Book purists over at westeros.org are clawing their eyes out over the changes, but to be honest there is just a lot of quite boring filler in books 4 or 5 that need to be revised and I am caustiously optimistic in the direction they are going, and I think the truly MAJOR checkpoints in the books will still be hit in largely the same way as in the novels, but through a direct and more interesting way. That said

IMO, best post yet in this thread.

I also agree with all that Hiro said re: changes being overwhelmingly positive. And also agree with those who say that Sansa is a lot more cunning now & has learned from her own tragedies & from Littlefinger's tutelage.

Maybe Dark Sansa will emerge to wreak havoc upon the Boltons.

I forget. Did Sansa ever find out about Theon "killing" Bran and Rickon? Certainly the arrival of Sansa might finally be enough to stir Theon out of his petrified servitude.

Speaking of Bran and Rickon...I know Bran not supposed to be on this season, but are we going to hear about Rickon again. I guess that could be a way to bring the Greatjon back into the story.

Jon Snow beheaded Janos Slynt so quickly that I think it was less for disobeying him and maybe more as taking advantage of an opportunity to get revenge for turning on Ned Stark, so a head for a head.

And a "Wow!" moment for me was the bridge where Varys and Tyrion got off their coach because it is clearly based on the historic "London Bridge" (the one that was "falling down" in the well-known song which is why it eventually had to be replaced) because it also had buildings on it exactly like that. (I wonder if this version of the bridge has a name in GRRM's books?)

I am disappointed we will not get

The Margery and Tommen situation might also create somewhat of a necessary deviation from the books. Since Tommen is not the young tyke he is in the series ,


I am a book reader, but not a hardcore one, and I think the changes are find and for the better. I will still read to see what is different, but take comfort in knowing that a truncated version can be enjoyed while I am still waiting on the "real" one to finish.....

That said, if D&D really want to get people talking and "go there"..

Reading a Game of Thrones thread is like listening to rap on FM radio I just can't open those spoilers though.


Great episode! Things are really getting intriguing. I thought the beheading scene was a great throwback to (I believe) the very first episode when Ned beheaded that guy and had his sons watch.


Game of Thrones ASS! Damn, there were some nice ones!

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5Krz-dyD-UQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Haven't delved much into the book series forums ... do the majority of book fans really hold books 4 and 5 in the same esteem as the first three? Everyone I talk to in person (and on this forum) agrees with you.

All the other stuff going on, we had Qyburn (who never lets a good dwarf head go to waste) in his mad scientist lab with a body under the sheet! I would've predicted that it would be cut out from the books, but now maybe we'll get

Some hold that ANY change from the book is blasphemy. I think most reasonable folks are loving how D&D are steamlining the show a bit, cutting off the fat and telling the stories that will be important in the end game.

Reek is planning something. He has that look in his eye.

I am not sure westeros.org represents the average ASOIAF fan but the subset of fanatical fans. I found it because I had my own theory after reading Book 1 and wanted to see if anyone else thought the same, and found that the books following was as obsessive maybe even more so than WOT fans.

And yes, over there, it seems the majority, at least the vocal one, holf Books 4 and 5 in the same esteem as the first three. Personally I think Book 3 is the best fantasy book I have read, but Book 4 and 5 are just really unfocused, have no momentum, are perversely complicated, repetitive, and often boring but have some very cool things happen in them usually after 300 pages of build up. Those cool things will be very cool to see in the series, and I see nothing that they are doing really to not continue to hit all the stories key plot points.

Please let Littlefinger and Sansa save the awful Theon/Ramsey storyline.

It was nice to be spared from Khaleesi this week, although it was good to see Mormont again.

Great to see Jon behead the coward.

Yeah I'm loving the changes so far.

And this after Jon was so much nicer to cowards back in Season 1

(I guess the rule is don't be a coward who he also hates)

Well, this episode did have Hooker Fantasy Khaleesi in it (which is probably the only reason Jorah Mormont was even in that brothel).

Slynt wasn't executed for cowardice, he was executed for insubordination. He publicly refused orders from the Lord Commander of the Nights Watch. Probably not the best time for him to decide to finally grow a pair.

In this case, Snow didn't have much choice in the matter. If he just sat there and took the insults he would lose the respect of the men under his command.

Totally agree with that...book 3 is as good as it can get....and book 4 and 5 I would have never finished reading if it wasn't the sequel to some very nice books...paritally it was hard to believe that the same guy wrote those books
So yeah, every change so far is for the better...

Yeah, I get that, but to be clear my posting was just a joke on the "coward" comment in post #37, given that Sam is the most famous coward on GOT. (Just do a Google Image search for "Game Of Thrones Coward" to see tons of pictures of Samwell Tarly).

I guess I could have gone a more obvious way in a joke response to that posting saying Jon beheading "the coward" by replying:
"WHAT!!?? Jon beheaded Sam!!!"

The one thing the incident at Craster's Keep showed a few seasons ago is how quickly things can turn without discipline in the ranks. This isn't the Nightwatch of 800 years ago populated by older knights and second and third sons of noble houses. It's filled with criminals, orphans, and people who generally didn't have anywhere else to go.

As I recall in the books, Jon approached Slynt earlier as Slynt going to that location was part of a larger plan of Jon attempting to refurbish all of the abandoned forts on the wall. Slynt refused him then, and Jon warned him that it wasn't a request. What happened next was similar to the show.

Cool.

I'm enjoying many of the comments from readers of the books in regards to the changes and streamlined story for the show.

he's going to sew Sansa's vag up
not that she uses it anyway

Well, yes. Because this time she goes willingly, with revenge as her motive. After some serious training in the big leagues (King's Landing).

This was a strange episode (probably more for the non-book readers). Some very odd scenes. But also a couple of big moments, especially the Sansa story line. We finally have a direction for that one.

I missed what Littlefinger is getting out of the arranged marriage between Sansa and the Bolton. If I'm not supposed to know yet, don't tell me...

He points out to Roose that he (Littlefinger) controls the Eyrie and that "the last time the Eyrie and the North made an alliance, they brought down the greatest dynasty the world has ever known."

Basically alliance leading to power. What Littlefinger has always wanted.