fire & blood: blah, blah, blah, blah, blah…

I loved Game of Thrones from its very first episode. I was as shocked as any non-reader of the series at its Psycho-like twist in its penultimate first season episode. As soon as I could I grabbed a copy of the first novel. I read the rest and watched the series rush to its inevitable conclusion. I wasn’t as put off as some folks by plot turns that I felt I had seen coming, or at least had been hinted at as very possible outcomes. During the course of the show I probably even thought that some background of the dragon-loving Targaryan clan might be interesting to read. Boy, was I wrong about that. Fire & Blood, George R.R. Martin’s “history” of the Targaryan clan is a long, long, long read, and not a very good one. And to top it off, in typical GRRM fashion, this doorstop of a tome doesn’t even take us to the era of the television Targaryans. There’s another book to come, I fear. Or maybe even more than one. But they won’t be read by me.

To be fair, there were a few episodes, mainly about female Targaryans, in Fire & Blood that were fun stories, engaging the reader in classic GoT form. But they are surrounded by so, so many lists of characters with funky names and genealogies that even the invested GoT enthusiast can’t be expected to remember or care about any of them. After slogging through this mess of a book I’m not sure anymore what GRRM is up to. Does he have an editor? Does he want to even finish his unfinished GoT book series? Does it even matter? With an HBO prequel and teased additional GoT universe adaptations in the works maybe he has lost interest. I would suggest that he pick up a copy of Malory’s Le Morte d’Arthur and do a re-read. I’m sure that tale of King Arthur and his knights and their ladies was one of his original inspirations for GoT. It is an entertaining, at times sexy and bloody medieval saga. It has everything that the first GoT novel had, with no filler. It is not a boring history, like Fire & Blood, either.

Fire & Blood’s best feature are illustrations by Doug Wheatley

This post also appears on Cannonball Read 11

game of thrones: it's a black and white world

I have not succumbed to the temptation of watching any of the leaked episodes of Game of Thrones. I prefer the anticipation of waiting until Sunday night. Maybe because I am caught up on George R.R. matins books I feel that I can relax a little. At least I thought so, but the second episode of the fifth season,"The House of Black and White," went off in a few new directions, so very different from the books, that I am starting to feel like one of "The Unsullied" (non book readers. But not to worry, there were enough nods to Martin's prose to keep everyone, readers and watchers alike, happy.

Arya outside The House of Black and White

Arya (Maisie Williams) arrived in Braavos, and we saw the first real, child-like smile we have seen from her in a long time as she took in the life and bustle of the city, the water, the warmth. So different from her childhood home of Winterfell and the hell she has been going through for the past few years. But don't think that she has lost her edge or determination. At first rebuffed at the black and white door outside of the The House of Black and White she soon showed her mettle against a group of toughs in the city that threatened to take her sword Needle. As she made her way back to the black and white door she finally was able to reunite with the enigmatic, shape-shifting Jaqen H'ghar. I don't know about anyone else, but I was thrilled to see the original actor for the role, Tom Wlaschiha, show his face again.

Up at The Wall, Jon Snow (Kit Harington) seemed to have more options than ever before in his young life. Stannis offered to give him his birthright — he would no longer be The Bastard of Winterfell, but Jon Stark, something he had wanted all his life from his father, and become the Lord of Winterfell — if Jon would leave the Night's Watch and fight for him. The Night's Watch had something else in mind. They held an election for a new leader, and after a heartfelt nomination speech from his best buddy Sam, Jon found himself the 998th Lord Commander of the Night's Watch. His smile at hearing the news was another welcome sight.

And then the show started to spin off in its own direction. One of this season's several road-trip dream teams, Brienne and Pod, ran across Littlefinger and Sansa in a tavern, with disastrous results. Sansa rejected Brienne's offer of service and protection and Littlefinger, per usual, instructed his men to kill the pair. After a quite exciting chase and rescue (Brienne rescuing Pod, of course) they decided to follow Sansa at a discreet distance, hoping that her rejection was out of fear. I worry for these two, as their story is going off into unknown territory. But I must admit I also find the turn of events intriguing.

Drogon is back!

In Meereen, Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) was struggling more than ever to lead her people. First she insisted that an assassin of one of her Unsullied be given a fair trial. But when that man was killed by one of her men she ordered his public execution. This didn't go over at all well with the people of Meereen who went from calling her Mhysa (Mother) to Hissssss. Probably not a term of endearment. Dany's only bright spot was a quick visit from her oldest boy, her dragon Drogon.

Other nice touches: The princess Shireen teaching Gilly to read, Cersei getting a verbal smackdown from her Uncle Kevan — the first of which I'm sure there will be many this season, as she tries to consolidate her power base in King's Landing. We also caught a glimpse of another odd couple dream team, Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) and Varys, on their way to Dany and Meereen. Hopefully they can talk some sense into the girl queen and help cut out some of her endless political struggles that padded out Martin's last few books. And finally, Jaime is teaming up with Tyrion's former sellsword Bronn to go rescue his daughter, the Princess Myrcella from Dorne and the Sand Snakes. Everyone seems to be pairing up, to entertaining effect, in one way or another in the Seven Kingdoms.

it's back ... game of thrones

Even though I've read all the books up to this point, and considered myself fairly up to date on the Game of Thrones universe, I felt a bit out to sea after the season five premiere, "The Wars to Come," last night. The scheming of Varys and Littlefinger and all the rest of the population of the Seven Kingdoms was off and running, and it was an unsettling yet exciting feeling to realize I had no idea where they were going next.

It was great to see Tyrion (Peter Dinklage — Dinkles is my jam!) again. And even greater was the hint that his story was being streamlined, and that some pretty annoying characters from George R. R. Martin's A Dance with Dragons might not be making an appearance. Dany (Emilia Clarke) was back and living large as the queen of Meereen, but seemed not to be in control of her dragons. She has two in chains beneath an enormous pyramid, while the largest, Drogon, has gone missing. As her current boy toy and chief warrior Daario reminded her — a dragon queen with no dragons is not a queen.

