Hm. I always felt like R’hllor was more analogous to Old Testament Christianity, what with the dire opposition to a Devil figure, the need for sacrifice, and the fundamentalist fervor.
Game of Thrones - Noteable differences between the book and the show so far (chock full of spoilers)
Is it just me, or is Littlefinger’s role totally being played out far, far bigger than it was in the books? Or, perhaps, like it SEEMED in the books. Perhaps they’re using the Littlefinger role as an expositionary mouthpiece or something; I just don’t recall his part being big at all in the books. (Until later, anyway). Even as a mouthpiece, I am unsure what the brothel scene was supposed to impart. It’s been shown he’s a whoremaster: check. He blabs on about what he wants: check. But there was nothing new, was there? We know he’s a pimp <another role not expounded on to any degree in the books>, and we know he’s had it in for the Stark girls since he was a lad. Even the description of the ‘fight’ he tried to wage for one of them is almost verbatim from a similar explanation earlier in the series, though that might have been from Cat’s point of view.
It just seemed like a really big setup without any real reveal.
Except that Ros made it south, apparantly.
I agree that Littlefinger has a lot more screentime than pages. I think you’re right and he’s being used to provide exposition (much like Jorah Mormont was for the Dothraki scenes).
Having just seen episode 7, I want to say again that I wish they had given the Hound more screentime by this point. When the shit starts to go down at the end of the episode and you first see him standing there in his helm, and then a few moments later you see him swing into action, there should be more…gravitas, or something. 
His participation on the side against Ned and his forces should be like, “This is the guy who fought the Mountain and withstood him, oh SHIT NED, NED!” Instead he kind of passes by with just a blip. What a waste of a character.
I’m not caught up on the TV series (I watched episode 3 last night), but I’ve read the first book and have just dipped into the second. My thoughts:
-Tyrion is definitely a lot hotter than I pictured him. Which I was a teensy bit disappointed with at first, but now I quite like it.
-Also not getting the “Catelyn’s actress is ugly” stuff–she has some of the most gorgeous eyes I’ve ever seen. Also, for those who say that she’s too old-looking, I think it’s very likely that folks in this kind of time period generally looked older than they were. I’d peg her looks at early 40’s, but she could simply be an older-looking 37.
-Sorta glad that I now know how to pronounce a lot of these names, like Cersei and Tyrion, but have we found out how they’re saying “Clegane”?
-Holy hell, but the girl playing Sansa is tall. I mean, it’s fine and all, but damn. Also, Joffrey’s shorter than I pictured him, but he does the spoiled-brat thing very well, so no complaints there.
-Actually, another thing about Joffery: I swear to God I recognize his actor but I can’t for the life of me think of what else I’ve seen him in. It might just be my imagination, for all I know.
(A subsequent trip to IMDB while writing this post revealed that he was in Batman Begins as the little boy that got fear-gassed. I guess that settles that.)
-Is Sean Bean using his natural accent?
-My reaction to Syrio: “WHY DOES HE HAVE A FRO?” My boyfriend: “WHO CARES, HE’S AWESOME.” I have decided that boyfriend is correct.
-Not entirely sure why they decided to age the Stark kids. Daenerys, yes, but Bran?
-Pretty good stuff, all in all. Pretty costumes and sets are pretty.
Because his part is too big to be played by a kid that young.
Personally I’m fine with the shift in ages. As someone elsewhere pointed out Martin has all but admitted that he’s unfamiliar with children and overestimated what little kids are like. Plus I often find very young actors to cross into the ‘sickenly cute’ and distract from the story.
It’s not just the Stark kids - anyone under 18 has been aged up, as seem to have been their respective parents.
The latter tends toward the necessary - Ned as 34 works fine in the books when Robb and Jon are 14/15, but when they’re 17/18, it starts getting weird.
Some characters haven’t been aged up, or at least not by as much, resulting in a slightly different feeling of their relation to other characters - Theon and Viserys don’t seem as much older than Robb and Dany as they’re stated to be. They seem, in fact, to be about the same age, off by maybe a year or so.
Would have posted this earlier, but I only just watched You Win or You Die, so I didn’t have all the information, yet.
I’m not seeing it.
He’s had 2 scenes that he didn’t have in the book, and I’m pretty sure that he told the story about his duel with Brandon, just…not to a pair of whores he was teaching how to fake it. He wasn’t the one who told Sansa the Hound’s story, but that scene wasn’t out of whole cloth, his telling that story simply replaced him being creepy toward her.
Theon, on the other hand, has probably doubled his significant scenes.
I think Cat told the Brandon v. Petyr duel story. Who would have Littlefinger told it to?
Tywin Lannister seemed very cold in the books. He rarely shows any kind of emotion. The TV Lannister seemed to have more fire. I’m not quite sure if I like the change.
It probably was her, yeah. Meant to include a note about how I may have been misremembering.
That said, my point remains - two extra scenes is hardly a vast increase in Littlefinger’s role.
That was fire to you? He was talking about his son murdering the second most “important” man in the seven kingdoms and I don’t think he raised his voice. Certainly less fire than Jaime taking a bunch of men to kill people because he was angry.
Yeah he seemed stone cold to me.
It’s worth noting that the character was recast late last year. I don’t think Michelle Fairley is ugly, but originally-cast Jennifer Ehle matches my mental image of Catelyn a lot better.
FWIW - this article from April 2009 notes Michelle Fairley’s age at 45. Quite a few years older than her character. Of course, Sean Bean is in his 50’s, but I don’t hear anyone complaining about his age or looks.
Drogo doesn’t have any bells! Seriously, this has been bothering me since his first scene. He should have bells.
From the You Win or You Die thread, but a comment based on the book, so moved here… #6 on The Stupid Ned meme.
(‘Daughter overhears men conspiring against you? LOL, don’t be ridiculous, sweetheart!’)
That scene is one of the few changes that I think actually hurts things - in the book it actually kind of makes sense, since Arya’s description of what she heard made none, so Ned was better justified in writing it off as a child’s misunderstanding of an innocent conversation. But, in the show…her description was perfectly clear and accurate, and not at all tainted by her quoting them talking about a ‘mummer’s farce’*, so Ned just looks like a total idiot writing it off.
Though telling Arya that it was nothing made sense in either case - he wouldn’t want her to worry about him - in the show, there’s no excuse for not immediately sending someone to investigate.
- On the other hand, why mummers would be planning their play in the depths of the castle is a question that should have occurred to him before he dismissed Arya’s concerns entirely.
(singing) Santa Hun is coming…oh yeah that man is coming…Santa Hun is coming to town..to rape and pillage!..Santa Hun is coming to tooooooown!
-Joe
Investigate what? Arya has told Ned she overheard two people conspiring against him - but she has no idea of who they might be (apart from one of them being fat - maybe). It takes Arya quite a while to make her way back into the castle, so it’s not likely that the two unknown conspirators are still going to be in the dungeons. So how exactly is Ned supposed to find them? There’s really nothing for Ned to go on, given the paucity of Arya’s description.
And artemis back in the main thread, I hope you remember that Robert wasn’t killed by “luck”. The man is a functional alcoholic. He was killed by having his wine spiked so that even with all his practice he was falling down drunk.
-Joe