The Daily Beast: "Game of Thrones and Mad Men Characters Fight to the Death"

Don Draper vs. Tyrion Lannister? Betty vs. Cersei?

Over at The Daily Beast, you can read my latest feature, "Game of Thrones and Mad Men Characters Fight to the Death," in which I imagine 10 tongue-in-cheek battles between the characters of AMC’s Mad Men and their Game of Thrones counterparts on HBO.

With the return of AMC’s Mad Men and HBO's Game of Thrones, Sunday evenings have become a tug of war, with the two critical darlings exerting an irresistible pull on the faithful.

It’s hard to escape certain similarities between the two shows: both take place in distant times (OK, Game of Thrones, based on George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire novels, is set in another world altogether), both delve into racial and religious issues this season, and both feature heavy drinking, illicit relationships, and completely inappropriate workplace behavior in worlds that celebrate ambition, cruelty, and Machiavellian power grabs.

Which raises an imaginary question: what if the ad men and women of Mad Men were forced to fight to death with their counterparts in the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros? Would Don Draper (Jon Hamm) take down Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage)? Just how are Bert Cooper (Robert Morse) and Varys (Conleth Hill) alike? And who is more of a sociopathic boy-king: Joffrey Lannister (Jack Gleeson) or Pete Campbell (Vincent Kartheiser)? In the game of thrones, you either play or die…or you just black out from drinking too much.

Continue reading at The Daily Beast...

Bleeding Stars and Fiery Hearts: Thoughts on the Second Season Premiere of HBO's Game of Thrones

"For the night is dark and full of terror..."

Where does power reside? Is it contained within the knowledge of a wise man? The sword of a warrior? The magnanimity of a king? The coin purse of a wealthy man? The foresight of a manipulator? When a sharp knife is drawn against your throat, who is the one who actually holds the true power?

These are but a few of many questions pondered in the sensational opening chapter of Season Two of Game of Thrones (“The North Remembers”), written by David Benioff and Dan Weiss and directed by Alan Taylor, which returns with all the roar of a lion, the beating wings of a dragon, the pride of a stag, and the cunning of a wolf. Finishing its first season on such a pitch-perfect note of dread and chaos, Game of Thrones returned with a stellar episode that picked up the multitude of story strands from last season and gave them a meaty tug. (You can read my spoiler-free advance review of Season Two of Game of Thrones over at The Daily Beast.)

Just where does true power live and who wields it? Poor Ned Stark (Sean Bean) believed that he had stumbled onto a truth last season that threatened take down a clan and perhaps an entire kingdom, but his efforts to use that knowledge--to transform information into the currency of influence--only lasted so long as his head remained atop his body. Standing outside of Baelor's Sept, any last vestiges of power he may have wielded in his position as the Hand to the King faded the second Ser Ilyn swung the blade. As did the illusion that Cersei (Lena Headey) had any control over the tempestuous and volatile boy-king Joffrey (Jack Gleeson), who ordered the execution without thinking through the consequences of his actions.

Season Two of Game of Thrones follows the power vacuum that ensues in the wake of Joffrey's folly. The death of King Robert Baratheon (Mark Addy) and the murder of Ned Stark has precipitated an all-out war: Robb Stark (Richard Madden) has declared himself the King of the North, while Robert's feuding brothers, Stannis (Stephen Dillane) and Renly (Gethin Anthony), each claim that they are the true heir to the Iron Throne, the perilously sharp seat of power on which the boy-king now sits. Elsewhere, Daenerys Stormborn (Emilia Clarke) treks through a barren desert, the last of the Targaryen royals devoid of any power but in possession of three dragons. Mance Rayder, a former brother of the Night's Watch and self-crowned King-Beyond-the-Wall readies an army with sights on the south... and a red comet streaks through the sky, a crimson knife slashing through the heavens, that unites each of the characters: soldiers, beggars, and players alike.

(A brief aside: while I've already seen the first four episodes of Season Two of Game of Thrones, these thoughts contain no spoilers and will only reference the events depicted in this particular episode of the series. Likewise, while I've read all of George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire novels, I won't spoil events based on knowledge from the novels as well. So confidently read with the knowledge that you're not going to be spoiled here. Additionally, this is not a recap, so I won't be covering the plot details beat by beat, but rather the themes of the episode and anything of interest that warrants discussion/analysis. Whew.)

While the Seven Kingdoms are beset by wars on multiple fronts, with several factions claiming ownership of the throne, there is--as always--another war brewing, the eternal battle between light and darkness, fire and ice, good and evil. We've already seen that an ancient evil, thought to be slumbering, is once again stirring beyond the Wall; the White Walkers are no mere bogeymen of children's fairy tales and dead men are rising to walk once more after death. While the players in the never-ending game of thrones make their moves, the cold winds are once more stirring, and the true battle is the one that poses the greatest danger to humanity.

Enter Melisandre (Carice van Houten), the "Red Woman," a priestess who follows R'hllor, the Lord of Light. She brings with her fire, light, and blood, as well as political and religious upheaval. She's placed her bets on Stannis, and sets herself up in his court, converting the possible King to her religious doctrine as well as his followers. When we meet her, in fact, she's burning the statues of the Seven--emblems of the seven-sided aspects of the god of the Andals--who have ruled over the hearts and minds of many of the Westerosi for centuries. But her actions go beyond the burning of mere effigies; in her bonfire, she's burning away the past, burning away beliefs, and of loyalties. The statues of the Seven are but sacrificial logs to her "true" god. Yet, while Melisandre's motives are questioned--by both Maester Cressen (Oliver Ford Davies) and by Lord Davos Seaworth (Liam Cunningham)--she is right about some things: a star does bleed (that red comet), the dead are walking in the North, and they should be wary of the cold and ice promised by the winter at hand.

A white raven, sent from the Maesters of Oldtown, signals the end of summer and the eventual arrival of a long winter. It may also signal the end of the rule of Man. Not everyone will make it through a decades-long winter, and as viewers we know that the residents of the Seven Kingdoms have more to fear than just starvation. Whether Stannis truly is mythical hero Azor Ahai reborn, whether he will come to be in possession of the fabled sword, Lightbringer, remains to be seen. But Melisandre believes, and belief is a potent and powerful thing. The ruby at her throat burns with a most terrible fire, not least of which when she proves herself impervious to the poison that Cressen slips into the goblet in an attempt to kill her. (His sacrifice proves worthless; he dies instantly and grotesquely, robbing Stannis of an adviser, but he fails to even injure Melisandre in the slightest. It's this sequence which provides the prologue in Martin's "A Clash of Kings." It's moved later in the episode, and the order of events is altered. If I remember correctly, Cressen has Melisandre drink first before he takes a sip; his surprise at her invulnerability registering more sharply. Likewise, some characters in Stannis' court in the books don't appear here, including two intriguing minor characters that I've long harbored theories about.)

