Archive for the ‘Opinion’ Category

This post (and the four to come after, sorry) will be discussing not only HBO’s Game of Thrones, but the book series that it’s based on. If you’re not up on the show, or are holding off reading A Song of Ice and Fire (until all the books are completed in the 22nd century) then maybe this series of essays isn’t for you.

I mean, I can’t promise that this series of essays is really for you even if you are up-to-date. I’ll probably say some dumb stuff.

Jon says dumb stuff too, according to Everyone.

The Puppies That Were Promised

In the pilot episode of Game of Thrones, immediately following an exercise in Northern justice, direwolf pups are found – one for each of the children of Ned and Catelyn Stark (and one for Jon Snow.)

“Lord Stark,” Jon said. It was strange to hear him call Father that, so formal. Bran looked at him with desperate hope. “There are five pups,” he told Father. “Three male, two female.”
“What of it, Jon?”
“You have five trueborn children,” Jon said. “Three sons, two daughters. The direwolf is the sigil of your House. Your children were meant to have these pups, my lord.”
A Game of Thrones, Bran I

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Bran Stark: the Fall Guy

Posted: May 16, 2018 by patricksponaugle in Game of Thrones, Opinion, TV
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We’re finally out of the month of April, so it’s less-than-one-year until the premiere of Season Eight Game of Thrones. It feels like it’s been forever.

The final season will no doubt feature exciting battles and conflict resolutions, but I expect that most of the characters (depending on how fast they get killed off) will be able to hit some narrative beats to bring their over-arching storylines to a satisfying (if possibly bittersweet) conclusion.

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Westworld: Only Death is True. Or is it?

Posted: May 15, 2018 by patricksponaugle in Opinion, TV, Westworld
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(This post will be talking about HBO’s television show Westworld. Consider this your spoiler warning.)

In the most recent episode of Westworld, William aka the Man in Black (played by Ed Harris) had a brief conversation with the confederado Major Craddock, who had been touting his favorable relationship with death, since he’d been killed by Dolores Abernathy’s gunslinging companion, and had been resurrected.

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Season Eight of Game of Thrones is just over a year away. And once those episodes are complete, that is it.

I am expecting a fair number of character deaths, so will be earned, some will probably be unfair, but I am hoping that not everyone who deserves death gets it.

I’m rooting for Cersei Lannister to survive.

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The Winter War to Come

Posted: February 13, 2018 by patricksponaugle in Game of Thrones, Opinion, TV
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Over on the Watchers on the Wall website is my latest feature article on Game of Thrones. It’s a long (like, really long) speculative piece on what might happen now that the ancient undead enemy is south of the Wall and has the opportunity to threaten the living.

Now that the article is published, I can finally read up on all of the set reports and other hints on what might happen during the season. I’ve been avoiding all of those things so I could write up my speculation in a spoiler-free way. You’ll have to trust me on this.

Littlefinger: Don’t trust him.
Me: Quiet you. Anyway, aren’t you dead?
Littlefinger: Am I? Hmmmmm.

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Happy New Year! To celebrate the end of 2017 (a year so bad, Arya Stark had it on her list) I published another Game of Thrones feature on Watchers on the Wall.

I won’t spoil the content of that article, but I talk about how the two venerable institutions on Braavos, the Iron Bank and the House of Black and White, might have some part to play in Season Eight, specifically in regards to a lioness of House Lannister and a wolf-girl of House Stark.

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Tormund on Trial

Posted: December 13, 2017 by patricksponaugle in Game of Thrones, Opinion, TV
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On the Watchers on the Wall website, I have a new feature article talking about the impressively bearded Tormund Giantsbane.

I might say some controversial things. Like questioning why we fans like him so much.

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As I sometimes do, I have a new Game of Thrones post on the Watchers on the Wall site. Happy Westeros Wednesday!

I’d realized that among all of the lords, ladies, wildlings, wizards, and wights that I’d written about, I’d never gotten around to writing anything about that stalwart squire Podrick Payne.

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Batman Day 2017

Posted: September 23, 2017 by patricksponaugle in Comics, Opinion
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Batman Day is in a few days, September 26th. No really, it is. But it’s being celebrated early in comic shops around the country today. Because … Saturday.

 

In honor of previous September marketing ploys celebrating the Dark Knight, a few years ago I started an annual tradition of writing about the Caped Crusader. (I think it takes doing something at least three times to call something a tradition, so this post is the required third thing. Nailed it.)

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The Inhumans

Posted: September 19, 2017 by patricksponaugle in Comics, Movie Review, Opinion, TV
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In a few weeks, ABC’s show The Inhumans will air. It will feature characters from the Marvel Comics canon, characters first created by the legendary team of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.

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