"The things i do for love" Game of Thrones is here

[I, Cosh]

And Jon Snow's been given the family sword that should've passed to Jorah.

Discounting Jon Snow and Theon, there are five Stark children, four of which are Robb, Sansa, Arya and Bran. I'm right in thinking that the other young boy - his wolf is called Shaggy Dog - is the fifth? He got so little screen time that he didn't even register.

That's Rickon. Somebody mentioned earlier that all the children have been aged a bit for the series and he's a victim of that really as he's not much more than a baby in the first books so there's very little material for them to work with.

Precognitive ability? Wait and see: [spoiler]Bran has some ability; don't think Rickon has.[/spoiler]
Don't think direwolves are meant to be sentient, just smarter than the average wolf and these ones have a symbolic bond with the Stark children.

[mygrimmbrother]

That scene with Ros and Pycelle has caught a lot of flak (particulalry on the excellent Guardian series blog that accompanied the show), but I actually enjoyed it. A nice little insight into the power behind the throne (and its string of occupants), rather like the verbal sparring between Varys and Littlefinger. I loved how we now know that Pycelle puts on this feeble, doddering old geezer act when in fact he's quite limber and sharp as a knife. Suppose he has to be to survive.

Maybe now that [spoiler]Sean Bean is gone [/spoiler] they will have a bigger budget to tackle the battles [spoiler](appreantely he commands a huge fee!). [/spoiler] The [spoiler]dragons[/spoiler] didn't look naff anyway, which is a good sign. Plus I read somewhere that they've recruited about 3 or 4 times as many CGI artists for season 2 - again, bodes well.

I've been copying episodes for a student a work with - a lad of 18 with various difficulties I won't go into (he's very mature in lots of ways). He's hugely into mediaeval stuff and LOTR and all that, so I thought he'd appreciate this, and he's become a massive fan. It's been enlightening talking with him after each episode too - he couldn't get his head around the fact that [spoiler]they killed Ned, [/spoiler] and was truly gutted - I tried to explain that was the very thing that made the show so good, that boldness, the willingness to pull the rug from under the viewer, but I think he's a bit too young to make sense of that yet. [spoiler]He then asked me 'who's the main character now then?', and again, I explained that there wasn't really any one central character anymore, it wasn't that kind of show. It's more of an ensemble. Arguable, even Ned wasn't the main character, but I can see how he appeared that way - the biggest name actor and the moral core of the show.[/spoiler] Anyway, we're both champing at the bit for season 2 now.

[I, Cosh]

Oops. That was supposed to be spoiler tags, not bold. Could someone amend?

[Richmond Clements]

Oops. That was supposed to be spoiler tags, not bold. Could someone amend?

There you go!

What I liked about [spoiler]Ned's[/spoiler] death, well not liked exactly, was the message that if you are an honourable guy and do the right thing, even when everyone around you is being an utter bastard, then you will [spoiler]die[/spoiler].

[radiator]

Cheers, TB - makes more sense now.

Pyp is Jozef Altin, who according to IMDB has been in loads of stuff

Thanks again - had a look through his IMDB and found that he played the mugger from series 3 of Peep Show, and that's where i recognised him from - he made Mark ask for his phone back in a girly voice!

That's Rickon. Somebody mentioned earlier that all the children have been aged a bit for the series and he's a victim of that really as he's not much more than a baby in the first books so there's very little material for them to work with.

Ah! That makes a lot of sense. I was wondering for a while who the five children were - it is a bit much to take in - it was a few episodes before I could tell Robb and Jon apart (they are similar looking guys), and it's all the more confusing throwing Theon into the mix, who is sort of a seventh Stark child, despite being neither Stark nor bastard.

[spoiler]Bran has some ability; don't think Rickon has.[/spoiler]

...I think you meant to spoiler that! Hmmm. [spoiler]But what about the scene where the two boys revealed they had the same dream/premonition?[/spoiler]

One last thing: did Tyrion know it was Jaime who is responsible for Bran's condition? Whether he did or not casts a new light on his - seemingly altruistic - gesture of designing the saddle for him.

