‘Game of Thrones’ S8E5 : ‘The Bells’ (Analysis).

This week on the shitstorm currently masquerading as Game of Thrones Season 8, David Benioff and D.B. Weiss decide to pay tribute to the scene in Interview with the Vampire in which Louis burns the house down because he feels sad. Enter Lestat with frilly cuffs, screaming: Political status quo. King’s Landing. The soldiers trained by Tywin Lannister conduct…

‘Game of Thrones’ S8E3: ‘The Long Night’ (Analysis).

In the ranks of Game of Thrones battle sequences, The Long Night far outstrips the battles of the Blackwater, Hardhome and the Bastards with its magnificent, ferocious dance of  death and its sadistic refusal to make us feel remotely better when the dawn comes.

‘Game of Thrones’ S8E1: ‘Winterfell’ (Analysis).

Winterfell is the best first episode of any season of Game of Thrones since the first. While it does demonstrate some symptoms of Game of Thrones First Episode Syndrome (too much touching base, too little action), the action itself is so moving and and so emotionally charged that one easily forgets the bits that drag. As Daenerys arrives…

Sansa, Arya and creepy older men: why people need to calm the fuck down.

If A Song of Ice and Fire and Game of Thrones have taught us anything, it’s that one can never truly define or anticipate the complexity of human relationships, or what one person means to another. In Westeros, as in life, affinities spring up between the unlikeliest of people, and this chemistry, which causes many…

Why Arya Stark and Tywin Lannister was a really good idea

So here’s my major complaint about Game of Thrones so far. The first season was so faithful to the book it had most fans spending the better part of each episode dancing jigs of joy on the couch. The second season made so many changes to the book that there were just as many people…