# Valar Hiatus: The Game of Thrones offseason thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** tv-shows-scripted\ **Created:** [June 5, 2012, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/valar-hiatus-the-game-of-thrones-offseason-thread/624208 "2012-06-05T22:13:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 39
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2018, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/valar-hiatus-the-game-of-thrones-offseason-thread/624208/761 "2018-11-25T20:40:10Z")
the GOT episodes written by Martin are they fan fiction too? Also Martin wrote TV episodes 10 years before he wrote GOT so it’s not like he was unfamiliar with how TV shows are made when he signed his HBO deal. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2018, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/valar-hiatus-the-game-of-thrones-offseason-thread/624208/762 "2018-11-25T20:49:07Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > Unless you are saying the show is fanfic, no it isn’t. > > When Jon and company were stuck at the lake surrounded by White Walkers and wights, Dany certainly did fly her dragons up and save them. They were half a day’s march beyond the wall. I am saying the show is fan fiction. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2018, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/valar-hiatus-the-game-of-thrones-offseason-thread/624208/763 "2018-11-25T20:51:10Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > the GOT episodes written by Martin are they fan fiction too? > > Also Martin wrote TV episodes 10 years before he wrote GOT so it’s not like he was unfamiliar with how TV shows are made when he signed his HBO deal. When he signed the HBO deal everyone fully expected the books to be finished before they even got to season 3. They signed up to do a book adaptation, once the books ran out they’ve just been making shit up. I don’t know what else to call it besides fan fiction, the dragons flying over the wall is not the first inconsistency with the books. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2018, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/valar-hiatus-the-game-of-thrones-offseason-thread/624208/764 "2018-11-25T21:02:03Z")
You think every TV show or movie is 100% faithful to the book they are based on? Also Martin has said more than once that he told HBO how the story plays out beyond the 5 current books so they (HBO) are not just sitting in a room making up stories. Are people mad about the show because they think it’s keeping him from writing the last books? That could be the case. But it’s not keeping him from writing those other books so he does have time to write. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2018, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/valar-hiatus-the-game-of-thrones-offseason-thread/624208/765 "2018-11-25T21:12:09Z")
There is no book to be faithful too. This is not an adaptation where they chose to make changes to better fit the medium. There is nothing to adapt. Knowing how the story goes obviously does not help Martin, how is it supposed to help the show runners? Has the massive drop in quality since the books ran out not been completely obvious? ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2018, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/valar-hiatus-the-game-of-thrones-offseason-thread/624208/766 "2018-11-25T21:16:33Z")
as far as being faithful to the books, I clearly was talking about the 5 completed books vs the show. I know there were changes from those 5 books to the show. Did you expect no changes from those books? the showrunners have deadlines to meet from HBO so that’s probably a main reason they get things done while Martin has no deadlines. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2018, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/valar-hiatus-the-game-of-thrones-offseason-thread/624208/767 "2018-11-25T21:24:26Z")
> [@Smid](#): > > . . . > Littlefinger’s . . . How could he have organised the assassination of Bran from 500 miles away? With a knife from the kings stash (not sure if that’s the case in the show)? > > One of the book theorists gave a decent explanation of how it could have happened. > . . . How about: Littlefinger was not, in fact, 500 miles away? Perhaps he traveled up by boat and beat them both there and back again. Perhaps that is why he knew Catelyn was headed to King’s Landing. ---
**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:** [November 25, 2018, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/valar-hiatus-the-game-of-thrones-offseason-thread/624208/768 "2018-11-25T21:24:30Z")
It does amuse me a bit that the show is going to get a lot of flak for an imperfect ending, as though they sullied Martin’s work, but the whole reason Martin isn’t going to end his series is that it’s a hard fucking landing and he doesn’t want to bother. The show doesn’t get the luxury of just not finishing if they can’t come up with a good ending. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2018, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/valar-hiatus-the-game-of-thrones-offseason-thread/624208/769 "2018-11-25T21:30:13Z")
If by chance he does release 2 more books and they differ from the show I’m sure all his fanboys will scream from the mountain tops how much better the last 2 books are than the show . ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2018, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/valar-hiatus-the-game-of-thrones-offseason-thread/624208/770 "2018-11-25T21:43:42Z")
The books are better than the show at every point, not sure why the last two would be any different. And I know they were changes between the seasons that were based on books and the books themselves, but they were still based on the books which made them far superior to the stuff they’ve been cranking out since then. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2018, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/valar-hiatus-the-game-of-thrones-offseason-thread/624208/771 "2018-11-25T22:00:09Z")
