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GOT: Season 4 Speculation
So, Season 3 was just over 1/2 to 2/3 of "A Storm of Swords" (with a little of "A Dance with Dragons" thrown in for one poor tortured soul). And there were some subtle (and not so subtle) deviations from the book that will no doubt have rippling effects.
Plus, while Martin can get away with a cast of untold numbers, consistency and a recognizable cast where the audience has emotional investment is usually a good thing for a tv show.To behonest, I think Martin often adds new characters when I think the reader might find it more enjoyable to see an established character turn up instead and cross paths with other characters.
So, a little speculation about changes from the novel along with a bunch of "if it were me, this is what I would do..." thinking:
* So, Jaime made it back to King's Landing rather early. Seems to me that this could be a way to develop the Cersei/Jaimie tensions for that relationship's eventual issues. Jaime being unable/incapable of saving Joffrey could definitely work into that. Joffrey's death makes Cersei quite shrill, and she could say some pretty unforgivable things. Plus, personally, I'd love some overlap where Cersei and Brienne are in the same room (Joffrey's wedding perhaps?) with Jaime (no cat fight's please, but contrast would be nice). Although, speaking of Brienne...
* Brienne in King's Landing before Sansa leaves? That's a pretty major change. Wonder how they are going to work through THAT. Really, the issue of Sansa, Brienne, and Jaime all being in King's Landing at the same time is sort of a major shift (probably could increase the wrath of Lady Stoneheart, though). Makes me wonder how Brienne's quest then comes about, I'd guess it would have to be after Joffrey's wedding, but still, it's a bit awkward that they're all in the same place now
* If it were me, I'd keep Gendry around. I thought combining him with Edric Storm was a smart way to go, by why stop there? Why not fold him into Brienne's posse (along with Podrick. I figure that with all the Podrick mentions they're making Pod recognizable enough that we know who the heck he is when he has to shift storylines). Wasn't Gendry still with the Brotherhood without Banner's in the book? And wasn't he last seen heading to King's Landing (we hope he doesn't drown first!) And isn't Brienne currently IN King's Landing? Hooking him into Brienne's quest from the get-go (maybe out of his having loyalty to Arya? After all, he left Arya with the Brotherhood. He knew that they were taking her to Catelyn and Robb at The Twins... discovering what happened there would be... concerning to him, and he would direct Brienne the BwoB way.) Eventually bringing him to where he was left in the novels. ith the way the show handled it, Brienne is a better teacher of chivalry than Berric Dondarian anyway. Plus, we need some good guys we like still around and a Brienne/Gendry/Podrick grouping would work quite well, I think.
* Speaking of pairings that could be enjoyable, if it were me, I'd utilize the interest of the Hound/Arya pairing a while longer. Since they had Arya kill a different person, and since the Hound wasn't wounded, there are some things that have changed. Having killed a different person, Arya still needs to get Needle back, and wasn't Needle last with Gregor Clegane's men? Given that they've recast Gregor once, and he was entirely absent this year, if it were me, I'd use the Hound/Arya pairing to re-introduce Gregor before he's needed for the trial in King's Landing. For one thing, I think the Hound needs a brush with his brother, and it would bring Arya closer to recovering Needle (since, it was with on of Gregor's men, wasn't it?). Plus, it could be a way to building to Sandor's 'retirement from the field' as it were (That really could use some development in its own right, IMO).
* Also, re: Arya, in the interest of there really being no need for a bazillion characters, they could forego casting "A Kindly Man" and just bring back Jaqen. Frankly, I never understood why Martin didn't do that. (Fans like character returns, and this one wasn't improbable). I've seen some talk of their skipping Braavos, but I don't see why they'd do that since it's not JUST Arya that goes to Braavos. Sam and Gilly go as well. It isn't a location for just one character. Plus there is probably some need to establish the Iron Bank of Braavos So Arya spending at least some time in Braavos (perhaps in Season 5) would make sense, but if it were me, I'd have her summon Jaqen in Season 4 and have Jaqen show up to begin her journey to becoming ninja assassin.
