George r. r. martin

It’s been a strange couple of months for Game of Thrones fans who haven’t read the books, such as myself. Book-series veterans (the spoiler-respectful ones, anyway) have looked on with a sense of both dread and dark glee, referring only to “the RW,” which I’d incorrectly assumed stood for “Royal Wedding,” of which we got one last week with relatively little incident There’s about 45 minutes of content in “The Rains of Castamere” that does not consist of the Red Wedding, but you’d never know it for the furor that erupted on social media moments after the doors to the Freys’ hall closed and the strains of the episode’s titular ballad are audible. It’s here, finally, even more than Season One’s “Baelor,” that Game of Thrones finally earns its “anyone can die” motto. This got downright Satanic.

Those who are more privy of HBO’s future plans may correct me on this, but seeing as the events of the third book of A Song of Ice and Fire, A Storm of Swords, are supposedly being spread out over two seasons, we can reasonably expect that Game of Thrones will be at least an eight-season affair.

Game of Thrones, Season 3, Episode 5: “Kissed by Fire” Written by Brian Cogman Directed by Alex Graves Airs Sundays at 9pm ET on HBO Remember last week, when Daenerys Targaryen and her dragons unleashed literal hellfire and everyone declared it the greatest thing ever? Though most of its pleasures are far subtler, “Kissed by …

Earlier this year, when Netflix released all of House of Cards’s first season simultaneously, it prompted industry-wide speculation about the implications, and whether or not other series or networks might follow in their footsteps. It’s to our collective detriment that HBO probably won’t be adopting that sort of release strategy for any of its programs for the foreseeable future, because Game of Thrones is an obvious candidate.

Game of Thrones, Season 2, Episode 10: “Valar Morghulis” Written by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss Directed by Alan Taylor Airs Sundays at 9pm ET on HBO Even more than the heavily hyped (and very expensive) “Blackwater,” “Valar Morghulis” shows off what Game off Thrones can pull off that other shows can only dream of …

Game of Thrones, Season 2, Episode 8: “The Prince of Winterfell” Written by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss Directed by Alan Taylor Airs Sundays at 9pm ET on HBO As is standard in installment-based narrative drama, sometimes you need an hour just to put the pieces in place. “The Prince of Winterfell” fits the bill …

Game of Thrones, Season 2, Episode 7: “A Man Without Honor” Written by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss Directed by David Nutter Airs Sundays at 9pm ET on HBO Not having read George R. R. Martin’s book series while writing weekly content about the show can be a strange experience. While I feel I’m …

Game of Thrones, Season 2, Episode 6: “The Old Gods and the New” Written by Vanessa Taylor Directed by David Nutter Airs Sundays at 9pm ET on HBO As in last week’s “The Ghost of Harrenhal,” Game of Thrones once again explores just about every corner of its world over the course of a single …

Game of Thrones, Season 2, Episode 5: “The Ghost of Harrenhal” Written by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss Directed by David Petrarca Airs Sundays at 9pm ET on HBO Well, that’s one would-be ruler down. Renly Baratheon dies an ignoble death at the hands of Melisandre’s foul hellspawn very near the beginning of “The Ghost …

Game of Thrones, Season 2, Episode 3: “What Is Dead May Never Die” Written by Bryan Cogman Directed by Alik Sakharov Airs sundays at 9pm ET on HBO Apologies for the slightly belated review; I am currently en route to NYC. Is it possible that anyone will watch “What Is Dead May Never Die” and …

Game of Thrones, Season 2, Episode 2: “The Night Lands” Written by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss Directed by Alan Taylor Airs Sundays at 9pm on HBO Please do not include future spoilers from the book series in the comments. Do you recall the opening episodes of the first season of Game of Thrones? Remember …

Game of Thrones, Episode 10: ‘Fire and Blood’ Written by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss Directed by Alan Taylor Generally, in a serialized drama, season finales can go one of two ways. They can try to be full of excitement and incident, or they can settle the pace a bit in order to effectively …

Game of Thrones, Episode 9: ‘Baelor’ Written by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss Directed by Alan Taylor When Cersei warned weeks ago that “you win or you die,” she wasn’t kidding. The tragedy of Ned Stark’s existence comes to the fore this week as the man who knows only honor gives up that quality …

Game of Thrones, Episode 8: ‘The Pointy End’ Written by George R. R. Martin Directed by Daniel Minahan Anyone remember what a mess it was when series originator Robert Kirkman wrote an episode of AMC’s The Walking Dead? You know, ‘Vatos’, the one with the benevolent Latino faux-gangsters and their nursing home of hope? If …

Game of Thrones, Episode 7: ‘You Win Or You Die’ Written by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss Directed by Daniel Minahan The titular game begins in earnest this week as the closest thing the show has to an all-out hero, Eddard Stark, finds himself out-maneuvered – perhaps fatally – by the devious Littlefinger. “I …

Game of Thrones, Episode 5: ‘The Wolf and the Lion’ Written by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss Directed by Brian Kirk About the time The Mountain takes out his broadsword and bloodily decapitates his horse, it’s clear that Game of Thrones means business this week. Show creators Benioff and Weiss return to script an …

Game of Thrones, Episode 4: ‘Cripples, Bastards, and Broken Things’ Written by Bryan Cogman Directed by Brian Kirk At this point in the progression of Game of Thrones, we’re approaching the point at which a character/actor list becomes a dear accessory. With significant developments deployed over four distinct realms (Winterfell, King’s Landing, the North Gate, …

Game of Thrones, Episode 3: ‘Lord Snow’ Written by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss Directed by Brian Kirk Apologies for lateness; here in Canada there was an election to track. As before, please refrain from series spoilers in the comments. Thanks! One of the go-to lines for George R. R. Martin enthusiasts upon learning …

Game of Thrones, Episode 2: ‘The Kingsroad’ Written by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss Directed by Tim Van Patten I’ll be reviewing Game of Thrones every Monday for the length of the season; please keep in mind that I’ve not read George R. R. Martin’s book series, and I’m watching the episodes weekly as they …