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a song of ice and fire - What plot differences are there between the Game of Thrones TV series and the books?



It has been a while since I've read the books and I recall the show being fairly accurate. What plot differences are there between them?


Are any substantial, or are they all particularly minor?



Answer



It is, so far, a fairly good distillation of the plot, though there were a few differences that stood out to me. From memory (and from the small portion that has currently been aired):





  • Dialogue is, understandably, truncated drastically. I'm sure this was a necessity




  • In the previews it appears Cat objects to Eddard becoming the Hand of the King, whereas in the book she encourages it




  • In the HBO series, there was no red sap faces in the Weirwood trees, rather they appeared to be created from knot holes





  • Most of the kids are aged a few years in the HBO series. For example, in the TV series Bran is 10 when Robert visits Winterfell, in the book he is 7




  • Daenerys wedding night consummation on the HBO series was alot less consensual than it eventually became in the book




  • Tyrion is less ugly and twisted in the HBO series, instead portrayed as a relatively attractive dwarf




  • Tyrion appears more debauched in HBO series, with an apparent obsession with whoring, well beyond what is described in the books.





  • Arya is not the least bit horsey looking in the HBO series




I yelled at the television (a habit my wife finds fairly annoying) a few more times than this through-out the first episode, but most of them were fairly petty grievances, brought on largely by the fact I had just finished reading Game Of Thrones so it was fairly fresh.


Most of the differences were, I am sure, to impart the most amount of plot information as possible in the limited time (and attention span of the average viewer) that the medium of a television series offers.


EDIT


I have spotted many more, subtle and blatant, in the ongoing series, but have decided not to update the list here, primarily as it just sounds bitchy.


Also, I believe, I have already made my point, that HBO have kept true to the spirit of the book, although they have culled a lot (and changed a little bit) to make it a worthy television adaptation. I am enjoying it, but not as much as I did the books, but I think that was to be expected.



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