Game of Thrones [SPOILERS]

[Riggswolfe]

Catelyn I didn't much like in the books either.  The TV version pretty much nails her, I think.

Yah, her POV was one of my least favorite.  Her and Cersei I just couldn't stand.  She's not a very likeable or sympathetic character in either portrayal.

Cersei I don't mind, but yeah, Catelyn in both books and show was fucking annoying. It was understandable WHY, but shit... she was just irritating. The actress nailed the character quite well though.

If I remember right the books do a better job of giving clues about why Catelyn is so unlikeable from how her father was to the fact she was in love with Ned's brother but had to marry Ned after the brother was killed by the mad king. The show, in some ways, made her more sympathetic, especially after that little speech about how bad she felt for not loving Jon.

Two events really brought down the Starks:

1) Catelyn releasing Jaime in hopes he'd let her daughters go free.
2) Robb marrying someone else.

Also, in the books, I got the feeling that Robb was basically set up, that the girl was sent there by Tywin to lead him to betray his word to the Freys. I don't think it ever explicitly says it but it was a feeling I got.

[Threash]

I don't think Robb was set up, i think the girls parents took advantage of the situation after it happened.  The girl at least seemed genuine the whole time.  Also in the books Cat talked Ned into going south and she talked Robb into making Roose Bolton leader of the second half of his army instead of the Great John, two big fuckups the tv show skipped or switched.

[Rendakor]

I got the same vibe as Riggswolfe, and it's why I was pretty upset at the change from Jeyne to Talisa. Even if Jeyne didn't know what was going on, Sybell could have easily set things in motion by telling her to tend to Robb. Regarding her motives specifically, Sybell could have been scheming with Tywin, or simply trying to make her daughter a Queen then changing her story when things went sideways.

[Threash]

The only reason Robb and Jenye got together was because he was heartbroken after finding out about Bran and Rickon and boned her and then felt honor bound to marry her, there is no way all that could've been planned beforehand unless Jenye was in on it and purposely set out to seduce him.  Hell, one of the Westerlings tried to free Grey Wind during the red wedding and got "feathered" as a result so not even all of them were in on it.  To me the most plausible story is that Sibell turned when things went sour for Robb and much like the Freys and Boltons did their best to appease Tywin for their initial support of the Starks.

[Morat20]

I think hanging your hat on a seduction of Robb leading him to feel "honorbound" to marry the girl was a bit much for the Lannisters. Sure they know Robb is big on honor and duty, but I'm pretty sure the culturally acceptable thing to do is marry her off to a sibling or relative and give her family a ton of money.

Him marrying her was...excessive. I don't think the Lannisters, except maybe Tyrion, are capable of actually conceiving of someone fucking up that badly in that particular way.

If they'd gone for a seduction plot, it would have been to stick a knife in Robb or poison him, not go for marriage and pissing off the Freys.

[Samwise]

Having him piss off the Freys was better for them than a more straightforward assassination would have been, since it gave the Freys a reason to ally with the Lannisters.  I agree that having Jeyne sent in as an agent provocateur stretches believability, though.  I think they just did a good job of taking advantage of the situation that Robb's own stupidity created.

Jaime conning Catelyn into letting him go, though, THAT was a master stroke.  I'm sure he didn't foresee the exact amount of shit that would be stirred up by his departure, and it probably wasn't even his main motive (he mostly just wanted out), but that screwed Robb over almost as much as the marriage did.

[calapine]

I shouldn't be in this thread, but oh well. Not sure I can agree with 'it's not a Ned Stark' moment. Sure, he was a likeable guy, much more than his wife, but in the end it was an execution and mainly served to show what cunt Goffrey is.

Now basically an entire family being wiped out at the wedding table, the wife being stabbed repeatly, the mother having the throat slit....ugh. That alone made me feel sorry for Catlyn, who I previously didn't care much for either way.

Someone said above that he stopped reading after book 3...most characters he liked were killed off and what the rest does wasn't interesting. I am sort of afraid the TV show might do the same for me. The big white walker 'mystery' and the threat they represent and keeps hanging over the proceedings is actually one of the weak points of the story for me.

