2015 EMMYS: Game of Thrones Wins Best Drama, Veep Wins Best Comedy!

Viola Davis became the first African-American woman to win the
Lead Actress in a Drama Series Emmy Award

I did pretty well on my predictions of the Top 10 categories. I nailed the two biggest categories, predicting a Veep win  in Best Comedy series and a Game of Thrones win in Best Drama series but then I also did pretty well in the other categories as well, ending with 6 out of 10 correct.

The four I had wrong were all of the supporting actor and supporting actress categories!

Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Comedy Series: Allison Janney, Mom  

Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Comedy Series, Tony Hale, Veep

Outstanding Actor In a Comedy Series: Jeffrey Tambor, Transparent 

Outstanding Actress In A Comedy Series: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep

Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Drama Series: Uzo Aduba, Orange Is the New Black 

Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Drama Series: Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones 

Outstanding Actor In A Drama Series: Jon Hamm, Mad Men

Outstanding Actress In A Drama Series: Viola Davis, How to Get Away With Murder

Outstanding Comedy Series: Veep

Outstanding Drama Series: Game of Thrones

It's interesting that Game of Thrones had such a big night, considering that the fifth season is considered by some to be its worst (it definitely had some controversial moments!) its surprising that the show not only won the big enchilada but also won Emmy's for writing and directing (for the Season 5 finale: S5E10 "Mother's Mercy") and Peter Dinklage won his second Emmy for portrying Tyrion Lannister.

2015 EMMYS: Game of Thrones Gets 24 Nominations

Winter Is Coming reports that Game of Thrones has received a series-best 24 Emmy nominations.

Game of Thrones was nominated in the following categories:

• Outstanding Drama Series
• Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series: Peter Dinklage
• Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series:
  • Emilia Clarke
  • Lena Headey
• Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series:
  • Jeremy Podeswa for “Unbowed Unbent Unbroken”
  • David Nutter for “Mother’s Mercy”
• Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series: David Benioff & Dan Weiss for “Mother’s Mercy”
• Outstanding Sound Editing for a Series: Game of Thrones, “Hardhome”
• Outstanding Visual Effects: Game of Thrones, “The Dance of Dragons”
• Outstanding Production Design for a Narrative Contemporary or Fantasy Series: Game of Thrones, “High Sparrow”
• Outstanding Casting for a Drama Series: Nina Gold, Robert Sterne, Carla Stronge for Game of Thrones
• Outstanding Cinematography for a Single Camera Series:
  • “Sons of the Harpy”
  • “Unbowed Unbent Unbroken”
  • “Mother’s Mercy”
  • “The Dance of Dragons”
• Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series: Diana Rigg
• Outstanding Hairstyling for a Single Camera Series: “Mother’s Mercy”
• Outstanding Makeup for a Single Camera Series: “Mother’s Mercy”
• Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup: “Hardhome”
• Outstanding Single Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series:
  • “Hardhome”
  • “The Dance of Dragons”
• Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Drama or Comedy Series: “Hardhome”
• Outstanding Stunt Coordination for a Drama: Rowley Irlam for Game of Thrones
• Outstanding Costumes for a Period or Fantasy Series: “The Dance of Dragons”

The seven nominations in bold are considered Prime Time Emmy nominations and will be given out on September 20 live on Fox. The others will be presented at the Creative Arts Emmys (the Geek Emmys) at another ceremony to be aired on FXX.

Game of Thrones (S5E10): "Mother's Mercy"

The finale of Season 5 (S5E10) of HBO's Game Of Thrones is titled "Mother's Mercy." The significance of this episode to the overall project of adapting George R.R. Martin's landmark fantasy series, A Song of Ice and Fire can not be overstated. The fifth book in the series, A Dance with Dragons was released in July 2011 and the most of the events depicted in this book have now been depicted in Season 5 of the show. What this means that unless the next book, The Winds of Winter is published before HBO's Game of Thrones Season 6 begins in Spring 2016, the television show will be revealing aspects of the story have not appeared in the books. This basically inverts the usual relationship between written source material and a filmed adaptation. In reality this inversion has already been going on, because some of the events depicted in earlier episodes of Season 5 do not appear in Book 4 or Book 5 so either the producers were deviating from the source material or they were depicting events that would appear in the as-yet-unpublished Book 6.

Summary
This episode contained one of the highest body counts of previously introduced characters in the show's history. After the murder of his own child on a fiery altar to the Red God (in S5E09), Stannis Barratheon has sold his soul to try to sit on the Iron Throne and although we see that the weather has improved his overall situation has gone from bad to worse. Unsurprisingly, at least half of his troops have abandoned his cause (taking all the horses with them), presumably repulsed by the man who would be King willing to sacrifice his only child in such a barbaric fashion. Additionally, his wife Selyse decided that she could not live with the reality that she had stood by and watched her only child burn to death and she hung herself. Stannis grimly (or stupidly) decides to continue ahead with his siege of Winterfell (even though he also gets word at that point that Lady Melissandre has been seen leaving the camp in the direction of Castle Black). However the Boltons decide to come out behind their protected walls and  meet him on the field of battle, using their now overwhelming numerical advantage to basically slaughter the remaining troops led by the person Lord Petyr Baerlish called "the greatest military mind in the Seven Kingdoms." At the end of the battle, Brienne catches up with Stannis and is finally to inflict the ultimate punishment on  Stannis for his use of the Red Witch's blood magic to kill his brother Renly Barratheon way back in Season 2 right before her horrified eyes when she served as Renly's Kingsguard. And thus House Barratheon is basically ended (although technically teenaged Tommen Barratheon is on the Iron Throne, everyone knows that he is actually full-blooded Lannister).

Sansa takes advantage of the battle happening just outside the walls of Winterfell to finally use the device she squirreled away previously (in S5E07) to escape from her room and finally light the candle at the top of the old tower (but Brienne is out hunting for Stannis and thus again  only to be caught by Ramsay's mistress, the dogmaster's daughter Miranda and Reek. Happily, Reek finally realizes he is still Theon and saves Sansa by pushing Miranda to her death. Then, holding hands, Reek Theon and Sansa jump over the balustrade in a way that looks like an attempted suicide or the famous jump from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. we'll have to wait until Season 6 to find out if Sansa survives, but it is known there are Sansa chapters in Martin's Book 6.

