"You are all about the eye -candy!"

I recently finished watching Game of Thrones on HBO and I really enjoyed it! They did a pretty good job of adapting the book to a series, which is to be expected when you have the author as an executive producer. I love the opening credits - the theme and the visuals are just amazing ("wheels within wheels" as the author quotes in the pilot). The Wall was really well done. Great job with showing how windy it was up there. The only real disappointment was the "Others" or the "White Walkers". I thought they could have been done better. I was surprised by the amount of nudity and sex, even though most of it is true to the story. There isn't a lot of that on basic cable (at least not on the shows I watch). It's interesting to hear Martin's pronunciation of some of the character's names, like Tar-gar-ee-en instead of Tar-gar-yen, Cat-lyn instead of Kate-lyn, Teer-eon instead of Ty-reeon, and the pronunciations of Daenerys, Viserys, and Cersei.


Here's what I think about some of the HBO characters - this is coming from the perspective of someone who is approximately 200 pages away from finishing A Dance with Dragons and has read all of the previous books many many years ago (I'm going on what I remember of their characters):

Eddard Stark - Not surprising. Can't go wrong with Sean Bean!

Catelyn Stark - She does a good job of playing this strong female character (the knife scene!).

Robb Stark - Not what I imagined but he's doing a pretty good job. Love the accent; hate the dye job (I think Catelyn has the same one, but it doesn't bother me as much).

Sansa Stark - She seems a more toned down version of the Sansa I imagined. I expected more tantrums and selfish, whiny-girl attitude. It'll be interesting to see her grow into the character though.

Arya Stark - This girl is no horse-face. She's absolutely adorable and doing a fantastic job! One of my favorites.

Bran Stark - A pretty good likeness. It's also be interesting to see him grow into his character.

Rickon Stark - Isn't this kid supposed to be 3? Whoever's playing him seems too old.

Jon Snow - A pretty good likeness, but he does this weird thing with his eyebrows. Coupled with the pouty lips, he has this constant whiny expression that's a bit annoying. It's as if he's trying to act with his face.

Theon Greyjoy - Love him (again that accent!). For the role he'll play in the game, I think he'll do a good job.


Robert Baratheon - Pretty good job, although he could have been more boorish. And I'd often hear Mark's "Full Monty" character when he talked. I guess that's just his voice.

Cersei Lannister - I think she's pretty good. Although she does this weird always-frowny expression, almost opposite to Jon Snow.

Jamie Lannister - Very handsome. I think he's cast well. Where are the white cloaks of the Kingsguard?

Tyrion Lannister - I think Peter Dinklage is doing a really great job, but I can't help but feel that he's playing a more serious Tyrion than I imagined. His expression at times makes me think of his serious loner character in The Station Agent . I imagined Tyrion had a smile to go along with that sharp tongue, but that's just me.

Tywin Lannister - I thought Christopher Lee would be perfect for this role because of his voice. He did the voice work for King Haggard in The Last Unicorn and that's exactly who I imagined when I first encountered Tywin. Having said that, this Tywin Lannister is scary (cold eyes and stone face). I think he'll make a great Tywin.
Joffrey Lannister - Much like Sansa, a more toned down version of what I imagined. Not hysterical enough, but still good.

Lord Baelish - Great job of playing the ever-plotting character. That scene with the prostitutes was just over-the-top.


Daenerys Targaryen - Love the white hair! I think she's doing a good job. She seems much like a girl playing at being a woman and a leader but maybe that's how she's supposed to be. For now.

Viserys Targaryen - He was great. Exactly as I imagined: slender, egotistical and wretched. Still love that golden crown scene. Love the white hair.
Khal Drogo - Best when he had little dialogue. When he had more to say, he was over the top. Great makeup though.

Jorah Mormont - His voice is really weird, like he's having trouble delivering his lines. Aside from that, he's pretty good I guess.

I was surprised that my sister wasn't remotely interested in watching, even though she read the book, and that my brother watched every episode with me. It was amusing to see how upset he was that King Joffrey's head didn't end up on a pike by the end of Season One and that Season Two isn't due out until next April.


I took the "What will you miss most about Game of Thrones?" quiz twice a few days ago and apparently, I was all about the eye-candy. I'm glad to say that after viewing the entire series, I took it again just now and I am "all about the drama". I also just took the "What house do you belong to?" quiz and I'm glad to say I belong to the honourable House Stark. It was confirmed again that if cast in the series I would be a "badass" Stark, "any Stark will do!" Woo hoo!