I’m perfectly fine with this Vanity Fair cover. Mostly I’m just thankful it’s not another dead celebrity (or a living celebrity dressed up as a dead celebrity). Game of Thrones is a cultural touchstone and a huge, international phenomenon. And the fourth season begins on April 6th. DRAGONS. Huzzah! So, what do you think of this cover? The Khaleesi belongs there, as does Peter Dinklage. I’ll even take Jamie Lannister, just because he quickly became a fan favorite as everyone began shipping him with Brienne. I’m not pleased about Cersei and Jon Snow though. I’m worried that Season 4 is going to be a lot of Cersei and Jon Snow, when it needs to be about The Khaleesi and The Dinklage. Anyway, some highlights from the VF cover story:
Vanity Fair contributing editor Jim Windolf talks to George R. R. Martin, author of A Song of Ice and Fire, the ongoing book series on which the popular HBO show Game of Thrones is based, who tells Windolf that the show is indeed catching up to the books: “They are. Yes. It’s alarming.”
In the April issue of Vanity Fair, on stands March 13, show co-creator David Benioff tells Windolf, “Last year we went out to Santa Fe for a week to sit down with him [Martin] and just talk through where things are going, because we don’t know if we are going to catch up and where exactly that would be. If you know the ending, then you can lay the groundwork for it. And so we want to know how everything ends. We want to be able to set things up. So we just sat down with him and literally went through every character.” Martin tells Windolf, “I can give them the broad strokes of what I intend to write, but the details aren’t there yet. I’m hopeful that I can not let them catch up with me.”
Windolf reports that the presence of so many child actors in the cast, including the terrific Maisie Williams as Arya Stark, increases the time pressure. “This is a serious concern,” Martin tells Windolf. “Maisie was the same age as Arya when it started, but now Maisie is a young woman and Arya is still 11. Time is passing very slowly in the books and very fast in real life.”
Windolf also speaks to several cast members, including Peter Dinklage, who plays Tyrion Lannister, the “halfman.” Of his role, Dinklage tells Windolf, “It just seemed like something I had never come across before, especially in the fantasy genre, which I still refuse to call this, even though we have dragons. It is just something that I was so eager to embrace, because it turned the dwarf stereotype in the fantasy genre on its head. And he’s a hero at the same time.” Dinklage continues, “Even in The Lord of the Rings, which I really loved—I loved those books as a child and I adore Peter Jackson’s movies—but there’s just that thing with the dwarf stuff. That’s complete fantasy. I had done The Chronicles of Narnia, with the long beard and all of that, because I definitely wanted to explore that and have an opinion of it from the inside, but I just feel like this character, Tyrion, was a complete human being. Shock!”
Benioff and co-creator D. B. Weiss tell Windolf that the show has a lifespan, and they would like to wrap it up after seven or eight seasons. “It doesn’t just keep on going because it can,” Weiss says. “I think the desire to milk more out of it is what would eventually kill it, if we gave in to that.”
Windolf also asks Benioff and Weiss about the recent rumors that President Obama receives screeners of the show to watch before the general public. In an e-mail, they jointly reply, “One perk of being the most powerful man in the world: yes, you get to see episodes early.”
It kills me a little that Pres. Obama can just order up advanced copies of his favorite shows and binge-watch them before we’ve even seen the premiere episode! NOBAMA!! But seriously, that’s a pretty awesome perk of being POTUS: you get to see what happened with Brienne and Jamie before anyone else. Obama also got to see the True Detective finale weeks before it aired. I’ve heard that Pres. Clinton always ordered advanced copies of books too, just FYI.
I have a question for George RR Martin (who I love forever because he talks eloquently about his feminism): why does it take him so long to write the books? I mean, he obviously knows what’s going to happen with these characters and he already has it plotted out, so why not get to work?
Here’s the latest trailer:
Photos courtesy of Vanity Fair.
But everyone else can find out what happens in advance too! I love spoilers so I looked up the books on wiki. OMG.
Yeah. Read the books people.