Young Cersei and friend — always a mean girl

The episode opened with the first-ever flashback, or maybe more accurately, back story scene, of a young Cersei and a friend off to see a local witch. Cersei was told a prophecy which still haunts her to this day - She will not marry a prince but a king, and be queen, but another, younger, more beautiful one will take all she holds dear. But that's not all. That her king will have 20 children, but she will have only three, which makes no sense to young Cersei. And, just wait ... and that of her children, "Gold will be their crowns, gold their shrouds." The present day grown woman Cersei assumes that the younger, prettier schemer is perpetual almost-queen Margaery Tyrell, and fears what she will do to her youngest boy, King Tommen, but my money is on Daenerys.

The showstopper of the first episode however, took place up at The Wall, where Jon Snow (Kit Harington) tried to save his former enemy Mance Rayder (Ciaran Hinds) from a fiery end. The two men share a deep respect for each other, even when they rarely see eye-to-eye. The unyielding "true king" of Westeros, Stannis Baratheon (Stephen Dillane) and his witchy woman Melisandre (Carice van Houten), are as creepy and inflammatory as ever, and I felt for Jon Snow trying to make sense of their manipulations.

Varys and Tyrion — on the road again

The Game of Thrones fifth season is off to a good start. I'm looking forward to what show-runners David Benioff and D. B. Weiss have in store for us next, especially the new road trip odd couple duo of Varys and Tyrion. They just may surprise me.

throwback game of thrones thursday

The show runners of Game of Thrones,  David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, have caught up to the books. Some scenes from George R. R. Martin's A Dance with Dragons popped up last season and more are sure to appear this year. And what else ...

Benioff and Weiss are working closely with the author, so know the general trend of things, but that doesn't help faithful readers who have been waiting (and waiting) for the next installment to be finished and published, The Winds of Winter. I held off reading A Dance with Dragons as long as I could, finishing it last summer. Here's my review, as a throwback post and a refresher for the new season, which starts airing this Sunday.

like sands in the hourglass, these are the games of our thrones ...

Both book and television spoilers lurk within ...

A Dance with Dragons, the fifth novel in George R. R. Martin's epic A Song of Ice and Fire series, was published in 2011, after a five-year gap between it and the previous entry, A Feast for Crows. The series started with A Game of Thrones in 1996. The series has had an interesting evolution. Originally intended to be a trilogy, Martin soon realized that his fictional world of Westeros and beyond was expanding and would require first four, then six, now seven, and possibly even eight, books to complete. As the time between the published novels stretches, his devoted readers fret that their author may never reach a conclusion. After completing A Dance with Dragons, I can understand some of the reader-panic. In his latest entry the world and its characters have continued to expand. How can Martin possible polish off this series in just seven books?

Dany (played by Emilia Clarke in Game of Thrones) with her dragon, Drogon

I discovered Martin and his world like many, after watching the first season of Game of Thrones on HBO. A huge Sean Bean fan, I was shocked when the axe fell and ended both his character Ned Stark, the presumed "hero" of the show, and any expectations I might have been harboring of where the narrative would take me next. As soon as the first season ended I dove into the books — A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, A Storm of Swords, and straight through until A Feast for Crows. In the meantime, I had purchased A Dance with Dragons not long after it came out, and even read a few chapters before I set it aside. I wasn't ready to get to the end of whatever Martin had written so far.

When the second and third seasons of the television show aired, I was, I thought, prepared for what would be depicted onscreen. But show runners David Benioff and D. B. Weiss have managed to add a few twists and turns of their own, especially in the recently ended fourth season, to keep both book readers and the "Unsullied" jumping. Once the fourth season recently ended it finally seemed like a good time to pick up the threads of the story and see where Tyrion and Arya and Daenerys and Jon Snow and all the others were headed next. I got those answers. Sorta.

If you browse Amazon or any other site that reviews A Dance with Dragons the number one complaint is that nothing happens, that Martin is treading water. At a glacial, even soap opera-like pace. There are a lot of pages devoted to ships traveling on the sea. Slowly. It's not an incorrect critique, if what one was hoping for was a lot of physical movement of the main characters, like pieces on a chessboard. Martin may be playing chess, or cyvasse, as Tyrion does, but with a different, longer game in mind. Which is why I think that to truly sum things up, he'll need three more books. Hopefully we can all get there.

Martin may spend what some consider an inordinate amount of time describing what his characters are eating and how they are dressing, but can anyone deny that they don't know the difference between conditions at The Wall versus Meereen or the Dothraki sea? He also manages to get in quite a bit of backstory, to expand on what happened before the first novel took place; the motivations of people that are casting long shadows on their younger generations. And the horrors of war, and difficulties of governing, which could easily be compared to some very contemporary problems and issues. I will admit that I didn't necessarily need to be reminded multiple times of Meereen's many-colored brick pyramid walls. But I think Martin may have acquired the same problem with his editors that plagued J.K. Rowling towards the end of her Harry Potter series. They don't cut a damn word.

Reek (Alfie Allen) gives his master Ramsay Snow (Iwan Rheon) a close shave

Some characters may seem to have evolved only slightly in A Dance with Dragons, but appearances may be deceiving. Let's examine.

Daenerys. The Queen of Meereen and all her other numerous titles, is still in the east, and seems no closer to getting to Westeros, which is very frustrating for readers. As she likes to say (a lot) she is just a young girl. This young girl does spend a lot of time mooning over a certain sell-sword named Daario, but when the goings get tough outside her adopted/conquered city (plague, famine, attack from many enemies), she doesn't take the easy way out as all her advisors want her to do, but stays put and tries to make a better life for her people. She even agrees to marry the noble Hizdahr, someone she neither trusts nor loves, because she thinks it will bring peace. And towards the end of the book she finally gets to do what I had been waiting, hoping for for ages — she hops on her dragon Drogon's back and takes flight. Truly the Mother of Dragons, Daenerys may be temporarily a bit lost in the Dothraki Sea, but she will still be a force to be reckoned with.

Tyrion. His chapters may have been the most frustrating for readers (and Martin). A fan favorite, how are we supposed to feel about him, after he has killed his father and his lover and fled, presumably in search of "where whores go"? Martin's answer was to send him on a circuitous journey, teasing us with his reaching Daenerys to join her council. But he never really does. Instead he meets another Targaryen no one knew was still alive, also interested in taking the Iron Throne, gets captured by Jorah Mormont, then both are later sold into slavery where he meets a female (and fairly annoying) performing dwarf. As always Tyrion uses his considerable wits to get them out of that predicament, but what next? Another cliffhanger.

