Monday, December 7, 2020

Winter Was Coming...And Then It Didn't...I Take a Look Back at Game of Thrones (Part 3)

 Dracarys (SPOILERS BECAUSE DUH!!!!!!!!)



    Daenerys Targaryen continues on her quest to reclaim her birthright by using the fortune she took from Xaro in Season 2 to purchase for herself an army.  She comes across a suitable fighting force of slave soldiers called The Unsullied, eunuchs who have been trained since a very young age to be ruthless killing machines.  While there, she comes across a Targaryen loyalist, Ser Barristan Selmy, who offers his services to Dany.  Unhappy that the Unsullied would be "sold" to her, she plots to trick the Slave Masters who own them to sell her them in exchange for one of her dragons.  As the exchange takes place, Dany turns the Unsullied against the Slave Masters and has them kill them, while her growing dragon roasts the Slave Masters.  She offers the Unsullied their freedom and they choose to continue serving her.  Dany decides to liberate more of the slaves in Essos before returning her focus to Westeros and reclaiming her throne.  

    With her betrothal to King Joffrey ended, Sansa Stark hopes against hope for a way to be freed from her imprisonment in King's Landing and may have found a way out with the help of Lord Petyr Baelish (AKA Littlefinger), who was once enamored with her mother enough to challenge another man for her hand in marriage.  Littlefinger plots to bring her with him when the Lannisters send him to the Vale to marry Sansa's unstable Aunt Lysa and bring her on side in the war.  Thus begins a tug of war over the fate of Sansa Stark, as many begin to see her and her potential claim to Winterfell (should Robb Stark die) as a key to controlling the fiercely independent North.  

    Arya Stark and her friends continue to run from the Lannister soldiers they were captives of and make their way deep into the Riverlands.  Arya decides to bring herself, Gendry and Hot Pie to Riverrun, where her Grandfather Hoster Tully rules defiantly on behalf of her brother Robb.  While on route to the castle fortress, the group is picked up by the Brotherhood Without Banners, a Robin Hood-like group that fights on behalf of the smallfolk.  When the newly captured Sandor Clegane (AKA the Hound) rats out Arya's true identity to the Brotherhood, they plot to ransom her at Riverrun, but not before bringing the Hound to trial for his many crimes.  Led deep into the forests of the Riverlands, the Hound faces off against Beric Dondarrion, who has taken on the faith of the Lord of Light with the aid of his longtime friend Thoros of Myr, a red priest with the power of resurrection.  Despite the Hound winning his trial by combat by killing Beric, Thoros revives Beric with his powers and allows the Hound to go free.  

    Despite having wed the love of his life and never lost a battle, Robb Stark's war effort could not be in worse shape.  With Stannis's defeat at the Blackwater and the swelling ranks of the new Lannister-Tyrell alliance combined with Theon Greyjoy's betrayal and subsequent "murder" of his brothers Bran and Rickon, Robb is forced to chase the remnants of the Lannister forces in the Riverlands, looking desperately for a way to fight without drawing the might of the Southern Lords against him.  Robb can also see his own men losing faith in him, as the bloodthirsty Lord Karstark demands justice for his dead sons and Lord Roose Bolton seeming to fuel Robb's lust for battle.  Robb ceases all battle measures when he learns of his grandfather, Lord Hoster Tully's passing.  With Lord Bolton guarding the retaken castle of Harrenhal, Robb takes his wife Talisa, his mother (still a prisoner for her freeing of Jaime Lannister last season), and his most loyal men to Riverrun to attend to the funeral and bring the Tully's fully into his cause.  While there, Lord Karstark murders two Lannister squires as payment for his dead sons.  Robb calls his actions treasonous and beheads him, losing the support of the Karstark armies and weakening his numbers exponentially.  With little choice, Robb must make amends with the Freys, whom he was supposed to marry a daughter of.  

    Jon Snow is taken by Ygritte and her scouting party to meet the leader of the "Freefolk", a former Night's Watch brother named Mance Rayder.  Jon lies to Mance and tells him he wishes to stop the Night's Watch from further increasing the ranks of the Undead by warring with them and is welcomed into the group.  Despite being watched over by Ygritte and Mance, many of the Wildlings do not trust Jon and suspect him of being a traitor.  Before they can complete their task by scaling the Wall and leading a party of Wildlings south of the border, Ygritte forces Jon to sleep with her, thereby making him "hers" by the laws of Gods and Men, while also proving that Jon was indeed an oath breaker.  Jon and Ygritte, alongside more Wildlings, scale the Wall and finally make it back behind the wall.  

