re: Middle Grounders: GoT vs. ASOIAF through 3 books/4seasons

Same here.

He's made a lot of great observations in his OP and I tend to agree with him on every point, especially with the Jon-Qhorin deal. The books made it very clear that Qhorin was sending Jon on a mission; I felt like the show kind of skimmed over that and made it seem like Jon willingly joined the Wildlings. His exchange with Qhorin flew by so fast and before you knew it Qhorin was dead. I was a Hodor when S2 first debuted and I was so confused during that whole scene. Once I read ACoK it made way more sense. I blame it on the show writers for not clarifying that. Book Jon always knew he'd go back to the Crows, but to "break bread with them for however long it takes" like Qhorin told him to. No doubt, Jon was definitely conflicted in the books about it and grew to respect the Wildling culture and view them as his allies and that they should all fight the common enemy (the White Walkers). He was definitely conflicted about his love for Ygritte vs. his duty too. I think the show did a good job with that aspect and Rose and Kit had good on-screen chemistry. I actually prefer Show Ygritte to Book Ygritte, mainly because of Rose Leslie's portrayal of her.