[spoiler]He then asked me 'who's the main character now then?', and again, I explained that there wasn't really any one central character anymore, it wasn't that kind of show. It's more of an ensemble. Arguable, even Ned wasn't the main character, but I can see how he appeared that way - the biggest name actor and the moral core of the show. Anyway, we're both champing at the bit for season 2 now.[/spoiler]

To be fair, he has featured heavily in the publicity for the show too. [spoiler]I knew in advance that Ned wouldn't be making it to the end of the series, but I still found his death really affecting. He gave that great little speech about how he didn't care at all for his own life - as a soldier he had come to terms with his own death years ago - but what was so sad was that he was forced to dishonour himself by 'confessing' - that saddened me more than the actual death.[/spoiler]

[radiator]

I've heard that the producers want Christopher Ecclestone for series 2!

[mygrimmbrother]

Nice one, I wonder who for? Did you hear about the Gerard Butler hoax? Apparently some enthusiastic nerd-do-wells hacked his imdb page and cast him as Stannis Baratheon! You never know, it might come to pass. Poor King Leonidas has been slumming it in shitty romcoms for too long, he needs a meaty roaring king role again.

[mogzilla]

he'd make a good stannis methinks... trying to get through the clash of kings but as im off with stress it makes relaxing and getting into a book difficult. tyrion continues to delight tho'

[Richmond Clements]

tyrion continues to delight tho'

At the risk of name dropping- I told George RR Martin at last years Octocon that Tyrion was pretty much my favourite character in a book ever, to whcih he replied, "Mine too"- but I bet he says that to everyone...

[mogzilla]

does that mean at least one character will survive the saga?

[Richmond Clements]

does that mean at least one character will survive the saga?

Haha! Funnily enough, we were on a panel together (along with Mr M Carroll, also of this parish) and I did ask him about killing off characters in an effort to get a hint of what is to come. He pointed out that magic exists in that world, so the dead may not necessarily be dead...

(and, as an aside, the conversation also turned to aging in comics, and when told that Dredd ages in real time, he was most impressed)

[Radbacker]

Haha! Funnily enough, we were on a panel together (along with Mr M Carroll, also of this parish) and I did ask him about killing off characters in an effort to get a hint of what is to come. He pointed out that magic exists in that world, so the dead may not necessarily be dead...[/quote

Do not read if you havent read alll four books
repeat do not read this
[spoiler]There's Lady Stoneheart who's a major character that definatly died and has come back, Quybyrne(?) the mad Expunged Maester has something definatly not dead he's working on in the dungeons involving the mOuntain and theres something awfuly familiar about the pale reder beyond the wall that rides the great elk that rescued Sam and met with Bran (methinks it might be liost dead uncle Benjin, but this is pure guess)[/spoiler]

Tyrion's a fav for evryone I know who's watching it which is good as next season he's really going to own it, didn't warm to him in the books untill book two but they've made him more symapathetic quicker in the series, that could also be something to do with the awsom actor they've got to play him and in the book he's more deformed and impish with his mismatched eye's a hook nose and distinct wadle he just came accross as classic bady in the firdst book (though it's been ages since i read it and may be remembering wrong).
Sinply can not wait for next season but atlest the new books out soon to help tide over a bit of time.

CU Radbacker

[mogzilla]

whilst reading game of thrones i easily pictured the characters from the series but couldnt get a stannis until now! he's gonna be chris eccles cake from now on god, ihope he is in the next series after all that!

[TordelBack]

Funnily enough I found Tyrion far easier to warm to in the books than in the series.  Although Peter Dinklage is just incredibly good, he's just a bit too handsome for the Imp as I imagined him, and so I find Tyrion's self-depreciation comes off as a bit more calculated than in the book.  Naturally he's my favourite character too.

Incidentally, the casting director for the TV series must deserve a small mound of awards - some very difficult choices handled brilliantly.

[soggy]

Brienne has been cast, looks like we are getting Hollywood ugly, hair up & glasses