George R.R. Martin/Game of Thrones

[AlexPKeaton]

Oh they cast the chick from tudors as Margery Tyrell!

[DelPen]

Oh they cast the chick from tudors as Margery Tyrell!

Is it the same lady that played her in season 1?

[the wicked child]

Every time I see David Benioff, I am weirded out because he looks so much like Marcel of Top Chef fame.... like his father or something.

[the wicked child]

3 days.

Spoiler:

[eddysnake]

Finished rewatching the 1st season last night, getting real excited for Sunday. Reviews sound excellent for Season 2. Sounds like some of the minor flaws of the 1st season have been corrected (small crowds-jousting tourney, sets of cities don't look like studio sets with 5 extras standing around)

[AlexPKeaton]

Oh they cast the chick from tudors as Margery Tyrell!

Is it the same lady that played her in season 1?

Oh I didn't know they changed actresses in Tudors, I am only in season 1 right now haha.

[eddysnake]

good read

http://insidetv.ew.com/2012/03/30/game- ... -season-2/

More or less deviations from the book this season?
Weiss: Definitely more, only because there are characters who are off screen in the book. A lot of the changes keep people front and center who are very important characters.

Benioff: We’re adapting “A Song of Ice and Fire.” So we’re bringing in elements from [Book 3] A Storm of Swords. We don’t think of this season as being strictly an adaptation of A Clash of Kings, it’s really a continuation of our adaptation of the series as a whole. For our purposes, moving some stuff forward helps a lot and pushing some stuff back helps us a lot.

Like Robb and Jaime, who didn’t have much to do in the second book.
Weiss: Richard Madden is just so great … we need to keep [fans] watching the most stylish man in Scotland… And Nicolai [Coster-Waldau] doing such an amazing job of bringing this character to life and so many people have gotten invested in him.

Benioff: Some of it is falling in love with the actors and what they’re doing. You know, Charles Dance [Tywin Lannister] is so perfect. He didn’t have a lot to do in book two. And we just wanted more of him.

And are you still planning to split Book 3 into two seasons?
Benioff: As George and all his fans have said for a long time, there’s no way to do it in a single season, so it’s being broken into two. We’re still kind of figuring out exactly what goes where. We don’t want it to feel like a two-part season. Another rumor is that we’re shooting both seasons simultaneously, which would be a really efficient way to do things, but you can’t write it.

Weiss: Season three, we’re talking about it as if we have a green light. We’re all optimistic about it, but we won’t know until after the second season starts to air.

[the wicked child]

I'll be super annoyed if they are unable to at least get through Book 3... so many awesome things in that book. Including their "Scene that cannot be named".

[Digitalgypsy66]

Thinking back on reading the books last summer, I can't help thinking how unbelievable it is that HBO green lit (lighted?) a TV series of this size and scope.

I hope the $$$ is there to finish it properly, but I could see a 5-6 season show and then a movie or two to finish it up.

[the wicked child]

Honestly... if they at least finish book 3, I will be happy. I can understand with how much stuff is in books 4 and 5 if they shy away... but it would be absolutely criminal if the awesome that is Storm of Swords does not come to pass on the screen.

I'm not saying I want them to stop after covering book 3, just that it would be pretty sweet if they got that far. I have a hard time believing that the ZOMGWTF moments produced by that book would not make for fantastic tv.

On another note... did anyone else see the awkward baseball/GoT tie in trailer? Not really sure why it was made, but they tried to tie the premier of GoT into opening day of baseball with lines like "30 Teams... 1 Crown. 5 Kings... 1 Throne."

[the wicked child]

So... under 6 hours to go.

[Rylan]

So... under 6 hours to go.

Will it become more fantastical or will it stay realitively normal? Or will this season be less politically motivated?

[the wicked child]

So... under 6 hours to go.

Will it become more fantastical or will it stay realitively normal? Or will this season be less politically motivated?

I believe the quote from one of the directors was "It gets bigger". You can pretty much apply that across the board.

If you want a bit more info than that, some minor spoilers (not even sure if it needs a spoiler tag, but what the hey)...

Spoiler:

The world "expands" to incorporate more places and people. Lots of new characters who will play major roles in the story going forward.

Maybe a tiny bit more of the fantasy element, but nothing too OTT. The story will remain politically motivated. There should be a lot more action in this season.

Also, if you are a fan of Tyrion, you should enjoy this season.

[the wicked child]

And why the hell does it keep showing "their"? Admin is a tricksy one.

[Rylan]

Thanks TWC. I avoided the books because I was told they were fantastical and for whatever reason that will turn me off of a story extremely fast. I loved the first season which is why I am going to give this a chance.

[the wicked child]

Depending on your interpretation of "fantastical", there may ultimately be portions of the story you do not enjoy. Kind of hard for me to judge without knowing though.

IMO, the story itself gets better and better as it goes along and is worth sticking around for.

[Rylan]

Depending on your interpretation of "fantastical", their may ultimately be portions of the story you do not enjoy. Kind of hard for me to judge without knowing though.

IMO, the story itself gets better and better as it goes along and is worth sticking around for.

I will. Nothing to lose really.

[the wicked child]

I'm feeling somewhat lukewarm towards the first episode at this point.

Spoiler:

It threw me for a loop that they opened with Joffrey's name day instead of at Dragonstone... but I guess they felt like they needed to start with established characters as opposed to new ones. Overall, just felt like a "pick back up the threads of the story" episode. Also forgot about the 'purge' of Robert's bastards... poor baby.

[canaan]

This show is awesome. Just awesome.

[Spangler]

I'm feeling somewhat lukewarm towards the first episode at this point.

Spoiler:

It threw me for a loop this they opened with Joffrey's name day instead of at Dragonstone... but I guess they felt like they needed to start with established characters as opposed to new ones. Overall, just felt like a "pick back up the threads of the story" episode. Also forgot about the 'purge' of Robert's bastards... poor baby.

Clash of Kings started lukewarm at first. But then it was ramped up to 11 later on.

[the wicked child]

I'm feeling somewhat lukewarm towards the first episode at this point.

Spoiler:

It threw me for a loop this they opened with Joffrey's name day instead of at Dragonstone... but I guess they felt like they needed to start with established characters as opposed to new ones. Overall, just felt like a "pick back up the threads of the story" episode. Also forgot about the 'purge' of Robert's bastards... poor baby.

Clash of Kings started lukewarm at first. But then it was ramped up to 11 later on.

It's been awhile since I read the book, but I know how good the story becomes... greatly looking forward to it. This episode was just a bit slow for my liking (particularly when I know there are only 10 episodes total).

[eddysnake]

Loved the episode, I'm glad I watched the 1st season again last week, didn't feel like premier of season 2, just a nice continuation of the series. It's been a while since I've read the books, forgot about some things, makes me want to go back and read them again.

[Spangler]

If I was a person in Joffrey's court, I would be a nervous wreck around him. I would be terrified to even look at him in fear of what he might do if he didn't like it.

What a character.

[AlexPKeaton]

Yeah I really like the actor playing joffrey. He is bringing it haha.

[blurryhaze312]

If liking him means that I want to punch the kid in the face every time he's on the screen, much like Malfoy from Harry Potter, then I also like him a lot.

I'll probably never be able to watch a kid like him in anything else since he's doing such a good job acting like a spoiled little crap.