Game of Thrones Season 2 Episode 2 "The Night Lands" Power Rankings (Spoilers)

Lots going on in the land of Westeros these days.  The game of thrones is heating up with so many contenders for the crown that it's getting hard to keep track.  But it's making for a compelling watch.

I've read up to book 4, so I'm able to keep track of all the characters on the show.  I'd imagine for someone who hasn't read the books it can get a little confusing.  The main contenders for the crown at this moment:

Joffrey

Joffrey Baratheon

Currently sits the Iron Throne.  A Baratheon by name although he is the incestuous child of twins Cersei and Jamie Lannister.  Wields the might of House Lannister.  He's a ruthless, arrogant little shit bastard and basically everyone hates him.  His mother Cersei pretty much calls his shots, although the Robert Baratheon's bastard-baby murdering spree was his idea done without his mother's consent.  

Tyrion

Tyrion Lannister

The dwarf, wise-cracking (he gets the best lines on the show), acting hand of the king.  He's extremely clever and quick-witted, and openly hates his nephew Joffrey and his sister Cersei.  He also shows his balls by calling out Varys' subtle threat against him, and by replacing Cersei's appointment Janos Sylnt, head of the gold cloaks, with his hired-sword Bronn.  He's not actually a true contender for the throne at this moment, but he's such an awesomely badass character he deserved his own little write-up.

Stannis

Stannis Baratheon

Probably has the surest claim to the throne in the light of Joffrey's bastardness.  Has yet to really flex his muscle.  He knows his younger brother Renly has more men, and the men he needs to make a run at King's Landing and the Lannisters.  The major wildcard here is the mysterious red witch, Melisandre, servant to the lord of light.  What kind of power can she provide for Stannis?

Renly

Renly Baratheon

He's Stannis and Robert's little brother.  A popular, charismatic figure among the inhabitants of Westeros.  He has gathered an army of over 100,000 troops, many the bannermen of Stannis.  He has not yet been shown in season 2, only referenced by others.  He is a smart guy, as he realized the implications of Robert's death immediately and tried to warm Ned Stark to act.  Sadly Ned didn't listen and, like always, Sean Bean's character was killed off.  Look for Renly to have a big impact in the coming episodes.

Robb Stark

Robb Stark

Leads the armies of the North.  Brilliant so far on the battlefield, winning each battle he's had with the Lannister forces.  Captured Jamie Lannister, the kingslayer.  Robb has proved himself to be a clever commander, and so far has outwitted the more experienced Tywin Lannister.  Is currently looking to join forces with Renly and Balon Greyjoy to give him the man advantage he needs to crush the Lannisters, unseat Joffrey, and avenge his father's death.  Is he stretching himself too thin?

Wildcards and New Characters

Daenerys

Daenerys Targaryen 

The mother of dragons.  She is in rough shape right now.  Over the sea in the Dothraki lands.  She and her few followers are wandering through the desert, with little hope.  Her only asset right now is her dragons.  How can she use them?

Theon Greyjoy

Theon Greyjoy

Robb Stark's "brother".  Taken from his home and fostered with the Starks as punishment for his father's role in Robert Baratheon's ascension to the throne.  He now returns to the Iron Islands for the first time since his childhood.  Clearly trying to impress his father, Balon Greyjoy, and prove that he is now a man.  Seems like he is willing to turn on Robb to regain a place with his family.  Also led to this super awkward exchange with his (unknown at the time) sister, Yara (Asha in the books):

Sure is a lot of incestuous behavior on this show

(Bonus fun fact:  The actor who portrays Theon is Alfie Allen, brother of British singer Lily Allen and subject of the song "Alfie" on her debut album.)

We also get introduced to a new power player here, Theon's father Balon, who commands a large fleet of ships, and was once a king of his own right of the Iron Islands. RELEASE THE KRAKEN!

Balon Greyjoy

Littlefinger

Petyr 'Littlefinger' Baelish

A man of low birth with a mind to make coin and sky-high aspirations.  He's clever and dangerous.  Valuable to the Lannisters because of his skill with money.  Wields no real power, but remains a shadowy player.  Put in his place by Cersei in episode 1, but shows his ruthless ambition in his brothel in episode 2.  Will make whatever moves necessary to get ahead.

Arya (Arry)

Gendry

Arya Stark & Gendry

Both on their way to the Night's Watch.  Both sought by the Lannisters.  Arya as a bargaining chip with the Starks, and Gendry because he has a claim to the throne as Robert's bastard son.  Will they escape the Lannister's reach?

