In every season of Game of Thrones, there are important events that set the tone. Ned’s beheading. The Red Wedding. Anytime Daenerys says “dracarys.” These are dramatic moments that often redefine the political landscape of the show. Occasionally, there are moments that are not so revered. Jaime and Bronn fighting the Sand Snakes. Daenerys yelling […]
Continue reading →Ah, Valentine’s Day, a day celebrating love new and old. Flowers, candies, special dinners, declarations and tokens of love the world over. But a tradition steeped in the shadows of the past, no one quite sure what it actually is or what it used to mean. Only reacting to vague cultural recollections passed down from […]
Continue reading →From his first appearance on Game of Thrones (chastising Jaime while skinning a stag) Tywin Lannister was preoccupied with legacy, bringing up the topic every so often – usually whenever any of his children displeased him. Tywin’s mission statement for his children was to ensure that when he and his children and his children’s children […]
Continue reading →Cersei: Highgarden has bought us the most powerful army in Essos: the Golden Company. Twenty-thousand men, horses – elephants, I believe. At the end of the seventh season of Game of Thrones, Cersei Lannister confided in her brother Jaime that she planned to reinforce their position in the south with sellswords from across the Narrow […]
Continue reading →“So power is a mummer’s trick?” “A shadow on the wall,” Varys murmured, “yet shadows can kill. And ofttimes a very small man can cast a very large shadow.” Tyrion smiled. “Lord Varys, I am growing strangely fond of you. I may kill you yet, but I think I’d feel sad about it.” — A Clash of […]
Continue reading →The days are getting shorter and shorter (at least they are here in the northern hemisphere), leading us to the Winter Solstice and the longest night of the year. It’ll be a Long Night. Possibly because of the extra-long darkness, December has multiple traditions that celebrate with light. Maybe lighting candles is one’s thing, maybe […]
Continue reading →Within the Game of Thrones fandom, the term “plot armor” has popped up a time or two in discussions surrounding some of the less positively received action sequences of recent seasons. But is plot armor really the problem? In this video essay I take a look at scenes from Game of Thrones as well as Black Sails and Hemlock Grove to try to […]
Continue reading →Greetings fellow Watchers! This past Monday, I was lucky enough to head down to Jersey City and attend the Fire & Blood release event with George R. R. Martin at the restored Lowe’s theater put on by WORD bookstores. I live-tweeted the event on the Watchers on the Wall Twitter at the time, but for […]
Continue reading →“If we don’t put aside our enmities and band together, we will die. And then it doesn’t matter whose skeleton sits on the Iron Throne.” During Jon Snow’s shaky introduction to Daenerys Targaryen in the seventh season of Game of Thrones, Ser Davos Seaworth succinctly contextualized the political realities in Westeros. Queen Daernerys had come […]
Continue reading →Rhaegar Targaryen: the man, the myth, the legend. He is one of the most mysterious characters in A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones, but one who has a huge impact on the story before it even begins. In the official history Rhaegar abducted and raped Lyanna Stark – holding her captive at the […]
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