"You know nothing, Jon Snow" (Kit Harington)

Jon Snow. His character showed the most growth. He had to contend with King Stannis, his Red Witch Melisandre, and his Queen and her court while simultaneously trying to breach a peace with the Wildlings. A decision that was most unpopular with his men of the Night's Watch, Jon let the Wildlings not only cross to their side of The Wall, but allowed some to don the black cloaks of the Night's Watch. Heresy. Jon understands that the old prejudices must be set aside if they are truly going to survive the winter that is coming, and the Others and otherworldly threats that lurk beyond the Wall. At the same time, he can't seem to let go of his allegiance to his old home of Winterfell, and a decision to try and defend the castle opens the door for his men to pull a Caesar-style execution move. Or did they? Cue Melisandre and the Lord of Light's magic in 3,2,1 ...

Those are the three central characters of the narrative at the moment, but there was a lot more going on as well, with Arya, and Bran, and Asha Greyjoy, but most especially with Reek, now back to calling himself Theon. Theon has become a fascinating character, one which I never expected to sympathize with. When we first meet him in A Game of Thrones he was clearly a callow youth. Some might even have called him a jerk. It comes as no surprise (except to the Starks) that he became Theon Turncloak. But Martin threw Theon and his readers for a loop when he introduced an even more vile character in the form of Ramsay Snow, the Bastard of Bolton. Ramsay tortured, castrated, and mutilated Theon, turning him into the sniveling Reek. The unpleasant Reek gave us a view into Ramsay and his father Roose Bolton's doings (much like his sister Asha functions to show us what Stannis and his army are up to). But once Ramsay takes Winterfell in A Dance with Dragons, Reek slowly transforms back into Theon. His memories of his childhood there and his vists to the weirwood tree (and possible coaching from greenseer Bran) restore, at least mentally, his manhood. A character I used to loathe reading about, Theon has become one of the most interesting characters in the series.

A Dance with Dragons visits King's Landing for just a few chapters, which may have worked better in A Feast for Crows, but why quibble? Cersei is as awful (and fun to read about) as ever. Her uncle Kevan had a slam-bang chapter of his own, which featured another favorite face from the past, Varys. But these brief visits are just previews of the next book, The Winds of Winter. And there, lies the rub, of course. Martin has such a way of making us interested in his characters, that one can't help but be frustrated when one nears the end of the massive tome and realizes that just ten more pages aren't going to reveal what happens next to Tyrion, Daenerys, or in a way-too-short tantalizing peek, Jaime and Brienne (!) So here we sit, hoping for scraps and previews that Martin is posting on his blog. And maybe rewatching select episodes of Game of Thrones until The Winds of Winter comes out. This year? Next year?

like sands in the hourglass, these are the games of our thrones ...

Both book and television spoilers lurk within ...

A Dance with Dragons, the fifth novel in George R. R. Martin's epic A Song of Ice and Fire series, was published in 2011, after a five-year gap between it and the previous entry, A Feast for Crows. The series started with A Game of Thrones in 1996. The series has had an interesting evolution. Originally intended to be a trilogy, Martin soon realized that his fictional world of Westeros and beyond was expanding and would require first, four, than six, now seven, and possibly even eight books to complete. As the time between the published novels stretches, his devoted readers fret that their author may never reach a conclusion. After completing A Dance with Dragons I can understand some of the reader-panic. In his latest entry the world and its characters have continued to expand. How can Martin possible polish off this series in just seven books?

Dany (played by Emilia Clarke in Game of Thrones) with her dragon, Drogon

I discovered Martin and his world like many, after watching the first season of Game of Thrones on HBO. A huge Sean Bean fan, I was shocked when the axe fell and ended both his character Ned Stark, the presumed "hero" of the show, and any expectations I might have been harboring of where the narrative would take me next. As soon as the first season ended I dove into the books — A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, A Storm of Swords, and straight through until A Feast for Crows. In the meantime, I had purchased A Dance with Dragons not long after it came out, and even read a few chapters before I set it aside. I wasn't ready to get to the end of whatever Martin had written so far.

When the second and third seasons of the television show aired, I was, I thought, prepared for what would be depicted onscreen. But show runners David Benioff and D. B. Weiss have managed to add a few twists and turns of their own, especially in the recently ended fourth season, to keep both book readers and the "Unsullied" jumping. Once the fourth season recently ended it finally seemed like a good time to pick up the threads of the story and see where Tyrion and Arya and Daenerys and Jon Snow and all the others were headed next. I got those answers. Sorta.

If you browse Amazon or any other site that reviews A Dance with Dragons the number one complaint is that nothing happens, that Martin is treading water. At a glacial, even soap oper-like pace. There are a lot of pages devoted to ships traveling on the sea. Slowly. It's not an incorrect critique, if what one was hoping for was a lot of physical movement of the main characters, like pieces on a chessboard. Martin may be playing chess, or cyvasse, as Tyrion does, but with a different, longer game in mind. Which is why I think that to truly sum things up, he'll need three more books. Hopefully we can all get there.

Martin may spend what some consider an inordinate amount of time describing what his characters are eating and how they are dressing, but can anyone deny that they don't know the difference between conditions at The Wall versus Meereen or the Dothraki sea? He also manages to get in quite a bit of backstory, to expand on what happened before the first novel took place, the motivations of people that are casting long shadows on their younger generations. And the horrors of war, and difficulties of governing, which could easily be compared to some very contemporary problems and issues. I will admit that I didn't necessarily need to be reminded multiple times of Meereen's many-colored brick pyramid walls. But I think Martin may have acquired the same problem with his editors that plagued J.K. Rowling towards the end of her Harry Potter series. They don't cut a damn word.

Reek (Alfie Allen) gives his master Ramsay Snow (Iwan Rheon) a close shave

Some characters may seem to have evolved only slightly in A Dance with Dragons, but appearances may be deceiving. Let's examine.

