Game of Thrones 2: A Clash of Kings

Off Topic
161

SPOILERS - DON’T READ UNLESS YOU’VE FINISHED STORM OF SWORDS

[quote]DeltaOne wrote:
I think the reason why Robert became king instead of Ned was because Ned felt disgusted by the sack of King’s Landing and the murder Raegar’s children and wife, and did not want to take the rule under that situation.

At least that’s how I see it, looking at how Ned valued his honor and how he hesitated in becoming the Hand of the King, I doubt he would have wanted to rule knowing it had costed not only the blood of Aerys but childreen as well to get him to the Iron Throne, there’s also the fact that he knew he’d be surrounded by a bunch of cutthroats, Jaime, Tywin, Varys, etc. Starks probably have more ancient blood than Targs, afterall they descent from the guy who built the Wall, I don’t know how many thousand years before there was even paper and ink to keep a record.

As for Robert, I recall he said several times he never wanted to rule, just wanted Lyanna back and to drink and hunt and do all stuff a viking does, hence why he bankrupted the kingdom and didn’t gave a fuck.

Spoilers

The way they are protraying Tywin is a lot more like a “kind grandfather” than “cold sociopath that only cares about his family legacy”. I’ll be pretty upset of they don’t show why Tyrion choose to kill him.

[/quote]

On the first part:

Ned never felt comfortable in his role as Warden of the North, knowing that it was his brother Brandon that was supposed to be Lord of Winterfell. There’s no way he would have ever wanted to sit on the Iron Throne if he felt ill-suited to the role he already had.

Also, he was one of the more self-aware characters. He knew he didn’t have the skills necessary to be a successful politician, which is why he left the south as soon as the war was over.

You are right though that the killing of the Targaryen children disgusted him.

On the last part, they simply cannot leave out or change Tyrion’s motive for killing his father. It is a plot necessity and it also throws a monkey wrench into his relationship with Jaime. Since they’ve already brought up the Tysha back story, I have no reason to believe that this will be altered.

I think that Tywin was basically a respectable character in the books up until the Blackwater. I was actually starting to like him until he disinherited Tyrion and tried him for Joffrey’s murder. Then, of course, it turns out that he’s really just a fucking hypocrite and not this steely man of resolve that he pretends to be.

I think his portrayal in the series has been accurate so far. The actor certainly looks the part. Next season will be the key for his character.

162

[quote]Steel Nation wrote:
SPOILERS - DON’T READ UNLESS YOU’VE FINISHED STORM OF SWORDS

[quote]DeltaOne wrote:
I think the reason why Robert became king instead of Ned was because Ned felt disgusted by the sack of King’s Landing and the murder Raegar’s children and wife, and did not want to take the rule under that situation.

At least that’s how I see it, looking at how Ned valued his honor and how he hesitated in becoming the Hand of the King, I doubt he would have wanted to rule knowing it had costed not only the blood of Aerys but childreen as well to get him to the Iron Throne, there’s also the fact that he knew he’d be surrounded by a bunch of cutthroats, Jaime, Tywin, Varys, etc. Starks probably have more ancient blood than Targs, afterall they descent from the guy who built the Wall, I don’t know how many thousand years before there was even paper and ink to keep a record.

As for Robert, I recall he said several times he never wanted to rule, just wanted Lyanna back and to drink and hunt and do all stuff a viking does, hence why he bankrupted the kingdom and didn’t gave a fuck.

Spoilers

The way they are protraying Tywin is a lot more like a “kind grandfather” than “cold sociopath that only cares about his family legacy”. I’ll be pretty upset of they don’t show why Tyrion choose to kill him.

[/quote]

On the first part:

Ned never felt comfortable in his role as Warden of the North, knowing that it was his brother Brandon that was supposed to be Lord of Winterfell. There’s no way he would have ever wanted to sit on the Iron Throne if he felt ill-suited to the role he already had.

Also, he was one of the more self-aware characters. He knew he didn’t have the skills necessary to be a successful politician, which is why he left the south as soon as the war was over.

You are right though that the killing of the Targaryen children disgusted him.

On the last part, they simply cannot leave out or change Tyrion’s motive for killing his father. It is a plot necessity and it also throws a monkey wrench into his relationship with Jaime. Since they’ve already brought up the Tysha back story, I have no reason to believe that this will be altered.

