Mark Gatiss on Game of Thrones

[Ironborn Iditarod]

I'm not sure why people think the Ironborn storyline is going to be chopped in the series. It's fricking critical to the overall story. Victarion and Euron are pretty major characters. One of them is probably coming home with Dany and/or dragons.

I 100% agree and hope the producers recognize this as well. I just have a bad feeling they're going to short change the two houses I find most interesting (Greyjoy and Martell) due to fear of losing the TV audience by confusing them with an influx of new characters mid-series.

Here's to hoping they don't! :cheers:

[A Bong of Ice and Fire]

I 100% agree and hope the producers recognize this as well. I just have a bad feeling they're going to short change the two houses I find most interesting (Greyjoy and Martell) due to fear of losing the TV audience by confusing them with an influx of new characters mid-series.

Here's to hoping they don't! :cheers:

I don't think they will. Why should they? Personally I think there's nothing inherently "boring" about these Houses and their story lines at all, like some people seem to think.

They're both sort of "outliers" in Westeros, influencing things from the edges instead of directly playing the Game in the center.

Including these more remote but very influential players in the Game makes the overall story more interestimg, and more realisitc. I think that makes for a much richer tale.

My theory about the hostility toward these two great houses, their characters, and their stories is that it arises largely from the reading public's general mislike of the timing of books 4 & 5 in the series.

Since the real time between books is long in human years, it was agony for fans to have to wait so long and not get to revisit their old favorites while not understanding why they have to instead read about an insane fanatical Ironborn priest and a lame do-nothing Dornish Prince.

AFfC and ADwD are not as "action-packed" as the initial trilogy, but they shouldn't be. They're the middle section of the 3-act play. These books, which are extremely well written and deep, will be seen much differently in retrospect when the series is done and they are read as part of a whole, in my opinion.

I have no doubt that it will all make perfect sense in the end. I have faith in my Captain, GRRM. (I also have my own twisted theories on what's really going on in remote places of the Worlderos.) There is nothing wrong with those two great books and the stories of Dorne and the Iron Islands!

So I see no reason why the very talented showrunners will not be able to do justice to the Ironborn and Dornish stories in a TV format. With the power of hindsight and with GRRM-granted foresight, they can place the key material from AFfC and ADwD wherever they want throughout seasons 4-8. (I assume Game of Thrones will run for 8 seasons.)

They do not have to take the path GRRM took due to the constraints of his medium. Also since they know what happens later in the story, and we don't, they can combine and shift story elements from any time point in the story.

These type of changes won't make sense at first to the viewer and the outraged book purist, but later they will. (Think Talisa instead of Jeyne, ultimately making the Red Wedding a literal gut punch out of nowhere that won't be forgotten.)

So yeah, D&D, guided by George's red left hand, will do justice to our Dornish and Ironborn heroes, unfairly maligned much and more.

Look how they took Osha and made her hot and interesting. Look how they took Daario and made him kind of slimy-cool. See how unfounded our fears were? Show's going to be great.

[Arkash]

Completely agree ! I am one of those lucky bastards who read Storm, Feast and Dance back to back (Dance was published like three days before I finished Feast), and in this perspective, the books really work and I loved reading about Dorne and the Iron Islands.

[Hodoris]

I loved him in Sherlock and eagerly waiting to see who's role he is playing now :)

[ebevan91]

Completely agree ! I am one of those lucky bastards who read Storm, Feast and Dance back to back (Dance was published like three days before I finished Feast), and in this perspective, the books really work and I loved reading about Dorne and the Iron Islands.

I'm already running out of patience while waiting for TWoW (I read the entire series last summer/fall, finishing ADwD in December), there is no way I would have survived waiting 7 or however many years for ADwD after AFfC was published.

[Elessar]

Try the 5 between Storm and Feast and another 5 between Feast and Dance... Brutal.

[Ravencrow]

Completely agree ! I am one of those lucky bastards who read Storm, Feast and Dance back to back (Dance was published like three days before I finished Feast), and in this perspective, the books really work and I loved reading about Dorne and the Iron Islands.

I'm already running out of patience while waiting for TWoW (I read the entire series last summer/fall, finishing ADwD in December), there is no way I would have survived waiting 7 or however many years for ADwD after AFfC was published.

I was also one of those lucky (I actually just finished ADwD) and when reading the last one I was so sad thinking I would have to wait...What actually conforts me is thinking of people who are still waiting for the translation of ADwD.