The show then cuts to the other remaining female member of House Stark where arya has fully realized her ability to impersonate another person and does so as an underage girl in a whorehouse that Ser Meryn Trant frequents in Braavos. She whips out a knife and violently stabs out his eyes and then as he whimpers she tells him her name and then slits her throat. However, when she gets back to the House of Black and White, she is chastised by her Faceless mentor for killing someone who was not on her task list and through a magical potion she is blinded. This is what happens to Arya in Book 5, so we are fully caught up with her story now.

In Essos, we see a bedraggled Dany trying to get a very unwell looking Drogon to get up and fly her back to Mereen,but he won't respond so she starts walking and finds herself in a verdant valley. She realizes someone is watching her and soon a person on horseback approaches, slipping a distinctive ring off her finger, she watches open-mouthed while what looks like hundreds of Dothraki on horseback suddenly appear from the grassland and surround her. Since Dany's story began way back in Season 1 as a timid little girl who was sold by her brother to a Dothraki warlord, it is ironic indeed that she find herslef back among them. Happily, she does speak excellent Dothraki and knows their culture very well. Back in Mereen we see Ser Jorah and Daario deciding to go out and search for Dany, leaving Tyrion, Missandei and Grey Worm behind to rule the city in their mistress' absence. Happily, Varys finally makes and appearance, reminding Tyrion that he has some experience running a city filled with deceit, graft and despair.

In Dorne, we see Jaime and Bronn setting off at a dock with Myrcella, leaving Prince Doran and the San Snakes behind. The Viper's widow Ellaria Sand has sworn her allegiance (on pain of death) to Doran earlier but as the party leaves she gives a curiously long and intense open-mouthed kiss on the lips to Myrcella. Later on we see a heart-to-heart conversation with Jaime where he finally tries to tell his niece that she is in fact his daughter, but she stops him, saying "I know, and I'm glad that you're my father." Just as Jaime's heart swells with relief and joy, blood starts pouring from his daughter's nose and we realize that Ellaria has finally gotten her revenge, using poisoned lips to kill another one of Cersei Lannister's children.

Back in King's Landing we get one of the most famous scenes from the book, Cersei's comeuppance, known by fans as the Walk of Shame. Her head is shaved and she is stripped naked and forced to walk naked from the High Sept all the way to the Red Keep (through the slums of Fleabottom), with crowds of thousands throwing refuse and abuse on her head. It is a harrowing scene, almost 10-minutes in length and Lena Headey does an amazing job. Apparently a body double was used for the scene, but it is still incredibly powerful.

Finally we come to one of the most important moments in the show, the final 2 minutes of the episode. It happens at the Wall, of course. First we see Melissandre arriving and when Ser davos asks her about Shireen's well-being she says nothing but looks grim and walks on. Then we see Olly rushing in to the Lord  Commander's office where we see Jon Snow writing at his desk and tells him that his Uncle Benjen has been sighted at The Wall. Benjen disappeared beyond the Wall in Season 1 and was one of the reasons why Jon jioned the NIght's Watch in the first place. He rushes outside to a vantage point to try and see Benjen and is confronted with a sign that says "Traitor" instead. When he turns arund, he is surrounded by his men and Ser Alliser (his deputy) growls "For The Watch" and stabs a knife between his ribs. Two others follow, and as Jon sinks to his knees Olly, the orphan boy who Jon saved from certain death and brought into the Night's Watch stabs Jon through the heart, saying "For The Watch." We watch as Jon Snow sinks to his back, face up, eyes wide open as a pool of dark red blood grows larger and lager behind him. They killed Jon Snow!

Highlights
The highlights of this episode were:

• Cersei's walk was incredibly emotional. One of the high points of the season. You definitely feel like even though you have hated her for five seasons, did she really deserve that? (The answer is yes.)
• The banter between Varys and Tyrion was great, as always. There's also the hint that the banter between Daario and Ser Jorah, two men who both love Dany, will also be entertaining in season 6.
• Arya's butchering of Ser Meryn Trant was scary to see and shows how far down her vengeful path she has traversed.

Lowlights
There were no lowlights although it was very sad that we did not get to see any kind of telltale glow in Jon Snow's eyes and this seems to indicate that he really may be dead, crushing the hopes of millions of viewers who saw him and Dany as the only chance of some semblance of good triumphing over evil in the entire story. Plus the fact that Ramsay Bolton is shown torturing dying soldiers at the end of the skirmish with Stanis' force, unharmed and shouting "I want to see my wife, she must be lonely." If the odiously evil Ramsay has not beem punished in the story it really seems like good will not triumph over evil after all. But then again, as the saying goes, "If you think this story has a happy ending, you haven't been paying attention."

Grade: 10/10.

Game of Thrones (S5E09): "The Dance of Dragons"

Episode 9 of Season 5 (S5E09) of HBO's Game Of Thrones is titled "The Dance of Dragons." The penultimate entry in Game of Thrones 10-episode seasons is often where the most dramatic events of the show have occurred in the past. For example in Season 1 "Baelor" (S1E09) is where Lord Eddard Stark lost his head, signaling that this show would be unafraid to kill off what appeared to be the main protagonist. In Season 2 (S2E09) "Blackwater" contained the Battle of Blackwater; Season 3 (S3E09) "The Rains of Castamere" is the most famous episode of the entire series, and includes the events of the Red Wedding. Season 4's 9th episode (S4E09) was "The Watcher on the Wall" which included the battle between the Wildlings  and the Night's Watch. (One could argue that actually S4E08 "The Mountain and the Viper" is the more significant episode of Season 4.) In Season 5 Episode 8 "Hardhome" was the pre-eminent episode which contains one of the most dramatic battles of the entire show. So, Episode 9 of Season 5 tries to be significant in other ways.