Daenerys. The Queen of Meereen and all her other numerous titles, is still in the east, and seems no closer to getting to Westeros, which is very frustrating for readers. As she likes to say (a lot) she is just a young girl. This young girl does spend a lot of time mooning over a certain sell-sword named Daario, but when the goings get tough outside her adopted/conquered city (plague, famine, attack from many enemies), she doesn't take the easy way out as all her advisors want her to do, but stays put and tries to make a better life for her people. She even agrees to marry the noble Hizdahr, someone she neither trusts note ives, because she thinks it will bring peace. And towards the end of the book she finally gets to do what I had been waiting, hoping for for ages — she hops on her dragon Drogon's back and takes flight. Truly the Mother of Dragons, Daenerys may be temporarily a bit lost in the Dothraki Sea, but she will still be a force to be reckoned with.

Tyrion. His chapters may have been the most frustrating for readers (and Martin). A fan favorite, how are we supposed to feel about him, after he has killed his father and his lover and fled, presumably in search of "where whores go"? Martin's answer was to send him on a circuitous journey, teasing us with his reaching Daenerys to join her council. But he never really does. Instead he meets another Targaryen no one knew was still alive, also interested in taking the Iron Throne, gets captured by Jorah Mormont, then both are later sold into slavery where he meets a female (and fairly annoying) performing dwarf. As always Tyrion uses his considerable wits to get them out of that predicament, but what next? Another cliffhanger.

"You know nothing, Jon Snow" (Kit Harington)

Jon Snow. His character showed the most growth. He had to contend with King Stannis, his Red Witch Melisandre, and his Queen and her court while simultaneously trying to breach a peace with the Wildlings. A decision that was most unpopular with his men of the Night's Watch, Jon let the Wildlings not only cross to their side of The Wall, but allowed some to don the black cloaks of the Night's Watch. Heresy. Jon understands that the old prejudices must be set aside if they are truly going to survive the winter that is coming, and the Others and otherworldly threats that lurk beyond the Wall. At the same time, he can't seem to let go of his allegiance to his old home of Winterfell, and a decision to try and defend the castle opens the door for his men to pull a Caesar-style execution move. Or did they? Cue Melisandre and the Lord of Light's magic in 3,2,1 ...

Those are the three central characters of the narrative at the moment, but there was a lot more going on as well, with Arya, and Bran, and Asha Greyjoy, but most especially with Reek, now back to calling himself Theon. Theon has become a fascinating character, one which I never expected to sympathize with. When we first meet him in A Game of Thrones he was clearly a callow youth. Some might even have called him a jerk. It comes as no surprise (except to the Starks) that he became Theon Turncloak. But Martin threw Theon and his readers for a loop when he introduced an even more vile character in the form of Ramsay Snow, the Bastard of Bolton. Ramsay tortured, castrated, and mutilated Theon, turning him into the sniveling Reek. The unpleasant Reek gave us a view into Ramsay and his father Roose Bolton's doings (much like his sister Asha functions to show us what Stannis and his army are up to). But once Ramsay takes Winterfell in A Dance with Dragons, Reek slowly transforms back into Theon. His memories of his childhood there and his vists to the weirwood tree (and possible coaching from greenseer Bran) restore, at least mentally, his manhood. A character I used to loathe reading about, Theon has become one of the most interesting characters in the series.

A Dance with Dragons visits King's Landing for just a few chapters, which may have worked better in A Feast for Crows, but why quibble? Cersei is as awful (and fun to read about) as ever. Her uncle Kevan had a slam-bang chapter of his own, which featured another favorite face from the past, Varys. But these brief visits are just previews of the next book, The Winds of Winter. And there, lies the rub, of course. Martin has such a way of making us interested in his characters, that one can't help but be frustrated when one nears the end of the massive tome and realizes that just ten more pages aren't going to reveal what happens next to Tyrion, Daenerys, or in a way-too-short tantalizing peek, Jaime and Brienne (!) So here we sit, hoping for scraps and previews that Martin is posting on his blog. And maybe rewatching select episodes of Game of Thrones until The Winds of Winter comes out. This year? Next year?

quote of the day

"A reader leads a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only one." George R. R. Martin, A Dance with Dragons

I already shared this quote from the author my twitter, but I think it bears repeating. It really jumped out at me in the 1000+ page novel. I will share my thoughts about (finally finishing) the book tomorrow, but just wanted to remind myself and anyone who's listening, about the power of the written word.*

Don't provoke him, people

* Although Martin seems to have little respect for spoken words, as he has multiple characters spout often (and oftener), "Words are wind."

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• Read a New Excerpt from The Winds of Winter!

game of thrones — all dinklage, all the time

O.K., that may be a bit of an exaggeration. There are many fine actors/characters in Game of Thrones. Peter Dinklage, who plays Tyrion Lannister, is just one of them. A main character for sure, but part of an ensemble. But his raging soliloquy at the end of Sunday night's episode, “The Laws of Gods and Men” was so good, so riveting, so emotional — it just made everyone else fade away just a bit.

As usual, there were some other things going on during the episode:

A nice exchange between "Lord" Varys (Conleth Hill, always good) and Prince Oberyn (Pedro Pascal, who just keeps getting better and better), reminding viewers that the politics of Thrones is just as important and frequently more fascinating than all of the blood and guts confrontations.  

A rescue attempt by Yara Greyjoy (Gemma Whelan) of her brother Theon (Alfie Allen) found that he had for all intents and purposes disappeared. All that was left was Reek, ripe for the latest mind games from the creepy and evil Ramsay Snow (Iwan Rheon). Or do we have to call him Lord Bolton now?  

Daenerys's (Emilia Clarke) dragons are getting bigger (and cooler-looking) and out of control, and Dany may have made a new adversary or ally in Hizdar zo Loraq (Joel Fry). 

It was also very cool to see Braavos and the Iron Bank (and especially guest star Mark Gatiss), but the Stannis storyline is still as dull as Stannis himself. 

A young goatherd watches a not-so-friendly neighborhood dragon scorch the countryside

But once that was all out of the way we could get down to the meat of the episode — Tyrion's trial and the never-ending drama that is the family Lannister.

