Stills from the behind-the-scenes video

Would it have been really that hard for the production team to follow research and design well enough and stick with the description, seriouslly *sigh*. Did George even say “Ugh, the dragon has only two legs and two wings…”?

A few screen caps:

Knight of Flowers – http://img836.imageshack.us/img836/5204/knightofflowers.jpg

Viserys looks way cooler than I imagined while reading, lol.

Not too bothered about banners etc. Its never been something which interested me much.

The Mountain Who Rides – http://img62.imageshack.us/img62/171/themountain.jpg

Robb Stark <3

I’m a little surprised Tyrion is clean shaven.

The places look superb, and the cast looks just nearly as I pictured. I do say Fairly looks a little better than I pictured from her photos online. But I still would have prefered Ehle. Emilia looks beautiful as Daenerys and will only look even more beautiful as she comes more into her character!

Robb looks great. I wish he had his own POV

Lord Ned’s Head,

Ah, thanks. All the press for the show is mashed together in my brain. I have no doubt TPTB will be asked about it at some point, so I’m sure we’ll get an answer eventually.

I’m much more of a visual learner, so written word descriptions are hellish for me to remember. I’m amazed you guys can even recall what that stuff looks like.

Scott,

They are going for realism not high fantasy, and anyway as others have mentioned, seeing a making of clip and then watching the finished product is a whole other ballgame. You have to remember that you are watching something taken with a camcorder not a high rez film camera. When you have the lighting and then add all the post production work you will notice the difference.
I love the armor costumes so far, Loras (I figure that is a rose on that stem atop the helment, The Mountain is as I pictured from the books (he is not one for ornateness, his is practical). My negative is Dany’s dark eyebrows, though I love the rest of her look, and Robert’s costume at the Tourney, I think it looks cheap, should have been more extravagant.

Avalanche3319,

Tyrion is clean-shaven in book one. He doesn’t grow a beard until sometime between the first and second book. He likely starts growing it when he starts travelling with Bronn, as he’s on the road with no time to shave. Perhaps when he arrives at his father’s camp, he decides he likes the look, and keeps it.

Why is Gregor using both hands? Isn’t he supposed to one-hand two-hand swords? Or is it just that he CAN one-hand them?

No Jaime or Joffrey in this production trailer, right? I was looking forward to seeing them as well.

90% of all of the new material looks great.

They veered off on some things. Like the targs sigil dragon only have 2 legs instead of 4. The Baratheon Sigil LOOKS GREAT. The stark sigil now with a higher res close up looks good. And angry and has a more dark age art feel, still looks like an angry golden retreiver at play with its broad chest short legs and curled tale like a husky. The Aryn sigil looks to contemporary but eh, I was expecting more period style. First and foremost I need to realize this is a fantasy world that had a great amount of influence from history in OUR world by George.
Yes, I noticed they didn’t at least bleach or dye Emelia’s eyebrows. You would think production crews would learn from mistakes others have made. *cough*legolas in lotr*cough*

I think the costuming is going to be one of the greatest contention with fans

I have a cousin who has light blond hair and naturally dark eyebrows. I don’t think Danny’s are a problem.

Sleeky,

i beg to difer..one have saw a jungle only after seeing Amazonia…that field don’t comes even close to a forest or jungle at all

The guy they show at 0:33 in the “making off” could just be an extra or HBO has lied to us and casted William Hurt as “the Blackfish”. :-) Might be a coincidence but Weiss say’s the word black just when he gets in the picture. It’s getting late…

Very pleased with everything I saw. The “raven” trailer looks superb. I was absolutely thrilled with the cinematic look, coloring, and style.

I was a little disappointed with the costume quality. Like Scott, I was hoping the wardrobe would be more on par with that of Showtime’s The Tudors, which in my opinion is some of the best medieval costuming I’ve ever seen.