    The Great Ranging was a complete disaster, which forces Lord Commander Mormont to lead his broken and starving men back to a relatively friendly wildling village known as Craster's Keep.  Craster is icy towards them and treats the men horribly, prompting a mutiny to break out among the brothers of the Night's Watch.  The Lord Commander is killed and those loyal to him are either killed or captured, save for Samwell Tarly, who flees the camp with one of Craster's daughters, Gilly and her newborn son by her father, whom she names after Sam.  While fleeing back to the Wall, Sam and Gilly are set upon by a White Walker, who seeks to use the infant to swell their ranks of undead warriors.  Sam, desperate to defend Gilly and her son, uses a Dragonglass Dagger to stab the creature, which causes it to unexpectedly explode on impact.  Sam decides to bring the weapons to the Wall to warn the others about how to defeat the incoming army of the dead.  

    A prisoner of the Boltons, Theon Greyjoy is beaten, tortured, humiliated and irreparably damaged during his time in captivity, chiefly at the hands of Ramsay Snow, Roose Bolton's bastard son.  Emasculated, beaten and tormented for months on end, Theon finally capitulates to becoming Ramsay's manservant, taking up the name Reek instead of Theon to prove how truly worthless he was.  

    Formerly prisoners of Theon, Bran and Rickon continue their way to find Jon at Castle Black, along with the simple Hodor and the Wildling Osha.  While on their way, the group is found by two loyal bannermen named Meera and Jojen Reed.  Jojen encourages Bran to seek out the Three-Eyed Raven he's seen in his dreams, while Osha feuds with the Reeds about wanting to keep Bran safe by bringing him to Jon at Castle Black.  Ultimately, Bran decides that he and Rickon need to separate for their safety and Osha and Rickon leave the group to journey to the Last Hearth and be under the protection of House Umber, while he, Jojen, Meera and Hodor would continue to seek out the Three-Eyed Raven.  

    Tyrion Lannister finds himself not being given the gratitude he feels he deserves for his successful defense of King's Landing, as he has been essentially cast aside upon the return of his father, Lord Tywin, to the capital.  After failing to convince his father to name him as the heir to the ancestral Lannister fortress of Casterly Rock, Tyrion finally is "awarded" with Littlefinger's old position as Master of Coin and is tasked with getting the crown's finances in order, a seemingly impossible task due to the reckless spending of Robert Baratheon and the ongoing war. 

    On behalf of Catelyn Stark, Brienne of Tarth leads Jaime Lannister back to King's Landing to ransom for her daughters.  The two do not get along well, with Jaime constantly insulting Brienne about her feelings for Renly and her looks and Brienne calling Jaime out for his dishonor.  While on their way, the two are found and captured by Bolton men.  As the Bolton men plan to rape Brienne while on their way to Harrenhal, Jaime lies to them by telling them that Brienne's family was incredibly wealthy and would pay her weight in sapphire to ensure her safe return.  Despite believing his lies, the Bolton flunky (named Locke) decides he's heard enough of Jaime for one life time and slices off his sword hand, crippling Jaime and sending him into a spiraling depression.  The two are finally brought to Harrenhal and are put under the watchful eye of Roose Bolton.  While soaking in a warm bath, Jaime confesses to Brienne about his murder of the previous King, Aerys Targaryen and his plot to burn King's Landing to the ground before Robert Baratheon and Ned Stark could take the city and how he had ordered Jaime to bring him his father's head to prove his loyalty.  Jaime murdered Aerys to save millions of lives in King's Landing, but was condemned by the Starks for his "murder" of the Mad King and forever be forced to bear the name "Kingslayer".  

    Sansa Stark becomes friendly with the future Queen, Margaery Tyrell.  Margaery tells Sansa that she wants her to truly become a sister and tells the Stark captive that she wants Sansa to marry her brother, the handsome (albeit homosexual) heir to Highgarden, Loras Tyrell.  When word of this plot reaches the Lannisters, however, Tywin quashes it by insisting that Loras be betrothed to Cersei (much to her misery) and that Tyrion would marry Sansa, which inadvertently drives a wedge between Tyrion and his lover Shae.  Sansa and Tyrion are awkwardly wed, though Tyrion defends Sansa's honor from Joffrey and his cruel jokes by drunkenly threatening the King in public and promising Sansa that they would not consumate their marriage until she was ready to share a bed with him, willing to take the humiliation this would bring him from court.  

