Summer Episodes (or, Surviving The Haituses)

First let me just say "haituses" is a strange word to type, let alone look at.

So far on the list of new shows to keep an eye on:

The Last Ship - I have not seen the 2nd episode, but the pilot looks quite interesting. Global pandemics, bioweapons, Adam Baldwin, what could possibly be bad about any of that? And did I mention ADAM FREAKING BALDWIN? Sure, you can go back and watch episodes of Firefly and Chuck and take care of that particular craving quite well, but it's great to see him back on television.

Crossbones - This one is well past the pilot episode, and who doesn't like a good pirate yarn? This one boasts John Malkovich as the daring Commodore Edward Teach, aka Blackbeard (though don't call him that, he doesn't like that). The storyline thus far is intriguing, for the history buff, the pirate afficionado, and the uneducated alike. You don't have to know the stories of Edward Teach in order to enjoy the show, and John Malkovich makes it ever so much more enjoyable.

The Leftovers - I sat here last night and watched this one. I somehow missed the little bit in the previews leading up to it saying it came from one of the creators of "Lost". Remember that one? How everything started out mysterious and vague, and then they led everyone on for six seasons, only to reveal in the finale (SPOILER ALERT... seriously is that even necessary) that everyone had died in the initial plane crash that started the whole mess? Excuse me if I'm a little leery of this show, expecting the proverbial rug to get pulled out from under me. The cast is a hodge podge of never-heard-of-them-before's and some well known actors/actresses, including Miss Jennifer Aniston's main squeeze (for now) Justin Theroux, Liv Tyler (who honestly doesn't quite look like herself, not sure what that's about), Christopher Eccleston (*fangirly squeeees*), Scott Glenn, Remy Auberjonois (yes yes, Odo's son, you trekkie!), and Chris Zylka (you probably know him as Flash Thompson, from The Amazing Spider Man). They reveal just enough of the storyline to hook you in and leave you scratching your head by the end of the pilot episode. I definitely will keep watching at least for a few more episodes before I make an official decision whether or not to keep watching. I don't need every episode to be a mindfuck, if I wanted mindfucks, I'd just go watch another M. Night movie and call it a day.

Returning shows.... Falling Skies is another mindfucker.. maybe to someone who's seen it all from the very beginning it may all make sense, but to me, where I missed most of season 3, it's rather confusing, but looks like they've got a good basis for the coming season. True Blood... ehh... I really just wasn't that impressed with the season opener, I'll be catching the 2nd episode later today, but seriously not holding my breath. At this point the only reason I'm bothering with it is it's an excuse to gawk at Alexander Skarsgard. I have no shame or regret!

A Rebuttal: 9 People Who Should Have Died This Season on Game of Thrones

I happened across THIS article a short bit ago and it got me to thinking... do these people really deserve to die? Who deserves it more? Lets have a gander. **WARNING SPOILERS DO NOT READ FURTHER IF YOU ARE NOT CAUGHT UP!**

Game of Thrones: S4E9 - The Watchers on the Wall

An entire hour dedicated to the battle at the Wall. I was looking forward to it, but at the same time, dreading seeing all the death. I knew going into it that Jon Snow survives, thanks to him dropping the news accidentally in an interview that he had begun filming for season 5, so I knew I wouldn't be TOO upset. 

One of the best things about this episode is the scale of it, seeing creatures that we'd heard about in previous episodes (ie the giants), the musical score was exceptionally great.

Gilly's alive! (yay.... yay....) I'm seriously NOT a fan of this character, but she makes Sam happy, so there's that. He tells her he never wants to be away from her ever again, and the first thing he does is "Lori, I've got things... stuff and things!!" and runs off to play war with the big kids. I don't blame him. I would have too, but for very different reasons. Hell, I might have even used her to weight down a barrel. 

Remember when Mance Rayder said he would signal the beginning of the attack on Castle Black by setting the "biggest fire the North has ever seen"? Well.. he kept his word. Smokey the Bear was not pleased. 

Prior to this episode, there was debate about whether or not giants existed. There is no longer any question. OH YEAH, and they've got mammoths. You'd think someone somewhere at some point during the ranging expeditions of the Night's Watch, someone would have seen one of these fucking things. I mean it's not like you can exactly hide a mammoth.

