'Game of Thrones' on HBO HD - NO SPOILERS or Book Discussion - Page 26

Really? It mainly died out with the Egyptians. First cousins--yes. That's fairly common. Even the Hapsburgs didn't do brother/sister unions.

Back to Deanarys, she's the second most intriguing character behind Tyrion. I'm not sure if it's her acting, but I always pay attention when she's on the screen.

They should just give Dinklage the emmy now, as well as one for every year this show is on. His one on one with the queen was spellbinding,the way he reacted to what she said. He went through a whole range of emotions while just sitting in a chair, all the while keeping them firmly in check. All the acting is topnotch, but he towers over everyone else imo. As good as GoT is, it rises to an even higher level when he's onscreen.

Theon's scene is quite important as it lays the foundation that he's not the "good guy" initially portrayed in Season 1.

Martin spend a fair amount of time on that interaction with the ship's girl in the book.

3 more minutes of Dany would have just been 3 more minutes of her group sitting in the dirt. Though that's not to say some scenes couldn't use some trimming.

Ugh, HBO has done it again. I promised myself I would just wait for the BD of season 2 but, of course, HBO does a free preview weekend last week so I watched the season premiere. I held out until yesterday and finally broke down and re-subscribed to HBO, watch episode 2 on the Xbox HBO GO app. At least DISH is offering premium channels at half off for 6 months right now which will get me through season 2 and maybe the first season of The Newsroom.

News just posted to the Facebook Page for GoT. Its been renewed for a third season ........

So how far into the book series will the third season take us?

Hard to believe you're talking about the imp.

According to a past interview, Season 2 aligns with Book 2.

Book 3 is large enough that the producer's intent is to split Book 3 into 2 seasons.

Likely that also means Book 4 will have to be split in 2 seasons as well.

The producers have fully expected this will go 10+ seasons if necessary to cover the entire series.

TV Notes
HBO's Game Of Thrones' Renewed For Third Season
By Nellie Andreeva, Deadline.com - Apr. 10, 2012

The only question surrounding HBO's renewal of Game Of Thrones was What took so long? Following a ratings record-setting Season 2 premiere and excellent Week 2 hold, the fantasy series was just picked up for a third season. Series creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss raised our expectations for the second season - and then surpassed them, said HBO's programming president Michael Lombardo.

Based on the bestselling fantasy book series by George R.R. Martin, Game Of Thrones launched its second season with 3.9 million viewers tuning for the premiere, a series high and up 74% from GOTs series debut. The Season 2 opener has now been seen by a gross audience of 8.3 million viewers and is on track to easily surpass the Season 1 average of 9.3 million viewers. This past Sunday, GOT drew 3.8 million viewers, retaining virtually the entire audience of its second season premiere. Season 2 of GOT is executive produced by Benioff, Weiss, Carolyn Strauss and Frank Doelger.

http://www.deadline.com/2012/04/hbos...-third-season/

I love the idea of 10+ seasons but, has any show lasted that long on HBO? Most shows that last near that long tend to have some periods of rating slumps over the years, will HBO stick with it through those slumps or dump it?

I won't comment on the likelihood of slumps due to the ban on future book discussion in this thread, but you are correct that no show of this magnitude and budget has lasted for 10+ seasons

What I really don't like is these short seasons... I guess it's premium cable network of 10-12 episodes a season, instead of the regular network 20-23 episodes per season.

Yep inside the nfl 1977-2008.

Now its on showtime.

Quality vs. Quantity.

The producers have said that 10 episodes per year is the max they can handle to keep the quality high and still deliver a new season every year.

The way I look at it, a full season of Game of Thrones is closer to a well-made 9 hour film than it is to a full season of any network show. The scope, locations, cast, etc. are all on a different level compared to the average network show like Hawaii 5-0 or Law & Order.

I think the plan was to cover books 4 & 5 simultaneously over two seasons, because the events in those books overlap. The characters in book 4 mostly aren't in book 5, and vice-versa.

I'm still digesting all that happened in season 1. When will season 2 be on bluray?
Anyway I've got a puzzlement. That king guy from across the sea that helped set up Danny and the horselord to get married so they could raise and army and take back the throne. This same king guy showed up in the dungeon with Eunuch spider guy to tell everyone that she's preggers. Did this king guy from across the sea just set Danny up to be executed? What the heck? who's on who's side here.
The Targaryans are getting the short end of the stick. Even the dragons are short.

He isn't a king. Think of him more like a super wealthy Varys (the eunuch). He's a manipulator with goals known only to himself and he sees something in it for him to use his wealth to keep Dany and her brother safe, then marry her off, and then report on her status to Varys and others.

As for the Targaryans, well, I wouldn't shed many tears. Remember that Dany's father used to be King of Westeros and he butchered Ned's brother and father. The Targaryan dragons are babies, of course they'd be short. But most babies get bigger...