As I mentioned in my advance review, Alan Taylor does a superb job here, and he's fluent in the underlying language of the show. I loved the way in which the red comet acted as a crimson threat lacing together the disparate plots. It's seen overhead from all over the world: Bran (Isaac Hempstead Wright) glimpses it at Winterfell, Daenerys from the Red Waste, Jon Snow (Kit Harington) from Beyond the Wall. It's a brilliant way of connecting the plots and shifting the action between perspectives, cutting between Bran to Danerys, from Danerys to Jon. (There's also a beautiful moment when Bran's hand moves through the water of the pond under the weirwood tree in Winterfell's godswood, creating ripples that disturb the tranquility of the pond, much like Ned's death has done for the Seven Kingdoms. It all comes back to consequences again.)

I also love the different ways that characters view the red comet. It becomes, alternately, an emblem of Robb's victory, Ned's death, Lannister red. But it's the wildling Osha (Natalie Tena, once again captivating in her scenes) who sees it for what it is: an omen of dragons. With the beating of their wings, magic appears to be returning to the Seven Kingdoms once more. Bran's dream, in which he experiences a moment through the eyes of his direwolf, Summer, also augurs interesting developments down the road. He wears Summer's skin as a man wears a shadow, he sees through eyes that are not his own.

It's a moment of magic, of raw, natural power, that connects Bran's subconscious to something large and eternal, much like last season's dream of the three-eyed crow. Even internally, there are battles to be waged. It's also a powerful way to allow the viewer to see directly through Bran's eyes, much as the novel's readers were able to do via the shifting point-of-view of the chapter narrators. By plunging us within Bran's unconscious mind, we're able to experience that narrative fluidity and specificity anew.

That sense of perspective echoes through the episode and the show itself. There's a moment at Craster's Keep, beyond the Wall, which demonstrates a sense of cultural relativity: the Starks and Jon Snow see themselves as Northerners, defining the term "southerners" to mean the summer soldiers of the South, of King's Landing and elsewhere. But, to Craster (Robert Pugh) and the wildlings, these black crows and anyone from south of the Wall are "southerners." Which poses an interesting intellectual question: Which is more important and more powerful: cultural boundaries or physical ones? Is our sense of self-identity as simply mutable as that?

It's an internal struggle that's also manifesting itself within Theon Greyjoy (Alfie Allen), ward to Ned Stark who has spent the majority of his life at Winterfell, a "guest" of the Starks who is nonetheless a hostage and the heir the Iron Islands. While he pledges his fealty to King Robb, is happy to call him "your Grace," and fights by his side, where do his loyalties lie? Is a wolf or a kraken? Is he a child of the North, or an Ironborn? When he pledges Robb to act on his behalf and seek his father, Balon Greyjoy, and ask for a fleet of ships, saying "We can avenge [Ned] together," can he be trusted? Is blood thicker than water, even in the frigid reaches of the North? Are we ever truly free of our families, our pasts, our selves?

Those shackles, whether metaphorical or real, bind us in ways we can't imagine. Witness poor Gilly (Hannah Murray), one of Craster's daughters/wives, forced to endure a life of toil and servitude to a man who has abused her in horrific ways. "Better to live free than die a slave," she chirps, the motto of the "free folk," the wildlings. But they too claim fealty, whether to Mance Rayder or, as Craster's possessions, to the man they serve. Likewise, Sansa (Sophie Turner) saves the life of Ser Dontos (Tony Way), who nearly meets the wrath of Joffrey after embarrassing myself during the king's name-day festivities. But is it better to die a knight or live as a fool?

Did Ned Stark's honor serve him well? Did his death achieve anything except chaos and bloodshed? Is it better just to live, in any sense, than to die? Is the wisest course of action to just find a way, as Gilly and others (including Maisie Williams' lost little bird, Arya, and Sansa) have, to survive?

They are questions that harken back to those posed at the opening of this review. What is true power? It's a philosophical debate enacted between Cersei and Lord Petyr Baelish (Aidan Gillen) at King's Landing. He believes knowledge is power, but his awareness of the incestuous relationship between Cersei and Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) matters little when steel is pressed against his throat. It's a lesson he should have learned from the deaths of Jon Arryn and Ned Stark: don't go asking questions, don't put honor above survival, and don't poke a sleeping lion. For her part, Cersei proves her point: that power exists within the individual ordering whomever holds the knife. But really, it's the knife itself which holds the power, and the hand that holds it. Mercenaries and sellswords, as well as even sworn soldiers, are only too changeable. Jaime Lannister proved this when he strode into the throne room and slew the Mad King, despite his oath. Men play plot wars, but it's swords that win them. The threat of personal violence can stay anyone's hand, even a man as shrewd and manipulative as Littlefinger.

Cersei, now Queen Regent until Joffrey reaches the age of majority, seems to take particular pleasure in the influence she's carved out at King's Landing, fitting seeing as much crimson-and-gold everyone--from Cersei to Joffrey--is wearing. Lannister colors, not Baratheon ones, naturally. But her mistakes can and will catch up with her. The arrival of Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) at court poses a threat to Cersei's rule, as does her son's volatile and violent nature. It's interesting that when Cersei slaps Joffrey, in full view of the workers making alterations to the throne room, no one moves to stop her or intervene; they quickly go back to work. Joffrey may sit on the Iron Throne, but he's largely a figurehead; it's Cersei who is charge. Otherwise, she'd be dead before her body hit the ground.

Naturally, Tyrion walked way with the best line of the evening: "You love your children. That's your one redeeming quality. That and your cheekbones." Dinklage is phenomenal here, wielding his position and his intellect like a badge of office, becoming for once not the "disappointing child" of the Lannister family, but an important and instrumental force within the kingdom. He quickly puts Cersei in her place, despite her tantrum, and seizes the reins of power. His arc is only just beginning here and it's fitting that Dinklage gets top billing in the title credits (which awaken such excitement in me every time); Season Two is a significant one for Tyrion Lannister, who more or less takes over the role of "main character" from Ned Stark in many respects, and his arrival in King's Landing is likely to stir up animosity within this nest of vipers.

