Game of Thrones begins....

[viper37]

What was the deal with Theon swearing to Robb? That doesn't even make any sense.

Emphasizing his betrayal, I guess.  As if sacking Winterfell and "killing" Bran and Rickon weren't enough.

To emphasize that the (coming) betrayal is not his first choice, but he acts on his father's order/advice to profit from a situation where Stark is weak.

Right now, Stark is strong.  But I suppose there will be a point where Robb Stark and his armies are either defeated in battle or split over a disagreement, resulting in a position of weakness against the Lannisters or another party to the game.

Huh I thought you hadn't read the books?

I haven't completed the books.  But I have started reading them.

I have read all of the 122 pages of this thread (so far, I missed the last 4), and people keep talking about Theon's betrayal and that of his father, and how crazy all of the family is, with various comments about the physical aspects of the actors possibly playing all of them, saying "they all look crazy".

Besides, if you remember 3 particular scenes involving Theon, it's easy to piece everything together.
1) In the woods, there is a conflict with Robb.  People here have said it makes the stage for his eventual rebellion.
2) When talking to the wildling, he emphasized that he was to be cally "My lord", because he was an important lord of the south, and the girl goaded him a bit, forcing him to admit that his father was the lord, not him, that he was in fact nothing.
3) He speaks to Robb, calls him a brother, says he will fight by his side.  Robb has conflicts with some of his vassals.  Already, the Tully from Riverrun have refused to help him.  His direwolf bit two fingers of one of his allies.  He insists he is not be to called "boy", wich seems plausible in the tv series, but in the books, when he said to be 14 or 15, to an old lad, it can be insulting to have to follow a mere boy through battles.
4) It has been said that Theon Greyjoy is sort of an hostage at the Stark's "court" to keep peace with his father.  One of the Lannisters, Tyrion or Jaime goaded him about that in the first episode, saying something like his father was a great lord/warrior and he was an errand boy (or something like that) for the ennemies of his father.

On top of that, the Lannisters have the most powerful army in the kingdom.  Face to face, they can defeat the Starks.  Their only concern is meeting 3 different armies, potential allies if only to defeat them, at the same time.  Even with superior numbers, being attacked by 3 sides is difficult to contain.

If Greyjoy sr is an ennemy of Stark, if the Stark just lost the head of the family, have one girl hostage to a deranged offspring of an incestuous relation between two madplotters, one girl disguised as a boy to avoid assassins, one boy crippled, one way too young to be relevant (and it is said here that they will be killed), one bastard at the Nightwatch unable to do anything to directly help them in this civil matter (though I think he will play an important part against the Others), it's easy to see that at one point, the Starks will be vulnerable.  If I was Greyjoy and I hated the Starks, I'd wait patiently for my turn to declare myself "Supreme leader of Westoros" among the other 6-7 other Supreme Leader (I think GRRM took inspiration from Astérix chez les Goths )

Since Robb Stark as declared himself King of the North and implicitely rejected any kind of official allicance with Robert's brothers, he is essentially alone with his armies trying to defeat the Lannisters and keeping indepedance afterward faced to Stannis and the other Baratheon.

If I keep reading this thread, I probably won't need to finish the books

[viper37]

Damn, but I'm not ready for the season to end ,and wait for next season to begin!

Anyone know the ratings for the series? How well it's doing among viewers?

http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2011/06/19/game-of-thrones-ratings-season-one/95990/

Very good, but not as good as True Blood on HBO or Boardwalk Empire.

[viper37]

i thought he was reading it now?

Yes, I am   I expect I'll be finished all 5 of them by the end of the summer since I'll buy that 5th one when it comes out in July.

[Eddie Teach]

If I keep reading this thread, I probably won't need to finish the books

Martin's story-telling is a touch above ours.

[viper37]

Because no matter how much he likes Robb, there is no question that he is a Greyjoy. His swearing to Robb in that manner simply does not make any sense. And there is no question that Theon is not aware of his status as a hostage.

I think this is an example of where the writers could not stand to leave well enough alone - an example of where they decided their viewers were too stupid to appreciate the betrayal unless they made it REALLY REALLY REALLY clear for them.

Given that, it's probably to emphasize the betrayal.  He likes Robb, but his first duty is to his family.  Between his family and the Stark's, he chose his family.

It's a tv series and we won't see this actual betrayal until later next year or the next, I suppose.  By that time, viewers who haven't read the book might be confused as to why this is happenning.

In a book, if you forgot something, you can just pick it up again and read the relevant pages to remember.

[viper37]

Martin's story-telling is a touch above ours.

So far, it's better than I expected.   I was worried it might be too long at some points, but it's going fine
I just need to find more time to read.

[KRonn]

Damn, but I'm not ready for the season to end ,and wait for next season to begin!

Anyone know the ratings for the series? How well it's doing among viewers?

http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2011/06/19/game-of-thrones-ratings-season-one/95990/

Very good, but not as good as True Blood on HBO or Boardwalk Empire.

I've been fairly impressed and pleased with what they've done with this series. I figured it was a tough book to make into movie but I think it's been done very well. Seems to be following the story's major characters and actions pretty well. And I think over all the characters are being protrayed very well by the actors. 

[viper37]

I've been fairly impressed and pleased with what they've done with this series. I figured it was a tough book to make into movie but I think it's been done very well. Seems to be following the story's major characters and actions pretty well. And I think over all the characters are being protrayed very well by the actors. 

Yes, so far it's very good
I thought we were getting 13 episodes though, so I was a bit disapointed that this was the season finale.
Oh well.

[JonasSalk]

Tough to justify making 13 episodes for a series that could have failed like John From Cincinnati did. 10 makes it cheaper to produce and not a total loss if it fails.

[grumbler]

Tough to justify making 13 episodes for a series that could have failed like John From Cincinnati did. 10 makes it cheaper to produce and not a total loss if it fails.

And they cancelled Deadwood because they wanted to rush JfC into production! 

Thirteen episodes is their standard, but I think they learned from Rome that thirteen episodes cost too much when it is a big-budget production and they need to put all the cash up front before they know how popular it will be.  I wouldn't be surprised to see the second season come in at twelve or thirteen episodes, now that they know.  More episodes means they can justify charging more for the DVDs and foreign rights.

[Habbaku]

Yeah, this has become a common tactic with shows of late.  See The Walking Dead, for example, with its 6 episode first season and how its second is being expanded to a full 13-episode run.

[Tamas]

I assumed that Theon was offering fealty for himself, not for his house. Did I miss something when he gave his oath and he claimed it for the entire house?

No, you just missed the part where Berkut made this issue the new stag-skinning.

[Viking]

Yeah, this has become a common tactic with shows of late.  See The Walking Dead, for example, with its 6 episode first season and how its second is being expanded to a full 13-episode run.

Shows with developing story arcs and complex characters need pilot seasons, not pilot episodes. This makes a good deal of sense.

[Martinus]

Yeah, this has become a common tactic with shows of late.  See The Walking Dead, for example, with its 6 episode first season and how its second is being expanded to a full 13-episode run.

Shows with developing story arcs and complex characters need pilot seasons, not pilot episodes. This makes a good deal of sense.

I think they should have done something similar to BSG, having a pilot miniseries to establish all characters and a couple of flashbacks.

[grumbler]

One of the things I noticed about this show, BTW, was the brilliant cinematography.  Light is used extremely well, and the Dothraki shoots in particular seemed to use some camera settings to get an ethereal look.  Good cinematography can't save you from bad writing or acting, but it can add a lot to good acting and writing.