    On Dragonstone, Stannis Baratheon broods over his defeat and the continued war efforts by the Lannisters, Tyrells and Starks.  Despite the fierce loyalties of his Hand, Ser Davos Seaworth the Onion Knight and his own daughter Princess Shireen Baratheon, Stannis remains devoted to the Fire Priestess Melisandre, who continues to claim that she can see Stannis's victory over darkness in the fires.  To prove this to Stannis, Melisandre sets sail for the main land to find one of the deceased Robert Baratheon's bastard children to use for a Blood Magic Ritual.  This ultimately leads her to find Gendry among the Brotherhood Without Banners.  Melisandre pays the Brotherhood handsomely for Gendry and leaves with him as her "prisoner", which draws her ire from Arya.  Melisandre reveals to Gendry his father's identity and how he could save the kingdom and avenge his father by helping Stannis become king.  After seducing Gendry, Melisandre places leeches on him to draw his blood for a spell that would ensure the demise of all Stannis's enemies.  Stannis throws the leeches in the fire and declares three names: Joffrey Baratheon, Balon Greyjoy and Robb Stark.  

    Robb eats a significant amount of humble pie by accepting all of Walder Frey's terms for a renewal of their alliance, including a public apology for breaking his oath to marry one of his daughters as well as compelling his uncle, Lord Edmure Tully, to marry a Frey daughter in his stead.  With the Frey's help, Robb hopes to conquer the Westerlands and break the myth of Lannister power by taking Tywin Lannister's seat of power in Casterly Rock.  While on their way to the Frey stronghold of the Twins, Talisa informs Robb that she is pregnant with their child.  

    Roose Bolton informs Jaime of what has befallen the Starks and Lannisters since his imprisonment, including the Battle of Blackwater Bay and how Edmure Tully was to marry a Frey daughter.  Roose further informs Jaime that he would be continuing on his way to King's Landing, provided he inform his father that he played no part in the removal of his hand.  He then tells Brienne that she was a traitor and would answer for both her and Catelyn Stark's crimes as he departs for the Twins to be at the wedding.  Jaime at first leaves Brienne behind, but has a change of heart and returns to Harrenhal to save Brienne and bring her to King's Landing to be properly awarded for bringing him to the capital safe and sound.  When Locke protests, Jaime tells Locke he would have to kill him if he wanted to stop him, thus prompting the thug to free Brienne.  Jaime finally makes it back to King's Landing, but is not received well by any present, especially Cersei, who views him as less of a man than he had been when he left.  

    While on her way to another slave city in Yunkai, Daenerys finds it well defended by a force of sellswords called The Second Sons.  Despite respecting her titles, the Second Sons treat Daenerys coldly and warn her that if she fails to disperse and leave, it will come to war.  However, one of the leaders of the Second Sons becomes smitten with Daenerys and decides to slay the others and join her ranks.  Intrigued by him, Daenerys names Daario Nahaaris to her inner circle and sends him, Jorah Mormont and her Unsullied Commander named "Greyworm" into Yunkai to take the capital and free the slaves captive within.  After they prove successful, Daenerys gives the slaves the chance to leave into freedom on their own.  Believing her to be a benevolent savior, the slaves choose to follow her, giving her the name "Mhysa" which translates to "Mother".  

    Despite his love for Ygritte and his growing affection for the Free Folk as a whole, Jon is compelled to betray them when they tell him to murder an old man in cold blood.  Jon escapes them to return to Castle Black and warn his brother, but receives several arrows in his leg in the process from an angry and brokenhearted Ygritte.  

    Robb's arrival at the Twins is surprisingly well received by Walder Frey, who seems eager to put Robb's betrayal behind them and continue on with the wedding.  Despite the Frey women being known to be ghastly to look at, Edmure's bride is quite beautiful and wedding reception goes remarkably well.  Everyone has a wonderful time and Edmure and his wife seem to be deeply in love.  As the bride and groom are led away for the traditional bedding ceremony, however, the Frey men betray the Starks and Tullys and begin to slaughter them.  Talisa is violently stabbed by the Freys where her unborn child was and Robb is skewered by arrows.  Roose Bolton reveals himself to be a traitor and delivers Robb the killing blow, effectively ending the War for Northern Independence.  Unable to bear the fact that she lost all her children, Catelyn Stark lets out a haunting scream as she has her throat slit.  