Jon Snow

Jon Snow

Raised as Ned Stark's bastard son at Winterfell.  Was never told the true story of his birth before Ned's death.  Vague who his real parents are.  Hasn't done much so far this season, but he is being groomed to take over as Lord Commander of the Night's Watch.  Still learning his place in the world.  Looks sufficiently badass and has a Valyrian steel sword and a red-eyed, albino direwolf, Ghost.  Sees Craster handing a baby (boy, presumably) over to a White Walker.

Gilly

Gilly, Craster's Daughter

Daughter/wife of that creepy old pervert, Craster.  She's pregnant and is concerned for the welfare of her unborn child, especially if it's a boy.  She befriends that lovable oaf Sam, and clearly wants Sam and Jon to help her escape Craster's pervy grasp.

Melisandre

Melisandre

Stannis' ace in the hole.  The red priestess of R'hllor.  Remains my favorite new cast member so far ( I really feel like they absolutely nailed this casting).  Mysterious.  We don't know much about her past or her true motivations.  We do know that she is powerful (magic?) and believes in Stannis.  She definitely has a role to play.

I'll stop here.  You can see how grand the scope of this show is.  I didn't even list all of the interesting characters. (I'm looking at you, Jaqen H'ghar)

Jaqen

There are plenty more.  And more yet to be introduced.  It's crazy.  But I don't feel like writing all day.  If you're new to the show, this should at least give you a little idea as to what's in store for the second season. If you haven't watched the first season yet, do.  Otherwise you'll be lost and all the explaining in the world probably won't help.  

Who's your favorite character?

Game of Thrones Season 2 Trailer: Seven Devils

HBO is really ramping up their promotion for the new Game of Thrones season.  The dvd for season 1 was just released on March 6, and HBO is slowly releasing more footage to draw in viewers for the season premiere April 1.

This trailer was just released today, and shows the most in-depth footage of the upcoming season yet.  A lot more emphasis on Robb, as he is to become a major player in the main arc.  The upcoming season looks fantastic.  The production team has really outdone themselves with setting.  And it seems like the mainstream success of the show has enabled the producers to expand their budget to get some of those exotic locales.  And hopefully get some large-scale battles in, since they seemed to avoid those in season 1.

I really can't wait.  

In the meantime, I'll probably re-watch season 1... Or at least the crown of gold scene.

The Walking Dead: "Judge, Jury, and Executioner" (Major Spoilers); The Many Faces of Shane

First, I just have to get this out of my system

"He is not Judge Judy and Executioner"

Now...

Spoilers


I'm sad, just a few short weeks ago I made this post about one of my favorite characters on the show, Dale, and his ridiculous facial expressions.  And now, after winning his battle to get the group to spare the life of their prisoner, he gets killed by a zombie.

Not bitten mind you... he managed to fight off the walker's bite, only to have his gut ripped open by the creature's hands.  At least it was Daryl this time who finished someone off.  Seems like Rick ends up having to do the dirty work most of the time.

Special shout out to Carl.  His screwing around with the stuck-in-the-mud walker lead directly to Dale's attack.  Let's get this straight...Sofia wanders off, gets lost, becomes a walker, yet Lori and Rick still let Carl wander off in the woods alone.  Maybe the hat protects him...  And let's not forget his comment to Carol, Sofia's mom.  Way to emotionally torture the severely depressed lady Carl.  It's crazy how much I liked Carl in the comics compared to how much I dislike him on the show.

At least it seems like Dale's death will make the group tighter, which is ultimately what Dale wanted.



But I can't help feeling a little responsible for Dale's untimely death.  I made a post about him and his expressions, and lo and behold, he dies 2 episodes later.  Who's next?  I think it'll be Shane.

With that in mind, I now bring you The Many Faces of Shane:

"I just killed Otis and got a sweet new haircut" Shane

"Pondering Geopolitical Instability in the Middle East" Shane

"Extreme Closeup" Shane

"Angry Flowing Locks" Shane

"I'm Soooo high right now" Shane

And...................



Mega Ultra (Future) Spoiler Image Alert!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Game of Thrones: Season 2 Casting

Season 2 of Game of Thrones, based on the Song of Ice and Fire book series by George RR Martin, premieres on April 1 on HBO.  One of the hallmarks of the books has been the introduction of new characters.  Following that trend, season 2 of the show will introduce some major characters central to the plot.

The production staff did a very nice job with the casting for the first season.  It seems like they've done it again here with the new cast members.

