Cowboy Pete Offers Sympathies to Newcomers to “Game of Thrones”

Posted By: Peter DavidPosted On:

So last night’s episode must have been a serious shocker to those who haven’t read the book series. Yeah, well, trust me: it was even more shocking in the book.

Serious spoilers below.

Yeah, okay, for those of you thinking that maybe the end of last night’s episode was a fake out–that they didn’t really behead poor Ned Stark, and he escaped decapitation the same way Giles did in that episode of “Buffy” in the final season–you can let that slim hope go. He’s not only merely dead, he’s really most sincerely dead.

Poor Sean Bean. Give the guy a sword and a medieval setting and he’s a dead man walking. At least he didn’t have Orcs shooting him filled with arrows, but even so…

Still, it was even more shocking in the original novel. See, each chapter–although not written in first person–has a POV character whose name adorns the top. Basically it was George Martin’s way of saying, “These are the main guys,” which isn’t always to discern in a series with this many characters. So when Ned suddenly died, as a reader I was sitting there going, “Wait…WHAT?” He’d been set up as the patriarch and hero and, bam, doesn’t even make it out of the first book.

At least Kathleen now understands why, every time Joffrey would come on screen during the course of the series, I’d mutter, “Little sh*t.”

PAD

56 comments on “Cowboy Pete Offers Sympathies to Newcomers to “Game of Thrones””

  1. Awwww PAD, Joffrey is a lovely character. One of those you love to hate. And if one thinks about it, what he did makes perfect sense. You have a kid whose mom raised to be an arrogant selfish prìçk. Then you give him the crown and expect that he plays along when his mom yanks his chain. So this arrogant selfish prìçk of a TEEN does what teenagers do and puts his foot down in the worst possible way.
    .
    I think Martin excels in the characterization of those who are obviously a product (and prisoners) of their upbringing and status. Theon Greyjoy, Ned Stark, Sansa… And Tyrion says it very early in the book (and show) when he points out to Jon the privilege dwarfs and bášŧárdš have, beign able to step aside and look at it all from the rafters.
    .
    But yes, Ned’s death was a shocker in the book.

    1. Well, there is also plenty of clues that Joffrey has psychopathic tendencies. I remember a passage that says he’s cut a pregnant cat open because he was curious to see the kittens, that when he was a young kid.
      .
      So he’s a bit of a bad apple from birth. BUT I agree that the way his Mom treated him, and his Dad (both of them) neglected him. you have both nature and nurture combining to make Caligula Jr.

  2. Haven’t had a chance to see the TV series yet, but I knew that Ned’s death had to be the moment you were talking about.
    .
    So, was this simply an episode ender, or was it a season or mid-season ender? In any case, that’s some pretty nifty (and dirty) pacing on the part of the folks behind the series. I really need to check this out, but I’m still too content with Netflix and now Hulu on my Xbox 360 to start up with cable again or get a dish. Is there somewhere online to (legally) view episodes? Are they perhaps for sale on iTunes?
    .
    Chuck

  3. Having not read the books, or having myself invested in any one particular character in the series, my primary interest in the now is to see young King Bieber die bloody.

    1. Yeah, reading the books, I was the same way. “Oh please oh please let him die. And let it hurt.”
      .
      I won’t say whether my wish was ever fulfilled, but I will say that viewers who go on to season 2 will only find their hate intensifying. Some characters in the series get to have a second, noble side develop, or a shot at redemption. Joffrey is *not* one of them. “Little sh*t,” indeed.

      1. It just reminded me of that moment in the film of “The Princess Bride” where Westley dies and young Fred Savage says, after expressing incredulity, says, “Who gets Humperdink? He has to die. Who kills him? Inigo? Who?” And the grandfather says, “Nobody. He lives.” “You mean he wins?! Jesus, grandpa, what the hëll did you read me this for!”
        .
        Joffrey is Humperdink, at least for the time being, is Humperdink.
        .
        PAD

      2. It’s funny you should make that comparison, PAD. Right before watching Game of Thrones last night, we watched the last 2/3 or so of The Princess Bride for about the millionth time.
        .
        I hadn’t thought of it…but you’re right.
        .
        –Daryl

  4. As a lifelong fan of George R. R. Martin and his novels, the only thing I can say to fans of the TV show is “get used to it, it gets worse!”
    .
    I love the man, but he can be a sadistic bášŧárd. I mean that in the nicest way possible too. Game of Thrones is the story for you if you’re tired of standard fantasy novels where the good guys winning is a foregone conclusion.

