Thats because 2 of the books are sorta split. It was too hard to get all the storylines about everyone into one book

Just started Song of Fire and Ice yesterday. So far so good...

You should read The Shrugging Atlas next. ;)

6 days til season 2!

Fire and Ice flows so much better, though, IDK what GRRM was thinking.

Just a few more days til Season 2! Early reviews I have read have been good, can't wait!

I think I may have posted all or some of this before, but for those who are interested, a poster on another message board I go to did a running synopsis of each episode from Season 1 which I have copied and pasted below. This is a great refresher of season 1 to get people ready for season 2.


SPOILER! This is a summary of season 1, so it obviously contains major season 1 SPOILERS!







Synopsis Week 1:

Main characters:

House Stark - Eddard Stark is the Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North. He is a longtime friend of the king (Robert Baratheon), and in fact helped the king get his throne. He married Catelyn Tully, and they had 5 kids. Robb is the oldest, followed by Sansa (redhead), Arya (tomboy), Bran (boy who loves to climb), and Rickon. Eddard had a sister, Lyanna, who was promised to the king, and as you saw in the pilot, the king still loves her. Eddard also had a brother who died. The other young man in the family is Jon Snow. Jon is of Stark blood, but because he's a bastard in the North, he is given the surname of Snow - the custom for illegitimate children is to carry a surname that indicates what part of the country they are from (other examples - Stone, Rivers). Another Stark is Benjen, Ned's only living sibling and the Commander of the Night's Watch, the force that mans that giant wall you saw at the beginning of the show. The Night's Watch protects the kingdom from the "Wildlings" - who are men and women that for one reason or another abandoned the kingdom to go live beyond the Wall, and from the "White Walkers" - who many believe are myth, and who you don't need to dwell on too much at this point.

House Arryn - Jon Arryn was the Warden of the East and the Hand of the King (basically the Chief of Staff). Unfortunately, the only time you see Jon in the pilot is with painted rocks over his eyes, because he's dead of a fever. Jon was the mentor for King Robert and Eddard (aka Ned). He was married to Catelyn's sister Lysa, and they have a son. In episode 1, Lysa sent a letter to Catelyn stating that Jon was murdered.

House Lannister - this is the wealthiest and perhaps most power-hungry family in Westeros (and that's saying something). Tywin Lannister is the patriarch, though we haven't met him yet. He has three children - the twins Cersei and Jaime, and the dwarf Tyrion. While the king was off hunting, Bran witnessed Cersei and Jaime getting it on, which is why Jaime pushed Bran off the wall.

House Targaryen - this is the family that used to hold the Iron Throne. Robert, Jon Arryn, Ned and others overthrew the family. Viserys and Daenerys were spirited away as children, and Viserys is consumed with the idea of getting the family's throne back. That's why Viserys is willing to give his sister to Khal Drogo, who is the lord of the horsepeople called the Dothraki. The Dothraki aren't going to give you the cultural arts, but they eat, sleep and breathe battle.

House Baratheon - Robert the king is the head of the house. He has a couple of brothers that we'll meet soon, as well. Robert, as mentioned, loved Lyanna Stark, but with her death (and the need to continue the royal line) he was wed to Cersei Lannister. The royal children are Joffrey (blond kid that Sansa was making googly eyes at), Myrcella, and Tommen.

Other folks you met that will play increasingly important roles:
- Theon Greyjoy: he was the guy who put a knife to the wolf puppy when they first found them. He is a ward of Ned Stark.

- Jorah Mormont: he was the guy who gave Daenerys the books.

- Illyrio: He is the guy who is the go-between for Viserys/Daenerys and Khal Drogo.

- The Hound - you weren't really introduced to him, but he was the guy wearing the helmet that looked like a dog's head. I think he was also the guy who appeared briefly and looked like he had been partially scalped. He is the main bodyguard to Joffrey. He's a badass and a sonofabitch, but he's got nothing on his brother (not yet introduced) in either department.


So now we've got some nasty stuff brewing. Jon Arryn is dead...maybe murdered; Ned is his successor as the Hand of the King. Ned's chock full o' integrity, but King's Landing (the capital) is subtle in its politics, and Ned is a fairly straightforward guy. Jaime and Cersei are up to no good and just threw the son of the new Hand from a high place. Viserys is on the brink of raising an army of horselords that could sweep up the seven kingdoms. It's just going to get more intricate from here

Synopsis Week 2:

Once again, the intention of the thread is to provide a little more context than you can get in one viewing of the episode.

We're starting to see some story lines start to solidify. The tension between Stark, Lannister and Baratheon. The evolution of Daenerys from timid subservience to the flexing of power. The rebelliousness of Arya. Robert's difficulty in managing the throne and his marriage. Good stuff and very well done. Mostly true to the book, as well, except in minor ways.

Regarding the Starks: Bran is not dead after being pushed from the window. He is unconscious, and it looks as if he will live. The family is being split up, as Ned is taking Sansa and Arya with him to King's Landing; Catelyn, Robb, Bran and Rickon are staying in Winterfell, and Jon Snow is riding with his Uncle Benjen to the Wall, to be part of the Sworn Brotherhood of the Night's Watch.

Regarding the Lannisters: Jaime and Cersei are understandably uncomfortable given the news of Bran. Tyrion is a Lannister, but we're starting to see ways in which he's different, too. Slapping Joffrey around, tweaking Jaime and Cersei about the Bran news. All 3 Lannisters are VERY interesting and complex characters in the book, which I hope will be reflected in the series.

Presumably you saw the episode since you're reading this, so I won't try a blow-by-blow...just some stream of consciousness.

Sansa is VERY enamored of being Prince Joffrey's bride, and sees this as straight out of a storybook. Joffrey's a total douche and a mama's boy, of course, but Sansa doesn't see that. In her mind, because Joffrey is a prince, he MUST be gallant and noble. That helps explain why she pleaded the 5th in regard to Joffrey and Arya's scuffle - she is intensely frustrated that her sister doesn't behave like a lady, she admires the queen, she "loves" Joffrey and is pledged to marry him, but she's not a bad kid so she won't outright lie to doom her sister. She just wants everything to be nice. It also helps explain why she's the one Stark child who isn't tight with Snow. He's a bastard so he can't be gallant and noble. She's one of those people who believes the quality of a person is defined by their lineage. She's only 13, so let's cut her some slack, for now.

Catelyn was pretty harsh to Jon Snow, when Jon came to say goodbye to the unconscious Bran. Somewhat in her defense, her favorite child was struggling for his life, she'd had little sleep, and her husband was taking two more of her children away and into a snakepit of politics and danger. ** SLIGHT BOOK SPOILER ** She also very much resents Ned having Jon at Winterfell, even more than she resents him actually having a bastard child. Screwing when you're away at war is somewhat to be expected, but it's just rude to bring the product of that indiscretion home to be raised with your legitimate kids. Also (and I wish the show explained this, because I think it gives some more depth to Catelyn), she feels guilty for Bran's injury, because she had been praying to the Seven - her gods - that Bran could stay home with her instead of going to King's Landing... and in a cruel twist she got her wish. ** END of SLIGHT SPOILER**

Jon gets a slap in the face when he realizes that he's just pledged for life to be part of the Night's Watch - this deeply honorable calling that has protected the realm for 8000 years - and finds out that it's mostly the dregs and criminals that make up his new brotherhood. In some ways, he is as naive as Sansa. But a bastard can't afford to be naive. Tyrion is helping Jon understand that. I like the relationship being developed between Jon and Tyrion. By the way, you heard Jon comment to Tyrion about how Jaime killed the prior king. Jaime is one of the Kingsguard, which is essentially the Secret Service for the king. Imagine if a Secret Serviceman assassinated the President -- that's what Jaime did to the last Targaryen king.

So Jaime is screwing his sister, tries to kill a 10 year old boy, killed the last king he was sworn to protect, and mocks Jon's commitment to the Night's Watch. Quite a guy, eh? Just wait...

Ser Jorah Mormont - the exile that rides with Khal Drogo and Khaleesi Daenerys - is an exile because he caught some poachers on his land (the Mormonts are vassals to the Starks). By law and custom, he was to send those poachers to be members of the Night's Watch, but Jorah was a little short on cash, so he sold the poachers to some slavers from across the Narrow Sea. Ned Stark would have taken care of business, but Jorah fled before justice could find him.

The scene in which Bran is attacked by an assassin was very like the book. Up to that point, Catelyn was not a fan of the direwolves being part of her children's lives, but Bran's wolf changed her mind. That attack made it very clear to her that Bran's injury was not an accident, but attempted murder. She's riding to King's Landing to let Ned know that something's rotten in Denmark.

