This literally happened just half an hour ago (as I’m typing, though this will be scheduled for the morning) and I need to type because I have so many conflicting thoughts and they’re overwhelming me.
It’s been announced the Throne of Glass will have a TV show. Not just optioned for one. THERE WILL BE ONE.
Before I go further, click here to see the article explaining, if you haven’t seen it already.
And thus, let my incoherent psychobabble of thoughts begin…
First of all, I’m so pleased for Sarah J Maas. She’s one of my all-time favourite authors, and her having so much success is just so heartwarming to see.
And then the completely devoted fangirl side of me sets in, running rampage through my mind with SO MANY FEARS. Because we bookworms don’t tend to have a good time with adaptations, do we?
So here’s what I’m scared of.
I have adored the Throne of Glass series for years now. And most of that is because when it comes to books, I’ve hardly read any that are as detailed and cleverly thought out as this one. There’s so many little connections that just make my fangirl heart sing. So many intricate and cunning plans carried out. And I just think…how on earth can all that be packed into a TV show? Surely some of it will have to be cut out – but I don’t want ANY of this story missing!
The thing with adaptations is that it’s just that: and adaptation. It can be changed. The fact that they’ve called the TV show “Queen of Shadows” instead of Throne of Glass just shows that they’re considering changes already. Granted, (as people have pointed out to me) this could be because they don’t want to be associated with Game of Thrones, accused of copying or using the word “throne” to subconsciously drive GoT fans towards it. Which is a VERY good point, and I do hope that’s the reason.
But changes can and probably will happen. And I’m not OK with that.
And then there’s the casting. It has to be perfect. And that’s a very hard thing to live up to. With the amount of detail and personality thrown into these characters, we don’t need actors who can play the role. We need them to BE the characters.
And I swear, any whitewashing (especially with Nehemia) and I’m out.
Adaptations have not gone well in the past. And for some reason, TV shows seem to end up being cringey. I can’t handle cringe. Please don’t let this happen to my beloved series. Please don’t turn it into a show full of boy drama and awful special effects.
I haven’t heard of the channel/network/thing that’s hosting it. So I don’t have much to say on that aspect. Other than I hope your special effects in the fantasy department are a lot like HBO’s for Game of Thrones because you gotta lot of fantasy to deal with.
But after all that worry is out…here I am. The optimistic side of me is back, ladies and gentlemen.
Because if it all works out, it’ll be so great to see a TV show for it. To get excited about each new episode, new season. To see the cast. It’ll encourage more people to read the books. That’s always a good thing, right?
And think of it this way – the Harry Potter films had things changed. I still love them. Many people do. Sure, it would be nice if they weren’t skipped over, but that’s what makes the books worth reading to fans of the show.
The fact that it’s a TV SHOW rather than a film is a thumbs up. There will be so much more time to get all the smaller details of the plot in, to explain things thoroughly. We’ll get to see more. It won’t be confined to a 2 hour stint.
Bonus: Having a TV show means we’re more likely to get pop vinyls/funko pops of the characters. (You can see where my priorities lie in this argument 😆 )
So like I said. Lots of conflicting feelings.
I’m both a natural worrier and optimist. Those two things don’t get along well, as you can probably imagine.
I just feel like I needed to get that all out on paper – or rather, screen. I had a bit of a rant/thread on twitter but it’s hard to confine so many thoughts to a series of 140 character tweets. And let’s face it, I’ve not blogged about any bookish news in a while now, so it was about time.
Share your thoughts!
What do you think of the TV show? How did you react to the news?
Are you excited? Nervous? Apprehensive? Optimistic? Hopeful?
Do you have any particular hopes? Things you’d definitely like to see?
Will you be watching the TV show?
Let me know in the comments!
Until next time…
Come and visit me!
A frolic through fiction 
Oh, I totally understand your fears. I do think that the title change is due to similarity to GoT though, so I wouldn’t take that as a bad sign 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I hope it is! It would make sense. It’d seem like a sort of money making achene to have a title similar to Game of Thrones
LikeLiked by 1 person
OhmyGod, I didn’t know this was happening!! I’m excited but concerned about it, like you said. Hopefully the name change isn’t a problem!
LikeLiked by 1 person
All the mixed feelings. We’ll just have to wait and hope for the best! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I feel as long as the show is good, than I don’t have a problem. Game of Thrones doesn’t follow the book as much, mainly because the other books haven’t been released, but I still enjoy the show as an avid book reader. So I am confidant.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Game of Thrones is one of the only adaptations I like! If HBO were producing it, I’d have no issue because their special effects are stunning 🙂 Let’s hope Hulu can do something similar! I’ll absolutely love the show if they can pull it off well!
