Not-Quite-A-Poll: Add a character or change a character’s story?

Train-hoppin’ FaBihoff here, tak-tak-tak-ing away at the laptop in the midst of a sudden and slightly bizarre New York City vacation. No rest for the wicked; House Gatewatch never sleeps.

I had this question in mind for a number of months now, and thought it would make for a good open post; something that might spur lengthy discussion and have a vast and varied batch of responses. I initially wanted to do a poll, but while the question asked is a simple one—your answers probably won’t be.

So here’s your scenario:

You are suddenly put in charge of the scripting duties for Game of Thrones, and the powers-that-be have demanded a change be made to the canon-faithful script you’ve just submitted. They require (GASP!) a change from George R.R. Martin’s sacrosanct story! How do you handle it?

Of course you are an avowed ASoIaF purist! Barring the occasional Mereenese knot (Dany, why so dumb?), this story is already perfect. The best changes are no changes at all. And yet the order has come down; make the change! Your mind whirls through the many stages of grief (anger, denial, blaming Daniel Portman, all of it) before, finally composed, you sit down and map the possible ways to make this change out in your head.

You really have two paths: One would be to change the character’s actions in some way—say, something like having Jaime duel Ned outside the brothel in broad daylight whilst afoot; it’s more dramatic if they cross swords, cheaper to film during the day, and you won’t have to put up with all the problems that might arise with a bunch of horses being crowded together. Also, Jaime kills Jory himself, making this encounter even more personal.

Or in another instance you could create a completely new character to do your dirty work: “Well, we’d love to use Kyra in the brothel, but technically she was never actually a whore… plus we want her to go to King’s Landing and play with Sahara Knite’s ass.”

To which the reply might be, “That would be canon fodder for the purists! Kyra didn’t do that! I can’t believe you’re changing her!!”

“Oh, well, then I suppose we’ll create a new girl. I once knew a prostitute named Ros…”

So on and so forth.

Where do you draw the line between change and creation? I have a feeling many of you will have many different opinions.

So here is your task, Gatewatch faithful: Tell us how you would handle the “Change Something” situation if it came to you. Where do your instincts lie? If you slip too far to one side—“Littlefinger, you creeper, that was the Hound’s line!”—you anger a lot of purists. Go too far in the other direction—“Why exactly is Ros playing with Sahara Knite’s ass again?”—and you may create a largely loathed addition to a story already packed with a plethora of characters.

Do you change, or do you add? Most of you will answer, “Situational!”

Well we want to know what those situations might be. What are you willing to sacrifice to stay as close to canon as humanly possible? Or does canon mean nothing in the face of better television storytelling?

Fire And Blood: Thinking of the various changes they made for season one, I think I personally prefer slight modifications to characters rather than unwanted additions. I think the Jaime vs. Ned confrontation came off better on the show than it did in the book, honestly. There are persisting rumors than Oona Chaplin’s “Jeyne” is a far, far cry different from the Jeyne Westerling we know, and I’m not entirely sure how I feel about that—but in truth I haven’t seen the finished product. It may be better than a mostly-offscreen Westerling. I won’t judge it ’til I see it.

Dave and Dan have made a pret-ty damned good show for us thus far. I’m willing to give anything a chance. And as far as “purists” go, well, admittedly… I generally don’t see eye-to-eye with most of ’em, as they tend to be obstinate in the face of change, even when that change is, after all’s said and done, proven to be for the better. (I recently debated change with a Muppet purist. Imagine!)

But I’ve also seen how one poor decision made “for television” by faceless, bottom-line hugging suits can wreck an entire show. Thankfully we don’t seem to have those. So again—it’s all up for debate.

Debate!

• Published on 11/06/2011 at 2:50 AM CDT
• Last updated on 11/06/2011 at 2:50 AM CDT