Ned HATES being in the thick of political intrigue. He'd just like to stay in the North, run Winterfell, be around his wife and kids, and have nothing to do with the Lannisters. However, although it may not be overly apparent yet, he really does love Robert Baratheon as a brother. With Jon Arryn's alleged murder, he feels like the King is in danger, and therefore he must go to King's Landing and support the King's shaky hold on the throne.

One final note - when Robert and Ned are sitting at a table in a field discussing whether to send an assassin to kill Daenerys, Robert reminds Ned that the Targaryens did bad things to his family. What were those things? **SLIGHT BOOK SPOILER** Ned was not originally supposed to inherit Winterfell. He had an older brother named Brandon, who was the heir (and who also was pledged to marry Catelyn). But the last Targaryen king executed Brandon, as well as Ned and Brandon's father. And he ordered the death of Ned and Robert, as well, but Jon Arryn defied him and thus the revolution. ** END SPOILER **

New characters that were introduced:

- Sandor Clegane. Don't know that name? That's because he goes by The Hound. He's Joffrey's bodyguard. He had one speaking line in the first episode, but was unnamed. Notice the nasty scarring on the side of his face? Hopefully we'll get to hear that story...

- Ser Rodrik Cassel - he's the guy with funky sidewhiskers that is planning to leave Winterfell to protect Catelyn on the journey to inform Ned.

- Ser Ilyn Payne - The King's Justice, aka the executioner. His tongue was ripped out by the Targaryen king. He's also sort of symbolic of the way Ned and Robert have differed in the way they handled their rise to power. Remember, Ned carries out his own executions, so that it doesn't become too easy to order someone's death.

- the three servants to Daenerys. Irri, Jhiqui, and Doreah. Irri and Jhiqui are Dothraki ("it is known"), but Doreah is not. She is the one who is teaching Daenerys how to please the Khal. Thoughts? What did I miss?




Synopsis Week 3:

Good synopsis of Game of Thrones:

Let's start with what's going on with the Dothraki. Daenerys is pregnant with Drogo's son - that's a big deal because Drogo's son is likely to be the next Khal. Jorah Mormont had an interesting reaction to that news, didn't he? The other news here is that Daenerys is obviously becoming more and more a Dothraki, and Viserys doesn't care much for that. He tries to take out his anger on his sister, but one of the Khal's bloodriders (bodyguards, essentially) named Jhogo lets him know that the Khaleesi is not to be handled that way. They make him walk behind the horde. For the Dothraki, to be on foot is to be less than a man.

Next, let's move to the Wall. Jorah's father is the Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, and his plea to the visiting Tyrion is to intercede with the king/queen/anyone to send more people to the Wall before winter truly arrives. The Wildlings - men who live North of the Wall - are fleeing South in great numbers, because something is stirring. Tyrion doesn't believe that anything other than men exist in those forests. Great performance by Dinklage as Tyrion, by the way. I'm also pleased with how much of the dialogue is word for word from the book. Meanwhile, Jon Snow only *thought* he had it bad at Winterfell. In the Night's Watch, he is hazed because he's a bastard and because he is humiliating the assorted trash when it comes to fighting, and his uncle Benjen won't let him ride beyond the Wall with the Rangers. He's a good kid, though, and he adapts well. Before the end of the episode, he's teaching his fighting skills to the guys who he was beating indiscriminately and mercilessly earlier. You also meet Yoren - he's the guy who goes around the Seven Kingdoms emptying the jails for recruits for the Wall.

Not a lot going on at Winterfell at this time. We briefly see Old Nan telling Bran some tales to keep him occupied, and not dwelling on his injury. Bran is paralyzed, and he can't remember why he fell. He is having trouble accepting his injury.

And finally, the snake's nest in King's Landing. Some snippets:

- the King is drunk (as usual) and taunts Jaime with being a king killer. The older gentleman in this scene is likely Ser Barristan Selmy - the oldest of the Kingsguard and the last link to when the Kingsguard was truly the best that Westeros had to offer - not only the best fighters, but also when they were expected to have honor and integrity.

- Arya is her usual wild self, and in a great scene Ned explains to her that they are in a dangerous place and can't afford to fight among each other. To show Arya that he understands what she wants (as he clearly does NOT understand his other daughter), he arranges for her to have sword fighting lessons from Syrio Forel, who spent 9 years as "first sword to the Sealord of Braavos". Braavos is one of the Free Cities (neither part of the Seven Kingdoms nor part of the Dothraki empire).

- Joffrey is a bloodthirsty, arrogant little prick, isn't he? Fortunately, he's being raised to value tolerance and brotherhood by Cersei. Interesting how Joffrey was starting to admit that he didn't handle himself well with Arya and Nymeria, and Cersei cut him off and told him that the truth was whatever he said it was. Cersei also lets him know that he WILL be marrying Sansa, but he can screw anyone he pleases. Seriously, the parenting awards are piling up.

- You also meet the Small Council. Ned, as the Hand of the King, leads the Small Council (as the King doesn't care to attend). Other members include Petyr Baelish (aka Littlefinger), Varys the Spider, Grand Maester Pycelle, and Renly Baratheon (one of the King's two brothers). It seems that Robert has been spending money like a drunken sailor, and the Kingdom is in deep debt...mostly to the Lannisters. That doesn't bode well.

- Littlefinger is essentially the Secretary of the Treasury. His nickname comes from the land that his family owns (the smallest of the Fingers - peninsulas about halfway between Winterfell and King's Landing). Some backstory - Littlefinger still loves the girl he grew up with - Catelyn Tully Stark. When arrangements were made for Catelyn to marry Brandon Stark, Littlefinger challenged Brandon to a duel out of desperation. Catelyn prevailed upon Brandon to not kill him. When Brandon was killed by the Mad King, Littlefinger thought he had another shot. But Ned took Brandon's place as not only the Lord of Winterfell, but also as Catelyn's groom. Catelyn does truly care for Petyr. Ned thinks he's a weasel.

- Varys is the head of the CIA. He has a massive network of spies, and seems to know almost everything. He's also a eunuch.

- Catelyn has brought the knife that the assassin tried to use on Bran. In a nice twist, it is revealed first that the knife is Littlefinger's, but that he lost it by betting on Jaime to win the last tournament. However, Loras Tyrell - the Knight of Flowers - unseated Jaime in the finals, so Littlefinger had to give his knife...to Tyrion Lannister.

CONTINUED SPOILERS!







Synopsis Week 4:
As those far younger than I are fond of saying - sh^t's about to get real.

Ned Stark is blundering around trying to find out whether/why Jon Arryn was murdered. He speaks with Grand Maester Pycelle and discovers that, just prior to his death, Arryn was interested in the genealogies of the great houses. Pycelle also mentions that Arryn's dying words were "the seed is strong". From Petyr Baelish (aka Littlefinger), Ned learns that Arryn had been a frequent visitor to a local armorer. Ned *should* have learned a bit of subtlety from Baelish as well, but as I said in the episode 1 recap, Ned is too straightforward and impatient to hide his motivations and intentions. There was a great exchange there, right? The essence of the conversation:

Baelish: Do you have someone in your service whom you trust completely?

Ned: Yes.

Baelish: The wiser answer was "no", milord. Have this paragon visit Ser Hugh of the Vale discreetly.

Ned: Perhaps I was wrong to mistrust you, Lord Baelish.

Baelish: Mistrusting me was the smartest thing you've done since you got down off of your horse, milord.

So Ned visits the armorer and meets Gendry, whom Ned is convinced is King Robert's bastard son. As an aside that I don't believe spoils anything, the helmet Gendry made for himself has bull horns on it - an "f you" to the people who tell him he's bull-headed. You get that sense of his personality when he flat out tells the Hand of the King that his helmet isn't for sale.

Things are starting to become clearer for Ned. Ned gets a visit from Cersei, who tries to point out to Ned that he's got a thankless task in trying to clean up after Robert. When Ned responds that if that's the job, then so be it, the exchange that follows couldn't have been more threatening without actual steel being drawn. Cersei and Ned are "on the record" so to speak, as declared enemies.

Meanwhile, Arya is working very hard to improve her fighting skills. She has no interest in a typical woman's role in the kingdom. She wants to rely on herself for her protection.

Sansa is still in Disneyland , smiling at the Prince and very excited about seeing a tournament, with all its pageantry. That belief in the nobility and chivalry of this life takes another hit, when the aforementioned Ser Hugh takes a splintered lance through his throat from Ser Gregor Clegane - The Mountain That Rides. Gregor is a bannerman to the Lannisters, by the way. He's also the brother of the Hound (Sandor Clegane), but it's not a loving relationship. It appears that Sandor got that nasty burn scar from his brother when as a six year old he had the audacity to play with his older brother's toy. Gregor's measured response was to shove his brother's face into the coals of the fire. This is actually not that different than my brother's reaction to finding me reading his comics...but I digress. In the TV show, it's Baelish that tells Sansa the story of the Hound and the Mountain. In the book, it's a drunken Hound that tells Sansa...and then threatens her about ever telling anyone.

