Archive for the ‘Opinion’ Category

Trick or Treat; Tricks and Threats (in Game of Thrones)

Posted: October 7, 2014 by patricksponaugle in Game of Thrones, Opinion, TV
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This post will be talking about details found in the first three seasons of HBO’s Game of Thrones. If you’re not caught up on the show (at least to that point) you might trip and fall over some Spoilers in this post. You’ve been warned, my friends.

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Happy Halloween! Or as the Dothraki Might Say: Happy Khalloween!

October is here, a solidly Autumn month. I know my daughter is looking forward for the month to fly by as fast as possible, to land on October 31st and the holiday of Halloween. Although this generation knows Halloween as mostly a costume-laden, candy-filled explosion, years and years ago the night of Halloween put just as much emphasis on the Trick part of the equation, as well as the Treat. Like I said, Autumn’s here, so Winter is Coming. A perfect time for a Game of Thrones post, and in honor of hooligans who are planning practical jokes for the upcoming Halloween, I thought I’d spotlight some of the greatest pranksters in the Seven Kingdoms. Westeros: where it’s all fun and games once someone loses a body part. Usually. (more…)

Gotham – Not the Same Bat-Time, Not the Same Bat-Channel

Posted: September 27, 2014 by patricksponaugle in Opinion, TV
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Early this week, FOX television aired Gotham, a show exploring the formative years of Bruce Wayne (aka The Batman) by focusing largely on young Detective Jim Gordon, who comes face to face with the city’s established and highly organized criminal elements, the larval-stage villains who will one day battle the iconic Caped Crusader, and the corruption and cross-purposes of his colleagues in the Gotham PD.

Although I think the premiere was generally accepted as either likable or having potential, it has drawn a measure of criticism, and I don’t see why I’m any less qualified to express my opinions.

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Sam the Slayer, Sam the Player

Posted: September 23, 2014 by patricksponaugle in Game of Thrones, Opinion, TV
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This post will include spoilery information from the first four seasons of Game of Thrones. So there.

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Being Spoiled About When That Thing Happened to That Person at That Place During That Event was the Worst!

Recently, George RR Martin, the author of the source material for HBO’s Game of Thrones, admitted who his favorite character was. It’s Tyrion Lannister.

Although this isn’t a surprising admission, if I had been asked previously who GRRM’s favorite character might be, my guess would have been for Samwell Tarly.

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Medieval History 101: Robb and Joffrey

Posted: September 10, 2014 by patricksponaugle in Game of Thrones, Opinion, TV
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This article will contain spoilers for the first four seasons of HBO’s Game of Thrones. Spoilers! Just go watch the show or read the books if you haven’t.

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Game of Thrones generates a tremendous amount of attention from fans who recap the episodes, analyze its faithfulness as an adaptation, follow casting and production information, and basically keep the show relevant during the off-season.

It’s also easy to find articles of a more academic bent, where experts talk about Westeros’ unusual weather patterns, or how it’s possible to have wine when grapes need specific seasonal changes, or how representative the society on the show is in regards to Europe’s medieval period.

I thought it might be interesting to have a series of posts focusing on elements of the show from the perspective of a student of medieval history.

To be clear: I’m not talking about the perspective of an academic with a degree in Medieval History. I’m talking about a college student hoping to pass a hypothetical medieval history course, which for some reason was studying A Song of Ice and Fire. Possibly because the Medieval History department needed to bump up student enrollment numbers or something. Just go with it.

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Regarding Renly Baratheon

Posted: August 27, 2014 by patricksponaugle in Game of Thrones, Opinion, TV
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This post will be referencing plot points throughout the four seasons of HBO’s Game of Thrones. If you’re not caught up, shame on you! It’s the most pirated show in the universe!

But I shouldn’t be slack-shaming. Should you need to get caught up, please do so and come back.

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Being King is Awesome!

My work colleagues are great; the office is a Game of Thrones-friendly environment. Many of us have read the books and nearly everyone’s watching the show.

When I started blogging about Game of Thrones last year, I didn’t necessarily expect my teammates to follow my blog but they have been, since it gives them more Game of Thrones things to talk about (and the opportunity to make fun of my grammar and bizarre typos and run-on sentences and Fnord.)

