In its first-season finale, Game of Thrones tied up its loose ends as well as a sprawling fantasy epic could be expected to. More importantly, it left us wanting more by introducing us to Daenerys Targaryen's little ... friends. We bid our spoiler-filled goodbyes below.
TVGuide.com's Hanh Nguyen is an avid scripted-TV watcher, a horror-avoider and someone who's read George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire book series, on which HBO's Game of Thrones is based. Colleague Rich Juzwiak rarely watches scripted television, is a gorehound and became alerted to Martin's existence just recently, as he started researching this new swords-and-sandals (well, boots) series. He knows nothing of these sorcerers (if that is indeed what they are), while Hanh is something of an expert (read: fantasy/sci-fi nerd). Each week, he'll try to make sense of this crazy new show by enlisting Hanh's expertise. It may turn out to be a test of tolerance: in this case, the Games begin after the TV is off...
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In Game of Thrones' penultimate episode of the season, Lord Eddard "Ned" Stark finds that playing the game is more difficult than he imagined, especially when new players enter who don't abide by your rules.
Spoilers! If you haven't watched "Baelor" yet, then perhaps it's best to sit this one out until you do.
"When you play the game of thrones, you...
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The Game becomes one of choosing between effective foreshadowing.
Spoiler alert: If you haven't watched the seventh episode, "You Win or You Die," yet, it's best that you turn back now.
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Now that we're halfway into the Game of Thrones season, the action has really become meaty (much like the roast venison that graces King Robert's table). In Sunday's episode, everyone gets in on the killing (even The Imp!) and there's so much intrigue to be had, the action actually stayed in Westeros the entire time. To balance out the multiple deaths and brutality, we got a whimsical helping of grotesquery thanks to original scenes written specifically for the HBO series. Shall we delve into "The Wolf and the Lion"?
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Wouldn't it be nice if these Game of Thrones characters had "Hello, My Name Is" badges? It would certainly cut down on the confusion of who's who so we could focus on the confusion of what the hell is going on. In this week's discussion, we try to puzzle out some of the supporting characters like Theon Greyjoy, Old Nan, The Hound and the yet unseen redheaded Roz.
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