The King, meanwhile, is showing he's not such a great guy. He's drunk at the tournament. He is entertaining whores by the dozen, deliberately doing so while his brother-in-law Jaime in on guard duty at the door.

In Winterfell, Tyrion has stopped by after his visit to the Wall. His reception this time is far more hostile than before, as Robb is in charge and not very diplomatic. Robb heard his mother say that the Lannisters were behind the assault on Bran, and he greets Tyrion accordingly. Tyrion, for his part, has gone to the effort to design a saddle for Bran that will keep him in the saddle and allow him some mobility. As he said, he has a soft spot for cripples, dwarves and bastards. (In another excellent exchange, Bran states "I'm not a cripple", to which Tyrion replies "Then I'm not a dwarf. My father will be pleased.") By the way, Bran is being carried around Winterfell by Hodor, a simple-minded giant. He has the name "Hodor" because that's all he can apparently say. Hodor is related in some way to Old Nan, but either I can't remember the exact relationship, or they never definitively say. Before we leave Winterfell, we should also talk about Theon Greyjoy. He's appeared in each episode, but didn't have much of a presence. But now we discover that he's the son of Balon Greyjoy, who rebelled against the Starks and got put in his place. Theon is essentially a hostage against further rebellion, but he does admire Ned Stark and thinks of him as a second father. Ned, for his part, has treated Theon well. There's a scene in King's Landing in which Jaime and Jory talk about putting down Greyjoy's rebellion.

Looking in on the Dothraki - Viserys is getting more and more agitated that Drogo is not giving him his army yet. He's treating people poorly. He's used to having no consequences for that, as he was raised to believe that he was an invincible king. The invincible king got taken to the cleaners by his little sister though: "the next time you raise a hand to me, you will no longer have hands" she tells him. Daenerys is starting to feel comfortable with her power. She also demonstrates further movement out of Viserys' shadow when she confesses to Jorah that she thinks her brother would be a crappy king. Jorah, for his part, confesses that he got into trouble with the Starks because he was trying to buy the affection of his very demanding wife, and needed money. Jorah dreams of being able to go home again.

Up North at the Wall, Jon Snow is taking on something of a leadership role among the trainees. We meet Samwell Tarly. The Tarlys are bannermen to Mace Tyrell, who is the Warden of the South. Sam's dad is quite a peach, as he tells his son he can either take the black (and join the Night's Watch) or die in an unfortunate hunting accident. Sam's dad is a little unhappy that he has an heir who is a fat coward, so when he has another son (who displays more martial tendencies), he needs the eldest to abdicate his inheritance. Sam is pathetic, but Jon makes it clear to his fellow recruits that Sam is not to be bullied. One guy dissents, but after a visit from a snarling Ghost, he caves. Ser Alliser Thorne, the drill sergeant, gives his speech about how when Winter comes, the Night's Watch won't be able to afford Sam's weakness, nor Jon's mercy. One other interesting exchange is that Jon confesses to Sam that he's a virgin. He had an opportunity with a whore named Roz (a woman also mentioned by Tyrion and Theon), but balked when he realized that he might be dooming a child to the same life he had - growing up as a bastard.

And then, to close out this episode, Catelyn and Rodrik are on their way back to Winterfell. They stop at an inn which Catelyn frequented during her youth. They meet Tyrion coming South from Winterfell, and Catelyn can't help herself - her outrage over the Lannisters' alleged role in her son's paralysis causes her to accuse Tyrion. But Catelyn is not quite as direct as her husband. She first calls out a variety of her father's bannermen and confirms their loyalty to him ("him" is Hoster Tully, the Lord of Riverrun) before demanding that they arrest Tyrion and escort him to Winterfell. You will also hopefully find out next episode that Catelyn can be very tricksy.
Synopsis Week 5:

Catelyn Tully Stark showed her craftiness and her irrational nature at the end of last week. Irrational, because how could she NOT know that there would be repercussions from kidnapping Tyrion Lannister? Craftiness, because she told everyone at the inn that she was taking Tyrion to Winterfell...but she's not. Instead of going North to Winterfell, she flees East to the Vale. To get to the Vale, they have to pass through some lands that are increasingly threatened by hill tribes. During an encounter on the road, Catelyn is forced to untie Tyrion, who then saves Catelyn by bashing a tribesman's head in with a shield. You may have noticed that the scruffy guy with the group fought very well. His name is Bronn, and he's a mercenary. Having defeated the hillsmen, the group move on to the Vale, which is ruled by Catelyn's nephew (named Robin(?) - Robert in the book, but I guess that would confuse) now that his dad Jon Arryn is dead, but Catelyn's sister Lysa is the regent. Lysa is cuckoo, in case you didn't realize that from the fact that she's breastfeeding her way-too-old-to-be-breastfeeding son in front of the court. You should also know a couple more names. Ser Vardis is the knight who meets them and leads them to the Eyrie (the castle that commands the Vale). Mord is the jailer who puts Tyrion in the sky cell. Catelyn now has a bit of a quandary - Tyrion is Cat's prisoner, but her sister Lysa has a pretty big grievance against the Lannisters of her own.

Not much happening in Winterfell. We see two more characters rubbing Theon's face in his father's failed rebellion.

No scenes of the Wall at all, nor of the Dothraki.

So everything else is at King's Landing, and there are all kinds of balls in the air there.

Varys warns Ned that Jon Arryn was poisoned with the Tears of Lys. Petyr and Varys have a spy-off, in which they both point out that they have all kinds of dirt on each other.

Renly Baratheon, the king's youngest brother, is having a homosexual affair with Ser Loras Tyrell - the Knight of Flowers (who defeated Gregor Clegane - the Mountain - in the joust, in part by choosing a mare in heat to ride against the Mountain's stallion). Loras encourages Renly to consider being king himself, bankrolled by Loras' father Mace Tyrell, the Warden of the South.

Arya is chasing cats as a way of improving her quickness (like Rocky chasing chickens in an alleyway). She winds up in the dungeons, where the dragon skulls that used to decorate the Targaryen throne room are housed. She overhears Varys and Illyrio (you remember him - he is the one who brokered the marriage between Daenerys and Khal Drogo) discussing the seemingly imminent war between Stark and Lannister, and concluding that this would be untimely - if one Hand could die, why not another? They aren't ready for the war yet because Khal Drogo is waiting on his son to be born. Alas, Arya is not sure who she saw, and isn't quite clear on the import of the words. Arya is trying to explain it to Ned, but they are interrupted by Yoren of the Night's Watch. Yoren was there at the inn when Catelyn nabbed Tyrion, and he relates this information to Ned.

Meanwhile, Robert actually attends a meeting of the Small Council. Jorah Mormont has notified the Council that Daenerys is pregnant (remember how Jorah reacted oddly to the news, and decided that he needed to take a detour on the road to the Dothraki city? Now you know why.). Robert demands an assassination, and the Council supports that...except for Ned. Ned's not a perfect guy, but he's willing to put his balls on the chopping block to protect his honor. He has scathing words for Robert, and ends up resigning his position as Hand rather than have his name on the order to kill Daenerys and her unborn child.

This, oddly enough, might help protect Ned, since some are scheming to remove the Hand. Now that he's not the Hand, do they still need to remove him? Ned knows he needs to get out of town, though, since the king is unhappy with him. Before Ned can bail, though, Petyr offers him the opportunity to speak to the last person to speak to Jon Arryn. It turns out that person is a whore, who has a bastard daughter by the king. Ned is a bit puzzled still as to why Jon Arryn was tracking down all of Robert's bastard children. As he, Petyr, and Jorry Cassel (along with two other Stark guardsmen) leave the whorehouse, they are confronted by Jaime Lannister and a large Lannister force. Jaime is in a tizzy, as he has learned of Catelyn's taking of his brother Tyrion. Ned chivalrously proclaims that it was on his orders. Jaime threatens Ned's life. Oops! Ned is not the Hand anymore, so he's comparatively fair game. Ned states that if he is killed, then Catelyn will surely kill Tyrion. So Jaime orders the death of Ned's guardsmen...including Jory, who gets a Lannister dagger in the eye. Ned and Jaime clash, and Ned is very much holding his own until an exuberant Lannister guardsman spears him in the back of the leg.