Ultimately, "The North Remembers" was a brilliant and provocative opening to the season, demonstrating a willingness on the part of Benioff and Weiss to stir things up, to stray from the source material, and to adapt with a clear view of how television is inherently a different medium than the printed word. This is an even more dangerous world than the one we left behind last season, even more fraught with peril and possibility, and the war is only just beginning.

Personally, I'm curious to know just what the reaction will be to the ending of the episode, and of the slaying of Robert Baratheon's bastard offspring. While there is no shortage of violence on Game of Thrones, it's typically not enacted against babies and children, and the show tackles yet another taboo here. There's a sense of the Biblical at play here: the slaying of the firstborn, a blood sacrifice. Here, it's meant to consolidate power, to tie up the loose ends of Robert's dynasty, to ensure that Joffrey is the strongest claimant to the throne. But the sight of soldiers skewering babies is also something else: a sign of weakness, of fear, and of uncertainty. And somewhere along the long road to the Wall, another of Robert's bastards, Gendry (Joe Dempsie), begins his own journey, a bull's head helm in his hands, a disguised daughter of the North at his side. Where the winds will take them will become clear enough. But when even the powerful show their hand so brazenly, there's a whiff of possibility, and of revolution, in the air.

Next week on Game of Thrones ("The Night Lands”), in the wake of a bloody purge in the capital, Tyrion chastens Cersei for alienating the kingʼs subjects; on the road north, Arya shares a secret with Gendry, a Nightʼs Watch recruit; with supplies dwindling, one of Dany's scouts returns with news of their position; after nine years as a Stark ward, Theon Greyjoy reunites with his father Balon, who wants to restore the ancient Kingdom of the Iron Islands; Davos enlists Salladhor Saan, a pirate, to join forces with Stannis and Melisandre for a naval invasion of Kingʼs Landing.

The Daily Beast: "Game of Thrones' Glorious Return"

Season Two of the Emmy-nominated fantasy series Game of Thrones begins on Sunday night. And it’s fantastic.

Over at The Daily Beast, you can read my latest feature, "Game of Thrones' Glorious Return," a review of the first four episodes of Season Two of HBO's superlative drama, based on the A Song of Ice and Fire novel series by George R.R. Martin. "Season Two of Game of Thrones is fantastic, overflowing with majesty and mystery," I write. "The night, we’re told, is dark and full of terror, and so is this provocative and enthralling show."

After the ratings and critical heights scaled by the first season of HBO’s Game of Thrones, expectations are dangerously high for the launch of Season 2, which begins this Sunday. Based on the second volume (A Clash of Kings) in George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series, Game of Thrones has a lot to prove to fans of both the books and of the award-winning HBO drama. Can it top the addictive thrill of the first season? Will it prove to be both loyal to the source material and still work for television?

Fortunately, judging from the four episodes sent to critics, Game of Thrones thrills on all levels. The show is a profound achievement, fusing together the taut narrative framework of the novels with a momentous and swift pace that drives the action forward, while writer/executive producers David Benioff and D.B. Weiss manage almost a baker’s dozen of separate storylines.

Continue reading at The Daily Beast...

The Daily Beast: "Game of Thrones Season Two for Dummies"

HBO's fantasy series Game of Thrones returns Sunday for a second season with its jargon and (most of its) vast cast of characters intact. Who is the Red Woman? What's the significance of a white raven? What's the difference between the Lord of Light and the Drowned God? I've got you covered with a new glossary that breaks down the jargon of Season 2 of Game of Thrones, returning Sunday at 9 p.m.

Over at The Daily Beast, you can read my latest feature, "Game of Thrones Season Two for Dummies," in which I break down who's who and what's what in the second season of HBO's sweeping fantasy drama. There are actually two features in one: an alphabetical glossary of terminology, places, and concepts within the second season and a gallery that breaks down the 15 new and newish characters (from Melisandre to Xaro Xhoan Daxos) that we meet this season.

In its first season, Game of Thrones—based on George R.R. Martin’s behemoth A Song of Ice and Fire series and adapted by executive producers David Benioff and D.B. Weiss—became a beast as rare as dragons: a critical and ratings success that also fused together genre roots and mainstream appeal.

Season 2 of Game of Thrones is just a few days away, returning to HBO on Sunday at 9 p.m. for another 10-episode run of betrayal, bloodshed, and, er, scenes intended for a mature audience. But if you haven’t read the books, the world that the show inhabits can be a forbidding place without the maps, family trees, and lineages contained within the novels’ vast appendices. And Season 2 furthers the in-world jargon significantly, while introducing a slew of new concepts and places. What is the difference between the Drowned God and the Lord of Light? Who is the Red Woman? And what is the deal with the White Raven?

We delve into the first four episodes of Game of Thrones Season 2, Martin’s second novel (A Clash of Kings), and beyond to bring you up to speed. A note on spoilers: I spoil many details of Season 1 below. But I do not spoil specifics from Season 2, unless you count knowing settings and themes and characters as spoilers. In which case, spoiler alerts!

Continue reading at The Daily Beast...

The Daily Beast: "Spring TV Preview: 9 Shows to Watch, 4 Shows to Skip"

With the return of Mad Men and Game of Thrones, spring is officially here.

Over at The Daily Beast, I offer a rundown of what’s worth watching over the next few months, and what you can skip altogether.

You can read my Spring TV Preview intro here, which puts the next few months into perspective, and then head over to the gallery feature to read "9 Shows to Watch, 4 Shows to Skip," which includes such notables as Mad Men, Community, Game of Thrones, VEEP, Girls, Bent, and others... and those you should just skip, like Magic City, Missing, etc.

What shows are you most looking forward to this spring? And which ones are you pretending don't exist at all? Head to the comments section to discuss...

The Daily Beast: "Little People, Big Controversy: Game of Thrones and Life’s Too Short"

Game of Thrones’ Peter Dinklage used the Golden Globes last month to draw attention to a dwarf-tossing attack in England. But with the launch of Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant’s Life’s Too Short on HBO, it’s hard to imagine a stranger time to be premiering a potentially exploitative comedy about a dwarf.

At The Daily Beast, you can read my latest feature, entitled "Little People, Big Controversy: Game of Thrones and Life’s Too Short," in which I look at Ricky Gervais' new HBO comedy Life's Too Short and ponder its exploitative potential.

When Game of Thrones’ Peter Dinklage won the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor last month, he used the award show’s significant global viewing audience to name-check Martin Henderson, to whom he dedicated his award.