    1. And it’s the ways he off’s people as well.
      Would it be considered a spoiler to say that Ned arguably gets the ‘cleanest’ death in the series? ‘Cos some of the guys who kark it really make you feel sorry about them the ways they die. And then there is the Little Sh*t….. 🙂

    2. I’m going to keep going with the series (I haven’t decided yet whether to read the books), but my wife has now given up.
      .
      She thought Sean Bean’s character was the only one worth following, the only *real* good guy. Since he’s already been offed, there’s nobody left for her to root for, and she’s just not interested in a story filled with bad guys.
      .
      I, on the other hand, find Game of Thrones to be right up my alley. But, as I said, I’m undecided whether to read the books yet. A large part of that being due to the fact that the series has yet to be finished.
      .
      I might just read the first book that this season is based upon, and then stop until next season airs. We’ll see.

      1. That is probably a good plan. The TV show is VERY faithful, but the novels have about 2x more detail. Not to mention the internal characterization and a clearer explanation of the complex backstory.

      2. Jon Snow is a good guy, though a kid.
        And you could make an excellent argument that Dany is good too.

      3. See, whereas my two favorite characters are Tyrion and Dany. See if you can get her to watch the last episode with an eye toward the notion that Dany, like the Doctor, represents the Oncoming Storm. If the final scene of the TV show matches up with the final scene of the book–and I’ve every reason to think it will–it will literally blow you away. It kicks the whole series to a new level.
        .
        PAD

      4. I haven’t read the books so the death of Ned was quite a shock. The most interesting character to me is Tyrion Lannister. When he rigged up a device so Bran could ride, he displayed a lot of empathy, something that seems rare in this world. So I think he is a good guy. I know his familial obligations force him to fight the Starks, but I doubt that his heart is in it.

      5. Oh, it’s most certain that his heart isn’t in it. He’s a survivor first and foremost, and going to war (particularly as part of the vanguard) can only shorten one’s lifespan. 🙂

    1. It’s probably similar to how Mike Baron pronounced “Kilg%re” back in his Flash run. 😉
      –
      –Daryl

  6. I haven’t read the books but now I want to. I am enjoying the TV series. I love how Ned Stark was set up to be the main character of the show and I scared my dogs when I yelled HOLY FÙÇK! When he was beheaded. I never saw it coming. Now I must get them books 😀

  7. That beheading provoked the most intense reaction to a work of fiction I ever had, I threw the book against a wall hollaring “Son of a **tch!”) Took me a week to pick the book back up and finish it.

    1. That was my reaction when i hit Chapter 13 of Dave Drake’s Rolling Hot (except that i couldn’t actually do it, since i was sitting in a semi-crowded restaurant at WorldCon).
      .
      When i ran into Drake at a con in Knoxville and told him, i thought he was going to do himself an injury, he was so happy. “Yes! Yes! That’s exactly the reaction I was going for!”
      .
      (Michael Williamson’s review of that book at Amazon is of interest, too.)

    2. My spouse did the same thing during a certain death in The Warrior’s Apprentice. Nearly gave up on the whole Vorkosigan series at that point.

      Luckily, my spouse picked the book up again after six months, dusted it off, and tried again. And yea verily a Vorkosigan fan was born.

    3. I went through about three or four chapters totally convinced he would come back.
      .
      And when he didn’t, that was when I knew I loved the series.
      .
      I *hate* predictability. 🙂
      .
      (And then GRRM, the b*stard, did it again in book three, and I *still* didn’t see it coming…)

      1. To be honest, I was half expecting Ned’s death when I read the first book. But the shocks in book 3 take things to a whole new level.

    4. It was still shocking to me, the first time I’ve read it, but I am not sure it was all that *surprising*.
      .
      I was already a fan of Martin’s work from WILD CARDS and also his lesser known sci-fi/weird fiction work.
      .
      I knew he had a love for deconstruction. Still, it was shocking, because he writes so powerfully.

  8. That’s what told me the type of series Game of Thrones was. In any traditional fantasy series, Ned would have pulled the kingdom together, righted wrongs, placed a good king on the throne or would be forced by circumstances to become the good king against his will. When he died, hoo-boy, I knew George planned to set every cliche on it’s head.

  9. That’s the thing with Game of Thrones. Very nearly anyone can die.
    While I do hate the arrogant prìçk that is Joffrey, I’d have to say a lot of my scorn goes to the folks like Ilyn Payne (the headsman) and the members of his kingsguard. They’re the ones making the little psycho dangerous. Puts me in mind of the scene in The Return of the King where the Steward of Gondor is trying to put Faramir on a pyre; I understand why he’s doing it, he’s gone crackers, but why are all those stone-faced guard types helping him? “Sworn to obey” my butt. Sworn to leave your brain at the door, more likely.