The only other thing to mention is that Robert and Cersei have a discussion in which Cersei states that she once had feelings for Robert, but those went away when it became clear that a dead Lyanna Stark still held Robert's heart.

I don't want to go into any detail as to what was so different from the book. If you haven't read the book, I would suggest that you don't do so until the season is over. I'm definitely enjoying the series (I have my wife hooked), and these divergences don't change that. What did I forget? Thoughts?


Synopsis Week 6 Reply

________________________________________
This week, a few questions are answered, and several more are raised.

In King's Landing:

Robert Baratheon reinstates Ned Stark as the Hand of the King. He orders that Ned put his differences with the Lannisters aside. This means that Ned must order Catelyn to release Tyrion. It also means that Ned doesn't get to pursue justice vis-a-vis Jaime and his murdering of Ned's guardsmen.

(By the way, while I don't advocate wife beating, that was a hell of a line Robert gave to Cersei after he smacked her - her: I shall wear it as a badge of honor. him: wear it in silence, or I'll honor you again.)

Meanwhile, Arya is still fierce as ever. She continues to be trained in "dancing", and her swordwork is very much improved.

The king goes hunting, and leaves Ned in charge. Ned hears some villagers from the Riverrun area talk about a huge man who led some brigands in a raping and pillaging expedition in their village. Riverrun is the birthplace of Catelyn, who has abducted Tyrion. Ser Gregor Clegane, the Mountain That Rides, is a bannerman to Tyrion's father, and fits the description of the lead pillager. Ned once again proves that a strength, taken to the extreme, becomes a weakness. Ned's strength is his sense of honor. He orders Beric Dondarrion (yes, yet another character you have to remember) to take 100 men and bring the Mountain to justice. He also orders Grand Maester Pycelle to send a raven to Casterly Rock (home of the Lannisters) summoning Tywin Lannister (father-in-law to the King) to the capital to answer for his bannerman's actions. The same Tywin Lannister who holds $3MM of the kingdom's debt, and whose children are powerful and merciless in their own right, but are a pale shadow of him. Ned has put the king in an awkward position, no matter how "right" he is.

Meanwhile, Prince Joffrey visits Sansa to charm her out of her socks, give her a gift, and hold up her imminent queendom in front of her like a very obvious bribe. Very obvious, that is, to someone who is not a teen girl who believes in fairy tales.

Ned breaks the news to Arya and Sansa that he is sending them back to Winterfell. Sansa acts like a spoiled teen at the news - she's going to have Joffrey's babies, so how could Ned be so heartless? Then she says something that finally jars Ned's brain - she says that Joffrey is "nothing like that old, drunk king". Ned peruses his book of lineages, and notes that all of the Baratheons listed have black hair...but not Joffrey. Remember Jon Arryn's dying words? "The seed is strong". Clearly, he was not talking about his own son.

In Vaes Dothrak:

Daenerys puts her dragon egg on hot coals, and is unharmed when she pulls it out of the coals. She also has to eat the heart of a stallion in front of the "nobility" of the Dothraki. It's important that she eat it all without throwing up. The Dothraki believe that doing this will ensure that her son will be born strong. The crones of Vaes Dothrak proclaim that her son will be The Stallion That Mounts The World, and will unite all of the various Dothraki tribes. Daeny names her son Rhaego, after her older brother Rhaegar (who was killed by Robert during the rebellion 17 years ago).

Her living brother, Viserys, decides to abscond with Daeny's dragon eggs, in order to sell them and buy an army to take to the Seven Kingdoms to fight Robert and reinstall the Targaryen dynasty. Jorah Mormont prevents him from doing so.

Later, a drunken Viserys shows up to demand that he get the crown that was promised him in the bargain for Daenerys. He threatens to cut the baby out of Daeny's belly if he doesn't get his crown. Drogo gives him his crown by pouring molten gold over Viserys' head. Daeny watches it without tears, stating that Viserys was no true dragon, else the heat wouldn't have harmed him.

In Winterfell:

Bran has his 3-eyed crow dream again. He also has a new saddle (of Tyrion's devising) that allows him to ride around on a horse, despite being paralyzed from the waist down. While riding, he is beset by Wildlings fleeing south from the Wall (fleeing the White Walkers). Robb Stark puts paid to two of them, and Theon Greyjoy shows off his archery skills in killing the last Wildling. The woman with the group is spared. I should also mention that there is an additional reminder to Theon that he's not part of the Stark family, this time delivered by Robb.

In the Eyrie:

Tyrion is going a bit crazy hanging out in a Sky Cell. He bribes his jailer Mord to take a message to Lysa, Catelyn's crazy sister and regent of the Eyrie until Robin Arryn comes of age.

The message? He wants to confess his sins. But Tyrion is a wily fella, and he decides the time is right for a desperate gamble. He knows Lysa will have the whole court there to hear his confession (in the book, Catelyn urges her sister to hear the confession in private - she's smart enough not to trust Tyrion's sudden desire to confess), but he uses the opportunity to demand a trial by combat in front of everyone, which is a right of the accused. He has backed Lysa into a corner. She HAS to consent to the trial. Ser Vardis doesn't want to fight a dwarf, but he does agree to fight a dwarf's champion. Bronn, the sellsword, consents to fight for Tyrion, presumably for the twin reasons of liking Tyrion's moxie and also liking the size of his purse. Vardis is a highly trained knight, and Bronn is a baseborn mercenary. It shouldn't be much of a contest - and it isn't. Vardis is heavily armored, and Bronn won't stand still and fight. He wears Vardis out, and then dispatches him. Tyrion is free to go...back across the lands ruled by the hill tribes and shadowcats. Still, a small chance is better than none.

CONTINUED SPOILERS!


Synopsis Week 7

A great episode this week, despite the fact that there were no appearances by Tyrion and Arya, two of my favorite characters. Also, no Robb or Bran.

We finally meet Tywin, the patriarch of the Lannister clan. He has taken the field with 60,000 warriors, although it's unclear at this point what his intent is. Mostly, we get to see him cleaning a stag (I assume for two reasons - to show how workmanlike he is around cutting out guts, and for the symbolism, since the stag is the symbol of House Baratheon) and berating his son Jaime for not being more than he is.

At the Wall, Jon Snow is ready to take his vows to become a brother of the Night's Watch. Once he takes that vow, he can never go back to his prior life. No women, no family...nothing but standing watch, this night and all nights in the future. On the eve of this event, Benjen Stark's horse comes back to the Wall, riderless. Jon is sure he's going to be assigned to the Rangers, and then he can ride North of the Wall to search for his uncle. Jon is the best swordsman and the best horseman - why wouldn't he be assigned to the Rangers? However, Ser Alliser Thorne is mindful of how Jon has rallied the recruits to defy him (for example, in the bullying of Sam Tarly), and so Jon is assigned to the Stewards. He is outraged, and sees it as Thorne's revenge. Sam, however, points out that Jon isn't to be a Steward to just anyone, but to Commander Mormont himself. In Sam's view, this means that Mormont is grooming Jon for command. Sam and Jon say their vows, and while they're celebrating their milestone, Ghost comes out of the woods with a severed hand. Whose hand is it?

In Winterfell, Theon is questioning Osha, the Wildling that was taken prisoner in the attack on Bran. Osha warns that the White Walkers are stirring at night, and with Winter coming, the long night is near. Ruh roh.

Daenerys is now brotherless, with the "crowning" of Viserys at the end of last week's episode. She is really coming into being a queen of sorts, although she has been unsuccessful in convincing Khal Drogo that there is value in crossing the "poison water" (i.e. ocean) to take the Iron Throne. But back when Ned was the Hand of the King, part I, he resigned over Robert's insistence on sending assassins to kill Viserys and Daenerys. Jorah Mormont was the informant letting Varys know that Daenerys was pregnant, but now he has a change of heart, and he foils the plot to kill Daeny via poisoned wine. Now Drogo is pissed, and he vows that he will gift his son with the Seven Kingdoms.

In King's Landing, we get a glimpse into Petyr Baelish's motivations. While teaching his whores how to screw with false sincerity (hey, there's Roz from Winterfell!), Petyr essentially admits that he still loves Catelyn, and that since he's not much of a warrior, he has learned how to screw people with false sincerity. And there are no limits to his ambition - he wants everything.

Meanwhile, Robert is dying. He was mortally wounded by a boar, because he was s-faced on wine supplied by his squire, Lancel Lannister, and got sloppy on his spear thrust. On his deathbed, Robert names Ned the Regent until his son Joffrey comes of age. Ned, of course, knows that Joffrey is not Robert's son, so he changes the wording from "Joffrey" to "the rightful heir".