I think that Tywin was basically a respectable character in the books up until the Blackwater. I was actually starting to like him until he disinherited Tyrion and tried him for Joffrey’s murder. Then, of course, it turns out that he’s really just a fucking hypocrite and not this steely man of resolve that he pretends to be.

I think his portrayal in the series has been accurate so far. The actor certainly looks the part. Next season will be the key for his character.[/quote]

Things I learned from Game of Thrones

  1. Dont trust whores
  2. Dont trust your brothers
  3. Dont trust your dad
  4. HBO likes Tits
163

^^there had been a lot more sex in this season so far than there was in the last season.

Some of it has been pointless IMO.

SNL did a pretty accurate skit about it actually. Anyone else catch that?

164

[quote]gregron wrote:
^^there had been a lot more sex in this season so far than there was in the last season.

Some of it has been pointless IMO.

SNL did a pretty accurate skit about it actually. Anyone else catch that?[/quote]

No have not watched SNL in years.

165

[quote]IFlashBack wrote:

[quote]Achilles of war wrote:
oboile i was just jokingzz.

So while I enjoy season 2, I feel like the info is still to broad for those who have not read the books to completely understand what is going on. I hear kids in class talk about stuff and they are getting the complete wrong impression from certain scenes.[/quote]

That, and the fact that they are dumbing down the characters a LOT. Stannis and Tywin have lost their edge to me, and Arya kinda seems like a scared little girl where she actually is a badass. [/quote]

Dude she is a scared little girl. Remember her slave like conditions. Privately angry but she is scared around people.

166

[quote]gregron wrote:
^^there had been a lot more sex in this season so far than there was in the last season.

Some of it has been pointless IMO.

SNL did a pretty accurate skit about it actually. Anyone else catch that?[/quote]

Wow. Royalty, soldiers, and whores (who seem to constitute this whole book) like to fuck.

167

I’m not reading any of this thread but I’m 100 pages into the first book and I’m so hooked. I’ll check out the HBO series when I’m done.

FYI, Amazon has the first four books in paperback for $20 now. WHOOT!

168

[quote]DeltaOne wrote:
I think the reason why Robert became king instead of Ned was because Ned felt disgusted by the sack of King’s Landing and the murder Raegar’s children and wife, and did not want to take the rule under that situation.

At least that’s how I see it, looking at how Ned valued his honor and how he hesitated in becoming the Hand of the King, I doubt he would have wanted to rule knowing it had costed not only the blood of Aerys but childreen as well to get him to the Iron Throne, there’s also the fact that he knew he’d be surrounded by a bunch of cutthroats, Jaime, Tywin, Varys, etc. Starks probably have more ancient blood than Targs, afterall they descent from the guy who built the Wall, I don’t know how many thousand years before there was even paper and ink to keep a record.

As for Robert, I recall he said several times he never wanted to rule, just wanted Lyanna back and to drink and hunt and do all stuff a viking does, hence why he bankrupted the kingdom and didn’t gave a fuck. [/quote]

If you are interested, you can read stuff online that condenses and explains things that are sometimes hard to pick up in the books.

169

[quote]Gambit_Lost wrote:

[quote]DeltaOne wrote:
I think the reason why Robert became king instead of Ned was because Ned felt disgusted by the sack of King’s Landing and the murder Raegar’s children and wife, and did not want to take the rule under that situation.

At least that’s how I see it, looking at how Ned valued his honor and how he hesitated in becoming the Hand of the King, I doubt he would have wanted to rule knowing it had costed not only the blood of Aerys but childreen as well to get him to the Iron Throne, there’s also the fact that he knew he’d be surrounded by a bunch of cutthroats, Jaime, Tywin, Varys, etc. Starks probably have more ancient blood than Targs, afterall they descent from the guy who built the Wall, I don’t know how many thousand years before there was even paper and ink to keep a record.

As for Robert, I recall he said several times he never wanted to rule, just wanted Lyanna back and to drink and hunt and do all stuff a viking does, hence why he bankrupted the kingdom and didn’t gave a fuck. [/quote]

If you are interested, you can read stuff online that condenses and explains things that are sometimes hard to pick up in the books. [/quote]

That’s a good start. I read the 4th book in 2007, so I’d forgotten entirely too much by the time I read ADWD. I think these books need to be read 2-3 times at minimum to really pick up on everything.