I hope we get more Cersei and less Dany. Dany is annoying as hell. George really ruined her character, and it doesn’t help that Emilia couldn’t act to save her life.
Waaah? I think Emilia is excellent, she’s the best part of the show for me, by far.
I like the show, but the books are a thousand times better. If they follow the books, Season 4 will be heavily focused on Cersei, and Jon Snow at the Wall. Agree about Dany, but I really don’t like her much in the books either; if she calls herself “blood of the dragon” one more time… and I don’t think she’ll end up on the Iron Throne – not for very long, anyway. Nor to I see a romance with Jon Snow. I’m thinking they may even be adversaries. Speaking Of Jon, I know Harington gets a lot of grief for his portrayal, but, if you read the books, it’s clear that most of Jon Snow’s narrative is his internal dialogue. He’s learned to internalize much of what he thinks and feels since he was beaten down psychologically by a stepmother who despised him, and the life-long stigma of being a bastard. Up to now, Kit’s been playing him much the way he is in the novels; overwhelmed and forced to keep his thoughts to himself. I won’t give away what comes next for Jon, but let’s just say, he kills the boy so the man can be born. He’ll need to become a more decisive and assertive individual, so let’s see how Kit handles the transition. I think Emilia is a lost cause, however.
I hope we get more Cersei as well. After last season, I could do with less Dany, less Jon/the Wall, and less Tyrells and more of everyone else.
I disagree. As far as I’m concerned, Daenerys has one of the best storylines on the show (as well as Tyrion, who is THE MAN). Sometimes her character can be a little boring, but I like the fact that she is an honorable and truly likeable character in a sea of misfits and backstabbers (Cersei… ugh).
Last season sucked by distancing itself from the books and making stuff up. Im not looking forward to this season bc I think ppl are too dragon crazy and the writers will just make up bs to please a certain fan base. Wish they’d stick to the books bc they are amazing.
I agree with this. So far she is the weakest link considering acting abilities of the crew, together with Kit. To be honest, they didn´t give her much to act, most of her scenes are boring in the show. Sadly, in the trailers for season 4 she seems pretty much the same in every scene. Her voice, the look in her eyes, her face expressions….all the same and just bad. Pity, cause she was one of the more interesting characters for me, at least in the first three books.
Dany was ruined by crap acting. Period.
@ epiphany
Great comment. Agreed with everything you said.
I’m only finishing the second book, and I can’t take the “blood of the dragon” anymore either.
I hope by the last season she had made to Westeros. Yawn…
Yep….read the books. Cersei’s story picks up alot. Dany has a bit more conquering to do, then we just have to wait for eberyone to catch up to her. There is so much that happens at the Wall coming up. I can’t wait for Dorne either.
@Kimbers – sorry it took me so long to respond. From my POV, this is GoT in a nutshell – I’ll try not to mention any spoilers:
1) Yes, I think Jon Snow is the son of Lyanna Stark and Prince Rheagar; furthermore, I think he is their LEGITIMATE son – they were married in secret, and Targaryen morality allows for multiple wives. I think Jon Snow is the personaification of ice and fire, and the True King. The question is, will he want the job? He’s hardly an individual who yearns for glory. He and Tyrion have already bonded at the Wall; I think Jon will ascend the Iron Throne, and Tyrion will be his Hand, so, Tyrion will in effect rule, as I don’t think Jon will care much for being the King.
Cersei will be killed by none other than Jaime, who will in turn be immediately killed – who knows, maybe they kill each other. Both of them constantly mention they were born together and will die together, and I think GRRM means for us to take that literally.
What GRRM doesn’t mean for us to take literally is Daenerys taking the Iron Throne. It’s mentioned so much, given GRRM’s perverse way of thinking, it’s almost a given that it won’t happen. I suspect one of three things will happen; 1) Dany has no real attachment to Westeros, but has planted roots in Meereen; I suspect she may decide to simply stay there and rule.
2) Dany keeps dreaming of her house with the red door; she may decide what she really wants is a quiet, peaceful life, and go back to her childhood home.
