I agree, Emilia Clarke as Daenerys was a miscast, both for the acting and for her looks. Actually, Emilia looks like how I picture Margaery in my head! That kind of girl-next-door beauty and doe eyes...maybe in terms of acting she would have done a better job?
Finally, someone who’s happy about Sophie! Everyone seems to think she doesn’t look like Sansa, but I think she really does. Same goes for Maisie.
The wigs/hair was what disappointed me the most. Why is Sansa the only redhead Stark/Tully? Why isn’t Ned a brunette? What was that awful white/platinum blonde for the Targaryens? Pretty much every side character looks different than the books. Usually it’s not a big deal, but in the asoiaf universe, genetics and looks are really important (they recognize someone just by their resemblance to their relatives, for god’s sake), so I believe they should have made more of an effort.
And I got this anon as well:
I agree Emilia was miscast and I think Tamzin would have portrayed Daenerys' vulnerability better.
I definitely think Tamzin would have done a better job. Everything we learn about EC really shows that she didn’t understand her character at all - like going against directions because she thought she understood Dany better etc. I think that the producers did her dirty be not telling her where Dany’s arc was headed and I think it was harmful for her acting. I actually liked her acting in season 8 the most, when she knew she was playing a villain.
Sophie comes close enough to how I pictured Sansa that I am really happy with her. I remember that I was screaming with joy when Sophie’s and Maisie’s casting became known, because I really think that they looked exactly like I pictured them. In later seasons Sophie looks too much like an adult and I think this is misleading the audience into believing she in an adult, when she is still a child (even on the show). But you can’t do anything about children having growth spurts. lol.
Well, I think the platinum blond for the Targs was o.k. Their hair is described as silver after all. I just think that EC’s wigs really became ridiculous in later seasons. No one has that much hair.
I agree about the Tully looks. They should have given them reddish hair, including Edmure.
I sort of forgive them for not giving Sean Bean darker hair. For the first season he was their star and I think they deliberately made it as close to Boromir as possible (Boromir also should have black hair, but I digress). They wanted to attract an audience after all.
As for the minor characters, I don’t really mind. I mean theoretically I know that some of them don’t look at all like in the books. But their performance let me forget that. Kate Dickie as Lysa Arryn was superb and I didn’t mind at all that she was a spindly thin woman instead of a fat woman. I think all in all most actors and actresses were really good and that is more important than how they look. In some cases, where it was important, they made an effort like with Gregor Clegane, where they hired huge actors. In other cases they went after talent rather than looks and that is reasonable, because if the actor is bad at what they do it doesn’t matter that they look like the character.
I agree about the Tully hair though. This is important, and they should have made an effort. I still think it is interesting, that GRRM insisted that Sansa should remain a redhead in any case.
I could rant about wigs and costumes for ages, so I’d better stop here. lol