Here are Stannis Baratheon and Melisandre

Stannis is played by Stephen Dillane, who played Thomas Jefferson on the HBO miniseries 'John Adams'.  Melisandre is played by Carice van Houten.  She is somewhat less well-known.  However, she was in the underrated movie 'Black Death' with none other than Ned Stark himself, Sean Bean.  I believe that movie is still available on Netflix instant for those interested.  I think both of these choices work well.  Van Houten was good as a pseudo-witch in 'Black Death', so she should have no problem with Melisandre.  Dillane is a superb actor and was great in 'John Adams'.  Part of me wishes the actor for Stannis would have been a little more imposing, but I'm sure Dillane won't disappoint. 

Davos Seaworth is being played by Liam Cunningham

Davos Seawoth

Cunningham is an Irish actor, maybe best known for his role in the remake of 'Clash of the Titans'.  He's no stranger to the genre however, as he has had roles in the movie 'Centurion' and the tv series 'Camelot'.  He doesn't quite fit the picture I had in my mind's eye, but I've liked him in past roles.

The big contentious role as far as casting goes, has been the choice for Brienne of Tarth.  The production crew needed a tall, muscularly-built woman with a face that could be made up to be ugly on tv.

Brienne of Tarth

The result was actress/model Gwendoline Christie.  The actress stands 6 foot 3 inches tall.  She had a supporting role in the film 'The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus', but isn't as experienced as her fellow new cast members.  I think her physical profile matches up very well for the role. (Jamie Lannister actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau stands 6'2)

All in all I love the choices and can't wait for the new season.

As a bonus, and because I've been to and love the city of Dubrovnik, here's a video about season 2's production in Croatia.  The showrunners have decided to use Old Town Dubrovnik as the setting for King's Landing.  I love the choice.  You'll see why in the video.

The Walking Dead: The Many Faces of Dale

Busy weekend, lots of family stuff.  Haven't gotten around to watching the new episode of 'The Walking Dead' yet.  In lieu of an episode review/recap, I present: The Many faces of Dale...

"Somebody just farted" Dale

"Shane's a murderer" Dale

"You crazy" Dale

"Sex advice to Glenn" Dale

"I'm having a stroke" Dale

"Dale" Dale

"Shit just got real" Dale

"We found Sofia" Dale

And my personal favorite...

"Lori's pregnant" Dale

This guy's facial expressions consistently crack me up

SPOILER EDIT:

r.i.p. Dale... Your insane reaction faces will be missed

Walking Dead Alternate Season 2 Plot Leaked

So with the title of my blog, I'd feel remiss if I didn't have the occasional post about zombies.  With that, one of the major zombie pop culture touchstones lately has been AMC's The Walking Dead.  Based on the long-running comic series, the tv show just ended the first half of it's second season, which is set to return February 12th.

I have to say, the very first episode of this show was fantastic.  Absolutely fantastic.  Unfortunately, it seemed like the rest of season 1 after that was a bit of a let down.  Not necessarily because it was bad, just because the premiere was that good.  Season 2 on the other hand, so far, has been bad.

I believe part of the reason for this was ongoing budget disputes between the showrunners and AMC, which led to Frank Darabont leaving the show.  The money issue seems to have been keyed on Mad Men getting new contracts, and the AMC execs subsequently tightening their belts through the rest of the network.  Darabont, if you don't know, is primarily a film director best known for helming the best Stephen King adaptations (Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile, The Mist).  He really brought a cinematic eye to the small screen, evident in the 2-part premiere.  When he left, many of the other core writers from season 1 were let go.  The results in season 2 so far have been fewer locations, fewer zombies, and an agonizingly long arc involving searching for a missing girl, Sophia.  There was a payoff at the midseason finale, but somewhat dampened by the fact that every viewer just wanted the group to find the girl dead by about the 3rd episode in.

Now I say that the second season has only been bad so far.  Maybe the producers have backloaded the budget to the second half of the season, so we can get a different exciting location.  (I'm really tired of the farm and the woods).  For the show's sake I hope this is the case, otherwise I might bail on the show entirely.

But I recently saw this article which described Darabont's plans for the season 2 opener ( a little long but worth the read):
http://www.aintitcool.com/node/52526

Here's a video interview from the article with Sam Witwer (most recently, SciFi's[refuse to call it SyFy] Being Human):

Now this really is a shame because that idea sounds awesome.  So if want to find out how to ruin a great show and slowly kill its viewership, take notes from AMC.

But keep watching for now... I guess... maybe... It can't get any worse right?