    Fed up with the disloyal and treacherous dealings of the Brotherhood, Arya escapes their custody, only to be abducted by the Hound, who had been tailing the group for some time.  He plans to sell her off to Robb and Catelyn, but the two arrive just in time to witness the slaughter of the Stark forces as well as the death of Robb's direwolf, Grey Wind.  Hoping to keep Arya from the same fate, the Hound knocks her out and rides away with her.  With little options left, Arya and the Hound set off for the Vale of Arryn to bring Arya to her Aunt Lysa, but not before both the Hound and Arya kill Lannister Soldiers celebrating the deaths of Robb and Catelyn.  

    The Lannisters also revel in the death of Robb Stark, but it is clear that their loyalties and ideas of unity are vastly different.  Tywin is revealed to have orchestrated the betrayal with the help of Walder Frey and Roose Bolton, both of whom have been amply rewarded with titles, lordships and castles to call their own, with the Boltons replacing the Starks as Wardens of the North and the Freys taking the ancestral Tully Castle of Riverrun, though he finds that his own children are at each other's throats and Tyrion in particular seeming to pity the Stark dead.  After being challenged by Joffrey, Tywin also realizes his grandson needs to be fully reined in before they can truly declare him a King.  As Tyrion tries and fails to comfort Sansa over the death of her brother and mother, Cersei suggests Tyrion give her a child to love, telling her brother that Joffrey was the only thing that kept her alive during her time as Robert's Queen.  

    With the death of Robb, Stannis Baratheon is convinced that Melisandre worked her magic the same way she did to help murder Renly, but Davos Seaworth remains unconvinced that they should sacrifice Gendry.  When Stannis refuses to listen, Davos hurries for the dungeons to free Gendry and help him escape, having him row to King's Landing to blend in with the people again.  Despite Stannis' fury with him for betraying him, Davos informs his King of word from Castle Black that the dead are marching on the Wall and an army of Wildlings closing in on Castle Black.  Melisandre confirms this and tells Stannis that his path to the throne would cross through the North.  

Tuesday, November 17, 2020

Winter Was Coming...And Then It Didn't...I Take a Look Back at Game of Thrones (Part 2)

 The Clash of Kings (SPOLIERS BECAUSE DUH!!!!)




    The War for Westeros is only getting more complicated, as the deceased King Robert Baratheon's two brothers each join his illegitimate son Joffrey in claiming the throne for themselves.  The younger brother, Renly, is able to amass a huge army of followers thanks to marrying the daughter of the extremely wealthy and powerful House Tyrell of the Reach.  Meanwhile, the King's other brother, Stannis, struggles to amass support to his cause as his brother, Joffrey and the Starks are all already entangled in war and seem uninterested in seeing him become King.  Stannis is supported by only a few fiercely loyal men and a mysterious sorceress by the name of Melisandre, who promises her King that she has seen him be the Warrior of Light needed to fight away the darkness, while secretly swaying him over to the foreign religion of R'hllor, otherwise known as The Lord of Light.  

    After sending peace terms to the Lannisters in Court, Robb Stark is approached by his friend and his father's ward/hostage Theon Greyjoy about joining forces with the Greyjoys of the Iron Islands about attacking and taking the Lannister stronghold of Casterly Rock and is sent by Robb as an envoy.  Despite his mother Catelyn's objections, Robb sticks to his decision as well as deciding to send his mother south to the Stormlands to negotiate with Renly Baratheon about joining forces to invade King's Landing and win the war.  After Catelyn's departure, Robb begins making war plans to invade the Lannister domain.  

    Tyrion Lannister arrives in King's Landing with his own retinue of sell swords (mercenaries) and his lover Shae to take control of the kingdom away from Joffrey and Cersei on behalf of Lord Tywin Lannister.  As he does, he immediately imprisons, exiles and blackmails the most disloyal and treacherous of Cersei's henchmen while preparing the city for a siege should either of Robert's brothers or the Starks choose to invade.  While there, Tyrion manages to win the friendship of the Master of Whispers, Lord Varys, as well as the respect of Joffrey's betrothed hostage, Sansa Stark.  Despite knowing that her father sent him, Cersei does her best to undermine and sabotage Tyrion's plans to keep the city and his family safe, her hatred of her little brother intensifying when he sends her daughter Myrcella to the safety of Dorne, a neutral kingdom that has no love for the Lannisters.  Joffrey proves his vicious cruelty to everyone present by torturing Sansa in court because of the constant defeats her brother Robb keeps handing him, causing both Lord Petyr Baelish (AKA Littlefinger) and Joffrey's own personal protector Sandor Clegane (AKA The Hound) to sympathize with her.  

