty of creepy and untrustworthy characters in this series, though. And to be fair I did mention that I basically blazed through the books (I was also 14 when I read the first three) so maybe I should've paid closer attention :P

[Lady Lu]

Wow thanks so much for putting this together Schala; this is awesome.

[Mark Antony]

Hah, when I saw that Mark Antony quoted me in my inbox I thought of the same line :P

thanks for the thread, :)

[Angmar]

Of the new characters shown this season the Queen of Thorns gets the most screentime...She's been talking with all of the players in King's Landing for now...Only missing is Tywin.

But she leaves soon KL in the books, doesn't she? Around the beginning of AFFC...She didn't have so many scenes as well, in ASOS, I think; maybe due to her popularity they'll expand her role in the show.

[Birdsong65]

That's a pretty illusory 17 minutes. She's {Talisa} had, what, a dozen lines so far this year?

Then she's had 11 lines too many. Hell, let's make that 12 too many in a baker's dozen. *ducking slings & arrows*

With more time given to Mance and Tormund, viewers might not be left with the mistaken impression that they are completely

humorless as well as unwashed and untamed. Half the joy of the wildlings is their collective sense of humor...Seriously, I absolutely love the wildlings, so for me this lack of screen time is terribly criminal.

[Mammothsbane]

"This season needs more Ros"

--no person, ever.

Good work :)

[JonCon's Red Beard]

I usually don't complain about stuff like "why isn't X given more time" or "why isn't Y/Rose given less time" because this cast is huge and sometimes a character needs to be sacrifice in benefit of the others, but, I think Jon is being incredibly underused, and I say incredibly, because this arc is actually very important for him and how he starts define himself as a man who made a choice that he might eventually regret and I really have no idea what the hell they're doing with him. I hope that changes after Episode 9.

[Nezzer]

I usually don't complain about stuff like "why isn't X given more time" or "why isn't Y/Rose given less time" because this cast is huge and sometimes a character needs to be sacrifice in benefit of the others, but, I think Jon is being incredibly underused, and I say incredibly, because this arc is actually very important for him and how he starts define himself as a man who made a choice that he might eventually regret and I really have no idea what the hell they're doing with him. I hope that changes after Episode 9.

Agreed. His time with the wildlings is one of my favorite parts of his entire story throughout all the books. I was actually surprised he's had 18min of screen time, because it seems a lot less. He's barely interacted with the wildlings and it doesn't look like he's actually living with them for a while. That's is my only real gripe with the show at the moment. And time is not the issue. Most episodes this season so far are no more than 54min long. This last episode was 58min long, so it's doable. If Jon had four more minutes in each of the first four episodes, his arc would be much better.

[protar]

Great work Schala, really appreciated as ever :)

Glad to see Ros in her place at the bottom, but seriously Mance and Roose being down there with her is not good. And I think we've had all our time with Mance this season. :/