A new podcast interview with George R. R. Martin has been posted by the Television Zombies. The TVZ crew have been fans of Game Of Thrones and ASOIAF for a while now and were kind enough to invite me on a couple times, so naturally I was very excited to hear they were able to nab an interview with GRRM. Check it out at TVZ’s site or on iTunes.
The interview was very informative and touched on many topics that were new to me including how Martin ended up working in Hollywood, details of his time as a writer there, a description of Martin’s struggles with the infamous Meereenese Knot and more. Of interest to Thrones fans, is the final segment of the interview where George talks about writing episode 8 of the series. He even reveals the episode title, The Pointy End!
UPDATE by HmR: Ran of Westeros has had it confirmed that the episodes will be named. It appears, though, that the titles still have to be officially confirmed, so they will be revealed at a later point. Speaking of episodes, we have known for a while now that the first batch of five exist in rough cut, and that some have been finalized already. Via this tweet we learn that at least the first three episodes are done. Seven to go.
In other news, another podcast has been put online, namely the latest instalment of Talking TV with Ryan and Ryan where Maureen Ryan and Ryan McGee discuss the shows coming to our screens in 2011. They talk Thrones between the 33:25 and 40:10 marks. Mo does a really good job pitching the show as a drama with a light dusting of magic about realistic characters and the choices they (have to) make, and they compare the level of intrigue and politicking to The Wire itself. Somewhere down the line, both Ryans might even be doing a regular podcast about the show.
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71 Comments
Good interview, they are typically always good, so even better when George is there.
Tyler L. MetcalfeQuote Reply
Finish the damned books already!!!!!!!!!!!
RuudlulQuote Reply
Cringed twice in the first minute or so:
-Acting as though WIC confirmed filming for the second season when it was just rumours
-Mixing up Northern Ireland and the ROI.
lol
JohnQuote Reply
If that’s the episode including the events on Baelor’s steps, The Pointy End is just a brilliant title. If you think about it, it means more than one thing. The obvious meaning is that the episode is going to be Arya-centered but also Ned meets his End, courtesy of Ser Paines Pointy End :)
Viktor NorbergQuote Reply
Could ya give us the highlights of “Martin’s struggles with the infamous Meereenese Knot”. :) Please?
LundyQuote Reply
Jeez… most of that show is really not for me. Their voices are really nasal, some of the banter is just painfully unfunny, their reading of industry news has this strained pseudo-insidery quality (if there’s anything more obnoxious than calling a series of related shows like Stargate a “franchise”, it’s calling it “IP”). And it sounds like no one bothered to edit it at all– I know that isn’t unusual for podcasts, but it still bugs me; it’s not hard to use free audio editing software.
Anyway, if anyone would like to just skip to the interview, it starts at 00:34:25 (and the non-football part of the interview starts at 00:37:55).
mummerQuote Reply
Starts talking on it at around 56.30 mark.
Four(or more) POV characters cross in Meereene. Having a hard time matching up the timelines/events around them (who should get there first, how, if this happens first then how does it effect that, etc.).
Fat JohnQuote Reply
Haven’t listened to it yet, but all I can say is “The Pointy End” is an EPIC TITLE!
I’m pretty sure it will be the best episode of the season!
LexQuote Reply
Here’s a transcript of the part where he talks about the ADWD & GOT writing process:
I think I’m close. I think I have one more thread to slash. We’ll see if it all falls into place when it’s done here. But, yeah, I’ve resolved most of it, at least I think so– knock wood. I’ve thought a half-dozen times I’d resolved it, and then I’d reread it a couple weeks later and say, no, this isn’t… no, it would be better this way. I’d start redoing it all over again.
[Q: Is it about the timelines or something else?]
Well, I can’t discuss the specifics without giving away enormous spoilers. But, yes, in very broad outline, the chronology is part of it. It’s like, you know, four or five viewpoint characters, I don’t even remember how many, are coming together in the city of Meereen, and there are various dramatic events and happenings that are happening in Meereen, you know. I can’t discuss specifics, but it’s a question of– okay, who should get there first? Well, who left first? How are they traveling? What are they encountering along the way? That determines who gets there first. But then there’s also dramatic questions about which is the correct order– if this guy gets there first, this guy gets there first– but then if this guy gets there first, then that would make this happen, this event should come before that event, but it’s more dramatic if that event comes before this event, and what about the other event… you know, it’s… [laughter] It’s frustrating even talking about it.
When the book comes out, people may read it and say “What the hell was the problem?” The reality of a writer’s life is, you work on these things, especially as long as I’ve been working on this book, and you get to a point where you’re not sure if you’re seeing the forest for the trees. You’re obsessing over these small details, and you’re trying to get everything not just good, but great, and you’re rewriting and you’re changing things and reordering things and restructuring things, and there comes a point where you say “Am I really improving it here, or am I just spinning my wheels and going round and round in a circle?”
[Q: Do you ask other writers for feedback?]