Having said that, the time period of Henry VIII (1500s) is much more modern (they had rifles after all) than the War of Roses time period (1400s) which inspired GRRM’s ASoIaF. So perhaps the costuming was more inline with 1400s attire? Someone who knows more of the subject will have to weigh in on this as I admit to knowing very little. Still, historically accurate or not, this is Westeros, not Earth. So I suppose we should have no preconceptions of how fancy the clothing should look. But at the very least you’d think the royal family would look more decked out.

I agree that the platinum hair on Emilia Clarke and Harry Lloyd looks way better than I imagined. In fact, I assumed HBO would tone down the platinum description from the books and make Viserys and Daenerys blonds for fear the platinum hair would look cheesy. However, they totally pulled it off IMHO. And Emilia Clarke as Daenerys is a vision. No regrets about her casting at all.

Michelle Fairley as Catelyn Stark looks (surprisingly) great as well. They got the auburn hair and stoic look perfect. Very pleasantly surprised. Again, everything look just superb and as close to perfect as I could have reasonably hoped for.

P.S. Is it just me or does the Knight of Flowers’ helm look kind of like an onion? Not complaining, just sayin’.

Happy about the armour, at least! Phew!

Michelle Fairly as Catelyn is seriously making my day. There was so much hate going on when they cast her and I admit that I was a little skeptical as well. Then I saw her in Misfits and the way she commanded the attention of the camera with those intense eyes of hers made me re-think that. Now … well, there’s not a lot to go by, but from what I’ve seen she sure makes a beautiful, matronly Catelyn.

And I almost died from the cuteness of the footage and screencap of Isaac (Bran) and Maisie (Arya).

Winter Is Coming:
Ser Davos moved up to season one confirmed.    

LOL. When I first saw this on tv tonight I seriously thought for split second “is that the onion knight?” Then a I quickly realized that not only is Davos not in book 1, but there’s no way he could afford such lavish armor.

Oddly, wouldn’t you think a hot Hollywood style actress would have been more cliche for Catelyn?

Anna Backstrom,

Great shots Anna, thank you! Any chance you can get one of the “Game of Thrones” with the sword for the T at the end of the Raven trailer? I’m thinking that’s my new background…

furrever: Sorry, I hope I haven’t spoiled it for you!  

Haha, not at all! But, you totally called it.

Anna Backstrom,

Fantastic screencaps! Thanks for this!
Not being overwhelmed by the costumes and wigs though – looking very “wiggy” to me. (I can tell this is the wooden pavilion I saw at Shane’s Castle – the stand for the tourney.) Also Littlefinger – doesn’t seem to have any kind of pointed beard at all – I can see a moustache and a light sprinking of bristle but not a beard. And Gillen looks like he’s wearing a zip-up jacket!
I love Catelyn – she’s exactly how I imagined her – brilliant bone-structure and those deep-set eyes. And Ser Mormont – again, exactly as I saw him!
Overall I like the look of the sets – especially Castle Black. As for the Raven teaser – beautifully filmed, but didn’t get goosebumps like I did with the first teaser. Can’t wait to see them all in action though!

Also, Jaime still wore his gold armour in Book 1 rather than the Kingsguard armour. Ned comments on it a few times. And the Dany scene is probably when they are passing through the Forest of Qohor, before they get to the Dothraki sea.

The fact that there’s exactly same designed armours behind the duelers in the Vale quite proves the golden armoured guys surely aren’t Kingsguard cause there shouldn’t be any in the Vale. But there shouldn’t be Goldcloaks either?

So I’d say those knights are some more or less random guys, and Coster-Waldau is simply missing from the trailer.

@Scott, oh wah. Fanboy wahs! It looks great. Most people associate dragons with having 4 legs, so it’s not a big deal. Costumes look just fine. It’s idiots like you who bring the rest of us down.

Anna Backstrom,

Thanks for those stills Anna!

Not liking the desaturated nature of the teaser, I tried to get back some colour in three of those shots:

http://www.pbase.com/gbleek/image/128394639/large

http://www.pbase.com/gbleek/image/128394670/large

http://www.pbase.com/gbleek/image/128394653/large

There was not too much to work with and I’m not exactly a postprocessing whizkid, so surely there’s fans out there that can do better…

Sorry for the bad 1st and 2nd link above, here they are again:

http://www.pbase.com/gbleek/image/128394639/large

http://www.pbase.com/gbleek/image/128394670/large

I am really, REALLY surprised no one has mentioned this yet but….where are the purple eyes? Viserys and Dany (from what I can see) don’t have them.

