Whenever I see a trailer or a clip from an upcoming episode or season of “Game of Thrones,” I end up feeling slightly bad for the smug book readers. Yes, most of them are way ahead of me, and they know a lot more about the dense, richly-layered story than the lowly television-only viewers among us ever will. But on the other hand, we still have so much ahead of us that we don’t know yet. Starting in April, we get to experience it for the first time. Every twist, every death, and every calculated move will come as a surprise to us. While the smug book readers can bicker about whether the series is doing justice to George R.R. Martin’s series, the rest of us have no frame of reference with which to be disappointed.
So far, no episode has let me down, and this full-length trailer for season two doesn’t suggest the series will disappoint anytime soon. The trailer suggests that Daenerys and Tyrion will play instrumental roles in the season’s struggle for power. Maybe they will. Maybe they won’t. For now, ignorance is bliss.
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Got my fiancee hooked on Season 1 this weekend, and now I get to re-watch it. WOOT!
That will serve you VERY well for season 2 and beyond. A lot of minor characters from S1 end up being important. /smug book reader
Pulled the same trick with the girlfriend and The Wire! BANG.
Downside: we’re now in the middle of the second season, and I am f*cking neck deep in f*cking Ziggy Sobotka again. Not bang.
Nice to see Joffrey is still a dick. Either way, this looks fantastic.
It’s good to be the Dink.
Just a matter of time until someone posts a spoiler here.
/book reader, not smug
This is why I’m going to be completely caught up before April.
Well, that and I can’t seem to stop reading the books for very long.
You’ve always been good about not spoiling or being smug, but you have to admit that Dustin actually has a good point about the idiots who gloat about having read the books.
I’m fairly smug, but can honestly say I don’t know what this “book” concept is. What a novel idea!
IIRC, Gandalf and Darth Sidius engage in an epic battle before Spock comes to Gandalf’s side at the end.
Oh, and NERDS!!!!!!!!
Do the females not have nipples in the second book? I really should read them.
I won’t issue any spoilers here, but will say I read all four books and had to stop because Martin’s unrelenting nastiness just got too much. I got too tired of saying “Goddammit I really liked (Character X)! Why did he/she/it have to die/be folded, spindled, multilated, raped (twice), and then die?”
I haven’t even tried to buy the new one yet, but when it comes out in paperback in July I should be able to to hop back in.
But oh yeah, I can’t wait for April. It’s the only reason I still have HBO.
People may not post spoilers here, but anyone expecting to watch the series unfold without exposure to spoilers will I think, be disappointed. The show is hugely popular now and odds are plot points will be revealed.
I humbly suggest just reading AFfC and ACoK to at least get the suprises, especially the suggested ending for season #3. I had to put the book down and take a few hours to compose myself while asking “wtf just happened?”
That banner pic…seems like she needs a little breather.
In all serious though, if season 2 doesn’t melt my face I will burn down a church.
I’m probably not alone there.
So, April 1st live blog for this?
Damn straight.
Why is of the “three men” a lady?
The best part of the book was when Darth Vader came out and went “NOOOOOO”. Fact.
Dude! Spoiler alert, please!
Dinklage shot first
Of course Jeffrey uses a crossbow. The sissiest of all the medieval weapons.
In the old, old days, you used to wind crossbows up with this big crank, which made it seem like a kids toy.
Such a pussy weapon. You know what’s manly? A flange or even better a flail. Big spiky ball on a stick or a heavy piece of lead on a chain. Epic.
Crossbows shoot through schools. Your argument is invalid.
On the contrary, I know what’s coming, and I’m still jumping up and down with excitement for this season. It’s that awesome, y’all.
Agreed.
It’s like the opposite of a UNC game.
Aw, Burnsy, I’m so glad you haven’t forgotten.
TRUTH. If you want to bitch, go to io9.
That means your boobies are bouncing.
I don’t care how short you are, NO ONE likes being lectured by a eunuch.
You know those online businesses that you occasionally see on a Daily Deal site that offers to transfer an image onto a quilt or blanket?
Yeah, I’m going to buy one using that banner pic.
I can’t wait for this. if this season has joffery getting slapped more and tyrion being a certified badass. sundays with this and mad men are going to be bad.ass.
Minor spoiler regarding generalities but with no specifics so I guess read with cation but if you thought Tyrion was a badass last year prepare to have your mind blown because his character OWNED everyone the whole book!!!!
As one of the smug book readers* (don’t worry–no spoilers here), I will say that Season 1 had all the excitement and drama of the first book, regardless of the fact that I knew what was going to happen beforehand. I anticipate Season 2 will be the same way.
*Read the first book right before the show started, then read the rest of the series this summer after Season 1 had wrapped up.
/Obligatory mention that A Storm of Swords and A Clash of Kings are fucking awesome.
Hats off to anyone who loved the series and resisted reading the books. I’ve read the fucking things twice since the series ended and constantly reread selective chapters. I needed to know. Cannot wait for this series.
As one of those smug book readers, I totally think Atticus Finch should be considered as a champion for cilvil rights, fictional or not.
My spelling blows.
I wonder how much higher the show’s budget is for season two, now that it’s a monster hit and all. I only ask because I can’t imagine they’d do justice to book two’s ending without it costing a BAZILLION DOLLARS. Or somewhere in that range.