  10. The way you go “Little sh*t” with Joffrey?
    .
    I have something a lot worse to say about Sansa. I suppose it’s a tribute to the actors, with how they’re able to portray such horrible characters so convincingly.

    1. It may be, as River Song* says, “spoilers,” but just wait. You will find yourself REALLY sympathizing with Sansa (especially if the series sticks to the books as well as it has so far).

      *So when do we get Cowboy Pete’s reaction to THAT little revelation? I’m not sure what I expected from Moffatt & Co regarding River, but THAT was most certainly NOT in my Top 100 guesses.

      1. After the relevant line from earlier this season that was referenced, I kinda did. Wish we didn’t have to wait to see where they go next.
        .
        –Daryl

      3. I think what kept it from being exactly what I expected was that, after the season premiere…well…it seemed to be exactly what Moffatt WANTED us to expect.
        .
        So, I thought it was a logical conclusion, but TOO logical to be anything but misdirection.
        .
        –Daryl

  11. I hope my favorite character, Arya Stark, wipes out the entire Lannister line by employing “the pointy end” of Needle on them.

  12. Raymond Feist & Melanie Rawn had a similar way in their treatment of “main” characters. It’s one of the reasons reading their books so appealing, you’re never guaranteed to know how a chapter is going to turn out.

    1. Feist, however, tends to kill off characters when their usefulness in the series is about over. There are exceptions, though.

  13. One of my friends who hasn’t read the books said to me this morning, “After this I’m ready for the Dothraki to just come raise hëll.” I smiled.

    I finished the third book last Friday night. There was a point in the book where I was tempted to just set it down and walk away in anger. However, that is one of the few temptations I have passed on.

    This is not formulaic storytelling at all. GRRM does not go where you think he will, and he rarely goes where you want him to go. But it’s still a journey that everyone should take.

  15. I wonder if “I survived as a character in a George R.R. Martin Novel” t-shirts would sell well?

    2. How @ a t-shirt w/red collar that says “I survived the Game of Thrones… NOT!”

  16. Eddard is a great character alive and what his death represents. It was a jaw dropper when I first read the book and learned quickly that no one is safe. Eddard was this Arthurian, ideal leader who lived in a world where those traits make for a perfect loyal companion and Hand, but cannon fodder for the rest that live in that cut throat world.

    As for the little šhìŧ that is Joffrey…I curse every time he appears in the novels.

  17. As one who hasn’t seen the show (no HBO, alas!) or read the books (if you’d seen my backlog of books to read, you’d understand), I must say the descriptions here put me in mind of “I, Claudius”. I remember watching the series for the first time and thinking that Livia (as portrayed by Sian Phillips) was the most evil thing I’d ever seen, and deserved whatever horrible fate was coming to her. And then…John Hurt’s Caligula came along…and made me feel just a little sorry for Livia.

    1. I could see that. I think War of the Roses from English history may fit the bill better. 🙂

  18. What really gets to me is the fact that Ned Stark was driven by honor and duty. Jon Snow even told it to maester Aemon, confronted with a choice between duty and his family’s sake, Ned’s son is certain his father would chose duty.
    When Varys faced Ned in the keep, Ned’s first stance is once again duty, he will not aknowledge a false king.
    When he understands the place his death would put his children in, he goes against every instinct he has and forsake duty to ensure his kids safety.
    He walks to the crowd and declares Joffrey true heir, and himself a traitor to spare his children’s life through his own. And he is killed nonetheless.

  19. Knowing Jofffrey if Ned had denounced him,
    His children might have died FIRST, with Ned forced to watch before he was beheaded.
    Ned had to know it was the only choice he had.

    1. …while hanging out with one April Summers, a model, a Playboy bunny, actually. After the stabbing, Bean asked for a cloth and another drink.
      .
      Sean Bean is WINNING!
      .
      …and probably has tiger blood.

      1. Loathe as I am to repeat base gossip, stories like that just fuel the rumours I’ve heard, that Sean Bean is a notorious alcoholic. Fast on his way to becoming a modern day Oliver Reed.

      2. Well, it’s all in the framing. The whole “drinking with his lass, defend her from a bozo, brawling and getting hurt yet asking for another drink” actually sounds like a canonical dritish isles-manly story to me. But then maybe that is just another way to say “alcoholic”.

  21. I keep watching the series and wondering when Khal Drogo gets sent to the Phantom Zone.

  23. At least Kathleen now understands why, every time Joffrey would come on screen during the course of the series, I’d mutter, “Little sh*t.”
    .
    I decided to go ahead and starting read the first book in the series. I was very amused when at one point early on, Jon Snow has the line “Joffrey is such a little šhìŧ.”
    .
    And that was certainly an interesting season finale.

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