Game of Thrones Rant

HBO's Game of Thrones has become one of the most well known and beloved TV series in the world with a good reputation that I believe it has earned. It's managed to adopt an intricate book series with a complex story, countless dynamic characters and an expansive universe in a seven-season TV series.

However, are there things to hate about it? Yes, even the best shows make mistakes. Did they mess up a story? (*cough* Dorne *cough*) Did they cut out good characters? (Arianna Martell, Barristan Selmy and basically every other Northern House outside of the Boltons, Starks, and Mormonts.) and if I wanted to I could have made an entire list of nitpicks I had with the show, but instead, I want to focus on what I think is the shows worst sin. That is, the terrible portrayal of the Baratheon brothers Stannis and Renly, and to a lesser extent Loras Tyrell.

Now I’m sure some of you are wondering why this is such a big deal for me, I mean compared to other changes like Dorne, a character like Stannis (Who was still quite well liked) and Renly (A relatively minor player in the Game) seems pretty minor. But this is because Stannis is my favorite character in the show. (Alongside Tyrion.) He’s someone who I don’t just like, but also admire and I feel like I want to be a bit more like him.

So it pisses me off when the show runners insist on trying to portray Stannis as some greedy and calculating asshole while they portray Renly as some kind and honorable and progressive ruler, which makes me question if any of the writers actually read the book. Now that's not to say that Renly was a total monster in the book and Stannis was a saint, no. They both did good and bad things.

Let me start by saying that the show actually is pretty accurate in showing the events of the book in the show. A lot of the things that happen in the show and a number of the things the characters say are accurate. But whats wrong is actually the context and details they build around it.

Think of it like a game of Telephone, by the end, the main idea might still be the same, but the details aren’t and it can affect the narrative.

Now it goes without saying but spoilers ahead.

A good example of this could be Renly’s death. In a Clash of Kings, during their negotiations, Renly pulls out a peach and begins talking about how delicious it is and how Stannis is missing out. This is important because its the straw that breaks the camel's back for Stannis to order his younger brothers death.

This is because he misinterprets Renly’s message, to Stannis he thought that his brother wasn’t taking the negotiations seriously and was just trying to egg him on, but Renly was actually giving him the advice to stop being so serious and smell the roses.

And afterward, in the show, Stannis is largely apathetic and shows little regret over it. In the book he was horrified at what he did, every night he would have nightmares of his brother dying and admitted he still loved his brother, though he also said that he would have been a bad ruler and it needed to be done.

Another change is regarding how Melisandre controls Stannis. While in the books she had a strong influence on him, it’s clear that Stannis is in control and outright refused several of her ideas which he deemed to dishonorably or underhanded. In the show, he’s completely under her control.

It’s almost like their two different characters.

A change they made with Renly is his acceptance of Brienne of Tarth. While he accepts her into his Rainbow Guard in both versions, in the book he does it because he’s aware of her feelings towards him and plans to use it to ensure her loyalty but secretly mocks her behind her back. In the show, however, this is completely omitted and it makes it appear that he only did so since he’s such a nice guy.

And then there are things they completely added. An example would Stannis sleeping with Melisandre at the promise of the son, which is complete bullshit. While Stannis does indeed sleep with her, it's for the purpose of using her magic to birth those freaky shadow monsters, he actually doesn’t care too much if he has a son because he’s ok with his daughter ending up on the Iron Throne.

For Renly there's that whole scene with him and Robert going on a hunting trip while he berates his older brother on how casually he talked about the old times during the war and how many people died as a result. This never happens in the book and for good reason, if Renly said this then he would be a MASSIVE HYPOCRITE.

During the war, his main strategy is let the Lannisters and Starks bludgeon each other to oblivion while he sits and waits, regularly throwings feasts and holding tourneys. He does this while intentionally blocking shipments of food to King’s Landing and letting the people starve to get them to rebel. While a completely legitimate strategy, it is not done someone who cares so much about his people, but someone determined to get the crown.

But the shows worst sin is its insistence that Renly is undoubtedly the better person and king than his brother would. When we see Renly as a king, he’s a reasonable and calm man who treats everyone from commoner to noble well while Stannis is some monster who butchers people who disagree with him. Which is a complete contradiction to how Renly and Stannis are portrayed in the book. Both of them are subversions to two tropes, Renly being the Charmer and Stannis as the evil uncle.

On paper, Renly was this king who won the people over with his charm and dashing personality and appearance, but in reality was this sleazy bully who only really got his claim by having the largest army and the love of his people, and threatened his rivals to backing down.

Stannis, on the other hand, looked like this evil uncle who despised his nephew for stealing what he saw as his rightful throne. I mean he lives in a dark and spooky castle previously owned by conquerors who brought forth terrifying monsters, his court consisted of former criminals, smugglers, and witches and he practices a foreign religion that was considered barbaric by the people of Westeros. But he was the one with a strong sense of justice and fought to protect the people in the end.

So this is my rant. What do you guys think? Agree? Disagree? Share your thoughts in the comments.