Originally Posted by chess

Yeah, where some folks see "nothing happening", I see a lot of character development.

• Dany has found her voice and has a real queen...also has an army, which is not insignificant
• Jaime, after his ordeal, seems to be a completely different person...a sympathetic character even.
• Tyrion has become a serious player...even perhaps in his father's eyes, which is significant
• Cersei finally seems to recognize that her son is a monster
• Arya has been through the wringer and has become a truly dark character
• Robb and Catelyn are dead
• Theon is apparently a shell of his former arrogant self
• Jon Snow is home after an ordeal, and a hell of a breakup and will ideally be less of an idealist

The only major characters who didn't change significantly are Tywin, Stannis, Joffrey and Sansa.

Where most TV shows have one or two characters at most that truly change over the course of the show and might kill off one major character, this show is playing on another level.

Originally Posted by Superman07

Boring. It amazes me this this show has essentially 13 episodes to work with and nothing much happens week to week. I'm sure I'll get slammed for saying that, especially by the book readers, but realistically not much given 13 episodes happened. Essentially:

Dragon Queen gained some people; still stuck on other continent
John Snow; went in the snow and came back
Arya killed a guy; still wandering around the country
Kings Landing Lot sat at some tables and talked
Rob; screwed up and died (significant!)
Bran wandered around the woods and accidentally took control of two wolves and Hodor. At least next season looks like snow woods
Rhein; wothless waste of every minute this season. I fast forwarded through the scenes again
Sansa; still stuck and crying in Kings Landing

The highlight his season was easily Jamie and Brienne. Their relationship progressed and I feel like their characters developed.

Cannot say I've been blown away; or am itching to see next season.

Originally Posted by Superman07

Example, when Rob found out his wife was pregnant, she didn't have any physical signs. Yet at the end of the wedding she seemed to be visibly showing. So that's an extra month or two for plans to leak, and planning between Bolton and Tywin?

Originally Posted by Draven

How long do you think it takes armies to march? Or ravens to travel around the kingdom with messages. When everyone was finding out about the Red Wedding and the Walkers, days (if not weeks) had past.

Originally Posted by RoyalTea

Has the show given any hints to the size of Westeros?

Originally Posted by RoyalTea

Has the show given any hints to the size of Westeros?

Originally Posted by Dr. DVD

More of a medical biological question: how does Theon manage to piss if they've completely removed his dick? I thought he was castrated, which means they removed his balls only. I doubt he would be able to survive much longer with no way to urinate.

For anyone who has an issue with the pacing, they might want to stay away from the books. After they finish covering the events of "Storm", everything will really seem complacent if they follow the original story. I wouldn't be surprised if we get a two year break between seasons at some point where they authentically let time pass. Martin said he thinks he should have let more time expire between books three and four. They could conceivably do that on the show if they move some things around a bit.

Originally Posted by Superman07

I certainly don't think having an opinion on lack of development and characters is dumb. One of the worst things this show is guilty of, perhaps the books are better, is the sense of time and progression. With out appropriate context it can be very difficult to get a sense of how long some of these characters are in their situations.

Example, when Rob found out his wife was pregnant, she didn't have any physical signs. Yet at the end of the wedding she seemed to be visibly showing. So that's an extra month or two for plans to leak, and planning between Bolton and Tywin?

Originally Posted by KillerCannibal

They will never do a 2-year break between seasons. This show is money and HBO isn't going to let it wilt on the vine for that long.

Originally Posted by thebunk

So I am a fan of the show and liked the last 3 episodes especially but Superman07 does raise a valid point in my opinion. The show does not do a good job at all defining how much time has passed within the episode, sometimes episode to episode and from season to season. I think they could honestly handle this much better.

Originally Posted by Superman07

The only substantive info I recall yesterday was the wall is 500 or 700 miles wide.

Originally Posted by Dr. DVD

More of a medical biological question: how does Theon manage to piss if they've completely removed his dick? I thought he was castrated, which means they removed his balls only. I doubt he would be able to survive much longer with no way to urinate.

For anyone who has an issue with the pacing, they might want to stay away from the books. After they finish covering the events of "Storm", everything will really seem complacent if they follow the original story. I wouldn't be surprised if we get a two year break between seasons at some point where they authentically let time pass. Martin said he thinks he should have let more time expire between books three and four. They could conceivably do that on the show if they move some things around a bit.

Originally Posted by RoyalTea

If they ever get to the point where the show catches up to the books and George RR Martin is still writing, would HBO think about "killing time" by making some prequel seasons?

Originally Posted by thebunk

So I am a fan of the show and liked the last 3 episodes especially but Superman07 does raise a valid point in my opinion. The show does not do a good job at all defining how much time has passed within the episode, sometimes episode to episode and from season to season. I think they could honestly handle this much better.

Originally Posted by Draven

How?

Dates at the bottom of the screen? Characters commenting about how many hours/days/weeks have past (that actually does happen from time to time).

We know it takes a month to get from the south to the north on the main continent. When they show Sam writing a message and then in the next scene someone in another part of the world is opening that message, everyone realizes that it wasn't an email and actually had to travel there. We see messengers riding up on horseback.

I have never had a problem with the passage of time on this show.

Originally Posted by mwbmis

No way it could top the drama of last week, but I liked the episode. To those who question why it didn't go out with a bang, keep in mind they're still in the middle of the third book. If they had made it to the end of the book then you wouldn't have any complaints. Basically, there's a lot still coming for next year.

I don't think it would be fair to end it on the Red Wedding, b/c you need to see the immediate reactions to that. To hold that over an entire year would mute the impact. They messed with the chronology a little, but there is no "Wow" moment immediatly after the Red Wedding to move to the episode ten conclusion. I think they did the best they could with what they did with the Daenerys storyline.