    Struggling through the deserts of Essos, Daenerys Targaryen, her newborn dragons and her followers arrive at the mysterious city of Qarth and are taken in by a merchant named Xaro Xhoan Daxos, who informs her of all the chaos in Westeros and encourages her to join forces with him and sail to Westeros and seize power now, though Ser Jorah preaches patience.  While Dany contemplates her next move, Xaro betrays her by selling her dragons to the warlocks of the House of the Undying, prompting Dany and Jorah to go on a rescue mission.  While there, Daenerys has a vision of her future and sees the Iron Throne in King's Landing as well as briefly reuniting with Drogo and their son.  Daenerys is captured by the warlocks, who plan to use Dany and her dragons to restore their own magical powers, but the dragons burn the warlock Pyat Pree and free Dany from her shackles.  Soon, Dany sacks Xaro's castle of all it's worth and imprisons him in an empty vault to die.  

    Upon arriving at the seat of House Greyjoy, Theon is ridiculed by his father and sister for being bought by the Starks and learns of his father's plans to invade the North and seize Stark lands to rebuild the once great Ironborn Empire.  Despite his loyalty to Robb, Theon betrays the Starks and joins his family in their plan to pillage and raid the North in the hopes of succeeding his father as King of the Iron Islands.  When he learns of his father's relatively menial plans for him, Theon decides to use an attack on a small town as a diversion so he can seize the unprotected Stark fortress of Winterfell and take both Bran and Rickon Stark as hostages.  He accomplishes this and does his best to try and be loved by both sides, but cannot prevent the Stark Boys from fleeing with the aid of the Wildling Osha and losing Theon his most valuable hostages.  Enraged, Theon burns two farm boys and makes it seem as if he has killed both Bran and Rickon, crippling House Stark.  

    Catelyn arrives at Renly's camp and is greeted warmly by the King.  While there, she meets Renly's wife Lady Margaery Tyrell as well as Renly's fiercely loyal protector, Brienne of Tarth.  After spending time as Renly's guest, Catelyn is present when both Baratheon brothers parley with one another in the hopes of ending their rivalry for the throne.  But both believe they are better suited to be King and thus all hope for peace between the two ends.  After sealing an alliance between the Starks and Baratheon/Tyrells on behalf of Robb, Catelyn witnesses a shadowy assassin slay Renly as he prepared for war and flees his camp with a devastated Brienne at her side.  With Renly dead, Stannis manages to win the support of a good portion of his followers, though House Tyrell and the Reach forces Renly commanded refuse to submit to him and begin to flirt with the Lannisters.  With an army and fleet at his back, Stannis sets his sights on King's Landing.  Brienne vows to serve Catelyn, whom she has grown to care for and respect.  Upon returning to Robb's camp, she learns of both Theon's betrayal and that Robb has become smitten with a medic from Essos named Talisa.  Fearful for the safety of Sansa and Arya, Catelyn frees the captive Jaime Lannister and makes him vow to send her daughters home in exchange for his freedom.  After he and Brienne vanish into the night, Robb has his mother confined to her tent and sends men to recapture Jaime as well as allowing his adviser Roose Bolton to write to his bastard son to raise an army to retake Winterfell.  

    Having escaped King's Landing with a brother of the Night's Watch, Arya is forced to disguise herself as a boy to avoid being harassed by other recruits while she is to be taken to Winterfell for safety.  While on the road, she befriends King Robert's bastard son Gendry, who easily sees through her ruse.  But a Lannister army attacks their caravan and kills the Night's Watch brother that was protecting her and captures the two, leading them to the "haunted" castle of Harrenhal.  Tywin Lannister, who is currently in charge of Harrenhal, also sees through Arya's ruse and names her as his cupbearer (though he doesn't know who she actually was).  While a prisoner and servant of the Lannisters, Arya encounters a mysterious warrior called Jaqen H'ghar, who demonstrates the power of people called "The Faceless Men" by helping her by assassinating Lannister thugs who were torturing her friends, though Arya fails to have him kill Tywin when she had the chance as Tywin leaves for war not very long afterwards.  She uses Jaqen to help her, Gendry and another boy named Hot Pie to escape Harrenhal and is given a coin as well as a phrase in Valyrian: Valar Morghulis

