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A Thread of A Series of Books of A Song of Ice and Fire (BOOK AND TV SPOILERS HERE)
Posts
Yeah I have one show only friend who has no idea who anyone is, and honestly isn't even sure why he keeps watching. Trying to put myself in his shoes I can totally see where he's coming from, this show is insanely complex. I told him to read the books but he just doesn't have the time right now. I really am shocked the show has done as well as it had given how potentially incomprehensible it can all be.
It's got great characters, and actors, and moments...but trying to sit and watch it would be excruciating.
That's the thing, Theon becomes Reek, with a severe case of Stockholm Syndrome. He basically becomes Ramsay's henchman, desperately sucking up to him, essentially raping a girl because Ramsay tells him to. showing Theon doing nasty things to avoid even nastier things happening to himself is a part of that process. Having him torture is a way to break him and proof that he has broken. Abusers perpetuating the cycle of abuse kind of thing.
Hell, Theon's dad is not long for this world, Neither is Rob, his best friend and closest thing to a brother. Rejected by everyone, hated by everyone. That is Theon's life in the next few seasons. We are going to see him fall far, before he gets back up.
I don't understand why obsessive show fans don't just read the books. If they have time to post on forums and theorize about shit, they have time to read the books. Hell, any loyal fan should try and do the same thing. Without a doubt the best fantasy novels since Lord of the Rings.
Because they are longer than "War and Peace", probably.
Then they're all "who the fuck is THAT guy?"
Yeah. Just watch the show. Let me know how that works for you.
Technically, having him torture people would be the most efficient way of showing that he's broken. I think the TV audience would get that he's torturing people because he will die if he doesn't (and he's essentially a coward), not because he enjoys it.
That would actually track with his actions in Winterfell during ADWD (he does some horrible things because Ramsay makes him, but strives for redemption when he is able).
I don't think length is the barrier for many people. Some people just find reading really demanding, and don't read much. Some people like that are very clever too - I know people with higher degrees in STEM subjects who don't read for pleasure. They're just not into words.
If someone read WOT then I just think it's going to be a difference of taste. I hated WOT. It was like, the anti-AGOT. Same genre, multiple-POV chapters, long, terrible writing and plotting. Like The Sword of Shannara compared to LOTR. Very different books.
Theon doesn't do anything terrible for Ramsay. All we really see him do is gently cut a girl's clothes off who was about to undress anyway and eat her out. Theon does not perpetuate a cycle of abuse, he cringes in fear.
I mentioned WoT just because I wanted it to be clear that I don't believe length to be a barrier.
And I don't think it's a taste thing, given they haven't even cracked ASOIF, and love the show.
It's just that some people seem to think there's benefit to the "pure" enjoyment of the show in its show form, without the books clouding it. Or...something. Like, if WoT had been a show he wouldn't have read those either, assuming he'd started the show first.
I think the thing is that people don't want the show "spoiled." Which is silly, because it's not "spoiled" if you're still coming upon it as a story in another format, but whatever. They're invested in it as a show, and want to "experience" it as a show. I guess I understand, it's not like you'd pause a movie halfway through, then read the book, then finish the movie. But seriously, I do pity anybody who continues trying to wade through this. I stick by my Harry Potter comparison, though in fairness those books barely made sense as books (and I liked them). But pulling half the content out for the movie made them nonsensical, and I can't imagine why anybody would have watched those as standalone movies, rather than "hey, I wonder what this scene from the book will look like on screen."
And this is precisely how I feel about this show. I'm interesting in watching key scenes unfold on screen. I love watching the characters interact. Otherwise? It's a mess, as far as story goes.
Eh. It's convoluted, long and really, really sloppy. It has some fun stuff though and some people like it.
I can't imagine how difficult a creative endeavor of this magnitude can be to corral when the very first part - the writing - is not nearly so well-trodden.
I know tons of people who only watch the show, and I don't think it's strictly necessary to get everything that is going on in order to enjoy it. The show, much like the book, has plenty of layers that may not be seen in the first viewing. I have a friend who really just enjoys the intrigue, and even though she doesn't follow everything or remember all the characters' names, she loves watching just to see what happens next. It's not a lot different from having favorite character POVs or not understanding all the prophecies/foreshadowing in the books the first time through.
I think you are selling the show short by alot. I don't think it's a great show, but it is a pretty good show and it's far from a mess.
Baby names for the last year. Little OT but thought it was coo.
I'm waiting for the sudden increase of illegitimate kids with middle names like snow, rivers, storm and sand.
I wonder if Joffrey and any variations thereof have seen any kind of decline.
Well, Ned had been doing well but is no longer pulling ahead.
man what? my friends don't need the books, neither did I in season one
Taking a word or name and making it backwards.
Disagree. It's a huge time investment. The series from AGOT to ADWD is 1.77 million words. At the low end of the average adult reading speed (250 WPM), thats 118 hrs. Even just through ASOS its a million words, which takes 70 hrs.
By comparison the entire LOTR series is 473k words. ASOS alone is 424k words!!!
http://www.cesspit.net/drupal/node/1869
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Words_per_minute
Uh, has it taken anyone in this thread 70 hours or anywhere close to it to read ASOS?
I think you're so busy trying to be clever that you're not noticing your claims are kinda ridiculous
EPISODE 9 COME TO ME.
This post has been bookmarked.
Even to read 100 pages per week (I.e, about an episode per week) isn't very tough going. Twenty pages a day while on the commute to work or school. Easy.
Yeah, Season 1 is what made me read the books. Got the Blu-rays when they were cheap on Amazon due to internet hype, loved it, then bought all the books.
Its infuriating right now because she stopped like one chapter before the RW
I feel that way about Littlefinger, actually. Whereas Sandor is just really angry at the fucked-up-ness of the world, Littlefinger just chose to go with the flow.
Littlefinger is Ozymandias
The Hound and the Comedian are a pretty good match, as well. They both see their world for it is and as a result don't give a shit.
Varys knows.