Game of Thrones: The Purist Cuts

[Heavisyde]

When Game of Thrones kicked off, it was remarkably close to the book in terms of its plot and dialogue. In fact, some conversation were lifted almost word for word from the first book, and story events generally followed the first few books faithfully. With each season that passed, the writers began to veer away from the books, with the show finally separating itself during Season 5, which only vaguely adapts from the 4th and 5th books. In contrast, Seasons 1-4 generally resemble the books, to varying degrees, with some changes and some added material. In summary:

• Season 1 > Book 1 (A Game of Thrones)
• Season 2 > Book 2 (A Clash of Kings), plus parts of Book 3
• Season 3-4 > Book 3 (A Storm of Swords), plus parts of Books 4 & 5
• Season 5 > Book 4 (A Feast for Crows) & Book 5 (A Dance with Dragons), plus parts of Books 3 & 6
• Season 6 > Book 6 (The Winds of Winter), plus elements of Books 4 & 5
• Season 7-8 > Book 7 (probably)

As you can see, it took two seasons to adapt book 3, yet only a single season (S5) to adapt the majority of books 4 and 5. In hindsight, a pretty bad idea. There was a huge degree of deviation during season 5 (which really should've been 3-4 2 seasons considering how huge those books were). We've not got Books 6-7 yet, but I think it's fair to say that the show deviated from them pretty significantly.

With that said, I decided a few years ago to recut the first 4 seasons of the show so that they more closely match the books. Additionalyl, material from Seasons 5-7 that was taken from the first 4 books will be included.

This is my longest running project. It's taken me quite a few years on-and-off (I started a year before S8 came out), and have restarted it 3 times since then due to technical issues, but I'm finally close to finishing off the Season 1 films. Goals of the edit:

• Cut subplots, scenes, dialogue, and shots not mentioned in the book. This includes material that outright contradicts the book as well as superfluous and added material - down to single lines of dialogue. Some non-book material has been left in when required to maintain narrative coherence, but the vast majority has been removed. Some events shown in the show are mentioned as having occurred or are alluded to in the books but are not shown - these are kept and sometimes trimmed. Some scenes are vaguely adapted from the books (or adapted in spirit) with some changes - these are usually kept and trimmed, but cut if they are too different from the books.
• Re-order all scenes to follow chapter order as closely as possible. In some cases a scene is adapted from multiple chapters. These scenes are usually placed at the position of the earlier chapter - unless events have occurred after the earlier chapter that are mentioned in the scene, in which case the scene is placed at the later chapter to maintain narrative consistency.
• Cut weak dialogue (non-book).
• Trim scenes and lingering shots to improve pace.
• Trim shots of graphic violence and sex, including book-accurate graphic content. In a few cases this was not possible without removing book material.
• Add titlecards each time a new major location is shown (this was done by the show in 1x01 but then dropped).
• Add Dothraki subs.
• Label each scene with a chapter number, which is visible at the playback bar in VLC media player.

The way I edited this was I first made basic cuts of the whole season based off chapter summaries, and then re-ordered all scenes accordingly. I then watched the show in the timeline and made detailed cuts whilst simultaneously reading the books. If a scene in the show did not appear in the corresponding chapter in the book, I'd push the clip back to the character's next scene to see if it came up in a later chapter. I'd only delete material once I was certain it was not adapted in any form.

I've finished the cuts for Season 1 and am halfway through Season 2. Still have some audio editing to do for Season 1.

The goal is to convert each season into several films. Season 1 will be three films with runtimes of around 1:42, 2:34, and 2:17. I expect two films for Season 2 and three for Seasons 3-4. Additionally, I'm releasing two versions: "extended cuts" and "clean cuts". The latter will remove some book-accurate explicit material, whilst the former will retain it. The "clean cuts" would probably be rated 15 if released in cinemas, whilst the "extended cuts" I'd rate the same as what I'd rate Game of Thrones (NC-17), although still with fewer graphic scenes.

