Well, of course I was ULTRA excited to start the show!
The opening intro was AMAZING and has no room for improvements. Perfect.
The music and bgm is ON POINT
Let the bitching begin!
Here, Gared, Will and Ser Waymer Royce seem to be going off in different directions and meet again and split off but they’re actually together in the books when the Others come.
So in the books, they notice the bodies of the wildlings, and some time later when they come back to that point the bodies aren’t there anymore.
Who/What tf are the Others, you might ask?
The Others are actually what the “white walkers” are actually called in the books. They’re also referred to as white walkers but it’s a rarely used term.
When an Other shows up, Royce actually has a short duel with it before he’s killed and the Other makes some mocking comments just before he kills Royce.
The Other said something in a language that Will did not know; his voice was like the cracking of ice on a winter lake, and the words were mocking.
Prologue, A Game Of Thrones, George R.R. Martin
This is important because it clearly shows that the Others are highly intelligent, complicated creatures and not angry violent snowmen.
Oh, Will is hiding in a tree when all this is happening. He gets down after the Others leave and goes near Royce’s body, only to find Royce standing up with icy blue eyes.
Long, elegant hands brushed his cheek, then tightened around his throat. They were gloved in the finest moleskin and sticky with blood, yet the touch was icy cold.
Prologue, A Game Of Thrones, George R.R. Martin
Let’s talk about the scene where they find the direwolves.
In the show, Ned identifies the dead wolf as a direwolf but it’s slightly different in the books.
“It’s no freak,” Jon said calmly. “That’s a direwolf. They grow larger than the other kind.”
Bran I, A Game Of Thrones, George R.R. Martin
Theon Greyjoy said, “There’s not been a direwolf sighted south of the Wall in two hundred years.”
“I see one now,” Jon replied.
The part where Jon points out that there are 3 male pups and 2 female pups (yes ik, puppers) is true.
Robb says this before Ned is convinced:
Robb rushed into the silence he left. “I will nurse him myself, Father,” he promised. “I will soak a towel with warm milk, and give him suck from that.”
Bran I, A Game Of Thrones, George R.R. Martin
Jon does not find Ghost immediately(or in the next second). They mount their horses and almost ride away and Jon suddenly stops because he hears something. Theon does NOT say “The runt of the litter. This one’s yours, Snow”
“An albino,” Theon Greyjoy said with wry amusement. “This one will die even faster than the others.”
Bran I, A Game Of Thrones, George R.R. Martin
Jon Snow gave his father’s ward a long, chilling look. “I think not, Greyjoy,” he said. “This one belongs to me.”
It’s a very minor thing but I don’t get why they changed that. I’m actually nitpicking here.
This is the first time we see the Iron Throne and the Throne Room. They put a lot of effort into making the Iron Throne but it wasn’t as monstrous as it was in the books, and the Throne Room was TINY compared to it’s description in the books. I didn’t find it impressive at all! The largeness of the Throne is repeatedly stated in the books and also, there are STEPS as part of it!
Her prince—no, her king now!—took the steps of the Iron Throne two at a time, while his mother was seated with the council.
Sansa V, A Game Of Thrones, George R.R. Martin
According to GRRM, this is the most accurate representation of the Iron Throne he’d ever seen:
Obviously that weird ceremony with Jon Arryn’s body and the convo between Cersei and Jaime isn’t shown in the books but I understand they did that to give background info.
In the scene where Catelyn tells Ned that Jon Arryn died and that Robert was riding to Winterfell, he seemed to know why he was coming and tells his wife instantly. Catelyn says “You can always say no, Ned” but this isn’t how it happens in the books. Ned is actually excited to see Robert and starts thinking about how to feed his men and things like that. Also, in the book, he actually tells Catelyn to go visit Lysa. The show didn’t even mention the Eyrie.
What’s up with this scene? Why are these guys so hot? They’re around 14 years old in the books! My friend the Sun says that it’s “fan service”
Um there are a few things the showrunners did differently- Benjen and Jon have their convo during the feast and Jon goes out with tears in his eyes and that’s when he meets Tyrion. I added this because of this line I really like from the book:
When he opened the door, the light from within threw his shadow clear across the yard, and for just a moment Tyrion Lannister stood tall as a king.
Jon I, A Game Of Thrones, George R.R Martin
Oh, Lysa’s letter with about the Lannisters is actually written in code so that no one but Catelyn can read.
The Dany/Drogo wedding night is very different in the books and I’m extremely annoyed that they changed it and got it wrong because in the book, he’s very very very gentle and waits till he feels that she’s feeling okay and not scared and asks permission and does stuff only when she says yes, and that shows how gentle and kind Drogo is! The show made him look like a savage, especially because Dany was crying.
The part where Bran catches Cersei/Jaime is slightly different, especially because it was pointed out to me how similar they look:
Faces appeared in the window above him.
Bran II, A Game Of Thrones, George R.R Martin
The queen. And now Bran recognized the man beside her. They looked as much alike as reflections in a mirror.
That’s pretty much all I got to say about the first episode as of now. I get that they added a few extra scenes for the viewers to understand the bg info of the show, and I probably shouldn’t go nitpicking after every detail. Overall, the episode was pretty good!
Opinion on some of the cast members:
Ned- he’s around 35 in AGOT but anyway, Sean Bean was PERFECT
Tyrion- I’d be very disappointed if he wasn’t cast well or if the actor did a sucky job but Peter is awesome tbh, Tyrion’s super ugly in the books but Peter actually looks quite good! Even GRRM thinks that he’s too handsome to play Tyrion, but feels that he’s extremely happy with the way he portrayed Tyrion.
Cersei- Lena Headey is absolutely brilliant both in looks and acting. She’s totally nailing this!
Jaime- My friend the Sun reminded me that Cersei and Jaime were like reflections in a mirror. ofc Nikolaj Coster-Waldau is incredibly hot but I get that book readers expected a “pretty” man to play Jaime, uk, with enough feminine features to look like Cersei. I’m pretty sure they were mistaken for the other while they were growing up. It’s mentioned in the later books.
Catelyn- A big NO NO because SHE LOOKS SO OLD! In the books, she’s close to Cersei in age and is often described as vv beautiful! (also I’ve seen her in Suits lol)
Jon- Okay I did not expect Kit to be such a hottie and I feel very guilty for thirsting over a boy playing a character who is supposed to be 14 years old.
Other Stark kids- I’m pretty happy with them. Extra points to Robb for also being hot.
Robert Baratheon- I’m actually happy with the acting so yay!
Theon- seems good so far. tbh I didn’t realize how important Theon was going to be this early in the books.
Daenerys- how can I not like Emilia Clarke lol
Viserys- I actually didn’t have any expectations of what he’d look like while I was reading but Harry Llyod’s doing really well
Jorah- Apparently book readers think that Iain Glen’s voice is “too sexy” for Jorah. According to Dany,
He was an older man, past forty and balding, but still strong and fit.
Daenerys I, A Game Of Thrones, George R.R. Martin
I can hear lotsa insects outside my door so I’m going to turn off the lights and sleep! More on GOT tomorrow!
#xoxo
LifeIsTangy 
One thought on “S1E1: Winter Is Coming”