Mrs SOG and I have been debating this. We have given the prize to Joffrey as he spent more time on screen and was a total bastard pretty much all of the time. Whilst Ramsey is also a nasty bastard and likes a bit of flaying to pass the time he only just lost out on the screen time thing. He was is also a nasty bastard pretty much all of the time he is on screen. Hopefully Ramsey will met a nastier end than Joffrey, we think he got off lightly. If I were George Martin I would have Reek chop off Ramsey’s c*ck and ram it down his throat and then flay the bastard while he is choking.
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Remind me never to upset you, Sadoldgit 
I have watched too many episodes! Did anyone see the South Bank Show with George Martin last night? Good interview and very interesting to hear more about his background. For a Yank to get such a good handle on Medieval Europe he has clearly done a lot of research. Interesting too that he was a consciencious objector in the Vietnam War. He really made a good call by ignoring Hollywood and going with HBO and TV.
I don’t want Tokes to think I’m dissing him, but those were very good points about Episode 2 and last night’s episode that I had not considered before. To be fair to George RR Martin, both the Night’s King and much of the way that event is depicted are TV inventions. I take issue with Toke’s Darth Maul moan a little bit, because what else do you do with icy king of death except surround him with icicles? The Night’s King would kick Darth Maul’s arse, then resurrect him, then get him to kick someone else’s arse.
Martin pulls further from history when he wants to do atrocity. For the “crowning” of Viserys, see the Crassus, Aquillius or Valerian, and it all starts to look a bit Roman and unoriginal. We’ve just never put it on TV quite as graphically, or made it as relevant to today’s sensibilities as Martin has done in his literature. All of his main characters are some kind of outsider, fighting against a system that none of us would put up with, and having to live with (or not having to, and participating in) acts that the vast majority wouldn’t countenance.
He also does a great job of giving his characters flaws. Ned Stark’s honour was his greatest asset and his undoing. Capable characters hit glass ceilings while sadistic imbeciles attain unchecked positions of authority. It’s easy to get invested in many of them simply because 90% of them are saying “fuck you” to the status quo. Tyrion, Brienne, Daenerys, Bronn, Cersei, High Sparrow, the list goes on and on.
So on a meta-level, it looks “simple” enough. Bunch of outsiders all trying to break new ground in a hostile world. Martin deserves credit for building a big world, but I do wonder whether the POV structure in the books hasn’t ultimately been self-defeating. I did enjoy seeing things from a certain character’s point of view, but at the same time, it meant that whenever a new part of the universe needed to be introduced, someone either had to go there or you would get a POV chapter from a character you’ve never heard of, or don’t presently care about.
The TV show skips a lot of that bollocks.
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It’s going to be even more Star wars when Sean Bean comes back in a dream or with yoda or whatever and tells John Snow “I’m your farther ) not” and we find out he is Targaryen.
Let’s face it that triple eyed Raven and Brann have been stuck in that cave for over 9 hours now surrounded by fearsome Skeletons and bits of Zombies.
Perhaps he will be the one to summon Dany & her massive to defrost him?
Then the Red Witch can atone… actually, hang on, what happened to the bloke that can bring back the Dead Robin Hood bloke? Surely he was a Royal of some kind. Oh and did we ever actually see the Blacksmith Royal getting BBQ’d? Surely the last we saw of him he was enjoying some extreme version of 50 Shades with old Red sticking Leeches on his codger before bunging them on the fire? Hang on, where were the leeches with poor old Shiree? Surely she didn’t fry her and forget to do some draining first?
I think I want to see a lot more of that Sand Snake’s bewbs if I am going to head off into the depths of summer in a happy mood. Hopefully, just after Reek rams Ramsay’s amputated codger up his (Ramsays’) arse while Sanza stuffs his bowels down his throat.
My bets, Daenerys, Jon and Branflakes will be the 3 who ride the dragons and kill off the snow Darth Mauls.
Place your prediction bets now…
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Daenerys, Tyrion and Jon I reckon.
Yeah but the god of the tree people said Bran would never walk but would fly. Plus he can John Wark so…
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Bran can warg into animals, including birds. We’re still good with Tyrion 
No. He’ll be the one that tells them to come help. Tyrion Joron & Dany ride them into battle in series 7 no doubt.
Meanwhile, what are the bets that Cersei fesses up in the finale and has to do the long walk of shame with her kit off through Kings Landing? Been looking forward to a good gawp (in an artistic way of course Lou)
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There was an interesting interview with George RR Martin on the South Bank Show the other night. He talked about how you dont just have good characters and bad characters. That there is good and bad in everyone and that most people are conflicted. Probably what makes his main characters so believable.
Yeah I watched that last night. It was very good. Made GOT as he was annoyed at TV companies and the restrictions the put on him due to budgets etc. Wanted to write something massive that would ever be seen on TV/cinema.
Also interesting about the Jon Snow’s mum stuff.
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I have no idea how this is going to end. I’d like to see You Know Nothing JS get together with the Mother of Dragons with Jorah as the Hand and the Imp as Maester but you just know that some of these could be topped at any moment. It could just as well be Ramsey with the Red Witch Bitch on the throne. Having said that, who really wants to sit on that thing (ooer missus). It doesnt look very comfortable.
Fair play to GRRM for not going down the film route. He could see that to do the books justice it would need to run into way too many films. The guys who have taken it on and HBO have done a wonderful job with the source material and havent taken too many liberties with the original. Also it is good to read the books and find out different stuff (spolier alert - like the fact that Brienne didnt kill the Hound in the books).
Ah but is the Hound really dead? you only ever saw Arya walking away from him TBF
Seriously spoilery speculation ahoy - but no book spoilers!
This makes me glad. I know it’s speculation, but it would be a huge rug to pull from under everyone’s feet, and there is plenty of evidence in both universes now to back that up. I think it’s safe to say that Ned Stark is not Jon Snow’s dad. This is the bloke that let his own sense of honour kill him. While you could make allowances for the passion of youth and all that, I think those principles are too far ingrained for him to have messed about on Catelyn.
Maybe the whole Song of Ice and Fire thing just means Jon Snow. Fire of the Targaryn’s. Ice of the Starks. The ultimate version of that theory is that the couple were also married, bigamy apparently being above board in Westeros. That’d make our boy on the Wall (drum roll) the ONE TRUE HEIR! Of course, he swore all that away when he took his oaths, so his watch would have to end for him. So, er, all he’s got to do is permanently end the threat of a force that has troubled humanity for 8000 years. Jolly good luck with that, old bean!*
*I do expect that will somehow happen, tho
http://9gag.com/gag/a4LKK4A?ref=fbp
Interesting - artists impressions from the descriptions in the books to the show.
Damn, now I am in a pickle. Dany is just so - yeah you know - in the show, but in the image she’s kinda like how I imagined Bearsy’s impression of Anastasia once she becomes a Dom in book #4 of 50 Shades…
Not long now the finale is on at 4:30am here