170

[quote]Steel Nation wrote:
SPOILERS - DON’T READ UNLESS YOU’VE FINISHED STORM OF SWORDS

[quote]DeltaOne wrote:
I think the reason why Robert became king instead of Ned was because Ned felt disgusted by the sack of King’s Landing and the murder Raegar’s children and wife, and did not want to take the rule under that situation.

At least that’s how I see it, looking at how Ned valued his honor and how he hesitated in becoming the Hand of the King, I doubt he would have wanted to rule knowing it had costed not only the blood of Aerys but childreen as well to get him to the Iron Throne, there’s also the fact that he knew he’d be surrounded by a bunch of cutthroats, Jaime, Tywin, Varys, etc. Starks probably have more ancient blood than Targs, afterall they descent from the guy who built the Wall, I don’t know how many thousand years before there was even paper and ink to keep a record.

As for Robert, I recall he said several times he never wanted to rule, just wanted Lyanna back and to drink and hunt and do all stuff a viking does, hence why he bankrupted the kingdom and didn’t gave a fuck.

Spoilers

The way they are protraying Tywin is a lot more like a “kind grandfather” than “cold sociopath that only cares about his family legacy”. I’ll be pretty upset of they don’t show why Tyrion choose to kill him.

[/quote]

On the first part:

Ned never felt comfortable in his role as Warden of the North, knowing that it was his brother Brandon that was supposed to be Lord of Winterfell. There’s no way he would have ever wanted to sit on the Iron Throne if he felt ill-suited to the role he already had.

Also, he was one of the more self-aware characters. He knew he didn’t have the skills necessary to be a successful politician, which is why he left the south as soon as the war was over.

You are right though that the killing of the Targaryen children disgusted him.

On the last part, they simply cannot leave out or change Tyrion’s motive for killing his father. It is a plot necessity and it also throws a monkey wrench into his relationship with Jaime. Since they’ve already brought up the Tysha back story, I have no reason to believe that this will be altered.

I think that Tywin was basically a respectable character in the books up until the Blackwater. I was actually starting to like him until he disinherited Tyrion and tried him for Joffrey’s murder. Then, of course, it turns out that he’s really just a fucking hypocrite and not this steely man of resolve that he pretends to be.

I think his portrayal in the series has been accurate so far. The actor certainly looks the part. Next season will be the key for his character.[/quote]

I agree with your take on Tywin. I actually really like the way he is being portrayed right now, as it will inevitably cause the viewer to hate him more when his true character is revealed. I never felt he was supposed to be the sadistic bastard mold of a Gregor or Ramsay. He is, to me, instead utterly ruthless and completely oblivious to non-Lannisters. But I never got the impression he enjoys torture or anything like that.

As an aside, the Fanboys love Tywin. I don’t know why, but he’s like the Boba Fett of ASOIAF.

171

[quote]HeavyTriple wrote:

[quote]Steel Nation wrote:
SPOILERS - DON’T READ UNLESS YOU’VE FINISHED STORM OF SWORDS

[quote]DeltaOne wrote:
I think the reason why Robert became king instead of Ned was because Ned felt disgusted by the sack of King’s Landing and the murder Raegar’s children and wife, and did not want to take the rule under that situation.

At least that’s how I see it, looking at how Ned valued his honor and how he hesitated in becoming the Hand of the King, I doubt he would have wanted to rule knowing it had costed not only the blood of Aerys but childreen as well to get him to the Iron Throne, there’s also the fact that he knew he’d be surrounded by a bunch of cutthroats, Jaime, Tywin, Varys, etc. Starks probably have more ancient blood than Targs, afterall they descent from the guy who built the Wall, I don’t know how many thousand years before there was even paper and ink to keep a record.

As for Robert, I recall he said several times he never wanted to rule, just wanted Lyanna back and to drink and hunt and do all stuff a viking does, hence why he bankrupted the kingdom and didn’t gave a fuck.

Spoilers

The way they are protraying Tywin is a lot more like a “kind grandfather” than “cold sociopath that only cares about his family legacy”. I’ll be pretty upset of they don’t show why Tyrion choose to kill him.

[/quote]

On the first part:

Ned never felt comfortable in his role as Warden of the North, knowing that it was his brother Brandon that was supposed to be Lord of Winterfell. There’s no way he would have ever wanted to sit on the Iron Throne if he felt ill-suited to the role he already had.