Summary
This episode contains one of the most horrifying scenes of the entire show. We had been primed that something bad might happen because we know that Melissandre has said that the Lord of Light R'hllor needs King's Blood and that the only person with King's Blood running through their veins is Shireen, Stannis Barratheon's daughter (and probably Jon Snow depending on his parentage, which the show has hinted at but not confirmed). Shireen is one of the nicest, gentlest characters on the show and it was hard to believe that Stannis, who earlier in the season had a lovely scene with his daughter where he explained how he refused to abandon her to the scourge of greyscale, would actually acquiesce to the Red Witch's call that he sacrifice his beloved daughter on the altar of his ambition to sit on the Iron Throne. Even my Unsullied husband knew something was up when Stannis sent his Hand, Davos Seaworth back to Castle Black purportedly to ask the Night's Watch for food and supplies, but clearly to get him out of sight before Stannis would violate his own principles and human dignity and actually burn his only child at the stake in order to curry favor with a god that he has previously indicated that he doesn't really believe in.

Back in Braavos Arya Stark catches sight of Ser Meryn Trant and Lord Mace Tyrell, who are in town to visit the Iron Bank and re-negotiate the royal debt on behalf of the Lannisters. Arya deviates from her assigned murderous task and clearly intends to take advantage of the providential opportunity that someone from her oft-repeated list of people she wants to kill as revenge for the decimation of House Stark has appeared before her. This indicates that both has Arya not forgotten that she is a Stark, but that she is perfectly willing to kill.

The other main event that happened in this episode occurred in Mereen where Dany and her husband, along with Tyrion Lannister and Daario Naharis are center stage as the famous fighting pits are finally opened. However the carnage is not limited to the pit when the Sons of the Harpy (the guerrilla movement which has been actively opposed to Dany's rule and its upending of their social norms which included slavery) show up. Dany is saved from immediate assassination by the victorious Ser Jorah throwing a well-aimed spear directly at her from the Pit and killing the attempted murderer creeping up behind her. All hell breaks loose as the Sons of the Harpy start hacking dozens of people to death in the audience (including Dany's husband) in their rush to get to Dany. Dany joins hands with Missandei and they stand in a circle of calm in the middle of a killing storm as Daario, Jorah and the Unsullied fight against what appears to be overwhelming odds. Suddenly a dragon's shriek is heard and Drogon appears and starts burning Sons of the Harpy to death and this causes very many of them to run away in fear. Drogon lands and even though he looks like he wants to much Dany also, she approaches him without fear and jumps on his back and the two fly away!

There's only one episode left of the season! One of they key events of A Feast For Crows is yet to be depicted in Season 5, but suffice it to say that it involves Cersei's comeuppance and it may "break the internet" when it happens. That's all I'll say for now but there may be even more shocking events that as a book reader I may not even be ready for.

Highlights
The highlights of this episode were:

• Drogon! His appearance at just the right time to save Dany when things were looking grim as the Sons of the Harpy had surrounded our favorites (Dany, Tyrion, Daario, Missandei, Ser Jorah) in Daznak's Pit was thrilling.
• Seeing Dany flying away on Drogon was another highlight of the episode.
• The sheer scale of Daznak's Pit, the auditorium in Mereen where the fights to the death occur was clearly mostly CGI but it was still very impressive.
• I had a hard time thinking of the "best" lines of the episode but the most memorable are Meryn Trant's repeated "Too old" in response to the younger and younger girls being offered to him in the Braavos brothel, indicating to us that he is clearly a pedophile.
• Another memorable line is Shireen's innocent "I want to help" to Stannis, unaware that her father is considering her death as a means to achieving his goal of royal glory.

Lowlights
The parts of the episode I could have done without:

•  Did we really need to have another female character abused (to the death!) in such a horrendous way? Shireen's immolation was simply heart-rending and really felt like it has taken the show over the top in the category of horrible events.

Grade: 9/10.

Game of Thrones (S5E08): "Hardhome"

Episode 8 of Season 5 of HBO's Game Of Thrones is titled "Hardhome." Hardhome is the name of the location of a wildling settlement north of The Wall near the sea where Jon Snow goes to convince them to come with him to live south of The Wall in order to spare them from becoming part of the White Walkers army of the un-dead.

Summary
This episode clarifies some issues which are central to the entire television series. The events at Hardhome provide the audience a revelation of exactly what it means that "Winter is Coming": undead zombies animated by incredibly powerful, magical beings who want to annihilate all life.

Also in the episode, there is an exchange between Daenerys Targaryen and Tyrion Lannister which hints at the end of the show:

'Lannister, Targaryaen, Baratheon, Stark, Tyrell...' Daenerys sighed, almost bored. 'They're all just spokes on a wheel. This one's on top, then that one's on top. Then on and on it spins. Crushing those beneath on the ground.' 

It was a defiant speech/statement of intent, which clearly left Tyrion impressed – to a point. 

'It's a beautiful dream – stopping the wheel,' he allowed. 'You're not the first person who has dreamt it.' 

But if he meant it as a gesture of support or unity, she couldn't let it pass without correcting him. 

'I'm not going to stop the wheel,' she stated typically simply. 'I'm going to break the wheel.'

(Hat/tip to the Daily Mail for the transcript.)

There are other things in the episode besides the events at Hardhome and the verbal gymnastics of Tyrion and Dany. For example, despite the obvious value of his gift, Jorah Mormont was exiled (again!) and we got another look at Cersei in prison. In Braavos, Arya was given a job assignment (i.e. a target to be assassinated) for her to complete on her path to become a servant of the Many-Faced God. In Winterfell, Sansa learned that her brothers Rickon and Brandon were not killed by Theon Greyjoy after all and her husband Ramsay Bolton made plans to take the battle to Stannis Barratheon's forces while they are struggling with the Northern cold weather. It's amazing to think that there are only two more episodes of this season left.