Cersei (Lena Headey) was predictably evil condemning her brother. Papa Tywin (Charles Dance), as head judge, tried to appear fair, but clearly wanted to get the trial and Tyrion over with. Tyrion's real words and contempt for Joffrey were cleverly thrown in his face. Undeniable, but hardly evidence of murder. Only big brother Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) seemed to care about Tyrion, and he finally gave his father what he had been long waiting for — he promised to step down from the Kingsguard and take up residence at Casterly Rock if his father would assure him that Tyrion would not be executed. A ray of hope, but quickly dimmed by the appearance of Shae (Sibel Kekilli), who not only lied about Tyrion and Sansa's involvement in Joffrey's death, but shared intimate details of their relationship with the tittering onlookers. This caused Tyrion to understandably lose it, and gave Dinklage the opportunity to spew forth years of hatred and frustration at how he has been viewed and treated by the world at large, and especially, by his father. It was amazing, and all the awards should just be mailed to his home forthwith.

Tyrion has had enough, with father Tywin watching him, in the background

Just as viewers were trying to catch their breath the screen went black, and now we all have to wait until next week. Even if one is a reader of George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire books and have a general idea of what is coming next, show runners David Benioff and Dan Weiss continue to keep adding just a few new scenes or twists on characters to keep us all guessing. It's making this season more fun than could have ever been anticipated. In a recent EW interview, Game of Thrones writer Bryan Cogman hinted at what's still to come in the final episodes of the season, as a result of Tyrion's melt-down, so buckle up Game of Thrones fans, it's going to be a bumpy ride:

"Tywin’s plans, for once, were foiled, and now Tyrion has to deal with this rather rash decision he made. You’re going to see how that plays out. Also, expect the appearance of characters who you did not see this episode. That’s something we’re trying to do more this year too — less cutting back and forth to a lot of places. Do more quality vs. quantity. ... It’s relentless from now on. There’s no going back now for a lot of these characters. The rest of the season is based on the last third of A Storm of Swords, so it’s one big climax."

it was littlefinger, all along

Spoilers ...

Whether one has read the books in George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series, or is just following the drama in Westeros on HBO's Game of Thrones, it must have been apparent from the first season that Petyr Baelish, AKA Littlefinger (Aidan Gillen), was plotting behind the scenes from Day 1. In last Sunday's episode, "First of His Name," it was revealed exactly how far back Littlefinger's plots and schemes have reached.

Sansa - can't the kid get a break?

Poor Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner). She has been forced to witness the steady destruction of her family, either first-hand, or through gleeful reports from now-deceased maniacal young kings. She seemed to be getting away from most of the horror last week when Littlefinger smuggled her out of King's Landing and delivered her to who she thinks may be her only living relative, her Aunt Lysa (Kate Dickie). Sansa had clearly been more than a little suspicious of Littlefinger's motives on their journey (he has said more than once that he was in love with her mother Cat, who she closely resembles), and was palpably relieved to see her mother's sister, who is holed up in the Eyrie, a virtually impregnable castle in the area of Westeros known as the Vale. But lemon cakes aside, Sansa wasn't able to enjoy her respite for long. Because her aunt is completely bonkers, and when she isn't accusing Sansa of sleeping with her beloved Littlefinger, she is planning her niece's nuptials to her infantile son Robin. Despite the fact that Sansa is currently married to Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage).

The happy couple, Lysa and Littlefinger - don't let the Moon Door hit you on the way out

Sansa not only found herself disgusted by her aunt's loud screams (celebrating her instantaneous wedding to Littlefinger — Lysa does not fool around), but defending her husband Tyrion. She may have actually formed some kind feelings for him after all. What Sansa didn't know, and what came as a big reveal to many, was that Lysa had poisoned her husband Jon Arryn at Littlefinger's behest. This is the act that starts the ball rolling in the first novel A Game of Thrones and the first episode of the series. Jon Arryn is killed. Lysa writes to her sister Cat that the Lannisters have murdered him. Cat urges her husband Ned to take Jon's job of Hand of the King that his friend the King Robert Baratheon has just offered (and that Ned has no interest in). Ned's Sherlocking around in King's Landing to find Jon's killer results in his own death, which leads to war, which ends up destroying the Starks and their seat of Winterfell and is well on the way to currently destroying the Lannisters and their hold on King's Landing. And in case you forgot, Littlefinger was the mastermind behind King Joffrey's (Jack Gleeson) death, too.

What does Littlefinger want? Cat is dead. He has Sansa, sort of, but would she be a suitable substitute for his youthful love and rejection? Lysa may have survived the wedding, which is quite an accomplishment, considering how Westeros weddings go these days, but that Moon Door must look pretty tempting ... Does he really see himself as ruling all of Westeros?

Ghost and Jon, together again

As we were all still reeling from Sansa's predicament, Jon Snow (Kit Harington) and the Night's Guard shut down Craster's Keep. Jon was reunited with his direwolf Ghost in a great action sequence, which also saw the end of some hateful characters. Go Ghost! Go Bran (Isaac Hempstead Wright) warging into Hodor (Kristian Nairn)! "Hodor!" Bran had to decide whether he wanted to be rescued by Jon or not, and wisely chose to head onto the freezing unknown instead. I know, that might seem crazy to some, but the kid is on a mission, and he knows he can now transcend his body and do just about anything, which is a superpower as cool as, or even cooler than, Daenerys's (Emilia Clarke) dragons. Hmmm ... Bran ... dragons ... And speaking of Dany, she seems to be just about the only one in this universe who doesn't think she can just rule because she says so. Did you hear me, Stannis? Dany has decided to stay put in Meereen and learn to rule the city she has conquered before unleashing an army and dragons (!) upon Westeros.

But back to Sansa. Next week her hubby Tyrion is going on trial for the murder of the boy king/psychopath Joffrey. I missed Peter Dinklage this week, but he is sure to be front and center in the next episode, "The Laws of Gods and Men." Sorry to say, we are already half-way through this season. Say it isn't so!

games of thrones: now we're all in the same boat

Spoilers... 

