Fanfiction.net/gameofthrones

“A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies, said Jojen. The man who never reads lives only one.”
― George R.R. Martin, A Dance with Dragons.

In light of the disgusting deviations of Game of Thrones in respect of the books, I believe this quote sums up the difference between the books and the television series quite perfectly. We are at the end of Season 5, and by now, the only light exasperated book-fans have is the fact that certain theories are now being confirmed. Apart from that, this show has become a fanfiction, and we all know GRRM's opinion on fanfiction.

Today, I was told that 'the show is based on the books, so it doesn't have to follow them directly'. Did book readers expect changes? Yes of course, we're not illogical. We know that adaptions are often tricky and it's difficult to include everything in the adaptation. Did we expect the producers to respect the source material? Yes. Did we expect characters, especially key characters, and their character developments to follow the same line as in the books? Yes, of course. Why on earth wouldn't they?

Have they portrayed key character's developments as in the books? Not. At. All. They have white washed so many characters simply because they are fan-favourites or because the actresses have really nice breasts. 

D&D clearly favorite Dany over everyone else, including the true heir to the throne, Stannis. This is why they seem to have swapped the roles of madness between the two characters. Let's talk about the logic of Shireen's burning. Had this series not been based on a set of pre-existing books with pre-existing characters and pre-existing storylines,  one would say say Shireen's burning is an indication of change in Stannis's character, in that he's willing to sacrifice everything for his cause. It would've been a poignant change in character. But this is a series based on the pre-existing - so to have this change is not honouring the books, but rather another example of D&D's lazy story telling by having Stannis go all Dany on his own child rather than finding a way to show Stannis's true character in the most concise way possible. There are lots of ways of doing this. Exhibit A: DONT BURNER SHIREEN BARATHEON. 

Books vs Show

Let's not even talk about how out of character it was off Davos , who saved Gendry,  a boy he barely knew, to not save Shireen, the little girl whose been teaching him how to read,  the little girl with whom he has spend much time with and grown fond of. But hey, D&D's budget constraints (see 'lazy story writing') couldn't have that in either.

You know who HAS gotten crazy at this point in the books? Dany! D&D's beloved. You know who HAS become bitter about everything and experienced an interesting turn in character development? Tyrion! But Tyrion being a fan favorite and Dany bring D&D's precious angel basically means no interesting character developments for these two. Nope, we shan't ruffle any feathers or show full characters on this show because budget constraints. Let's just make Stannis crazy because hey,  he won't fill our nude quota and no fans seem to like him anyway (given than we've portrayed him as a megalomaniac. Oops). 

Dany Apologists

D&D have said they're sticking to the books as much as they can - how is this even remotely true when Stannis wouldn't have anyone else burned just because they were experiencing difficulties? How is this true when Stannis names Shireen heir to Storms End before he marched onto Winterfell? 

I used to dislike Stannis when I first watched the show. But once I'd started reading the books,  I realized D&D made him out to be this crazy,  power - hungry leader when he was really the opposite. He's one of the few players on the Game week wishes to serve the Realm. I realized then that if characterization had been cut out for one major character on the show, how many more could this have happened to?

I think by choosing not to read the books simply because they are too long or because the show will portray the end result anyway, book-burners and show apologists are doing themselves a disservice, You are entitled to whichever form of entertainment you choose, but why settle for a Chomp when you can have Lindt? You are allowing D&D insult your intelligence with sudden, illogical changes in character and plot-holes deep enough to fit Drogon, Viserion and Rheagon. Firstly, why on earth would Stannis take his child, wife and Melissandre down to Winterfell with him when he is on the brink of war?

Lancel Lannister, at the beginning of Season five, stated that he had confessed his sins when he became a part of the Faith - so why didn't the High Sparrow imprison Cercei as soon as they had the power to do so? Why wait for Littlefinger to present him as a means of getting back at Cercei? It doesn't even make chronological sense - unless Sparrow has been acting selfishly,  which we all know is nonsense. But then again, given D&D's disregard for audience intelligence, they probably expect you to believe everything they feed you.

Also, how are you forgetting the Greyscale saga? Show Jorah even says that one touch of someone with Greyscale can cause you to contract the disease. So how is it that Tyrion,  Dany etc have not yet contracted it when Jorah has been freely shaking hands with people?

Friendzone? Here, have some Greyscale.

To maintain its viewership, D&D have resorted to attacking the good, sweet, quiet characters (Sansa,  Shireen and to a degree, Myrcella - although we already knew her shroud would be gold) for shock value. This is precisely what GRRM doesn't not like about fanfiction. But why did they have to resort to these non-existent happenings when they had two whole, 1500+ pages worth of fantastic storytelling that includes action and a water-tight plot?

Do yourself a favour - read the books. Because things have changed to the point where it is not following the books anymore, but rather going on their own path. Jon Snow said two roads lead to the same castle - in this case, I believe the show's road is more likely to end up Sothoryos than in Kings Landing.