Game of Thrones Recap

Anyone who has read this blog knows that I like the Song of Ice and Fire (aka Game of Thrones) (see here) series of books. I am a part of a silly little group on the Facebook that shares ideas about Game of Thrones, both show and book. I hear from friends at work and otherwise about the books and the show. I've read, and continue to re-read the series prior to the release of each new book. So far, this article in the WSJ (here) by Marshall Crook, could be one of the best regarding the characters in the series then anything I've yet read.

As I have said before (here) I love the characters that Martin is able to develop for his books. They are excessively deep, each has their own story, and the plots and sub-plots all weave together in and out, in and out almost interminably. But Crook says it best regarding the greater usage of the characters as a part of the story:

Jaime’s sexual assault of Cersei is just one cruelty in an episode full of them: Ser Dontos is killed with a bolt to the face moments after delivering Sansa to Littlefinger.  Arya and the Hound enjoy the hospitality of a farmer and daughter, but then the Hound robs them of their silver as Arya helplessly looks on. In both cases, callous self-interest was the only motivation. Littlefinger kills the drunken knight to ensure his silence. And the Hound robs the farmer because the farmer is weak. Weak people don’t survive, so what does he need the silver for anyway.

Or take the peasant boy, who watches Thenns and wildlings murder his parents. They are people the Hound won’t mourn: The vulnerable ones.  They pop up in the show occasionally, when the writers need to remind us of the hefty collateral damage in Westeros.

Ygritte shot an arrow and killed the boy’s father.  She is as ruthless and capable as the Hound. It is a cue to recalibrate our perspective from time to time, and remember that just outside the walls of each unfolding castle are commoners living and dying at the whims of kings and bandits.

It's an article worth reading and I look forward to more from this source.

Being both a reader and a watcher I've always felt that the show leaves alot to be desired. The characters are far more alive on the page than on the screen. It's nice to see that from the WSJ perspective those characters come off not just as representatives of something larger, but just as deep and rich in their own way as the book's characters.