3) Dany is a Targaryen, and the daughter of the Mad King; she often sees and hears things no one else does. What if she, too, is going mad? An insane Dany attempting to conquer Westeros may be the impetus for someone to finally tell Jon Snow who he really is, and his sense of duty will compel him to stop the Mad Queen, and take the throne that’s rightfully his.
I agree so much with this comment! Dany is practically unbearable on the show– JUSTICE. DRAGONS. MY WAY OR THE HIGH WAY. But people love her because she’s a “strong female character” and she has dragons. Never mind the fact that there are dozens of other kickass, multilayered female characters to root for in this series.
Nope, Dany’s like in Dubya territory with “either you’re with me or you’re against me” thing she does. She’s a lot more human in the books, but the showrunners have made her impossibly one-note. Emilia’s acting is also one-note, which doesn’t help.
@Epiphany Why would you start by saying you won’t mention any spoilers and then proceed and spoil everything for those who haven’t read the books ?
Anyway, I think the 4th season will mainly be about the last part of the 3rd book, which is so dense and, IMO, the best part of all the saga. This is why I can’t wait for season 4. It’s gonna be amazing
Then they’ll Have to mix up 4th and 5th books : we can’t spend one entire season folllowing only half the characters
@’em – I didn’t spoil a thing. Everything mentioned was already said or done on the show -the rest is strictly my own speculation and opinion. For all I know I’m wrong about everything. @kimbers wanted to know what I thought would happen, I have no clue if I’m right.
Remember that Season 4 will actually mostly cover the last half of the third book so we should get a lot of Tyrion, Sansa, Arya, Jon, Jaime and Dany. Really excited for this season – it should be a blast from start to finish and I’m really excited to see the non-bookies’ reaction to it!
Sean I’m not reading the books until the series is over
I was floored by the wedding scene. Michael Corleone would have been proud
Cersei is pathetic. I want the next book. I want to know if Jon goes the way of the Red Woman, and I want to know about his (only) interesting sister. Hope I didn’t spoil anything for anyone who can’t be bothered reading these awesome books. I want the dragon to get all messy with Tyrion and Bree. So much to anticipate!!! Thanks to the author.
Cersei is not redhaired!!!!!!!
I was going to say the same thing. The Lannisters are blondes.
This!!!
Despite being a huge Game of Thrones/A Song of Ice and Fire geek, I’m not crazy about that cover. They all seem like they were life-like drawn, not photographed. And where are the Stark girls anyway?
The cool thing about Season 4 is that they’ve changed the actor who played Daario Naharis, thank God, because the old one looked like female German athlete. The new one is quite hot, I’d say.
yessssss….and there is massive photoshop on Daenerys. Emilia has small bossom, i dont know why did they have to do that.
Hhaha “Emilia has small bossom”
That sounds so creepy, phrased like that!
I think theyve toned the Lannisters hair a bit also in deference to Peter Dinklage who doesnt wanna wig it out ( They all started blonder in season one!) but once the wash fell off they kind of left them all dirty blonde, but also – it could be the tone of the pic cause in the previews Cersei looks much blonder
I was bothered by this too, but Cersei looks pretty blonde in the trailers, so I think it’s just lighting/photoshop. Jaime hasn’t been blonde since season 1, and even then he was pretty dirty-blonde.
@GlimmerBunny, well, Jaime hasn’t been CLEAN since Season 1 so it would stand to reason that his hair would be rather grimy. My mother calls GOT, “that show where nobody every bathes.”
Well, if you guys really wanna stay true to the book, the Targaryens are supposed to have purple eyes. And Tyrion has mismatched eyes, and all the Stark babies have Tully features, except for Arya.
Don’t forget that Tyrion is also missing a nose instead of supporting a sexy scar like he is on the show!
Show Cersei is blonde. Vanity Fair’s one is redhaired. That’s what I was complaining. She looks more like Catelyn Stark in the cover.