Otherwise, they both look stunning. Perfect.

Stella Maris,

I noticed that too, but purple eyes could be added in post-production (not sure if this is a common method or not).

Stella Maris,

Purple eyes can be added in post.

Steve Adams & dizzy_34,

Yes, true, but why aren’t her eyes purple in the released still, then? You’d think for an official still they would add that one detail if it’s going to be like that in the show….

Are you sure it’s Jon Snow and not Luke McEwan as Rast?

Pretty happy with everything I’ve seen. Like a lot of people I was initially a little disapointed in the costumes (especially Roberts) but I know they will look better on screen.

Did anyone put a name to this guy? I’ve seen a few people asking but no answers.

I initially thought it was the Old Bear but I don’t think it’s James Cosmo.

I’m having flashbacks to discussions about Elves at Helm’s Deep, Spider-Man with “organic” (not mechanical) webshooters and Wolverine in a black-leather jumpsuit. Unfortunately.

Everything we’ve seen looks great to me.

Ana Carolina S.,

They, sorry…

I wonder if rimshot was in any of these!

ablaaa,

but everything else is thumbs-up from me.

Mormegil,

That’s probably Barristan.

One of the “Night Watch Extras” is Rast, the one with the huge black fuzzy shoulders, short hair, and reddish beard. Luke McEwan confirmed it on Twitter.

Mormegil,

Mormegil:
I did wonder if it was but I doubt they have filmed any Barristan footage that doesn’t have him in his Kingsguard armour yet.The grey clothing suggests he’s something to with the North/Winterfell.    

Mormegil,

I agree with the guy on the other post who reckons that’s a pretty aged-up Joseph Mawle as Benjen.

ewan: Mormegil, Mormegil, I agree with the guy on the other post who reckons that’s a pretty aged-up Joseph Mawle as Benjen.  Quote  Reply

I’m guessing Jon will look about forty in Season 2 then if that’s what joining the NW does for your looks.

Why when anyone says even a bit negative thing about the series he/she is immediatly painted as “fanboy” or “whiner”… gosh with you. Without creative critisism there wouldn’t be any improvements. And then I can get to the point…. of whining.

I have to agree that costumes seem bit too bland for royals to use, now they look bit too much like any other commoner. I’m no fashion designer so I can’t say anything about cuts or sewings of the clothes but at least the trailers/behindscenes color scheme seemed to dull much of the colors. Now Sansas dress looks as the same color as the Lannisters men-at-arms. Though the HBO mixed trailer showed Ned in allmost every color of the rainbow so can’t say anything yet for sure.

But then we get to mister onionhead, Gregor that looks like a bottleneck of my beer and Kingsguards flying whale style. I’m bit horrified what helmet they are going to show next :D They are not bad but could have been way better. Not quite sure yet what to think about Lannister(?) samurai armor, like the feeling of easy to put on, easy to produce for soldiers, but is it too different when comparing fullplate knights? Can’t say for sure. Also feared that dothraki leather-nakedness would be too much of 300, but didn’t get too many manlove vibes yet so I think I’m cool with it.

Loved Arya and Bran, loved down to earth feeling in soldier armor and peasant clothes. Tyrion and Hound look good, no overdoing there. Other actors look much like their characters too. Many nice little details that have been considered.

I bet this is going to be great show.

The Rabbit,

I’d say it is black, albeit faded and worn, rather than as black as priest’s socks.

And the more I look at it, going by the set of the eyes and nose, the more I think it must be Mawle – it’s hard to see how it’s any of the other actors.

Looking at this picture in particular, if you dye the hair and beard to grey, they’re very alike. Why they’ve done it, I’ve no idea.