I have friends who read this and that and the other thing, but ultimately I rely on myself. I have to be the final judge of this. It’s gonna be my name on the book. If it comes out and it’s bad, I can’t say “Oh, my friend told me to do it that way.” So I’m determined to try to get it as good as it can possibly be, and how good that is… of course the Tuesday me and the Thursday me don’t necessarily always agree.
[Q: Writing an episode of GOT for TV, what's it like to revisit your characters from such an earlier point in the story?]
It was actually fun. I was worried about… it’s been quite a while since I’ve written a screenplay or teleplay, so– “My God, will I still remember how to do it?” But it turned out to be like riding a bicycle, as they say– which I’ve always found ironic, since I’ve never been able to ride a bicycle. [laughter] I keep falling off, but never mind. Anyway, I did remember how to write a screenplay, a teleplay rather, and once I got into it, it all came back. The hardest part was actually accustoming myself to the new software, because there are these scriptwriting programs, and at the time that I was working in Hollywood there were these certain ones that everybody was using, and now of course nobody uses those any more, they’ve got whole new ones, so I had to reaccustom myself to new software, which has some nice features and some things I didn’t like. But once I did that, the writing went pretty easily, and it was great to revisit these characters and scenes again. So… the episode I wrote for the show is episode 8, which it’s ten episodes in the first season, and it’s titled “The Pointy End.”
mummerQuote Reply
Their show isn’t necessarily the best, but their enthusiasm shows for what they like, and I enjoy most of their banter. Some of it seems a bit over the top at times thought.
Tyler L. MetcalfeQuote Reply
Very, very pleased they are going with episode titles; they’ll add a nice thin layer of commentary, and I’ve always thought episode titles in TV made the story more book-like. At first, “The Pointy End” struck my ear as wrong for the anti-penultimate episode, but it’s starting to click better now. I’d love to rattle off a list of theories for the titles of other episodes, but all I can think of at the moment is “The Hand’s Tourney,” and that’s probably too obvious. Anyone have any ideas?
InkasrainQuote Reply
Listening to it now, and they just mentioned the fact that SG: Universe was canceled. I demand Robert Carlyle play Roose Bolton, he is just so perfect, a little short but he is a great actor and would play soft spoken and cunning very well.
GrimtuesdayQuote Reply
Tyler L. Metcalfe,
I didn’t mean to be so completely negative… I did like how they handled the interview, and some of the casual banter was decent. Just thought they could’ve cut some of the bits where they weren’t really saying anything, and all of the bits where the guy was trying to do funny voices.
mummerQuote Reply
Love the Television Zombie guys myself. It along with Geektime on the Howard Stern Channels at Sirius Radio give me my sci-fi/fantasy/comic book fix. I think its just great that they got GRRM to spend a little time on the phone with them.
Winter-Any chance you have Sirius? I’ve tried to call in to see if any of the peeps over there know or care about GoT, but so far I just get a busy signal during the show. I encourage anyone with Sirius to check that show out. Its really fun and they have pretty heayv hitters like John Favreau and Jim Lee stopping by or calling in. So far I don’t think there has been any GoT mention (they for some reason are much more sci-fi/superhero oriented and fantasy kind of gets a bum wrap), but as the buzz mounts they are going to have to at least give an opinion of what they think. Hopefully they will become fans as well. I know they love BE, TB and alot of the other HBO stuff. Dunno if you know about that show or not Phil, but making a connection or two over there wouldn’t hurt either the WiC blog or Geektime. Might be worth looking into, especially if you are an east coast crazy Stern fan like me. At the very least it will bring the GoT message to a new group of potential fans.
Also to Winter. GO EAGLES!!!!! ROFL I was in Atlantic City during the game, literally surrounded by giants fans at the poker tables. OMG what a fabulous end to a game! Btw, I’ll be at the Eagles/Vikings game next sunday night (back home for the holidays). Dunno if you were going but if so lemme know and maybe I can buy you a Chicky & Pete’s!
I loved GRRM’s description of the unraveling (almost) of the Meerenese knot. Listening to him talk about the writing process of cramming all of those PoVs together certainly helped me to better understand the difficulties he’s been having. It also rekindled the low-burning pilot light I’ve had for Dance recently. My brain immediately went into overdrive trying to sort out what might happen when everyone starts stumbling over one another!
Lord Ned’s HeadQuote Reply
Wierd. It looks like a sentence or two got deleted. The show on Sirius I was talking about is called Geektime. Its on the Howard 101 channel usually every other saturday or so.
Lord Ned’s HeadQuote Reply
This is a great time to start talking about the titles of what the other Episodes will be! In that interest, here’s a quick (relatively – holy crap there’s a lot of story in these books!) summary of the storyline fo each episode scripted so far:
SPOILERS APLENTY BELOW: BE WARY
Season breakdown: (based on FaB’s breakdown)
Episode 1: Start through Bran’s Fall.
