BloatedGuppy said:
I'd add another bone of contention...in that we have no Greatjon, no Darcy Mormont, no Wendel Manderly, none of Robb's inner coterie, all of whom were slain alongside Robb and Catelyn at the Red Wedding, compounding the sense of loss and outrage. This was more than just cutting down Robb in the midst of all his power, the North lost multiple prominent and respected lords. That plays directly into the simmering outrage evident all through the 5th book, culminating in the infamous meat pies, the sly references to the Rat King, and Wyman Manderly's refrain of "The North remembers". At the moment, the show is busy portraying Robb as a failing king who almost DESERVES to be cast down, as opposed to a rising young star who was outplayed by a superior politician. We've also spent approximately zero seconds discussing the significance of guest right, so the magnitude of the dishonor involved in the Frey's portrayal will be lost on the TV audience. It will seem like a very obvious trap that was baited for Robb to blunder into, as opposed to a stunning break from centuries of ingrained tradition. Even the Frey's allies despise them afterwards.
Well, technically the Greatjon was around in season 1. He's also actually one of the few to survive the RW (he's taken captive, while his son the Smalljon buys it). Dacey Mormont is something of a sad omission, given that her mother Maege gets tied up with Asha and Stannis' stories in ADWD; not to mention the fact that the she-bears are awesome - female warriors who, unlike Brienne, still know how to be women - and House Mormont is one of the most likeable in Westeros. I can, however, see why they've dropped her. Dacey does absolutely bugger all in the plot up until the RW. She's mentioned as having ridden with Robb during Whispering Wood, and is used as an example of how Robb inspires loyalty (she chooses to stay with him for the wedding) but aside from that we never
see her do anything. More damning, I think, is that with her we've got Mormonts running all over the shop. In a book, that's easy to keep track of. The show found it hard enough, I think, to tell non-readers that the Old Bear leading the Night's Watch is the father of Dany's key advisor. Throw in his (sister and niece?) and even for a show with as large a cast as GoT, you're potentially stretching credibility a little for very small returns.
I agree that Wendel Manderly is a problem, given the importance of Wyman's revenge (and how he spares Davos because of it). That said, there will be a lot of people milling about this wedding. We will see a lot of people get killed. You don't need to introduce a character to show some extra in Manderly colours getting killed; and then simply have Wyman
tell people that he lost a son at the Red Wedding. The man in Manderly colours is really only there for people to look for when watching the series back, a little seed that will bloom retrospectively. People bought Rickard Karstark's reason for revenge, and he did much the same. We never saw his sons, we are merely told he had them and lost them. The same could work for Wyman.
I also agree with you on guest right. I wish they had used Craster's to better foreshadow it. That said, it's rather abrupt in the books too. Yes, it's mentioned several times before but it's really only Cat hammering it in right before they reach the Twins that the point sticks. It's her insistence that Robb demand food, because once they've had even the most meagre bread, they're safe. That idea isn't really mentioned in such stark terms up to that point. So I'm sure Cat will mention it in much the same vein in Ep 9. Of course, the nature of the faster paced TV series will no doubt make astute viewers crack their eyebrows at that, much the same way that you can guess what's going to happen by what HBO decide you need reminding of in the 'previously on' segment. But there will at least be the red herring moment of everyone relaxing as soon as Frey allows Robb to eat.
There is also a different emphasis on the show. The outrage will no doubt come more from Roose Bolton's duplicity than the breach of guest right. Yes, Roose was shown to be playing both sides when talking to Jaime, but they've noticably played down many elements of House Bolton. Roose, for example, has not offered Cat a sliver of leather made from Theon Greyjoy's finger. The flayed man sigil has been drastically played down so as not to spoil the reveal of who The Boy is. The books did little to hide that Roose is both not quite right and very ambitious (he picks Fat Walder Frey as a wife purely because he was offered a dowry 'the weight of his wife in gold'). The way things are set up, I'm sure any anguish lost over the deaths of Dacey, Smalljon, Grey Wind and Wendel will be made up for in revealing Roose to be a traitor.
Funnily enough, the one thing I'm not looking forward to is Cat's death. I never liked her in the books, and she's arguably even worse on the show. I'm not going to miss her, but her death is one of the more gruesome in the series, and I'm honestly expecting it to be quite uncomfortable viewing.
