Theres just some things in the books that wouldn't work on screen. Thats something I accept, but I am also a bit disappointed that the scale of the show has become a lot smaller than the scale of the books.

At the same time its best to see the show as a seperate thing now, if you try too hard to compare it to the books, it will never meet that standard. So its best to treat it as its own thing. That being said, what the show does well, it does very well. The characters that they've chosen to focus on have turned out very well.

One character that dissappeared from the books was Bronn, yet they've kept him in the show and given him a bigger part with more story. Thats really good imo. I agree with the OP though, I thought Young Griff would've been a great addition, yet he's clearly not in the show.

I think it's great. This season has been a bit up and down, with the Sansa rape season being unbearable and last night seeing Stanis's daughter put to the torch rather vile and non-sense. But if you couldn't watch "Hardhome" and not be blown away, you have no soul. When Jon made the walker explode, that was amazing.

I don't think anyone should be bothered by the story not matching the books. The showrunners know how everything is going to play out in the books. So if you think the "other Targarian" is important well... maybe they are going to end up being fake and are just a red herring. And yeah, Sansa may have not been raped in the books but another character was while Sansa had nothing much to do, so they just combined the roles. They have the series character map so they know where she's going to end up and I'm sure it will work out fine.

Regardless, it's fantastic TV, even if it does make me a little uncomfortable some times.

yea, as I expected before lots of things changed this season compared to the books and quite a few of them seem out of character for the people (atleast for the way they are described in the books)

but I'm not angry or disappointed by that - I still enjoy the TV show, but at this point it's just really clear that they can't make it as epic and coherent as the books

I have enjoyed the show and the books.

The basic narrative will broadly cover the same themes, characters and locations, but television and novels are wildly different mediums, and it's only right, I think, that differences happen. You cannot tell the story of the novels on the television screen, and aspects that have worked brilliantly on television would not work in the novels, particularly with Martin's multiple POV narrative structure.

I don't approve of all the changes in the show, I think they've mostly been well judged. I do, however, think that Dorne has been massively underserved in Season 5. I hope that they partially redeem that in episode 10 and in season 6, particularly with regards to Prince Doran, who, while having little to do, has been well acted so far.

Those special effects when Daenerys went off riding Drogon at the end of the episode tho, lol

Martin said that some characters, like the other Tyrell, are important for the rest of the story, but unfortunately are not in the show. I think the showrunners know "who will win" at the end (and I'm not even sure), but that's it. They might forget important characters (or what, half of the characters we follow in the last books are useless? ^^). It's also possible that they change the story on purpose, in order to not spoil the books. 

I've spoiler tagged my comments about the latest episode because not everyone will have seen it yet. 
Nonsense, how exactly? I agree it was completely vile, it made me feel physically sick and incredibly upset. But that's the story Thrones/A Song of Ice and Fire is. In the first hour of the television show, we see a young man beheaded by Ned Stark, the principal protagonist at this point, we learn that a noble friend and adviser of the King has ruthlessly been poisoned, and crucially, incestuous lovers attempt to kill a child.

While Shireen's death and Sansa being raped haven't happened in the books, they are not inconsistent with the narrative themes established by the show. With Sansa, what else was Ramsay going to do once he had her fully in his power? The rape was portrayed far more sensibly and sensitively than the incidents last season, too. I also think that Sansa's story since--in which while obviously hurt, she has continued to be a strong and active character--has made sense.

As for Shireen, we are first introduced to Stannis in season 2 as he watches his wife's siblings be burnt to death on his command. He murders his brother in pursuit of power; Stannis is also willing to kill an innocent bastard son of his older brother in pursuit of more power. We also know that Stannis believes that he must be King, and not for vanity, or glory, but for the sake of destiny. What is one child's life, he must ask himself, versus the lives of millions across Westeros and millions more yet to live? Even if that child's life is his own daugher, in Stannis's mind, it's worth the sacrifice, painful as it is. I think this means Stannis's character arc is nearly complete, and that he will die soon, though. He fought to take the Iron Throne from an incestuous Queen who placed her bastard, brutal son on the throne, who would murder anyone to protect her grip on power. How, now, can he rule the North or the Seven Kingdoms, when he killed his own daugher to get that opportunity?

Stannis has become a villain we need at this point. I don't think he or the Boltons have much mileage left in them. And let's not forget, that immediately after we saw Stannis betray and sanction the murder of his daughter, we saw another parent, Daenerys, reconnect with her favourite 'child' and finally embrace her role as Mother of Dragons, as she took flight and escaped the pit that she had attempted to change. I don't think that's coincidental. We saw one potential ruler, Stannis, destroy what goodwill and right to rule he had established, while another quite literally took to new heights, and is perhaps finally going to forsake Slaver's Bay to claim the Throne her family established. Far from nonsensical, as far as I see it.

Apparently David Benioff confirmed in the Inside the Episode feature that a certain sacrifice will also happen in the books. Though Shireen is at the wall instead of a military camp, so I guess Melissandre instead of Stannis will do it :(

Season 5 is a serious low point as far as adapting the books goes. It's just gone off base so much. Jaime in Dorne, achieving pretty much nothing nearly so interesting as that was plotted in the books. Sansa doing something completely different to what she is supposed to be doing, I can't imagine why they needed to marry her to Ramsey. Ramsey being married to a Stark is really a minor point and could have been dropped completely, so obviously the writers decided Sansa's arc in the books it too boring to put on screen.

Stannis has been utterly character assassinated beyond recognition.

For all that some people hate the LOTR movies as being terrible adaptations of the LOTR books, those movies are a total masterpiece of film adaptation by comparison to this.

I hope I haven't been too spoiled by this season. I was contemplating not watching it because I thought I might get too spoiled, but I also thoght there is a helluva lot of Dance with Dragons and Feast for Crowes to still get through (other than Bran) that spoils are unlilkely. But really in what they've done with some characters this season it has significant implications for the destiny of those characters in the books. I'm pretty sure Barristan dies in the next book, because I don't see the show killing him off without them knowing that Barristan has no part to play in the end game. I dunno what they're doing with Jorah's Greyscale, I suspect there will be a miracle cure somewhere. Perhaps the curing of the Greyscale will be by a red priest(ess) a la the healing of Victarion's arm by the red priest who accompanies him. Which will never make an appearance in the showe because the Greyjoys are completely gone from the show. Seems like time invested in Balon and Asha was completely wasted on the show.

I hope The Winds of Winter is out before the next season, but I suspect I probably won't be able to watch the next season because the story in S6 will advance beyond TWoW, or at least telegraph spoilers. So I'm thinking this is the last season I'll be watching until I've finished the books, or until GRRM is dead and the series in book form will never be finished. In a way it's kind of good that the TV show has turned to shit, with only a few exceptions, because now I do not feel at all conflicted about not watching the show in order to avoid spoilers for the proper story.

Kinda pissed at GRRM that he had 5 years to get TWoW done and he mostly pissed that time away writing for the show, doing side projects and traveling around to conventions and hobknobbing with fans. Thankfully I think the TV show has really put GRRM off now and maybe he will redouble his efforts to tell the real story.

Worse season by far. The last three episodes have been good though. As far as the differences between book and show goes. The show is pretty much fan fiction at this point. Pretty much every major character has turned pathetic in some way. I know people do the whole i am on Team X and Team Y as bit of joke and remedy for boredom. That said, might as well be on Team Ice King. Let's just start over as civilization after what Stannis did in the latest episode. Was suppose to be one of the better portrayed and somewhat moral character given the context of the world.

Usually when the season ends. I look forward to the next one with anticipation. I doubt i'll be doing the same this time.