Most of my early posts were “In Defense of … ” articles, where I’d try to rationalize or defend one of the major character’s bad decisions. After a few of those articles were on the blog, one of my colleagues asked me when I’d go on the offensive and not defend someone, but take them to task.

That time is now.

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Scoring My True Blood Predictions

Posted: August 25, 2014 by patricksponaugle in Opinion, TV
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After seven seasons, HBO’s southern supernatural series ceased. (I’ll ease up on the alliteration, I promise.)

(Spoilers for Season Seven follow…)

True Blood Season 7 Episode 2

Prudently Investigating by Daylight.

My friends over at Geek Girl Soup had asked some of their associates (including me!) for thoughts and predictions about the final season of True Blood. I cobbled together twenty one predictions and posted them before the season. Boldly. Now it’s time to see how I did.

Spoiler alert: I cheat and use creative math. Each question could score 5 points.

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The North. Remember?

Posted: August 13, 2014 by patricksponaugle in Game of Thrones, Opinion, TV
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This post will deal with plot points through the first four seasons of HBO’s Game of Thrones, the excellent adaptation of George RR Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire. If you’re not caught up on the source material, reading this article will spoil you. You’ve been warned, yo.

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Game of Thrones on HBO recently wrapped up its fourth season, and I don’t think I’m alone in my desire for Season Five to start Right Now.

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Guardians of the Galaxy – A Gamer’s Perspective

Posted: August 11, 2014 by patricksponaugle in Gaming, Movie Review, Opinion
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This post will be revealing plot elements from the latest Marvel Studio’s theatrical release, Guardians of the Galaxy.

If you are here for a review, the movie is great, go see it. My daughter didn’t want to, she grudgingly went, and then demanded to see it again.

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Roll for Initiative!

I’ve been known to read a comic book or two, in my time, but I’ll admit to not being up to speed on the sequential fiction magazines that the movie Guardians of the Galaxy was based on. But the trailer made me want to see the movie, even if I didn’t know who the characters were.*

But even though this story was very new to me, I had a strong sense of familiarity while watching, in part due to the recognizable and nostalgia-inducing soundtrack, but mostly because this story was pretty much what I had wanted out of every Dungeons & Dragons campaign I’d ever played in.

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Who Hasn’t Eaten Crow, Now and Thenn?

Posted: July 30, 2014 by patricksponaugle in Game of Thrones, Opinion, TV
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This article will discuss the uncivilized but freedom-loving folk who live north of the Wall on HBO’s Game of Thrones. It’s probably best if you’ve seen the show, because I’ll be talking plot points from the first four seasons.

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If You Spoil Any Plot Points for Us, We will Eat Your Momma. And We will Eat Your Poppa.

Season Four of HBO’s Game of Thrones featured many great and notable things: a certain fancy-pants wedding, a total badass from Dorne, painful and surprising deaths, unexpectedly controversial scenes, and a whole mess of Wildlings.

The Wildling storyline was a major element at the tail end of the season, which was positive for a variety of reasons. Mance Rayder’s massive migration had been a hanging open-ended question, and there have been some problematic things about the Wildlings that needed to be addressed.

Before I continue, I assume that anyone reading this spoilery-post has seen the show or read the books. If not, What the Hell, man?

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Defending the Wall: the Scythe

Posted: July 2, 2014 by patricksponaugle in Game of Thrones, Opinion, TV
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This post will deal with plot points from the fourth season of HBO’s Game of Thrones. If you are not caught up, I recommend you not read this article. Go watch last season. Oh, and then come back and read this. But watching should be your priority.

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North of the Wall. In Happier Times. No One Had Been Beheaded Yet.

The most recent season of Game of Thrones dealt with an event that had been foreshadowed since Season Two: an all-out attack by Mance Rayder’s Wildling forces against the Night’s Watch brothers at Castle Black. An assault on The Wall.

Neil Marshall, the director of the epic battle episode Blackwater from Season Two, helmed this cinematic presentation of the two pronged attack, where the Free Folk finally get around to taking on the Crow stronghold. I’d read the books (I promise to dial down the smug) and I found that the battle played out *largely* as I expected.

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