Every week Ivey and Bob discuss 'Game of Thrones' as readers of the books. This week we discuss possible changes from the book to the screen. Spoilers for a 'Clash of Kings' abound.

Books are different than TV. This is not news. They are different mediums and usually require different story telling techniques to succeed. At the very least, they can certainly use certain mechanics that the other cannot. It’s much easier to disguise a character in a book while it’s much easier to convey emotion subtlety on television. A well acted look can convey paragraphs of prose. It should not come as a shock then, that there are going to be differences between the second season of Game of Thrones and A Clash of Kings.

As always, spoilers abound for A Clash of Kings and A Storm of Swords. Reader beware.

Bob:

So, there are a few obvious changes that need to occur in the second season. I’m most curious to see what the writers are going to do with Jaime. As readers know, the man has one scene in the entire novel, at the very end, which pretty much got moved to the first season of the show. Hmm… Is he going to just hang around as a prisoner all season? Is his release going to be accelerated? If that’s the case, what the heck is he going to be doing?

Ivey:

I’m not too worried about Jaime. I think the first season of Game of Thrones proved that David Benioff and D.B. Weiss were willing to “fill in” material that wasn’t originally in the book. Just because Clash largely ignored Jaime doesn’t mean that nothing happened. There was an escape attempt that occurred off screen that I’m sure we’ll see. There was also an image from one of the trailers that showed Jaime with a direwolf in his face, which I’m sure was Grey Wolf. That leads me to believe that Robb will visit Jaime in irons at least once. Maybe we’ll get a treatise on the responsibilitie s born upon both of them, Robb with the Stark honor, and Jaime with the Lannister name.

Bob:

Of course, Robb is in much of the same situation, as all of his actions take place “off screen” so to speak. I’m actually looking forward to seeing the beginnings of his relationship with Jeyne. I think it will bring a lot of credibility to the relationship that perhaps wasn’t there as strongly in the novel.

Ivey:

It looks like Robb’s story will be considerably more fleshed out in season two than it was in the novel, which is something that interests me a great deal, though not necessarily because I’m interested in his new relationship — though there are many “tinfoil” theories about the genesis of that relationship and how that might affect the story in the last two novels.

But what I’m really curious about is seeing a story that was barely told in the novels. This is a lot different than adding a scene or two for characterizatio n or color. Did the writers fill in their own details, or did George R. R. Martin tell them what went down? I’m really looking forward to seeing how this particular story is characterized.

Bob:

Looking over the list of characters that have been (presumably) cut from the show, I can’t help but notice the Reeds on the list. It seems like they are fairly important characters, especially in Bran’s storyline. I’m wondering a couple things. Are they going to be introduced early in season three, with the sacking of Winterfell actually being moved from the second season of the show, with more of the focus on the goings on around King’s Landing? Or, will the Reed’s be replaced with Osha? I feel like that might be a little troublesome. Her (and Rickon) haven’t really been seen in the books since the end of Clash. If something very different is in store for them it could create problems (far) down the line. Interesting. Ivey: I don’t really have a problem with Osha replacing the Reeds in the short run, but it would definitely have cascading problems as the seasons wore on. As much as Martin wants to talk about the “butterfly effect” as it concerns killing Mago in season one, there are several much more relevant changes that could be occuring in season two. As much as I’d like to see the Blackfish added to the cast, the story can live without him, and he can easily be written in down the road. As far as the Reeds go, the only point that they really serve in this story is to start Bran on his journey. Unless, of course, all of the tinfoil theorists out there are right, and their father Howland plays a significant role as The Song of Ice and Fire comes to a close. Bob: Only Martin himself can answer that question, and it’s good to know that he has a big hand in the series.

Photo Credit: Helen Sloan/HBO