Reading the Books After Watching Game of Thrones

Game of Thrones: Sentinel The Show First, And Then Read The Books

Lookout through flavor vi of 'Game of Thrones' before swell open the books.

NOTE: In that location will be spoilers throughout this. Tread lightly.

The seventh season of Game of Thrones premieres in less than a calendar week. Thank the Vii (or R'hllor, or the Drowned God, or the God of Tits and Wine — really, whoever you so choose). No show (well, maybe Lost and to a lesser degree Breaking Bad) has sparked more conversation; no show has sparked more theorizing.

Ever since I started watching the show at the beginning of season two, I've tried to take in as much content regarding Thrones as is humanly possible. I'm talking reading episode recaps, reading general articles discussing theories, listening to podcasts, and scouring the depths of r/gameofthrones. Before 2017, I did all of that flavor-in and season-out, essentially similar clockwork when the show would come back.

Still, I had never read the books.

Why, equally someone who freakin' LOVES Thrones, would I not read the series on which the evidence is based? Wouldn't that sort of make a ton of sense? Of course information technology would! Just to be honest, I was really just being a lazy bum. I had re-picked up reading equally a relatively serious hobby at some betoken last year. I went through a number of books, either through random recommendation past a friend or via reading lists. Then, before a trip to Amsterdam with some friends, I wanted to make sure I had a book ready for the long flight ahead. I randomly came across something Thrones-related while picking a book and the light bulb went off: I should finally start A Song of Water ice and Fire (ASOIAF).

And boy, am I glad I did.

I'1000 glad I finally picked upwardly the book serial on which Game of Thrones is based and I'thousand glad I did and so later on having consumed the kickoff six seasons of the show. Furthermore, I believe this to be the correct order in which to consume both the bear witness and the books. Sure, for millions out there who were captivated past the first novel of the series, A Game of Thrones, back in 1996 (or any time prior to the kickoff season of Thrones), this is not an option. Pitiful! I also know in that location is a corking chance yous'll disagree with my opinion here, just I'm focusing on those who were brought into this world through the show first.

At that place volition be seven books in full, but only five have been published thus far, with The Winds of Winter nonetheless to be released. Many book readers are wondering if either books vi or vii (titled A "Dream of Spring" (more similar, "A Dream of Ever Releasing the Damn Thing," am I right?)) volition always be published at all.

Back to the primary point of this post: watching the show before reading the books is better than doing the reverse. Given that the show has now defenseless up to (and presumably passed) the books, you lot don't have to expect until the show is completed to start reading. The bear witness itself has also veered off grade from the books. Some characters are now dead in the prove just even so alive in the books. The testify also hasn't tapped every grapheme from the books.

Anyhow, here are just a few reasons why you should beginning reading the books after watching upwards to season six.

The books won't affect the viewing of the prove

For such an amazing and in-depth book serial like ASOIAF, the readers are understandably quite devoted. Much like with "Harry Potter" or "Lord of the Rings," forth with the hype surrounding the theatrical (or televised) versions of the books comes extremely high expectations for how the textile will be presented. Given this, it'due south going to be nearly incommunicable for every performance to live upwardly to the book's standards (or, at least the standards fix by the readers).

Lucky for you (if you haven't read the books yet) you can go right ahead and bask the books as the source material for one of your favorite shows.

The characters aren't a letdown

You don't need to worry most character portrayal; you open the first book and get re-introduced to all the characters y'all've grown to love in prove over the years. The books also nowadays each chapter through the point of view of a specific character. Reading some of your favorite scenes from the prove through the lens of one character presents a fresh and interesting view of a scene (accept True cat during the Red Wedding as a great case).

If you read all five books and then spotter the show, y'all're leap to be disappointed by a portrayal here and there, after spending so much fourth dimension with these characters. It's completely understandable! For example, while Stannis is pretty cool in the show, he's MUCH libation in the books (not an opinion, a fact). Only, if you watch the bear witness prior to reading, you're not really let down by any characters and instead enjoy the actress scenes they're in.

You lot don't realize what the show left out

Because we're talking near fitting thousands of pages into each of these x-episode seasons, there are jump to be small story lines cut from the books. At that place really is no style around it when you're dealing with a series of this scope and magnitude. Ignorance is bliss when you lot spotter the show prior to reading the books. You don't realize that LSH has been left out of the show; you don't realize that certain plots involving both Dorne and Mereen have been left out. Not that these are necessarily brand or suspension for the show, merely going back after, reading, and seeing what the evidence left out is better than expectantly watching the show and having your hopes dashed.

Much of my argument really does come downward to "ignorance is bliss." It'southward nice to casually go back and enjoy the books without the worry of what they missed or what they didn't include. You can merely sit back, relax, and take in ane of the greatest fantasy series ever written. You'll get to witness epic moments through specific characters, choice up on things you didn't realize they touched on in the testify, and really detect a greater appreciation for this globe created by George R.R. Martin.

If you've already watched the show upward through flavour 6, information technology'southward time to relish the amazingly detailed books on which the prove is based. Thank me later.

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Source: https://gothamsn.com/watching-thrones-before-reading-is-the-correct-move-6bc49359278

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