“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 […]
Continue reading →In my latest video essay, I discuss how Jon Snow fits the archetypal role of “Reluctant Leader”… and how that’s precisely why I don’t want him to end up on the Iron Throne in the series finale. Blasphemy, I know! But hear me out…
Continue reading →Recently, at the primetime Emmys red carpet, A Song of Ice and Fire author George R.R. Martin expressed his opinion that Game of Thrones could’ve continued for at least five more seasons. “We could’ve gone 11, 12, 13 seasons” he told Variety. Show runners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss ultimately decided for 8 seasons, albeit […]
Continue reading →Actually, it’s not. I just wanted to piss somebody off with the title. Ohhhhh yeah… the Watchers have allowed Oz, the Court Jester (a.k.a. the Village Idiot, the Royal Fool, the Wall Nut,) back onto your technologically enhanced screen for maximum reading pleasure. Girlfriend… this is your lucky day. Rumor has it that we have […]
Continue reading →In Westeros, dragons are the end all and be all of power. Aegon the Conqueror only is known as “the conqueror” because he and his sisters landed in the Blackwater Rush with three dragons. Aegon’s ground forces were puny in comparison to kings like Harren Hoare, Torrhen Stark, Mern Gardener and Loren Lannister. But Aegon […]
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