Clip from the prologue:

 

[Heavisyde]

Might also do a slight regrade

https://imgur.com/a/nM5kW30

 

[ArtisDead]

Since @Gotedits11 seems to have drifted back to real life and lost to us for evermore, someone needed to pick up the chalice. I can't wait to see how this turns out.

 

[SIUse]

I‘m intrigued, too. Especially if the structures of the books can be adapted to the series in a convincing way.

 

[Heavisyde]

I‘m intrigued, too. Especially if the structures of the books can be adapted to the series in a convincing way.

For Season 1, and much of Season 2, the structure of the edits very closely matches chapter order. Occasionally there are combined chapters and some skipped chapters, but all in all it's very similar. It does get a bit difficult with the Arya chapters as the timings in the show are wrong during S2, as she is teamed up with Tywin halfway through Season 2, which doesn't happen in the books. I'm also looking to include a certain dream sequence from the first book using S6 footage.

Some more clips:

 

[Heavisyde]

Just came across this thread:

https://forums.fanedit.org/threads/a-song-of-ice-and-fire-season-1-a-game-of-thrones-workprint-available.5853/

Looks like someone had previously did this for the first four episodes of Season 1. Very interesting reading their thread, we took similar approaches.

 

[Kaelos]

• Add titlecards each time a new major location is shown (this was done by the show in 1x01 but then dropped).
• Add Dothraki subs.
• Additionally, I'm releasing two versions: "extended cuts" and "clean cuts".

Thank you for this!

I loved the location title cards and was so disappointed when they didn't continue in other episodes with the on-screen text of the location.

By showing the name of the location on-screen, I could better focus on the dialogue and setting and not have to try to analyze where they are.

Very excited for your Game of Thrones fanedits; looking forward to the incorporation of the location title cards, along with your other improvements (like the Dothraki subtitles and the clean cut).

 

[asterixsmeagol]

Yeah, I liked the location cards too. Especially for a show with so many different locations.

 

[gleem]

This sounds great! How is the project coming along? I would love to watch this but my only complaint is the removal of the violence. I agree that removing the graphic sex scenes, since those are entirely unnecessary and can be glossed over without losing any plot, but I would feel like I would be missing out on some of the show if you cut out the violence and gore. Also I can handle watching something gory with my family but not some of that porno they included in the show

 

[danation]

This looks really interesting. I hope you are still working on it.

I've never read the books, but I could really feel the drop in quality when S5-S6 came around, and it didn't exactly go upwards from there.

 

[PastorWhiskeyEdits]

Love the location cards, I considered adding them in Demystified but decided against it in the end.

I would say, after watching clip 2, I think the adherence to the book structure could hurt the emotional and narrative flow. In said clip you transition to the inn at the crossroads whereas the original cuts to Catelyn bringing the dreamcatcher-esque wreath to Bran, connecting to the emotions of the previous scene. When they're disconnected I feel like the emotional weight is lost slightly because its delayed. Just a thought.

 

[PanExis]

I consider myself a purist when it comes to book adaptations, I have no love for D&D, but even I cannot deny that seasons 1 to 3 are almost perfection. Yes, there are some notable differences like Arya meeting Tywin Lannister instead of Roose Bolton in Harrenhal or even her meeting Melisandre instead of that dwarf oracle when she's with the Brotherhood without Banners, but I don't believe you can cut those off without compromising the whole story and, honestly, I think they work pretty well. Season 4 is a different kind of animal, though. It's a more than decent adaptation, but not without some problems. As for season 5 onward, well, good luck with that mess! Personally, I cannot see anything good coming from these Dorne and Greyjoy storylines.