Highlights
The highlights of this episode were:

• The best line of the episode was "A ruler who kills those devoted to her is not a ruler who inspires devotion." (told by Tyrion Lannister to Daenerys Targaryen). 
• The second best line of the episode was "Fuck the dragon glass, we're all gonna die here!" with "I fucking hate Thenns" close behind.
• The desperation inherent in Cersei's attempt to suck up water from the ground of the floor of her cell after the Silent Sister has deliberately drizzled there as punishment for her prisoner's defiance and refusal to confess.
• The giant Wun Wun smashing wights by stomping on them with his feet and also clearing the path behind him by using a huge flaming log as a broom to sweep away the thronging hordes.
• The sheer magnitude and scale of the battle at Hardhome was thrilling, even if things went so quickly it was hard at times to follow the action.

Lowlights
The parts of the episode I could have done without:

•  None! One of the best episodes of the entire series. 

Grade: 10/10.

Game of Thrones (S5E07): "The Gift"

Episode 7 of Season 5 of HBO's Game Of Thrones is titled "The Gift." As with most episode titles, "The Gift" could refer to many things in the episode, but the reference that most thrills me as a reader (and fan) of the books that the show is based on is the event at the very end of the episode where Tyrion Lannister is presented to Daenery Targaryen as a "gift" from Ser Jorah Mormont. In the books, Daenerys' storyline has not intersected with Tyrion's despite the two being two of the most important and compelling characters in the entire series.

Summary
It is clear that at least one meaning of the title is Tyrion Lannister (he does in fact waddle into the arena after Mormont has dispatched several fighting slaves and say "I am the gift!" after all)  but there are several others. For example, one of the Sand Snakes (Tyene Sand, daughter of Oberyn Martell) rehabilitates the entire misadventure which has been Season 5's foray into Dorne when she gives two gifts to Ser Bronn (the first gift is a pulse-rising striptease which activates the poison that she had cut him with during their fight in the previous episode; happily the second gift is the antidote to that same poison.)

In Winterfell, newlywed Ramsay Bolton has a gift for his bride, the former Sansa Stark. Since he's a disgusting psychopath, his "gift" is the flayed body of the old woman who had told Sansa that "The North Remembers" and gave her hope by telling her that if Sansa puts a candle in the highest window of the old tower then help will come to rescue her. Ramsay, like all abusers wants to extinguish hope in his victim and make them think that he has complete and absolute control over them. Things are not looking good for Sansa. (The slight glimmer of hope is that while Sansa was outside her quarters she seized the opportunity to grab something small and sharp and hide it in her clothes.)

At the Wall, two gifts are bestowed. Master Aemon (who was actually Aemon Targaryen, the youngest brother of the last Targaryen King of Westeros) is given the rare gift of a peaceful death. He died in his sleep surrounded by people who love him (Gilly and Sam) and after playing with baby Sam. Later, after getting the crap beaten out of him by two "brothers" of the Night's Watch for defending Gilly from an attempted rape, she gives him the gift of sexual awakening by gently having sex with him, finally consummating their relationship.

In King's Landing, Ser Petyr Baelish has a gift for Lady Olenna: "a handsome young man," which he describes as the same kind of gift that he had previously given Cersei Lannister. We know that Olyvar is a handsome young man, that he used to work for Littlefinger as a male whore and that he provided the evidence which resulted in Ser Loras Martell (Cersei's fiance!) from being arrested by the Faith Militant on charges of "buggery." How could Baelish's gift to Olenna be "the same thing" that he gave Cersei? Hopefully we will find out in the next episode (S5E08) "Hardhome."

Cersei Lannister brings a gift of food to Margaery Tyrell in prison. The bedraggled Margaery does not take her mother-in-law's dishonest protestation of charity well and their scene together ends with her shriek of "hateful bitch" and throwing the proffered plate of food violently to the ground.

The final gift is a gift to the viewers. After fifty-seven episodes of lying, scheming, adultering and smirking, Cersei finally gets the comeuppance we have been all waiting for. The High Sparrow reveals that Lancel Lannister has unburdened himself of his knowledge of his distant cousin's illegal exploits and they both watch impassively as the Silent Sisters drag Cersei to a cell awfully close to one where she had visited Margaery a little bit earlier in the episode.

Highlights
The best parts of the episode were:

• I already revealed the best line of the show (Tyrion's "I am the gift!") but a close second was Margaery's "You hateful bitch!"
• The look on Cersei's face as she finally realizes (way too late) that she might be in danger from the High Sparrow is priceless.
• The verbal badinage between Bronn and Tyene while both are imprisoned was a highlight, especially since it represents a significant departure from the story in the books.
• The beatdown that Ser Jorah gives the rest of the slaves in the fighting pit as he battles to impress his Khaleesi to hopefully get the opportunity to present his gift and hopefully win her forgiveness was very cool.

Lowlights
The parts of the episode I could have done without:

•  No specific lowlights, except that it was very depressing to see that Ramsay's grip on Theon is so string that even when Sansa begged him to help her by sending the rescue signal Reek went directly to his master instead. 

Grade: 9/10.

Game of Thrones (S5E06): "Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken"

Episode 6 of Season 5 (S5E06) of HBO's Game Of Thrones is "Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken." The title comes from phrase the motto of House Martell, which has become an important focus of this season as the show has expanded to the Martell's domain in Dorne. Fans of the books know that the motto reflects the fact that Dorne, has never been conquered by any external force (not even the Targaryens with their Dragons) while the Martell family has ruled it. However, it is possible that another interpretation of the title could be words that describe Sansa Stark, especially considering what happens at the very end of the episode.

Summary
I think the main theme of this episode (S5E06) is about lies and the impact of lies on the lives of people, as well as bad things happening to good people (but, wait, every episode of Game of Thrones is about that!). The good people in this episode are our usual fan favorites: Sansa, Tyrion, Jaime as well as "the Tyrell Roses" (Margaery and Loras). The bad things that happen to these characters are quite varied. Arya is also a fan favorite, of course, but it is unclear whether something good or bad happened to her.

What did happen is that she learned how to lie convincingly in the House of Black and White, and convinced a very sick girl to drink the poisoned water and meet the Many-Faced God. As a reward, Arya is shown the hidden underground chamber below the House and it turns out that it is filled with thousands and thousands of faces. This seems like a significant development in Arya's goal of becoming one of the deadly assassins known as the Faceless Men. But is this a good thing?

