“The northmen are loyal to Jon Snow. Not to her. They don’t know her. The Free Folk don’t know her. I’ve been up here awhile and I’m telling ya, they’re as stubborn as goats. If you want their loyalty, you have to earn it.” —Davos Seaworth in “Winterfell” With these words, Ser Davos encapsulated the […]
Continue reading →It is not a secret the upcoming eighth season of Game of Thrones there will begin calling back to the initial grand political moment seen in the show’s first episode, when King Robert Baratheon’s entourage descended on the home of the Starks and unpredictably upended their fortunes. This season the royal procession will include the […]
Continue reading →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 →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 →“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 →Season Six finally saw the return of Arya Stark to Westeros, after her time studying abroad with the mysterious and murderous Faceless Men. Once back in the Seven Kingdoms, Arya got right into applying her murder and mystery skills, stopping by Walder Frey’s strategically important Riverlands castle to exact some Titus Andronicus-style vengeance on the […]
Continue reading →In the first episode of Game of Thrones, young Brandon Stark climbed to the top of Winterfell’s walls with a specific purpose: the retinue of King Robert Baratheon was nearing Bran’s home and the young Stark wanted to enjoy a bird’s-eye view of the approaching southern royal host. Years later, Bran Stark is back at […]
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