I would say so. The first three books are magnificent pieces of charged writing. The books are long but don't waste words. Martin stumbles a bit in book 4 and gets over-indulgent in book 5. What's important in the books is that since they are all written from the POV of one of the main , or occasionally minor characters, you get to see that most people have very limited information and their own biases to work through.

Since there are internal thoughts you can understand character motivations and actions a little better. For example it is easy in hindsight to dismiss Ned Stark as an honorbound goody two shoes who was dumb on top of everything else. But when you're in his head and only working from the often bad or incomplete info he had while trying to process his tragic past you get to understand some of the decisions he made.
I would warn you though-Martin wrote all of the children 3-4 years younger than they are in the show. This can get uncomfortable by modern standards so aging them up was a good change the show made. The show has humanized Cersei too much imo and made a few other not so good changes but I'll stop here.

I love this show, but have to admit, there's so much going on that I get a bit confused at times.

Now and then there comes a series that you (well, at least I) have to watch twice to not get lost. I think I should start from the beginning now that I have a vague idea as to who's who.

Believe it or not they have greatly reduced the character count from the books.
Don, check your pm.
As far as your spoiler question...

I almost had some sympathy for Cersei in last week's episode. Even Tyrion looked like he genuinely sympathized with his sister and that's saying alot! Joffrey is a little Hitler running around.

The actress playing Dany is starting to lose me. Every week I have to hear about her dragons leads me closer and closer to insanity.

I think the actress is doing a great job playing Cersei but making her more sympathetic is a rather significant change from the books. We'll see how it turns out.

Yup. I think Danerys is more like her brother than she would like to admit.
I liked the Spice King's take down of her.."so you have no army, no money, no idea of what's happening in your homeland, and no plans on how you're gonna rule but you want me to give you some ships for which you'll gladly pay me next Tuesday? No thanks, little lady!"

It seems to be a recurring theme with folk that haven't read the books; WTF is going on? One thing to be said for it though; the surprise plot twists are just that; surprises.

As far as Dany, I agree with you Don Tomasso; I wish she'd just go to the House of the Undying already. Jaqen H'qaar; easily one of my favourite minor characters at this point. Cant wait to see how the rest of his story arc is going to be portrayed. "Unname me...please? ...a girl lacks honour" ...and zero fucks are given by Arya The exchange between Tyrion and Varys was awesome. And the writers are doing a great job of keeping continuity. A great example is made in Cersei capturing Tyrion's "whore"...remember the necklace Cersei referred to? Remember Episode 5 of Season 1?


Also, did anyone else catch a glimpse of Ned Stark in last nights ep?


Anyway...is anyone else a little depressed that we're already past episode 8? Only two left for the season then another long wait...but whatcha gonna do eh? At least we've got the upcoming Battle of Blackwater to look forward to. And, oh boy, are the next two season's going to be epic...

Also...found this. Thought Id share. Pretty damn cool.

Okay, ummm... first off: posting a pic with words that are censored here isn't good. They're censored for a reason, and that is because there are good woman here that don't appreciate seeing such things.

Anyway, as I said, I need to 'start over' to fully grasp this series. I have NO idea most of the names you mentioned, so... yeah..

And edit (or don't) that pic -- then I'll decide how to handle it.

I forget sometimes how offensive that word is to some. In Australia it's a noun, verb and adjective so...yeah.

Guess I found a loophole around the censoring!

Quick reference for some characters mentioned upthread.

Tyrion Lannister-The dwarfish youngest son of Tywin Lannister, the richest (and most vindictive) man in all the seven kingdoms. Tyrion is presently acting Hand (prime minister) to his nephew , King Joffrey. Tyrion is sarcastic and has a fetish for prostitutes. He's not overly fond of his family or their morals but they are his family. He is also one of the smartest men in the seven kingdoms and an excellent judge of human nature. He's not as vicious as the rest of his family but don't make him choose between you and them.

Arya Stark-The tomboyish youngest daughter of previous Hand Ned Stark. Before he was unjustly executed by Joffrey, Ned arranged for his daughter to be sent back home disguised as a boy. This plan fell apart when she was captured by enemies who don't know who she is. Arya is just a kid but has already seen a lot of killing. She's done some too. She saved the life of Jaqen H'garr.

Jaqen H'garr: He was a prisoner of whom other prisoners are scared. Because Arya saved his life and that of two other prisoners he told her that he would kill 3 people for her. He killed two but was shamed/forced into helping her when she gave him his own name as the final murder victim. There's a strong Rumpelstiltskin vibe to him as he has a very odd way of speaking, a warped sense of honor and in the last episode evidently killed at least a half dozen men virtually simultaneously and silently. So the viewer is not quite sure who or what he is but he's not your normal human warrior.

Varys: He is the spymaster of the realm and something of a frenemy to Tyrion Lannister. He manipulated Ned Stark into false confessions though he may not have intended Ned's execution. Very few people know what he's up to. He's survived and thrived under multiple kings. He is an eunuch and occasionally pretends to be quite effeminate in order to show people what he thinks they want to see. Notice in last episode he told King Joffrey he had no idea what was going on in the North but just afterwards gave Tyrion accurate information about what was happening a full continent away.