Episode 2: Tyrion + Joff(SLAP!) + Lannister breakfast; Jon’s goodbyes to Bran, Catelyn, Robb, Arya; Ned dreams (Jaime on throne); Ned + Robert chat; Jon + Tyrion on way to Wall; Fire + murder attempt on Bran; Catelyn decides to go south with Rodrik; Sansa + Arya on road – Arya runs off to play; Sansa meets Renly, Barristan, is scared of Payne+Hound, leaves with Joff; Joff+Sansa discover Arya + Mycah at river, Arya vs Joff scene, Mycah runs, Nymeria bites Joff, Arya runs; Jory finds Arya; Audience with Robert/Cersei, Sansa lies, Lady is condemned; Ned kills Lady; Hound returns with Mycah’s body.
Episode 3: Bran dreams of crow, wakes, names Summer; Catelyn + Rodrik arrive in KL, Cat taken to LF, LF says dagger is Tyrion’s; Tyrion (at Wall) mocks Alliser Thorne, promises to tell Robert to send more men; Ned arrives KL, meets small council, learns of Hand’s Tourney plans; Dany learning to be Dothraki, breaks away to ride by herself, Viserys tries beating her for ordering him around, is pulled off by bloodriders, is made to walk; Jon trains at wall, gets in fight with Grenn et al, Donal Noye tells him to take it easy on the other trainees; Littlefinger confronts Ned, takes him to Catelyn, Cat tells Ned dagger story, Ned orders her back North to prepare the defenses; Jon apologizes to Grenn, promises to help him train, mocks Thorne; Dany touches dragon eggs, they are warm, rides Drogo when he comes to her, they conceive Rhaego.
Episode 4: Ned investigating Arryn’s murder, Pycelle suggests Varys was involved, Ned goes to Littlefinger, “Distrusting me was the wisest thing…”; Sam intro, Jon defends him; Tyrion returns to Winterfell, offers saddle design for Bran, is kicked out of Winterfell by Robb; Benjen is missing, Jon befriends Sam, protects him in training; Robb talks to Bran, confides his worries; Ned discovers Gendry, Hand’s Tourney, Gregor kills Ser Hugh; Cat arrives at Crossroads Inn, goes unnoticed; Cersei forbids Robert to fight in melee, Hound escorts Sansa to her room, tells her his backstory; Tyrion arrives at Inn, Cat takes Tyrion captive.
Episode 5: Tyrion taken from Inn, eventually discovers he is not being taken north, but east; Tourney day 2, King Robert can’t fit into armor, Jaime loses to Hound, Loras beats Gregor, Gregor goes all ‘Gregor’ on Loras, Hound saves the day, wins tourney; Jaime visited by Cersei, discuss melee results (Robert did not enter), talk of Tyrion; Tourney feast, Arya shows off her ‘dancing’ bruises; Varys reveals to Ned that Robert would have been killed in the melee had he entered, suggests Cersei is behind the plot, also says Ser Hugh killed Arryn; Arya chases cat, meets Myrcella and Tommen, runs from guards, ends up in catacombs, overhears Varys and Illyrio talking, later tells Ned, he doesn’t believe her, Yoren arrives; Tyrion tells Cat Littlefinger lied, clansmen attack, Catelyn arms Tyrion to fight, Tyrion rescues Catelyn, party arrives at Bloody Gate, meets Vardis Egen (subbing for Blackfish here), finishes trip up to Eyrie; Lysa greets Catelyn, Lysa is furious that she brought the Imp here, plans to “make him fly”; Ned argues with Robert over killing Dany, resigns as Hand, prepares to go back north, Littlefinger tells Ned he has found a whore of interest, Ned meets whore with baby Barra (Robert’s); Ned and Jaime confrontation in street, Jory killed, Ned unconscious.
Episode 6: Tyrion is accused of both Bran’s attack and Jon Arryn’s murder, Tyrion mocks Sweetrobin, Tyrion sent to sky cell, beaten by Mord; Dany arrives in Vaes Dothrak, talks with Jorah about Viserys, Robert, Ned, is bathed by handmaidens, invites Viserys to supper, Viserys goes all ‘Viserys’ on Dany, Dany hits him with belt, curls up to sleep with egg; Ned dreams of ToJ sequence, awakens to talk to Robert, Robert + Cersei arrive, Robert hits Cersei – “Badge of honour”, Cersei leaves, Robert remembers Lyanna – “Rhaegar… has Lyanna, and I have her”, reinstates Ned as Hand; Tyrion bribes Mord, says he is ready to confess, is taken to Lysa, Tyrion confesses he is wicked, but did not have anything to do with Bran or Arryn, demands trial by combat, Bronn stands for him; Bran and Robb go riding with Theon, talk of the news of Ned’s broken leg, encounter wildlings, Theon shoots Stiv, direwolves destroy other wildlings, Robb furious with Theon, Osha is taken captive; Dany meets with Dosh Khaleen, eats heart, prophecy of Stallion that Mounts the World; trial by combat occurs, Bronn wins, Tyrion is set loose on the mountain path with Bronn, to descend without an escort.