Ned keeps doing what he feels is right. Isn't he a fascinating character? He is a fair and just lord, he treats his retainers well, he is willing to take the son of an enemy and raise him almost as his own. He loves his wife and his kids. He has a very clear set of values, and he believes that his values are more important than his own safety. There is much to admire.

And yet I would wager that the majority of AGOT viewers think of him as anywhere from naive (to be kind) to outright stupid.

Let's enumerate:

- gave Cersei plenty of warning that he intended to kick her and her kids out of power. Remember, at this point he is aware that she was behind the death of Jon Arryn. And to further the question of what does it take to give Ned an a-ha moment, Cersei states that when you play the Game of Thrones, you win or you die. Does that sound like someone willing to retire quietly?

- after Robert's injury, ignores Renly's advice to seize Joffrey as hostage for Cersei's good behavior.

- ignores Littlefinger's urging to make peace with the Lannisters and thereby retain power and bide his time to boot Joffrey.

- stubbornly clings to naming Stannis Baratheon the heir to Robert, despite sure knowledge (by everyone, including Ned) that Stannis would make a poor king.

With Robert's death, Ned feels that he has a distasteful task ahead of him, but he has no doubt he can get it done. He does have a little bit of understanding of the situation, though, as the brilliant interchange between Ned and Petyr demonstrates. Ned, through Petyr, will control the Gold Cloaks - which is the slang term for the City Watch, 3000 men led by Janos Slynt.

Ned's luck continues its downward slide, however. Renly has fled the city, along with his 100 swords. And it seems that Petyr feels Ned just doesn't get it, so instead of helping Ned name Stannis the heir, he betrays Ned by turning the Gold Cloaks against House Stark. Notice in that scene, by the way, that Barristan Selmy - the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, is very much cut from the same cloth as Ned...he can scarcely believe that Cersei would rip up Robert's final orders.

So now we have Ned in Cersei's control, Joffrey on the throne, Drogo and Daenerys promising a whipping for Westeros, Tywin Lannister's army lurking, and mysterious doings North of the Wall.

And believe it or not, it's going to get a lot hairier.



Week 8 Synopsis:

When last we left Ned Stark, his guardsmen were getting the old spear-through-the-belly treatment from the treacherous Janos Slynt and the City Watch, on the orders of the treacherous Petyr Baelish. This week, all of his retainers follow suit. Cersei has declared an all-you-can-kill Stark special, and the Lannisters ably demonstrate their appetite for such fare.

One who lives is Sansa. She is kept alive, but only to be a tool of the Queen, it seems (and perhaps a hostage). She willingly writes notes declaring Ned's treason and entreating her family to bend the knee to King Joffrey. When last we see Sansa, she is promising to the whole court on Ned's behalf that he will recant his treason and name Joffrey the true king. Joffrey, for his part, promises mercy in return.

Another who lives is Arya. She is "dancing" with Syrio Forel when the deal goes down. Another great sequence here, where Forel calls out his attacks and Arya deftly deflects them...until he calls out his attack and does the opposite. When Arya protests, he tells her "Watching is not seeing, dead girl". Unfortunately, their practice is interrupted by one of the Kingsguard (Meros Trant, I believe) and a few Lannister guardsmen. Forel orders Arya to run, and gives her the time she needs to make good her escape. Arya discovers all of the dead retainers, then manages to find her sword Needle in the wreckage. When a stablehand finds her and orders her to come with him to the Lannisters, she sticks him with the pointy end. The last we see of Arya is her running off to hide.

The other item of note in King's Landing this week is that Ser Barristan Selmy, the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, is unceremoniously retired by Joffrey. You'll never guess it, but the new Lord Commander is to be none other than Jaime Lannister. Stunning, I know. Selmy shows some feistiness in his old age, and basically tells the Lannisters to bite the wax tadpole. He storms off.

In Winterfell, Robb calls the Stark bannermen. While nervous at leading men who have far more experience, Robb has studied hard under Ned, and he defeats the challenges thrown his way through leadership and chutzpah. Greatjon Umber, one of those bannermen, is a guy who can laugh about getting a couple of fingers chewed off by a direwolf, so he's a good one to have on your side. Also in Winterfell, Bran has a conversation with Osha regarding the old gods, giants in the North, and the need for the Stark armies to go North, not South. Robb is leading the army South, of course.

One of the key issues Robb and the Stark army faces is that Tywin Lannister leads one massive army, moving to engage Robb...meanwhile, Jaime has another large crew laying siege to Riverrun (where Catelyn's dad is lord). The Starks need to cross the river at The Twins in order to attempt to life the siege and join forces with the Tullys, but the river crossing is controlled by the Frey family, who have built very defensible and mutually supportable castles on either side of the river (thus, The Twins). The Freys, though nominally bannermen to Hoster Tully, are apparently not too trustworthy.

Catelyn has left the Vale, where her sister has made it clear that no army will be marching to support the Starks.

Tyrion, likewise, has made it back safely to the Lannister camp, thanks in large part to his silver tongue. He has managed to unite the hill tribes (the Burned Men, the Stone Crows, and so forth) by promising them riches and good weapons and armor.

North at the Wall, the Night's Watch have found the bodies of two men who went ranging with Benjen Stark. Dead for awhile but unrotted, the bodies of these men are to be burned, but not before they've had a chance to examine them. Meanwhile, Jon Snow is informed of Ned's imprisonment by Lord Commander Mormont. Jon wishes to go South to help Ned, rescue his sisters, join Robb's army...whatever he can do to help. There's this ****ling little oath he took to be a brother of the Night's Watch, however, and Commander Mormont reminds him of it. When Alliser Thorne is able to goad Jon to violence in defense of the Stark name, Jon is confined to quarters. But the direwolf Ghost starts to go berserk in the night, and Jon, investigating, finds that a Wes Craven flick has broken out. One of the bodies of the dead men is up and walking around, and swords don't seem to harm it. Fire does, though, and a quick thinking Snow grabs the lantern from Mormont and starts a zombie bonfire.

In Dothrakiville, Drogo's army has attacked an encampment of people in order to collect slaves (in order to get money, in order to buy ships, in order to win the Iron Throne for the Khaleesi and her son). Daenerys takes exception to rape, and takes possession of many women who would otherwise become ridden as hard as Dothraki horses. One of the Dothraki protests to Drogo, but Drogo is besotted with Daeny and tells the guy to shut up. A fight breaks out. Drogo is injured, but he rips the guy's tongue from his slashed throat after pumping himself up at another guttural pep rally... (by the way, I think Cookie Monster can speak Dothraki). It turns out that one of the rescued women, Mirri Maz Duur, claims to be a healer, so Daenerys asks her to treat Drogo's wound.

Only two more episodes to go this season. What did I miss? Thoughts?

CONTINUED SPOILERS!







CONTINUED SPOILERS!








Week 9 Synopsis

Powerful scenes begin and end this episode, both centered around Ned Stark. So we'll start and end with Ned, too.

Varys the Spider approaches Ned in his cell in the dungeon, to plead with him to swallow his pride and his honor, confess whatever the queen wants him to confess, save his life and his daughters' lives, and go live out his days with the Night's Watch. He makes it sound so reasonable, and yet Ned's honor and integrity are worth more than his own life. He doesn't even hesitate to make that decision. But are they worth more than his daughters' lives?

At the Wall, Jon is rewarded for saving Commander Mormont's life with the Mormont family's sword. Not just any sword, but one made of Valyrian steel. Fairly rare stuff. That sword should have gone to the Commander's son...but the Commander's son is Ser Jorah, who is in shameful exile protecting Daenerys. Sam confesses that a raven arrived, informing the Night's Watch that Robb Stark has called the banners to war. Jon feels strongly that he should be with Robb. While struggling with this, he is called to meet with Maester Aemon, the blind maester of the Night's Watch. Aemon knows what's in Jon's head regarding his desire to run South to fight with Robb. He tells Jon that THIS is why the Night's Watch is not allowed to marry or father children, that honor and duty are easier to uphold when family relationships are distant. Jon, like many teens, can’t believe that Aemon knows how it feels. But Aemon, it turns out, is a Targaryen. And he chose duty to the Night’s Watch while his grandson Aerys (the Mad King) was killed by Jaime Lannister. He chose duty to the Night’s Watch while his great grand-children were murdered and/or hunted. So yeah, he knows how it feels.