Cersei Lannister: Tyrion's big sister, wife to one king whom she had murdered, mother to another King and devotee of incest as her children are all fathered by her brother, Jaime. As Jaime is not around she's doing the do with her cousin. Something of a ur-feminist as she is quite frustrated by having to exert power through men instead of in her own name. Nowhere near as smart as she thinks she is but very dangerous in a "let's pull the wings off the fly because it's fun" sense. She set up Ned Stark. She also didn't want him executed but wasn't that upset by it. She doesn't like Tyrion at all for both personal reasons ( their mother died giving birth to Tyrion and Cersei blames him) and professional reasons (Cersei is upset that Tyrion gets to be The Hand).
Cersei thinks that all men can be manipulated sexually or by playing the victim and both respects and hates men who don't fall for that (her daddy, Tyrion, Ned Stark)

I wish that some new facebook billionaire would underwrite an extra 2 episodes for each season and shorten the wait between seasons. It would help a lot with pacing. But it is what it is.

Yesterday's episode covering The Battle of Blackwater was absolutely incredible. The way that Martin set it up is brilliant. You don't want Joffrey to particularly hold onto power, but you also know that if he falls that Tyrion goes with him, which you don't want. I know from the books that Tywin isn't supposed to be the nicest guy, but the way that Charles Dance has portrayed him and the way the writers have written the character it is difficult not to feel sympathy for him. Also, Lena Headey needs to submit this episode to the Emmy voting cabal for consideration. Her performance was absolutely brilliant!

Great point about Headey's performance. I wasn't necessarily a fan of the somewhat nicer Cersei that the show has given us but last night was the Cersei I know and hate.

I don't think it's a coincidence that the best episode of the season so far was written by GRRM and more or less stayed pretty faithful to the books.

Sansa gets a lot of fan hate, some deserved, some not but I think last night showed her , somewhat belatedly, learning to play the game. Her attempt to manipulate Joffrey into being in the front lines was excellent. Not every battle is fought directly or with swords. Arya wouldn't have lasted five minutes in Sansa's shoes.

Exactly my sentimonies. Both you guys.

Seriously; how awesome? The wildfire? So thats where the budget went. And that last scene with Cersei and Tommen, when Tywin strides in after Loras Tyrell "...we have won"

One more to go. Dany had better get to the House of the Undying.

I expect the finale to be anti-climatic based on yesterday's episode, but I've learned to expect the unexpected with this show so who knows!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sn2l2_v6Ur8

This song is epic!

Yup. Tywin Lannister is an insanely vengeful man who doesn't forgive or forget.
A Lannister always pays his debts, indeed.

If you haven't read the books yet these names might not mean a whole lot. But it's good to know they will be cast for season 3. Most of them should have already been introduced but as the creators said there are only so many new faces they can throw at the viewer in one season.

I am happy to see that Robb's maternal relatives will be cast as they are really critical to some things which already took place and some things which have yet to occur.

Season 3 Casting

The Blackwater episode was soooooooooo gooooood! It was well written and shot. The action kept me at the edge of my seat, but the scenes dedicated to Cersei and Sansa had equal amounts of tension. How do you top that?

Kit Harington (Jon Snow) talks about the process of filming and some differences between HBO's interpretation and the books.

Interview

Exactly. I looked around and don't think it was mentioned but season finale is 70 minutes long instead of the normal 58 or so. So maybe they will do their best to cram as much in as they can. Then we have to wait for another year...

Can't wait to see the finale. I hope the Imp is okay - he is my favorite character!

Season finale tonight. This season has veered away a bit more from the books, not always in good ways. I will be very interested to see the ending and very po'd to have to wait another year. Book 3 is being split up into two seasons.

Finale was a little under-whelming, but I was expecting that because of the success of the Blackwater Bay episode. I understand that they have made further deviations from the book. Having not read the books, I don't know what they are and whether you'll like them Lilo.

Great show & good season. This is a very good series and I look forward to season 3! Great "dream/fantasy" scene with Khal Drogo.

There are tons. Most work ok. But some do not. This one in particular bothered me


That said though the show is a different medium than the books. Coppola made changes to Puzo's text and created a masterpiece. But Benioff and Weiss already have better source text to work with than Coppola had. So I just don't want them to reinvent the wheel too much. Cut where needed but don't change the themes too much. I enjoyed this season but I was a little warier of the changes. If you like the show I would definitely recommend the books.

Last episode was the final? That sucks. It was a good episode, but I thought the there were still two to come. I did not really get the impression last episode was the final...

Yup. That was it. It set records for viewers
http://insidetv.ew.com/2012/06/04/game-of-thrones-finale-ratings-2/
but they're done until next year.

WTG, Khaleesi!! The Khaleesi sequences were the most beautiful, creative--and affecting--of both seasons. And: the return of Drogo!!

Don't f**k with the Mother of Dragons.

I can't stand the actress they have playing her though.