Question about A Game of Thrones

[Primarch]

So, I just finished watching the first season of Game of Thrones and I had a question.
Are any of the main characters supposed to be likeable? Aside from all the precocious/obnoxious children, evil for the sake of evil Lannisters, so noble they're retarded Starks and everyone else in the series, who should I be rooting for? I find it strange that the most appealing characters G.R.R. Martin managed to write were the Dire Wolves.

Must be missing something.....

[Tenorikuma]

Tyrion Lannister seems to be the fan favorite. This type of gritty fantasy doesn't seem to have real heroes so much as sympathetic ones. Ned Stark is perhaps he noblest character, and after him, his son and Jon Snow. (But I haven't read the books.)

[me_in_japan]

Something the TV show lacks, and it's a fault in the medium rather than any production error, is that the books are all written from the POV of a character. Initially, it's the good guys, but very quickly you start having chapters from Cersei's PoV, Dany's POV, and so on. This is important because it allows the reader to see how that character actually feels. Personally, I like the fact that the Lannisters are actually noble and good sometimes, and the Starks are sometimes nasty. There are no good guys and no bad guys - it all depends on whose POV you're reading at the time.

Id say, based off the books, that Tyrion and Dany are actually the noblest characters. Tyrion's a cynical bastard, but he never actually does anything evil, and any bad stuff he does is done to folk who deserve it. (unlike the Bastard o Bolton, who is one of the most unpleasant characters I've ever come across.) Dany screws up from time to time, but she does try bloody hard to do the right thing. 'snot her fault she's only, like, 14 or something. (all the kids in the book are much younger. They were aged in the TV show for obvious reasons.)

I'd recommend the books, as altho the TV show is bloody good, by necessity they had to chop a good deal out of the characters to fit the story into a 10hr TV show.

[Spevna]

Tyrian Lannister seems to be the fan favorite. This type of gritty fantasy doesn't seem to have real heroes so much as sympathetic ones. Ned Stark is perhaps he noblest character, and after him, his son and Jon Snow. (But I haven't read the books.)

Yep, that is about it.

Tyrion Lannister is properly debased and debauched but is, at his core, a good person who tries to look out for the underdog.

Brandon and Arya Stark are both pretty decent.

Jon Snow is a man desperately seeking approval but is a good person.

Ned Stark tried to do what he thought was the "right" thing to do.

Daenerys Targeryan is pretty decent too. She just does what she is told and tries to be as dutiful as possible.

These, in my humble opinion, are the closest to "good" characters we find in the TV show and the books.

Having finished the most recent book I still think the same.

[Primarch]

Fair enough. It's not that I dont think any characters are good, just that I find it hard to emphasise with any of them in particular. They all seem to have overly exagerrated character flaws, like the writer/scriptwriter/actor is trying too hard. E.g. Dany. At first she is sold to the Khal and you feel sorry for her, but pretty soon she is proclaiming that her child will conquer the world and kill thousands with no sign of hesitation. John Snow seems like he is hard done by, but at the same time he is ready to go chasing off on whatever whim catches his attention regardless of any actual consequences. I dunno, I just feel that they all have the 'only human' aspect cranked up to 11.
Still, maybe it is all down to the TV series, HBO is not known for it's rational and thought provoking shows I guess. I will have to give the books a try.

[Primarch]

http://amultiverse.com/2012/07/02/dragon-lady/