While millions of viewers raced to Google Henderson at Dinklage’s suggestion, it quickly became clear that he was not speaking of the Australian actor (who costarred in The Ring), but rather a 37-year-old English dwarf who was the victim of a vicious pub attack in October that left him forced to use a wheelchair and crutches after a patron tossed him through the air.

The attack against the 4-foot-2 Henderson was news to Americans, but it came on the heels of a well-publicized incident in the U.K., in which media reports surfaced that England’s rugby World Cup team had attended a dwarf-tossing event in New Zealand. Henderson has indicated that the two incidents could be related, with the rugby players’ behavior perhaps giving his attacker the idea. (Dwarf tossing is currently illegal in several U.S. states, including New York and Florida.)

Given that the majority of awards-show acceptance speeches are laundry lists of thanks, it was refreshing to see Dinklage use the opportunity to shine a spotlight on a story of which few were aware. Dinklage, best known until now as the star of The Station Agent, was born with achondroplasia, a genetic disorder that causes dwarfism, and at 4 foot 5 is just slightly taller than Henderson. He currently stars as Tyrion Lannister on the HBO fantasy drama Game of Thrones (based on the A Song of Ice and Fire novels by George R.R. Martin), and has so far won an Emmy and a Golden Globe for his portrayal of the cunning, ruthless, and charismatic schemer.

Continue reading at The Daily Beast...

The Daily Beast: "Most Memorable TV Deaths of 2011"

Looking back, 2011 proved to be a particularly deadly one for television characters, whose bodies were stacking up even before the return of AMC’s The Walking Dead, which rather notoriously raises the body count each season.

From Breaking Bad and Game of Thrones to Downton Abbey and Boardwalk Empire, TV-show creators this year proved that they were only too willing to kill off beloved characters or shock their respective audiences with deaths involving characters long believed to be “safe,” whether those were little girls, Halloween trick-or-treaters, or heroes.

Safety, it seems, is an outmoded idea. Head over to The Daily Beast to read my and Maria Elena Fernandez's latest feature, "Most Memorable TV Deaths of 2011," in which we examine our choices for the most memorable TV demises this year, rounding up an unlucky 13 who left their fictional lives too soon. But beware: if you’re not up to date on the 12 shows discussed below, you’ll want to avoid reading any further, as there are SPOILERS.

Continue reading at The Daily Beast...

The Daily Beast: "Homeland, Justified, Downton Abbey and More: The Best and Worst TV Shows of 2011"

At The Daily Beast, it's finally time for my Best and Worst TV Shows of 2011 list: with 10 shows up for recognition as the best (including Justified, Homeland, Downton Abbey, Community, Parks and Recreation, Game of Thrones, The Good Wife, and more) and five for worst of 2011. (Plus, you can also compare my Best/Worst picks to my colleague Maria Elena Fernandez's.)

Head over to The Daily Beast to read my latest feature, "Homeland, Justified, Downton Abbey and More: The Best and Worst TV Shows of 2011," which--as the title indicates--rounds up the best and worst television that 2011 had to offer. Warning: the story may contain spoilers if you are not entirely caught up on the shows discussed here.

What is your take on our lists? Did your favorite/least favorite shows make the cut? Head to the comments section to discuss and debate.

The Daily Beast: "TV Breaks the Incest Taboo"

HBO's Boardwalk Empire, Game of Thrones, Bored to Death and other TV shows have recently featured incest storylines or themes.

Over at The Daily Beast, you can read my latest feature, "TV Breaks the Incest Taboo," in which I examine this troubling trend in scripted programming.

In 1990, Twin Peaks gave the world a nightmare vision into the seediness beneath the placid veneer of small-town America. But while one of the many puzzles embedded within Twin Peaks’ narrative was the identity of the murderer of teen queen Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee), the true secret lurking at the heart of the mystery was the incest and abuse suffered by Laura at the hands of her father, Leland (Ray Wise) and the psychic damage this secret caused his wife, Sarah (Grace Zabriskie). It’s a reveal so horrific, so destructive, that the creators represented it in terms of the supernatural, having Leland possessed by a demonic entity in order to explain the cruelty and lack of humanity that such a crime would require.

“The act at the black heart of the murder colored the entire narrative,” Twin Peaks’ co-creator Mark Frost told The Daily Beast this week. “Incest is a primal, eternal taboo in civilized culture, and some of the greatest tragedies ever written proceed from it, or lead to it.”

In the 20-plus years since Twin Peaks first premiered, television’s approach to incest had changed little, with few shows daring to break that taboo. But, particularly in the last year, scripted television shows have reversed their disinclination to deal with incest. Premium cable is allowing creators to push boundaries with storylines that weren’t previously permissible. And with incest at the forefront of the national conversation—as classical-music troupe The 5 Browns come clean about the incest they suffered at the hands of their manager father—it is providing grist for the story engines of some of television’s most daring and controversial shows.

Continue reading at The Daily Beast...

The Daily Beast: "A Gifted Man's Leading Lady: Jennifer Ehle"

Jennifer Ehle, best known for playing Elizabeth Bennet in BBC’s Pride & Prejudice, co-stars in a new CBS drama, A Gifted Man.

Over at The Daily Beast, you can read my latest feature, "A Gifted Man's Leading Lady," in which I sit down with Jennifer Ehle to discuss ghost sex, Game of Thrones, A Gifted Man, Pride & Prejudice, attachment parenting, Mr. Darcy, and more.

A Gifted Man begins tonight at 8 pm ET/PT on CBS.

The Daily Beast: "Our Emmy Picks!"

While the Primetime Emmy Awards aren’t typically known for offering gasp-inducing surprises, last year’s ceremony did make an instant star out of The Good Wife’s Archie Panjabi, who walked off with the award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series, even as most of the crowd gathered said, “Who?” (Those of us who know and love The Good Wife, however, cheered for Kalinda’s win.)

Anything is possible, particularly in some key races (like Panjabi’s category again this year) that are going neck-and-neck as we move into the days leading up to Sunday’s telecast, which will air—for the second year in a row—live from coast to coast.

The winners will be announced on Sept. 18’s live Primetime Emmy Awards telecast on Fox.

But, in the meantime, over at The Daily Beast, you can read my latest feature, "Our Emmy Picks!," in which Maria Elena Fernandez and I offer their predictions of who and what will take home the top prizes in 10 key Emmy races. Will stealth frontrunner Margo Martindale win for Justified? Will Jon Hamm finally take home the Emmy for Mad Men? And will AMC’s period drama four-peat this year? Let’s take a closer look at the major categories. (Meanwhile, all of our Emmys-related content from the last few weeks--from Mad Men and The Good Wife to Game of Thrones and Downton Abbey--can be found in one location, right here.)

