Anatomy of a Throne: “The Wars to Come” 

HBO’s Game of Thrones brandishes a consistent and high degree of fidelity to the nearly 5,000-page-long source material of George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire novels, but there still, of course, are differences. While most of these gaps from the page to the screen are small and detail-oriented, it is nonetheless the case that the most subtle discrepancies often hold the biggest insight into the adaptation process, into the demands of filmmaking, and into the rigors of the literary narrative.

This, then, is the anatomy of a key scene of Thrones – not because of its dramatic importance or visual effects whizbangery, but because of the telling nature of its realization.

A Dance with Dragons, the fifth entry in the Song of Ice and Fire series, sees Tyrion’s opening chapter answer what was, at the time, an 11-year-long question: just what had happened to everyone’s favorite, witty, patricidal dwarf? (Unlike in the HBO series, which showed Tyrion Lannister boarding a ship right after he killed his erstwhile lover and lordly father, the previous novel contained no such precious information. The ensuing wait was long and terrible, made all the more pregnant with the seemingly infinite possibilities of where Lord Varys was sending Martin’s – and the audience’s – favorite character.)

This first chapter also, in typical Martin fashion, is an elongated and highly detailed affair, depicting Tyrion’s leisurely, wine-infused explorations of Magister Illyrio Mopatis’s manse (the audience is forgiven if they don’t remember dear old Illyrio, the larger-than-life character who has been seen only twice in

Game of Thrones’s 41 episodes, both of them in the first season [“Winter Is Coming” (episode 101) and “The Wolf and the Lion” (105)]). The Imp drinks, contemplates either joining the Wall or going down to Dorne to crown his niece, Myrcella Baratheon, in the Dornish tradition to “make rather a lot of mischief,” drinks some more, and then, of course, eats with the “grotesquely fat” magister. Throughout the proceedings, hints are dropped as to what, exactly, Illyrio wants from him, culminating in the revelation that he means to ship the dwarf off to Daenerys Targaryen, to aid her in her eventual ruling of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros.

It is not until Tyrion’s second chapter – another slowly plotted affair, rich in atmosphere, depicting the pair’s glacially slow meanderings aboard a litter through the Essosi countryside – that the heart of the matter is slowly breached: Magister Mopatis, we discover, has been plotting a Targaryen restoration in Westeros for quite some time, with the end reward for him being the position of master of coin on the ruling Targaryen’s small council (though Tyrion is immediately suspicious of such a stated motivation). The Imp, for his part, is to be a royal advisor, with his quick strategic wit and treasure trove of Westerosi political insights. It’s the best that a dispossessed and borderline suicidal former lordling could hope for.

“The Wars to Come’s” rendition couldn’t be more different in its staging, pacing, and – to a lesser extent – in the psychology of its players. The most blatant change, of course, comes in the switching out of Illyrio with Varys, a move which was all but guaranteed, given showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss’s tendency to utilize only their core cast instead of rotating in a never-ending parade of secondary and tertiary characters. And the fact that the fourth season finale, “The Children” (410), showed the Spider climbing aboard the same ship that was going to smuggle Tyrion off the continent was just icing on the metaphorical cake (in the novel, the eunuch remains behind in King’s Landing but goes into hiding for nearly the entirety of the story).

(Of course, the fact that Illyrio Mopatis hasn’t been seen in three-and-a-half long years more than likely played a role in the executive producers’ thinking on this front – this was a major consideration, after all, in their decision to remove any mention of Tysha, Tyrion’s first wife, in “The Children,” despite her being a huge motivator in the little Lannister killing his lord father. Such considerations are at once wholly understandable but still disappointing, particularly considering the presence of another long-lost minor character, Lancel Lannister [who was last seen in “Blackwater” (209)], in the ep.)

