# Game of Thrones 2.01 "The North Remembers" 4/1 - ZERO SPOILER Discussion Thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 26, 2012, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-2-01-the-north-remembers-4-1-zero-spoiler-discussion-thread/616885 "2012-03-26T22:11:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-2-01-the-north-remembers-4-1-zero-spoiler-discussion-thread/616885/61 "2012-03-28T02:50:45Z")
> [@pricciar](#): > > This seems like the appropriate place to ask. > I read the first two books, but I have not seen any of the shows. I have heard such great things about the show. I would like to watch it, but would rather get the info from the books first. Does the first season only contain plot points for the first book? Or, should I read all of the published books before watching the first season? I do not think this is the place to ask. This is the zero spoiler TV show only thread. [This thread, closed spoilers would be a better bet.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=646499) ---
**Author:** ![pricciar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@pricciar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pricciar)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-2-01-the-north-remembers-4-1-zero-spoiler-discussion-thread/616885/62 "2012-03-28T02:54:31Z")
sorry about that. Reasking in the other thread. ---
**Author:** ![Gukumatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/74df32/32.png) [@Gukumatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gukumatz)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-2-01-the-north-remembers-4-1-zero-spoiler-discussion-thread/616885/63 "2012-03-28T02:57:29Z")
**Moderator’s Note:** After a brief conference with my CS colleagues, I’ve stickied these three threads for two weeks so people can get used to the system. With regards, Gukumatz Game Room & IMHO Moderator Consulting Game of Thrones moderator ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-2-01-the-north-remembers-4-1-zero-spoiler-discussion-thread/616885/64 "2012-03-28T03:01:07Z")
Thanks for changing the title to reflect the rules also. I was about to suggest that. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-2-01-the-north-remembers-4-1-zero-spoiler-discussion-thread/616885/65 "2012-03-28T14:10:22Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > It seems like HBO is aware that they have a great thing on their hands, they have been promoting the show pretty heavily. I wish they would give it more episodes along with more budget though. Why would they give their awesomest show in history more money, when they have to keep churning out awful shit like Luck and Treme. (I mean…they might be well written and acted, but I have no interest in shows about horse racing or New Orleans…sorry to everyone who likes horse racing and New Orleans.) I mean…I admire HBO for taking chances on unique shows, if they hadn’t, we never would have gotten GoT in the first place, but every time they order a full season of some niche show, it just makes it less likely other, better, shows will get more money to do more stuff. Not that Treme and Luck have large budgets, at least compared to GoT, but still… ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-2-01-the-north-remembers-4-1-zero-spoiler-discussion-thread/616885/66 "2012-03-28T14:53:43Z")
> [@bouv](#): > > Why would they give their awesomest show in history more money, when they have to keep churning out awful shit like Luck and Treme. (I mean…they might be well written and acted, but I have no interest in shows about horse racing or New Orleans…sorry to everyone who likes horse racing and New Orleans.) > > I mean…I admire HBO for taking chances on unique shows, if they hadn’t, we never would have gotten GoT in the first place, but every time they order a full season of some niche show, it just makes it less likely other, better, shows will get more money to do more stuff. > > Not that Treme and Luck have large budgets, at least compared to GoT, but still… I can’t speak on Luck having only seen the first few episodes so far, but “Treme” is one of the best series on television. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-2-01-the-north-remembers-4-1-zero-spoiler-discussion-thread/616885/67 "2012-03-28T14:59:50Z")
I’ll probably be able to post in several threads. Just before Season 1, I read all the books released to that date–quickly. (I’m not one of the folks who have been reading them for years, getting pissed off at GRRM.) 2012 brought me a 21st century TV, so I’ve been watching Season 1 over again, On Demand. It sure is pretty! I’ll be caught up by Sunday & will be quite happy to follow along with the story as told on TV… One question: Although I understand the need for threads to suit various degrees of spoiled/unspoiled, will we really need a separate thread for each episode–within those definitions? ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-2-01-the-north-remembers-4-1-zero-spoiler-discussion-thread/616885/68 "2012-03-28T15:02:37Z")