The longer a show goes, the more it costs to produce. The actors want big raises, etc. Unless many of the characters are killed off, I can't see it going over 5-6 seasons. HBO does have more leeway than commercially sponsored networks though.

If they're smart, HBO locked them all into long-term contracts. Also, this is much more of an ensemble piece, which I think can help keep the salary per actor down. I'd be more concerned about people leaving for films, dying, or the kids getting too old.

- It's also important to introduce the people and culture of the Iron Islands. The captain's daughter begs Theon to take her as his "salt wife". Women are generally held in low regard in the Iron Islands, which makes Balon Greyjoy's endorsement of Yara (Asha in the books) so surprising.

Hey guys, this is the "No Book Discussion" thread

I'm not usually a spoiler-phobe, but I have to agree...I feel like they've already spoiled the character of Theon--I hope I'm wrong, but the "good guy" comment makes me feel that he will eventually betray the Starks. Before, I was still on the fence about which way his character would go, considering that he didn't come off as a "good person" in either season 1 or 2 so far, but he has been rather loyal to the "good guys"...

I suspected he would one day want to make a name for himself and gain some power, but was hoping it wouldn't come at the expense of the Starks.

I think he could be easily pushed to side with his family, which we saw from last weeks episode is only looking out for themselves. While he does have allegiance to the Starks 1st and foremost is to his blood. I do agree though any book talk outside of very broad generalizations is a no no for this thread.

That is an unbelievable stretch to consider my comments a spoiler given Theon's behavior and interaction with his father throughout the episode.

FWIW, I have never read the books and try to steer clear of the book/spoiler debates, but the importance of the scene with Theon on the ship was clear. It shows Theon's arrogance (carried further in the interaction with his sister), shedding substantial light on his character, possible motivations, and how things might play out with his father and the Starks. If this is depicted in the book as well, fine, but the mere mention of that is hardly in spoiler territory.

My 2 cents. ;-)

Again, I never thought of Theon as a person of good "character", but because of his loyalty to the Starks, I was on the fence about him being a "bad guy". It's like the King, I couldn't stand his character, but he really loved Ned Stark, and although they argued, you knew he could never bring himself to do harm to such an honorable man and friend.

Theon had more "telling" scenes in season 1, but he's also been very loyal to the Starks. At the end of this last episode, we are shown that his father is definitely not a "good guy" and can fall squarely in the "bad guy" realm--leaving the audience with the question "who will Theon follow, his father or the honorable Starks?"

By saying that scene on the boat was fleshed out more in the book, and at the same time saying that Theon isn't a "good guy"...it leads us to conclude that his bad side will win the battle over his honor. That's how this show has been setting up his character from the start--which way will he go? Will he fall to the Iron in his blood or stay true to the Starks?

Some might speculate and say "oh he's definitely going to turn against the Starks to get in good with his father", while others might say "No, he'll end up having to betray his father to help the Starks win the war"...guess which way I'm leaning now?...all because the "book" was mentioned in the same breath as the phrase "isn't the good guy". That's why they keep on, keeping on, reminding people to NOT discuss the books AT ALL in this thread--because something that seemed so innocent and generalized, could still be considered a spoiler.

I'm not mad, and for all I know I could be wrong about what was implied in that statement--the reason I'm not mad is because they've portrayed him as someone that could one day betray the Starks, so I knew it to be a strong possibility, but there was room to entertain the hope that his honor would prevent it from happening.

Edit: I keep saying his honor, but it's really more about "loyalty to the Starks"...don't know if I could really call him an honorable man, because some of his actions--like groping his sister--I wouldn't consider honorable lol.

I am a bit concerned about the book discussion as well. However, I think the show has made Theon's motivation clear. He went to Pyke to be an ally of Rob's. It is also clear that he is very immature. Theon fancied himself a man and a leader but his father quickly emasculated him. Theon has big "daddy issues" and Rob's offer was burned by his father which indicates that isn't the direction that that house will go. Theon's father said that they weren't going to fight the Lannisters. Plus, they don't accept offers, they have to pay the "iron price" which means fight for their kingdom. All of that was laid out very clearly.

of course it was--VERY CLEARLY--as was the disappointed and tormented look on Theon's face at the end of that scene. Now he's faced with being replaced by his sister (a woman) in his father's eyes, and it appears his father is ready to sail against Rob instead of for him. Who's more worthy of his loyalty, his family or the Starks? His family = "bad guy", Starks = "good guy"..."he isn't the good guy" kinda spoils that.

i thought when he was groping his sister, he didn't know it was her until they arrived at the castle. i think theon thought she was just someone helping him out and giving him a ride, and his character is constantly groping women.

and i was the one who jumped on the post that talked about the books, and my post got deleted. gotta love the mods.