Game of Thrones and Fidelity to Fictional Worlds

The fifth season of A Game of Thrones, HBO’s television series based on George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire book series, has just begun.  Four episodes in and this season has already made dramatic departures from the book series it was based upon.  (SPOILERS) In this season so far, Mance Rayder and Barriston Selmy have died and Jamie Lannister has traveled to Dorne while Sansa Stark has followed Petyr Baelish to Winterfell (END SPOILERS).  In previous seasons I was upset when a character from the books I found fascinating, like Lady Stoneheart or Coldhands, was cut from the show.  Now characters are not merely being cut from the show, but are being killed off in it while their literary counter-parts continue to live (for now).  Cutting secondary characters, especially in the later books, could be excused as necessary to create a tighter narrative for the show to follow.  But killing off characters in the show, after they have already been introduced into the narrative, can dramatically alter the plot if they are still alive in the book series.  If a character is killed off within the story of the show but has thus far continued to live in the books, there is concern that this either reveals that ultimate significance to the book series to be minimal or can split the two series down increasingly different paths.    

Only time will tell what the consequences these changes will wrought for the divergent narratives of the television and book series.  But regardless of how divided the world shared by the books and show become, it appears that the changes in the television series this season is already making significant divisions in the overall fan-base.  This is not simply a division between those that prefer one series, television or book, over the other but is also a division between how those series should relate to one another.  It is a difference of opinion regarding the relationship between fictional worlds, their audience, and their creators.  There are those that believe that the television series should reflect the book series as closely as the medium can, and there are those that believe that the television series should be allowed to diverge from its literary parent.  I am sympathetic to the latter, but with certain limitations in mind.  

Given that both series focus upon the same pseudo-medieval world, I believe that the show should follow the books in its world-building.  To my knowledge the show has done this quite well and it must if fans of the book series are to identify the world in the show with the literary world that first captured their interest.  Changing the background lore of the television series undermines the impression that it shares its world with its literary predecessor and betrays the George RR Martin’s vision that made the television series possible.  Dorne should not be erased from the map, or dragons replaced with griffon.  That said, I believe that the television show is entitled to flesh out the lore or invent some of its own, so long as it does not contradict the canon established before.  The world of the show must reflect that of the books, but that does not mean that we must view the world in the show with the same detail and from the same perspective as that of the books.  Having the series in a televised media allows the audience an opportunity to see more of the world and in a degree of detail impossible to capture through the exercise of one’s imagination.         

The world of the show is populated more or less with the same cast of characters from the book series.  If it involved a radically different cast of characters set within the same world, it would be a spin-off series and not a reflection of the book series itself. It is important that the identity of the characters be maintained relative to the world they inhabit; Oberyn should be from Dorne and not Braavos, Tyrion should be one of three Lannister heirs, Ned should be of House Stark and not House Bolton, etc.  As the most dynamic and emotionally engaging aspects of the world, these characters need to remain true to George RR Martin; to change their history, identity and personality, is to deprive fans of the perspectives that shaped their vision of Martin’s world.  Changes to their appearance are less significant insofar as they appear consistent with their characterization and place within the world; Tyrion should not have the body of a Dothraki or John Snow the appearance of a Targaryen (even if he is a unknowing member of their bloodline).  Changes to secondary characters are of secondary importance, but such changes can still be understandably upsetting to fans of them since they are characters to whom attachments and expectations are formed.             

With the world and its cast of characters following the precedent set in the book series more or less, the show characters can interact with one another and appropriately suffer fates that deviate significantly from their counter book counterparts.  Although their identities are fixed within the world, their actions could always be otherwise insofar as these actions are consistent with those identities.  This allows the show the greatest freedom to correct flawed characterization from the books but also runs the greatest risk of alienating fan expectations.  When Ser Barriston was apparently killed off in the last episode, it was upsetting because he has not (yet) died within the book series. However, the enjoyment of Martin’s world is derived from upsetting such expectations; the untimely death of a character or a character making a decision we did not predict from the books not only provides the show with unique content but also keeps it consistent with the torturous unpredictability that makes Martin’s writing so engaging.  The overall story-arcs of characters, especially major ones such as John Snow or Arya Stark, should remain consistent with the books overall but minor changes to them or major changes to minor character arcs provide new opportunities for drama.  Reading the books is no guarantee that one will not be surprised by the show, and that is necessary if the show is to be engaging on its own. 

The show is its own narrative of Martin’s work as it should be if it is to be entertaining on its own.  If it copied the books entirely it would merely be a substitute for one’s imagination and not an opportunity for (relatively) original story-telling.  One should not judge the show on the basis of its fidelity, or lack thereof, to Martin’s work but judge it according to its own self-respect and consistency.  Yes, Ser Barriston and Mance Rayder did not (yet) die in the books, but does it make sense for them to die in the storyline of the show? I think it might.  The books and show should be read side-by-side not one on top of the other; their consistencies should be considered complimentary and reflective of an overall unity of world and story.  The books provide a map for the show, with the same world and routes and destinations in story.  But what we encounter on our journey in the show may not match up exactly with what was written on the map of the books and we may deviate occasionally from the map as alternative routes in the story become available.          

The problem is that George RR Martin is still writing the map of books for the show to follow and the show is rapidly advancing on what he has written so far and may even surpass some of it.  It is convenient to say that the show should respect the canon of the books when that canon is closed and can be appreciated as a totality one can add to.  But when Martin is still adding to that body of literature, the liberties deemed legitimate for the show to take become complicated since they can possibly reveal the outcome of events in the books prior to the books reaching them or contradict the world-building of the books to come later.  Fans rightly fear that the death of Mance Rayder or the removal of Coldhands from the show render these characters insignificant to the future and overall plot of the book series or may influence Martin’s own writing by forcing him down paths taken by the show.  From what I have read, the show creators have been in communication with Martin and are aware of the overall and end vision he has for his series and they intend to respect that in the show, even if they get to it before him.  It is this communication that hopefully ensures that the show remains true to the canon of the word in Martin’s mind before he himself is able to put it into words upon a page.     

Speaking generally now, fantasy fiction derived from a predecessor, regardless of the media of either, should remain consistent with the world-building of its predecessor.  This is necessary if we are to believe that each reflects the same world.  If it is a matter of translation between media, television to book or vice versa, the characters should remain consistent across media as well.  If these are changed significantly from their original vision, then one is merely appriopriating the names and imagery of one media, making one’s own vision more appealing by exploiting the expectations of a pre-established fan base.  Although Martin himself has criticized fan-fiction, I believe that it can be a sign of respect fan’s have towards the world and characters established by the original creator.  It may be the honest desire to extend the horizon of the fantasy world further and see its beloved characters off on further adventures rather than a mere lazy exercise in creativity.  Fantasy literature is greatest when it presents the illusion of being a world of its own and is sustained by people writing and reading about it; the more people doing so, and the more the fictional world lives through them, transcending the limits of any single imagination.  What greater sign that people consider your world to be real than the desire of people to see it extended beyond one author and one form of representation.  It is only because people believe so deeply in Martin's world that they believe it can be envisioned on television or in videogames.