And here we have everyone's favorite asshole, Alliser Thorne. He'd already, in no so many words, told Jon Snow that he was right, expecting an obligatory "I told you so", but it never came. He did give quite the rousing "hey lets go kill these guys" speech. He could have said "yeah I know that there's only 100 or so guys here, we're pretty much fucked, but lets go die glorious deaths!" and he didn't. He was determined that Castle Black would stand come the following morning, and he was not wrong. This time. Course, he was wounded, so for those of us who haven't gotten this far in the books yet, lets hope for the best.. and by that, lets hope the wound gets infected and he dies. 

Ygritte came looking for dangly bits to wear about her neck. I had a feeling she would choke.

He looked like he wanted her to just let the arrow fly.

Hey, remember that kid a few episodes back who was bragging about being the best shot in his hamlet? Remember how everyone laughed at him? Yeah... he wasn't kidding about being good with a bow. Unfortunately it didn't go so well.

This was probably the most heartbreaking thing I've seen all season. I didn't cry because she got killed. I cried because for all the hate she felt, for all the things she'd said, they did love each other, right up to the very last. I cried because the amount of hurt on his face just tore me to shreds. 

Of course, the prettiest of the direwolves given to the Stark children had to be a part of this battle. He knew there was a fight to get to, his eyes were already glowing blood red. I'll admit I was a little scared for him, but he came through just fine.

One lone giant made it past the first gate and charged, attempting to get past the Night's Watch guarding it. Jon had told them no matter what, that gate must hold.

And hold it, they did. Not without some fear. Okay, alot of fear. But this was probably the most bone-chilling, courageous moment I have seen yet in all of the series. As the giant begins his charge, they begin reciting the Night's Watch oath, before the scene fades to black.

Battle has raged all night, and now day has come. Thormund Giantsbane was captured and is now being held captive. Many have fallen, many others still injured. But the war is not won, and Jon knows this. So he does the only thing that makes any sense. He leaves Ghost behind, and leaves his sword in the hands of Sam, because he'd promised Lord Commander Mormont he would not lose it again, and goes off to face Mance Rayder without any weapons whatsoever. Because that makes all the sense in the world.

Finally I'd like to give a little spotlight to some of the battle tactics and weapons used during the battle, just because they were extremely awesome: 

The predator drone-sized arrow, or what my children were calling "an arrow made from the leghair of Chuck Norris"

And the Swinging Scythe of Slicing Slaughter (that has been the focus of many Miley Cyrus-esque memes.. way to ruin it for everyone, you people who thought that was funny and clever!) 

I joke, to some extent, throughout this post, but really it was a great episode, and I refuse to read the full-on articles regarding the season finale, but there's rumors that the finale is going to be the best yet. I desperately hope so, given how lackluster the season 3 finale was, following the buildup to the Red Wedding. Everyone seems to think Lady Stoneheart will be making her appearance soon, and I'm more than ready for the show to put a little more focus on the threat of the White Walkers as well.

Supernatural - Season 10 Theorycrafting

I have watched and rewatched Supernatural seasons 1-8 multiple times, and starting into season 9 again just for the sake of continuity (transation: I'm really just a masochist, and just about every other show I'm into is on hiatus). I was thinking today about the potential storyline for season 10, which is very obviously going to be centered on Dean's predicament. There are many directions they could go with the story at this point, and they very easily could "jump the shark" at any given moment. Let's look at the storyline from the beginning:

• Season 1 - Sam and Dean try to find their father and Azazel who is responsible for killing their mother and Sam's girlfriend. 
• Season 2 - After a major car wreck (thank you Demon Truck Driving Company), John Winchester makes a deal to save Dean's life. The boys refuse to discuss their father's death, and begin searching for others who were chosen by Azazel. Sam is killed and Dean makes a deal with a crossroads demon to revive him. He gets one year to live. Azazel is ultimately killed. 
• Season 3 - The boys hunt down the spirits that escape Hell at the end of Season 2. They try to find a way to save Dean, and find out Lilith holds the contract for his soul. Dean's contract expires and his soul is taken to hell.
• Season 4 - Castiel pulls Dean out of hell. Sam starts drinking blood so he can kill Lilith, who is trying to open the 66 seals. Dean learns the angels WANT the apocalypse to happen, and that Lilith is the final seal. He can't stop Sam from killing her, but he does kill Ruby, and Lucifer breaks free.
• Season 5 - The boys learn that they are the vessels of Michael and Lucifer (Dean/Michael, Sam/Lucifer). They also learn they have a half-brother, Adam. They attempt to kill Lucifer with the Colt they retrieve from Crowley, but it doesn't work. They gather up the rings of the Four Horsemen. Sam allows Lucifer to possess him, but regains control over himself after beating the hell out of Dean, and grabs Adam (who has become Michael's vessel) and throws them both into hell. Dean attempts to have a normal life. 
• Season 6 - A year later, Sam returns, Dean finds out he has been back for awhile, hunting with their thought-to-be-dead grandfather Samuel. Castiel and Crowley work together to find the entrance to Purgatory, so Castiel can use the souls there to win the civil war in Heaven. Dean gets help from Death to restore Sam's soul, and Death blocks Sam's memories. Cas breaks down that wall in order to get Dean to leave him to his plan. He absorbs the souls and proclaims himself God.
• Season 7 - The souls Cas absorbed turn out to be Leviathans. Sam is plagued with hallucinations of Lucifer, but keeps it mostly to himself. It appears the Leviathans have killed Castiel, and the boys begin hunting them down. Bobby is killed by their leader, but is able to continue helping thanks to Dean keeping his flask. Eventually he becomes a vengeful spirit and the boys are forced to burn the flask. Dean and Cas kill Dick, and are dragged into Purgatory. Sam is left to deal with Crowley on his own.
• Season 8 - Dean returns, with the help of Benny, and without Castiel, and the boys begin hunting down the Demon Tablet. They also learn that their paternal grandfather belonged to the Men of Letters. Castiel is returned with the help of Naomi, and he takes the Angel Tablet. Sam begins the trials named in the Demon Tablet, so they can banish all demons from earth forever, but Dean stops it when he learns the trials will kill Sam. Crowley becomes addicted to human blood. Castiel's grace is stripped from him by Metatron. Metatron closes Heaven and the angels fall to earth.
• Season 9 - Dean makes a deal with an angel to heal Sam, but the angel has to be IN Sam for it to work. Sam wouldn't know the angel was there, but Castiel would, so the angel requires Dean to keep Castiel away. It is later learned that the angel is actually Gadreel, who let evil into the Garden of Eden. When faced with this, the angel kills Kevin Tran and escapes. They track him down and with the help of Crowley, Gadreel is expelled from Sam. A rift forms between the brothers, and Dean begins searching for the First Blade, and takes on the Mark of Cain in order to wield it. He kills Abaddon, and proceeds to hunt down Metatron. He forms an uneasy alliance with Crowley in the midst of all of this. The season finale results in the deaths of Gadreel, who sacrifices himself to free Castiel to get the Angel Tablet back from Metatron, and the death of Dean. The end of the episode, Sam is summoning Crowley, who is in the room with Dean when he tells "Dean" the story of the First Blade, and places the blade in his hand, telling him to awaken. Dean's eyes snap open and he appears to be a demon. 

Probably not the most detailed, accurate summarization of the entire series, but the recurring things are there. The boys are constantly fighting their so-called destiny, things that were laid out before they were ever born. They didn't want this life, nor did they ask for it. They have tried to move away from it and they always get sucked back in for one reason or another. They risk their lives for each other, back and forth, ping-pong style and damn the consequences. There is never an easy choice to make, there is never an easy solution to anything. The final episode has Dean becoming the one thing he never wanted to be, a monster. He knew it, he felt it, he even told Sam as he was dying. Sam, after being pissed off at Dean for almost an entire season for sticking an angel in his body to SAVE HIM, the first thing he does when Dean dies is has a drink and then starts to summon Crowley. Why not summon an angel? No, go right ahead, summon the King of Hell, a former crossroads demon. That is something Dean would never have wanted either.