Concerning the Kingsguard armor, and yes the Oblivion dudes are the Kinsguard, per Rimshot who was there filming. I think the three ridges on the helms represent the three heads of the dragon, but they also serve a battlefield function in protecting the main part of the helm from taking too severe a hit, sort of like reactive armor on a modern tank, deflecting the blows.

ewan: The Rabbit, I’d say it is black, albeit faded and worn, rather than as black as priest’s socks.And the more I look at it, going by the set of the eyes and nose, the more I think it must be Mawle – it’s hard to see how it’s any of the other actors.Looking at this picture in particular, if you dye the hair and beard to grey, they’re very alike. Why they’ve done it, I’ve no idea.  Quote  Reply

I think it is Benjen, if you look at the casting page pictuce of Mawle, he has same crease between his eyes. I think they they changed his hair to match Sean Bean’s coloring .

About Lannisters and their orient looking armor… has anyone noted that those three supposed Lannister guards have swords with curved hilts? :)

Tysnow,

I think that makes sense. Maybe King’s Landing in general is going to have a bit of a Asian influence, derived from the Targaryens. The Targaryen banner in the show is definitely pretty Asian looking, with the dragons and the style. That would account for why the city watch / Kingsguard MIGHT have that look.

The problem is that the Lannister guards look even more like Samurais…

I think they look cool either way and personally, those types of stylistic changes don’t both me too much… it does seem kind of almost “anti-Lannister” though.

Tysnow,

I believe there is no mention of any deliberate targaryen symbolism in the kingsguard armour. It would be very strange if their was since King Robert is trying to eradicate the Targaryens ‘root and branch’, hiding away the dragon skulls etc. I wouldn’t think Robert would want such reminders around him, especially on the Kingsguard.
And as for the reactive armour element of the kingsguard helmets due to the three ‘ridges’; this would be a very poor design for deflecting blows to the head. Any blow to the head would be ‘collected’ by the ridges either side of the central one and transfer all the force into the join of ridge and helm- more or less fatal with a heavy axe.
The same applies to the Mountain’s great helm- a flat-topped crusader style helm that was popular until the warhammer began to rise in prominence on the battlefield. One heavy, well placed swing with a warhammer to the top of a flat topped helm would crush it like a beer can… but since this is the Mountain we are talking about, the chances of anyone reaching the top of his head is highly unlikely.

My own opinion as to why they have gone down the nasal helm route rather than the classical bascinet (visored) helm would be through practical considerations- the actors playing kingsguard knights have prominent speaking roles and must be able to emote through their costume – not something easy to do when your whole face is covered. The same principle comes to mind to counter the complaints that the armour isn’t impressive enough (ie full plate). Regardless of what people have seen in video games and in movies- knights spent the barest of time afoot in their armour- aside from the huge weight, doing anything with precision or deftness, or even bending or sitting, would be impossible. Seeing those seven kingsguard knights shambling around in full armour all of the time would look completely ridiculous.

brief thoughts (mostly gushyish):

jon= my next age inappropriate crush. holy buckets.

catelyn- nail, head. hit. it.

cersei- L O V E the hair from the tourney, can’t wait to see more ostentatious cersei. i always had cersei in mind as like an aging bridget bardot type, but i think they may be headed for a more white witch/tilda swinton look for her. at least that’s what i thought, and if that’s true, i can get behind it.

viserys- can’t wait, really. love the hair.

tyrion- already in love.

dany- need to see her in motion, walking, talking. not to be withholding, i just love dany the most, so i am just being patient with my praise. emelia looks very beautiful, however.

ned- sean bean is the only one there ever was for ned, so, like with peter dinklage, i can’t help but be very, very fangirlish and thrilled.

costumes- too fast and furious to tell much. i think the look of the raven trailer was meant to be somber and doubt the whole affair will be as muted. asian style armor for the lannisters? for really reals? that could be way cool. slight note of concern about that first shot of cersei with the pinkish dress and the long locks, but as with dany, i am just going to be patient and wait and see.

excited for more littlefinger, varys, lysa, sansa, arya. everybody. jamie! jamie is another super fave (up there with dany for me) and i am excited to see him.

