Five Ways Game of Thrones Season 5 improved on the books 

Season 5 differed pretty drastically from its source material. A lot of fans got down on Season 5 for straying too far afield of George R.R. Martin’s books, but there were some smart decisions in there, too. Click on through to read our roundup of the five best changes made during the transition from page to screen.

On Monday, HBO released the first teaser photo for Game of Thrones Season 6, and the internet...

Consider this backfill information. Though we know that there’s still at least a couple more...

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I can’t wait to see season 6 I just love the show so much work goes into this behind the scenes it really makes you appreciate the show so much more!!!

I love how they try to make it seem like what GRRM originally wrote and created isn’t as good as the twists they put into the TV show. Yeah killing Mance Rayder was a good move his story line wasn’t interesting or anything wouldn’t have rather seen his true storyline instead of what happened in Dorne, what a farce.

Agreed. I really liked the original fleshing-out of Mance’s character as a guy who could infiltrate any keep south of the Wall by posing as a wandering bard – and in fact did so right under King Robert’s nose at Winterfell! I’m looking forward to seeing how he escapes from the Boltons in the books.

The argument that the show is improving the novels has no legs to stand on. Is it editing it and making it move faster? Sure. Is faster better? Not in many cases. For example, I’m not entirely in love with the written Dornish sequence, but the show actually found a way to make it worse. It was so full of plot holes and nonsense I cringed watching it. The stuff at the wall on the show is good. Is it better than the book? No way. The show is rushing and cramming a lot of stuff in to fit their budget and alotted time. To be fair, they do ok with much of the material. But don’t try to tell me a lot of the show’s archs haven’t been real stinkers. Tell me that Stannis in season 5 wasn’t anti-climatic and a let down, or that Dorne was anything but awful. To be fair, it’s sometimes really good- Hardhome was great. But there’s a lot of bad writing.

One point I would like to make for those who complain the last two books were slow is that the book is not supposed to be simply a vehicle for plot. GRRM writes heavy stuff. It’s loaded with in-universe easter eggs, literary devices, and certain things need to happen for the characters to do what they do.

People constantly complain the books are getting away from GRRM. Well to that I say those folks are focusing too much on plot alone. Try reading only the Dance With Dragons Dany chapters by themselves and tell me they were boring. I defy you. The book is simply so massive that every time you get new POV chapters, then finally get back to Dany it is a jolt. Try the literary thread of just her chapters and you will see GRRM’s writing come alive with plot. In fact, do this with any book and any single POV (or if you must connect any overlapping POV, like say Jaime and Cersei in FEAST) and you will see your fast paced plot.

GRRM’s story hasn’t gotten away from it- people are just getting impatient. And with that being said, perhaps the book isn’t for everyone, and the rushed writing of the show is.

Anyone who thinks season 5 was awesome should check out these blogs!

The articles on them will really open your eyes.

Those reviews are totally snarky and mostly filled with pop vapor thought.

Soz but tldr on 2nd. Started but there seemed to be no end in sight and just formless snidey reportage. Was there any actual conclusions drawn or points made that you can summarise?

Thing is, when you stop and actually look at the storylines in season 5, you’ll start to see how full of stupid they are.

Even the King’s Landing storyline, which was probably the most faithful, was still full of crap.

I am sure season 6 will be the best and is the most anticipated season so far. Season 5 was a piece of @#$*

The way the tv show is written, there has to be some climax at the end of the season for the fans who invested in it. The problem with adapting the last two books faithfully is that although they are full of brilliant storylines, they are more of a slow burn that doesn’t easily translate to screen. If they’d just adapted a feast of crows then there would have been no climax for the reader but by adapting both books in one season they had to cut and streamline some stories. Unfortunately with the Dorne plot that wasn’t done successfully (although I could understand why they wanted to use a main character such as Jamie to introduce us to that part of the world).

I think season 5 will perhaps be better judged after watching season 6 because it seems alot of content they missed from a feast for crows and a dance with dragons will find its way back in to that season. I also think that season 5 acted as a setup for season 6 which will substantially move the plot forward.

Such a vast story with so many loyal followers. I love it. I saw the first episode. Got hooked. Read the books. Twice. Now I’m re reading them via audio book. So many tedious details even for an extremely observant reader who is obsessed with its story. I think what I like most of ASOIAF is that there are no cheesy or cliche aspects. It is a very life like story with very little Hollywood-ish garbage. Much like The Wire in its visceral form. I love unpredictable stories that unfold much like life with little to no happy endings. Now that I think of it, The Wire had a very ‘bittersweet’ ending.

My advice ….for what it’s worth, simply treat the books and the show as two seperate entities! Simple! Problem solved.

I honestly like the show better than the books. Just judge me, it’s my honest oppinion :)

I see the books and show as two different things though, as the characters and plots differ a lot in my oppinion. I hate when the audience put what happens in the books on the shows plot, as so many plotlines and events, even characters have been changed a lot.

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