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"When I watched the Mad King die, I remembered him laughing as your father burned.... It felt like justice."

Why? will this take me to some glowing portrayal of despicable villainy made flesh?

Stag Lord said:

WHAT? Maybe in the first book...

Anyways, it was awesome, but I am almost getting over-trailer'd. I want some of it to be new dammit!

Yeah rings, I've thought about trying to put the brakes on watching anything more myself. Very tempting, though.

We've seen enough to say that Tyrion, Arya, Jaime, Littlefinger, and Dany are all gonna be stunning. Personally, I wish they'd switched the actors playing Robb and Jon, but hopefully I won't notice it once the entire episode is playing. I'm not thrilled with Catelyn (too matronly) or Cersei (seems like they are trying to humanize her too much for my tastes, but maybe it's just because they are trying to "grey" her character up a bit?). Viserys, Drogo, Tywin, on down to a lot of the bit parts seem to have been perfectly casted as well.

Overall, it looks like it's going to be pretty spectacular.

It is all day that i'm watching Arya and Bran portrait... This is not a toy... be careful... :-) 27 days to the beginning ;-)

rings said:

Pshaw. its through all four. Lions can't change their regicidal, treacherous, duplicitous spots. Manes. Whatever.

I think it passing odd that I am loved by one for a kindness I never did, and reviled by so many for my finest act.

Kennon said:

***********SPOILER*********

if pushing a kid out of a window because you love having sex with your sister is your finest act - yeah - you deserve being "reviled by so many," and a bit more if you ask me.

*****END OF SPOILER*****

I always found it ironic that readers love Jaime, but the characters hate him. It should really be the other way around.

Hahaha, I think he was meaning killing the Mad King.

Kennon said:

I know quite a few people who think pushing Bran out the window was just as fine

His chapters are so boring, but hopefully they'll get more interesting now that he is where he is and met whom he met.

SPO?ILALART

Kennon said:

His finest act is Aerys
His kindness he never did refers to Tyrion, correct?

That guy looks like a good Jaime, but (I'm agreeing with someone from your podcast here) why is his hair so dark? I always picture Jaime as having bright blonde hair and gleaming golden armor (the armor in the video is pretty dingy but perhaps he was shooting a battle scene when that interview was taken).

I pretty much agree with longclaw's analysis. I am okay with the way Catelyn is portrayed though I always pictured her a little younger and more beautiful. I am also okay with Cersei being humanized, but I always thought of her as being physically and emotionally stronger than the way she appears in the trailers (I don't picture her crying and appearing hurt in public like she does in that one shot). For an actress, I was expecting someone a bit more athletic and with a stronger tone of voice (I don't know actresses well enough to suggest a substitute but someone more like Maria Sharapova). She is supposed to Jaime's twin after all.

I agree on Cercei - I love the actress, and she is very talented. But they needed someone who everyone wants to...um...you know... She seems pretty icy (which she is in the books as well).

People keep saying Jaime was bad due to the stuff he does in the first book (and earlier), but he has changed - you see it with his choices, his relationship (with Cercei and Brienne and others). He has became my favorite chapter character, tied with his brother. The chapter where he goes to treat with the Blackfish and that castle is awesome how he handles his family, his bannermen, etc.

~In Stag Lord's world no one gets a second chance

Also, a (morally) good character does not necessarily make for a likeable or interesting character. Robb was Captain Awesome of Goody-goodness, but he was a boring character (though that may be in part because we never got a POV chapter from him).

As for the casting of Jaime and Cersei, sure, they don't fit most people's visual expectations (and I had serious doubt with regards to Lena Headey), but from what I've seen I think they're two of the best cast characters in the show. Headey's delivery is excellent, and Coster-Waldau's smugness is spot on for Jaime.

So far the only cast member I'm really not feeling is Catelyn, neither visually nor emotionally.

rings said:

Umm, that's world would be referred to as earth. Because I'm pretty sure you're not one to get many second chances in the real world if you did what Jaime did. As much as I enjoy the Jaime chapters in the later books, I pretty sure if it happened in my state he's looking at 6-30 years as a starting sentence. So I guess that settles it, he would get a second chance, just when he's an old man.

No he is rich and politically connected. If he did see the inside of a jail it would be some low-security prison where he would hardly be inconvenienced.

Saturnine said:

Me being a teacher of English and wise beyond measure concerning the matter of literature , I have to say that Jaime in contrast to Robb is a round character. He developes quite a bit. And I like him, his relation to the other characters changes after his stay in the Tully dungeon and that seems to be somehow purgative (maybe because he's no longer under Cersei's evil influence).

When I mentioned to a friend of mine (who has just started reading the first book) that Jaime is one of my favorite characters, all I got was a ***** look from her.

By the way, if one of you should by chance find out whether HBO is selling the Game Of Thrones series to Germany, please tell me. I'm afraid I will have to wait at least until book 7 is published (and that simply is no fun at all).

I think they have to hold back a lot of the things that paint Cersei in a darker light because almost all of them would be major spoilers for new viewers if they were in the preview videos.

So far the world wide viewing distribution is as follows:

Game of Thrones is set to premiere on HBO in the United States on April 17, 2011, and on Sky Atlantic HD in the United Kingdom on April 18, 2011. The series will air on Canal+ in Spain on May 9, 2011, and sometime in April on HBO Central Europe.

Penfold said:

I stand corrected.

schrecklich said:

Hmm, I think the Jaime casting is perfect - I can't think of anyone being better (he and Littlefinger may have been the best casting IMO). The hair color is the one detail of the characters that is important to me (I think it really is important to certain plot points) and his didn't bother me - nor did Cersei's - it's blonde enough/doesn't have to be bright yellow.

I'm actually far more perturbed about Ned's and Robert's hair coloring - couldn't they have died/colored it?

LordofBrewtown said:

Indeed. I really wonder how they're gonna handle that plot point about the black hair, or rather, with what they are replacing it.

LordofBrewtown said:

I agree 100%. Both Jaime and Littlefinger are perfect in my mind.

I often wonder, I think because its so early in the book and Bran is a child that one so easily villanizes Jamie and Cercei.

But consider: He paused, almost regretful when he pushed Bran out the window, and Cercei scolded him for it afterwards. Whereas later on the Hound (another character that we come to sympathize)... runs down the butcher boy for sport. Throughout the series its made quite clear that human life is worth nothing. Jamie is villianous because he killed a king, and he attempted murder on a nobleman's son. Had they been peasantry he would be an honorable knight.

I think all the castings I have seen so far are good or at least passable (i.e. no bad ones...). I think Jaime seems particularly good. I just wished they had put a few brighter highlights into his hair. Robert's hair is a bit of a departure from the books, but it's still pretty dark and is still sufficiently distinct from blonde to fulfill the needs of the plot. I don't understand the complaints with Ned's hair. It's usually described as "dark." I could be wrong, but I don't think it's ever specified that it's black.

Didn't remember if the book told spoke about black or dark hair... anyway the book says Jon is the only son of Eddard that has Stark resemblance and other ones has tully "trait" and hair red. So if Jon snow has black hair I think this is supposed that also ned has them.