Here are just some of the bad things that happened to our favorite characters in this episode:

• Jamie and Bronn were captured trying to rescue Myrcella Lannister (who clearly did not want to be separated from her hot new boyfriend Trystane Martell)
• Jorah and Tyrion were captured by slavers in Essos and are likely to be taken to Mereen
• Margaery and Loras Tyrell were taken away to jail by the Sparrows, accused of violating the "laws of gods and men"
• Sansa was raped on her wedding night by the odious Ramsay Bolton, while Theon Greyjoy (formerly Reek) was forced to watch, after he had assumed the role of eldest male relative at the wedding 

Some of the lies that resonated in this week's episode were: Arya's lie to the sick girl that she had been brought to the House of Black and White by her father to be healed; Tyrion lies to the slavers who have captured him in order to spare the lives of Jorah and himself; Margaery and Loras lie to the High Sparrow while testifying in Loras' trial; Sansa is lying (presumably?) when she says "I do" during her wedding to Ramsay Bolton; and Jaime and Bronn are not lying per se but they are being deceptive when they break into the Water Gardens of Dorne (Jaime is still perpetrating the lie that he is not Myrcella's father).

Then of course there is Littlefinger's statements to Cersei that he knows where Sansa Stark is and if she makes him Warden of the North then he will bring her Sansa's head on a spike. Is that a lie? Does Littlefinger even know what the truth is anymore?

Highlights
The best parts of the episode were:

• The best line of the show (and possibly the series) was spoken by the anonymous slaver who captured Tyrion Lannister and Ser Barristan Selmy: "The dwarf lives until we find a cock merchant!" 
• A close runner-up  for the best line of the show (for the sheer magnitude of delusion it reveals) is Cersei Lannister's "House Lannister has no rival." Sadly, the statement by Sansa to her fiance's gielfriend is equally self-delusional: "I am Sansa Stark of Winterfell. This is my home and you can't frighten me."
• The verbal clash between Cersei and Olenna Tyrell was a delight; as expected the Queen of Thorns easily won the match and also learned that Lord Tywin's daughter is not as worthy an opponent or combatant as he was.
• Another highlight of the episode was the buggery trial of Loras Tyrell, primarily for the clever way the show runners were able to set the perjury trap for Queen Margaery. The smirk that Cersei gives Olenna is priceless, but again demonstrates she is unaware of the danger of arming religious zealots and then blurring the lines separating Church and State.
• The dress that Sansa Stark wore to her wedding to Ramsay Bolton was absolutely stunning.

Lowlights
The parts of the episode I could have done without:

•  As many other recaps have noted, did the show really need to have another female lead character get raped in order to demonstrate the ubiquity and horror of sexual violence in Westeros? Sansa is the third one, following the rapes of Dany on her wedding night by Khal Drogo and Cersei by her brother Jaime next to the body of their dead son King Joffrey.
• The Sand Snakes are simply unacceptably bad; their "plot" to capture Myrcella was laughable. It's really not clear how the entire Dorne subplot can be salvaged at this point.

Grade: 8/10.

Game of Thrones (S5E05): "Kill The Boy"

Episode 5 of Season 5 of HBO's Game Of Thrones is "Kill The Boy." This episode (S5E05) marks the halfway point of the season and although things are still moving along more slowly than most reviewers are happy with, they are clearly building towards something big, which will most likely be revealed in S5E09.

Summary
I think the main theme of this episode (S5E05) is maturity and the hard decisions that follow. Considering the body count of this show, one could be forgiven for taking the title of the episode ("Kill The Boy") literally and fearing for the safety of some child. Especially considering Daenerys' behavior  in trying to maintain control of the former slaveholding city of Meereen. However, we discover pretty early that the title is a metaphor, a suggestion from Maester Aemon Targaryen to Lord Commander Jon Snow to "kill the boy and let the man be born." Jon takes his advice and announces to the Night's Watch his very unpopular decision that he wants to invite the people they have viewed as their enemies for generations (the Wildings who live North of the Wall) to come and live south of the Wall. Jon's reasons are sound: anyone who is North of the Wall when the Army of White Walkers comes through during the Winter will not only be massacred horribly but also turn into un-dead Zombies that the Night's Watch will have to face in the future when Winter arrives.

Maturity, or lack of therein, is demonstrated when we move to Winterfell. There Ramsey Snow Bolton is demonstrating his lack of control to Sansa by showing off his pet Reek at the worst dinner party ever featuring Lord Roose Bolton, his new wife Walda (nee Frey). Ramsay's lack of maturity is embarrassing for everyone present but it also reveals that Sansa has not fully matured because she is unable to show the disgust in her face as she sees the boy she knew as Theon being forced to apologize to her for (falsely) killing her brothers Rickon and Brandon while the man who killer her eldest brother and was present and responsible for the death of her mother is sitting across the table from her.

Over in Essos, Dany makes an important decision after throwing what I would refer to a fit of childish spite by terrorizing the heads of the great families of Meereen by showing them her dragons Viserion and Rhaegar and then arbitrarily choosing one to burned alive and then devoured by them.
She goes to the prison cell of the Meereenese noble the television audience knows the best (his actual name is Hizdahr zo Loraq) and while he cowers on his knees she cooly informs him that she wants to get married (to him).

A key part of the episode occurred when Tyrion Lannister and Jorah Mormont take a shortcut by passing through the fabled, haunted city of Valyria and see Drogon (Dany's 3rd dragon) flying in the sky. Valyria looked incredible but its eery stillness was broken by the appearance of the Stonemen, people who are completely infected with greyscale. "Don't let them touch you!" cried Jorah but Tyrion's hands are still tied together so all he can basically do is scramble around and then plunges into the water and the screen fades to black when we see a hand reaching fro Tyrion pulling him deeper into the muck.