* In another "if it were me..." I'd keep Ygritte. She could have a close call with death, even have Jon think she dies, but have her survive and simply roll her into the book character Val. There's no reason to introduce a whole new wilding woman for Jon to crush on when they've already established Ygritte (She could also be one of the Wildling women who go to Winterfell during Dance).
* When they had Selmy reveal his identity immediately, they sort of messed up the "Selmy is exposed by Jorah/Jorah is exposed by Selmy" thing. At this point, it's a bit late for Selmy to expose Jorah. How would he explain waiting for so long? What I would do would be to have Daario bring this on, because it's really hard to think of Selmy intentionally doing so at this late date. They should Daario eavesdrop on Selmy/Jorah, then have Daario expose his rivals for Dany's ear. It would at least give Daario something to do other than to be pretty and useless.
* I have no idea how they're going to have to change Shae's story. They've done a pretty big change in Shae. In the book it was pretty easy to understand that Shae was just doing what she had to in order to save her skin. But they've now gone to lengths to show that Shae is LOYAL, damnit. So how exactly are they going to maneuver her to where she is at the the end of ASoS? I know there are a bunch of people who whine about Tyrion being 'whitewashed' (Let's be honest, Tyrion isn't the only character getting a good edit here. Cersei, Tywin, Drogo, Shae and even Theon have gotten a 'better than they were' edit too. Plus, this is TV and like it or not, Dinklage (and the girl who plays Dany) have become the prominent faces HBO places on the show. That comes with some protagonist privilege). Anyway, by making Shae better, they're going to make Tyrion seem WORSE. So... are they going to really, REALLY change Shae's plot? Or are they going to somehow, someway have her reach the same place as she did? And if it's the latter... I'm not entirely sure how (without making Tyrion's fall even worse than the books, and his was a terrible deed in the book).
* Finally, if there isn't a casting call for Coldhands, then he needs to be Benjen Stark. Just sayin'...
Plus, while Martin can get away with a cast of untold numbers, consistency and a recognizable cast where the audience has emotional investment is usually a good thing for a tv show.To behonest, I think Martin often adds new characters when I think the reader might find it more enjoyable to see an established character turn up instead and cross paths with other characters.
So, a little speculation about changes from the novel along with a bunch of "if it were me, this is what I would do..." thinking:
* So, Jaime made it back to King's Landing rather early. Seems to me that this could be a way to develop the Cersei/Jaimie tensions for that relationship's eventual issues. Jaime being unable/incapable of saving Joffrey could definitely work into that. Joffrey's death makes Cersei quite shrill, and she could say some pretty unforgivable things. Plus, personally, I'd love some overlap where Cersei and Brienne are in the same room (Joffrey's wedding perhaps?) with Jaime (no cat fight's please, but contrast would be nice). Although, speaking of Brienne...
* Brienne in King's Landing before Sansa leaves? That's a pretty major change. Wonder how they are going to work through THAT. Really, the issue of Sansa, Brienne, and Jaime all being in King's Landing at the same time is sort of a major shift (probably could increase the wrath of Lady Stoneheart, though). Makes me wonder how Brienne's quest then comes about, I'd guess it would have to be after Joffrey's wedding, but still, it's a bit awkward that they're all in the same place now
* If it were me, I'd keep Gendry around. I thought combining him with Edric Storm was a smart way to go, by why stop there? Why not fold him into Brienne's posse (along with Podrick. I figure that with all the Podrick mentions they're making Pod recognizable enough that we know who the heck he is when he has to shift storylines). Wasn't Gendry still with the Brotherhood without Banner's in the book? And wasn't he last seen heading to King's Landing (we hope he doesn't drown first!) And isn't Brienne currently IN King's Landing? Hooking him into Brienne's quest from the get-go (maybe out of his having loyalty to Arya? After all, he left Arya with the Brotherhood. He knew that they were taking her to Catelyn and Robb at The Twins... discovering what happened there would be... concerning to him, and he would direct Brienne the BwoB way.) Eventually bringing him to where he was left in the novels. ith the way the show handled it, Brienne is a better teacher of chivalry than Berric Dondarian anyway. Plus, we need some good guys we like still around and a Brienne/Gendry/Podrick grouping would work quite well, I think.