Some small suggestions from a fellow purist and avid book reader:
- Move Balon's death close to the leeches scene. Perhaps in the end of season 3 or at the start of season 4. It always bothered me that D&D kind of forgot about his demise (pun intended), especially since his name is the first to be sacrificed. If you're comfortable with vfx, you can also deepfake Jaqen H'ghar's face instead of discount Euron's (no hate for Pilou Asbaek) since it is implied that the work was done by a Faceless Man.
- Remove the scenes with Stannis going to the Iron Bank of Braavos. I can understand where that came from, as they wanted to stall Stannis' arrival at the Wall until the end of the season, but it is an insult to his character to win just because he had the numbers. I strongly believe that they should have used Alester Florent's betrayal as an excuse for this delay.
- For the love of God, remove that "Locke goes to the Wall as a spy" nonsense! It's a huge plothole that Tywin suddenly forgot how a Lannister always pays his debt and left him unpunished. I don't even know if it is possible, but even the implication that Locke was killed by The Mountain would be better than what we originally got.
- With the magic of AI and elevenlabs, I think that it is now possible to save Tysha's honour during that brotherly confession scene.

 

[Heavisyde]

This sounds great! How is the project coming along? I would love to watch this but my only complaint is the removal of the violence. I agree that removing the graphic sex scenes, since those are entirely unnecessary and can be glossed over without losing any plot, but I would feel like I would be missing out on some of the show if you cut out the violence and gore. Also I can handle watching something gory with my family but not some of that porno they included in the show

just to be clear, I haven't actually removed the violence, but rather shortened some shots of people's limbs being chopped off or skulls being bashed in, so that it's less brutal. And I have largely removed the pornographic scenes and nudity.

This looks really interesting. I hope you are still working on it.

I've never read the books, but I could really feel the drop in quality when S5-S6 came around, and it didn't exactly go upwards from there.

S5 is when the show massively diverges from the books - so it makes sense really. Although before then they were taking a number of liberties with the material.

Love the location cards, I considered adding them in Demystified but decided against it in the end.

I would say, after watching clip 2, I think the adherence to the book structure could hurt the emotional and narrative flow. In said clip you transition to the inn at the crossroads whereas the original cuts to Catelyn bringing the dreamcatcher-esque wreath to Bran, connecting to the emotions of the previous scene. When they're disconnected I feel like the emotional weight is lost slightly because its delayed. Just a thought.

thanks, I think they'll help people less familiar with the series figure out where they are.
I agree, it could hurt the flow. But the goal of the project is to recut the show to match the book's chapter order as closely as possible. So, the break in flow would be the same as in the books.

I consider myself a purist when it comes to book adaptations, I have no love for D&D, but even I cannot deny that seasons 1 to 3 are almost perfection. Yes, there are some notable differences like Arya meeting Tywin Lannister instead of Roose Bolton in Harrenhal or even her meeting Melisandre instead of that dwarf oracle when she's with the Brotherhood without Banners, but I don't believe you can cut those off without compromising the whole story and, honestly, I think they work pretty well. Season 4 is a different kind of animal, though. It's a more than decent adaptation, but not without some problems. As for season 5 onward, well, good luck with that mess! Personally, I cannot see anything good coming from these Dorne and Greyjoy storylines.

My plan was to cut S1-S4, along the lines of the first 3 books, and no further, as there is too much divergence from S5 onwards. Arya and Tywin will be tricky, I was planning on trimming those down to barebones, if I do S2.

Some small suggestions from a fellow purist and avid book reader:
- Move Balon's death close to the leeches scene. Perhaps in the end of season 3 or at the start of season 4. It always bothered me that D&D kind of forgot about his demise (pun intended), especially since his name is the first to be sacrificed. If you're comfortable with vfx, you can also deepfake Jaqen H'ghar's face instead of discount Euron's (no hate for Pilou Asbaek) since it is implied that the work was done by a Faceless Man.
- Remove the scenes with Stannis going to the Iron Bank of Braavos. I can understand where that came from, as they wanted to stall Stannis' arrival at the Wall until the end of the season, but it is an insult to his character to win just because he had the numbers. I strongly believe that they should have used Alester Florent's betrayal as an excuse for this delay.
- For the love of God, remove that "Locke goes to the Wall as a spy" nonsense! It's a huge plothole that Tywin suddenly forgot how a Lannister always pays his debt and left him unpunished. I don't even know if it is possible, but even the implication that Locke was killed by The Mountain would be better than what we originally got.
- With the magic of AI and elevenlabs, I think that it is now possible to save Tysha's honour during that brotherly confession scene.