actually that might be his strategy at this point - let HBO finish the story and when fans don’t like the ending he rides in on his white horse with a different ending and everyone lives happily ever after. It would be very rare for an author to get a second change at ending a story. Of course this assume he does write the 2 books and doesn’t die first. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2018, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/valar-hiatus-the-game-of-thrones-offseason-thread/624208/772 "2018-11-25T22:05:30Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > The books are better than the show at every point, not sure why the last two would be any different. And I know they were changes between the seasons that were based on books and the books themselves, but they were still based on the books which made them far superior to the stuff they’ve been cranking out since then. Yeah, no. I’ve watched every season of the show avidly. I never made it past the first book. Believe it or not, your personal opinion is not the Word of God, nor is it even an opinion shared by the majority, I’d wager. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2018, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/valar-hiatus-the-game-of-thrones-offseason-thread/624208/773 "2018-11-25T23:24:39Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > If by chance he does release 2 more books and they differ from the show I’m sure all his fanboys will scream from the mountain tops how much better the last 2 books are than the show . And girls, don’t forget us fan girls, 'cause we will be screaming it too! Look, there’s no way for a TV show to get into the level of detail that the books can. If you prefer for a plot to move along, then the TV show is probably more for you. But for those of us who are fans of world-building, no other media can compete with these books. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2018, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/valar-hiatus-the-game-of-thrones-offseason-thread/624208/774 "2018-11-25T23:37:23Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > actually that might be his strategy at this point - let HBO finish the story and when fans don’t like the ending he rides in on his white horse with a different ending and everyone lives happily ever after. It would be very rare for an author to get a second change at ending a story. Of course this assume he does write the 2 books and doesn’t die first. I think it’s actually to let HBO finish it and hope people stop bugging him about it after that. ---
**Author:** ![Smid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/838e76/32.png) [@Smid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smid)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2018, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/valar-hiatus-the-game-of-thrones-offseason-thread/624208/775 "2018-11-26T01:36:08Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > How about: Littlefinger was not, in fact, 500 miles away? Perhaps he traveled up by boat and beat them both there and back again. Perhaps that is why he knew Catelyn was headed to King’s Landing. It does not explain how he got the knife from King Roberts armoury. Only Joffrey or Robert could be there. I’d also say that its a pretty long shot to be able to travel up by boat and get to Winterfell unnoticed when he’s a well known lord around Kings Landing… ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2018, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/valar-hiatus-the-game-of-thrones-offseason-thread/624208/776 "2018-11-26T11:41:49Z")
if book people are mad now, wait until it’s revealed next season that white walkers were created by having too many midichlorians 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2018, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/valar-hiatus-the-game-of-thrones-offseason-thread/624208/777 "2018-11-26T14:15:41Z")
> [@Smid](#): > > It does not explain how he got the knife from King Roberts armoury. Only Joffrey or Robert could be there. Is that established in the books somewhere? Because it strikes me as really unlikely. Every time Robert wanted a lance to go boar hunting he had to hike over to his private stash of weapons vs. telling some squire to go fetch it? Or when his sword needed sharpening, or the fancy hilt needed to be polished, Robert had to do that himself? And any underling can be bribed or threatened. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2018, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/valar-hiatus-the-game-of-thrones-offseason-thread/624208/778 "2018-11-26T14:29:14Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > if book people are mad now, wait until it’s revealed next season that white walkers were created by having too many midichlorians 🙂 Actually, it’ll turn out that they all spent the last season in purgatory. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2018, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/valar-hiatus-the-game-of-thrones-offseason-thread/624208/779 "2018-11-26T15:16:16Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > How about: Littlefinger was not, in fact, 500 miles away? Perhaps he traveled up by boat and beat them both there and back again. Perhaps that is why he knew Catelyn was headed to King’s Landing. Baelish secretly leaves the capital for like 2 months to spy on the King’s trip to Winterfell. Then after Bran is in a coma, he steals a dagger from Robert and hires an assassin to kill Bran. He hopes that the assassin will be caught and that Catelyn will bring the dagger to King’s Landing so that he can lie to her about its true owner? That, or Joffrey was being a jerk and overreacted after overhearing Robert and/or Jaime talk about Bran. Occam’s razor. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2018, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/valar-hiatus-the-game-of-thrones-offseason-thread/624208/780 "2018-11-26T15:28:53Z")
> [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > Baelish secretly leaves the capital for like 2 months to spy on the King’s trip to Winterfell. Then after Bran is in a coma, he steals a dagger from Robert and hires an assassin to kill Bran. He hopes that the assassin will be caught and that Catelyn will bring the dagger to King’s Landing so that he can lie to her about its true owner? > > That, or Joffrey was being a jerk and overreacted after overhearing Robert and/or Jaime talk about Bran. > > Occam’s razor. Book spoilers below if anyone cares at this point, But that doesn’t mean that there might not have been a different culprit in the show. [spoiler]In one of the threads on the show, I argued against Joffrey being the culprit mainly on the grounds he was too stupid and didn’t have access to the knife. I haven’t read the books, but evidently they reveal the assassination attempt was Joffrey’s doing. Discussion with quotes from the books here: > [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/valar-hiatus-the-game-of-thrones-offseason-thread/624208.md?page=38) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/valar-hiatus-the-game-of-thrones-offseason-thread/624208.md?page=40)