Meanwhile, across the Narrow Sea, Khal Drogo is in a bad way. It seems his wound from his fight last week has festered, and he falls from his horse. For a horselord, falling from your horse is not the sign of powerful leadership your people are looking for. Daeny is warned by Jorah that if the Khal dies, Daeny's lifespan will be measured in minutes. He urges her to flee with him to Asshai (another area of that continent, unconquered by the Dothraki), but she will not leave Drogo. In desperation, she turns to Mirri Maz Duur, the maegi (witch) who initially treated Drogo's wound. She bargains with her to perform some blood magic, to provide a death in order to save Drogo's life. Some weird noises are coming out of the tent, and one of Drogo's bloodriders is going to put an end to it. He slings Daenerys to the ground, which precipitates labor. Jorah prevents him from going in the tent, and they duel. The bloodrider is a better swordsman, and stronger, but Jorah has his armor on. Game, set, match to Jorah. We leave the Dothraki as Jorah is carrying Daeny into the tent to have her baby delivered.

Tyrion attends a war council, and is told by his father Tywin that he, Tyrion, will be leading the vanguard with his hillmen. That is not a position that enjoys a long lifespan. He takes comfort in Shae, a new woman procured for him by Bronn. Shae is a bit of a mystery - foreign, smart, sexy...but a camp whore. While getting to know Shae, Tyrion reveals that he has been married before. It seems that he and his brother Jaime rescued a damsel in distress, and while Jaime was hunting the would-be rapists, Tyrion comforted the damsel. They slept together, and wed the next day. Bliss lasted a couple of weeks, until Tywin found out about it. He made Tyrion watch while the Lannister guardsmen raped his wife repeatedly. *SMALL BOOK SPOILER* - In the book, Tyrion was made to go last, but he was made to give his wife a gold coin rather than the guardsmen's silver, because a Lannister is worth more. *END SPOILER*

It's a wonder that Jaime, Cersei and Tyrion are so well-adjusted, given a father like Tywin, isn't it?

At any rate, the confession ends with Tyrion and Shae getting it on, but while they're partying, the Stark army has stolen a march. Tyrion wakes up with a hangover and battle imminent. He is accidentally knocked unconscious by his own men right at the beginning, and wakes to find that the Lannisters have won decisively. But he also learns that the Starks only sent 10% of his forces to busy Tywin's army...where are the other 18,000 Stark men?

*ANOTHER BOOK SPOILER* In the book, Tyrion fights, and fights credibly. I guess they just wanted to jump ahead and save the costs of a battle scene, but Tyrion isn't a helpless fighter. *END SPOILER*

Robb is leading his bannermen South to fight Lannisters, and we catch up with him at The Twins - two fortresses on either side of a mighty river called the Trident, plus a bridge connecting them. The Twins are controlled by Walder Frey, an irascible old fart with dozens of trueborn kids and at least as many bastards. Even though the Freys nominally owe their allegiance to Hoster Tully, Frey looks out for himself first. Catelyn Tully Stark is sent to negotiate with him - the Starks *need* to cross the Trident, and they can't force their way across. Catelyn negotiates the crossing in exchange for three things:

1 - Robb will take a Frey as his squire, and eventually make him a knight.
2 - Arya is to wed a Frey when they are of age.
3 - Robb must wed a Frey when the fighting is over.

Being a lord isn't all wine and roses, and Robb shows some maturity by accepting the non-military consequences of a military requirement. He can't force his way over the river, he must get over the river, so he swallows the unpalatable demands without whining.

And now we find out where those other 18,000 Starks went. It seems that while they had convinced Tywin that they were coming to fight him, they were actually ambushing Jaime's army that was besieging Riverrun (where the Tully's make their home). And they have captured Jaime the Kingslayer himself. Jaime tries to play to Robb's pride, demanding a winner-take-all duel, but Robb is too smart and too self-aware to fall for that banana in the tailpipe. Robb is also too smart to take his vengeance on the Lannister's right there. Despite some urging Robb to kill him then and there, Robb recognizes that Jaime is more useful to him alive than dead. It sort of mirrors what Varys said that Cersei said regarding Ned - "a tame wolf is more useful than a dead one", doesn't it?

And thus we come full circle back to Ned. He has made his choice - his daughters are more important to him than his honor. He confesses his treason to the crowd gathered at the Sept of Baelor. Sansa, Joffrey, Cersei and the nobility are gathered on the platform. Arya is in the audience, is recognized by Ned, and Ned - as he's walking to his confession - sends Yoren to protect her. (Do you remember Yoren? He is the "recruiter" for the Night's Watch that went North to the Wall with Tyrion and Jon in an early episode, and he was the one who warned Ned that Catelyn had taken Tyrion prisoner). So Ned has confessed, and now he will go be in the Night's Watch...oh wait - Joffrey has decided that showing mercy to Ned would be womanly softness, so he has the headsman Ilyn Payne behead Ned.

I love the acting in this show. Tyrion is so damn good, and so is Arya. The actor who plays Joffrey does d-bag so well, that if I saw him in the grocery store I'd probably punch him in the face. Really a great cast.

So where do we go from here for the last episode of the season?



Synopsis Week 10:

Things are starting to get complicated...

At the Wall, Jon has decided that he's going to desert the brotherhood and go help Robb take revenge on the Lannisters. Sam tries feebly to stop him, and then resorts to what every powerless child learns early in life...he tells on him. Not to Commander Mormont, but to Pyp and the other friends. They track Jon down and convince him to return. Back at the Wall, Mormont reveals that he knew Jon had a "moonlight ride", and then reveals that he is leading the Night's Watch in force North of the Wall - to find Benjen Stark, to uncover the mystery of the Wildling's abandoned villages, and to find out the truth of the White Walkers. Honestly, Mormont's speech here is as good as writing gets.

In Riverrun, the news about Ned's beheading have made the rounds. Catelyn takes out some of her fury on Jaime Lannister, while Robb takes his out on a tree. They mutually declare that they will kill all Lannisters, once Sansa and Arya are free. At a leadership team meeting, Greatjon Umber declares that neither Stannis Baratheon nor Renly Baratheon excite him as a king. The only reason the Starks and their bannermen ever bent the knee to the Targaryens was due to their inability to defeat dragons. No more Targaryens, no more dragons, no more Ned Stark and his friendship with Robert...so why not become their own sovereign kingdom again? Led by the Greatjon, and followed by Rickard Karstark and Theon Greyjoy, they proclaim Robb the King in the North. You heard Rickard proclaim that this was the only peace he could accept. **SLIGHT BOOK SPOILER** That's because Jaime Lannister killed both of Rickard's sons before they captured him, and it burns him that he can't just kill Jaime. **END SPOILER**

Bran and Osha visit the Stark crypt, and find Rickon and Shaggydog there. Apparently both Bran and Rickon knew Ned was dead before it was official.

Tywin Lannister is holding a war council, and he discovers what he should have known all along - that his son Tyrion has a shrewd mind. He orders Tyrion to King's Landing to take Joffrey and Cersei in hand and, in effect, rule as Tywin's proxy. However, he tells Tyrion that he may not bring "that whore" (i.e. Shae) to court with him. Tyrion decides that he can loosely obey that command while still bringing Shae with him to King's Landing. Meanwhile, Tywin is not retreating to Casterly Rock, but instead taking up residence in Harrenhal, which is a huge castle southeast of Riverrun on the shores of a massive lake known as the God's Eye. Harrenhal is very near the Kingsroad that joins King's Landing to Winterfell.

Things are quite muddled in King's Landing. Joffrey shows his industrial strength doucheness by having a harper's tongue ripped out for singing songs mocking the local royalty, by making Sansa view her father's decapitated head, and by having one of his Kingsguard (Ser Boros Blount, IIRC) slap her around when she gets mouthy. Sansa is starting to show a little fire, now that the fairytale is truly ashes. The poor girl trusted Joffrey and Cersei, and believed in nobility and honor. Perhaps more than any other character, she is to be pitied. None of the other Starks have to be nice to the Lannisters.

More muddlements - Grand Maester Pycelle isn't too old to get his game on...is he sandbagging his infirmity? Cersei seems to be sexing up cousin Lancel, who was Robert's squire...trying to keep her conspirator close, or just trying to pretend he's Jaime? Littlefinger and Varys engage in more open banter to reveal motivations that you get more subtly from the book but which need to be more overtly expressed. It seems that Littlefinger wants nothing more than to ascend the Iron Throne and take his revenge on all the lords and ladies who have mocked him. He and Varys have an uneasy but real respect for what the other can accomplish. The acting and dialogue are good, but it still seems out of character to me that Littlefinger would be so open in front of someone he absolutely cannot trust. Oh well. Finally, Yoren has hacked off Arya's hair to make her look more like a boy, calling her Arry and putting her in with the group of assorted scum he's taking North to the Wall. You briefly meet Hot Pie the baker's boy, who claims to have kicked a man to death. You also meet Lommy, Hot Pie's buddy. And you meet Gendry once again. Did you remember Gendry? It's been many episodes since Ned visited him at the smithy, but yes, that's Robert's bastard son. You also briefly see 3 guys in a caged wagon...but more about them next season.