LikeLike
Same here!! I’m so excited for Sarah but at the same time, I’m terrified. What if they mess up? I’ll be very angry and disappointed…
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s a very tight balancing act. If they do it well, it’ll be amazing. If not…well. Let’s not imagine that.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Interesting discussion! I have a lot of conflicting thoughts on it too (although I also have a lot of conflicting thoughts on the series in general though haha) but I hope it’s a good thing and I really do hope, for the sake of everyone involved and the whole bookish community, that they don’t make a shambles of it, or worse… cancel it after one season! 😮
I’m pretty terrified for the casting too. Somehow, I can’t imagine a single living human that could embody Celaena/Aelin. Except maybe blonde Sophie Turner (look at this photo omg https://pmchollywoodlife.files.wordpress.com/2016/07/sophie-turner-hair-makeover-lead.jpg?w=600) but still, even then, I’m dubious.
Also really intrigued about whether they’re going to ramp up or tone down the sexual stuff. Haven’t read Empire of Storms yet so no idea if the book gets smutty but some of the scenes in the rest of the series are pretty darn steamy by themselves.
Guess we just have to wait and see!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I know it shouldn’t be compared to this because of the whole “it’d be too similar” thing, but if it were anything like Game of Thrones, it’d be incredible. And with how popular that show is, there’d definitely be a audience for that kind of thing.
I get what you mean about not being able to imagine anyone as Aelin. Blonde Sophie Turner wouldn’t be bad, but I don’t think she’d quite be able to get the acting right. I don’t know. I’ve seen people fancasting Natalie Dormer as her and I can definitely see her being good for the role, only thing is she’s not a teenager. She could pass as one but still.
As you said, all we can do is wait and see!
LikeLike
omg if it were on Game of Thrones standing that would be EPIC
LikeLiked by 1 person
I know right??
LikeLike
OMG I am sooo excited to see my favorite characters come to life but at the same time I’m afraid that they won’t live up to my expectations!!!! Let’s all hope that we, the fans, won’t be disappointed!!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
REALLY really hope so! It’ll be amazing if it works!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m excited for sure. I think I’ve come to terms with the fact that visual media (movies & tv) always fuck up things from books. Also, sometimes things HAVE to be changed because it just wouldn’t translate well on the screen. So I’m just okay with it now. I love both forms of media. That’s a good theory for the name change. I had an even simpler theory: its about a girl, so they changed the name to encompass the whole series being about a girl ahahhha but I like the other one better. With all that said, I have only read Throne of Glass, so maybe I’d have different feelings if I’ve read the whole thing? >.<
Molly @ Molly’s Book Nook
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ve come to terms with the fact that things need to be changed a lot of the time. Like I said, it’s an adaptation, not an exact copy. Not everything can be explained well on screen. But I think when it comes to series that I absolutely adore, it’s hard for me not to worry that they’ll ruin it and make people think it’s just a cringey story. I don’t know, I get a bit too protective over my favourite stories sometimes. But if the adaptation is good, I know I’ll love it!
LikeLike
My mind also immediately went to Throne of Glass Funko Pops as soon as I heard this news haha! I am so, so scared of the adaptation being done badly and being cringey. Really hope they don’t change too many things and stay faithful to the books. So exciting though! 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
Throne of Glass Funko Pops are what I’ve been wanting for years now, so hopefully this will be the kick to finally get them! Just imagine how great they’d look 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
They would be amazing! I need them in my life 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
Just imagine the tiny pointed ears…ohhh I need them
LikeLiked by 1 person
Idk…I haven’t even read the series yet and I think it’s a bad idea. People will be disappointed no matter what. This isn’t Buffy The Vampire Slayer or Supernatural we are talking about: this would be a TV show based on a book. I can’t think of successful ones at all. (I don’t even think of The Vampire Diaries, since I don’t read that stuff). I can see a movie series…that I can see. Hunger Games did it, Twilight did it…but they had amazing budgets and production values. The only books that make it to TV end up on the Sci-Fi Channel (or is it SyFy now?). I don’t have a good feeling about this…
I hope for your sake and other SJM fans that I’m wrong. I really do.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I like the idea of a TV show purely for time reasons, because it’s likely more of the smaller details will be included. But TV shows don’t tend to have as big a budget as movies, so that’s making me nervous. The only TV show book adaptation that I can think of that’s worked is Game of Thrones, and their budget is ridiculously huge.
LikeLike