Episode 7: Jon et al are told they have passed the test to become men of NW, except Sam, Jon convinces Aegon to take on Sam as an apprentice; Ned deals with petitions to the throne, Gregor causing havoc, Loras offers to hunt him down, Ned sends Beric; Sansa discusses the decision not to send Loras with her Septa and LF, LF: “Life is not a song”, Sansa and Arya fight, Arya ruins Sansa’s dress, sisters are brought before Ned, Sansa states that Joff is nothing like Robert, Ned finally catches on, tells them they will be leaving on the first ship he can find; Ned meets Cersei in godswood, warns her, “You win or you die”; Dany and Drogo talk, Drogo reluctant to cross the poison water; Ned meets Robert, injured after hunt, Ned writes Robert’s last wish for him, changing “my son Joffrey” to “my heir”, Varys suggests Lancel was overly dutiful filling Robert’s cup, Renly offers his men to Ned, Ned refuses, Renly leaves the city, Littlefinger promises to have the goldcloaks support Ned, Ned writes letter to Stannis; Sam thanks Jon for helping him, Jon discovers he is a steward – not a ranger, goes all ‘Jon’ on us, Sam convinces him he is being trained for the Lord Commander’s position, Jon gets his head on straight, Jon and Sam make their vows in the godswood, Ghost finds Othor and Jafer; Ned refuses to let Sansa say farewell to Joff, Pycelle delivers news of Robert’s death, Ned is summoned to the throne room by Joff, Ned presents King Robert’s decree, Cersei rips it up, Ned moves to arrest the Lannisters, is betrayed by LF’s goldcloaks… “I did warn you not to trust me, you know.”
Episode 8: Dany goes to market, wineseller assassination attempt, Dany returns to tent, lights brazier with eggs in it, Drogo returns, is furious, promises to take throne from Robert; Tyrion and Bronn on high road, Tyrion tells Tysha story, meet clansmen, convinces them to join him; Arya is training with Syrio, Trant comes with 5 guardsmen, Syrio kicks some serious butt, Arya escapes, ends up in stables, kills stableboy, goes down through catacombs; Sansa is in her room, locked there, Jeyne joins her, Sansa is taken to see the Queen, LF takes over care of Jeyne, Cersei threatens to cancel botrothal between Joff and Sansa, Sansa agrees to wirte letters to her mother and brother; Black brothers discover Othor and Jafer in full, take Othor back to the Wall, receive news that Robert is dead and Ned is a traitor, Jon goes crazy on Ser Alliser, has weapons taken, is left with Ghost in black cell; Bran watches as Robb receives Karstarks and other bannermen, Robb earns Greatjon’s respect “Your meat is tough!”, Osha tells Bran Robb is heading the wrong way, Robb leaves with army before Bran tells him what Osha said; Dany saves women from being raped in Lhazareen town, including Mirri Maz Duur, Drogo allows her to keep her saved women, Dany asks Mirri to heal Drogo, Mirri binds his wounds, Dany asks that she be there to help her birth Rhaego; Tyrion meets with his father, Tywin places Tyrion and mountain clans on front lines of impending battle, with news that Robb’s army is marching south; Joffrey makes Tywin Hand of the King, Cersie becomes regent, Slynt is given Harrenhal, Barristan is fired, Jaime replaces him as commander, the Hound is made a Whitecloak, Barristan throws down his sword and escapes the goldcloaks sent after him, Cersei tells Sansa that if Ned confesses, he will be sent to the wall; Ned dreams of Harrenhal tourney, wakes in cell alone.
We can wait for Episodes 9 and 10 to be scripted, but we basically know roughly what happens anyway… so let’s hear everyone’s titles!
OhDanyBoyQuote Reply
I’m up to approximately episode five in my re-read, so here’s what I’ll venture so far.
Episode One: Before, or Dark Wings
Episode Two: The Dragonbone Dagger
Episode Three: The Black Brothers
Episode Four: The Knights of Summer
Episode Five: The Lone Wolf
.
.
.
Episode Ten: Winter Is Coming (If they use this as a title at all, I bet the finale will be the place.)
InkasrainQuote Reply
PS – in Episode 3 I missed Syrio-Arya intoduction, but it should be there ;)
For the record, here are my suggestions:
1. The things I do
2. Rode him down
3. A grievous error
4. A guest into my house
5. To answer for his crimes
6. The truth of my innocence
7. I did warn you…
8. His life is ours
OhDanyBoyQuote Reply
Some suggestions:
101 Winter is Coming – it’s a great title and the Starks are the starting point.
102 The Battle at the Trident – Hope there is a flashback – also there is a battle between the children and a lot of memories
106 As High as Honor – There must be a better title, but this is the episode of the Vale, Arryn, Cathelyn and Tyrion.
107 You Win or You Die – it’s all about choises.
108 The Pointy End – I like the title, but it’s also nice for the 9th episode.
110 Fire and Blood – Although there is a lot of story in Westeros (the reactions of the ending turning point of episode 9) this is Dany’s episode !!!
