Television Game of Thrones (TV) • The watch has ended

Eplel

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Third rewatch. Forgot how good season 1 is, think it gets less praise because it’s less action oriented than the following series’.
It's exactly why the first season is better.

Imo, after the end of the 3rd season, the show's quality falls off a cliff.

The series suffered because it used it's interesting and well written characters and stories as fodder, and there was too much fan service to all the khalissi and Jon snow fans.
 

Robertd0803

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Even Oberyn was pretty pointless in the show in the grand scheme of it. Came in for a few eps, was cool, then died without any real consequence or impact on the show (besides zombie mountain, which didn’t really change much either).
Oberyn does the exact same in the books though, his whole death moves Dorne towards taking action against the Iron Throne. Granted in the show its then different at that point with the utterly awful Sand Snakes but Oberyn is pretty much book to screen at least.
Did they ever show Syrio dying?
No, Syrio never gets an on screen death. Ayras internal thoughts in the book point out the obvious to her, that hes fighting a fully armoured knight while unamoured and fighting with a stick so theres only one outcome really.

Theres some theory that Syrio turns in to Jaqen Hgar though.
 

Sylar

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Oberyn does the exact same in the books though, his whole death moves Dorne towards taking action against the Iron Throne. Granted in the show its then different at that point with the utterly awful Sand Snakes but Oberyn is pretty much book to screen at least.


No, Syrio never gets an on screen death. Ayras internal thoughts in the book point out the obvious to her, that hes fighting a fully armoured knight while unamoured and fighting with a stick so theres only one outcome really.

Theres some theory that Syrio turns in to Jaqen Hgar though.
Syrio into jaqen into the white horse theory lives on
 

Zen86

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Oberyn does the exact same in the books though, his whole death moves Dorne towards taking action against the Iron Throne. Granted in the show its then different at that point with the utterly awful Sand Snakes but Oberyn is pretty much book to screen at least.
In the books there are consequences that will happen as a result though, one way or the other. Oberyn’s brief stint in the book moves the entire Dorne plot. The sand snakes and pretty much all of Dorne on the show were completely pointless.
 

Robertd0803

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In the books there are consequences that will happen as a result though, one way or the other. Oberyn’s brief stint in the book moves the entire Dorne plot. The sand snakes and pretty much all of Dorne on the show were completely pointless.
Yeah TV Dorne was simply awful.
 

Zen86

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Yeah TV Dorne was simply awful.
It’s a shame because the whole Dorne story arc had a lot of intrigue and build up in the books, although we still don’t know where it’s actually going. Was bitterly disappointed in how the show played it out though (or didn’t play it out, rather). Same goes for the Stannis arc as well.
 

cafecillos

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It’s a shame because the whole Dorne story arc had a lot of intrigue and build up in the books, although we still don’t know where it’s actually going. Was bitterly disappointed in how the show played it out though (or didn’t play it out, rather). Same goes for the Stannis arc as well.
To be fair to the show writers, GRRM doesn't know either.
 

lsd

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To be fair to the show writers, GRRM doesn't know either.

That's very true i do wonder if anyone else will finish the books like with the Wheel of Time series as i am convinced Martin has no idea where to go and basically wrote himself into a wall
 

Mike Smalling

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Third rewatch. Forgot how good season 1 is, think it gets less praise because it’s less action oriented than the following series’.
The first season is the best, and it's not particularly close, in my opinion. The world/character building, story telling, dialogues and acting is superior to the rest of the series. Even the action is better, because it's less frequent, but more meaningful. The short fights like Ned vs. Jamie and Bronn vs. Ser Vardis are all intense, well-choreographed and very important to the plot. They just seem more grounded and realistic. When looking at the plot twists, I also don't think anything beats Ned's death - it was beautifully done. Season 1 is also the first and last season that doesn't have a problem with lighting. And it has the one true king, Bobby B!

I could go on, but people that prefer season 2 or 3 are simply not intelligent.
 

Woodzy

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The first season is the best, and it's not particularly close, in my opinion. The world/character building, story telling, dialogues and acting is superior to the rest of the series. Even the action is better, because it's less frequent, but more meaningful. The short fights like Ned vs. Jamie and Bronn vs. Ser Vardis are all intense, well-choreographed and very important to the plot. They just seem more grounded and realistic. When looking at the plot twists, I also don't think anything beats Ned's death - it was beautifully done. Season 1 is also the first and last season that doesn't have a problem with lighting. And it has the one true king, Bobby B!

I could go on, but people that prefer season 2 or 3 are simply not intelligent.
I’d argue Red Wedding, which is one of the most shocking things I’ve ever seen in a TV show, but I’d agree completely with everything else.
 

Mike Smalling

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I’d argue Red Wedding, which is one of the most shocking things I’ve ever seen in a TV show, but I’d agree completely with everything else.
That's fair - it will never be as shocking for me, because I had read the books at that point, so it was a bit different. I also thought it was a bit lame how they added cheap shock value by having Robb's wife violently stabbed in her pregnant belly, when she wasn't even there in the books. Ned's beheading takes it for me, because it was the first real shock of the series, and came to define what it was about. The slow realization that it might actually be happening, and Arya being in the square was just great television.
 

Robertd0803

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It’s a shame because the whole Dorne story arc had a lot of intrigue and build up in the books, although we still don’t know where it’s actually going. Was bitterly disappointed in how the show played it out though (or didn’t play it out, rather). Same goes for the Stannis arc as well.

Yeah it went off a cliff the minute they surpassed the books although some of the changes they made prior to that were already starting to get a little stupid (Robbs wife being one).