Who do you think will win at this year's ceremony? And who should win? Head to the comments section to discuss our predictions and debate the potential winners.

The Daily Beast: "The Real Race for Best Drama: Why Mad Men May Not Win"

The race for the Emmy Awards’ top drama prize isn’t as cut and dried as it looks.

Over at The Daily Beast, you can read my latest feature, "The Real Race for Best Drama: Why Mad Men May Not Win," in which I examine the cutthroat competition this year for best drama, and why Mad Men may not win the top spot at next weekend's awards ceremony. (Though it probably will.)

What's your take on the drama race this year? Will Mad Men four-peat? Will The Good Wife claim the top pick? Will HBO's Game of Thrones or Boardwalk Empire walk away with the statuette? Or will Friday Night Lights pull off the impossible and finally get some recognition for its outstanding fifth and final season? Head to the comments section to discuss.

The Daily Beast: "Game of Thrones' Creative Gurus:" (Interview with Dan Weiss and David Benioff)

Hungry for some Game of Thrones scoop? (I know I am.)

Over at The Daily Beast, you can read my latest feature, "Game of Thrones' Creative Gurus," in which I catch up with Game of Thrones writer/executive producers Dan Weiss and David Benioff to discuss the show's numerous Emmy nominations (and Emilia Clarke's snub), the casting of Carice van Houten and Hannah Murray (as Melisandre and Gilly, respectively), "sexposition," and what's to come in Season Two of the HBO fantasy drama.

All together now: "HODOR!"

Season Two of Game of Thrones will launch in 2012.

TCA Awards: Friday Night Lights Wins Program of the Year, Game of Thrones Named Outstanding New Program

It is known: Game of Thrones is the winner of this year's Outstanding New Program by the TCA.

As a member of the venerable Television Critics Association (TCA), I joined the professional journalists' organization this evening for the annual TCA Awards, which are always a fantastic evening celebrating the best of television.

At the ceremony (which, as per TCA tradition, are not be televised), Parks and Recreation's Nick Offerman was on hand as the host of the evening, which saw awards given out to Game of Thrones (Outstanding New Program), Friday Night Lights (Program of the Year), Mad Men (Outstanding Achievement in Drama), Modern Family (Outstanding Achievement in Comedy), Sherlock (Outstanding Achievement in Movies, Miniseries and Specials), and The Amazing Race, among others.

Individual winners included Mad Men's Jon Hamm, Parks and Recreation's Offerman, Modern Family's Ty Burrell, and Oprah Winfrey, who was the recipient of a career achievement award.

The full list of TCA Award winners (as well as the official press release) can be found below.

THE TELEVISION CRITICS ASSOCIATION ANNOUNCES
2011 TCA AWARDS WINNERS

DirecTV/NBC’s “Friday Night Lights” Named Program of The Year
HBO’s “Game of Thrones” Wins Outstanding New Program

“Mad Men,” “Modern Family,” “Parks and Recreation,” “Restrepo,”
“Sherlock,”
“Sesame Street” and “Amazing Race” are honored along with
Oprah Winfrey and “The Dick Van Dyke Show”

BEVERLY HILLS, CA – The Television Critics Association (TCA) tonight recognized the top programs and actors of the 2010-2011 television season at its 27th Annual TCA Awards presentation. Nick Offerman, star of NBC’s “Parks and Recreation,” hosted the annual invitation-only event, held at The Beverly Hilton hotel in conjunction with the TCA’s summer press tour. The non-televised ceremony bestowed awards in 12 categories to recipients in comedy, drama, reality, miniseries, news and youth programming.

Members of the TCA, a media organization of more than 200 professional TV critics and journalists from the United States and Canada, voted HBO’s “Game of Thrones” this season’s “Outstanding New Program” and honored the final season of DirecTV/NBC’s “Friday Night Lights” with its award for “Program of The Year.”

Winning its second consecutive TCA Award, ABC’s “Modern Family” took home the award for “Outstanding Achievement in Comedy.” AMC’s “Mad Men” received the award for “Outstanding Achievement in Drama,” its third in this category, having previously won the distinction in 2008 and 2009.

The award for “Individual Achievement in Drama” went to actor Jon Hamm (Don Draper, of AMC’s “Mad Men”) while actor/host Nick Offerman (Ron Swanson, of NBC’s “Parks and Recreation”) shared the honor of “Individual Achievement in Comedy” with fellow actor Ty Burrell (Phil Dunphy, of ABC’s “Modern Family”).

While PBS Masterpiece’s “Sherlock” emerged victorious in the category of “Outstanding Achievement in Movies, Miniseries and Specials,” CBS’s “Amazing Race” received the organization’s first award for “Outstanding Achievement in Reality Programming.”

The TCA also recognized PBS’s “Sesame Street” with an award for “Outstanding Achievement in Youth Programming,” and the National Geographic Channel documentary “Restrepo” received top honors for “Outstanding Achievement in News & Information.”

In addition to recognizing the year’s finest programming, the TCA bestowed a Heritage Award on CBS’s former series “The Dick Van Dyke Show” (1961-66) for the cultural and social impact the program has had on society. Carl Reiner, the show’s creator and the recipient of the
2003 TCA Career Achievement Award, was on hand to receive the honor alongside series actors Rose Marie and Larry Mathews.

The non-profit organization also presented Oprah Winfrey with a Career Achievement Award for her influence through 25 seasons of “The Oprah Winfrey Show.”

2011 TCA Award recipients are as follows:
•    Individual Achievement in Drama: Jon Hamm (“Mad Men,” AMC)
•    Individual Achievement in Comedy: Ty Burrell (“Modern Family,” ABC) and Nick Offerman (“Parks and Recreation,” NBC)
•    Outstanding Achievement in News and Information:
“Restrepo” (National Geographic Channel)
•    Outstanding Achievement in Reality Programming: “Amazing Race” (CBS)
•    Outstanding Achievement in Youth Programming: “Sesame Street” (PBS)
•    Outstanding New Program: “Game of Thrones” (HBO)
•    Outstanding Achievement in Movies, Miniseries and Specials: “Masterpiece: Sherlock” (PBS)
•    Outstanding Achievement in Drama: “Mad Men” (AMC)
•    Outstanding Achievement in Comedy: “Modern Family” (ABC)
•    Career Achievement Award: Oprah Winfrey
•    Heritage Award: “The Dick Van Dyke Show”
•    Program of the Year: “Friday Night Lights” (DirecTV/NBC)

Dispatches from San Diego: Comic-Con 2011 Game of Thrones Panel (Photos)

I'm not in San Diego for this year's Comic-Con (marking the first year in about six that I haven't traveled south for the annual pop culture confab) for a number of reasons.