PAMQuote Reply
I like with some of your suggestions, here’s some others:
1.01 – Dark wings
1.02 – Lion’s teeth
1.03 – A taste of summer
1.04 – Crossroads
1.05 – Dancing the dance
1.06 – As high as honor
1.07 – Night gathers
1.08 – The pointy end
1.09 – King’s justice
1.10 – Fire and blood
GoombaQuote Reply
I remember Martin saying, quite a long time ago, that he titled his script The Pointy End but he didn’t know whether the aired episodes would be actually titled. Is this a kind of confirmation that episodes will have titles?
If so, I’m with PAM with suggesting Winter Is Coming for 1×01
DomQuote Reply
The last one has to be called “Mother of Dragons”
spacechampionQuote Reply
As a first pass (some are very cheesy).
1.01 – The Things I Do For Love
1.02 – A True Lady
1.03 – Against The Cold
1.04 – New Friends, Old Enemies
1.05 – Small Victories ;)
1.06 – Ghosts
1.07 – Family Ties
1.08 – The Pointy End
1.09 – Lone Wolf
1.10 – Fire and Blood (has to be this)
OzXaroQuote Reply
Dom,
Well, Ran posted this over at Westeros…
So I think it’s legit.
OzXaroQuote Reply
OzXaro
Yeah, I just saw both this and Hear Me Roar’s update. Thank you! :D
DomQuote Reply
My guesses for the episode titles:
1 The Things I do for Love
2 Broken
3 The Three Eyed Crow
4 The Seed is Strong
5 Just So
6 The Tower of Joy
7 Night Gathers
8 The Pointy End
9 The King’s Justice
10 Winter is Coming
May not get the chance to post again for now, so merry christmas everyone! :)
JDPQuote Reply
My votes for some episode titles:
101 Winterfell
102 Kingsroad
103 King’s Landing
104 Joust
105 Melee
106 Trial
107 Trust
108 The Pointy End
109 Baelor’s Steps
110 Stormborn
I like using the colorful names George has already imagined where appropriate, the alliteration in places, and the layered meaning of 4-8, which speak of specific plot points while also finding echoes in the B and C plots in those episodes.
I like my titles thematic and rather oblique.. but at the same time with a very plain and “straight ahead” edge. Fun thread. :-)
BradQuote Reply
My attempt:
Episode 1 – “this one’s mine” (“The things I do for love…” is a close second for me)
Episode 2 – The butcher’s boy
Episode 3 – Summer
Episode 4 – “Fear is for winter…”
Episode 5 – “Don’t kill him anywhere..” (maybe too long)
Episode 6 – ” I want to see him fly” (again maybe too long)
Episode 7 – The beggar king
Episode 8 – The pointy end
Episode 9 – Taking the black
Episode 10 – Songs in the night
dizzy_34Quote Reply
Great stuff, folks :)
I really do like some of the ideas.
My turn:
1. The King s Hand
2. The lion s prey
3. The dagger
4. The roses and the hounds
5. The captive
6. The moon door
7. Man of the night watch
8. The pointy end
9. The justice
10. The music of dragons
It would be better if we knew the actual break-down ;)
The RabbitQuote Reply
Hah, reminds me of the OC!
fake-o name-oQuote Reply
I had a feeling that the delay of the book was due to George nit-picking and trying to make things ‘perfect’. I have the same problem sometimes as well when I write. There is no such thing as perfect. I think he should just have the book proofed by some close friends (and fans of the book). Tell them what the issues are, and get their opinion if the issues he is worrying about is worth it.
Victoria ColeQuote Reply
OhDanyBoy,
There seems to be a whole hell of a lot left of the book to cram into two episodes. The huge amount of stuff about Chigga et al, Robb and the bannermen, Moat Cailin, Catelyn and Robb, Mirri Maz Dur…how does all that go in two episodes?
David ThomasQuote Reply
Victoria Cole,
I respectfully disagree. Handing my magnum opus to someone else to fix would leave me filled with regret for the rest of my life. This is something George needs to fix himself because it is his story and his alone.
2whom?Quote Reply
OhDanyBoy,
I notice that you missed several events in the Dany storyline, including “no blood was spilled.” Of course, the summary is still pretty useful, as speculations go, for trying to guess episode titles. However, I think an appropriate episode title (for whichever episode) could be “Crowning the Beggar” or “Crowning the Beggar King.” Of course, I don’t think the audience will see the episode titles until the DVD set comes out.
2whom?Quote Reply
Episode titles. (I liked a few of the ones already posted)
1. For love
2. Dark wings, dark words
3. Summer
4. The seed is strong
5. Just so
6. Make him fly
7. To play the game
8. The pointy end
9. A kings justice
10. Fire and blood
LyannQuote Reply
JDP: “The King’s Justice” is perfect for Ep 9. Great job!
shadallionQuote Reply
2whom?,
I am not implying that he give the entire book over to someone to fix. But from the statement he makes here:
“When the book comes out, people may read it and say “What the hell was the problem?” The reality of a writer’s life is, you work on these things, especially as long as I’ve been working on this book, and you get to a point where you’re not sure if you’re seeing the forest for the trees. You’re obsessing over these small details, and you’re trying to get everything not just good, but great, and you’re rewriting and you’re changing things and reordering things and restructuring things, and there comes a point where you say “Am I really improving it here, or am I just spinning my wheels and going round and round in a circle?”