[Ser Loudmouth]

Me too, I was one of those who read all 5 books in short succession. I actually finished Feast one day before Dance was published. And consequently, I enjoyed both books more than the older fans seem to have.

Now I am afraid that I might hate Winds, if it takes too long to be written! :worried:

[The Giver]

I read them all last summer. I also enjoyed the fourth and fifth books more than most people on here. I can see why they might have been upset, but in the long run, I think both books were excellent.

[go joff go]

Me too, I was one of those who read all 5 books in short succession. I actually finished Feast one day before Dance was published. And consequently, I enjoyed both books more than the older fans seem to have.

Now I am afraid that I might hate Winds, if it takes too long to be written! :worried:

The problem is that a lot fans go on sites like this one and really pour over fan theories and stuff so when the new book came out they just had too much time to think about the book and nitpick over every little thing. Its not any different then people who binge watch the show enjoying it more then the day to week to week watchers.

[PhoenixFlame]

If Theon and the season finale Ironborn scene are anything to go by, I don't think the Iron Islands will be getting shortchanged. D&D seem to love the Ironborn.

[Don Roberto]

The only reason I can see Mark Gatiss as Bloodraven is all the mystery around it. I can't think of any role big enough around this time of the chronology that would require this level of secrecy. Euron perhaps, but I don't really see it. That leaves us with a very rushed Bran's storyline to have Gatiss as Bloodraven, or...

could he be Coldhands? When he wasn't introduced in season 3, I thought they'd ramble on Bran's storyline in season 4 having him and the Reeds wander aimlessly for a while until encountering a group of wights, transfering Sam's fight and subsequent saving to them. But if that's so, why get a high level actor to play such a small role with barely any lines? Unless Coldhands will actually become a more prominent character later on, which would mark out first book spoiler in the show at least two seasons before expected.

:(

[Lord Spark of House Spark]

Damphair seems a good possibility. I can't see all three remaining Greyjoy brothers being merged into one, but maybe Vic and Euron?

[Don Roberto]

Maybe Vic and Euron could be merged. But that could seed a lot of problems later on. They are not not a small character like Garlan or Falyse that can be just written off. Usually HBO tries to avoid introducing too many characters in a same season, but the later half of Storm is actually quite deprived of new characters, so if they'll do the kingsmoot this season there's no reason not to have the whole Greyjoy family. Maybe they'll supress the Reader, which is a shame but understandable...

[DarkAndFullOfTurnips]

Me too, I was one of those who read all 5 books in short succession. I actually finished Feast one day before Dance was published. And consequently, I enjoyed both books more than the older fans seem to have.

Now I am afraid that I might hate Winds, if it takes too long to be written! :worried:

Fortunately you won't have that problem that some of us did initially (I really hated AFFC until rereading it) since George has put everything into place to finally start moving everything forward. It's not like we're suddenly going to have a book about the Summer Isles and what's going on in the mind of Edmure Tully with only two books left (supposedly).

But on topic, if we can safely assume that Bran won't meet Bloodraven until at best the end of S4, we'd have what? One scene or two with Gatiss? Seems like it would be unlikely to cast him for that this season when they could just do what they did with Mance (which to be fair, the books did too), in that they'd wait to cast Bloodraven for an actual full season of scenes to appear in. That's why I can't imagine it being Bloodraven.

[houseHB]

It's official! According to WIC.Net he has been cast as Bravos Banker Tycho Nesteros. Guess that means he may play a more significant part in later books since they cast this character?

[thenedstark]

Tycho doesn't make much sense to me in S4. He appears towards the end of ADWD :thumbsdown:

[tyrions sliced nose]

yeaa love Tycho!! Going to develop hi character a lot more in the show which is fantastic

[franko99]

Tycho doesn't make much sense to me in S4. He appears towards the end of ADWD :thumbsdown:

They could merge his character with the one who goes to KL and negociate with Cersei in AFFC

yeaa love Tycho!! Going to develop hi character a lot more in the show which is fantastic

I think they're going to use Tycho to explain Braavos and the Iron Bank to show fans, we as readers had a lot of info about the Iron Bank and what happens to those who mess with Braavos since AGOT, but the show has only mention the names.

Also, introduce him now will help people to recognize him when he shows up at the Wall and later at Stannis camp

[Don Roberto]

Well, never saw this coming. But it can actually be very interesting.