    Far beyond The Wall on their Great Ranging, Jon Snow, Samwell Tarly and their fellow brothers of The Night's Watch are investigating the disappearance of countless rangers and the rumors of an amassing army of wildlings that would invade Westeros from the North.  Jon ultimately separates from his fellow brothers and takes part in a ranging with a famous ranger named Qhorin Halfhand and the two manage to subdue and capture a Wildling woman named Ygritte, whom Jon is smitten with.  Unable to kill her, Jon releases her and tells her to run, which backfires when Ygritte returns with several more Wildlings and capture the two.  In order to understand the Wildlings plans, Qhorin convinces Jon to pretend to betray the Night's Watch and serve as a spy among their ranks.  In a staged duel, Jon kills Qhorin and is taken under the protection of Ygritte and brought to the camp of Wildlings, which numbers well over any numbers the Night's Watch could hope to have.  

    Meanwhile, Samwell and the other Night's Watch brothers uncover a burial that contains numerous weapons made of Obsidian (Dragon Glass they call it), that was hidden for some unknown purpose.  But the group is soon scattered when they are beset by the White Walkers and an army of undead under their command, which presses on southward to wreak havoc on the rest of Westeros.  

    With his armies in tact and a fleet at his back, Stannis Baratheon lays siege to King's Landing, outnumbering the army in the city 5:1.  But thanks to some quick thinking by Tyrion Lannister, half of Stannis's attacking forces are obliterated by exploding cannisters of "Wildfyre" set loose in the bay.  In a gruesome and ugly battle, King Joffrey's reign is secured by a surprise attack courtesy of House Tyrell, who has recently allied with the Lannisters and decimated what remained of Stannis's army.  Stannis retreats back to his fortress of Dragonstone.  In honor of their newfound alliance, Joffrey sets aside his betrothal to Sansa and agrees to marry Margaery.  Tyrion, despite his clever strategies being what delayed the invaders in time for his father and the Tyrells to arrive, receives no credit for his role in the battle and is stripped of all power upon his father's return to the capital.  

    Theon continues to lose support among his own men and the captives he keeps at Winterfell and is nearly driven to madness when Roose Bolton's bastard son arrives at the gates of the castle with a small army and constantly blows a warhorn to harass him.  As Theon prepares to ride out in a suicide mission to fight the invaders, his men betray him and take him to the Boltons as a token of surrender.  But the Boltons, having learned of Stannis's defeat, kill the Ironborn and burn Winterfell, framing the Greyjoys in the process.  Though the castle is in ruins, Bran and Rickon did in fact survive and decide to ride for the Night's Watch to be under Jon's protection.  After learning of Winterfell's fall, Robb finds comfort in Talisa and the two ultimately marry in secret, ultimately losing Robb the support of House Frey and effectively leaving him and his army pinned between enemies on all sides.  

Continued in Part 3...

Winter Was Coming...And Then It Didn't...I Take a Look Back at Game of Thrones (Part 1)

 



    Better late than never I suppose...

    Hey, it's been a while since I frequented this page, hasn't it?  I mean, basically ALL of Phase III of the MCU has happened, Kingdom Hearts III has finally happened, the Star Wars sequel trilogy is wrapped up and the world is quite literally on fire.  In between all of this, the most ambitious High Fantasy Television show ended it's run of dominance of HBO and basically all sorts of community forums and gatherings.  Whether you have seen Game of Thrones, or you have not, you cannot deny the impact it has had on popular culture.  How many kids were named for a character from this show, alone?  (I would personally love having a daughter named Arya).  And how many people know so many terms from this show without even seeing it?  (Khaleesi, King in the North, Dracarys, "Winter is Coming", The Red Wedding, King Joffrey, Dragons, Ice Zombies).  

    Of course, this show has become more famous for something else than it's popular terms and catchphrases: it's fall from grace.  Whether it was because of general fatigue, lack of source material to work from (as the infamous George RR Martin has not added to the primary book series this show was based off of since 2011), or that the heads were simply keen on doing something else with their lives, the only thing we know is that NO ONE was happy with how this once highly acclaimed and beloved series came to an end.  It left an empty feeling from the millions who watched it from all over the world and unceremoniously stumbled from it's pedestal instead of gracefully landing.  I suppose I should expect this at this point, though.  The only thing that ended in a truly superior ending in recent memory is the MCU, and that is still going (I was going to say Avatar: The Last Airbender, but Deetzy told me that it ended 12 years ago and I almost died).  