I get the impression that he is just obsessing over minor details, and being indecisive. Nit-picking over minor details that most people won’t notice and which won’t make a difference or change the over all story is not worth delaying the book.
Victoria ColeQuote Reply
2whom?,
Jumping in here, but feedback and critique is a very important part of writing, even for a pro. (That’s what editors are for.) I’m not saying GRRM absolutely needs to do this (and heck, maybe he has) but it can be very helpful for an author to get opinions on problems he or she sees in the manuscript– it doesn’t take away from the value of a work at all.
InkasrainQuote Reply
1- the king’s hand
2- the butcher’s boy
3- wake the dragon
4- the seed is strong
5- just so
6- the tower of joy
7- a crown of gold
8- the pointy end
9- the king’s justice
10- fire and blood
izakmoQuote Reply
2whom?,
Yeah, that scene should be in Episode 7, or the very end of Episode 6.
I probably missed a few things – I was trying to quickly sum up all of HMR’s scripting posts, and there was a lot more than I expected – I can’t believe I was ever worried they’d have trouble filling 10 hours…
OhDanyBoyQuote Reply
1- Winterfell (I’d rather leave Winter is Coming for a future season)
2- Wolves and Dogs
3- Lessons (or some variation on this theme- Dany/Dothraki, Arya/Syrio, Night’s Watch training- and Jon and Viserys both getting ‘be less annoying’ lessons!- that only one of them learns)
4- Friend/Enemy
5- Chasing Cats
6- As High As Honour (Eyrie/Cersei’s badge of honour) or Atop The World (Eyrie/Rhaego’s prophecy)
7- The Crown (I’m hoping Viserys and Robert die in the same episode- would be somewhat satisfying if both ‘kings’ met their end in the same one, and gives this double meaning) or Bastards (naturally a reference to the parentage of Cersei’s children, Robert’s children, and Jon Snow and nothing at all to do with Littlefinger and cronies) :)
8- The Pointy End
9- Dead Man Walking (Not just Othor- Drogo and Ned, if he’s not already gone, are on the way out and, should a certain deal with Lord Frey occur this episode, foreshadows what happens later)
10- Fire and Blood
Off topic- it occurs to me that the clip of Viserys and Doreah might not be him ‘testing’ her before Dany’s wedding, he may well continue sleeping with her afterwards- somehow I doubt having ‘given’ her to Dany would bother him much. After all, he thinks he’s a king. I’d rather like this, as it gives him someone to talk at, and I’d welcome some extra Viserys scenes. Let’s hear about the rebellion from his perspective- and see a bit more of how nuts he is too :)
ShinyteapotQuote Reply
This is gonna be so great… I think 5 and 6 may be my favorites.
Man, as much as we go on and on and on about it now, can you IMAGINE how much traffic this site will get once it actually airs???
EdQuote Reply
No one else thinks ep 10 should be called Mother of Dragons?
GaRQuote Reply
I don’t see why they would title ep 10 that. Its a huge spoiler of what should be a surprising scene.
BigRedCatQuote Reply
Hmm Okay. I’ll Take a crack. Going by OhDanyBoy’s breakdown:
Ep 1. “Promise me Ned” Basically Eddard is making all kinds of promises here. Also living up to all kinds of duty. To me that one line sums up his burden and episode one is largely about him.
Ep 2. “Robert’s Road” The main action occurs on the Kingsroad. Its also here at the Trident where he met Rhaegar. Also its his actions (be it his Rebellion in Dany’s case or his more immediate actions concerning the rest of the cast) that lead them all down this path.
Ep3 “Awakenings” Not only Bran’s, But Dany and Jon also both have awakenings of a sort in this episode.
Ep 4 “Crossroads” Not too original, but completely fitting.
Ep 5 “Full Tilt” Not only in reference to the tourney, but also the heavy amount of action throughout the episode.
Ep 6 “A Lannister Always Pays is Debts” Tyrion-centric, but hey, this IS his episode right?
Ep 7 “You win or you die” for obvious reasons.
Ep 8 “The Pointy End” Confirmed
Ep 9 “Winter Is Coming” Assuming this is the Wight episode, it also serves as a reminder that te series isn’t all about swords, but a little about sorcery too!
Ep 10 “Stormborn” Its gtta be Stormborn for me, but Songs in the night is a nice thought too!
Lord Ned’s HeadQuote Reply
Too spoilery for my taste.
OhDanyBoyQuote Reply
Victoria Cole,
If you read or listen to that bit in context, it’s pretty clear that GRRM is well aware of what you’re talking about. In the whole paragraph you quoted, he’s saying that there’s a fine line between getting it right and obsessing over minor details, and that he’s trying to make sure he’s not doing the latter, but that sometimes it can be hard to tell. I don’t know how you can read that statement and come away with the impression that he’s definitely just fretting over nothing, or that you know this better than he does. From his general description of the problems he was trying to solve, they could have been minor details or they could’ve been important– there’s simply no way for us to know.
