Game of Thrones (HBO) TV Show • Page 222

I'm no accountant. So I won't pretend to know HBO's finances. But isn't it also their cash cow? Usually you see studios try to extend shows to keep it on air for as long as possible. Obviously the scale of the show has grown and the actors demand a higher salary as they are all nearly household names. Ratings are still rising nearly every week and every season.

 

Of course there is a rift. No one can butcher the Night's Watch and Dorne like D&D did and not piss off the author.

 

I'm a wedding photographer, and earlier this summer I was chitchatting with a groomsman while they were getting ready in the morning, and when he let slip that he is an actual accountant @ HBO I had to ask about GoT. He just laughed and was like "Ughhhhhhhhh...." and I could tell he wanted to change the subject.

 

I don't love natural conclusions the show had been building towards its entire runtime being labeled "fan-service". The show is resolving things. It's happening quickly, but it has to happen. I also think the showrunners/writers, flawed as they are, get too much shit while GRRM doesn't get nearly enough for his shortcomings.

 

I can understand the mixed response to this episode. Parts of it I loved, mostly the first half with everything Tarly/Dany/Drogon and everything pushing the Jon Targaryen plot further. Second half felt maybe a bit fan-fictionish. But still pretty good, still interesting to see all those characters in East Watch interact/band together for a similar purpose. Seriously hope there isn't as much timehop in the last bit of season that's left. It was a bit much.

 

Yeah, the only fanservice in the episode was the rowing remark. Which was perfect.

 

The showrunners are not good. No one can get enough shit for some of the things they've consciously chosen to do.
GRRM doesn't need much shit in the context of the show. His inconsistent prose doesn't translate nor does his Tolkein like affinity for useless details that drag down the narrative.

 

I honestly don't believe anything has truly been fan service as others have said. It seems as though this is the natural progression of the show. To break everyone apart, watch them grow, and have them reconvene as changed individuals to better the realm. It's mainly the fast forward of all of it that's driving me bonkers.

 

Gendry reappearing isn't fan service. It's covering up for a mistake they made earlier. Gendry never leaves the Brotherhood in the books.

 

I guess that's fair, I guess I sort of roll my eyes at undying fealty to GRRM and pitting him against the showrunners because it's not like his vision is flawless and brilliant and untouchable. A lot of aspects to his work are actively bad and get in the way of good, well-told, functional drama. The showrunners and writers have made plenty of missteps, but Game of Thrones as a series is still largely as well-structured and paced and quality as the books. More so in some places, less so in others.

 

Yeah these "fan service" complaints are really reaching

 

Yeah I feel Martin's flaws are mostly things which should be easily covered up in an adaptation like this. The biggest one i can think of that would really effect the show is the sometimes lopsided pace between storylines (Dany shitting in the woods for half a book) but they've done an okay job with that until now.

Really I think its just having an episode hard cap now while beginning to work from a (probably increasingly vague and loose) outline from Martin as opposed to fully realized books. Its inevitable to some extent. I think the biggest worst way Martin's flaws have effected the show is that he hasn't written a new book yet, which, I mean, what are you gonna do.

 

Just as a quick point, I did love seeing Jon interact with Drogon.

 

The execution of most of book four was bad. The Dorne plotline "Sparknotes version" was good. But like, Jon is an actual character in the book and Tyrion is much more nuanced that he is in the show. Also, there's you know, the whole racism and sexism that reoccurs throughout the show version.

 

Exactly. His biggest flaws should be easily covered when adapting it.

 

my guess is that yeah, this show is expensive AF to make, and I think HBO wants to make WestWorld it's new GoT, and I don't think they can realistically have both going at the same time. I heard that season 2 of WW will not premiere until GoT is completely done with, but I could be mistaken on that.

 

I think a lot of GRRM's flaws are more than just atrocious pacing and a weird fixation on describing nipples in vivid detail. His build up to big set pieces in the book is often flawed, he's had just as flawed an approach to twists and big character deaths as the show that the show has pulled off better in certain aspects mostly because of good casting but also because it's streamlined much of the sprawling narrative and extensive world and cast to be actually manageable. I mean, GRRM literally wrote this series to be unfilmable and indulgently his unrestrained vision. That's not entirely a good thing, nor does it make for engrossing storytelling (I think book 4 is a really bad piece of writing in most respects).

 

I loved the look that Dany gave Jon when he was petting Drogon like "omg he's good with kids too" lol

 

i also don't understand why ppl seem annoyed at the travel times, do you really want to not see jon and davos for 4 episodes because you want it to seem realistic that it took them a month to travel from winterfell to dragonstone?

 

I mean it makes sense for them to sail to Eastwatch so quickly from Dragonstone. They have Gendry, who's been rowing for like 5 years

 

I don't mean any insult, just very different pace and feel than what we've been used to for quite a bit aside from Cersei still being Cersei. Gendry coming back isn't terrible, it just felt shoehorned in as well with him being a complete bad ass fighter who is just ready to go fight literally anything somebody offers him on a whim. Then, some of the realms top fighters that we've all been watching in very different storyline's and parts of Westeros all wind up in the same room. They all have funny or nostalgic lines for each other and then band together to fight the common enemy we've all been dying to see in action. It's kinda like it's almost too good.

 

What do you mean flawed approach to twists?

 

I understand why Book Four was as bad as it was considering it wasn't supposed to exist. I don't know why his editor thought Martin didn't have his audience honestly. I get that like yeah, that'd be a really fucking long book but it's been 20 years plus a season of great TV, he's not losing readers en masse. Maybe it was too expensive to make? I don't know.

 

They pay some of the actors $1MM an episode. Better to pay for 10min of acting x 7 episodes than 7 min x 10 episodes.