Next let's visit the Dothraki. When Daenerys made a deal with Mirri Maz Duur to save Drogo, she really could have used an attorney experienced in negotiations. The good news is that she saved Drogo's life. The bad news is that it cost her the life of her son (when she thought the death that was paying for Drogo's life was the death of his horse). The worse news is that Drogo only fulfills the technical definition of being alive -- he is basically a vegetable. It seems that Mirri Maz Duur, a healer of a people the Dothraki prey upon, took her revenge by killing off two massive Dothraki threats - the undefeated Drogo as well as his son who was to be the Stallion That Mounts The World. Daenerys smothers a non-responsive Drogo rather than see him live that way. She lights a pyre for Drogo to send him off to the Dothraki afterlife, and in that pyre she includes Mirri Maz Duur, the dragon eggs, and herself. Daenerys Stormborn is indeed of the old Valyrian blood of the dragon, and she is found unharmed when the fire abates. She is also draped with three newborn dragons.

Bring on Season 2!

This guy sums up the most important event of Season 1 -

(spoilers here, you moran)

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LMAO I had forgotten about this one.

Haha, that one was pretty funny!

Funny pic

His actual sitdown vblogs where he discusses the episodes in length are pretty good. The one for that episode is really good and hilarious.

That video is super funny, though, because it seems like some hardass black dude is flipping out for a fantasy video. The actual guy is kind of a fanboy nerd, though, you realize when you watch his vblogs.

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Damn, Craster's Keep looks exactly how I always envisaged it.

I want to see how they cast Tormund Giantsbane, Mance Rayder, The Weeper, Harma Dogshead, Varamyr Sixskins, the giants and the rest of the Free Folk when the time comes.
Tormund is a funny bastard.

Peter Dinklage will win another Emmy this year, he should absolutely shine this season gvien Tyrion's role in book 2.

Robb Stark is such a better character on the show than in the books. He's going to kick some butt this season as well.

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Damn, I can't wait for this. I want to see it all at once..lol

A slew of reviews have been released the last couple of days for Season 2 (first 4 episodes were screened for critics). Nearly all of them (other than some bitter dude at the NYT) have been extremely positive, and many of them have been downright effusive in their praise giving it 4 stars or calling it the best show on TV!

Looking forward to Sunday night!

Great write up from The Atlantic. http://www.theatlantic.com/entertain...hrones/255233/

The Fantastic Ambition of 'Game of Thrones'
MAR 30 2012, 8:02 AM ET 16

The HBO show's second season, which premieres this weekend, has an even wider scope than the first.

Among the fondest memories of my 1970s childhood is that of my father reading Tolkien to me: The Hobbit first and, later, The Lord of the Rings. I followed up with what was, at the time, a fairly common male-nerd-adolescent diet of science fiction, Dungeons & Dragons, and the occasional foray back into sword-and-sorcery lit. I'd read the Narnia books, of course, and tried my hand at the Sword of Shannara series, Michael Moorcock's Elrics and Hawkmoons and Corums, and various other shadows cast by Tolkien's sun. But by my mid-teens, I'd pretty much concluded that the fantasy genre had reached a premature apogee with J.R.R. that it was unlikely to approach again. My infrequent toe-dips into the enchanted pool in the years since (His Dark Materials, etc.) did little to alter this assessment.

Until Games of Thrones. I approached the first season of the HBO show, based on George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series, with great skepticism—and burned through it at a two-episode-a-night clip. Then came the books. My initial plan was to read only the first, and save the others (there are a total of five to date) until after I'd watched the relevant seasons of the show. That plan lasted for perhaps an hour beyond my completing the first book. (Perhaps less.) A Clash of Kings, A Storm of Swords, A Feast for Crows, A Dance with Dragons—the pages flew like ravens, despite the burgeoning girth of each successive tome. (The most recent could double as an end table.) And then: emptiness. An absence of purpose. The endless ticking of days until the resumption of HBO's exceptional adaptation, by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss.

Relief is at hand, at last.

In the show's first season, we were introduced to Martin's vast chessboard, the land of Westeros, and its central pieces: the Starks of Winterfell (chilly, stubborn, loyal to a fault), the Lannisters of Casterly Rock (rich, sly, addicted to ambition), and, spiraling outward from them, Arryns, Baratheons, Targaryens, and their respective retinues of warriors and whisperers. The dynastic was leavened with just a hint of the fantastic: a pack of dire wolves, a crate of dragon eggs, a smattering of undead.

With the second season, set to premiere this Sunday, the focus widens further still: wildlings from the north, the Ironborn from the west, storylines scattered across two continents. Indeed, nearly every one of the early episodes has been forced to amend the mechanized map featured in the show's title sequence in order to squeeze in yet another relevant locale: the island redoubts of Dragonstone and Pyke; cursed, molten Harrenhaal; exotic Qarth. (Not to be confused with Tarth, which is another place altogether, the alphabet itself scarcely capable of accommodating the breadth of Martin's vision.) The peace that had prevailed in Westeros has been broken, and self-anointed kings lie thick on the ground. Plots and counter-plots unfurl, alliances are made and betrayed. Through the first four episodes (which are all I've seen), no one of consequence has yet lost his head. But unless I'm mistaken, regal blood will run red before the credits roll in episode 5.

Like the first season, this one looks to be a triumph, though (also like the first) it takes a little while to gather velocity. Unlike Martin, who dumps readers in the middle of unfamiliar settings and circumstances and challenges them to keep up, showrunners Benioff and Weiss are more deliberate. Several scenes have been inserted with the apparent intent of reintroducing existing characters—here's a quick confrontation that tells you what you need to know about Cersei Lannister; here's another that summarizes the history between Catelyn Stark and Petyr Baelish—presumably on the assumption that there will be a sizable population of new viewers who skipped season one. (If I may pause to offer advice: Don't be one of them. Start at the beginning like a sensible person.)

Thus far the second season takes greater liberties than the first: some, as above, in the service of clarity; others for the sake of concision (an issue that will loom ever larger); and still others to make explicit an idea that Martin's books offered only obliquely—the fate of Craster's sons, for example, or the exact provenance of Melisandre's shadow assassin. In Martin's telling, it is unclear whether newcomer Margaery Tyrell is a true innocent or devious schemer; the casting of Natalie Dormer (Anne Boleyn in Showtime's The Tudors), with her sloe eyes and longitudinal necklines, quickly puts that question to rest, substituting one kind of mystery for another.

However one feels about Benioff and Weiss's infidelities, though, it is clear that they know what they're doing. The meticulousness of the show may differ in its particulars from the meticulousness of the novels, but it is unmistakable—in the first-rate dialogue, the sharp segues, the careful sowing of seeds that will bear fruit episodes later. The spirit of Martin's epic, moreover, is ever in evidence, glinting with malice and irony.

There are quibbles that can be made: I'm not yet persuaded by some of the casting choices (notably for Stannis Baratheon and his mage-muse Melisandre), and there are times when the limitations of HBO's budget show. Those who were nonplussed about the frequent sexing-up of the material—I was agnostic, but am beginning to tire of it—will have plenty more to nonplus them moving forward.

That said, there is so much more to like than not: the amiable sneer of Bronn the sellsword; the stoic decency of Gendry the blacksmith-boy; the look of moral dyspepsia that regularly crosses the lovely features of Cersei Lannister. And Tyrion, the Imp! Peter Dinklage already pocketed a Golden Globe and an Emmy for his portrayal of the most likable Lannister in season one. Given the wry wit and subtle mastery he displays in season two, they may have to start inventing new awards to give him.

At one point early in the season, wise Maester Luwin cautions young Bran Stark, "Maybe magic once was a mighty force in the world, but not anymore." One could scarcely ask for a more eloquent rebuttal than Game of Thrones itself.

I kinda wish they'd do a post-episode show like Talking Dead for GoT.

Awesome article:

http://www.salon.com/2012/03/30/game...nting_lessons/
“Game of Thrones” parenting lessons
by Ned Vizzini • March 30, 2012 •
game_of_thrones

“Game of Thrones” isn’t the most likely parenting guide: Season 1 is bookended with beheadings and chock-full of incest. But when you’re about to be a dad you can find inspiration in unlikely places, and last April I had already maxed out my library renewals on “Your Baby’s First Year for Dummies.”

I didn’t freak out when I found out my wife and I were going to have a son. But as the day approached, I had a crisis of confidence. We were living in a studio in Los Angeles, sleeping on a mattress that smelled like pumpkin beer from the previous fall, driving a two-door, 30-year-old car. How were we supposed to do this?