> [@Bridget\_Burke](#): > > One question: Although I understand the need for threads to suit various degrees of spoiled/unspoiled, will we really need a separate thread for each episode–within those definitions? No, and there won’t be three per episode…only the SPOILER FREE thread (i.e. this one…and all it’s future iterations) will be one per episode. The two spoiler threads will just be one per season. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-2-01-the-north-remembers-4-1-zero-spoiler-discussion-thread/616885/69 "2012-03-28T15:06:39Z")
That’s how it worked last year. The spoiler-free episodic TV only\* threads had the most content at 4-8 pages per episode, the spoiler thread was very active but not quite enough to justify a thread per episode - and besides which, I’m guessing that a lot of the discussion in those threads were based around the story in general, and not necesarily specifically about each episode, leaving it less appropriate for having episodic threads, and the background information/boxed spoiler thread that was somewhere in between was a few pages for the season. It was a good system that worked last year, so I hope we just keep doing that. - Speaking of which, I’m a little concerned that the “no spoilers” in these thread titles will make people think that means no spoilers from the episode under discussion, as it would if you made a thread called “[movie name] no spoilers”. It might be more clear to label them as being TV show content only. Then again, the OP will clear that right up. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-2-01-the-north-remembers-4-1-zero-spoiler-discussion-thread/616885/70 "2012-03-28T19:31:37Z")
I just subscribed to HBO so I can watch this show as it airs. Last season I watched the whole series in like 3 days via on-demand when I had HBO free for a 3 month trial. Can’t wait! ---
**Author:** ![fusoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecccb3/32.png) [@fusoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fusoya)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-2-01-the-north-remembers-4-1-zero-spoiler-discussion-thread/616885/71 "2012-03-29T07:03:52Z")
Isn’t the entire POINT of having a new spoiler-free thread for each episode so that those who have only watched up until a particular point won’t venture into information on a later episode they haven’t seen yet? Once an episode has aired, anything that happened in it should be fair game to discuss in the open within this thread. But anything on upcoming episodes (including next episode previews, for the lover of god) has to go into next week’s thread or the spoilers thread. Anyway, I finished my rewatch of season 1 on Bluray. It really was such a fantastic show (I forgot just HOW GOOD it was!), and I can not wait for April 1!!! It’s just a shame I’ll be working that night and won’t get to watch until the next morning. ---
**Author:** ![quixotic78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/3ab097/32.png) [@quixotic78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quixotic78)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-2-01-the-north-remembers-4-1-zero-spoiler-discussion-thread/616885/72 "2012-03-29T13:43:44Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > Fine. Assume that if anyone talks about what might happen in the series, that they’re speculating, rather than spoiling anything. If they did post a spoiler, the issue can be handled through moderation, not by people overreacting to it. If possible, attempt to phrase your speculation in a way that makes it clear it’s speculation. Don’t just say “Geoffrey gets raped and killed by a lizard” if you’re listing what you hope happens. Let’s not spoil, nor freak out about speculation because we’re paranoid about spoilers. Good? This approach is verboten as per the sticky (emphasis in original): > [@Gukumatz](#): > > 1. **Anything** that has not yet been AIRED ON TV is not acceptable in this thread. (This includes webzines, DVD extra content, magazines, speculation and so on.) ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-2-01-the-north-remembers-4-1-zero-spoiler-discussion-thread/616885/73 "2012-03-29T15:32:09Z")
> [@bouv](#): > > Why would they give their awesomest show in history more money, when they have to keep churning out awful shit like Luck and Treme. (I mean…they might be well written and acted, but I have no interest in shows about horse racing or New Orleans…sorry to everyone who likes horse racing and New Orleans.) > > I mean…I admire HBO for taking chances on unique shows, if they hadn’t, we never would have gotten GoT in the first place, but every time they order a full season of some niche show, it just makes it less likely other, better, shows will get more money to do more stuff. > > Not that Treme and Luck have large budgets, at least compared to GoT, but still… That’s pretty silly, Treme is one of the best shows on television and probably blows GoT away if we compared them on “viewers per dollar”, and i’ve heard good things about Luck. Besides, HBO can’t just show GoT 24/7. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-2-01-the-north-remembers-4-1-zero-spoiler-discussion-thread/616885/74 "2012-03-29T21:28:11Z")
