On the Lighter Side

I think if they had done more normal length seasons. (20-ish eps, so double the length of past GOT seasons) they could have done 2 seasons per book. So every book would have been about 40+ eps. That would have given plenty of room for the larger plots and character arcs while still leaving room for creativity/originality like the Arya/Tywin interactions.

That would have given them ten seasons before they ran out of books to pouch from. Yeah, it might have been a little hard at first with many of the actors growing up and being older then what the characters are. But you can easily work that in by taking into consideration how long it takes to travel from place to place. Basically work in that concept of the 5 year gap, without having to do a 5 year gap.  

There was an aspect of your words that wasnt dripping in sarcasm???

Honestly I never did care about the Brotherhood without Banners, and Lady Stoneheart

lol, yes, because two white guys writing a show about slavery can *never* be a bad thing. 

You know Phanta, one thing I have noticed and appreciate this season is that there is a true sense of Arya being a 'grown up' now. This is the first time I can sit and watch the program, and not just see a medieval version of a child soldier on the screen. Between Maisie aging up, and the absolute rush to the finish line the show is pushing for, Arya is finally being depicted with the confidence and competency we all knew was laying in wait.

It doesn't feel like there is a massive age difference between her and Dany anymore, either.

Small diamonds in the rough, but we take what we can get.

I re-read my post, and you caught me sarcasm abounds.

That was the ONLY reason I decided to even Touch the HBO canon, because WoW Arya is what, 13? and Dany is...16?
Suuuuuuuure...

You're right, 9 during the start of GoT (book)
So, all these books are Supposedly happening across the span of 2 years.

Which means the greatest assassin Westeros can hope for is...11?
17 it is!

Them being young in the books then being thrown to tons of their fair share of shit then surviving to it seems too much hyperbole to me. Yes it is fiction, all about magic, mythical creatures and stuff but characters that young could've died that easy. It's hard to imagine an 8-10 yr old Arya being able to survive the training the faceless men prepares for their disciples for. It might be an instant trip to the Many-Faced Gods realm if they don't have the strength and endurance to do so. That young body that she had, she'll have a hard time withstanding the beatings she could get from the waif, she could die from it in an instant how much more with Jaqen training her on poisons and its antidotes.
And as for Dany, she's been married of to a Khal at age 13 in the books(?) She had a miscarriage on her stillborn son to Khal Drogo, it could kill her. It will be hard for a pregnant teen to carry a baby for 9 months in her womb. Delivering the baby would be excruciatingly painful since her body is still not ready to bear a child, how much more with her having a miscarriage; it could kill not only the baby but also Dany herself.

Guess the purpose of tv series is not only to bring the characters to life but also to tone down the books (maybe a little).

(But HBO and D&D tone down the books too much that they left the awesomest parts of it and that pisses me off)