Also, he was one of the more self-aware characters. He knew he didn’t have the skills necessary to be a successful politician, which is why he left the south as soon as the war was over.

You are right though that the killing of the Targaryen children disgusted him.

On the last part, they simply cannot leave out or change Tyrion’s motive for killing his father. It is a plot necessity and it also throws a monkey wrench into his relationship with Jaime. Since they’ve already brought up the Tysha back story, I have no reason to believe that this will be altered.

I think that Tywin was basically a respectable character in the books up until the Blackwater. I was actually starting to like him until he disinherited Tyrion and tried him for Joffrey’s murder. Then, of course, it turns out that he’s really just a fucking hypocrite and not this steely man of resolve that he pretends to be.

I think his portrayal in the series has been accurate so far. The actor certainly looks the part. Next season will be the key for his character.[/quote]

I agree with your take on Tywin. I actually really like the way he is being portrayed right now, as it will inevitably cause the viewer to hate him more when his true character is revealed. I never felt he was supposed to be the sadistic bastard mold of a Gregor or Ramsay. He is, to me, instead utterly ruthless and completely oblivious to non-Lannisters. But I never got the impression he enjoys torture or anything like that.

As an aside, the Fanboys love Tywin. I don’t know why, but he’s like the Boba Fett of ASOIAF.
[/quote]

I agree Tywin doesn’t enjoy torture, but enjoys the ends of what torture may provide (information/power/fear) which is why he employs Gregor and his ilk to do his dirty work for him. I thought Tywin played an obviously crucial role in the development of ASOIAF, especially with explaining indirectly Tyrion’s cunning along with his un-characteristic softness for “bastards” and generally disadvantaged characters throughout the book (Sansa, Jon Snow, Penny, The Crows at the Wall).

172

[quote]polo77j wrote:

[quote]HeavyTriple wrote:

[quote]Steel Nation wrote:
SPOILERS - DON’T READ UNLESS YOU’VE FINISHED STORM OF SWORDS

[quote]DeltaOne wrote:
I think the reason why Robert became king instead of Ned was because Ned felt disgusted by the sack of King’s Landing and the murder Raegar’s children and wife, and did not want to take the rule under that situation.

At least that’s how I see it, looking at how Ned valued his honor and how he hesitated in becoming the Hand of the King, I doubt he would have wanted to rule knowing it had costed not only the blood of Aerys but childreen as well to get him to the Iron Throne, there’s also the fact that he knew he’d be surrounded by a bunch of cutthroats, Jaime, Tywin, Varys, etc. Starks probably have more ancient blood than Targs, afterall they descent from the guy who built the Wall, I don’t know how many thousand years before there was even paper and ink to keep a record.

As for Robert, I recall he said several times he never wanted to rule, just wanted Lyanna back and to drink and hunt and do all stuff a viking does, hence why he bankrupted the kingdom and didn’t gave a fuck.

Spoilers

The way they are protraying Tywin is a lot more like a “kind grandfather” than “cold sociopath that only cares about his family legacy”. I’ll be pretty upset of they don’t show why Tyrion choose to kill him.

[/quote]

On the first part:

Ned never felt comfortable in his role as Warden of the North, knowing that it was his brother Brandon that was supposed to be Lord of Winterfell. There’s no way he would have ever wanted to sit on the Iron Throne if he felt ill-suited to the role he already had.

Also, he was one of the more self-aware characters. He knew he didn’t have the skills necessary to be a successful politician, which is why he left the south as soon as the war was over.

You are right though that the killing of the Targaryen children disgusted him.

On the last part, they simply cannot leave out or change Tyrion’s motive for killing his father. It is a plot necessity and it also throws a monkey wrench into his relationship with Jaime. Since they’ve already brought up the Tysha back story, I have no reason to believe that this will be altered.

I think that Tywin was basically a respectable character in the books up until the Blackwater. I was actually starting to like him until he disinherited Tyrion and tried him for Joffrey’s murder. Then, of course, it turns out that he’s really just a fucking hypocrite and not this steely man of resolve that he pretends to be.