Not a spoiler.
I was thinking the same thing.
Everyone keeps talking up that expensive episode like it’s going to meet our expectations, so I’m hopeful they got enough in their CGI budget to make it happen.
Put it this way — the only season 2 episode that already has a title is episode 9. It’s called “Blackwater.”
So, it looks like they’re going to give it a shot.
I was/am worried about that for the entire series…
I prefer to be one of the enlightened fans of the series having read the books. We get to appreciate the buildup to the badassery we know will be coming.
2013 : RW
I read book 3 will be done over two seasons. Wonder if that scene will be in the first or second season of book 3.
I just can’t wait for them to have to record the song with a full orchestra.
My guess is that the scene in question will be the way they end season 3. It was about 60% through the book and they could easily move a few events that happened in a different part of the world behind it to move it to the halfway point.
That’s going to be the best season-ending episode of all time.
I watched all of GOT Season 1 this past weekend. Got two years of HBO free for being Comcastic for the last 10 years. They saw me coming. I’m hooked like a crackhead.
I like this show so much. Can you read the emotion in my words? Also, being a smug book reader (not really), I’ve read all of the books and now have to wait several years until I can experience all that awesomeness on screen. I’m starting to think maybe ignorance really is bliss. Also also, fuck Joffrey.
Hopefully you aren’t talking about the WG commenters when you say smug book readers? Because I’ve actually found the book readers in the commenting section here to not be smug at all. Generally, it seems the sentiment to be, “OMG, I won’t spoil anything for you guys, but BE SO EXCITED BECAUSE A STORM OF SWORDS IS AWESOME.” (Seriously though, A Storm of Swords is so awesome.)
Maybe it is just because I’m a “book reader”, but your post seemed more smug than anything I’ve seen here in the comments.
Don’t be too hard on Dustin. He’s awesome, but he’s still learning.
I was being facetious, sir. I am in no way suggesting that the illiterates are better than the book readers, although in other less safe spaces of the Internet, those book readers do like to lord their knowledge over us.
@Kalbuck – He is responsible for posting that Breaking Bad “Ecstasy of Gold” tribute video from last week, and for that alone Dustin alright in my book.
@Dustin – Gotcha, and thanks for the response. I guess I just misread the tone of the post! Getting used to the new voices around here.
Peter Dinklage makes me want to be a little person.
So freaking excited for this show.
This is proof that Jesus loves us. And midgets.
Plus, we don’t have to update our credit card info on Amazon.
I’m actively avoiding reading the books because I love the show so much. Having read damn near every fantasy and sci-fi novel that has ever been turned into a movie/television show, I’m almost always let down by something. I really really don’t want to ruin my experience of “Game Of Thrones”.
Oh, sorry;it’s GAME of Thrones!
So wait, because i read the books for years I’m smug? Seems a bit short-sighted and rather rude to be honest (I assume some “readers” went a bit crazy in the comments eh?)
But I do agree that all you “un-smug” are in for an AMAZING story. Enjoy as I did
Smug is exactly right. I’ve had two major plot developments ruined for me, all because I dared click on a Youtube video with a loop of Tyrion slapping Joffrey, and because twattish George R.R. Martin fans came into a no spoiler thread on a forum and posted spoilers anyway. They’re completely unrepentant. One dude wrote that “noobs” who came on board when the HBO series began deserved to have the series spoiled for them, unlike the “real” fans.
They’re like children throwing a tantrum because their favorite punk band signed a major label deal and started “selling out.”
But it’s the same with any property that invites such passionate nerds. The AMC forums are littered with morons unloading spoilers right and left because they’ve read the comic books.
Mentally balanced people would want others to enjoy the series as much as they did, out of respect for the material and for folks just getting into it. It’s the mentally unhinged who seem to derive enjoyment out of ruining it for others. Unfortunately the latter exist in great numbers.
Third paragraph below should be “The AMC forums are littered with morons unloading spoilers for The Walking Dead…”
It’s the same deal as GoT, no consideration whatsoever for the people who are just discovering the series.
Smug? That’s extremely unfair. There are some fans of the books out there who might me behaving like assholes, but don’t assume we’re all like that. Most of my friends who watch the series haven’t read the books, and I never spoiled anything for them. I let them watch it in peace.
I have read the books and I still look forward to the series. The first season was extremely well-done and I expect nothing less from the second. An adaptation has to have differences from the original by definition, so I can put up with that with no problem.
However, I think it’s very inappropriate to say you don’t have a reference to be disappointed. Sounds like you’re justifying your unwillingness/laziness to read the books. The books are the original source and they provide the same twists and calculated moves, only at a different pace and with more characters and scenes. They are extremely well-written and GRR Martin is a master of free reported speech. You just wanna watch the series? Go ahead and enjoy it, because it’s great. But don’t forget where it came from. It wouldn’t even exist if the books hadn’t been written. And hey, some very important things from the books are missing from season 2. The changes are bigger than in the first season. It still is gonna be great, no doubt, but you guys are gonna miss out on some details that would enrich your experience. I strongly recommend reading the books, because you can read a magnificent story and get ahead of the next five seasons. The story is right there, you need only reach out for the books. Don’t wanna read them? That’s cool too. Just don’t think yourselves better than those of us who have read the original material because that makes no freakin’ sense.