pretty sure Balon's death isn't shown in the books, just mentioned later.
I have no vfx knowledge, or interest in learning it, to be honest.
Stannis going to the Iron Bank - is that shown in the books? I'm not sure.
Locke might get completely deleted, I'd need to see if he can be cut without creating plotholes.
Well if someone wants to edit that with AI, they can, but I can't lol

 

[GarStazi]

pretty sure Balon's death isn't shown in the books, just mentioned later.
Stannis going to the Iron Bank - is that shown in the books? I'm not sure.
Locke might get completely deleted, I'd need to see if he can be cut without creating plotholes.

This seems like a very interesting project!
But I can only imagine the amount of work required

Balon is said in the books to have “fallen off a bridge”, and it is implied that Euron was involved in it. In the upcoming “The Winds of Winter”, Euron confesses to having “hired an assassin” to do it, so the Faceless Men would be the most likely candidates.

In the books, Stannis doesn’t travel to Braavos to try and get a loan. Later in the story, it is Tycho Nestoris that travels to Westeros to see Stannis, because the Lannisters refused to pay the Crown's debt to the Iron Bank.

I would also be in favor of removing Locke entirely

 

[PanExis]

pretty sure Balon's death isn't shown in the books, just mentioned later.
I have no vfx knowledge, or interest in learning it, to be honest.
Stannis going to the Iron Bank - is that shown in the books? I'm not sure.

GarStazi's answer sums it all up pretty nicely.

Now, as for Locke, he practically is Vargo Hoat "disguised" as a Bolton's man, minus the lisp. And I think the actor who played him did a very fine job. I cannot see him being completely removed since it's Locke/Vargo Hoat who chops Jaimie's sword hand.

Balon is said in the books to have “fallen off a bridge”, and it is implied that Euron was involved in it. In the upcoming “The Winds of Winter”, Euron confesses to having “hired an assassin” to do it, so the Faceless Men would be the most likely candidates.

There's also this vision from the old woman who meets The Brotherhood in A Storm of Swords, verifying that it was a Faceless Man who did the job for Euron:

"I dreamt of a man without a face, waiting on a bridge that swayed and swung. On his shoulder perched a drowned crow with seaweed hanging from his wings."

 

[Heavisyde]

GarStazi's answer sums it all up pretty nicely.

Now, as for Locke, he practically is Vargo Hoat "disguised" as a Bolton's man, minus the lisp. And I think the actor who played him did a very fine job. I cannot see him being completely removed since it's Locke/Vargo Hoat who chops Jaimie's sword hand.


There's also this vision from the old woman who meets The Brotherhood in A Storm of Swords, verifying that it was a Faceless Man who did the job for Euron:

"I dreamt of a man without a face, waiting on a bridge that swayed and swung. On his shoulder perched a drowned crow with seaweed hanging from his wings."

it's been a while since I've watched the series or read the books, I forgot who Locke was to be honest, I confused him with Karl Tanner. Anyway, I've just restarted this project and I'm on S2 at the moment so this stuff is a bit far out. I will be cutting Euron's assassination of Balon, just as it is not shown in the books, only later referenced.

 

[Heavisyde]

Volume I of this edit series has been completed and is available. It covers A Game of Thrones Chapters 1-22, which mostly corresponds with Season 1 Episodes 1-3, and runs at 1hr 40mins. If you've requested an edit from me before, this one is on the same page, otherwise send me a message.

 

[GarStazi]

Now, as for Locke, he practically is Vargo Hoat "disguised" as a Bolton's man, minus the lisp. And I think the actor who played him did a very fine job. I cannot see him being completely removed since it's Locke/Vargo Hoat who chops Jaimie's sword hand.