[Samwise]

I mostly want the next books (and TV seasons) to see what happens with Bran and Arya.  I wouldn't put it entirely past Martin to kill one or both of them, just because he's already demonstrated that just because somebody seems like "the hero" doesn't mean they're safe... but being as (SPOILERS) Bran is being groomed as the one of the world's greatest wizards while Arya is being groomed as one of the world's greatest fighters, a lot of very interesting things could happen when they get a little more grown up and return to the Seven Kingdoms with a chip on their shoulders.

[Arthur_Parker]

Arya is going to fuck so many people up, I think she is safe.  In the US on holiday so not seen the latest episode yet.  Rereading the last two books, dance is actually pretty good apart from the choice of characters and the story not moving along much.

About a third of the way through feast and loved noticing everyone Arya meets on the ship is desperate that she remembers their name.

[Teleku]

You can tell he was setting up all the Stark children to become great masters at whatever.  Bran, Warg/Wizard.  Arya, crazy assassin fighter/killer.  Sansa, master of court intrigue (under little fingers tutelage).  Jon Snow, Warg Commander of The Watch.

This would all have worked out better if he had stuck to the original plan of having a 3 year jump in the books between the two halves of the series, so everybody had time to mature into their roles.  Then they come back as main protagonist for the second half of the series and fuck shit up, along with Dany, who has been learning to successfully rule over her own kingdom in what was the former slavers bay.

Unfortunately by giving up on the time jump he’s trying to write it all in and now deviating from that direction.  The way things are heading don't seem nearly as exciting as the scenarios above. 

So yeah, all I really care about at this point is Arya and Bran.  And hopefully the White Walkers eventually destroying civilization.

[Phred]

Someone said above that he stopped reading after book 3...most characters he liked were killed off and what the rest does wasn't interesting. I am sort of afraid the TV show might do the same for me.

Unless they jam a lot more into the last episode than I think is possible it will sacrifice the cliffhanger that got me back for book 4.

[Setanta]

Having him piss off the Freys was better for them than a more straightforward assassination would have been, since it gave the Freys a reason to ally with the Lannisters. 

This is a game of thrones don't forget. It puts the Freys in the position of being hated even more by the other houses, allowing the Lannisters to turn on them if and when with little resistance. I wouldn't put it past Tywin to have thought of that.

[Setanta]

Meanwhile: I want to see Merle as a white walker! In the meantime, I think I know how they will end  this season Ser Dondarrion

[Teleku]

There was no way the seduction of Robb was preplanned.  They never gave any indication of that what so ever in the books.  It was basically laid out as the parents taking advantage of it, to the point where they hid the entire thing from their daughter (her mom was giving her stuff to keep her from getting pregnant secretly), so they could gain favor with the lannisters and rise up the ranks.  Their marriage/love was genuine.

If Martin wants to be consistant, he'll need to have something absolutly horrible happen to the entire Frey house.  Robb got suckered in because Walder did something EVEN WORST than oath breaking.  Most other lords would have just told Robb to fuck off after his offer to make amends for the oath break, or perhaps try to lure them into an ambush of his army.  Nobody except for somebody as deep of a bastard as Walder Frey would possibly break the tradition of guest rights, after having offered salt and bread.  Its unthinkable.  Its been established over and over again that that is the sort of action from which the gods themselves will curse and pushing somebody in the worst way possible.  He probably wouldn't have fallen for it otherwise.

[Khaldun]

I keep telling folks that this is basically a post-apocalypse story covered over by fantasy tropes. When all the surviving favorites get together again in Westeros, it's going to be basically like getting together in the prison in the Walking Dead--most everybody is going to be dead from starvation and cold, the Wall shattered, the walkers everywhere. Whomever is still alive is going to have to choose to fight the ice zombies or choose to fight each other, and I think Martin will make that a genuine question (much as it is in the Walking Dead). I can see Dany ending up the Queen of pretty much nothing, waiting out the end of winter in a ruin.

[Samwise]

Having him piss off the Freys was better for them than a more straightforward assassination would have been, since it gave the Freys a reason to ally with the Lannisters. 

This is a game of thrones don't forget. It puts the Freys in the position of being hated even more by the other houses, allowing the Lannisters to turn on them if and when with little resistance. I wouldn't put it past Tywin to have thought of that.

