#the good grrm show

[ohwolfling]

Y'all can be in A Song of Ice and Fire if you want to. Daemon has developed OCD with severe intrusive thoughts in the middle of his vision quest and Aemond is in a school shooter anime.

[francy-sketches]

hating on game of thrones in current year is a bit cringe like girl move on etc. However my complaints are more specific than the average person so I can at least feel like I'm bringing something new to the table. Instead of writing the one bilionth 'they butchered dany we were robbed' post I'm instead going on coke rants about how they character assasinated jaime by making him unfunny and how they didn't give my favorite irrelevant minor characters enough emotional depth and actually now that I'm saying it out loud that sounds worse

[lemonhemlock]

I did not get into Game of thrones when it first started airing. In fact, I waited until it was long past it's heyday (around s6 or 7) to check it out because the marketing and the conversation surrounding it misled me into thinking it was nothing more than "grimdark" bullshit. As one famous YouTuber sarcastically called it "hot fantasy that fucks." So, I avoided Martin's work for literal years due to the impression that I got from online reactors and show-only casuals who did as you and a few others have described as his work being fundamentally misinterpreted.

Fortunately, I overcame my hang-ups, purchased the books (even the supplementary material) and fell down an entire rabbit hole of ASOIAF which led me to recognizing that this world he spent decades creating is far more complex than what had been portrayed onscreen. Regardless of the possibility of the books remaining unfinished (which I am fine with, personally), what George has created is a genuine work of art that I imagine took a tremendous amount of time and energy. So, for so many people online to behave like children and throw tantrums because they feel entitled to him (ew) instead of ushering forth more reasonable conversations and legitimate debates about the nature of his situation frankly makes me look at this fandom with a heavy dose of skepticism.

It is truly baffling to hear even professional critics and see articles describing George as being "ungrateful" or "unprofessional" when it has been well-documented just how often authors get locked out of the adaptation process and left to the wayside as consultants. Look at what happened to Rick Riordan and Christopher Paolini! George R.R. Martin is not the only author to have qualms with how a multimillion dollar studio has mishandled his creative work, and to act like he should remain silent just because he's amassed a certain degree of wealth is quite frankly, ridiculous. He shouldn't have to settle down, be grateful, and stay quiet because the greedy corporate executives and their media drones will get offended by actual criticism that could alter the perception of the adaption being revealed as mediocre for having departed from the source material.

TLDR: authors should be allowed to speak up about their art being sacrificed for commercialization.

Thank you so much for this message, anon! This needs to be talked about more, because I don't think a lot of commentators truly understand the vulgar, late-capitalistic sheen that seems to set in and slowly poison any ASOIAF adaptation. It honestly baffles me how quick some members of this fandom are to rush to the defense of, what is essentially (let's not be kidding ourselves here), a cashgrab by a giant corporation to the detriment of the actual artist and the actual creative foundation behind it.

Why else would "MAX" (if that is even their name) make another (or several other) ASOIAF adaptations? Not to stay true to any philosophical aesthetic vision, as it has become more than apparent with Season 2, but to increase shareholder profits by appealing to the lowest common denominator. Even the basic premise has been shifted in order to address popular trends and satisfy the mindless consumer that doesn't want to engage with anything deeper than their favourite tropes, prettily packaged:

from a story about a doomed ouroborous family superimposed on the pitfalls of feudalism, with villainy and heroism to be found on both sides, it has been simplified and reduced to a narrative that exalts white feminism and disqualifies anyone who opposes its girlboss protagonist. This is Sheryl Sandberg's version of Fire and Blood.

Truly, I think Sara Hess did (unintentionally) outline it the best: "civilians don't matter in Game of Thrones". They don't matter in Game of Thrones, but they matter in A Song of Ice and Fire. The entire heart of the series is contained in Septon Maribald's speech. The writers "kind of", must have forgotten, though.

[cassofnowhere]

I’m actually shocked by seeing so many creative people getting behind the idea that an author can’t have or voice any negative opinions of their work because they sold the rights and are getting money from them.

Like, are we really subscribing to the idea that money can and should buy your right to have a honest opinion on the way your life’s work is being handled?!?! Are we really saying that? Guess money can our souls or something along those lines.

It’s insane that an author is supposed to just wash their hands, shrug and not feel anything about their life’s work being mishandled by other people.

Who even does that?!?!