Not surprisingly, the one session I'm most upset about missing out on this year is HBO's session for Game of Thrones, moderated by George R.R. Martin, given my slavish devotion to the show and Martin's novels.

However, Televisionary correspondent Lissette Lira was on the scene to offer some photos from Thursday's Game of Thrones session. [Panel report tk later.]

* * *

[Photos from the session follow after the jump...]

The Daily Beast: "The Emmy Awards’ 10 Biggest Snubs"

The nominations are out: Parks and Recreation, Game of Thrones, Friday Night Lights, and Mad Men get their shot at the awards, while Community, Nick Offerman, and many others are shut out.

Over at The Daily Beast, you can read my latest feature, entitled, "The Emmy Awards’ 10 Biggest Snubs," in which I examine shows and actors were snubbed by the TV Academy. Plus, view our gallery of the nominees.

The 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards will be televised live on September 18th on Fox.

The Daily Beast: "George R.R. Martin’s Triumphant Return" (A Dance With Dragons Advance Review)

After a six-year wait, George R.R. Martin’s "A Dance With Dragons" finally hits bookstores next week.

Over at The Daily Beast, you can read my latest feature, "George R.R. Martin’s Triumphant Return," in which I review "A Dance With Dragons," the fifth installment and the latest in Martin’s bestselling "A Song of Ice and Fire" series, on which HBO's Game of Thrones is based.

"A Dance With Dragons" will hit bookshelves on Tuesday.

Throne of Iron, Throne of Dust: Thoughts on the Season Finale of HBO's Game of Thrones

When all we have in life is stripped away from us, what do we have left? What is life worth then?

These questions hover over the breathtaking finale of HBO's Game of Thrones ("Fire and Blood"), written by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss and directed by Alan Taylor, which depicts transformative moments in the lives of several characters, who must come to terms with not only palpable grief but also the realization that a brutal new status quo is upon them. It's a somber throughline that links the separate story threads of Daenerys, Arya, Sansa, and Catelyn, each of whom suffers a grievous loss and who must find their inner strength to face the day again.

For a series that engendered some criticism at its outset from critics and viewers about its depiction of women, particularly the lead female characters at its center, it's a remarkable turning point. Each of these women has suffered at the hands of their enemies, losing the men in their lives, until they must stand alone against those who would do them harm. And we see he literal stripping down of each of these characters--as Arya's hair is cut off and she loses the last vestiges of her identity as Arya Stark of Winterfell, and as Dany walks into the funeral pyre to burn off everything she once held dear--there are clear parallels.

(Also of note: there's a potential suicide beat for both Sansa and Daenerys; Sansa seems as though she is going to jump from the Red Keep's walkway, though it's then revealed she wants to push Joffrey. Likewise, Ser Jorah worries that Dany will leap upon the pyre, but she has other, darker plans of survival.)
In fact, it's the female characters we're left with primarily in the season finale, which shows the aftermath of the death of Ned Stark at the hands of Joffrey, who seems well on his way to being just as cruel and merciless as the Mad King himself. It's through their eyes that we see the true sense of what has changed, as Sansa is led to view the heads of her father and her septa, as Catelyn contemplates murdering Jaime in an act of vengeance against the Lannisters, as Daenerys bids farewell to Drogo and learns of her true nature.

Yes, dragons exist once more.

It's only natural that Daenerys Stormborn of House Targaryen should be the one to bring them back into the world once more. Having lost her husband, her unborn son, and her entire khalassar, Daenerys is once more alone in the world, her kindness to the maegi being repaid with death. Throughout the season, we've seen the signs that have led us to this moment: her seeming imperviousness to fire; her obsession with those dragon eggs. She is the blood of the dragon and while her womb may be emptied as a result of the maegi's treachery, she gives birth to a new race of dragons. Life springing from death, from the ashes of her beloved's funeral pyre.

Stripped of everything--including her clothing--she sits at the middle of the remains of that fire, those three dragons entwined around her, the mother of destruction incarnate. The Dany we see here is vastly different to the one we met back in the pilot episode: a naive pawn in a man's game of thrones. Now we see her as she accepts her destiny, the heir to the House Targaryen, the mother of three dragons. She is the terrible vengeance only dreamt of by civilized Catelyn Stark. It's the perfect way to leave the season, as dragons--and one, imagines--magic itself returns to Westeros and Essos. The girl that King Robert sought to have assassinated has been transformed into a powerful enemy. And people are at their most dangerous when they have nothing left to lose.

So where do we go from here? That would be telling, and I won't spoil what's to come for Daenerys within George R.R. Martin's novels. But what we do see is a war being waged on multiple fronts: while the Starks' rebellion against the Lannisters seems to be the primary thrust, there are other battles being waged elsewhere. Littlefinger remains the most dangerous man in Westeros, and also one of the most powerful as well. His conversation with Varys in this week's episode remains one of my favorite moments: two tacticians weighing each other up, each trying to find the other's weak spot. (And, lest we forget, spiders are hard to kill. They manage to see all and sneak away through the cracks in the firmament.) Daenerys may have lost her army but gained the only three dragons in all of the world. And, beyond the Wall, the wildlings and the most dangerous enemy of them all, the White Walkers, who have roused from their slumber of millennia. While the Night's Watch prepares to go beyond the Wall, the shield that guards the realm of men is at its weakest, made up of rapists, thieves, and cowards. Will the Wall stand if the White Walkers turn their sights on the south? Can the sworn brotherhood be both shield and sword when winter comes?

Mortals may play at the game of thrones, but there are darker forces at play, greater battles than just who sits upon the Iron Throne. The Starks are always right in the end: Winter--and death--comes for us all in turn. Summer knights may play at the game of kings, but they too will be frozen and blue when the true winter descends on Westeros...

And Joffrey may be the very definition of a summer knight, a boy-king who is ill-suited to the job of leadership, a spiteful brat who relishes the opportunity to make his betrothed stare at the disembodied face of her dead father, who tells her that he will get her with child as soon as she bleeds, who won't beat her himself but has one of his Kingsguard do it for him. Sansa sees the true face of her blonde "prince." Like Daenerys, she too must tap into inner reserves of strength she never knew she had, if she hopes to survive. We also see the continued oddness in her dynamic with the Hound, who offers her a handkerchief to wipe away the blood on her face, and bids her to keep it, as she'll soon need it again. Dogs and wolves together, perhaps?