Also, right after that, the interviewer asked him specifically whether he’s asked other writers or friends to look over stuff and give him feedback about the problems he mentioned. He said that he has done that, but that ultimately he has to be the final judge of what works.
mummerQuote Reply
mummer,
You and Victoria both have legitimate perspectives at this point in the process. Sometimes an author has the kind of critical support from editors and friends that is helpful in a situation like this and sometimes, through no fault of anyone’s, he simply doesn’t. Most acquisitions editors these days are deal-makers, not old-fashioned Maxwell Perkins-type wordsmiths who can carve Look Homeward Angel out of a Thomas Wolfe monstrosity. They seldom second-guess an award-winning, best-selling author, particularly when that means delaying a book so long awaited and so certain to add to the company’s bottom line. Top copyeditors, who historically could be relied upon to ferret out inconsistencies, incongruities, and factual lapses, are an endangered species. No loved one on earth could be expected to say to someone who had labored over a manuscript like ADWD, “Hey, it’s not working” or, “Shouldn’t this have happened first?”
GRRM has a fanatical fan base that can be relied upon to love/hate/dissect his every word. That presents a daunting challenge. He’s right when he says he will be completely alone in the arena when ADWD appears; he has every reason to be sure he is up to that challenge when the time comes.
DH87Quote Reply
As far as how long the titles can be I looked through titles of True Blood, and they are on average almost 16 characters long, and the longest is at 31 characters (“I got a right to sing the blues”), so I don’t think length is a big issue.
These are the ones I like best (based on the summaries by
OhDanyBoy):
1. The things done for love
2. I’d want something alluding to Sansa losing her wolf, but I can’t find the right words
3. Summer
4. Bastards
5. Dancing
6. “Promise me” if ToJ is included, otherwise Small victories
7. Night gathers
8. The Pointy End
9. Winter is Coming
10. Fire and Blood
Johan SporreQuote Reply
completely off topic:
The Mountain That Rides is getting a beat down in the suvudu.com cage match championship. Lets bring out the support for the most heinous man in Westeros!
http://sf-fantasy.suvudu.com/2010/12/cage-match-2010-championship-rand-althor-versus-the-mountain-that-rides.html
LRQuote Reply
Wouldn’t presume to match titles with events, but agreed “The Things I do For Love”, “Mother of Dragons”, “Fire and Blood”, and of course “Winter is Coming” are all shoo-ins for episode titles.
PranksterQuote Reply
I thought this would be easy, it wasn’t.
1) For Love
2) The Road/The Journey
3) The Wolves of Summer
4) The Seed [is strong]
5) Cats & Dogs
6) Looking through the Skydoor
7) For my brothers
8) The Pointy End/Hard Lessons
9) The Kings Justice
10) Winter is Coming
DigDougQuote Reply
DH87,
I don’t have an opinion on what the problem is or what GRRM should do; I was just describing what he said about it in the interview, which I thought Victoria was misinterpreting a little.
In the end of course nothing we say about this really matters: there’s pretty much zero chance that one of us, not knowing anything about the actual process or content of the book outside of a few interview remarks, has come up with some important point that Martin or his editors just failed to think of in the last 5 years. That would be way beyond back-seat driving– more like not-even-within-sight-of-the-car driving.
mummerQuote Reply
We know too few house words to parcel out many per season, but I think they’ll work beautifully when/if they are employed. How about As High As Honor for episode six?
InkasrainQuote Reply
Compare the chronological challenges of GRRM’s Meereenese Knot with the chronological absurdities of the most recent Wheel of Time book, “Towers of Midnight”. The latter is evidence that chronologically problematic books do get published, and fans (rightfully) do complain about these absurdities, so I don’t think GRRM is worrying over nothing. I’m happy he’s taking the time to solve it.
spacechampionQuote Reply
OT…Thankyou WIC…I went to itunes to download the podcast and stumbled upon a Game of Thrones app !!!…I couldn’t believe it…it looks pretty cool….AWESOME…had no idea we had an app lol
coltaine777Quote Reply
Inkasrain,
Good idea, and we have more than most people realise:
http://www.westeros.org/Citadel/Heraldry/Mottoes/
Adam WhiteheadQuote Reply
Adam Whitehead,
Oh, wow! That’s a terrific list. A few jump out at me for potential episode titles already, though maybe not for this season. None So Wise, The Sun of Winter, Though All Men Do Despise Us, Tread Lightly Here, Work Her Will, Our Roots Go Deep, No Song So Sweet, Set Down Our Deeds… buckets of dramatic potential and irony in all of them.