The gap between the folks who have read George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire books and others who have just watched the series based on his wild world of Westeros, Game of Thrones, has suddenly narrowed. There was so much new material in last Sunday's episode, "Oathkeeper," that book readers are now as much in the dark as anyone. There were seriously so many "But wait a minute, what's going on?", "I don't remember that", or "What just happened?" moments that I wanted to dig out my copies of A Storm of Swords and A Feast for Crows to check if what I was seeing had ever really happened.

Lady Olenna (Diana Rigg) tells her granddaughter Maergery (Natalie Dormer) who killed Joffrey (She did, with the help of Littlefinger) and also manages to get in a joke about always having to play her scenes in the gardens.

On the advice of her grandma, Maergery gets to know her next husband-to-be a bit better.

Martin is notoriously slow to get out sequels in this series. There are supposed to be two more books in the works, The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring, and the clock is ticking, ticking, ticking ... Could show runners David Benioff and D. B. Weiss be in so tight with author Martin that they are solving onscreen some long-unanswered mysteries that have as yet to be addressed in the books, such as what exactly do the White Walkers do with the babies they are offered (or steal)? Zombie baby army!?

While some viewers may still be concerned with last week's Jaime/Cersei close encounter, it was clear in "Oathkeeper" that the show, and Jaime, were moving on. Nikolaj Coster-Waldau had some of the best moments in the episode, as he sparred both physically and verbally with his brother Tyrion's (Peter Dinklage) sellsword Bronn (Jerome Flynn); finally visited the wrongly-incarcerated Tyrion; watched his tipsy sister Cersei (Lena Heady) give her impression of the Red Queen; and finally, touchingly, gifted his once-captor, now friend Brienne of Tarth (Gwendoline Christie) with a fabulous suit of armor, an honorable quest, and his sword, which she meaningfully dubbed Oathkeeper.

Jaime give Brienne a sword and she names it - Oathkkeper

All of Martin's characters are complex, but Jaime Lannister has had one of the more interesting backstories within the epic. When we first meet him he is arrogant and despicable (he tosses young Bran Stark out a window when the kid accidentally sees Jaime and Cersei having a quick incestuous tryst), and even though he is a fierce warrior and a member of the elite Kingsguard, his reputation is forever shadowed by his nickname, the Kingslayer, after he killed the Mad King, Aerys Targaryen. Later it is learned, in both the books and the HBO series, as Jaime confides to Brienne, that by killing the king, Jaime saved the city and its inhabitants from Aerys's deadly wildfire plot. Jaime is on the road to maybe not redemption, but at least honoring his promises. First up, he promised to return Sansa and Arya Stark to their mother. Catelyn Stark is dead, and Jaime assumes, so is the missing Arya, but he can at least enlist Brienne to find young Sansa and deliver her safely to her aunt Lysa.

The other wild "did you just see what I saw" moment came at the end of the episode, when the last male baby of clan Craster was offered up as a sacrifice, left out in the snow to be .... well. we're not exactly sure. I'm sure most viewers have assumed that the babies were food for the zombie-like White Walkers, but the last scene of "Oathkeeper" suggested something else entirely — how does one make a White Walker? Let the Night King touch a newborn human baby ...

All baby White Walkers are born with blue eyes ...

We're only three episodes into season four of Game of Thrones and anyone who may have thought they knew where things were headed will have to reevaluate. That makes for good television. I still may have to go back and check out the books ...

(does anyone care) whodunnit?

Contains (show, not book) spoilers for the most recent episode of Game of Thrones ...


Medieval fantasy world wedding planners take note. Westeros may not be such a hot idea as your go-to wedding destination. While everyone is still reeling from last season's eventful and bloody Red Wedding, last Sunday night gave viewers the nuptials of twerp-king and all-around bad guy Joffrey Baratheon (Jack Gleeson) and the lovely Margaery Tyrell (Natalie Dormer). Or as it is better known to fans of the fantasy series, the Purple Wedding.

Head for the hills — it's a wedding in Westeros (Image from The Big Lead)

Apart from Margaery and Joffrey's happy day there were other things going on in "The Lion and the Rose," including check-ins with Bran (good), Ramsay Snow and Theon/Reek (disturbing), and Stannis (still as boring as ever), but who are we kidding? There was a royal wedding in King's Landing, and that's the only place I wanted to be. "The Lion and the Rose" is also the only episode this season written by A Song of Ice and Fire author George R. R. Martin.

Fans of the series may not have had any cool CGI White Walker zombies this episode, but they certainly got something they had been waiting a long time for - the demise of one of the nastiest characters in the series or on television. Yes, finally, we watched Joffrey die, but not before he either insulted, tormented, or offended everyone in the vicinity.

The episode had fun teasing its audience by throwing in some clues (or red herrings) as to who may have poisoned the brat king. If Hercule Poirot or his Westeros equivalent has been on the scene he would undoubtedly assemble a list of suspects in the Iron Throne Room and grill them all. As it was, the hateful and heartbroken Cersei (Lena Headey) pointed at her despised brother Tyrion (Peter Dinklage), accused him of murdering his nephew, and ordered the guards to grab him.

Tyrion offers Joffrey his wine cup as Sansa looks on 

But did Tyrion do it? He certainly had ample motive. Seeing Joffrey taunt and disrespect his uncle in "The Lion and the Rose" was just as uncomfortable onscreen as it was to read in the book. Tyrion did handle Joffrey's wine glass, at the king's own mocking insistence, but he did so in full view of all the wedding party and guests. Joffrey, possibly the most widely hated of Game of Thrones characters, invited murder from many angles. Such as:

Sansa (Sophie Turner). A person who may have had more motive than anyone for wanting Joffrey dead, Sansa did handle the wine cup as she handed it to Tyrion. But she has always been a reactive sort, not one to take action. Now if Arya had been there ... Could Sansa be in cahoots with Sir Dontos (Tony Way), once a knight, and now a Fool, who she once stopped Joffrey from having killed? She was wearing the necklace that Sir Dontos gave her at the wedding.