Oh, for sure.  More importantly, the Freys can't turn on the Lannisters, because nobody else is ever going to ally with them after that stunt.

[Threash]

Having him piss off the Freys was better for them than a more straightforward assassination would have been, since it gave the Freys a reason to ally with the Lannisters. 

This is a game of thrones don't forget. It puts the Freys in the position of being hated even more by the other houses, allowing the Lannisters to turn on them if and when with little resistance. I wouldn't put it past Tywin to have thought of that.

Yeah, by the time book four rolls around "what are you, a Frey?" is already an insult.

[Ironwood]

 

[WayAbvPar]

 

[Lucas]

From the same source (I assume):



 

[Arthur_Parker]

Game of Thrones: Red Wedding Reactions Compilation

 

Game of Thrones Season 3: Inside the Red Wedding

[K9]

Game of Thrones Ultimate Birthday Rap Battle

 

[Rendakor]

That was awesome.

[MrHat]

So awesome.

[Khaldun]

Particularly like Robb's rap.

[HaemishM]

I GOT DRAGONS, BITCH! 

[Slayerik]

Robert Baratheon's rap was fierce.

[Morat20]

The guy playing Jon Snow did manage to get the right look of confused distraction on his face. :)

[schild]

Game of Thrones: Red Wedding Reactions Compilation

 

Game of Thrones Season 3: Inside the Red Wedding

Meant to spoiler that. Oh man. I'm so sorry if someone read it.

God a lot of these characters are awful.

[Teleku]

Eh, you only spoiled something I'm almost 100% sure they're going to cliff hanger the final episode of the season with, so not to bad, heh.

Other than a few actors (Shae very specifically), I thought most of them have been quite good.  Only characters I've ever really hated from the series are Catelyn, Cersei (just because shes so fucking evil), and

[Arthur_Parker]

Catelyn was always boring, she made bad decisions like releasing Jamie (leading to Robb's kinslaying of Rickard Karstark), not trusting her husband and hating Jon for reasons he had no control over.  Can't remember how she treated Theon but Robb wouldn't have relied so heavily on Theon if Jon hadn't been driven to the Wall, in large part by her not accepting him.

Robb was Ned's first son and apart from some skill at warfare did nothing except call his banners to war and fall for a pretty face, he's one of the few characters to make the always honourable Ned seem like a political genius.  At least Ned had the small tactical advantages of keeping his word and being able to mostly keep his daft wife under control.

Aerys the Mad refused to let Cersei marry Rhaegar because "Tywin was a mere servant of the crown, and no servant's daughter was fit to marry a prince of royal blood" which is pretty similar in the end to how Robb felt about marrying a Frey daughter.  Tywin eventually betrayed Aerys and arranged for Walter Frey to do for Robb.

[Setanta]

Of all the characters, Catelyn, Robb and Jon are at the top of my hate list. They are either annoying (Catelyn) or boring (Jon) or both (Robb). I'm not going to include Sansa because she's the yardstick to measure Joffrey by. Even Joffrey, Cersei and Tywin are more fun to watch, because their characters have purpose and depth. Varys and Littlefinger are fantastic.

I keep coming back to all the spear-carriers, those that are interesting and I'd love to know more about, like the Cleganes etc. I'm hoping that  as I don't know that I could be bothered with his story.

I'm a heretic though, Bran's story also bores the shit out of me - or at least the way Martin writes it.

[Cheddar]

I'm a heretic though, Bran's story also bores the shit out of me - or at least the way Martin writes it.

I hope he dies or becomes a tree.

[Surlyboi]

I'm a heretic though, Bran's story also bores the shit out of me - or at least the way Martin writes it.

I hope he dies or AND becomes a tree.

FTFY

[Teleku]

I've liked Brans story up through there current point in the books.  It started slow, but I thought it remained interesting from Theon taking Winterfell and onward.  Very curious to see what the Children of the Forest exactly are, hopefully get some origin stories for them and the walkers, and see if they themselves are evil or not.  I also always liked Robb, and never found him annoying or boring, so not sure of the hate I'm seeing, but oh well.

Jon was always hit or miss with me.  His arc north of the wall was fun, most things before and after got boring.