Amazingly, that's not the end of the episode, because there's one more incredibly important reveal: Even though Jorah was able to rescue Tyrion, he was unable to follow his own advice and he has contracted greyscale from the Stonemen. It's clear that the show is going to raise the profile of the disease to a much higher level than it has in the books.

Highlights
The best parts of the episode were:

• The best lines of the show were (surprisingly) delivered by Stannis Barratheon this week. The first was when he muttered under his breath "Fewer" when a member of the Night's Watch was arguing against his Lord Commander's plan by shouting "Let the die! Less enemies for us!" "Fewer," muttered Stannis, channeling his inner grammar scold. The second great line was when Stannis talked to Sam in the library and confirmed that the rotund, unassuming guy in front of him had indeed killed a White Walker with dragonglass (obsidian) but doesn't know why it worked. "Keep reading, Samwell Tarly" said Stannis on his way out the door.
• The entire scene on the water going through Valyria with Jorah and Tyrion exhanging quotes from famous poems was simply delightful.
• Dragons! Viserion and Rhaegar looked incredible close up and Drogon looked amazing from far way.

Lowlights
The parts of the episode I could have done without:

• I think this was the first episode of the season with no specific lowlights for me. I know that many reviewers do not understand the depiction of thee relationship between Grey Worm and Missandei but to me it is welcome respite from the bleakness of the show. That being said, Grey Worm's expression of love was still a bit groan-inducing.

Grade: 9/10.

Game of Thrones (S5E04): "The Sons of The Harpy"

Episode 4 of Season 5 of HBO's Game Of Thrones is titled "The Sons of the Harpy." This episode (S5E04) continues the build up of multiple plots as we move closer and closer to the midway point of the 10-episode season and further establishes what we noted last week: the television adaptation of George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire is diverging from the books, even as we are rapidly approaching points in several characters' timelines which have not been revealed in the books that have been released so far.

Summary
I am not alone in realizing that the main theme of this episode is parenting and the influence of familial ties on individual behavior. There are numerous examples of this, starting with Jaime Lannister and Ser Bronn setting off for Dorne in a boat. "Why are we doing this?" Bronn asks. "She's my niece," says Jaime. "Your niece?" says Bronn, with a raised eyebrow. (The subtext is very obvious here, even Bronn knows that Myrcella Barratheon is Jaime's daughter, as well as his niece, but Jaime doesn't acknowledge that fact, even as he sets on a dangerous quest to rescue his daughter from the clutches of the Dornish. We see more examples of familial ties when Ser Oberyn Martell's four daughters, generaly known to book readers like myself as the "Sand Snakes." (Because Oberyn never married Ellaria Sand, her daughters and the others are all illegitimate, which is why they have the surname Sand, it's the Dornish equivalent of "Snow" in The North.) We are introduced to the Sand Snakes as they are torturing the captain of the ship that Jaime sailed into Dorne on and all of them agree to go along with Ellaria's plan to punish the Lannisters by killing Myrcella in revenge for Oberyn's horrible death in (S4E08) "The Mountain and the Viper."

Familial ties also rear their head in Margaery Tyrell's reaction to the Faith Militant capturing her brother Ser Loras for his notorious homosexuality. The depiction of Ser Loras is controversial among fans of the books because in the series they have basically made his gayness the main thing show watchers know about him while in the books it was made clear that he was gay (and in love with Renly Barratheon) but that he was also one of the best-looking men in Westeros, as well as one of the best with a sword. Neither of these latter two attributes are played up much in the show's depiction of Loras. I would not be surprised if he becomes one of the characters who while still alive in the books may be killed off this season in the show.

There were other important developments besides the focus on family and parents.
It was great to see that there was so much focus on telling the story of Rhaegar Targaryen (Dany's oldest brother) and Lyanna Stark (Catelyn's sister). Rhaegar not only comes up in the crypts of Winterfell when Sansa and Littlefinger are speaking, he also comes up when Ser Barristan is reminiscing with Dany. This tends to lead to a lot of speculation online that the producers are going to make explicit, a theory about Jon Snow's parentage. Namely, that the baby Eddard Stark brought back from the war (that grew up to be Jon Snow) was the lovechild of Rhaegar and Lyanna. This would mean that Jon has noble blood from both of his parents, not from the man whom he assumed was his father all his life. It's this noble blood that attracts Melissandre to make sexual advances which he rebuffs by saying that he is still in love with another. "You know nothing, Jon Snow" says Melissandre, eerily channeling Ygritte, Jon's former Wildling lover.

The conversation between Lord Baelish and Sansa Stark at Winterfell was a key moment in the episode, because it gave the audience the story about Rhaegar and Lyanna and it also showed how the story was viewed from the Stark side ("he raped her!") while Littlefinger just looked pensive (There are intimations that Lyanna Stark willingly ran off to be with Rhaegar, even though he was married to Elia Martell (sister to Oberyn and Doran) at the time, and her baby (who may or may not be Jon Snow) was conceived in love, not hate.

Highlights
The best parts of the episode were:

• The best line of the show was given by Ser Bronn when he said "The Dornish are crazy. All they want to do is fight and f--k, f--k and fight." Although a very close second goes to Cersei Lannister when Maester Pycelle comments that the Small Council (the powerful executive committee which basically helps the Hand of the King rule the Seven Kingdoms) is getting smaller and smaller with the departure of the Master of Coin Lord Tyrell to Braavos to negotiate with the Iron Bank and the absence of Ser Kevan Lannister. "Not small enough!" says The Queen Mother on her way out the door.
• The speed with which Tyrion figured out exactly who had kidnapped him from the few clues lying around the boat was impressive, and highlights just how clear it is he is the smartest Lannister, by far.
• The fight between the Sons of the Harpy and the Unsullied was very exciting, especially when we saw that Grey Worm was among the group being ambushed and became even more suspenseful when Ser Barristan joined the fray and despite being seemingly overwhelmed by superior numbers seemed to be making headway, only to take what looked like fatal blows in the end.

Lowlights
The parts of the episode I could have done without:

• There was quite a whiff  of sexploitation in the graphic depictions of Faith Militant's violent and vicious behavior in Littlefinger's whorehouse, especially towards the men they found there having sex with other men.