I think his portrayal in the series has been accurate so far. The actor certainly looks the part. Next season will be the key for his character.[/quote]

I agree with your take on Tywin. I actually really like the way he is being portrayed right now, as it will inevitably cause the viewer to hate him more when his true character is revealed. I never felt he was supposed to be the sadistic bastard mold of a Gregor or Ramsay. He is, to me, instead utterly ruthless and completely oblivious to non-Lannisters. But I never got the impression he enjoys torture or anything like that.

As an aside, the Fanboys love Tywin. I don’t know why, but he’s like the Boba Fett of ASOIAF.
[/quote]

I agree Tywin doesn’t enjoy torture, but enjoys the ends of what torture may provide (information/power/fear) which is why he employs Gregor and his ilk to do his dirty work for him. I thought Tywin played an obviously crucial role in the development of ASOIAF, especially with explaining indirectly Tyrion’s cunning along with his un-characteristic softness for “bastards” and generally disadvantaged characters throughout the book (Sansa, Jon Snow, Penny, The Crows at the Wall).[/quote]

Totally agree. What I meant by oblivious is the suffering of others just doesn’t matter to him so long as he furthers the Lannister cause. He dehumanizes everyone to the point that they are all pawns or dogs to him.

173

[quote]HeavyTriple wrote:

[quote]polo77j wrote:

[quote]HeavyTriple wrote:

[quote]Steel Nation wrote:
SPOILERS - DON’T READ UNLESS YOU’VE FINISHED STORM OF SWORDS

[quote]DeltaOne wrote:
I think the reason why Robert became king instead of Ned was because Ned felt disgusted by the sack of King’s Landing and the murder Raegar’s children and wife, and did not want to take the rule under that situation.

At least that’s how I see it, looking at how Ned valued his honor and how he hesitated in becoming the Hand of the King, I doubt he would have wanted to rule knowing it had costed not only the blood of Aerys but childreen as well to get him to the Iron Throne, there’s also the fact that he knew he’d be surrounded by a bunch of cutthroats, Jaime, Tywin, Varys, etc. Starks probably have more ancient blood than Targs, afterall they descent from the guy who built the Wall, I don’t know how many thousand years before there was even paper and ink to keep a record.

As for Robert, I recall he said several times he never wanted to rule, just wanted Lyanna back and to drink and hunt and do all stuff a viking does, hence why he bankrupted the kingdom and didn’t gave a fuck.

Spoilers

The way they are protraying Tywin is a lot more like a “kind grandfather” than “cold sociopath that only cares about his family legacy”. I’ll be pretty upset of they don’t show why Tyrion choose to kill him.

[/quote]

On the first part:

Ned never felt comfortable in his role as Warden of the North, knowing that it was his brother Brandon that was supposed to be Lord of Winterfell. There’s no way he would have ever wanted to sit on the Iron Throne if he felt ill-suited to the role he already had.

Also, he was one of the more self-aware characters. He knew he didn’t have the skills necessary to be a successful politician, which is why he left the south as soon as the war was over.

You are right though that the killing of the Targaryen children disgusted him.

On the last part, they simply cannot leave out or change Tyrion’s motive for killing his father. It is a plot necessity and it also throws a monkey wrench into his relationship with Jaime. Since they’ve already brought up the Tysha back story, I have no reason to believe that this will be altered.

I think that Tywin was basically a respectable character in the books up until the Blackwater. I was actually starting to like him until he disinherited Tyrion and tried him for Joffrey’s murder. Then, of course, it turns out that he’s really just a fucking hypocrite and not this steely man of resolve that he pretends to be.

I think his portrayal in the series has been accurate so far. The actor certainly looks the part. Next season will be the key for his character.[/quote]

I agree with your take on Tywin. I actually really like the way he is being portrayed right now, as it will inevitably cause the viewer to hate him more when his true character is revealed. I never felt he was supposed to be the sadistic bastard mold of a Gregor or Ramsay. He is, to me, instead utterly ruthless and completely oblivious to non-Lannisters. But I never got the impression he enjoys torture or anything like that.

