Looking for a spoiler for Games of Thrones.

[Baitball Blogger]

Way back when I read the plot summaries for Songs of Fire and Ice, I thought it was the original source file for the t.v. series Game of Thrones. I didn't realize they were very close in details. But if they are, then someone who has read the books can answer this question:

In the last book it explains that Arya drinks something which makes her go blind. I was wondering if it has anything to do with Tywin allowing her to be his food taster? I assume that's why he allowed her to sit down and eat his meal. Can we presume that he doesn't suspect she's Stark's daughter if he would subject her to that kind of test?

[dr.strangelove]

1. Off by a few books

Well, to answer without spoiling too much Arya's blindness has nothing to do with Tywin Lannister allowing her to eat at his table. It happens a long time from the scenes currently depicted. Also, she is not his "food taster" but his kitchen servant. She serves his meals, cleans up after him and gets his wine. He suspects that she is hiding something, but whether he suspects she is a Stark remains to be seen.

[Baitball Blogger]

2. Thanks.

I realize she's the kitchen servant, but I just assumed he had her eat his meal because he had just spoken to the other guy about the earlier murder by wolfsbane, a rare poison. They made the statement that the assassin was not ordinary.

Also, Arya was in no hurry to sit down and eat. I figured that was because she didn't trust the food either.

[Myrina]

3. I think she was contemplating trying to kill him herself ...

... the way she kept looking at the knife, then him, with his back to her, etc.

And I do think he suspects she's a Stark, he's made comments about her being from the north and knowing how to read and how odd that her 'father' a 'stonemason' could read, and how refined her language skills/grammar are. I think he suspects she's a plant, rather than an "accidental servant".

[Baitball Blogger]

4. He definitely suspects her.

And she definitely wants to kill him.

Makes it one of the most interesting conflicts in the t.v. series.

[dr.strangelove]

5. I love her

She is my favorite character in the books and the series.

[Baitball Blogger]

6. Most complicated tomboy character I have ever read.

Brilliant.

[Myrina]

7. I haven't read the books, but ...

... cannot wait until the spoiled little rat-bastard Joffrey gets his ass handed to him.

Please tell me he does?

[Baitball Blogger]

8. His mother is already preparing for the inevitable.

Incredible touching scene with her brother Tyrion where she wonders if Joffrey is punishment for sleeping with her brother Jaime to create an insane Lannister. Tyrion wanted to console her, and all he could do was walk across the room to be near her and throw her glances of uncertainty. Like he was saying, "I want to hug you, but we don't do hugging."

[Myrina]

9. I did see that last night ...

... but after the horrific scene with the prostitutes I really want to see him hung by his toenails and left hanging in the sun for wild critters to peck at.

He totally reminds me of so many corporate elites running loose & inflicting their anti-social behavior on the masses nowadays.

Edited to ask: Is Jamie really his uncle/dad? Or is it the old drunken King?

[Baitball Blogger]

10. Ned Stark and the previous Hand of the King were

killed by order of Cersei because of this controversy. Both Hands learned that Robert Baratheon could not be Joffrey's father. Had to do with the blonde hair, blue eye features. They're recessive genes and there were no blonde hair, blue eyes in Robert Baratheon's lineage.

By this last installment it's understood that Joffrey is a bastard. Even the town folk are calling him a bastard. (That's what started the riot in last week's episode.)

And Jaime admitted to Lady Stark that the only woman he has ever been with is his sister, Cersei.

Everyone wants Joffrey offed. No one is going to show sympathy for him, or the Hound when his time comes.

[benld74]

14. In the books - HE DOES

Yet Tyrion is blamed

[Baitball Blogger]

16. Tyrion gets blamed for everything.

Serious dwarf profiling.

[NewJeffCT]

11. The Arya-Tywin scenes

are a TV show creation. They took some scenes of Arya (swipe for spoilers)[font color=white]serving Roose Bolton, as well as Reek serving Roose Bolton. By the time Arya started having men killed, Tywin had left Harrenhal [/font] and combined it into the Arya-Tywin scenes.

[Baitball Blogger]

12. Hmmm. It looks like they eliminated two characters. No?

[cemaphonic]

13. No, not related

Arya going blind only has a tangential relation to her time at Harrenhall, and is part of a plot that the show hasn't even come close to getting near.

Also, the Arya-Tywin stuff is a bit of a departure from the books. In the books, Arya is just a prisoner while Tywin's forces hold the castle (and I don't recall if Tywin was ever personally in residence while Arya was there). A bit later, she does become a steward for awhile, but to [div style="display:inline; background-color:#000000;"]Roose Bolton.

[Baitball Blogger]

15. Thanks for the explanation.

I wonder when they decided to write this scene in? I know that Maise William's sword dance received huge praise last year.

[cemaphonic]

17. Probably to let the actors bounce off each other and raise the emotional stakes.

Probably also to streamline the plot a bit - the situation at Harrenhall in the books is very convoluted, but there are only a couple of events there that I would consider absolutely critical in an adaptation like this. So they can save some time and avoid confusing people by simplifying things.