Sunday, June 14, 2015

The Game of Thrones is becoming...something else.

I waited with anticipation for the Season 5 finale of this show but all that I saw were no less than three cliffhangers plus a lot of implied things. While GOT was pretty faithful to the books for the first two seasons, they wandered off the pages from then on. While what I am seeing is still entertaining (Tyrion Lannister is played very well), GOT has become a mashup of various bits and pieces from the five books already in print and there was one major fail detected. The differences between the show and the book will follow:

Warning: Spoilers are ahead! Ye have been warned!! (HBO incidents in bold text.. Book incidents in regular text)




- Arya had the Tickler killed at Harrenhall - In the books, she stabbed the Tickler to death while the Hound gained his debilitating wounds.

The Hound gained his wounds from fighting Brienne - In the books, the Hound and Brienne didn't meet until Brienne ran across the Brotherhood Without Banners. See above regarding wounds.

- Sansa is married off to Ramsay Snow (Bolton) -  In the book, Ramsay is married off to a fake Arya Stark. Sansa remains at the Eyrie in the vale.

Brienne of Tarth confronts Stannis Baratheon - Nope; that didn't happen in the books either.

Myrcella Lannister is poisoned by Oberyn's paramour -  In the book, Myrcella was disfigured by a sword blow to the face. Jaime Lannister also never goes to Dorne to fetch his daughter.

The Others look like cold desiccated corpses - In the book it is implied that they have a sort of ethereal  but unnatural beauty.

Arya goes blind after killing someone on her list - In the books, she becomes blind after killing an errant member of the Nights Watch.

Shireen Baratheon is burnt as a sacrifice - In the book, that doesn't happen but the attack on Winterfell also hasn't occurred yet.

Theon Greyjoy and Sansa stark jump off of the wall at Winterfell. - In the books, neither of them are there to do so.

When will Tyrion meet Aegon? - It happened in the fifth book.

,,,and so on...

MAJOR FAIL

When the Wall is being attacked by the wildings, a young member of the Night's Watch asks Samwell Tarly how someone as cowardly as he was killed an Other. That is interesting to note because in the HBO Series, only Gilly saw Samwell kill the Other with the obsidian dagger. How could that member of the Night's Watch know of his deed? Also, the other NW members are still derisive of Samwell despite his deed. -  In the books, Samwell kills the Other in sight of at least two other NW members and that is why he is called Sam the Slayer. Also in the books, the other NW members are respectful of Samwell after he kills the Other.

Other Things

The Lady Stoneheart Storyline - I am told that HBO has dispensed with that story arc but that is not a wise decision. The Brotherhood Without Banners was already featured in a earlier season and they played a significant role at least within the novels. The Freys need to pay for their betrayal and without the BWB, how will Brienne be tasked to find Jaime Lannister?

What I would like to see happen in the GOT

- Arya giving the Gift to the House of Frey in retaliation for the deaths of her brother and mother.

- Roose Bolton and Ramsay Snow exterminated. (No matter what King Tommen decrees, Ramsay will always be a bastard in my eyes.) Maybe Arya can poison them too.

- If GOT is supposed to be like Wars of The Roses, then there will have to be a Bosworth Field type battle. Once you know who is to be fighting at the aforementioned battle, it is easy to plug in the pieces. A Brother of a former King ( Stannis Baratheon) versus the son of a thrown down king of yore (Aegon Targaryen.) are the only two players that meet the requirements; after killing Stannis, Aegon could then marry Shireen to merge the two houses.

- I would also like to see a massive battle in the north between the undead and the living. (I am not sure of what to call the undead that follow the White Walkers; they are more than straight zombies but both wights and draugs are grave bound and have at least some independent capacity). Hopefully when they attack, they will be set on fire as an opening salvo of the battle that is to come.

- It is no wonder to me that I remain an atheist and my stance is further reinforced by watching this show. You have the dogmatic religion involving the Sparrows with their pogroms and inquisitions, (Like old style Christianity), the old Gods (something like the Druids) and the Red Priestess Religion (Its savagery of blood sacrifice and intolerance reminds me of Islam.) While the Old Gods don't appear to be that harmful, that can't be said regarding the other two religions. Hey Daenerys, can you dispose of them too?

My Recommendation

It appears that GOT will become even a more confusing mashup of the books as it veers further and further from the story line (I call such an affliction Potterosis). Though I will be the first to call it very entertaining, I recommend that you read the books in addition to watching the HBO show so you will know what you are missing. I am looking forward to the sixth book in the series.

A Jaded Bard




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