Posts Tagged ‘Tywin Lannister’

Second Looks – Ned Stark

Posted: February 21, 2017 by patricksponaugle in Game of Thrones, Opinion, TV
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This post will be talking about Lord Eddard “Ned” Stark, from the HBO television show Game of Thrones (and prominent in the source material, George RR Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire.) If you don’t know who Ned Stark is, just know that he’s awesome and a big damn hero. Then go read the books and/or watch the show.

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Big damn hero? I’m just an ordinary man, trying to do right by his family. And his king. And the realm. And the North. And my dead sister. And honor. And my [redacted] Jon Snow. There are probably some other competing interests that I’m forgetting.

Hopefully, anyone not familiar with my man Ned will be gone now, so I can begin to talk plot details.

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The Lighter Side of Tywin Lannister

Posted: November 10, 2015 by patricksponaugle in Game of Thrones, Opinion, TV
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This post will be talking about the patriarch of the Lannister family from HBO’s Game of Thrones. There will be plot discussions that will include the first five seasons of the show, so if you are not up to date, I’ll be spoiling things for you. SPOILING THINGS!

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I once spoiled the ambitions of the Reynes. They were from Castamere, you know.

I usually confine my Game of Thrones pontificating to what’s been seen on the show, but occasionally I stray into details from the source material, A Song of Ice and Fire. This is one of those occasions.

I won’t be spoiling future book details (in general, there is less danger of that until The Winds of Winter gets published) but I’ll be bringing up some book elements omitted from the show to give a slightly different perspective to the Old Lion, the uncrowned might-as-well-be-king Tywin Lannister.

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Show of Hands; Hands Up, Hands Down

Posted: April 7, 2015 by patricksponaugle in Game of Thrones, Opinion, TV
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This post will be dealing with plot points in Game of Thrones, you know, that awesome TV show on HBO. (Which is starting up again this weekend. FINALLY!)

Anyway, if you’re not caught up with the show, then

  • You smell.
  • This is your only spoiler warning.

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Four years ago (in “our” time, not TV time), Lord Eddard “while Cat’s away, Ned will play” Stark got some bad news. Jon Arryn, the Hand of the King, had died.

It wasn’t revealed at the time, but the Hand of the King had been killed by a family member, who then quickly fled the capital.

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In Defense of Tyrion Lannister

Posted: February 17, 2015 by patricksponaugle in Game of Thrones, Opinion, TV
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This post will be talking some spoilery details about the first four seasons of HBO’s Game of Thrones. Especially the final episode of Season Four, so if you’re not up on all the episodes, don’t read this post. Go watch the show. Season Five is starting in a few months, and you can get caught up!

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Not Watching Game of Thrones is a Crime!

Tyrion Lannister is a compelling figure on Game of Thrones. The black sheep of the Lannister clan, Tyrion is not popular in Westeros (being called a demon monkey by the King’s Landing citizenry that he more or less saved) but is wildly popular among book readers and show watchers. (Anyone who doesn’t like him can tell me about it in the comments section; we can have a respectful discourse.)

So, why am I having an In Defense of Tyrion Lannister if he’s so popular? It’s not like he pushed a kid out a window, arranged a massacre in defiance of religious and social conventions, or is a thuggish goon.

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Defending Magic in Game of Thrones

Posted: March 25, 2014 by patricksponaugle in Game of Thrones, Opinion, TV
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This post will be touching on magical plot points covering the first three seasons of HBO’s excellent series, Game of Thrones. If you are caught up with the show, there won’t be any spoilers here.

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Although HBO’s Game of Thrones was relatively light on magical elements in its first season, the show is undeniably a fantasy as we approach its fourth season.

Dragons, witchcraft, curses, illusions, face changers, resurrections, and creepy bald headed warlocks have all made their way on screen.

The question is, are all these elements good for the show? Game of Thrones operates masterfully as a quasi-historical epic, without magic. If magic can be used to dramatically change the equation of power between the competing factions, then doesn’t this lower the stakes? How can we become invested in the story if magic can be used, a la deus ex machina, to slay or save one of the characters without warning?

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In Defense of Joffrey Baratheon (Yes, JOFFREY)

Posted: February 25, 2014 by patricksponaugle in Game of Thrones, Opinion, TV
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This post will be touching on the first three seasons of HBO’s excellent series Game of Thrones. If you’re not caught up on the story, be forewarned that I’ll be dropping plot spoilers for the TV show.

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Bring Me a Puppy! A King Has a Schedule to Keep!

There isn’t a lot of good things that can be said about the eldest son of Queen Cersei…

  • Executing Ned Stark? Bad move.
  • Torturing Sansa with severed heads, having her publicly humiliated? Extremely ungentlemanly.
  • Killing Ros? There’s nothing that I can say that would adequately express my horror and disgust.

But, and as odd as it sounds, I’m not here to condemn Joffrey Baratheon (although he is worthy of condemnation.) I’m here to defend the one time he was solidly, entirely right. And as a bonus (or the opposite of bonus) I’ll try to cast some reasonable doubt on some of the atrocities attributed to him.

Even the Mad King 2.0 can be surprisingly correct on occasion.

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Uneasy Lies the Head that Wears a Crown* in Game of Thrones

Posted: February 4, 2014 by patricksponaugle in Game of Thrones, Opinion, TV
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It would also be fair to say uneasy rests the rear that sits on an iron throne, but this blog post is about fashion not furniture. It’s time to talk about crowns.

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This article will be discussing characters and plot points from the first three seasons of HBO’s excellent series Game of Thrones. If you are caught up on the television show (or have read up through roughly 2/3rds of the way A Storm of Swords) then there won’t be any spoilers here.

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Who Are Those Guys Again? How To Tell Friend From Foe in Game of Thrones. (Usually.)

Posted: January 21, 2014 by patricksponaugle in Game of Thrones, TV
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So, the combatants are lined up, heavily armored and helmeted. To the sound of roars and shouts, stamping feet, horns and whistles and all kinds of noise they crash together. And I have no idea who’s who, or what side I want to win.

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Broncos vs. the Seahawks?

But that’s because I don’t follow football all that closely. And my team didn’t make the playoffs.

But on Game of Thrones… I know who’s who.

This post discusses FASHION of all things, in the first three seasons of HBO’s television series Game of Thrones. So I guess there might be plot spoilers below for those seasons if you’re not up on the show. Go away and watch it. All three seasons if necessary. I’ll wait.

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In Defense of Arya Stark (She Needs Defending?)

Posted: January 15, 2014 by patricksponaugle in Game of Thrones, Opinion, TV
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Arya Stark might be the most popular of Catelyn and Ned Stark’s kids. She’s great.

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The Only Stark Who Wears a Helmet

But bizarre as it sounds, occasionally I hear people complaining about Arya. Oh, they don’t complain about Arya the way they do about Sansa. No one seems to find Arya annoying or her story boring. So why am I defending her? What is there to defend?

(This post will be talking Game of Thrones. Mostly in reference to the television show on HBO, up through Season Three. I’m steering clear of any spoilers for the books, please respect that in the comments.)

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