That was the first thing I noticed. They must have changed the color in post. Probably some lame argument about how there can’t be two blondes in the picture. Plus, Jamie doesn’t have blonde hair either let alone look like he is wearing a costume.
yep there seems to be a distinct lack of golden hair on this cover
Cersei’s hair isn’t that color in the VF Behind the Scenes video of the photo shoot. So The cover shot has been “altered.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lbm5dJML4IQ
Yeah, she’s absolutely blonde in that preview. And I’m so excited to see the final Lannister family photo you can see Annie shooting. And the one with Sansa, she looks gorgeous in the video.
Yes, she is a strawberry blonde. To the real world, that’s a red-head.
Cannot wait, I may actually combust from excitement before the new season starts. Oh and Hey there Jamie Lannister!
Cersei’s hair supposed to be blond, it looks reddish
The picture of Khalisi and Jorah is amazing.
I ship Dany and Jorah so hard!
Count me in. I hope they develop a love story! Hurrah!
Me too! I thought I was the only one. ESPECIALLY Jorah as played by Iain Glenn. But it’ll never happen.
Khaleesi, Mother of Dragons, will rule season four! House Lannister be afraid. Be very afraid. 🙂
They better are. I certainly would! 😉
For all Tywin Lannister’s spies & plotting he doesn’t count the Khalessi as a threat. Or have I missed something somewhere along the way…
hello Jamie Lannister.
I cannot wait for the next season – or the next book. It’s really nice with a show that’s so loyal to the books as GoT is 😀
Good one 😀
I have been dying for the next book for almost three years now! Hurry up and write, George!
When did the Lannisters become red heads? Cersei and Tyrrion both look like they’re sporting red hair in these photos.
Jon Snow — stuck in the back and still with his perpetually confused look on his face. You’d think he’d be able to muster a second type of expression by this point.
Thanks Obama! Just kidding, I love it all. I even love that GRRM is taking his sweet ass time. You know what they say, every time someone asks him when he’s gonna finish the next book, he kills another Stark! 😀
He is running out of Starks.
Is it really important if the Lannisters are blonde or red? Just wondering…
In the books it is, absolutely.
The Lannister hair color versus the Baratheon hair color is what got Ned Stark killed.
To answer why it takes to long for Martin to write:
1) writing the books isn’t his biggest priority. He does a TON of stuff, including editing another series or two, he wrote the Dunk & Egg stories, he goes to a ton of Cons and events and stuff, so he’s got a ton going on outside the series. He gets ticked if you say it, but GOT the books is clearly not his top priorit
2) He also had a massive case of writer’s block. It took him SEVEN years to produce the 5th book, which was already half written!
I have no idea what he was thinking getting into bed with HBO, because he was never going to get the series finished in time to match the television show, and he’s pretty unrealistic about it. At one point his suggestion was that they do a prequel like Spartacus to buy him some more time, or that they could do a Dunk & Egg story or something, but GOT has so many child actors they can’t wait forever.
Also, it speaks volumes that they’re publicly putting pressure on Martin. He’d have to get the next book out in the next 6 months, and then bust through the 7th in the hopes that the TV show doesn’t overtake the books.
He was thinking of his finances, I suspect, and also of the critical acclaim he’d get. I also get the feeling that Martin isn’t very realistic about the status of his projects. I can see him genuinely believing that he’d crank out the 6th and 7th books quickly after he got the 5th one done, promising HBO that, and then getting bogged down again.
He’s just never seemed that excited with GOT and working on it. He’s a worldwide bestselling author, so his finances were pretty good to begin with, but I also thought he was into the glamour of TV.
I don’t really see the issue with the child actors to be quite honest. Most of the characters are much younger in the books than they are on the show anyway and are experiencing very ‘adult’ situations despite their age. I know the kids keep aging with every season but I’m willing to believe that Westeros is so vast that it takes months to get from place to place.
I think that to a certain extent, he can’t say no to new projects that are offered to him. So he’ll keep taking on “new, interesting” stuff, to a point where he can’t manage it all, especially if he’s constantly travelling to some comic-con or other.