Grade: 9/10.

Game of Thrones (S5E03): "High Sparrow"

Episode of 3 of Season 5 of HBO's Game Of Thrones aired earlier this week and is titled "High Sparrow." This episode (S5E03) features the debut of acclaimed British actor Jonathan Pryce playing the soon-to-be important role of the High Sparrow, a leader of a religious sect. As you can see from the pictures above, and as I have said before, this season revolves around Cersei Lannister (played by Lena Headey), and to a lesser extent Arya Stark (played by Maisie Williams).

Summary
I think the main theme of this episode is alliances or partnerships. There are numerous "big moves" made in the Game of Thrones in this episode. First, Cersei seeks out the man they call the High Sparrow, the head of a group of believers in a hard-core version of the Seven Gods religion that dominates Westeros. She wants to align faith and crown (church and state) in a mutually beneficial pact that will lead to stability in the kingdom, and more power to each of them, especially her, she thinks.

This is important because, in sharp contrast to the other dramatic weddings that have happened on the show, the wedding of Margaery Tyrell and Tommen Barratheon proceeds without incident and is vigorously and repeatedly consummated. Thus Cersei's grip on power is more and more tenuous since her title of Queen Regent or Queen Mother may soon slip to Dowager Queen or Queen Grandmother as soon as Tommen's new bride successfully delivers a new heir. Margaery takes a little too much pleasure at informing Cersei of this fact of life to her face, and also points out to the newly deflowered King that perhaps he no longer requires such close devotion from his mother.

Another example of alliances being forged/re-arranged in S5E03 are in The North, where Littlefinger reveals that he has offered Sansa Stark's hand in marriage to Ramsey Bolton, the Lord of Winterfell. So, a Stark may again be residing in Winterfell, but as we in the audience know (and knowing Littlefinger's penchant for secrets its hard to imagine that he does NOT know), Ramsey Bolton is a psychopathic sexual sadist and his father, Roose Bolton, murdered Sansa's brother Robb Stark (the former Lord of Winterfell) in cold blood.

In addition to these events there were other important plot developments in this episode. The first  of these was at the Wall, where newly elected Lord Commander of the Night's Watch Jon Snow was forced to eliminate a thorn in his side and demonstrate that his orders must be followed by beheading Janos Slynt for refusal to follow a direct order. Other important developments were Tyrion Lannister's kidnapping in Volantis by Ser Jorah Mormont (formerly a key adviser to AND secret informant on Dany Targaeryen) and confirmation that Brienne and Pod are continuing to follow Sansa and Littlefinger.

A key take away of this episode is that the showrunners have made a definitive split from the story that is being told i George R.R. Martin's A Song Of Ice and Fire and the story being told in this television adaptation called Game Of Thrones.

Highlights
The best parts of the episode were:

• The best line of the show was when Sansa shows up at Winterfell and one of the servants addresses her as "Lady Stark" and Sansa turns around, surely thinking, "Lady Stark was my mother, I'm not Lady Stark" and the servant says "The North Remembers!"
• The verbal jousting between Margaery and Cersei and the look on Cersei's face when Tommen asks her whether she wouldn't be happier if she moved back to Casterly Rock and her realization that his new bride is already manipulating her son was priceless.
• Another highlight was the conversation between Littlefinger and Roose Bolton. I like how explicit the show is about how significant Littlefinger is to all the intrigues and plots that change the power structures in Westeros. I don't think that was remotely as clear in the books.
• The look that Sansa Stark gives Roose Bolton as she approaches her fiance's father, recognizing that he is the man responsible for the death of her brother and mother, before waiting a beat (or two) and then giving a perfect curtsey.

Lowlights
The parts of the episode I could have done without:

•  Did we really need to see the stump of the decapitated body of Jonas Slynt

Grade: 8/10.

Game Of Thrones (S5E02): "The House of Black and White"

Episode of 2 of Season 5 of HBO's Game Of Thrones aired this week and is titled "The House of Black and White." This episode (S5E02) features Arya Stark, the one main character who did not appear at all in last week's (S5E01) "The Wars To Come." Since Arya is one of my favorite characters I am pleased that the show caught up with her story so quickly

Summary
I think this episode is really about shades of gray. Arya has basically devoted herself to a life of revenge for the horrible things that have happened to the her family (Lord Eddard Stark beheaded due to the treachery of Joffrey Barratheon; the death of her mother and brother at the Red Wedding). She basically sees all people in "stark" terms as either friend and foe (and most people are foes). Interestingly, Arya's death list has shrunk to just four people  (Cersei Lannister, Walder Frey, The Mountain, and Ser Meryn Trant). Arya has made her way to Braavos in order to join the guild of shape-shifting assassins called The Faceless Men.

Another character who is shown not  appreciating nuance in this episode is Daenerys who decides to execute one her supporters in Mereen after the former slave takes the law into his own hands and executes one of the former slave-owners associated with the Sons of the Harpy group who was awaiting trial for killing one of the Unsullied last week. "The law is the law" says Dany firmly, but when Daario does the deed the assembled audience hisses at their Mhysa and the beginnings of a riot ensues as former slaves and former slave-owners try to kill each other.

Cersei Lannister is not known for her willingness to see both sides of a situation and she (rightly) interprets a missive from Dorne containing her daughter's unique jewelry as a threat to the life of Myrcella. This fear for her daughter's well-being is well-founded as Ellaria Sand is shown castigating Prince Doran Martell (her deceased lover's brother) for being unwilling to take revenge on their Barratheon hostage guest for the death of Oberyn Martell.

Really the only characters who we know are smart enough to have nuanced views are Varys and Tyrion Lannister, and they have an amusing and interesting dialogue about the futility of trying to make the world a better place.

Two other characters who  we know see things in more details than just black and white are Jon Snow and Stannis Barratheon. They have some good scenes together this week when Stannis offers Jon his heart's desire of becoming a real Stark and the Lord of Winterfell--if Jon just "bends the knee" and pledges fealty to Stannis as the true claimant to the Iron Throne (and forsakes his oath to the Night's Watch). Somewhat surprisingly, Jon doesn't get a chance to accept or decline this offer because instead he gets elected as the 998th Lord Commander with Aemon Targaryen casting the last, deciding vote.