Anna Backstrom,
I think somebody already posted those, but thanks nonetheless.

As discussed at length yesterday, the toning of the Raven’s teaser is definitely not final, but was simply introduced to set a continuous (dark) mood throughout the different scenes. In case you missed this, I tried to get some colour back in three of the shots you posted yesterday, and here’s my best effort:
http://www.pbase.com/gbleek/image/128394653
(the other two can be found in that gallery before and after this image)
Not nearly as pleasing as the colours in the ‘Upcoming Programs’ bit, but there wasn’t much to work with, and I can only manage basic photoshop postprocessing…

Scott,
I love everything I have seen so far in casting except for one huge issue. King Robert. Bearing in mind both the history of westeros and the current conflict stems from Roberts war, and his death, his casting is awful. He should be a giant of a man, bold and fearsome – even now he is old and overweight. Addy simply doesnt portray that. He is the weak link in the show. Costumes look poor given Martin spends pages telling us how bright the armor is. How rich the costumes in kings landing. It looks like a medieval set, not the fantasy George wrote.

Alex Webster: Tysnow,
The same principle comes to mind to counter the complaints that the armour isn’t impressive enough (ie full plate). Regardless of what people have seen in video games and in movies- knights spent the barest of time afoot in their armour- aside from the huge weight, doing anything with precision or deftness, or even bending or sitting, would be impossible. Seeing those seven kingsguard knights shambling around in full armour all of the time would look completely ridiculous.    

I’m afraid that’s not really accurate. It is possible for a modern man to complete an obstacle course wearing full plate armour, they’d just be a little tired at the end of it if they weren’t that fit. The weight was never an issue since its distributed over the entire body. In fact, the modern soldier carries more weight into battle, most of which is on his back.

Armour was designed to be flexible around the joints, you could get a surprising amount of movement when wearing it. You had to have this, otherwise it’d be worthless in combat. Knights of the age were also very accustomed to the weight of their armour and spent just as much time fighting afoot than on horse back. I’m not sure you where you got the notion that this was not the case – a horse isn’t much good for scaling walls and sieges played a large role in medieval warfare.

The idea that when knocked off his feet a knight was helpless is a myth. He just got back up again, and could do so pretty quickly too.

Alex Webster,

Yes if the blow was coming from the front, but if the blow is a side blow or the knight just turns his head a little so that a frontal blow strikes the ridge at a more perpendicular angle the the ridges would be effective. I agree with the more Spartan style open face as we need to see the facial emotions of the Kingsguard.

Tysnow,

Apparently you guys are right! According to Wikipedia full armour is around 60 lb / 27 kg compared to modern 90 lb. That’s so strange. The story that always stuck in my mind was that of Sir Lancelot who was thrown off the horse and because his armour was so heavy he had to get someone to carry him in a cart back to the castle…

Source: Armour

Richard A. Forsyth: Loved the trailer.Love the banner treatment.I have done a fair bit of research into medieval clothing and I must say, the costumes look pretty good to me.This is a grungy, realistic-ish setting, not some cheap high fantasy re-tread.I always had the impression that Martin was going for something more authentic with regards to the setting being inspired by medieval Europe.Look into it.I think you’ll find the same thing.They went with authenticity over flash on this one, and I say good on ‘em.    

The only real reply I have to this is ‘lol wut’. Most of the armour has more to do with Dragon Age than medieval Europe. The clothing is suitably grungy, but in some cases they seem to be trying a little too hard.

~

I’m hoping that the guy in the bronze scale armour is a Dornish fellow. It makes no sense for that to be Jaime.

Also, what’s with the immense amount of wire on Loras’s tourney armour? All they do is to prevent strikes from glancing off. A lance will transmit most of its force into the armour before breaking because it can’t slide off. That’s a definite disadvantage in a tourney setting.

Gregor just looks ridiculous. It looks as though someone nicked the prop helmet off one of the Monty Python sets and cobbled the suit together from sheet iron.

Personally, I expected better from HBO. To be fair, Michael Komarck’s works are my baseline standard of sorts, and that’s a pretty high benchmark.

