More from Game of Thrones season 5: news and episode reviews
Some changes are minor. Other plot lines are reshaped nearly beyond recognition.
As viewers, we love the show’s violence, but it’s subtly blinding us to the story’s underlying message: war is terrible, and all of this is pointless.
Turning her into an antagonist could be a delightfully cruel twist.
Follow the Kingsroad south from Winterfell to King’s Landing, like Ned Stark did.
The series’ orphans are learning to strike out on their own.
The two franchises are both obsessed with political and generational change.
The show’s answer makes less sense than the books’ answer.
The show is always careful to give its big moments character stakes.
Season five of Game of Thrones kicks into high gear in its fourth episode.
There were some big shockers in this episode for book readers.
Cersei knows how to consolidate power. Can either younger woman learn to do so in time?
They’re not dead yet, which is a big advantage on this show.
And Cersei uses them as useful distractions.
She’s fighting her battles the only way she knows how, and that deserves recognition.
You can see the weight of the conflict reflected in the characters.
One storyline looks like the biggest divergence the show has ever attempted.
Just look at the point-of-view characters from the books who are still around to see what we mean.
It’s a show about the end of one system and the invention of a new one.
Characters try to escape, only to meet ever grimmer fates.
The show understands that vengeance is destructive — but also hard to deny when people want it badly enough.
Everybody on this series wants revenge. Few are going to get it.
Long-held grudges drive just about every storyline on the show.
Now that the show has moved out of the premiere, it begins to kick off some of the major undertones of season 5.
Brienne, Jaime, and Sansa all do things that surprise book readers.
Both Stannis and Theon have benefited from the show catching up to the books.