As an aside, the Fanboys love Tywin. I don’t know why, but he’s like the Boba Fett of ASOIAF.
[/quote]

I agree Tywin doesn’t enjoy torture, but enjoys the ends of what torture may provide (information/power/fear) which is why he employs Gregor and his ilk to do his dirty work for him. I thought Tywin played an obviously crucial role in the development of ASOIAF, especially with explaining indirectly Tyrion’s cunning along with his un-characteristic softness for “bastards” and generally disadvantaged characters throughout the book (Sansa, Jon Snow, Penny, The Crows at the Wall).[/quote]

Totally agree. What I meant by oblivious is the suffering of others just doesn’t matter to him so long as he furthers the Lannister cause. He dehumanizes everyone to the point that they are all pawns or dogs to him.[/quote]

agree 100%

174

Spoilers and a crackpot theory maybe.

Does anyone else have the feeling once Barristan learns of Aegons existence, he will abandon Dany for Aegon. He did say he vowed to serve the rightful ruler of Westeroes and assuming Aegon is who we have been told its him.

175

[quote]Hell-Billy wrote:
Spoilers and a crackpot theory maybe.

Does anyone else have the feeling once Barristan learns of Aegons existence, he will abandon Dany for Aegon. He did say he vowed to serve the rightful ruler of Westeroes and assuming Aegon is who we have been told its him.[/quote]

Well, presumably they would marry and share an equal right to the realm. Also, dragons make a strong case.

176

Also, Barristan is a likely character to die sacrificing himself soon.

177

[quote]Steel Nation wrote:
SPOILERS - DON’T READ UNLESS YOU’VE FINISHED STORM OF SWORDS

[quote]DeltaOne wrote:
I think the reason why Robert became king instead of Ned was because Ned felt disgusted by the sack of King’s Landing and the murder Raegar’s children and wife, and did not want to take the rule under that situation.

At least that’s how I see it, looking at how Ned valued his honor and how he hesitated in becoming the Hand of the King, I doubt he would have wanted to rule knowing it had costed not only the blood of Aerys but childreen as well to get him to the Iron Throne, there’s also the fact that he knew he’d be surrounded by a bunch of cutthroats, Jaime, Tywin, Varys, etc. Starks probably have more ancient blood than Targs, afterall they descent from the guy who built the Wall, I don’t know how many thousand years before there was even paper and ink to keep a record.

As for Robert, I recall he said several times he never wanted to rule, just wanted Lyanna back and to drink and hunt and do all stuff a viking does, hence why he bankrupted the kingdom and didn’t gave a fuck.

Spoilers

The way they are protraying Tywin is a lot more like a “kind grandfather” than “cold sociopath that only cares about his family legacy”. I’ll be pretty upset of they don’t show why Tyrion choose to kill him.

[/quote]

On the first part:

Ned never felt comfortable in his role as Warden of the North, knowing that it was his brother Brandon that was supposed to be Lord of Winterfell. There’s no way he would have ever wanted to sit on the Iron Throne if he felt ill-suited to the role he already had.

Also, he was one of the more self-aware characters. He knew he didn’t have the skills necessary to be a successful politician, which is why he left the south as soon as the war was over.

You are right though that the killing of the Targaryen children disgusted him.

On the last part, they simply cannot leave out or change Tyrion’s motive for killing his father. It is a plot necessity and it also throws a monkey wrench into his relationship with Jaime. Since they’ve already brought up the Tysha back story, I have no reason to believe that this will be altered.

I think that Tywin was basically a respectable character in the books up until the Blackwater. I was actually starting to like him until he disinherited Tyrion and tried him for Joffrey’s murder. Then, of course, it turns out that he’s really just a fucking hypocrite and not this steely man of resolve that he pretends to be.

I think his portrayal in the series has been accurate so far. The actor certainly looks the part. Next season will be the key for his character.[/quote]

You guys are both right about Ned being disgusted, but Robert’s claim (aside from being the victor) was based on his grandmother being a Targaryen. Had Ned been cool with everything, he still wouldn’t have been king.

178

[quote]HeavyTriple wrote:

[quote]polo77j wrote:

[quote]HeavyTriple wrote:

[quote]Steel Nation wrote:
SPOILERS - DON’T READ UNLESS YOU’VE FINISHED STORM OF SWORDS

[quote]DeltaOne wrote:
I think the reason why Robert became king instead of Ned was because Ned felt disgusted by the sack of King’s Landing and the murder Raegar’s children and wife, and did not want to take the rule under that situation.