Scott,

I have to say I agree. You’ve said it pretty much it exactly the way I thought it when I saw the trailer. Although I’m not letting it dampen my excitement. Perhaps they will look better quality when it all comes together. Although the design can’t be changed. :( Not a big fan of Robert’s costume.

In the still of the baratheon men marching whose emblem is the rooster? Its on the sheild on the bottom left hand corner.

HouseUmber: In the still of the baratheon men marching whose emblem is the rooster?Its on the sheild on the bottom left hand corner.    

The only Rooster heraldry that I know of is House Swyft. They are sworn to Casterly Rock.

Thomas:
I’m afraid that’s not really accurate. It is possible for a modern man to complete an obstacle course wearing full plate armour, they’d just be a little tired at the end of it if they weren’t that fit. The weight was never an issue since its distributed over the entire body. In fact, the modern soldier carries more weight into battle, most of which is on his back.
Armour was designed to be flexible around the joints, you could get a surprising amount of movement when wearing it. You had to have this, otherwise it’d be worthless in combat.Knights of the age were also very accustomed to the weight of their armour and spent just as much time fighting afoot than on horse back.I’m not sure you where you got the notion that this was not the case – a horse isn’t much good for scaling walls and sieges played a large role in medieval warfare.
The idea that when knocked off his feet a knight was helpless isa myth. He just got back up again, and could do so pretty quickly too.    

I was aware that modern soldiers carry a similar amount of weight into battle, in full fighting order, as medieval knights, and I am also aware that suits of armour were designed to articulate to allow a wide range of motion, but I think my original point was lost in the text. A knight, even an ‘on duty bodyguard’ kingsguard knight would not wear full plate armour away from the battlefield- as I said before it would simply be too cumbersome and impractical to wear out and about around the Red Keep! Want to sit at that Small Council table Ser Barristan, better go get out of that Fauld. Need to urinate Ser Boros? Not without your team of squires to unbuckle your codpiece first!

I also take exception to the claim that Knights fought just as much on foot as on horseback- knights became so pivotal on the medieval battlefield because of they could charge their 2000 pound warhorses into the fray and break the enemy’s line- the first shock troops. The French for knight was chevalier, meaning simply horseman, to highlight this fact.

A knight without a mount has no height advantage, has no mobility (horses are fast, and can also be used a weapon) is slower in movement and tires quicker than the less armoured men-at-arms he would be surrounded by if pulled from the saddle, and would in all likelihood be butchered in short order by said men-at-arms.
Chivalry (specifically the ransoming of noble captives) did not apply to the common soldier, and they certainly wouldn’t have held to such a noble ideal as one on one combat- they would have grappled said knight to the ground en mass and killed him where he lay- finding the unprotected areas of his armour and poking him full of holes. Knights knew this, and so tried at all costs NOT to be forced to fight on foot.

I’m also perplexed by the notion that Knights would have contributed much to siege warfare. Would they have scaled the walls like some kind of badass beserker human tank? Unlikely. Would they help out swinging the battering ram? Probably not. Storming castles was in the main attritional (costly in human terms to both attackers and defenders) and so such a valuable resource as the knight corps would not be risked when their strength- fighting from horseback- could not be utilised to its fullest.

So I stand by my account: Knights were not invulnerable tanks that excelled in all areas. They were extremely effective when in their element (ahorse and charging en mass) but seriously compromised when not.

Tysnow: Alex Webster,
Yes if the blow was coming from the front, but if the blow is a side blow or the knight just turns his head a little so that a frontal blow strikes the ridge at a more perpendicular angle the the ridges would be effective. I agree with the more Spartan style open face as we need to see the facial emotions of the Kingsguard.    

The same effect (ridges deflecting blows from a perpendicular angle) could be achieved with just the one ridge, as can be demonstrated by this example of a replication bascinet

If you look closely at the shot of the 3 Lannister men-at-arms you can see the sword hilts are curved in the fashion of a Sabre almost. Also, the shot of the Baratheon men-at-arms in the foreground on the left you can see a shield with a Rooster on it. I can’t remember who’s sigil that is.