We also see here that Sansa has lost the innocence and naivete that once defined her character; she's grown harder in just a matter of days, a callus over her soul. The old Sansa would never have attempted to murder her king, yet she doesn't hesitate to step out onto that walkway. And I believe she would have pushed Joffrey, if Clegane hadn't have intervened. She might still be a child, but Sansa has proven (at least to the audience) that she's been dangerously underestimated and that in her blood is that of the Starks. Just as dragons are born here, so too is a true wolf.

Speaking of wolves, we finally get to see Rickon's direwolf, Shaggydog, this week... as the continued subplot of the Stark children and their wolves continues apace. Both Bran and Rickon are led to the crypts beneath Winterfell, where they both saw their father in dreams. Both children seem to be having vastly prophetic dreams that are coming true, as the boys are aware of Ned's death before word of his murder arrives at Winterfell by raven. Just what does it mean exactly? How do they know that their father is dead? And how is this knowledge connected to the three-eyed crow in Bran's dreams?

(Kudos too to Natalia Tena for her jaw-dropping performance as Osha. While I imagined Osha extremely differently within the novels, I am now finding it impossible to separate Tena and Osha in my mind. Her scene with Bran here as she resists going down into the crypts was vibrant and three-dimensional, poignant and profound. Whenever she is on screen, it is impossible to look away, her wild nature at stark--heh--contrast with the highborn civility of Bran.)

Elsewhere, Tyrion found himself suddenly in his father's good graces, promoted to serve as the Hand of the King in King's Landing, removing him from the front line of the war and installing him in the comfortable luxury of the Hand's Tower. (Nevermind that the last two men who served that role both ended up dead.) And, despite Tywin's strict instructions that he leave his "whore" behind, Tyrion makes plans to bring Shae to King's Landing. (I'll say that this depiction of Shae is growing on me; she's less of a camp follower and more of a cunning courtesan, a mirror in some ways of Tyrion's own innate intellect.)

Jon Snow debated whether to forsake his vows and meet up with Robb on the field of engagement or remain at the Wall with the Night's Watch. While he does ride off, it's Sam and his friends who bring Jon back to the Wall. Honor before family, it seems. In losing Ned, Jon has lost not only his father but the only connection to his own past, to the truth about his parentage. Ned and Jon never do get to have that conversation about Jon's birth mother, and Ned takes this secret to his grave. In losing Ned, Jon therefore loses a piece of himself as well, another figurative loss to match the others.

Catelyn is driven to bash Jaime's head in with a stone, but she knows that Jaime is worth more to them alive than dead, and she still has hopes of getting her daughters back from the Lannisters. They need a bargaining chip and the Kingslayer is the best one that they could have hoped for. But if the Joffrey believed that killing Ned would serve as a lesson to the Starks, he was dead wrong: it provokes Robb into strengthening his attack and leads the Greatjon to proclaim Robb "The King in the North," and his bannerman to lay down their swords at his feet in fealty.

Not only then do Renly and Stannis pose a threat to Joffrey's reign but so too does Robb Stark... and that's to say nothing of Robert's bastard children who are in the wind. It's no coincidence that Arya--her hair shorn and now calling herself Arry at Yoren's insistence--meets up with Gendry, who is himself heading to the Wall to become a sworn brother. And, just like Dany and Sansa, Arya is not afraid to act any longer. After stabbing a stableboy in last week's episode, Arya isn't likely to lie down and allow anyone to take Needle from her. She can take care of herself now, a lady turned gutter rat, a wolf with a claw.

And this wouldn't be an episode of Game of Thrones without some sexposition in the mix as well. This week that went yet again to Ros, who washed herself and dressed while Grand Maester Pycelle pontificated about his role as the advisor to many, many kings before losing the thread of the conversation altogether. Eye candy to distract from the speech of an old man, one imagines.

Still, I thought that the finale brought together a number of disparate threads (Jon Snow's attempted desertion, Catelyn's fury, Arya's transformation into Arry, Dany's dragons) into a tense and provocative climax for the season. Like Martin's novels, there's an underlying momentum here, a deadly undertow, that keeps the story throttling along at high speed; it's a true serialized narrative, rather than an episodic one, building and building to a final reveal, one that will keep fans of the show anxious until Game of Thrones returns in 2012. (Or propels them to pick up "A Clash of Kings" anyway.)

A reader commented last week that the season began with a beheading and Episode Nine concluded Ned's storyline with a beheading as well. I'd agree with this thought: there's a beautiful broken symmetry here with the two beheadings: Ned swings the sword and kills a boy--who broke his vow of station--despite the fact that he's telling the truth. Ned is killed with the same sword after breaking his vow to serve the king, and whose final words are lies constructed to save his family. Joffrey, of course, doesn't carry out his execution, but gives Ned's sword (Ice, which has been in the Stark family for centuries) to Ser Ilyn to swing.

All it takes, in the end, is one swing of the blade for everything to change. One step into the flames, one foot on the causeway, one step into the darkness. War may have gripped Westeros, but the true threat to the Seven Kingdoms is the one no one believes in anymore. Ice in the north and fire across the Narrow Sea; white walkers and dragons walk once more. And this is only the beginning...

Game of Thrones will return with its second season in 2012.

Winter is Coming: Game of Thrones Live Chat Set for Monday at The Daily Beast

Just a heads up that I'll be conducting a live chat over at The Daily Beast on Monday at 11 am PT/ 2 pm ET time to discuss the season finale of HBO's Game of Thrones ("Fire and Blood"), airing Sunday evening.

Join me and other television critics--including AOLtv's Maureen Ryan, Time's James Poniewozik, and Cultural Learnings' Myles McNutt--and Game of Thrones experts (such as the brains behind Westeros.org and Winter is Coming.Net) and fans, as we discuss the end of the groundbreaking first season and the various twists and turns therein.

You can enter your email address below for a reminder ahead of time as we move closer to the live event.



The season finale of Game of Thrones airs this Sunday evening at 9 pm ET/PT on HBO.

Songs for the Dead: The Blade Falls on Game of Thrones

Fly, fly away, little bird.

Just like that, the stakes of George R.R. Martin's world became even higher, the pain even more intense, and the searing sense of loss all the more unbearable. These are cruel times that the Starks and their enemies find themselves. The quality of mercy, as we know, is not strained... but there are often greater reasons to restrain oneself from enacting punishment upon others. Sometimes the open hand is the wiser council than the keen edge of a blade.

