Game of Thrones - Season Two Discussion (TV show only)

[Tiny]

^ Sounds like you're discussing last weeks episode? Regarding the uhh, "maids", pretty sure Bronn, in this weeks episode, mentioned that Joffrey sent them both back to Tyrion. Though, it did sound like one or both of them had been injured in some way.

Anyways, onto to this weeks episode, episode five of season two, "The Ghost of Harrenhal"

Was kinda shocked by Renly's swift exit, but it did make me wonder all kinds of things. Like, is Melisandre simply using Stannis to gain control of the iron throne? What operational range has the shadow Stannis? (I assume this part is important since Melisandre won't be at Kings Landing) And what about that Jaqen H’ghar guy that promised Arya three deaths? Pretty sure he mentioned the "Red God" too. Speaking of Arya, quite liked her part in this, her exchange with Tywin Lannister was fascinating. Showed great potential for these characters playing off one another.

Also starting to warm to Brienne a little more. She's slightly more direct as a character and there's even an odd naivety to her. I think she plays off Cat quite well.

Can I ask what age Daenerys is? I would Google it, but sometimes you see things you don't want to when you Google. And what is seen can not be unseen

Cause, she strikes me as a little immature. Not that that's a bad thing, merely an observation. Lol, at the Dothraki trying to steal stuff from Qarth. I kinda like how the writers/George R. R. Martin haven't forgotten how much a part humor plays in life, regardless of how grim or troubled situations may be.

So, overall a very solid episode, not as pacy as the previous one, but certainly one with lots to enjoy.


By the way, for videogame fans, apparently a Game of Thrones game is due around May/June for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC. Although developed mainly from the books it has since acquired the TV license and will feature characters/actors from the show.

[Knappos]

In the books Dany is in her teens and her mid teens at that. Old enough to get pregnant, young enough to be frowned upon by Daily Mail readers for getting pregnant if she were real and living now.

Here she's portrayed by an older actress. as are all the Stark Children, with the exception (I think) of Bran and Rickon - I'd say Arya as well but Maisie's aged noticably in the last year.

For instance Robb is portrayed as mid-twenties but the character is still in his teens.

Brienne bores me. In both media.

This series started off shakey for me. I preferred the second book to the first (read the first along side the series last year) and this one is suffering from some story elements being cut (and others being bought in where they weren't explicitly witnessed in the books).

But now, it's starting to pick up.

Hat's off to Maisie Williams, holding her own with Charles Dance, no easy feat.

I still think she was criminally over looked at every awards going last year.

[Tiny]

Yeah Emilia Clarke is around twenty five or something, so that's where I got confused about Daenerys' age on the show.

I remember Maisie Williams getting praise for her role as Arya last year, so maybe a more formal recognition isn't too far off? Guess it's a case of wait and see, but I can easily imagine this show picking up more awards this year.

[kahless]

Originally Posted by Tiny

Can I ask what age Daenerys is? I would Google it, but sometimes you see things you don't want to when you Google. And what is seen can not be unseen

None of this is spoilery so not gonna tag it.

In the books Daenerys is 15, she was born just after Robert ascended the throne. This also makes Jon and Robb the same age as they were both born during/after the rebellion.

In fact all the children are considerably younger in the books, Bran is only 7 and Rickon 3. Can't remember Ayra and Sansa's ages but they'd be between Bran and Robb/Jon.

They have deliberately aged the children up, probably for a couple of reasons, hoping they wont age to quickly as filming progresses through the books, and maybe because of laws governing working hours for young children.

[Kixxykat]

Originally Posted by kahless

They have deliberately aged the children up, probably for a couple of reasons, hoping they wont age to quickly as filming progresses through the books, and maybe because of laws governing working hours for young children.

Daenerys is actually 13 at the very start, therefore seeing a 13 year old be "raped" by her new husband is plausible in a book based on the middle ages but not so much on TV.

Also some of the things that Joffrey has done to Sansa would be even worse see happen to a 11 year old rather than an 18 year old.

They've aged up all the characters to make somethings seem more realistic i.e. a 15 year old being King of the North, or less disturbing i.e. anything related to Daenerys in the 1st book.

[Tiny]

The reasons for the age changes make sense from a TV standpoint. I just wondered cause Daenerys looks to be around nineteen on the show, but acts much younger, which is what got me thinking in the first place. I don't remember but, have the ages of the younger characters ever been mentioned on the show?

[Werthead]

Bran is repeatedly mentioned as being 10 in the first season. Sansa says she is 13 in the first episode. Arya's age has not been mentioned (but if they are following the book she's a year younger than Sansa). Rickon was said to be 6 in the second episode, IIRC. Robb and Jon are both about 17 in the first episode.

Daenerys's age has not been explicitly mentioned in the TV show. I believe the idea is that she starts off around 16 (since she was born eight months after the Mad King's death, which in the TV show happened about 17 years prior to the series).

Note that we don't know how long each season is covering. Going by the books, it should be about a year each for the first two seasons, which tracks with the aging of the kids (i.e. Bran should end the season at 11 or 12, Daenerys should be 17 or 18, Rickon at 7 or 8, Sansa should be 14 or 15, Robb and Jon should be 18 or 19 etc).

[Tiny]

Originally Posted by Werthead

Bran is repeatedly mentioned as being 10 in the first season. Sansa says she is 13 in the first episode. Arya's age has not been mentioned (but if they are following the book she's a year younger than Sansa). Rickon was said to be 6 in the second episode, IIRC. Robb and Jon are both about 17 in the first episode.

Daenerys's age has not been explicitly mentioned in the TV show. I believe the idea is that she starts off around 16 (since she was born eight months after the Mad King's death, which in the TV show happened about 17 years prior to the series).

Note that we don't know how long each season is covering. Going by the books, it should be about a year each for the first two seasons, which tracks with the aging of the kids (i.e. Bran should end the season at 11 or 12, Daenerys should be 17 or 18, Rickon at 7 or 8, Sansa should be 14 or 15, Robb and Jon should be 18 or 19 etc).

Interesting, I had kinda different ages in mind just judging on appearances and how their characters act. But the differences in age between what I imagined, and what they actually are aren't all that different after all. Good casting I think, and good performances by the cast too. Cause all too often you see older actors playing much younger characters and it's really obvious to viewers.

[Werthead]

To respond to an earlier comment:

They've aged up all the characters to make somethings seem more realistic i.e. a 15 year old being King of the North

Edward III was 14 when he was crowned king and acknowledged as a formidable military commander and leader of men by the age of 17. Alexander the Great's first military adventures were when he was around 16. Squires began military training in the medieval period as children.

One of the points made by GRRM in the novels is that in the medieval period people had to grow up much, much faster than today and had to be capable of handling difficult tasks much earlier than today. Someone in their 30s like Ned or Robert in the books would be judged to be middle-aged (if not entering old age) as few people reached their 60s. For the TV show they judged that this would simply look odd to the TV viewer and plumped for having traditionally older actors and ageing up the children.

[mini_beastie]

I remember GRRM specifically saying on his blog that they aged-up Dany so they could include the sex scenes because it's an important part of her character's development. But they kept Ned's line about her being "hardly more than a child" when Robert wants to have her assassinated so she's still meant to be pretty young. I guess for the other kids it would also be easier to get the performances they need from slightly older children. In the books it's made clear that the children are treated pretty much as adults from puberty onwards.