If you haven’t seen it, youtube “GRRM write like the wind” 😀
He’s not getting any younger and he did say that the story is in his head so if he dies, we’re screwed.
When it keeps you from completing your epic, bestselling, flagship series? Yes, you can say no. He just doesn’t want to. Or at least don’t turn it into a TV series.
Leave the author alone. He is amazing. Screw the actors’ ages…just get better make-up artists. And by the way…take the time to read the books; it is an incredible series.
And he doesn’t write during football season.
As one of the original geeks who started reading this series not long after the second book was printed, I’ve heard Martin answer this question over and over.
1. It’s not inaccurate to say that GOT is not his top priority, but it leaves out the part that he is human and everyone of us, no matter how much we love something, need a break from it. GoT is not at the top of his priority list, but that’s because he’s human and has other interests in life. Give him that. He deserves to live his life the way he wants.
2. The structure of the books and his writing process necessarily make it difficult for him to write fast. The books are written with a certain third-person point of view for each chapter with anywhere from 8 to 16-ish points-of-view per book. Each time GRRM switches to writing from another characters POV, he has to reread the previous chapter for that character to get back into his/her head, which often leads to rewrites and polishes before getting to the business of the next chapter. Unfortunately, that’s how it works for him, but you can see how that can take up more time than usual.
3. The problem of having a vague outline of how the series progresses and ends means that as he’s writing, the characters often alter the script or take detours. He has also explained the problem with the 4th and 5th books which were originally meant to be one volume: there was simply too much important stuff happening to too many characters to skip half of them in the one book and then in subsequent books, use flashbacks to tell what happened to them. It would mean that subsequent books would be filled with flashbacks, making the storytelling too awkward. When he realized the problem, he’d already spent years trying to make it work the first way and then had to scrap a lot of that to rewrite and restructure books 4 and 5.
I’m pretty certain I, more than anyone else on this board, has waited the longest for him to complete this series. I even wrote him an email around 1998 telling him how much I loved the first two books and how much I looked forward to reading the end. (Back then, GRRM also replied to everyone who wrote him. Thankfully, he’s stopped doing that!) So if anyone gets to complain about the ending taking too long, I think I’m closer to the front of that queue.
And I’m not complaining. Exactly. But, yes, I sure do want to know if things end the way I’m hoping they end!
2003 here, so it’s been a good chunk of time.
And I get that Martin isn’t our monkey, to dance as we please, but I do find it frustrating as a reader that the man has spent the last decade working on pretty much everything BUT GOT. That just is what it is. However, I don’t think he was realistic when he got into bed with HBO, and I find myself wondering if the problem is that he’s lost interest in Westeros. He’s killed a lot of characters, after all, and he has to live in that world he created that is currently populated by primarily horrible people. Pure speculation, of course.
Did you guys see this? (it’s okay to post youtube links on celebitchy, right?)
youtube.com/watch?v=xbEhByk4Icg
Well to each his own, personally Cersei is my favorite character and I find Daenerys incredibly overrated. And while he’s not one of my personal faves, I know plenty of people who love Jon Snow.
I love Jon Snow in the books, but Kit looks nothing alike to the Jon I imagined, plus his acting leaves a lot to be desired.
Dinklage is a great actor, love his portrayal of Tyrion, but the accent is atrocious. It’s his only flaw in playing Tyrion, but it’s a big one.
Yeah, Im definitely more in this camp. I don’t get the Cersie hate at all… I think Lena Headey does a very good job of portraying her. There was a scene last season between Cersie and Dinklage (my fav) that was perfection. And on the flip side, Emilia Clark’s acting sometimes drives me to drink.
As for Jon Snow, I do wish he was portrayed by a better actor. Right now, that character is so one note. I haven’t read the books so I’m not sure if Snow is meant to be that way.
Dinklage is one of best part of the show , as is Massie Williams, Waldau (who I think is going to be even more amazing with this seasons storyline), Gleeson is inspired as Joffrey… I could go on and on.