It turns out I was asking the right questions. We needed a new car and a new house; we got Ford’s least-monstrous SUV and a three-bedroom rental that cost as much as my old Brooklyn one-bedroom. And then, in the final weeks before our son arrived, we started watching “Game of Thrones.” By the time our boy was born, I didn’t want to swaddle him; I wanted to thrust him to the heavens on top of a parapet and declare, “All this will be yours!”

“Game of Thrones” cares about children. Children are heirs. There’s no hemming and hawing about how they’re desensitized to violence or they cost too much to send to college. They’re a blessing — in many ways the only blessing — and even the evil ones have parents who love them.

I tried to remember this as I changed my son’s diapers with the DVR paused and him screaming his head off. If I were Ned Stark, right-hand man to the king and Season 1′s exemplary patriarch, I wouldn’t dare to complain about him. You’re so strong! I thought as he kicked me. A hale and hearty lad! A darling babe at the breast! If Wildlings ransacked the house, they wouldn’t kill you. They’d raise you up to be King-beyond-the-Wall! It helped, and when I unpaused with my wife, I attempted to learn some lessons from “Game of Thrones” about being a dad.

1. If you’re not kicking ass for your family, your son should do it for you.

“Your Baby’s First Year for Dummies” (which is a great book) explained that no matter what I did, I could never prepare for the moment when I brought home a little creature who was completely dependent on me. That’s true, but the good news is it goes the other way. When Ned Stark is shamefully ambushed in King’s Landing, Theon Greyjoy urges his son Robb to take revenge: “It’s your duty to represent your house when your father can’t.” I fully intend to use this line on my son if I ever get arrested.

2. Wean your kid.

Young Robin Arryn’s breast-feeding was voted “Most WTF Moment in GOT”1 at Fanpop, and it’s easy to see why. There’s something unnerving about breast-feeding to begin with. Oh sure, it’s beautiful and natural and it saves money on formula, but it’s a fundamental repurposing of a woman’s body: What was once A is now B (and maybe a little bit of A if the kid’s asleep). The hijacking that starts in pregnancy continues until — well, for Robin, it appears to have gone on way past my wife’s rule: “If he’s old enough to ask for it, he’s too old for it.”

3. The bigger the family, the better.

Once you have a kid, it’s amazing how quickly people ask, “So are you going to stop at just one?” (It’s the third question they ask, after “How’s he sleeping?” and “Are you breast-feeding?” Kids are like privacy repellent.) My simple answer is “no,” because there’s balance in my life right now between the time I spend with my son and the time I spend being me, but “Game of Thrones” has shown me that it’s good to keep an open mind. On the show, you have as many kids as you can. Your kids protect you. They run the castle when you’re away or dead. Little Bran Stark can’t shoot an arrow to save his life, but his sister Arya can. Father Ned smiles: insurance.

4. Give your kid a dog.

I have an issue with dogs — I can’t pick up after them. It’s nothing personal; it just makes me feel like a servant. I limit my janitorial duties to my son, but after seeing the Stark family’s dogs, or direwolves, rip into anyone who threatens their keepers, I’m thinking it might be worth changing my policy. Still: I’m only getting a dog if it’s telepathic and can sense when my son is being menaced by a home invader.

5. It’s supposed to be embarrassing when you introduce people to your father.

Tywin Lannister, father of Tyrion (the antihero dwarf played by Peter Dinklage), is one of the unheralded dads of “Game of Thrones.” He’s fiercely loyal to his children and apt to say things like, “Family is all that lives on.” But he’s tough to love — filthy rich and scary stern — so when Tyrion shows up with his running buddies Shagga and Bron, it’s not a comfortable moment. But you know what? It shouldn’t be. My father would always answer the phone in a Vincent Price voice to scare off my friends. I intend to do the same. I am not my son’s friends’ bro. I am to be feared.

6. Child-proof your house.

OK, if I had more kids, chances are pretty slim that they would fight near a fireplace and one would shove the other’s head into the flames. But those chances are a lot slimmer if I don’t have a fireplace. This is why Sandor Clegane, the fighter whose scarred face is evidence of such an injury, teaches us not only about the emptiness of chivalry, but also child safety. My wife and I noticed quickly after our son was born that there are a ton of rip-off child-safety products out there, including fences that will fall on kids and drawer latches they will choke on. The easiest way to keep your home safe is just to not have things. No pool, no fireplace, no dining-room table, not even a dining room. No scars yet.

7. Don’t cheat.

Cheat on your girlfriend and get in trouble. Cheat on your wife and end up in arbitration. Cheat on the mother of your children, though, and you’re creating a world of hurt for innocent kids — including the bastards you might sire. Jon Snow, illegitimate son of Ned Stark, is so alienated from his half-siblings that he joins the military order of the Night’s Watch, and before he enlists he cuts short his last chance to make love to a woman so he won’t sire an unwanted child like himself. Tragic! Ned tries to reassure him, “You might not have my name, but you have my blood,” but it’s really a father’s responsibility to provide both.

8. Lead by example.

Samwell Tarly, the cowardly whipping boy of the Night’s Watch, confesses that he was told by his father, “You’re not worthy of my land and title” before he was stripped of his inheritance and sent into service. Now, Sam can’t fight, he has bad eyesight, and he hasn’t really been taking care of his body — but I’d like to see his dad. I bet the man isn’t a paragon of courage or self-control. Kids learn by example, and it starts early. When it comes to food, for instance, I thought my wife’s pregnancy would let us both load up on pickles and ice cream, but she said that her condition was no excuse to turn her body into a garbage dump, and she kept me on the straight-and-narrow, too. Now our son eats Brussels sprouts and mackerel. If I go up a pant size, I feel like I’m letting him down.

9. Whatever you do for your family, it won’t necessarily be enough.

“Game of Thrones” is going to have to work hard to top the heart-wrenching death of Ned Stark, but even crueler than his beheading is the lesson behind it. Ned has a chance, when he’s brought before Joffrey the false king, to speak truth to power. He lies to save his family — and gets executed anyway. No matter what I do to keep my family safe, I could end up with my head on a spike (or, more likely, crushed under a bus), so I really should have life insurance.

10. Love all your kids, no matter what.

My favorite father-son moment in “Game of Thrones” is when Tywin Lannister says of his dwarf son Tyrion, “He might be the lowest of the Lannisters, but he’s one of us.” Of course this is a lesson about loving your children no matter how they come out, and I’d like to think my wife and I have the courage to welcome any future additions no matter what prenatal testing reveals, but it’s that “one of us” that gets me. The best part about having a kid, so far, is that I’m an “us.” I’ve managed to go from being alone to helping pilot a unit. It’s like going from private to general, from the mailroom to CEO, but oddly enough I’m less anxious than I was before. Instead of worrying about a lot of little things, I worry about one.

Stupid TV critic is stupid

http://tv.nytimes.com/2012/03/30/art...es-on-hbo.html

"In the second-to-last episode last season, “Game of Thrones” in effect ate its own heart by killing off its main and most noble character, Ned Stark"

Why would they do that? That's not how it happened in the book.

Metascore
90

Universal acclaim based on 22 Critics
Critic score distribution:

Positive: 21 out of 22
Mixed: 1 out of 22
Negative: 0

He's the only critic that gave it below 80.

All these reviews are based on the first four episodes, from what I understand.

I'm so over the NYTimes reviewers. ****ing bunch of adolescent minded contrarians.

Just ordered HBO. Let's do this.

You have chosen......wisely.

http://images.wikia.com/indianajones.../67/Knight.jpg

Have you seen the first season? and/or read the books?

Yes to both. Just doing it legally this time.

Right on.

I wonder how much GRRM has told the writers about where he's going with the series. There was one scene that, possibly, confirmed some of the speculation out there:

You hope. Or, we all hope.


Seeing this back on TV was a pure aaaaahhhhhhhhhhh moment. Great show, great sets, great actors.

And is it just me, or did Joffrey grow about a foot inbetween seasons?

Pretty interesting read about Peter Dinklage if you're a fan.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/01/ma...to-say-no.html

He enjoys Alcatraz :rolleyes:

He gave Ken Burns Prohibition an 80 :thumb: but he also gave an 80 to Storage Wars :facepalm:

Simply great.

I can't believe how fast the episodes go. It felt like it was just started and then they fade away from Arya and Gendry and I was like..huh? It is over!?!

Ack! I'm only half way through ADwD so can't fully speculate.



Again, me only being halfway through, something may happen which will make that thought a but an offering for the lord of light's flames.

Appropo of probably nothing I noticed that part and thought in the book it is Hodor's mom who tells Bran the comet means Dragons. The wildling woman says it means something like blood and fire IIRC.