[movedtonewblogcheckpinnedpost]

Cersei becoming a favorite character surprised me. I mean, that can go either way because Catelyn, Daenerys and Jon were my faves on AGOT and I still feel that way about Cat, but not the latter. Still, that wasn't on my AFFC bingo card because I hated her so much both on the previous books and show lmao (the writing was the problem because Lena is amazing and was as great as TPTB allowed her).

[rozecrest]

it's so interesting how almost everyone who rbed the media association post mentioned house of the dragon. the prolific illnesses it has given me... no need to apologize to those who did i carry no shame i DO think its a good show. sometimes its not. but at least it tends to be interesting even when it makes me mad. and the bad stuff is familiar i've been a fantasy bitch for too long lmao... honored to be the asoiaf mutual even though i would call myself medium commitment

[daincrediblegg]

grim reminders today how fucking obnoxious most of the got/hotd fandom is even on a fringe interest level with the single exception of alt shift x and glidus, who continue to fill me with joy with several hour episode commentary filled with excitement and joy and lore speculation

[ohwolfling]

me trying to explain colonialism, dragons as threats and essentially WMD, the thematic implications of all these weird incests, what the word conqueror means, & the difference between fighting to claim all kingdoms vs fighting for sovereignty to a show watcher who thinks their team or canonically war-crimed yet still war criminal dead person is going to "win"

[daecaerys]

not all the spin off being targaryen based shows. we love daenerys' karma *sips wine like cersei*

[ladyhawke]

THEY REALLY DID CUT NETTLES??????

[lemonhemlock]

i sure hope there are hbo MAX people "taking the cultural temperature" of online fan spaces right now in the wake of grrm's post because i would like to wholeheartedly join the chorus of YOUR SHOW SUCKS AND YOU'RE INCOMPETENT

[swiftsnowmane]

Even though I've been a fan of ASoIaF since the early 2000s, like many other fans these days I've pretty much completely given up on waiting for the series to ever be finished. I don't even mean that as shade towards GRRM, I've simply resigned myself to reality and accepted that he has likely lost the heart, motivation, and willpower to finish in a timely fashion, if at all.

Besides, these days I'm primarily a SanSan fan (been shipping them non-stop for nearly 20 years now), so the only thing I really care about is Sansa Stark and Sandor Clegane (with a heavy side dose of Jaime x Brienne). And since I highly doubt any of my fave characters or ships will have a pleasant ending, I have actually come to DREAD finishing the ASoIaF series in any official capacity, and now prefer to just make up fanfic versions in my own mind.

As for the tv shows, the GoT series left a bad taste in many people's mouths, my own included, but luckily I only watched two seasons of it before I gave up on it entirely. It was a terrible adaptation that should never have been made, imo. Or at least, it should not have been made until after the main series was completed. I have almost zero interest in HotD, since I'm not really a Targ fan and find the eras where they have dragons to be, quite frankly, boring. The only show that I would consider giving a chance is the upcoming Dunk and Egg series, but ONLY if it is executed properly and respects the source material, which seems highly unlikely given HBO's track record.

[jacketpotatoo]

thinking of writing a review of hotd s2 but *looks at the flame war that is the hotd fandom* i think i might be stoned to death by both sides.

[bohemian-nights]

“…she became fond and more than fond of her good-sister Lady Laena”

Fans: They were all in love with one another and in a relationship because whenever “fond ” is used it means there are romantic feelings at play 😘

“…the Prince is more than fond of this brown child.”

Fans: Nettles meant nothing to him. 🙄

It’s one set of rules for Dettles and another for everyone else. They literally use the most flimsy arguments to prop up their ships, but when it’s time to bring up Daemon and Nettles and you show the evidence it’s they were just buddies/she’s his daughter, stop saying they were lovers😑

At this point they are just pretending to not see and hoping we won’t notice/call them out for their blatant biased behavior ☕️

[ohwolfling]

Alicent breaking the Targaryen sigil by accident. Aegon breaking the sigil of his house on purpose. Rhaenyra and Jacaerys moving pieces on a map. Aemond on dragonback tearing literal dragon to pieces, setting fire to Aegon.

[smallhatlogan]

wild how much GoT got applauded for it's female characters when it was actively making them worse and less complex than the source material and also the way it gave them all Cersei's hatred of other women that is one of her defining negative traits. but treated it as if it was a positive trait