@mia girl – Just my 2 cents here. In the books, most of what we know about Jon is conveyed through his internal dialogue; he says little to anyone, and learned to function that way growing up with a stepmother who absolutely hated him. He’s a teenage boy bearing the stigma of bastard, then he finds himself at a hellhole called the Wall, then he’s ordered by a superior to play turncoat – of course he looks confused and overwhelmed. Jon will have much more responsibility this season – I won’t say more than that – so let’s see how the actor handles Jon’s transition from boy to man.
The actor that portrayed Danny’s brother in the first season auditioned for Jon’s role. He should have been a far better choice IMO. At least his short performance left me an impression, Kit’s one is bland.
@epiphany – thanks for the info. So he’s an internal struggle kind of guy, makes sense and so I’ll cut Kit some slack… But I wonder if he could still give a little more dimension to Snow.
I’m also curious to see how he’s going to handle where I imagine his character is going. I have some theories, and if they are close to correct, Kit is going to have to up his game because he will seriously be front and center.
I’m not a native speaker, so I’m not sure, but Peter’s accent seems quite off at times.
My friend was an extra on the King’s Landing set and he says everybody was very nice.
@mia girl, the Cersei hate comes from the books.
Cersei’s internal dialogue always has me in stitches. She is such a biatch.. But the books do show how and why she became the way she is..
Dany’s storyline is boring and Emilia’s acting chops do not help. The same goes for Jon’s. Thanks God, Tyron saves the show!
Seriously Obama, not democratic of you at all.
And where does he find the time to watch entire series of television shows? Isn’t he supposed to be running the free world? This isn’t a political comment – I’m really wondering. I can’t find the time to watch programs beacuse I have so much work to do, getting back on my feet in this foundering economy. wth?
Dude, the whole season is less than 10 hours. Pretty sure it’s manageable.
I mean, your presidents shouldn’t be taking ten million vacations like Bush did (and like Prince William, haha!), but I don’t really begrudge them some TV time. At least he’s got good taste and isn’t watching 2 & 1/2 Men.
I adore Cersei, and I like Jon Snow. The Khaleesi was sort of annoying me towards the end… I want to see more of the politics at the castle (Littlefinger, Sansa, etc.) and maybe a whole lot less of Bran Stark (sooo boring, when I used to love Bran before he met up with the siblings).
+1 to both more Littlefinger/Sansa and less Bran!
I vote for more Cersei and Tyrion and less Jon and Dany. Dany’s plots are going to be thin for awhile, so they’ll need to add lots of fat to give her screentime, and Cersei is one of the most interesting characters in the series.
As for Martin, he’s always been a slow writer, had a bad case of writer’s block between the fourth and fifth books, and spends a lot of his time working on other projects or going to cons. Neil Gaiman once even had to write a blog entry about how George R.R. Martin is not your bitch, because fans were so irate that they were writing other authors who knew him to gripe. That being said, these days George R.R. Martin is HBO’s bitch, and I can understand them having reason to put pressure on him to finish.
You know, I’ve always thought that was an interesting discussion, because while I agree that Martin isn’t our bitch, I do actually feel that he does have something of a responsibility to his readers. The Cons, the fun extra jobs – those are a result of the success of GOT. He also doesn’t help himself by blogging about all the stuff he does. But if he decided he was just done with the story and the characters, I’d respect that. I’m not sure what it is about Martin in particular that’s so frustrating. Was it because book 4 wasn’t very good, and cut out half the characters? Was it because 3 ended on a cliffhanger? Was it because Martin’s writer’s block also coincided with the death of Robert Jordan, reminding readers that it was entirely possible that his series may never be finished?
Personally, I was let down so much by books 4 and 5 and the shift in tone (it just feels like bad people doing bad things) that I’m not waiting for book 6 with baited breath. But I have always thought that Martin partnering with HBO was a brassy move on his part, and I truly don’t think he realized how serious they are about their properties.
