Archive for the ‘TV’ Category

In Defense of the Witcher

Posted: January 1, 2020 by patricksponaugle in Opinion, TV
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This post will be about the Netflix show The Witcher. Full disclosure, I’ve only seen four episodes, and I will totally be dropping spoilers about what I’ve seen roughly halfway through this post. I will give a warning when things are going to get revealing.

I’m calling this post In Defense of the Witcher, but there’s very little that needs defending in my opinion. It’s a good show; but your mileage may vary. And early on in its release, the show might have needed some defending.

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Game of Thrones does not always give you what you want. Anyone who has seen the latest and penultimate episode “The Bells” knows what I’m talking about.

The wonderful people over on the Watchers on the Wall fansite have kindly given me the opportunity to discuss the decisions and actions of one of the main characters, Daenerys Targaryen. And what exactly she might have wanted as part of the Stark/Targaryen coalition fight against the Lannister faction holding King’s Landing, the capital of the Seven Kingdoms.

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Judging Jaime

Posted: May 9, 2019 by patricksponaugle in Game of Thrones, Opinion, TV
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Tonight is the penultimate Game of Thrones episode, of the season and of the series. Right down to the wire, the good folks at Watchers on the Wall graciously allowed me to publish a feature article about last week’s episode, talking about one of the more controversial characters. The Kingslayer.

Ser Jaime, like John Shaft I can dig it) is a complicated man.

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In the Endgame (of Thrones) Now

Posted: May 4, 2019 by patricksponaugle in Game of Thrones, Opinion, TV
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Without giving too much away on this page, the recent episode of Game of Thrones took an unexpected turn in the battle between the living and the dead. For those who haven’t seen the episode, stay away from this page. For those who have seen the episode, the fine folks at Watchers on the Wall graciously published a feature article of mine, discussing the fallout of the battle and the stakes for the upcoming final three episodes.

Big things are going to happen in these last episodes.

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We’re past the second episode of Season Eight Game of Thrones, and therefore we’ve seen 1/3rd of the final episodes. It’s going by so fast.

Soon we’ll only have our memories to sustain us. (And rewatches. And unpublished books. And people debating on blogs and Reddit for years.)

But speaking about memories … on the Watchers on the Wall website, I’ve just published another feature article talking about the recent episode, and specifically the exchange between Bran Stark and Sam Tarly where Bran asserts that he is the memory of the world.

The scene offered a lot to unpack and I only scratched the surface, to be honest. But I discuss what it means for the Night King to be targeting Bran, what an endless night might mean in this nuanced context, etc.

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Season Eight of Game of Thrones has finally started, and now our watch begins. The fine folks at the Watchers on the Wall are agreeably continuing to publish features written by yours truly, and my latest essay is on the site, talking about the events of the first episode of this final season.

The Night King is on his way, and it looks like our favorite Starks, Targaryens, and Lannisters might be too busy squabbling to resist him. And that’s okay.

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In exactly one week, the eighth and final season of Game of Thrones will be airing. I am probably not ready.

Sneaking in with one week left, the good people at the Watchers on the Wall site accepted a feature essay on Varys, the Master of Whisperers.

It was important for me to get any speculative piece written and published before the show aired and made my feature either redundant or invalid.

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Season Eight of Game of Thrones is right around the corner. But it’s not here yet. To occupy my time, I’ve been writing feature essays (if I can dignify what I write as “essays”) for the Watchers on the Wall Game of Thrones news site.

My most recent feature is now up on their website, a (long) post defending an event that is not only one of the most derided situations in Season Seven, but the most critical. The decision to go beyond the Wall and capture one of the Night King’s wight foot soldiers.

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In just two months (more or less) we should have all seen a new episode of Game of Thrones, the start of the eighth and final season. The kind people at the Watchers on the Wall site have graciously allowed me to submit features for them, so I can work through my Game of Thrones related issues. Or something like that.

Just published on the site is a feature on Cersei Lannister, who is almost absolutely guaranteed to be regarded as a witch when the maesters write their histories of the War of the Five Kings and the Second Long Night. Sorry Cersei.

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We are just under three months away from the final season of Game of Thrones!

Mercifully, April 14th is just around the corner. (I’m kidding – it feels like an eternity.) Our favorite (surviving) characters will be returning, as well as new characters among the famed Golden Company sellswords that Cersei hopes will preserve her hold on Westeros.

Good luck with that, your Grace.

Over on the Watchers on the Wall website, my go-to site for Game of Thrones news, I recently published a feature speculatively talking about the Golden Company and the likely story elements that they will bring with them from Essos.

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