You tell me the difference.
Spoilers within.
Oh, Jon and Sam on the Wall, saying their vows, and that hug. Just stab me right in the heart, why don't you? I love the idea of creating a family for yourself, and that's all the Wall is, all the Night's Watch is. So much of convincing people to do an unbelievably shitty and difficult job is telling and showing them that if they do it, they'll be part of something. We all want that, and we'd all kill for it, given the chance.
I heart Ser Barristan the Bold so much. You'll find out next week just how much and why.
Speaking of people I love, can we talk about Drogo for a second and shamelessly objectify his whole YOU FUCKED WITH THE WRONG MARINE scene? Because the way Dany was looking at him, she'd like to do him right there, and I don't think she was alone. As Mr. A said, "Get in line." This bit of the show was maybe the first time I bought him and Dany, when I felt like they were getting to the place they started with in the books, and you felt his love for her. Sure, he got all savagely kill-crazy, but first it was, "you okay, baby?" Tastycakes.
Oh yes, Tywin Lannister, World's Worst Father, lecturing your one kid about how he sucks at rescuing the other, more-sucky kid, while skinning the sigil of the house to which you sold your third child. Way to be! Tywin scares the shit out of me. Jaime and Tyrion are scary in their own ways but Tywin will kill you on the off chance his stock might go up a quarter of a point, if you substitute the Westeros equivalent of the NYSE.
Now, let me just say this, right up front: FUCK THEON GREYJOY. In every way imaginable and some that haven't been invented yet. Let's talk some about prisoners, and guests, and about kicking the weaker kid and why it's always a bad idea, because Maester Luwin was right: A fine line separates prisoner from guest. Theon himself is both, having been taken as a ward of the Starks in reparation for his dumbass father's decision to rebel against the crown. So Theon, of all people, should know you don't pick on someone in your power just because you can.
This is a story about power, about what we do to control those around us. Theon's life has not been his own since he was sent from the Iron Islands to the North as a "guest." And his life goes in and out of focus: Prisoner, guest. The thing about being either or both is that you are powerful and powerless in equal measure. As a guest you have a place of "honor," in a home that is not your own. As a prisoner you are the focus of attention, in a place you cannot leave. The one tips over into the other more often than you'd think, and it is never a mark of superior achievement in the field of "being a human" that you take advantage of either, because both are within your protection.
You forget what that means, you start picking on a girl who wears chains just because she can't fight back, and then you're no longer the guard. Then you're no longer the host. Then you're just as much of a prisoner as she is, just as bound by limits of who is restricted and who is not. Then you're just as much a guest, an alien in a land strange to you, dependent on the good will of others to stay alive.
A.
One of the first blog-based books, the anthology Special Plans examines Feith's role in misleading America into war. Buy from 
I love reading your commentary on the show.
Man did I want to punch Littlefinger in the face even more than usual this episode.
I look forward to Barristan the Bold reminding people just who the hell he is.
I was a might annoyed with the "rape their women" part of Drogo's speech, given how the show handled the wedding night, but just about everything else in that scene rocked. I loved his concern for her and his deep-seated thankfulness to Jorah, I only wished we saw a bit more of Mormont's reaction to his own guilt in the matter.
I like Sam a lot, and this portrayal is just making me like him more.
I have nothing further to add to the statement FUCK THEON GREYJOY, which just about sums it up.
Posted by: LC | May 30, 2011 at 00:13
So do you suppose that they've filmed an alternate, happier ending where they amicably work out their differences over tea?
Posted by: Scoopernicus | May 30, 2011 at 07:43
Scoop, I would pay cold hard cash to see that.
Cersei and Ned decide to have a torrid affair. Sansa runs away with Septa Mordane. Dany and Drogo start a disco on the Wall, and the strobe lights magically destroy all the White Walkers. Jaime decides to duel Renly for Loras's love, only to find Loras has been shagging Tyrion the whole time. And they all pick who's gonna rule what by playing a neverending game of D&D.
A.
Posted by: Athenae | May 30, 2011 at 09:42
more lost but ooh, charles dance is still hot + he knows how to butcher his kill. shit.
Posted by: pansypoo | May 30, 2011 at 12:21
A, Scoop, I am in with a ticket to see that version.
Posted by: LC | May 30, 2011 at 12:43
i'm beginning to look forward to the monday wrap-up and comments almost as much as i do the sunday nite episodes.
Posted by: mellowjohn | May 30, 2011 at 15:50
Maybe the 'ghost grass' turns to be marijuana and the Dothraki mellow out and become dealers to Westeros.
Posted by: Scoopernicus | May 30, 2011 at 17:58
Ditto, Mellowjohn. I love A's takes on my favorite geek shows. I just wish these episodes were two hours long. One a week is just not enough!
Posted by: Steller | May 31, 2011 at 12:33