The Tyrells. This ambitious family wants to rule in King's Landing, but they have been very carefully and systematically scoping out just how much of a monster Joffrey is before the wedding. Margaery did feed Joffrey pie - but was the poison in the pie or the wine? As heinous as the prospect of being his bride might be to Margaery, would it really be in her advantage to kill him off before they produce an heir? She is Quenn now, but with Joffrey dead, will she stay that way? Lady Olenna (Diana Rigg), her grandmother, who paid for the event, was hovering nearby and could have spiked the wine. She might be doing her granddaughter a small favor by killing off Joffrey before the wedding night, but how will his death affect the family politically in the long term? 

Lady Olenna, trying to console Sansa about her brother Robb's recent death, “War is war, but killing a man at a wedding. Horrid. What sort of monster would do such a thing? As if men need more reasons to fear marriage.” 

Olenna eyes the fateful cup

Prince Oberyn (Pedro Pascal). He has a long-standing grudge against the Lannisters, as he made very clear to Tyrion last week. Plenty of motive, but less likely to have had access to Joffrey's wine or food.

As much as the death of Joffrey was the main event (and shock to those who haven't read A Storm of Swords), there were some other fun things happening at the wedding. Until her beloved first-born monster died in her arms, Cersei was having a great time, trying to thwart Margaery's efforts to feed the poor, making noble Brienne (Gwendoline Christie) beyond-uncomfortable, insulting anyone who crossed her path. Good times.

But now the broken-hearted and vengeful mother has found a way to finally eliminate little brother Tyrion. What will Tywin (Charles Dance) think or do? Will he be broken up about his grandson's death? Where does this leave Margaery and her clan? And who will viewers love to hate as much as the evil Joffrey? I may have to reread A Storm of Swords). I don't know if I can wit until next week to find out.

binge-watching game of thrones

I've been re-watching Season Three of Game of Thrones in preparation for Season Four. I've already read A Storm of Swords (the show creator's broke author George R.R. Martin's novel into two seasons), so I won't spoil things for anyone, but suffice it to say that as shocking as last season's the Red Wedding was, there is still more in store for the denizens of Westeros and beyond. Much of the season seems d to be about interesting pairings. Only poor Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) always seemed to end up alone. Until Sunday, here are some images from Season Three that made an impact.

Sam goes up against a White Walker

My favorite couple of the season (and maybe the books as well) Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and Brienne (Gwendoline Christie)

A close second — Arya (Maisie Williams) and The Hound (Rory McCann)

This is more of a threesome — Maergery (Natalie Dormer), Joffrey (Jack Gleeson) and his crossbow

Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) and her favorite son

Brienne and an angry bear

Ygritte (Rose Leslie) and Jon Snow (Kit Harington) on The Wall

Tyrion, alone and bewildered

game of thrones: the quality of mercy

Beware of spoilers if you haven't seen the latest episode, “The Rains of Castamere,” or read A Storm of Swords ...


As I watched last night's penultimate episode of Game of Thrones I couldn't help thinking of this snippet from Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice:

Portia:

The quality of mercy is not strain'd,
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath: it is twice blest;
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes:
'Tis mightiest in the mightiest: it becomes
The throned monarch better than his crown;

There were so many opportunities last night for characters to show (or not show) mercy to their fellow man. Arya, who was still on the road with The Hound, asked him to show mercy to a hog vendor after they hijacked his cart. The Hound's first instinct was to kill the man, but he let Arya talk him out of it. She may have saved the man's life, but she is also capable of being ruthless, reminding her captor/delivery man later that she still planned, on her first opportunity, to kill him. She will never forgive him for killing her young friend Mycah at Joffrey's behest. The Hound later showed mercy to Arya by getting her safely away from dangerous and deadly situation.

In a similar scene, Jon Snow tried to convince the wildlings he has been traveling with to show mercy to a horse tender for the Night's Watch. Like the Hound, they don't believe in leaving witnesses to their crimes. Ygritte and her traveling companions thought he was being weak, or "being a crow," but it was also because he is a good man. Ygritte killed the man with an arrow and Jon killed Orell, who is a Warg, a person with the ability to enter the mind of an animal and control its actions. Orell was able to transform into an eagle as he died, and attacked Jon before he took flight.

Bran is showing mercy to his younger brother Rickon, and to the wildling Osha as well, as he sends them to a safer place while he continues his journey with the Reeds beyond the Wall. Bran is also a Warg, and was able, through his direwolf, to see that Jon was alive and headed back towards Castle Black.

In Yunkai Daenerys's crew attacked the city. Although Ser Jorah, Daario Naharis, and Grey Worm showed no mercy to the city's protectors, they do to the rest of the inhabitants — slaves who knew that she would show mercy to them and free them from slavery.

It's a nice day for a red wedding ...


Unfortunately for Robb Stark and his followers there was no mercy to be had at The Twins. Lord Walder Frey neither forgives nor forgets, and he teamed up with Roose Bolton and (in the book) Tywin Lannister. The Freys were out for revenge, and the King of the North was caught neatly in a trap. The Freys and Co. killed every last one of them, including Robb's direwolf. It was incredibly brutal to watch, and all the more poignant as we watched Catelyn try to bargain in vain for her son's life and then watch him die.

Although I never particularly liked the character of Cat — in either the books or the television series — I shed a tear for her both times at the red wedding. Michelle Fairley brilliantly captured her stubborn, sometimes bone-headed decision making, as well as her fierce protective mothering instincts. Cat is such a frustrating character, as she is truly a loving mother, who nonetheless left her two youngest children in the care of servants to go on a political/revenge mission.

With only one episode left to go, Game of Thrones is certainly upping the ante. I'm not sure who had it harder last night watching the red wedding. Readers of the books who knew what was coming, or watchers of the show who were blindsided by the slaughter. Book purists may quibble that some events and characters have been changed, but there's no denying the fact that the show's creators have taken George R. R. Martin's saga and created a hold-your-breath kind of show to watch. Can't wait until next week.

i'm really enjoying this season of game of thrones

So many of the characters in George R. R. Martin's fantasy epic are hitting high marks:

Armed only with a wooden sword ...

Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and Brienne (Gwendoline Christie) — the ultimate odd couple. First they were enemies, then reluctant teammates, and now they may actually be becoming, if not friends, allies. The scene in last night's episode, “The Bear and the Maiden Fair,” where Jaime returned to Harrenhall and helped Brienne fight her way out of a pit and away from a vicious bear (where she had been left, with a wooden sword, to be attacked for a sick form of entertainment) was both frightening and exhilarating. And speaking of odd couples, the wonderful Arya (Maisie Williams) has split from the Brotherhood, but run away right into the arms of The Hound (Rory McCann).

Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) has seemed far away and not quite so interesting for most of the season, but the last two episodes have shown just how much of a badass the tiny silver-haired girl can be. Look out Yunkai (and Westeros), here she comes.

Daenerys and one of her babies, via Pandawhale

Charles Dance continues to be fabulous as Tywin Lannister, reminding young King Joffrey (Jack Gleeson) who exactly is running things in the Seven Kingdoms. Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister is always wonderful, and it was almost painful to watch him try to (unsuccessfully) appease his mistress Shae (Sibel Kekilli ) as he tried to reconcile himself to his upcoming nuptials to Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner).

Although not exactly in the books, there have been some additions to the story that have added quite a lot to the drama and pathos this season:

Hello, young lovers. As Ygritte (Rose Leslie) keeps reminding him, "You know nothing, Jon Snow," Jon (Kit Harington) is still thinking like a member of the Night's Watch, and not a Wildling. Their romance is more intense onscreen than in the books, and all the more poignant. Jon's older half-brother Robb (Richard Madden) and his bride Talisa (Oona Chaplin) are also deeply in love and enjoying a brief respite from the war and the disapproval of Robb's mother Cat and the Frey clan.

Perhaps the most pleasant surprise of the season continues to be Margaery Tyrell, played by Natalie Dormer. Her part in the current storyline has been expanded way beyond her role in the books, and it has benefited many story-lines; from her quick recovery from the death of her husband Renly, to her betrothal to the odious Joffrey, to her friendship and advice to young and naive Sansa. As she told the girl this week, she shouldn't despair about her marriage to Tyrion, who is not only quite handsome, but clearly the kindest of the Lannisters. A union with Tyrion could have Sansa's child running most of Westeros.

Listen up, Sansa! You might learn something.

The only bum note this season continues to be Theon's (Alfie Allen) storyline. Stretching out his torture from episode to episode is getting to be a bit much. Hardly a favorite character, certainly we could skip him in an episode or two and still see him end up as broken from the experience, as he will undoubtedly be. In the latest drawn-out torture scene's defense I will say that for once, the HBO pre-requite nudity per episode was actually used for a purpose — and a menacing one at that, rather than the usual T&A.

“The Bear and the Maiden Fair” was also the only episode this season written by George R. R. Martin, which may explain the (deeper) depth of feelings that some of the characters were able to plumb this time out. With only three episodes left to go, and some serious drama yet to unfold (don't worry, I'm not telling), season three is bound to end with a bang.

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this week on game of thrones ...

I have to admit that when I heard that HBO was breaking up George R.R. Martin's third (and best) book of his A Song of Ice and Fire series, A Storm of Swords, I was a little dubious. Some amazing things happen in the book, and I wasn't sure that the impact wouldn't be diluted if stretched over two seasons. But I have to say, after four episodes into the third season any fears that I may have had regarding the show-maker's story-telling ability have vanished. There are quite a few characters and plot threads that have been emphasized or altered, and while such changes might ruffle the feathers of novel purists, they have actually made for some gripping and entertaining television.

Margaery studies Joffrey

Varys and Olenna are both masters in communication — and snappy dressers

David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, the show runners for Game of Thrones, have wisely realized that their television series can be a loose adaptation of the popular (and still currently being written) series of novels. Characters who hardly figure in the third or even subsequent books in the series have been pumped up for not only dramatic, but thematic effect. The most obvious and successful of these re-characterizations are Margaery Tyrell (Natalie Dormer) and her grandmother, Lady Olenna Tyrell (Diana Rigg). George R. R. Martin's books are so densely populated that the Tyrells, a family that aspires to power as much as any other faction in Westeros, have been pretty under-represented. Casting Dormer and Rigg has not only created the opportunity for some great new dialogue scenes, but has also added two very strong women to the cast of schemers in King's Landing. Watching Queen-regent Cersei (Lena Headey) seethe as Margaery wraps her lovely and under-clothed tendrils around her son, the gullible King Joffrey, (Jack Gleeson) is delicious.

What television and this adaptation has been able to do — what I would have thought impossible — is to make a repulsive character like Theon Greyjoy (Alfie Allen) sympathetic. At least for a moment or two. Characters that were likable but rather slight in the books, like siblings Jojen and Meera Reed, are coming to life as they join Bran, Rickon, Osha and Hodor on their trek north to The Wall.

Sunday night's episode,"And Now His Watch Is Ended" was chock-full of scenes that built to an explosive climax. Viewers had to watch not just one, but many scenes where the characters' status quo was blown apart. Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) proved she could be both ruthless and compassionate as she closed the deal for her army of 8,000, The Unsullied. The starving and beleaguered men of The Night's Watch fell apart at Craster's Keep, with deadly results. Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and Brienne of Tarth (Gwendoline Christie), the ultimate odd couple, became more united the more their captors exhibited their cruel side.

Varys shows Tyrion that it's never too late for revenge

Brienne and Jaime get to know each other better on the road

This season Game of Thrones seems even more successful at weaving in the various groups of people that we want to follow around Westeros and beyond. In King's Landing Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) is still fighting for his place in the government and his family, aided at times by Varys (Conleth Hill), but remaining always at odds with his sister Cersei and his father Tywin (Charles Dance). Arya (Maisie Williams) and Gendry have been scooped up by the Brotherhood without Banners, where they also see old enemy The Hound (Rory McCann). Jon Snow (Kit Harington) is playing a dangerous game beyond The Wall with the Wildlings and their leader, Mance Rayder (Ciaran Hinds), who is planning an attack aided by a large army and giants.

As the momentum continues to build, the audience can only hold its breath and watch. Even for people very familiar with A Storm of Swords there are no guarantees as to how exactly the story will spin out on Game of Thrones this season. This is actually a good thing, as the novel, and Martin's world, keeps one on the edge of their seat, with the knowledge that anything, and not necessarily anything good, can happen to a beloved character at any time. And we haven't even seen that much of the deadly White Walkers this season. Yet.

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