Highlights
The best parts of the episode were:

• The return of Drogon, the largest child of the Mother of Dragons
• The setting for the famous Water Gardens of Dorne (apparently some fancy Spanish castle) looks incredible
• The banter between Bronn and Jaime Lannister bodes well for their mission to Dorne to try and rescue Myrcella
• The best lines of the show were of course between Tyrion and Varys: "Are we really going to spend the entire trip to Volantis discussing the futility of everything?" (Varys to Tyrion) and Tyrion's reply "You're right. No point."
• Another highlight was the fact that Brienne was able to run into the second Stark daughter she swore an oath to Lady Catelyn to defend, a brilliant departure from the books where despite her oath Brienne never runs into either of the Stark girls. In the show, the tragedy is thta both Stark girls reject Brienne's offer of protection.

Lowlights
The parts of the episode I could have done without:

•  Even though I was happy to see more Arya, the scenes in Braavos did not seem to  make much sense. What did Arya do to get the attention of the Faceless Men? Why did they not let her in to the House of Black and White when she first arrived? Hopefully we will learn more later on because the reasons were not revealed this week.

Grade: 9/10.

Overall: This was definitely a better episode than last week, and brought forward the story of many of the fan favorite characters (like Arya, Drogon, Bronn and Brienne) and set up scenarios which will become even more important later in the season (Dorne,

Game Of Thrones (S5E01): "The Wars To Come"

Episode of 1 of Season 5 of HBO's Game Of Thrones aired this week. Episode S5E01 is titled "The Wars To Come" and has the heavy burden of setting the tone for the entire season as well as re-acclimating the audience to the complicated story of the multiple character drama.

Summary
The episode began with the series very first flashback scene, ever. It featured a young Cersei Lannister getting her fortune told by a witch, who rightly tells her "everyone wants to know their future, until they know their future." Cersei is told that she will not marry the Prince she is currently betrothed to but that she will be Queen, but only until a younger prettier woman comes along and that she will have three children who will have "gold as their crowns and gold as their shrouds." The key point to note here is that beginning with Cersei, the showrunners are emphasizing how she is central to many of the events that happen in Season 5, as the death of her father Lord Tywin Lannister (the richest and most powerful man in Westeros) at the end of Season 4 causes a power vacuum, that Cersei despite her flailing attempts, is unable to fill.

The episode begins with a shot of Tywin's body lying in state in the Great Sept of Baelor and then we get a dizzying series of interactions of Cersei at Tywin's funeral (her uncle Kevan Lannister, her distant cousin/boy toy Lancel Lannister, her betrothed Loras Tyrell, and er brother Jaime Lannister).
One thing the episode does very well is catch us up on the story for almost all the many characters we are following. There are appearances by Tyrion and Varys in Pentos, Daenerys and Daario (and her two captive dragons) in Mereen, Brienne and Pod, Sansa and Littlefinger and Jon Snow and Mance Ryder and Stannis and Melissandre at the wall. The only "main" characters we don't see in the first episode are the other Stark children: Arya and Bran (and Rickon, of course).

Highlights
The best parts of the episode were:

• The sheer grandeur of the Great Sept of Baelor and the impressive scale of the Harpy Statue in Mereen were pretty awesome to see.
• They finally named the two smaller dragons, Rhaegar and Viserion, as well as showing that even these two are a handful to deal with.
• The best lines of the show were both about Daenerys: "A dragon queen without dragons is not a queen"(Daario Naharis, to Dany)  and "Who said anything about 'him'?" (Varys to Tyrion)
• Loved the fact that Jon did the right thing by putting Mance out of his misery while he was being burned alive by The Red Lady but did he really need to make it so obvious that he was the one who fired the shot?
• I'm not really complaining per se about the show's willingness to depict same-sex nooky as part of its commitment to sexposition but it would be nice if they rounded out the depiction of Ser Loras as more than just Margaery's gay brother.

Lowlights

The parts of the episode I could have done without:

• Did we really need female frontal nudity in the brothel scene before the anonymous Unsullied guy got his throat cut?
• Did we really need to know the details of how Tyrion's poop was dealt with while he was stuck in a box for the duration of a long ship voyage across the Narrow Sea?

Grade: 8/10.

Overall: A decent start to an intriguing season of my favorite show on television.

1 Week Until Season 5 of Game Of Thrones!

Season 5 of Game of Thrones starts next week, at 9pm EDT on HBO. The titles of the first seven (of ten) episodes have been revealed:

1. The Wars To Come
2. The House of Black and White
3. High Sparrow
4. The Sons of The Harpy
5. Kill The Boy
6. Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken
7. The Gift

As we have been doing in Season 3 and Season 4, we will blog our reactions to every episode of Season 5 before the next one airs. This is an exciting season for Game of Thrones fans like yours truly because the story will almost certainly advance past what has currently been revealed in the source material of the books written by George R.R. Martin. Season 5 will cover material that appears in A Feast for Crows (widely regarded as the worst book of A Song Of Ice and Fire) and A Dance With Dragons (the most recently published book which generally received mixed reviews from fans for expanding instead of resolving story lines). The issue is that these two books cover the same period of time in the story but only some characters appear in each book. Obviously, the television series has to move the story forward with all the character simultaneously.

WATCH: Trailer 2 of Game of Thrones Season 5 is Out!

When HBO announced HBO Now (it's new cable-free streaming service billed at $14.99 per month), it also premiered the second trailer for Season 5 of Game of Thrones, which will be available everywhere starting April 12, 2015. HBO will apparently air the show live worldwide keyed to the 9pm EDT time. However, this will not be the case in the United Kingdom, whose residents will also not get access to HBO Now for some reason. It's unclear whether we in California will be able to see the show at 6pm PDT or have to wait until 9pm PDT (that has currently been the practice).


Hat/tip to Winter Is Coming