InkasrainQuote Reply
Inkasrain,
I thought of this as well and I think it would have been a great episode naming device. Unfortunately, we already know they won’t go in this direction since GRRM’s episode is named The Pointy End. But just for shits and giggles I did a season one list using only house mottoes:
Ep. 101 – Winter Is Coming
Ep. 102 – Family, Duty, Honor
Ep. 103 – From These Beginnings
Ep. 104 – Righteous in Wrath
Ep. 105 – Ours is the Fury
Ep. 106 – Brave and Beautiful
Ep. 107 – Tread Lightly Here
Ep. 108 – When All is Darkest
Ep. 109 – Hear Me Roar!
Ep. 110 – Fire and Blood
Winter Is ComingQuote Reply
Inkasrain,
Winter Is Coming,
Those mottoes have an arch tone to them that is epic almost to a fault (dare I say even melodramatic) when taken just at face value. In the books, the words are revealed gradually as background info, in different ways. Some words are “claimed” and used often or as a battle cry; but others are almost scoffed at or remembered ironically by characters, at least that is how I remember it.
Titles of such tone may work well as titles for a few key episodes. I prefer to have the titles be understated, and have the contents of the episode be out of control epic. As opposed to having some epic sounding episode name that gives away “Hey, something big is about to happen”. I want the viewers to be blindsided by George’s many twists and turns..
BradQuote Reply
Any speculation as to who the 5-6 PoV characters involved in the Meereenese Knot may be? There are a couple obvious ones, but I can’t think of that many that would necessarily have to be there…
ZarkQuote Reply
Winter Is Coming,
Nice! It would have been cool, but I think I agree with Brad that these grander, motto-esque names work better sprinkled through the seasons. I personally don’t like it when episode titles are bound to a specific format, like “The _____” or just one word. Varying the format, length, and tone of the titles creates a kind of cadence that, I think, makes for a very story-like feel.
InkasrainQuote Reply
I was just thinking about that. Obviously, Dany will be there. My guess is the other POVs will be Tyrion, Sam and Arya.
Amir MishaliQuote Reply
Amir Mishali,
Aside from Tyrion, I believe it’s Victarion Greyjoy, Quentyn Martell and Maester Marwyn (who’s not A POV character as far as I can tell) who are headed in her direction (at least as of the end of AFFC). Sam seems unlikely as he is in Old Town learning to be a Maester, and while Arya is certainly possible, I’m guessing her Faceless Man training will keep her occupied for the duration of ADWD.
Brian TalbottQuote Reply
Zark,
For the Meereenese Knot, definitely Dany, Tyrion Lannister, Quentyn Martell, Asha Greyjoy, based on confirmed POVs for ADWD, and characters I think are throwing their lots in with Dany.
I’m not sure who to guess for the other two POV’s. I’m not sure that Arya is one of them. Does Arya even know Dany exists? She needs to finish her training with the Faceless Men and get a little older first. There’s no reason she would be in Meereen at this point.
Half MyrishQuote Reply
Perhaps Arya has been sent to assassinate Dany on her first assignment. By the time the HBO show catches up with this book, she’ll be played by Jennifer Garner or Maggie Q. She and Asha meet on the road and begin a rapacious lesbian relationship, while Quentyn and Tyrion join forces on a road trip of their own, where they meet up with wacky Maester Marwyn (played by DJ Qualls). Hilarity ensues.
David ThomasQuote Reply
At a guess:
Dany
Tyrion
Victarion
Quentyn
New POV (Mentioned by GRRM on the not-a-blog, I’m hoping for Barristan)
Possibly Asha too?
ShinyteapotQuote Reply
I had explanations for all these titles, and nods to where they originated, but they got dumped…
1. The Things We Do
2. The Road Down
3. Wolves in Summer
4. Chinks in the Armor
5. Dancing Steps
6. Chastened
7. When You Play
8. The Pointy End
9. Middle Ground
10. House Words
Righteous9Quote Reply
100% confirmed POVs in or on their way to Meereen:
Daenerys
Tyrion Lannister
Quentyn Martell
As for the others:
Victarion, though a POV in AFFC, has not been confirmed as a POV in ADWD. Neither has Marwyn. Victarion, as a pre-existing POV, is a strong possibility though. Another possible new POV is Barristan Selmy. Possibly Jorah Mormont if he’s still around. Arya is not impossible, although the timeline would be challenging, given how late her chapters in AFFC fall (after almost everyone else’s in the book). Davos is another, possibly even more remote possibility.
Amongst the other extant POVs I don’t see any others making their way to Meereen. Jon, Bran, Asha, Theon and Melisandre are all likely far too busy in the North to head over there. Cersei’s POVs are likely from her still as a prisoner in KL. We have not had confirmation of Jaime, Brienne (if she lives) or Sansa POVs, but they would likely also be too busy to suddenly shoot off to Slaver’s Bay for no reason.
Another possibility: the epilogue POV is also involved in the Knot, and as a total one-off (who dies, if GRRM follows tradition) is someone we probably won’t guess.
Adam WhiteheadQuote Reply
Thank you Fat John & Mummer for the recap, way back.
LundyQuote Reply
Glad the bits of info we gathered from George provoked so much discussion. We should have some interviews with folks from the show in the Spring, closer to when the series airs.
Thanks for the plug, Phil!
ChrisQuote Reply
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