    But does the horrific ending to Game of Thrones ruin the preceding seasons?  Does knowing how it all ends poison what made the show's 7...uh...6...how bout 5?  Yeah, 5!  Does knowing how it all ends poison what made 5 of the show's 8 seasons so good?  Does it take away the memorable performances of superior actors like Sean Bean, Mark Addy, Charles Dance, Michelle Fairley and many others?  Well, don't you guys worry.  I'll be recapping each and every Season of Game of Thrones in an entry on this blog (I know I still have more to work on for my Animation History essays, but I REALLY don't want to sit through things like "Despicable Me", "The Lorax", "The Secret Life of Pets" or Beavis and Butthead (or whatever that platypus show on Disney was).  And in this one, we will be discussing each major plotline as it unfolds, while also talking about what made the particular season so interesting, both in terms of writing, acting and cinematography.  So let's start with the very first Season.  I hear that's a really good place to start...

Winter is Coming...(SPOILERS BECAUSE DUH!)




    Our story takes place within the confines of two fictional continents: Westeros and Essos.  Westeros is divided into Seven separate and geographically diverse kingdoms that were only united into one vast kingdom 300 years ago.  In Westeros, the ruling family is that of King Robert Baratheon, who has been the King since defeating the previous dynasty of the Targaryens.  But the once mighty King is on tenuous ground as politics and treason flows around him.  His realm had previously been held together by his Hand of the King (Grand Vizier), Lord Jon Arryn, but the Hand mysteriously died of an unknown illness and left the realm in the hands of a beleaguered Robert and his less than loyal in-laws of the power hungry House Lannister and disloyal brothers Renly and Stannis.  Seeking his last true friend left in the world, Robert takes his entire family to the far Kingdom of the North that is watched over by his close friend Lord Eddard (Ned) Stark.  Ned and his wife Catelyn have five children (Robb, Sansa, Arya, Bran and Rickon), their ward/captive Theon Greyjoy and Ned's alleged bastard son called Jon Snow.  Robert tries to convince Ned to take the role as Hand and help him rule the Seven Kingdoms between them (as they would have if Ned's sister lived, who was once Robert's betrothed), but Ned is reluctant to do so, until receiving a letter from Lord Arryn's widow claiming that her husband was murdered by the Queen and her family in court.  Ned takes the position and is rewarded by Robert as the King betroths his son and heir, Prince Joffrey to Ned's daughter Sansa, who is enamored with her prince.  While his father and the King were on a hunt, Bran Stark climbs up the walls of his favorite abandoned tower in their ancestral home of Winterfell, when he comes across Queen Cersei making love to her brother, Ser Jaime Lannister of the Kingsguard.  To buy the boy's silence, Jaime pushes the boy out the window to his supposed demise, but the boy survives and is in a coma.  

    So the Starks separate, with Ned taking his daughters with him to the capital of the Seven Kingdoms, King's Landing, Jon Snow heading to the Northern Border to serve in the famous Night's Watch, and Catelyn remaining behind in Winterfell with her sons and ward Theon Greyjoy.  Some time after the group departed for King's Landing and the Wall, a catspaw assassin attempts to take the life of Bran, but is thwarted by the boy's pet wolf, named Summer.  Catelyn decides to warn her husband and departs south in secret to meet with him.  

    Meanwhile, in Essos, the former King's last two children, Viserys and Daenerys Targaryen, are living in exile and longing to reclaim their stolen kingdom.  Viserys sells his sister to a warlord named Khal Drogo to marry her and gain his infamous Dothraki armies to help them reclaim his throne.  Daenerys meets the exiled knight Ser Jorah Mormont and the mysterious Illyrio Mopatis, who gifts the new bride with three fossilized dragon eggs.  Dany at first struggles to adapt to being the wife of a foreign lord who doesn't understand her, but she soon discovers how to woo him and a love blossoms between them.  Jealous of his sister's popularity and Drogo's disinterest in leaving for Westeros, Viserys threatens Dany (who has since become pregnant with her and Drogo's child), which prompts Drogo to melt gold on his head and kill Viserys.  

