As I said in the title, this thread will contain spoilers. Please only post if you know/don't mind knowing things that happen in the all the books published upto the start of 2011 (i.e. NOT DANCE WITH DRAGONS) and the HBO series...

... As I understand it, George RR Martin was pretty heavily involved in the HBO version of the story, so I wonder whether the different emphasis (things left in or out) makes anyone think differently about what they expect from the future of the books.

For example, Jon Snow, I'm personally pretty keen on the R+L=JS theory, based on the books. But the TV series has left out so much of that, very little detail on Robert's rebellion, and NOTHING on the Tower of Joy. On the other hand, I've just been re-watching the scene between Jon and Benjen in the opener, where Benjen tells him that joining the Watch will mean fathering no children. Jon says he doesn't care, to which Benjen responds "you might, if you knew what it meant" - seems like HBO are trying to lead us more in the direction that Benjen could be Jon's real father.

I also wonder whether GRRM has changed his mind about any of the major plot twists between when he started writing and now- perhaps he feels people have spotted his plans, so now he's going to change them- i really hope this isn't the case.

So what do people think, have they noticed any differences that have changed their expectations for the future? any new suspicions? or is it all just a case of what happens when you turn a book into a TV-series?

Not so much - I didn't see anything in the series that changed how I feel about the plot line in the novles. I did like the humanization of Cersei - and teh scene where she and Robert laugh derisively about their "love" was well done. Martin can be very good at characterization (Dany, Tyrion) and very bad (Joffrey, Cersei). I think the series added soem much needed depth in a few palces.

Could have done without Roz though - ~ unless fo course, she is the major player in Dance, Winds and Promise.

Obviously I really enjoyed it.

Obviously for time constraints they didn't keep everything that I would have liked, so that might go a long way into not explaining things like Jon's real background yet (seems to be alluded to a ton though - also in his conversation w/ Aemon IMHO).

Really, Martin swings for the fences usually, so I would be very surprised if Benjen was the father.

Nothing else really comes to mind. I agree that I enjoy Cercei and (in later episodes) Shea more. And Dany/Drogo was done really well.

One thing the series has done is made me like some of the characters a little more than I did in the books. I remember being pretty bored by the Dany chapters when I was reading but in the show I liked her scenes. And Catelyn Stark is much improved in the series than the books in my opinion.

I agree that the sexposition is a bit silly. I didn't like Littlefinger openly declaring his agenda like that. He's not that stupid.

The girl playing Arya is nailing it and I like Sam better in the show than in the books.

I am eager to see how season two is presented and some of the casting choices, like Stannis, Davos, Melisandre, and Jaqen.

Stag Lord said:

I felt the opposite in that I didn't like the humanization of Cersei's character. I like how gritty and villainous many of the characters are and don't want to have to put myself in their position and sympathize with everyone. I prefer having characters I can root for, and others I can just hate unconditionally... just like in real life. Otherwise aside from that the show didn't really change any of my perceptions on the story. I didn't really like the way some characters looked, but that's more subjective and I'm sure most people would beg to differ.

I thought the portrayal of Cersei was odd - it was almost as if teh show had been written/directed by Cersei. The version of her that she perceives, stronger, more reasoned cleverer etc. Rather than the way those around her in the books can spot her obvious flaws.

The show hasn't changed my perception of the characters in the book, though for certain characters I cannot help but picture the corresponding actor now. Neither has the show changed my interpretation of certain plot lines, and I've never been one to speculate too much on what's going to happen, so my outlook on future events or possible plot lines hasn't really changed either.

Cersei is one of the examples where the portrayal in the show differs from the books, but I'll happily seperate the two. I really enjoy her in the show, but it's not bleeding into my perception of her in the books. Same with the other characters. If I hadn't read the books before watching the series I'd probably feel different, though.

Stag Lord said:

The fake Arya who the Lannisters are sending to marry Ramsay Bolton? obviously she's a bit old, but they might be hoping nobody notices that.

Mighty Jim said:

Haha.