* Speaking of pairings that could be enjoyable, if it were me, I'd utilize the interest of the Hound/Arya pairing a while longer. Since they had Arya kill a different person, and since the Hound wasn't wounded, there are some things that have changed. Having killed a different person, Arya still needs to get Needle back, and wasn't Needle last with Gregor Clegane's men? Given that they've recast Gregor once, and he was entirely absent this year, if it were me, I'd use the Hound/Arya pairing to re-introduce Gregor before he's needed for the trial in King's Landing. For one thing, I think the Hound needs a brush with his brother, and it would bring Arya closer to recovering Needle (since, it was with on of Gregor's men, wasn't it?). Plus, it could be a way to building to Sandor's 'retirement from the field' as it were (That really could use some development in its own right, IMO).
* Also, re: Arya, in the interest of there really being no need for a bazillion characters, they could forego casting "A Kindly Man" and just bring back Jaqen. Frankly, I never understood why Martin didn't do that. (Fans like character returns, and this one wasn't improbable). I've seen some talk of their skipping Braavos, but I don't see why they'd do that since it's not JUST Arya that goes to Braavos. Sam and Gilly go as well. It isn't a location for just one character. Plus there is probably some need to establish the Iron Bank of Braavos So Arya spending at least some time in Braavos (perhaps in Season 5) would make sense, but if it were me, I'd have her summon Jaqen in Season 4 and have Jaqen show up to begin her journey to becoming ninja assassin.
* In another "if it were me..." I'd keep Ygritte. She could have a close call with death, even have Jon think she dies, but have her survive and simply roll her into the book character Val. There's no reason to introduce a whole new wilding woman for Jon to crush on when they've already established Ygritte (She could also be one of the Wildling women who go to Winterfell during Dance).
* When they had Selmy reveal his identity immediately, they sort of messed up the "Selmy is exposed by Jorah/Jorah is exposed by Selmy" thing. At this point, it's a bit late for Selmy to expose Jorah. How would he explain waiting for so long? What I would do would be to have Daario bring this on, because it's really hard to think of Selmy intentionally doing so at this late date. They should Daario eavesdrop on Selmy/Jorah, then have Daario expose his rivals for Dany's ear. It would at least give Daario something to do other than to be pretty and useless.
* I have no idea how they're going to have to change Shae's story. They've done a pretty big change in Shae. In the book it was pretty easy to understand that Shae was just doing what she had to in order to save her skin. But they've now gone to lengths to show that Shae is LOYAL, damnit. So how exactly are they going to maneuver her to where she is at the the end of ASoS? I know there are a bunch of people who whine about Tyrion being 'whitewashed' (Let's be honest, Tyrion isn't the only character getting a good edit here. Cersei, Tywin, Drogo, Shae and even Theon have gotten a 'better than they were' edit too. Plus, this is TV and like it or not, Dinklage (and the girl who plays Dany) have become the prominent faces HBO places on the show. That comes with some protagonist privilege). Anyway, by making Shae better, they're going to make Tyrion seem WORSE. So... are they going to really, REALLY change Shae's plot? Or are they going to somehow, someway have her reach the same place as she did? And if it's the latter... I'm not entirely sure how (without making Tyrion's fall even worse than the books, and his was a terrible deed in the book).
* Finally, if there isn't a casting call for Coldhands, then he needs to be Benjen Stark. Just sayin'...