    Ned struggles to adapt to being a diplomat while also investigating how and why Jon Arryn was murdered.  After he makes contact with Catelyn, Ned is determined to figure out why the Lannisters were acting the way they were.  While he comes across a few bizarre clues, including one of King Robert's bastard children (a young man named Gendry), he cannot put the clues he's gotten together.  His daughters are also finding it difficult to adapt to life in the capital, with Sansa doing her hardest to woo Prince Joffrey and Arya learning how to wield a sword with the help of a master swordsman from Essos.  While practicing a lesson she was taught, Arya overhears men plotting to kill her father and hurries to warn him.  Ned doubts the legitimacy of this, but is quickly diverted when he learns that Catelyn has taken the Queen's youngest brother, Tyrion Lannister (The Imp), as her prisoner.  In response to this, Jaime Lannister attacks Ned in the streets of King's Landing, with the skirmish ending in Ned being injured in his leg and his men being slaughtered.  Jaime flees to his father's domain and threatens Ned with more violence.  While recovering, Ned is ordered by Robert to cease his conflict with the Lannisters before war breaks out.  The King then leaves on a hunting trip, while Ned finally uncovers the truth that Robert and Cersei's children (Joffrey, Tommen and Myrcella) are not Robert's children at all, but bastards of her brother Jaime.  Ned confronts the Queen about this and warns her that he would have to tell Robert, but the Queen acts fast and has the King's squire give Robert too much wine, which causes him to get gored by a wild boar.  As Robert lays dying, he asks Ned to protect his children and serve as Protector of the Realm until Joffrey was old enough.  Ned alters his will to say "My Rightful Heir" and prepares to send word to Robert's brother Stannis that he is the next in line to be King, spurning Robert's youngest brother Renly and the Master of Coin, Petyr Baelish (AKA Littlefinger) in the process.  Ned does his best to prevent the Lannisters from taking over, but is betrayed by Littlefinger and the City Watch and is arrested for treason against the new king, Joffrey.  Arya manages to escape the castle, but Sansa is put into protective custody by the Queen.  

    At the Wall, Jon Snow struggles to come to terms with his new life as a celibate guardian of the kingdom's northern border, while also learning to accept that The Night's Watch was not as noble as he had thought it to be, as it was now filled with the dregs of southern society and castaways from all over Westeros, including a plump, cowardly bookworm named Samwell Tarly.  He and his wolf pet, Ghost, do discover that a mysterious group of beings known as White Walkers (pretty much Ice Zombies) are back and preparing to march south on the rest of the world.  After saving the life of Lord Commander Jeor Mormont, he is ingratiated into his service and is part of a Great Ranging beyond the Wall to find the White Walkers and find a way to defeat them.  

    After a failed assassination attempt on her life, Daenerys finally manages to convince her husband to prepare for an invasion of Westeros to give the Seven Kingdoms to their son.  Despite her eagerness to return home and become Queen of the Seven Kingdoms, she is unable to accept the pillaging her husband's people do for her and does her best to protect them from pillaging.  This does not go over well with her husband's warriors, who challenge Drogo for control.  Drogo easily bests his challenger, but he is soon taken ill due to his wound becoming infected.  Dany trusts a witch she saved to heal Drogo, but she is betrayed as the witch uses a blood spell to not only numb Drogo, but to essentially kill Daenerys's unborn child.  Dany loses the control of her husband's people and is left behind with only a few slaves and stragglers, as well as Ser Jorah.  

    Sansa pleads for mercy for her father to Joffrey, who consents to be merciful if he takes back what he said about his "birthright" and bows before him.  Sansa agrees, unaware that her brother Robb is marching south with an army of Northern Soldiers to free his father and save his sisters.  After losing the youngest Lannister to a "Trial by Combat", Catelyn joins her son and aids in bringing on the powerful but often spurned House Frey by promising to marry Lord Frey's daughter to her son.  Robb then rides for battle against the Lannisters and surprises them by winning two great victories, even capturing Ser Jaime Lannister.  But there isn't much time to celebrate, as Joffrey betrays Sansa's trust (and the plans of every Lannister present) by demanding Ned's head.  After Lord Stark is executed, Sansa is kept in the castle as a prisoner and Arya escapes into the countryside alongside a Night's Watch recruiter and Gendry.  Robb is named King of the North by his people, who no longer wish to serve the Lannisters or Baratheons.  With their plans thrown awry and most of the nation in open rebellion, Lord Tywin Lannister (Cersei, Jaime and Tyrion's father) sends Tyrion to King's Landing to rein in Cersei and Joffrey, blaming them for their terrible situation.  

    Daenerys builds a pyre for Drogo and her dead son, with her followers tying the witch to it as well.  As she set it ablaze, Daenerys stuns everyone by walking into the fire with her fossilized eggs.  When the fire goes out, Dany emerges from the fire unharmed with three newborn dragons circling her.  



Continued in Part 2