Observations from the premiere – Beyond the Wall

by Bob Degon

Each week Bob and Ivey take a trip Beyond the Wall to discuss HBO’s ‘Game of Thrones’ from the perspective of fans of the books. If you’ve not read the books, tread lightly, as there are spoilers everywhere, sweet summer child. This week we make some observations on the season premiere.

Well, the time has finally arrived and season two of Game of Thrones has started. Get out your sweet lemon cakes, raise your banner, shout your words and let’s get to it! There was a lot to be excited about this week heading into the premiere. Aside from the wait to get the new season started, there was the promise of new cast members, new locales, and more dragons! Things look very promising for the series both creatively and from a longevity standpoint. The ratings were through the roof!

As always, this column does contain spoilers for A Clash of Kings, though in this particular installment the spoiler rating is pretty low; we’ve stuck mainly to talking about the premiere with some general mentions about later novels.

Bob:

Watching the first hour a few things stood out to me. The first is that Stephen Dillane as Stannis is pitch perfect. I know the sample size is very small at this point, but the scene with him dictating the letter about Robert’s death was Stannis in a nutshell for me: Strong, terse, arrogant, and completely unlikable (in a highly enjoyable way). I’m looking forward to seeing more of him.

Ivey:

I don’t like Stannis, but I suppose that’s the point. Considering he plays a significant role in A Song of Ice and Fire, I guess it is something I’m going to have to get used to. As far as the Dragonstone storyline goes, I like Melisandre. She’s certainly less scary than she was depicted in the books, coming across more as conniving, which works in the greater context of the story. It will be interesting to track her character as the season continues.

To be honest, as I re-watched “The North Remembers” this week (keep in mind I have seen through the fourth episode), the thing I was struck most by were the changes made to the story. So far, they are relatively minor: Osha seems to be replacing the Reeds in Bran’s story, there are some minor deviations to what’s going on in the Red Waste and some tweaks in Tyrion’s story in King’s Landing. I highly suspect that these are just a vision in the red fires of R’hllor of many to come.

Bob:

The changes don’t bother me in the slightest. This is an adaptation, and as the series moves forward, it is going to be forced to deviate more and more from the books. For the most part, though, they’re still minor. I have no doubt that the major events are going to be pegged, the spirit of characters are going to be maintained, and the show is going to continue to be great. Frankly, as a reader, I welcome some changes. I like being able to look forward to something that might surprise me.

Ivey:

Oh, I couldn’t agree more: I’m fascinated by the deviations. Some characters and plotlines must be jettisoned. The reasoning behind some of the changes is apparent now, but others will make sense down the road. I have complete confidence in everyone behind Game of Thrones and have no doubt I’ll enjoy the way the story goes.

Bob:

Another thing that I noticed was how short this episode felt! I think it probably had something to do with the fact that I watched all of season one earlier in the day, so a scant hour of new content flew by. There was a lot of set up and re-establishment of characters. I’m looking forward to plowing ahead to episode two and beyond and delving deeper into the story.

Ivey:

Just so. It makes sense when you think about it, but I was specifically reminded of the first couple of episodes of season one. It takes so much time to create a world, or in the case of this episode, recreate it and reestablish the myriad stories. Your point is what amazes me about how well this show is put together. “The North Remembers” was almost exclusively exposition, but still zipped along, leaving us wanting more when the final credits rolled.

Bob:

The one disappointment I had was no Arya! Ok, so there was a quick glimpse of the little scamp at the end of the episode, but I’m not counting it. I’m looking forward to seeing more of her story this year, getting another new location on the opening credits map in Harrenhal (I do love when a new one pops up) and the introduction of Jaqen. There’s plenty more to look forward to, including Renly, Loras, and Margaery and the Iron Isles. I’m looking forward to it all!