For me, book 5 was a big dissapointment. It took him so long to write it, almost ten years for some characters – like Tyrion, Jon and Dany cause they weren´t in book 4, and then he delivers that bunch of illogical, inconsistent, sorry to say it…cr…p. Instead of actually cutting off some characters and starting to solve some plot holes and actually getting somewhere with the story, he goes completely the other way, introduces more characters and adds more plot lines. I resent Martin above all his recklessness with his reading audience, he promised Dunk and Egg novel The She Wolf of Winterfell in 2012, we still didn´t get it, instead we got a novel from some past Targaryan time. It wasn´t bad, but if you started with Dunk and Egg, please continue with it, dont write some other stuff. I seriously doubt he will finish this series in seven books, and he will most certainly not finish it before HBO does…..so we will find out about the characters and what happen to them from the TV series and not from the book. And that freaks me out cause HBO made some major fails in adaption so far.
@Iskra: ugh, book 5. Still no closer to resolving any plot, adding more characters, and plodding along. How is it that the series that moved lightning fast in 1-3 has become completely and totally bogged down?
I devoured the earlier books of the series in days, but I haven’t been able to get through Book 5. Tyrion’s plot line has gone too far afield for my liking … he’s been in whatever eastern land (can’t remember the name) forever, surrounded by new characters I don’t care about. I guess I prefer when the action sticks to Westeros/north of the Wall.
And Book 5 with all the new characters, who play major roles.
@ Iskra et al – Also, it drives me CRAZY that he still hasn’t written who Jon Snow’s mother really is (even though we know) and who the 3rd head of the dragon is (again, even though we know). Book 5, for goodness sake, and he’s only just then officially even acknowledged something hinky was going on with Ned. I know the Who’s, but I want to know more about the Why’s.
@ iskra
That’s what I’m counting on, knowing how it ends through the show.
Because he gave the endgame he desired to achieve in the books to the show runners, didn’t he? I don’t thing I’ll have the patience to be waiting for the last book in ten or more years.
The dragon has three heads.
I haven’t read the series (too long) but according to my husband, Jon Snow is one of the central characters of the series. He definitely belongs here, and I hope we get more development for him this season. Also, I love Cersei. LOVE.
I believe that the next (final?) book is already written. No idea why it’s not out yet.
At least GRRM isn’t pissed off at the fans and deliberately ruining his creation like the author of True Blood.
For those who are fans of the author, if you go to http://www.nerdist.com, then to podcasts, and search there, they did an hour long podcast with George R.R. Martin last year where he talks about writing the books and also his other projects.
I read the books up through 5…I think…then one day I wondered why I was torturing myself. I hate the books, I hate the tedious descriptions of everything and how slow it all moves. Painful. I do LOVE the show ! Can’t wait for season 4.
Cersei is my absolute favorite character. More of her and less Dani would be awesome for me!
The Khaleesi storyline bores me to hell. Emilia Clarke’s acting skills don’t help either. Jon Snow’s one is better but yet boring. Sansa, Arya and the Lannisters in general are far more interesting.
Arya’s story became very boring after she left Westeros.
@Tatjana, you should probably mark that with a book spoiler.
I disagree, Arya is the one character whose storyline is consistently great throughout. At least, that’s my opinion.
***SPOILER***
I agree with Seán. Arya’s story is great even when she left Westeros. Revenge is coming. I cannot say the same for Bran’s.
I keep waiting for Arya to be reunited with Nymeria, because THAT has to happen.
Actually, the books span a period of several years, so I’m not sure why he said Arya would still be eleven at this point.
Why is Jamie Lannister the only one not in its character’s costume?? It looks very odd…
He is in costume. He just got a haircut this season!
yes, he is in costume, that is his white Kingsguard jacket and underneath he has a blue tunic he wears in trailer 1.
i love jaime, and nikolai does a great job with him.
Michelle Obama got Downton Abbey, Season 4 months in advance too.
Can’t wait!
Really looking forward to Joffrey’s wedding.
Are they going to drag Joffrey’s wedding to the penultimate episode of Season 4? I am so ready for that little f*cker to die. Oh and are Dani and Jon Snow siblings?