This replacement of Illyrio may seem a relatively minimal alteration, but its ramifications ripple in ways both big and small throughout Tyrion’s two scenes – and, presumably, throughout the rest of his story arc for the remainder of the season. Varys and the Imp’s familiarity with one another allows them to cut right to the dramatic chase, removing the many layers of introduction, argumentation, and deception that hang so heavily in the air on the page. (It also allows for some banter and genuine laughs, which have long been another hallmark of Weiss and Benioff’s take on the source material.) And the straightforwardness of the Spider’s explanations of his and Illyrio’s conspiracy to dethrone the Baratheon dynasty is remarkable, providing a frankness that is, for good or ill, wholly missing from

A Song of Ice and Fire’s many installments. (More on this in just a moment.)

Other, smaller changes worth noting: Tyrion’s extreme self-loathing isn’t quite as pronounced on the screen as it is in Dance with Dragons, partially due to the loss of inner monologues but mostly thanks to the removal of the Tysha component from the character equation. The dwarf is unceremoniously emptied out of his crate (a cask, technically, in the book) in the wine cellar of the magister’s palace in order to help hide his passage into the Free City of Pentos; in the television series, such nuanced story considerations are consistently trumped by production values – it’s far more visually arresting to have grand vistas play out in the background of long dialogue scenes instead of a dimly lit basement.

And, finally, the origin story of Varys and Illyrio’s partnership is not only far simpler in Game of Thrones, it is also, pointedly, much more innocent; rather than simply joining up with a group of people who all “saw Robert Baratheon for the disaster he was,” in the novels the two brainstormed a fencing scheme that had the eunuch steal from lesser thieves while the future merchant would sell the stolen goods back to their rightful owners – for a premium, of course. The motivations behind such a streamlining could either be short- or long-term – it is just too early in the season to know for certain.

A final word (or two) on these two scenes’ particularities needs to be said. The trimming and tucking that the showrunners engaged in is, quite frankly, something that

needed to be done to Martin’s original story, and its continued effects upon the overarching narrative will, undoubtedly, continue to reinforce its structure, let alone pick up its pacing. Furthermore, the efficiency and efficacy both of Benioff and Weiss’s ability to convey extreme amounts of backstory or exposition continues to unbelievably impress; how Tyrion Lannister’s entire state of mind can be established with just a few lines of dialogue, a few shots of Peter Dinklage’s stellar performance, and one (comically timed) bout of vomiting needs to be committed to a filmmaking class on adaptation.

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I believe the reason for Illyrio to be absent is not that his character was removed from the show, but that his actor was unable to reprise him as Illyrio for this season.

I disagree. Analyzing the differences is even more interesting this year due to the number of adaptation decisions that diverge from the book.

This was actually unexpectedly pleasant and balanced, well done for that

I also think Roger Allam just wasn’t available… I mean it’s not like they cut him out… they stayed at his palace instead of going straight to Volantis

I love these, so I do hope you continue to do these. I haven’t read the books, but I enjoy the insights into the adaptation and cinematic processes. I gather that many, many fans on the internet do not like Tyrion’s journey in the books. I actually enjoyed his scenes the most on repeated viewings of

Tyrion’s scenes cut to the meat of the story sure and fast. In Ep. 1 in Pentos, Varys’s motivations are

revealed, as also Tyrion’s mindset. I hope this trajectory of swift cutting to the meat of the story continues for Tyrion’s arc.

Seriously,are you starting to censor comments just because i dared to post an opinion ? Maybe you want to surpass Censoros.org in that aspect,if so you are doing a fine job of it .

This was a nice read and great way to get geared up for tomorrow.

I have to agree that the adaptation was handled very well. As always D&D didn’t waste any screen time. I do disagree that GRRM needed to slim down his Tyrion chapters. I enjoy immersing myself in the world he has created but I can understand if people find it to be boring. We all have different views and taste.

I think this is a special case, where getting to know every little town, hill and bend in the river between Pentos and Volantis frustrated people because the story is about the fate of Westeros, and Essos is just a side stage

Now I think of it I can’t see any plot necessity for the things Tyrion did in Selhorys to be in Selhorys etc.

I agree with Monty – this is one juicy season for exactly this kind of article. And who knows what they will do next season? But that’s a whole year away.

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