Still astounds me that they could make something as brilliant as Hardhome (still the best battle I feel) and utterly mess nearly everything else up.
 

2cents

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It’s a shame because the whole Dorne story arc had a lot of intrigue and build up in the books, although we still don’t know where it’s actually going. Was bitterly disappointed in how the show played it out though (or didn’t play it out, rather). Same goes for the Stannis arc as well.
Arianne could have been a great character, no idea why they cut her out, nipples and all.

The first season is the best, and it's not particularly close, in my opinion. The world/character building, story telling, dialogues and acting is superior to the rest of the series. Even the action is better, because it's less frequent, but more meaningful. The short fights like Ned vs. Jamie and Bronn vs. Ser Vardis are all intense, well-choreographed and very important to the plot. They just seem more grounded and realistic. When looking at the plot twists, I also don't think anything beats Ned's death - it was beautifully done. Season 1 is also the first and last season that doesn't have a problem with lighting. And it has the one true king, Bobby B!

I could go on, but people that prefer season 2 or 3 are simply not intelligent.
I’m currently doing a re-read of the first book while watching along on season 1 and I couldn’t agree more. While the more I read and watch the more the two mediums diverge in my mind, I have a growing appreciation for the adaptation they achieved initially. In particular in the early years the show did a great job in conveying just how weird and strange this world is, from Robert Arryn sucking on his mother’s teats to Walder Frey licking his lips talking about his 15 year-old wife’s “honey”. Apart frm everything else, the show writers really struggled to maintain this sense after season 3. The introduction of the Dorne and Iron Islands plots in seasons 5 and 6 might have been a good opportunity to reclaim that spirit of mystery but the writers completely blew it.
 
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Salt Bailly

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Yeah it went off a cliff the minute they surpassed the books although some of the changes they made prior to that were already starting to get a little stupid (Robbs wife being one).

Still astounds me that they could make something as brilliant as Hardhome (still the best battle I feel) and utterly mess nearly everything else up.
Didn't the showrunners say they only adapted the show because they wanted to recreate the red wedding?
 

Salt Bailly

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I hope not (wouldnt surprise me though) although I seriously doubt they read the books to begin with.
In their defence, and I say that grudgingly after the massacre that was seasons 7 and 8, I think when they begun the show they genuinely expected grrm to have finished the series or at least be at the tail end of it a decade later.
 

Robertd0803

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In their defence, and I say that grudgingly after the massacre that was seasons 7 and 8, I think when they begun the show they genuinely expected grrm to have finished the series or at least be at the tail end of it a decade later.

Yeah that is probably true.
 

TheMagicFoolBus

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Was it ever confirmed who sent the Kingsguard to attack Tyrion at Blackwater?
In the show it's all but confirmed that it was Joffrey.

In the books it's not clear,
the one person I'm pretty sure it isn't is Cersei since she never mentions it during her POV chapters even when obsessing over Tyrion. It may also be Joffrey but I actually think it was probably Littlefinger.
 

Sylar

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Five years on from the finale. Seen some great clips pop up on my X feed, some great moments.

The final season, but mostly the last few episodes will go down as a big waste. It seems I don't hear it talked about much except on anniversaries.

I still however see 'what should have been' videos and talk. I do wonder if this will ever get rebooted or redone years from now. Or maybe an animated version

Anyway five years already. Damn
 

Mike Smalling

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Five years on from the finale. Seen some great clips pop up on my X feed, some great moments.

The final season, but mostly the last few episodes will go down as a big waste. It seems I don't hear it talked about much except on anniversaries.

I still however see 'what should have been' videos and talk. I do wonder if this will ever get rebooted or redone years from now. Or maybe an animated version

Anyway five years already. Damn
It happened a lot earlier than that. I'd say after Season 4 there was nothing special about it besides the budget. By then it was living off the name of the first seasons, which were excellent. There were still some good set pieces and exciting scenes, but the clever writing was gone. It was just that the wheels fully came off in the last two seasons, so that even casual fans could see it was pure nonsense.

I can't think of a show that reached a similar high in terms of cultural impact, and then fell into complete obscurity after it ended.
 

ShoePolish

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I remember thinking how the feck are they going to deal with the walkers and Kings Landing within 6 episodes when it was announced it is going to be 6 eps long.
They then proceeded to pretty much waste the first 2 episodes on what i considered drivel.
It's not just the Dumb & Dumbers fault, feck HBO for making them wrap up the show in such short amount of episodes.
 

Matt Varnish

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I binged watched it over a week after getting Sky.
I gotta say I wasn't impressed, Lord of the Rings it is not, terrible story lines, massive plot holes and poor characters, I reckon Sean Bean asked to be killed off.
George Martin, the producers and directors need serious mental therapy if they consider some of that entertainment.
 

JuveGER

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I remember thinking how the feck are they going to deal with the walkers and Kings Landing within 6 episodes when it was announced it is going to be 6 eps long.
They then proceeded to pretty much waste the first 2 episodes on what i considered drivel.
It's not just the Dumb & Dumbers fault, feck HBO for making them wrap up the show in such short amount of episodes.
D&D wanted to wrap it up, because they were done with it and wanted to move on. HBO wanted more seasons (obviously, it was their flagship show).
 

RedSky

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I remember thinking how the feck are they going to deal with the walkers and Kings Landing within 6 episodes when it was announced it is going to be 6 eps long.
They then proceeded to pretty much waste the first 2 episodes on what i considered drivel.
It's not just the Dumb & Dumbers fault, feck HBO for making them wrap up the show in such short amount of episodes.
HBO wanted several more seasons. D&D were the reason why the show ended so abruptly as they wanted to do their Star Wars project (which got cancelled after the GoT debacle).