If we’re right about Jon’s real parents, he is Dany’s nephew, as she is the youngest of the Mad King’s children, born after he was killed by Jaime, and Jon is the son of the Mad King’s oldest child and heir to the throne, Prince Rheagar.
I think Dani and Jon are related but not siblings. I think Jon is her nephew through Ragnor and Lyanna. The dragon has three heads, as Barristan Selmy repeatedly says through Book 5.
For those of you that don’t know, A Song Of Ice and Fire was originally supposed to be a trilogy, and now that we’re at Book 5, its supposedly going to be a 7 book series. Martin did something odd about 10 years ago: he decided that Book 4 was getting too big, so he split it down the middle, and had Book 4 be about one set of characters, and Book 5 be about another set – and the books were 7 years apart. The problem was, a lot of fan favorite characters (including Tyrion, Jon, and Dany) were in 5, and people were disappointed to have to wait so long for them to appear, especially considering that book 5 was supposedly already substantially written. Even worse: books 4 and 5 were bad. Where 1, 2, and 3 were tightly plotted packing in a ton of action, 4 & 5 felt like they barely did anyrhing. In fact, they introduced MORE characters and plots that went nowhere. Personally, I wonder if Martin screwed up in killing so many of his characters, and I wonder if he’s lost interest. It would explain his epic writer’s block, and it would explain how ‘blah’ the last couple of books were.
Agree. 4 & 5 were not enjoyable reading. Not sure what happened. But I don’t hold out much hopes for the series to be finished. Which sucks, because why write it if there’s no end?
But meh, it’s his story. He can ruin it if he likes. *huff huff*
Well if you’ve read the books, you know why it takes Martin FOREVER to write his books. The amount of detail, research, characters, and plotlines that are in every book probably take forever to structure. He is a very detailed writer and will write 10 pages about a banquet, describing all the food, the music, the songs, everybody at the feast, what they are wearing, random observations about the room… When you think about it, very little happens in each person’s POV but a lot happens throughout the course of the book because they are so long. Also for those of you who want less Cersei… she gets more “screen time” than Dany gets in Book 5, so believe me she isn’t going anywhere. I kept wondering where Dany was in Book 5 but we got a lot of King’s Landing and a lot of Cersei (and Jamie). She does a lot of plotting and causes a lot of mayhem and pretty much goes on a mission to destroy herself without realizing she is causing her own downfall. It will be interesting to see how they handle that on the show.
Can’t wait to get my hands on this issue! And not just for the Game of Thrones profile. I want to read about the art stash that made the news too!!!
Please google George RR Martin Is Not Your B!tch. Lol! Write like the wind, George!
ETA, no the funny song is Write Like The Wind George R R Martin. So true, so funny.
Cant wait!!
God, doesn’t it bug anyone that this idiot president doesn’t have anything better to do than hang out with criminals and binge watch Game of Thrones?
Because clearly, he’s spending his entire day, every day, binge watching tv. Unlike us every day regulsr Americans who can’t possibly hold down a job AND catch a TV show occasionally.
Nope, Bridget, is has nothing to do with how much he does it. He was a sucky lawyer, a sucky president and a sucky pseudointellectual. The fact that he binge watches tv doesn’t surprise me. He should go back to being a community organizer, that is about his level, then this populist rockstar bs will fit better. Really dislike the guy
They aren’t too happy that Jon Snow & Cersei are on the cover, maybe they should read the books there is a reason they are on the cover. John being on Top gives me hope for who will win out in the end ( cough cough) though, GRRM did say that a few people would be on the Iron Throne before it passes to another. I loved the actuall clips on YT about the photo shoot. They asked the chracters there (A few that are not shown on the cover. Who they wanted to win out in the END. Quite a few ( Cersei, Twyin, Jamie, Arya, & a few others) stated that they wanted Tyrion on the Throne. Kit( Jon Snow) wanted Varys to sit on the throne. I forget who said Hordor ( there is some questions about his parents also). Of course dani said therself ( she is turning out to her father’s Daughter BSC). Do as I say or I will put my dragons on you ( Yeah, she is hopeful as a leader)