At least that’s how I see it, looking at how Ned valued his honor and how he hesitated in becoming the Hand of the King, I doubt he would have wanted to rule knowing it had costed not only the blood of Aerys but childreen as well to get him to the Iron Throne, there’s also the fact that he knew he’d be surrounded by a bunch of cutthroats, Jaime, Tywin, Varys, etc. Starks probably have more ancient blood than Targs, afterall they descent from the guy who built the Wall, I don’t know how many thousand years before there was even paper and ink to keep a record.

As for Robert, I recall he said several times he never wanted to rule, just wanted Lyanna back and to drink and hunt and do all stuff a viking does, hence why he bankrupted the kingdom and didn’t gave a fuck.

Spoilers

The way they are protraying Tywin is a lot more like a “kind grandfather” than “cold sociopath that only cares about his family legacy”. I’ll be pretty upset of they don’t show why Tyrion choose to kill him.

[/quote]

On the first part:

Ned never felt comfortable in his role as Warden of the North, knowing that it was his brother Brandon that was supposed to be Lord of Winterfell. There’s no way he would have ever wanted to sit on the Iron Throne if he felt ill-suited to the role he already had.

Also, he was one of the more self-aware characters. He knew he didn’t have the skills necessary to be a successful politician, which is why he left the south as soon as the war was over.

You are right though that the killing of the Targaryen children disgusted him.

On the last part, they simply cannot leave out or change Tyrion’s motive for killing his father. It is a plot necessity and it also throws a monkey wrench into his relationship with Jaime. Since they’ve already brought up the Tysha back story, I have no reason to believe that this will be altered.

I think that Tywin was basically a respectable character in the books up until the Blackwater. I was actually starting to like him until he disinherited Tyrion and tried him for Joffrey’s murder. Then, of course, it turns out that he’s really just a fucking hypocrite and not this steely man of resolve that he pretends to be.

I think his portrayal in the series has been accurate so far. The actor certainly looks the part. Next season will be the key for his character.[/quote]

I agree with your take on Tywin. I actually really like the way he is being portrayed right now, as it will inevitably cause the viewer to hate him more when his true character is revealed. I never felt he was supposed to be the sadistic bastard mold of a Gregor or Ramsay. He is, to me, instead utterly ruthless and completely oblivious to non-Lannisters. But I never got the impression he enjoys torture or anything like that.

As an aside, the Fanboys love Tywin. I don’t know why, but he’s like the Boba Fett of ASOIAF.
[/quote]

I agree Tywin doesn’t enjoy torture, but enjoys the ends of what torture may provide (information/power/fear) which is why he employs Gregor and his ilk to do his dirty work for him. I thought Tywin played an obviously crucial role in the development of ASOIAF, especially with explaining indirectly Tyrion’s cunning along with his un-characteristic softness for “bastards” and generally disadvantaged characters throughout the book (Sansa, Jon Snow, Penny, The Crows at the Wall).[/quote]

Totally agree. What I meant by oblivious is the suffering of others just doesn’t matter to him so long as he furthers the Lannister cause. He dehumanizes everyone to the point that they are all pawns or dogs to him.[/quote]
This was also my take on the guy. He’s not someone who takes joy from being cruel, but he won’t think twice about it if it furthers the Lannister cause. He strikes me as someone who will always do what is best for him, regardless of whether the action is good or evil.

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SPOILERS - DON’T READ UNLESS UP TO DATE ON BOOKS

[quote]Hell-Billy wrote:
Spoilers and a crackpot theory maybe.

Does anyone else have the feeling once Barristan learns of Aegons existence, he will abandon Dany for Aegon. He did say he vowed to serve the rightful ruler of Westeroes and assuming Aegon is who we have been told its him.[/quote]

I think he will remain loyal to Dany. He swore his sword to her, and he doesn’t take his oaths lightly. After all, he would still be in the Lannister Kingsguard if it weren’t for Joffrey and Cersei.

Anyone think Jaime and Brienne will hook up? I think Jaime is going to end up being a badass again once he relearns how to fight with his left hand. Or at least I hope so. He has become one of my favorite characters (which probably means Martin is getting ready to kill him).

I also don’t think there is any way that Dany goes to war with her nephew over the crown.

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Still in book one, but these are pretty violent. I don’t think I could watch the HBO series if they get even more graphic. Although, I would like to see Bran get even with Jaime Lannister. And I think I need a direwolf.

If you like these, you might try Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. Great book, with lots of brutal middle ages action. I know there’s a TV series of that one too, but I haven’t seen it.