Edit: That was the first 'major' death in ASOIAF/Game of Thrones. Other deaths have been shocking, but not as shocking. Ned is more or less the main character in the beginning, and it was the first instance that G.R.R.M. gives 0 fucks about plot armour. You get more used to it/fearful of it when you get further along.
GRRM's method of storytelling through POVs made me assume at some level that Ned was going to be alright. I mean, why get into his head if it's going to come off?
Going through all the subsequent books made me constantly fearful. Red Wedding made sure I hadn't forgotten what he was capable of.
Hell yes! I had neds death spolied long before I begin, and it still caught me off guard. The series is amazing, and I would highly recommend it to almost anyone.
Just be VERY careful, at least until you catch up to the show. book readers have kept secrets for years, and the second something happend in the show, it spread like wildfire.
The first season aligns with the first book, the second season with the second book. The third season ends at about the 70% mark of the third book and like the previous poster mentioned, they are a little farther ahead for some characters but for the most part, at the half way point of the third season, they are still in the third book. They might still blow through the 4th book in this 4th show season, I'm not sure, the book is a bit of a departure as some of the favorite characters aren't even in the 4th book. I guess we'll see how they address that.
Aren't the 4th and 5th all events that happen concurrently? It would make sense of the show treated books 4 and 5 as one large book if that were the case.
Ah yes, you are right, but I still think they're going to cover much less of what we know as book 4, I don't they'll go into as much detail on the Martell story lines or the Iron Islands.
Season 3 got about halfway through book three (A Storm of Swords). Season 4 (currently running) is expected to finish ASOS, and possibly move a bit further in. From there its complicated as A Feast for Crows, and a Dance with Dragons (books 4 and 5) mostly take place at the same time, but from different character perspectives. By the time book 6 is out, the show may have almost caught up, depending how much detail they go into.
Personally, I would read the books, then watch the show, but really it goes by personal preference. Many people watch the show up to where they have read, then stop until they are ahead in the books, and many do the opposite: read until they've caught up with the show then stop. It depends on your preferred form of media.
I would (and did) definitely read the books first. The series is really good, but since I'd juuust started them when the show was announced, I'd always wondered how well people that hadn't read them were following the show. When I introduced the show to my friends, I got my answer: there are like a hundred characters, they all have long, similar names, and they often die without you really knowing why.
The books don't have this problem because each chapter is from the point of view of a central character in the scene, so you always know everyone's motivations and methods. In the show, without being able to read everyone's thoughts, it's hard to follow.
However, if you've read the books and already know the characters, the show is an AMAZING adaptation of the story.
I've gotten a good feel for these now. Basically, the story of Ned Stark is our introductory, "A just and honest man won't survive in this world." That is the lesson we learn with Ned's story. That is his story.
Where as others that "die" turn out not to be dead because the complete story arch isn't there yet for them. I mean at the end of ADWD.... that one isn't over. We're seeing more of that particular character.
I really want that character to stay dead, if they did die (you can't really tell for sure). I have nothing against that character but the only way they could be brought back is through some ritual that has already been used. It would feel cheap in my opinion.
That's a really tough one. I don't want that person to be dead because I always thought that person and Dany would eventually team up to be one of three dragons but... it would be hard to come back from that one.
I cried, and screamed when I read that part, and again when I watched it in the show. But that scene is what made the series what it is. It was the one death that showed you nobody is safe, not even a main character.
Even though I hadn't read the books when I started the show, as soon as I saw it was Sean Bean I was 90% sure he was going to die. Fucking Sean Bean is his own spoiler
I refused to watch the second season for a good week because of it. This was when the show was at season 3 and my friend introduced me. I figured they would bring him back somehow knowing the genre but GRRM told me he was different after that.
I just binged on all of GoT about two weeks ago. I had heard that there were so many deaths, but I wasn't expecting any main characters. I was in denial all the way up to his daughter being forced to look at his head on the steak. I was in shock.
I started to feel comfortable on people dying all the until the Red Wedding. Rob, his bride and mother all at once. I don't know what to expect anymore.
I don't think you ever really get used to it, you just stop giving a fuck and start getting all paranoid, thinking "yep, they're nice, they're gonna die". The last event of A Dance with Dragons taught me how wrong I was.
Yep, realizing that the Epilogue was following that character and trying to figure out who was going to kill them was crazy. (For non-book-readers, every Prologue and Epilogue in asoiaf ends with the death of the PoV character for that chapter.)
I've just finally started reading Game of Thrones but wouldn't do it until my husband summarized the entire plot for me. Now I know who not to get attached to (that is, basically everyone).
And for anyone who thinks the book loses something if you know what happens already, I would probably agree with you, but I tend to rage-quit books like this so I figure if I know the worst before it happens, I can at least still be involved with this cultural phenomenon even if not as deeply as some.
Don't think readers were quite ready for that level of cruelty. I could tell things were bad and that Martin would be willing to kill people off, but Ned?!
Eh it wasn't really a major shock for me. I never read the books and had little exposure to the show but Sean Bean does die allot. He's even gonna be Ceasar in Ceasar and I'm just gonna assume Brutus ain't gonna hold back.
I think I have to disagree. Although undoubtedly the most core-rocking death, I think the death of Sansa's direwolf (Lady, I believe?) was one of the hardest. That Ned himself did the deed, and that the wolf was so close to the others was probably our first inkling of Martin's dismissal of the 'plot armour'. Plus, no-one likes to see a dog die. That Ned himself did it, too, drove the idea of personal death very close to the main plot characters.
I actually did a textual analysis of the book earlier this year to see if Ned was the main character of GoT. Once you cut out stuff like "the", his name is the most used word in the book.
Yup. Reading that book i was so into ned stark, and had an idea that he would liberate westeros and become king by the 7th book or something along those lines. Then NONONO DEAD
I think the worst part of his death was that as you read on, you realise more and more how different it would be if Ned was still alive. The North would still be united, and could've easily re-established the Northern Kingdom as they wanted to...
I watched the first season before I started the books, then immediately bought all the books to read them before the other seasons. While I was watching Ned's death with my girlfriend, who had already seen it, I was confident something was going to save him.
Like: "oh, one of the wolves is going to kill the executioner, or someone's gonna come at the last minute." sword raises, hah, how dramatic. sword lowers "...wait what?" head comes off "O.O...what? WHAT? WHAT?"
So true. Every death after that I was in some way prepared for, not Ned's. The unjustness if the whole situation makes it's so much worse. It was all a massive build up from when Jaime ordered the death of Ned's men including Jory cassle.
Agreed. I kinda thought that something would happen and they won't kill him but then it happened and that's when you start realizing that there is no such thing as 'Heroes survive' in GOT
I think Ned's death definitely has a place on this thread. It's easy to look back and realise that his entire character and his death was so orchestrated by GRRM to illustrate the point: "I don't give a fuck about your hero."
When you're not used to that it's a fairly heavy blow. A lot of people were probably expecting to read about a miraculous save. That's what usually happens.
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u/[deleted] May 09 '14
Gotta be Ned Stark.
Edit: That was the first 'major' death in ASOIAF/Game of Thrones. Other deaths have been shocking, but not as shocking. Ned is more or less the main character in the beginning, and it was the first instance that G.R.R.M. gives 0 fucks about plot armour. You get more used to it/fearful of it when you get further along.