You’re right, Locke/Vargo Hoat has to be the one to do the chopping. And he cannot be cut entirely from that Arc, he actually has some good scenes with Jaime and Brienne

I was referring the second story Arc that he has in the show, the thing about infiltrating the Night's Watch (just to create extra tension in regards to Bran’s storyline). That wasn’t in the books, there was only a reference to a not-realized plan by Cersei and Qyburn. So, it would be this second part from where he could be removed, if possible.

 

[DigModiFicaTion]

 

[Heavisyde]

Here's a summary of my plan for this project:

FANEDIT	ASOIAF BOOK CHAPTERS	GOT EPISODES
Volume I - The Wolfsbane Released 27 Apr 2024	AGoT 0-22	1.01 - 1.03 (footage from 1.04)
Volume II - The Crowning Released 04 May 2024	AGoT 23-49	1.04 - 1.07 (+ footage from 1.02, 1.03, 1.08, 7.03, 7.10)
Volume III - The Kingmaker Coming Soon	AGoT 50-72 (+ parts of AGoT 42 and ASoS 71)	1.08 - 1.10 (+ footage from 1.07)
Volume IV - The Blood God In Progress - audio editing required	ACoK 0-33 (+ parts of ACoK 36, 42, and 59)	2.01 - 2.04 (+ footage from 1.10, 2.05)
Volume V - The Fire Lord In Progress - audio editing required	ACoK 34-69 (+ parts of ACoK 22 and ASoS 7)	2.05 - 2.10 (+ footage from 1.10, 3.01)
Volume VI - The Burning Sword In progress - cuts required	ASoS 0-35 (+ parts of ACoK 21, 28, and 35)	3.01 - 3.06 (+ footage from 1.02, 2.08, 2.10, 3.07, 3.08, 4.01, 4.02)
Volume VII - The Kingbreaker In progress - cuts required	ASoS 36-60	3.07 - 3.09 (+ footage from 3.05, 3.06, 3.10, 4.02, 4.03)
Volume VIII - The Serpentine In progress - cuts required	ASoS 60-81	3.10, 4.01 - 4.10 (+ footage from 3.03, 5.01, 5.03)

Spoilers for the books and show below.

Vol I - ends with Ned having flashbacks as Arya practices swordplay (adapted from AGoT 22). The first Volume is more of a setup film than a traditional film with an arc. The title comes from the main "bane" of the "wolves" - namely the Lannisters.

Vol II - ends with Viserys being crowned with gold (AGoT 49), hence the name of the title.

Vol III - ends with the last chapter of AGoT, Daenerys hatching her dragons (AGoT 72). This is also the last scene of S1. The title refers to several characters who try to install their choice of king - Ned and Renly individually plot to become regent and potentially depose Joffrey, Littlefinger and Cersei plot to put Joffrey on the throne, whilst the Northern Lords crown Robb.

Vol IV - ends with Mel birthing the shadowbaby, but before Renly's assassination (just before ACoK 33). The title refers to the red god of Melisandre which takes blood sacrifices. Melisandre is in both the opening and closing scenes. The old gods of the weirwood trees also take blood sacrifices and cry tears of blood, so the title is also a reference to them.

Vol V - ends with last chapter of ACoK - Bran leaves a burnt down Winterfell (ACoK 69). The title refers to both Stannis - who follows the red god and likes to burn his perceived enemies - and Tyrion, who uses wildfire against Stannis.

Vol VI - ends with a the Hound's trial by combat (ASoS 36). The title refers to the flaming sword Beric uses against the Hound.

Vol VII - covers the Red Wedding and ends with the Purple Wedding (ASoS 60). The title refers to Tywin Lannister, who breaks Robb Stark's kingship; Stannis, whose blood offering is followed by the downfall of three kings - Robb Stark, Balon Greyjoy, Joffrey Baratheon; and Littlefinger and Olenna Tyrell, who collaborate in secret to kill Joffrey Baratheon.

Vol VIII - ends with the last chapter of ASoS - Sansa in the Eyrie (ASoS 81). The title refers to Daenerys Targaryen, the "mother" of three snake-like dragons, and Oberyn Martell, the "red viper".