Game of Thrones - mostly

[StCapps]

Sounds like you agree with me. I think the show started going downhill after about the fourth season, right around when you think the books started to go with too many threads, jumping from location to location, with no real focus.
/shrugs

No, I think the show writers did a much better job than Martin did. I will agree doings on the wall and in Kings Landing were the most compelling, the arc of the 'High Sparrow' was fucking brilliant, as was Lady Olenna.

I don't disagree with that remark either, sounds like we agree.

Funny how episodes that were focused heavily on Kings Landing, The Wall or Winterfell were the best episodes, for the most part, with a few exceptions that heavily focused on other locations instead of jumping around all the time, what a weird coincidence.
lulz

The books were better when they didn't jump around too much, and so is the show.

[brewster]

The books were better when they didn't jump around too much, and so is the show.

I don't necessarily agree with either. If they didn't jump, then you'd be gone too long from a plot thread to remember what was going on, and the only other alternative is less threads, which makes a less rich story. The "big story" episodes are part of narrative pacing and storytelling just like in a 2 hr film there's the exposition & setup part, and the "big scene" part. You couldn't just have the Battle of Helms Deep without all the setup.

[StCapps]

The books were better when they didn't jump around too much, and so is the show.

I don't necessarily agree with either. If they didn't jump, then you'd be gone too long from a plot thread to remember what was going on, and the only other alternative is less threads, which makes a less rich story. The "big story" episodes are part of narrative pacing and storytelling just like in a 2 hr film there's the exposition & setup part, and the "big scene" part. You couldn't just have the Battle of Helms Deep without all the setup.

It's about the balance between the two. Game of Thrones at it's worst when it tries to be too much like the novels, and at it's best when it finally realizes it's a television show and is willing to deviate from the novels. Though sometimes the novel stuff works and sometimes the show embraces it's television like qualities it misses the mark too, but the general trend is too much like the novels, not too little like the novels.

[Kath]

The part of Hardhome that makes the episode so great, is that it takes place in mostly one location for a long stretch at the end of the episode, if they kept jumping to other characters not at Hardhome, in the middle of the battle, that would have been stupid.

This is true, but there's a reason for it. It's a climactic moment, so it deserves special attention. You simply can't do that with every episode, though. There would be little to no character development for many characters if you are limited to one or two character development per episode.

Sure, this means that some episodes are "checking in on people," episodes. This isn't a bad thing; it's an efficient way to move the story forward for a bunch of characters in one sitting. I enjoy them.

If every episode was "Battle of the Bastards," we would have no idea what they were battling about.

[Kath]

I get it, you like Danny, but surely you can see her character got the short end of the stick, plot wise, same with Arya.

Being kept on the sidelines, isn't as interesting, who knew? Tyrion Knows, he was straight dope for four seasons, then he takes a long detour to Essos while he drinks, makes jokes, and gets enslaved, and his part of the story gets a lot less interesting, even after he finally hooks up with Danny. Saved only by Dinklage's flair for dialogue, that is not a coincidence.

Essos just sucks, and spending time avoiding the big leagues is way more boring than the shit going on in Westeros, Varys Knows too. Interest level in even the best characters on the show will suffer from a detour to Essos, that's how shitty it is.

I would generically agree that Essos is less interesting than Westoros, but not exclusively. Tyrion's time there was interesting to me. I enjoyed his journey with Jorah; going through Valyria and his seeing the almost full-grown dragon was pretty good, along with the stone men encounter. He also got to free the dragons from the catacombs, which leads to a question about his being a Targaryen. Maybe? Also, if he didn't go to Essos, he'd be dead, so I am perfectly happy that he went there. He's at the top of my list of people I want standing at the end of it all.

I found some of The Wall story lines to be a lot less interesting than the best parts of Essos. Some dramatic shit went down in Essos.

I agree on one point; the length of time it took Dany to get from having the sullied, to getting to Westoros, was too long. It wasn't nearly as boring as the Arya/Bravos thread, though.

[StCapps]

Never said that every episode should be like the Battle of the Bastards, but more episodes should focus and not meander so damn much, GoT goes overboard. My problem is not that they do catching up with people episodes, it's that they do it way too often, and don't give the most important storylines the shine they deserve because too much screen time is eaten up by filler.

[Kath]

don't give the most important storylines the shine they deserve because too much screen time is eaten up by filler.

Which characters do you not know enough about due to another character getting too much screen time?

[SuburbanFarmer]

don't give the most important storylines the shine they deserve because too much screen time is eaten up by filler.

Which characters do you not know enough about due to another character getting too much screen time?

Pretty much all of Dorne.

[StCapps]

don't give the most important storylines the shine they deserve because too much screen time is eaten up by filler.

Which characters do you not know enough about due to another character getting too much screen time?

Pretty much all of Dorne.

Dorne, so completely unnecessary, no one even lives there, it was just land for Jaime and Bronn to walk through, if the television show was any indication. Way too much Ramsay Bolton too, way too much Essos, way too much point A to point B travel, especially for Dany and Arya.

[Kath]

Which characters do you not know enough about due to another character getting too much screen time?

Pretty much all of Dorne.

Really? I found nothing compelling about the Dornish people. They are all kind of dumb. No political savvy whatsoever, foolish & short-sighted. Personally, I know enough.