The cost of life--and the folly of youthful, headstrong kings--is keenly felt in the latest episode of HBO's Game of Thrones ("Baelor"), written by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss and directed by Alan Taylor, which depicts one of the most shocking moments within the first season of the adaptation.

For those of us who have read the novels, it didn't come as a surprise, but I will say that I was watching this with my wife--who has remained wholly unspoiled about any plot developments within the novels--and she not only gasped aloud, but started to cry.

And, as the Valyrian steel flew down onto the neck of Eddard Stark, I'll admit that I shed a few tears of my own as well. Ned was a dead man the second he set foot on the steps of the Great Sept of Baelor that day, but that doesn't diminish the horror of his passing, mercifully not glimpsed by his daughter Arya, thanks to the intervention of Yoren.

The juxtaposition of Ned's gruesome end and Arya wringing the neck of a plump pigeon seems too intentional to be mere coincidence, given the untimely ends of both man and animal. Nor is it coincidence that what Arya sees, rather than her father's head falling to the ground after Ser Ilyn swings [Ned's] greatsword [Ice], is a flock of birds in the sky, flying away. Is Arya a little bird bound to fly away? Had it not been for Yoren, she would have likely cut her way through the crowd to Ned, killing them both in the process. But just as Arya doesn't have to see her father die, so too does Ned go to his grave, believing that his daughter is safe, that she hasn't had to witness firsthand the tyranny of evil kings, the vengeful wrath of the crowned man.

Ned's death proves, more than any other to date, that no character within Game of Thrones is safe and that the showrunners and Martin himself seem to relish the opportunity to pull the rug out from underneath the viewer. There's something to be said for the shocking nature of these twists, from the removal of Ned Stark, the series' putative hero, from the board. If Ned can be killed, so too can anyone else. Joffrey's myopia is what we're left with as Arya contemplates a life without her father in it, and Ned's head leaves his shoulders. Even Cersei seems horror-stricken at what he has done, just as her beloved twin brother Jaime Lannister falls into Robb's hands after the Battle of the Whispering Wood. (It leaves only Sansa as their last remaining bargaining chip.)

There's little difference between the juvenile pleasure Joffrey gets in stunning his mother, Pycelle, Sansa, and everyone by commanding Ser Ilyn to behead Ned, and that of Lord Robin gleefully announcing his intentions to see the little man fly. Both foolish boys who have yet to see the value of life and the finality of death. But Joffrey takes his ego too far, spilling blood in one of the most sacred places in all the Seven Kingdoms: right outside the Great Sept of Baelor. It's a sin that is an affront to the very gods themselves, and a bad omen of the blackest kind.

Elsewhere, the Lannisters think they've got Robb by the short hairs, but they learn that the young wolf is a cunning adversary, sacrificing 2000 men in order to divert attention away from the real battle, in which he seizes Jaime Lannister as his prize. I'm glad that the writers stuck to the novel's device of not showing us the pivotal Battle of the Whispering Wood, but letting the tension remain with the steadfast Catelyn, waiting for word of her son.

My only complaint--which seems to be a season-long one--is that we're again missing the direwolves. I don't know that we've even seen Robb's wolf, Grey Wind, at all, and his absence is keenly felt in the battle scenes. (My overall complaint of the show, one I've shared time and time again, is that we don't really get a sense of the emotional/spiritual rapport between the Starks and their wolves, a fact that may become even more worrisome as the series wears on.)

Meanwhile, my suspicions that the character of Ros was being groomed as a composite of Shae was revealed to be completely off the mark this week, as we see the introduction of camp follower Shae here, who quickly becomes Tyrion's sexed-up shadow. I loved that Tyrion is injured by his own men and misses the entire battle, and has to ask Bronn if they won. We're also given further insight into Tyrion's backstory via his harrowing and awful account of his brief marriage to Tysha, which shows not only his innate loneliness but also the cruelty of his Lannister clansmen, particularly that of his father Tywin. While Dinklage's accent seemed a bit iffy this week, I can't imagine anyone other than him in this role and he continues to remind me of why Tyrion is such a beloved character in Martin's novels.

And then there was Daenerys, who stood up to Qotho and tried to save the life of Drogo by enlisting the help of black magic. There's a sense of perversion about the use of blood magic here, which sullies the entire khalassar just as much as Joffrey's murder of Ned Stark destroys the sanctity of the sept. But Dany is desperate to save Drogo by any means necessary, even as her position within the tribe becomes perilously tenuous. But with any dark magic, there is always a price to pay, as the maegi tells Dany. It's not her life that is forfeit, but it's especially telling that she's injured in a fall when Qotho pushes her to the ground on her stomach. (Not a good thing to happen to a pregnant woman.)

I loved the battle between Qotho and Ser Jorah, which illustrated perfectly the pros and cons of the Westerosi armor and the Dothraki arakh: while Qotho is able to slash at Jorah's face, the arakh becomes caught in Jorah's armor when Qotho goes in for the kill... allowing Jorah to open him up with his broadsword. But it may be too late for Daenerys and for her unborn child by that point. While Jorah carries Daenerys, perhaps to her salvation, one can't escape the horror that is unfolding within Drogo's tent: the unnatural sounds and shapes that emanate from the other side of the canvas walls.

Daenerys is stronger than anyone realizes, really... She is the blood of the dragon, one of the last of her kind. But as we learned this week, there is another dragon clinging to life, hiding in plain sight for the last 100 years: Maester Aemon of the Night's Watch is one of the last Targaryens alive, and many decades earlier he renounced his claim to the throne and sought the chains of a maester at the Citadel instead. He tries to show Jon that one must choose family or honor, but it's not always possible to choose both, and that their true duty is to the fellowship they pledged to serve for life. But it's impossible not to think of what might have been, had Aemon sat the Iron Throne instead of his brother. Would the Mad King have come to power? Would Stark and Baratheon clashed swords with House Targaryen? Would the Starks now be howling against the lions of Lannister?

What might have been? What could have been? But as the sword meets bone, a little girl looks to the sky and sees only a flock of birds in flight. For Arya and for the others, the what ifs of imagination and hindsight no longer apply. We can run or we can fight. And sometimes that decision is made for us.

What did you think of "Baelor"? Did this week's episode live up to your expectations? Were you surprised by the death of Ned Stark? What was your reaction? Head to the comments to discuss and debate.

Next week on Game of Thrones ("Fire and Blood"), a new king rises in the north; a Khaleesi finds new hope.