Thanks. I was confused why both Ned and Robert seemed to have a grudge against that Lassitter (Jamie? I forget his name) who apparently stabbed the prior King in the back. Wasn't he doing them a favor?
Aerys Targaryen was the king prior to Robert, and he was known as the mad king. He burned Ned's father and brother, which was part of the discussion Ned had with Jaime in the throne room. Aery's was the father of Viserys and Daenerys the two platinum blonds across the sea who are now in exile and trying to regain the lost throne. Robert blames Aerys' eldest son Rhaegar for killing Ned's sister who Robert was in love with, and he killed Rhaegar during one of the last battles of the rebellion (this was covered in the discussion in the crypts between Robert and Ned in episode 1). Jaime Lannister was part of the Kingsguard for Aerys before he killed the king during Robert's rebellion, earning him the Kingslayer nickname and he was pardoned continues as a member of the Kingsguard for Robert. So ultimately Robert became king due to rebelling and killing all the Targaryen's except Viserys and Dany.
Jamie is/was a sworn member of the Kingsguard during the Mad King's reign and Robert's. The Kingsguard swears to protect the king (like the Sercret Service). Jamie broke this oath by killing the Mad King, which was helpful for the rebellion but also dis-honorable. He did this cause Jamie's father made a deal with Robert and his rebellion. The deal was Robert would marry Cersi making her Queen when Robert won the throne and the Lannisters would help with the rebellion. Jamie also stood by while Ned's brother and father were killed by the Mad King (this was before the Lannisters had made a deal with Robert's rebellion). Thus the animosity towards the man.
Jamie was sworn to protect the King and ended up killing him. People in Westeros think that's a violation of the honor code and thus hold Jamie in low esteem for that reason. As you'll see, Robert far from the only one who has a problem with what Jamie did. A lot of people refer to him as the "Kingslayer" (to his face or otherwise) in a derogatory way and think it's a horrible thing for him to do, even though they also didn't like King Aerys much. It would have been fairly OK for anyone who is not part of the "Kingsguard," who swore an oath to protect the King, to kill Aerys, but for some reason if you are part of the Kingsguard, you are wrong to kill the King no matter how horrible he is. The Westeros moral code just kind of works that way. Another thing: Robert doesn't trust the Lannisters, think they are opportunists coming after power by all means necessary, so Jamie being part of that family doesn't endear him to Robert.
This should help: http://film-book.com/wp-content/upl...-houses-of-game-of-thrones-infographic-01.jpg
So... which characters/actors do you most/least enjoy watching so far For me: Most enjoyable: Tyrion and Robert. Many have praised Peter Dinklage, and I agree. I also think Mark Addy is doing perhaps an even better job. Tyrion is just a great character from the books. I think Mark Addy is bringing something to Robert even beyond what is written. Least enjoyable: Sansa and Joffrey. Maybe Daenaerys, too, but she gets naked-- the character also undergoes quite a bit of growth as the story goes on, so we'll see if they do a good job with it. I don't think it's really the actors' fault with Sansa and Joffrey, they are just annoying characters. Sansa is just a wussy Westeros Barbie and Joffrey is simply evil and stupid with no redeeming value. Most Boring: Drogo. Well, Dothraki Horse Lords are not known for their emotional depth....
Man, I think they absolutely nailed Joffrey. He's supposed to be an insufferable douchebag, and the actor even has the look right. I find Cat least enjoyable for some reason. It seems like the actress just has a much older look than I was expecting and she seems out of place, even when standing next to Bean. Agreed about Tyrion and Robert. I actually think that they did a very good job with Jaime as well.
Agree with Tyrion. I think the little guy has some a lot of good points in him that is missing in the rest of the Lannisters. I really did not like King Robert during the first two episodes, especially when the queen was calling for the dire wolf to be killed and he did nothing. And when he was tearing into the guy for letting his wine run out in the last episode I thought he was an ass until I realized the guy was a Lannister. I really started liking him though when he brought Jamie into the room just to talk bad about him and the Lannisters. I was a little shocked considering he is married to a Lannister but I definitely like Robert a lot better now. I really like Jon Snow. He is smart enough to listen to Tyrion's advice and not judge because he is a dwarf. I also like watching his character grow into what is obviously going to be a leader. The other character that I like is Arya. I think when she gets trained she is going to be deadly. She definitely has an edge about her for such a young girl. My least favorite characters are the Lanister's (minus Tyrian) and Cat. She is just too much of a b**** to Jon when he seems to have been such a good kid. And I agree about Drogo. Watching the previews I thought there would be more substance to the guy but he really does not add much.
He's there as eye candy for chicks/gays. I was hoping for more, but my wife said she was perfectly happy watching Jason Mamoa do softcore p*rn.
I think now that Dany can understand and is learning to speak Dothraki, Drogo will have more dialogue. Speaking of Jason Momoa, here is the new Conan trailer: http://youtu.be/JLtyuLGsj8Y
I'm re-watching ep 3, and I'm noticing that they aren't playing up Jamie's sword skills....you could even say that they're making him out to be a coward who picks the right fight. In the books, he's one of the best swordsmen in Westeros.
Hm...who was the hands-down best? The Knight of Flowers? I can't recall how it was ranked. I know there were debates on it on the westeros.org boards, but it's been a while since I've read anything about it.
Ah yes! Nice one. Thanks. I started a re-read, but I can't handle another GOT slog. Maybe I'll just skip book one.
Arthur Dayne? His nickname reminds me of morning wood, by the way. I don't think Jamie having a ton of sword-play scene in the early part of the books. So not surprised there isn't a whole lot about his skills in the show so far.
Re: Better sword fighter than Jaime Spoiler Brienne gives him a hell of a fight before his hand goes for a ride
haven't read the books but i started watching the series because of the thread. But i couldn't help but wonder how many books are in the series? and how far along is the tv show compared to the books?
