The Next Project

Last time, I explained my reasoning behind why I always read the book before watching any adaptations inspired by it and told you I would be picking an adaptation of a book to moan about next.

And so, the adaptation I've chosen to rant about...

Yep. The HBO adaptation of the A Song of Ice and Fire (hereafter referred to as ASoIaF) novels by George R.R. Martin: Game of Thrones. More specifically, season five.

To explain why, it may help to tell you my ASoIaF story.

Our story begins a few years ago:  The year was 2013.  It was a simpler time.

REMEMBER THIS GUY?? 2013!

Everyone I knew was watching Game of Thrones.  I'd heard of it and been told a gazillion times to watch it but, lo and behold, it was only bloody based on a series of books (ASoIaF), wasn't it?  And we know my rule about that...

Over the summer, I devoured the first three books of the series.  I was hooked.  It was unlike anything I'd ever read.  It was more than just my first fantasy series (Artemis Fowl doesn't count, does it?)  It was the first series of books that I truly immersed myself in.  As I completed books four and five in the new year, I finally decided to see what all the Game of Thrones fuss was about.  

Now, I knew I'd find it difficult.  I'm not daft.
When you love something that much, when you've established a whole universe in your mind, you know that someone else's interpretation of it just won't be the same.  But, like I said last time, I have accepted that adaptations are essentially fan fictions.  

Ah, outdated RENT references <3

[As an aside, I remember, once upon a time, a friend had gotten me obsessed with RENT fan fictions and it made us lose our shit, especially after that film scene inspired a whole branch of Mark/Roger storylines we were not expecting.]*
*Apologies for how niche this reference is and shout out to anyone who gets it.

Anyway, when something I love is adapted, I know to prepare myself for something different.  I swore that I would always treat Game of Thrones separately to ASoIaF.  I psyched myself up and pressed play.

Seasons 1-3 went by in a blur.  And... They were good.  Like, really good.  I mean... Obviously, some of the characters were underdeveloped and storylines were often different but I understood that there was far too much detail to squeeze in.  I enjoyed it.  Now, I'd be lying to you if I said that I'd never thought, "they missed out _____" or "but _____ would never do that" or "why would they show _____ before explaining _____?" etc. but, for the most part, I was a Game of Thrones fan.  I embraced the differences.

By the summer of 2014, I'd read the whole ASoIaF series twice and begun to explore the fandom behind the books.  Westeros.org and various Tumblr sites were feeding me lots of information.  I was loving learning more about the series, analysing the text in more detail and discovering possible theories (R+L=J though, amiright?).  At the same time, I was watching season four.  It could have been my immersion into the book world but there was more and more I began to dislike about the TV series.  

I was seeing things that didn't just confuse me: they irked me.  People in the show began to do things that, given their entire arc established thus far in the show, were just out of character for them.  Everyone could seemingly teleport to anywhere in the Known World at the drop of a hat.  Certain storylines were racing ahead to book five whilst others were left abandoned mid book two. 

How am I still alive?  Discuss.

Westeros.org was up in arms.  Fans like me, who'd made peace with the disparity between the show and books were disappointed and confused.  There was also a lot of anger.  At first, it all seemed a bit over the top and intense for me but, as I neared the end of season four, these ranting comments began to speak to me and my cynicism grew.

And yet, despite all of this, I was still excited for season five to start.

Surely the Ironborn plot would return?
Dorne was to be covered, at last.  Oh, to see the beauty of the Winter Gardens.
Maybe Gendry will finally find dry land!  He must be knackered.

Also, I wanted to see how the show would handle the story lines beyond the books.  I was such a no0b to the world of ASoIaF, yet I was desperate for more material, whether it was accurate or not.

And then, OUTTA NOWHERE,

Why yes, I do have insane photoshop skillz, thank you for noticing.
I also have a knack for making stupid references.

And, with that ridiculous, lovingly hand-made-at-1am meme, we've reached the end of my A Song of Ice and Fire vs. Game of Thrones experience.

In all seriousness, I can't tell you how heartbroken I actually was at the end of season five.
Thus far, my coping mechanism has been to run to the forums, the blogs and other book readers.  They all seem to be able to put their disappointment into words so much more eloquently than I can.

So, here we are.
Fun Fact!  My resolution for 2016 was to stick to things once I'd started them: the copy of War and Peace that's been weighing down my bag for all of 2015 but is barely touched, that entire tin of Quality Street left from Christmas and... my moany blog.

Now, I know I'm late to the party but a thesis on the major pitfalls of season five was not something I was in a position to do until now.  I feel like the past six months has been my ASoIaF grieving period.  I've had time to gather my thoughts.  My friends have had enough of my emotional ramblings.  I've read countless threads and blog posts.
It's now or never.

Here's the plan:

Over the next few months, I'm going to rewatch Game of Thrones season five (pray for me).
Whilst I watch each episode, I'm going to scribble about the content, characters and choices made as well as what I think would have worked better and what the implications could be for season six.  The subsequent stream of consciousness will be edited into a (hopefully) weekly blog post, moaning and ranting unnecessarily once more.
So, take this as official warning, there will be many a spoiler ahead, about both Game of Thrones (duh) and ASoIaF.

Expect the first post later this week.
Wish me luck.