So I rewatched the first season over the last few days, and one thing I’m a bit confused about. There’s a point where Arya ends up in the dungeon, chasing a cat, and overhears Varys talking to the guy who was hosting the Targaryans across the sea, and they’re referring to waiting to make their move, and such. So Varys is the inside man for the Targaryans. But he doesn’t seem to act that way at any other part in the series. He apparently makes no attempt to stop or warn of the plot to kill the Targaryans, and he seems to mostly be portrayed as acting in the interest of the status quo. Not looking for book spoilers - just wondering if I’m missing something on the story presented so far. Is it made clear that Varys is working to help the Targaryans reclaim Westeros? ---
**Author:** ![Gukumatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/74df32/32.png) [@Gukumatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gukumatz)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-2-01-the-north-remembers-4-1-zero-spoiler-discussion-thread/616885/75 "2012-03-29T22:39:55Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > So I rewatched the first season over the last few days, and one thing I’m a bit confused about. There’s a point where Arya ends up in the dungeon, chasing a cat, and overhears Varys talking to the guy who was hosting the Targaryans across the sea, and they’re referring to waiting to make their move, and such. So Varys is the inside man for the Targaryans. > > But he doesn’t seem to act that way at any other part in the series. He apparently makes no attempt to stop or warn of the plot to kill the Targaryans, and he seems to mostly be portrayed as acting in the interest of the status quo. > > Not looking for book spoilers - just wondering if I’m missing something on the story presented so far. Is it made clear that Varys is working to help the Targaryans reclaim Westeros? I’m still in the early bits of rewatching the first season, but I don’t think I remember this being elucidated. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2012, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-2-01-the-north-remembers-4-1-zero-spoiler-discussion-thread/616885/76 "2012-03-30T00:35:47Z")
All we know about Varys so far is that he is good at making it seem like he is entirely on your side. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2012, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-2-01-the-north-remembers-4-1-zero-spoiler-discussion-thread/616885/77 "2012-03-30T02:12:56Z")
> [@bouv](#): > > The two spoiler threads will just be one per season. Says you. There will be a spoiler thread for each thread by Sunday night(s) guaranteed. We discussed doing that last year, remember? Readers threads and Unsullied threads. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2012, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-2-01-the-north-remembers-4-1-zero-spoiler-discussion-thread/616885/78 "2012-03-30T20:02:05Z")
[CNN.com](http://CNN.com)’s reviewer likes what he’s seen (some minor spoilers for those who haven’t read the books): [http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/30/showbiz/tv/game-of-thrones/index.html?hpt=hp\_c2](http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/30/showbiz/tv/game-of-thrones/index.html?hpt=hp_c2) ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2012, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-2-01-the-north-remembers-4-1-zero-spoiler-discussion-thread/616885/79 "2012-03-31T23:58:22Z")
OMFG why can’t it be tomorrow already. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2012, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-2-01-the-north-remembers-4-1-zero-spoiler-discussion-thread/616885/80 "2012-04-01T04:51:30Z")
As much as I appreciate, and completely agree with, the rules of the thread… Does the OP not understand the rules? which include: > [@](#): > > 1. Anything that has not yet been AIRED ON TV is not acceptable in this thread. (This includes webzines, DVD extra content, magazines, speculation and so on.) > [@SenorBeef](#): > > They did well with the budget - the set design, costumes, general production values were pretty great. They did have to skimp on certan things, like battle scenes. Hopefully their budget will allow more this season. This is a spoiler > [@Biggirl](#): > > In the Entertainment Weekly article I read, they did increase the budget, a lot of which was spent on location. The producers did go back for more money for bigger battles but were turned down. > > P.S., don’t read the article if you want to be comepletely unspoiled. They give away broad plot points. This is a spoiler. I say this as someone who put in at least one inadvertent spoiler last season, even though I hadn’t (and still haven’t read) any of the books. So good luck to you all. _I hear the train a comin’, rollin down the tracks…_ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-2-01-the-north-remembers-4-1-zero-spoiler-discussion-thread/616885.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-2-01-the-north-remembers-4-1-zero-spoiler-discussion-thread/616885.md?page=5)