Twitter

Where to Stream:

Game of Thrones

It seems like everyone in the world is amped up for the season five premiere of Game of Thrones this Sunday and it’s with good reason. The show has consistently delivered high class drama, shocking plot twists, and enough sex, violence, and good old fashioned fantasy to keep everyone entertained. However, there’s another reason to tune in for this season: it’s the first one where the showrunners, David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, start going off book in big and small ways.

Until now, the show has only strayed in small ways. They’ve changed character names to avoid confusion or beefed up a popular supporting role to help tell the larger story. In season five, though, characters live, die, and intersect in ways that are distinctly different than what the books’ author, George R.R. Martin, put on the page. This is going to be a “make it or break it” season for the show and we’re excited to see how it turns out.

**Why It’s Good Game of Thrones Is Going “Off Book”:**

Well, they kind of have to go off book. Both books four and five feature a confounding amount of new characters and subplots that do nothing but enhance the texture of the world. In layman’s terms that means that the books could have used a lot of editing. This means that the show isn’t beholden to the book’s narrative mistakes. Game of Thrones can course-correct the books’ straying narrative and tell a cleaner, sharper story.

Now that the show is going off book, Game of Thrones finally has the opportunity to shock the books’ most loyal fans. Many might have lost their minds over the “Red Wedding,” but lots of fans of the novels watched that scene with grim smugness. They knew what was about to happen. They might have been thrilled to see it so brutally captured on screen, but that initial shock was denied them.

I’ve seen the first four episodes of season five (and read all five books), and while I thought I was up-to-date on all of the show’s spoilers, something happened in the third episode that left me gasping with dread. So, yeah, Game of Thrones, you have my attention now.

**Why It’s Bad Game of Thrones Is Going “Off Book”:**

Well, there’s no guarantee that the changes will work. As exciting as it is to see characters who haven’t met yet in the books collide, it’s too soon to see why some of these changes will work better for the show than what Martin did in the books.

Furthermore, these new character interactions sometimes come at the cost of logic. There’s more than one scene next season where one character questions another — and I’m paraphrasing to avoid spoilers — “Wait, so why are we going to this place? Why does it have to be us? How does this [change to George R. R. Martin’s narrative] make sense?” That’s not just a signal that the show runners are going off book, but that��your protagonists know they are behaving slightly out of character. Don’t get me wrong it’s fun to see [NAME REDACTED] in a scene with [NAME REDACTED], but it also feels slightly like wish fulfillment for the fans.

Did I mention that something happened in the third episode that left me gasping with dread? There are quite a few characters whose fates seemed secure in the books, and now I am very, very concerned about them.

So What Does It All Add Up To?:

A friend of mine once said that as good as a book, film, or television series seems in the middle of its narrative, you can never judge if it’s truly good or bad until it’s over. A lot of critics are already crooning that the changes are making the show better, but you really can’t make that call until the season — or series — finale. So, we have to wait until the final credits roll to decide.

It doesn’t matter who lives and who dies in the books. We’re constantly told that no one is safe on Game of Thrones, but now it’s honestly true. [Where to Stream Game of Thrones]

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wViILXQfX7Y]

Like what you see? Follow Decider on Facebook and Twitter to join the conversation, and sign up for our email newsletters to be the first to know about streaming movies and TV news!

[Photos: Everett Collection]