All in all, it looks pretty great so far.

I actually think the Samurai influence on the Lannisters is a wonderful idea, It seems like the kind of the imagery they’d be fond of. Gives them a distinct look.

Plus, there is just a hint of Feudal Japan in the political structure of Westeros.

It does seem a little off, but I do think I get where the influence came from. It IS ironic, thats why I find it somewhat fitting.

I think the biggest issue with it is probably that the Lannisters are meant to be visually evocative of classic “Heroic” knights, with the golden, shining armour etc., as part of the subversion of traditional heroic fantasy archetypes.

The Kingsguard in general would probably have been a better choice to have Japanese-style armour, due to being established by the Targaryens, who would presumably have a different aesthetic.

Demokritos: A thought… Rimshot says they’re Lannister guards, but that doesn’t mean all or most Lannisters will be geared that way. We know the Lannisters are rich and not adverse to hiring sellswords… Perhaps these particular guards are from across the narrow sea?    

There’s still this image, which could also be Lannister men, no? They’re wearing red.

Demokritos,

If I remember correctly, Jaime’s armor seems slightly samuraish as well.

One can only hope these aren’t Lannister guardsmen. Never mind how this oriental design makes little sense since the Westerlands share the same culture as everybody else (who are all so far consistent with each other), it is not even internally consistent, what with Gregor looking so different.

fritanga: The casting is terrible, except for Bean, Dinklage, Gillen and Lloyd. Everyone else is is either completely generic and without any sort of personality.

Bahahahaha!

fritanga,

Funny thing you mentioned DW as not only Viserys but Jorah, Old Nan, Gendry, Aemon and a bunch more have appeared in the show.

Anyway, each one is entitled to his/her opinion.

I confess myself surprised, considering the number of people harping on the Targaryens’ eyebrows, that no one has yet mentioned the fact that Issac Hempstead-Wright’s hair is clearly Starkish brown, as opposed to the Tully auburn that he is supposed to share with most of his siblings. I have no problem with the dark eyebrows and I didn’t even notice that Boromir’s hair color had changed from book to movie until I heard all the ridiculous complaints, but in Martin’s books, hair and eye color of children of great houses play a very important role. Only Jon and Arya have the brown hair and grey eyes of the Starks; the rest of the children have the auburn hair and blue eyes of their Tully mother. I don’t know…it really doesn’t bother me all that much, but I did wonder why no one else seemed to have noticed. :)

What’s with all of the feudal japan/sen goku jidai era armour etc theme with the lannisters?

So the author of this snippet thinks that this far flung and exotic armour must belong to a lannister man-at-arms because it has red on it, and because that is his guess everyone must assume that it is so?

I think it highly likely that this is armour from way across the sea, beyond the free cities to the east. Dothraki or something similar. Seems to me as if the Lannisters (as well as the rest of Westeros, [bar the middle eastern-like Dornish and the nordic leaning Ironborn]) would have the aesthetic/design/military culture of their historic counterparts. I thought Martin compared the look and feel of the books to the hundred years war and 13th-14th century medieval europe? Knights in armour, coloured dabbards with sigils emblazoned on their fronts…not far eastern arms and armour…that just doesnt fit in. What do you suppose the eastern cultures will have for their arms and armour? Western influenced long swords, surcoats and plate mail? I don’t think so.

I can’t understand how anyone can think having samurai-like armour for the Lannisters (or any Westerosi faction) would be cool. It would be utterly ridiculous and there is at no point in the books where there is the slightest hint that Jaimes armour is of a similar description to samurai armour.

With that rant aside, I think the casting is mostly excellent. Although I don’t think Mark Addy was a good pick for King Robert. I know that he has grown fat over the years and all, but still, he would be more of a handsome man and there would still be evidence of his strength. A strong jaw, and a big stocky frame (complete with beer belly) is what I had always imagined. His facial features stronger and edgier too.

Anyway, I’m hoping that it’ll do the books justice!