The season finale left characters to soak in the aftermath of the Red Wedding, plot for the future, and spend some, er, …
Game of Thrones

Game of Thrones Watch: So Close. So Far.
“The Rains of Castamere” delivered a crucial moment from the source books in an episode that was brutal, heartbreaking, impeccably well-constructed, horrifying, and appropriately cruel.

Game of Thrones Watch: Sons and Daughters
A sad wedding and an icy showdown, in an episode very much about heredity and power, bad parents and traded-away children.

Game of Thrones Watch: Dragons and Eagles and Bears, Oh, My!
There was a menagerie of zoological references in an episode that showed how people could be animals—sometimes, literally.

Game of Thrones Watch: The Game Is the Game (of Thrones)
Like HBO’s The Wire, “The Climb” showed how individuals get sacrificed by organizations: not bureaucracies and drug gangs, but royal houses and religions.

Game of Thrones Watch: The Walking Dead
Winning the Iron Throne is the Targaryens’ and Lannisters’ and Baratheons’ and Starks’ problem. But Westeros’ problem is that it’s had a lot of really crappy kings.

Game of Thrones Watch: Fire and Reign
Why is fire so important in Game of Thrones? Because it’s like magic: a means through which something material becomes intangible. Also, it’s freaking awesome.

Game of Thrones Watch: That’s What the Money’s For!
It’s not just about swords or dragons. Last night’s Game of Thrones showed that in Westeros as in our world, money has great power—and has its limits.

Game of Thrones Watch: Speak Softly and Carry a Big Crossbow
An episode focusing on the dispossessed and losers of war suggests that in Westeros, war does not take place only on the battlefield.

Game of Thrones Watch: Freedom’s Just Another Word
The premiere highlighted what I hope will be a big theme of season three: freedom, as an absolute, as a relative term, as an ideal and as a liability. Also, giants!

Game of Thrones Watch: Fire, Meet Ice
SPOILER ALERT: Before you read this post, look deep, deep, deep into the flames and watch last night’s Season 2 finale of Game of Thrones.
Some say the world will end in fire/ Some say in ice./ From what I’ve tasted of desire/ …

Game of Thrones Watch: Smoke on the Water, Fire in the Sky
SPOILER ALERT: Before you read this post, gather your closest friends for some wine and nightshade, raise the drawbridge and watch last night’s Game of Thrones.
“Some of those boys will never come back.” “Joffrey will. The …

Game of Thrones Watch: Suffer the Children
SPOILER ALERT: Before you read this post, finish up reciting your Valyrian poetry and watch last night’s Game of Thrones.
“Being a lord is like being a father, except you have thousands of children, and you worry about all of …