SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion

Michelle wrote: "I'm thinking of watching the GOT series once I am finished with the book. But I might not want to watch them all in order. Would this be a problem? Can I see episodes of only my favorite parts with..."

I would strongly counsel that you see the TV episodes in their order if you don't want to become hopelessly confused. Characters tend to die very suddenly all along the episodes and there are more than a few surprise 'WTF' moments sprinkled all over the show. Each season final episode is definitely a must see, since they normally include a 'holy s...' whammy. Especially, do not miss THE BATTLE OF BLACKWATER, THE RED WEDDING, THE PURPLE WEDDING and THE CHILDREN (names of episodes as I remember them, may be a bit different). However, there is hardly any episode that is not worth watching.

I don't think that there would be much point in watching them if you jumped around, or only watched a few episodes of the series. There are a number of characters and scenes (and plot points) in the show that aren't in the books at all, or that play out very differently onscreen. If you just wanted to get a feel for settings/costumes then I'd go for it, but otherwise I don't think that watching single episodes would be very satisfying.

Are you finishing up the series, or the first book?

Linear will help you, obviously, actually follow the plot...especially since they do change a number of things from the books (including a few major points in Season 4, most recently), but as for "must-watch" episodes?

Michel hit it right on point--Battle of Blackwater is probably the most focused episode of them all, and its power rises accordingly. The Red Wedding will haunt you, and the Purple Wedding is a fan favorite.

I also have to vote w/the "watch in order" crowd, but I also think the beginning of Season 1 has some of the most fun shows to watch -- we get to see the Starks interacting as a family (for at least a while), we get characters' first sights of the Wall, we get introduced to politics in King's Landing; setting the dominos up might just be more fun than watching them fall ...

For purely cinematic reasons, season 4's 'The Watcher on the Walls' was as good (visually) as any blockbuster movie you will see, and being action orientated, it doesn't have a huge amount of plot revelation/development. That said, why wouldn't you just want to watch them all? It is awesome, and from what I understand, my girlfriend (who has read all the books) finds it as interesting to follow the TV version because of the subtle changes and differences.