#idk arthur’s grief is never really explored in the show

[echolocalia]

He then realises with a certain gravity that Arthur Pendragon has not recognised the man in his reflection is a long, long time.

He can actually pinpoint the moment.

He was wandering the halls, just as he was now. He couldn’t have been more than nine summers old.

He remembers looking into the mirror and grinning, a wobbly, gap-toothed grin, he had been unsure of himself, but now he felt like he could fly. He had just unwrapped the bandage from his first ‘battle wound’. Squire trained had started that day, he had nicked himself on a sword.

That was before father actually began to acknowledge his existence and began getting very hurtful in his words.

An older Arthur looks back at him in the mirror, weathered and battle-worn, with too many scars to count, eyes red and face splotchy, he will hear no more of what his father has to say.

[melrosing]

Ok speaking of changes GOT made… is there any changes you like? I struggle to find big moments, but there are small additions I love. Like Ned praying before he dies, Robb hitting the tree when he finds out, the chemistry that Kit Harrington and Rose Leslie have…. But there are very few structural changes I think improve the story.

hmmm so I can't lie there is a LOT I just don't remember anymore about the show, so wringing my mind a little to come up with something.....

I won't mention things that I think were adapted well (like Ned's execution) as those aren't adaptational changes. and I also won't mention things that I like the idea of (e.g. Jaime's dyslexia) but not the execution (they made out it was part of the longrunning 'stupidest Lannister' joke).

and like.... well I'm stuck already lmao?? I'm not even trying to shit on the show I just feel like it was a consistent exercise in either understating GRRM's work or butchering it entirely. so I can think of only a few things:

I can't find the link to where I talked about this at length but the scene in which Jaime and Ned duel in the streets of KL was a good one imo. I think it was more in character for Jaime to just recklessly fight Ned himself, and a neat parallel to what I suspect will happen between Ned, Arthur and Howland - in that when Ned is attacked from behind by one of Jaime's men in the midst of their fight, Jaime angrily ends the duel bc his man has essentially dishonoured it. I think Ned's fight with Arthur will end as it did in the show (with Howland stabbing Arthur from behind and Ned finishing the job, bc he needs to reach Lyanna), and this is like a parallel to show Jaime and Ned have the same principles, yet each have broken them in times of desperation. My personal theory is that this was a change GRRM recommended - the parallel seems notable to me, and not one that would've even occurred to D&D, esp. given they never gave any particular shit about Jaime's story. And this may sound spurious but I recall that GRRM remembers in an interview, saying the weather was different in the show version of the scene than in the books.... which makes me think he was maybe onset for this one, possibly because of the rewrite??

I'm v much in favour of ageing up the youngest characters. My ideal starting ages for the youngest characters in AGOT would've been Jon/Robb/Dany - 18, Joffrey/Sansa - 14, Arya - 12, Bran - 10. To me they all feel much too young for the roles they play in the story, and it occasionally kills my suspension of disbelief

I way prefer the book’s version of the Red Wedding but I do feel like Catelyn's single cry of despair works better than the book's manic laughter. maybe the laughter was a more vivid image for the books idk

I do actually like how we see Robb's grief onscreen it's very movingly played by Richard Madden. I also love Catelyn's expressions as Robb rides back from the Whispering Wood, like both these scenes are great reminders of their mother/son relationship in a setting where they aren't really allowed to be just that. and like just Michelle Fairley tbh I really like her work as Catelyn even though I don't like how the character was adapted more generally

Breaking the 'concept but not execution' rule just to say I think it was definitely a good idea to explore the High Sparrow as this weirdly charismatic figure so we can see how others might be taken in by him, even whilst we see the extremes of his faith. but that subplot was not executed well at all so fuck it

Yeah I agree that Jon and Ygritte having a slightly more charged romance also works. In the books Ygritte comes and goes quite quickly and I think there is something to be said for lending a bit more gravity to that relationship. I don't think they necessarily had to be the grand romance that the show makes them out to be but I didn't hate it

I might be forgetting other things that worked because some seasons I haven't seen since like 2015, but honestly it just doesn't work for me as an adaptation. things I liked in the show before reading the books feel completely naff in hindsight, knowing how they were supposed to play out, so..... eh

[retvenkos]

have I told you i wrote a Tommy Shelby fic that was 6k words in two days??

anyways, where are u on pb? what's happened? who's ur fave character? I NEED ALL UR THOUGHTS

6k in tWO DAYS????? god, i love that for you. if you have any fics you want me to read without getting spoiled.... 👀👀 i will read any and all of them.

i’m on season four and i’m halfway through episode 3. and..... there is a lot™ happening.......... choices have been made........... y’know, i’m going to come right out and say it, i think that john’s death scene would have had way more impact had we actually gotten to know his character.

okay, so here’s the thing: peaky blinders is good at fleshing out specific characters of its choosing. the other characters play into a slew of tropes and while that isn’t bad, it generally makes for the characters having little impact. john was never on their top list of fleshed out characters until the show knew it was going to kill him off. then, they tried to shoehorn in a couple of minutes and while i loved those minutes, they weren’t enough to truly let me mourn.

plus... the show has a really weird relationship with letting characters mourn in that, generally..... it doesn’t. they’ll let characters be sad and wistful for two lines of dialogue™ but only at moments when it serves the plot. there’s never inconvenient grief or just.... grief (except for polly, which is a weird “women can be sensitive, men can’t” thing). had we seen more mourning, it would have been even more impactful.

and maybe it might come? idk. but even still, the death kind of felt like... a plot device. john never really had an arc going in so it’s not like his death was poignant in that it was the end of his arc or it cut his arc off prematurely. he just.... died and i hope it’s not just so tommy can have his obligatory sad scenes this season. i hope john is more than just a pawn to boost tommy’s character.

but yeah, i have mixed feelings about that death. it was a sad (and beautifully done) moment in show, but it wasn’t powerful (at least, to me) because... did we ever know john? beyond his tropes and archetypes? did we?

lol, i went off about that. on to other things! i have a feeling that people really love michael and while i don’t hate him, he’s just.... not my favorite character? i don’t mind him or his scenes i just don’t think he’s it.��

i actually really love ada tho? like, wow. what a woman. i just think she’s neat. i wish her husband hadn’t died, and i’m still kind of salty he was just... never mentioned again but i guess it’s fine. in general i would love more attention to the supporting cast, lol.

i also think arthur is an interesting character? like, lol, don’t get me wrong i wouldn’t chill with this man irl, i just think there’s a lot that could be explored there. he’s one of the more fleshed out characters and i just think his character arcs are interesting.

i’ve already stated my love for polly..... i thought alfie solomons was so cool (i also think it’s so funny that thomas continues to trust this man.... bro what?)....... esme is a cool character who i would like to see more of (although she said she was leaving? come back please)...... i want to see more of isaiah and finn!

i just want ~more~.