Back in season 5, Dean has a conversation in "alternate universe 2014", where Sam has accepted Lucifer and agreed to be his vessel. Lucifer tells him, "whatever you do you will always end up here. Whatever choices you make, whatever details you alter, we will always end up here. I win." and "See you in five years". It would appear that that is exactly where this is heading. It will be five years, as of the next season, and I fully expect a return of the Lucifer story-arc (and not because of my deep love of all things Mark Pelligrino). I would hope that at some points, hints of the man we know as Dean Winchester will make an appearance, but I'm not holding my breath. That man may very well be completely gone. The source of the Mark was Lucifer to start with, so I do expect him to play some part in all of this, or at least Cain. I believe that Sam will stop at nothing to restore Dean to his former self. Crowley, for all intents and purposes may use Dean to get whatever his black little heart desires, but I'm really hoping that he too can be redeemed, and that he will try to help. Castiel on the other hand, I expect the news of Dean's predicament to hit him the hardest, and I don't doubt for one second that he would burn down everything, heaven, hell, earth itself, to bring Dean back. Guess we'll just have to wait and see!

Game of Thrones: S4E8 - The Mountain and The Viper

It's time again to reiterate that I have not reached the point in the books that coincides with the current plot in Game of Thrones, so please, no spoilers. I will read the books, but I would like to get there in my own due time without knowing too much about what's coming, or how it differs from the books. It's truly sad that I have to even emphasize that everytime I post, but there's always that one person that will say something that they think to be harmless. When I watch the show, I'm watching from the perspective of someone who hasn't read all of the books. That being said, let's get on to the episode.

There are several key points in this episode that I will touch on: Sansa's evolution, Jorah's banishment, Theon's torment, Tyrion's discussion about the beetles, and finally the Trial by Combat.

Sansa... There is alot that could be said about her. When the show started, I despised her, simply because she had no depth. There was little to her besides whining about Arya, whining about the unfairness of her direwolf being killed, whining whining whining. Then it all changed. Her father was beheaded, and she wore the stigma of his betrayal. She bore the brunt of Joffrey's cruelty, she put up with being treated like absolute crap by Cersei. Very few people treated her with any kindness at all, whether it was because they feared Joffrey's wrath or because they truly just didn't have any use for her.


Yet, through all of it, she still managed to survive it, learned a few things, and after her aunt was pushed through the Moon Door by Petyr, she showed us all a different side of her. The side that says "I have finally come into my own. I have the ability and the means to get the revenge I deserve, for myself and for my family. I dare you to cross me." Of course the means by which she showed us that side is true to her nature, coming off as the sensitive, mistreated, poor little orphan that no one loves, but it worked and that's what counts. I don't think it will be too much longer before she is a force to be reckoned with all on her very own. I don't much like her having to be allied with Baelish at this point, but it appears that is exactly how it is going to have to be in order for her to accumulate the strength she's going to need in the seasons to come.

Jorah was approached by Ser Barristan with a message which contained Jorah's official pardon from Robert Baratheon, for spying on Daenerys. Barristan pulled no punches, giving Jorah the option to go to Daenerys himself and admit what he had done. And so he did, and she was, expectedly, furious. It honestly very nearly broke my heart that she ordered him to leave and never return. He loves her, it's obvious that she loves him, and everything he has ever done has only been for her safety. Sure, he initially reported what she was doing and where she was going, but that stopped. He has proven himself time and again. I cannot let myself believe that their storyline is over. He'll pop back up at some point and earn his way back into her good graces, hopefully before she makes a terrible error in judgment. He has been the voice of reason that has pulled her back from the edge more than once, and she needs that. Barristan, she really won't listen to when it comes right down to it. He doesn't speak to her in a way that will make her see things from another perspective. Daario, well, she basically treats him like a piece of meat, and he does the same to her. Grey Worm will not speak up as an advisor, at least not right now anyway. Jorah is that one person that she will listen to.

Theon, poor Theon has been through hell and back that began with his captivity by House Bolton, specifically Roose Bolton's bastard son who is absolutely 8000 different kinds of batshit crazy. Theon's captivity has resulted in a loss of a penis, and going around calling himself "Reek". It's absolutely disgraceful, the depths his torment and torture have gone to. Theon had alot of promise as a strong character who could do alot of good, but instead he chose to go the route of personal glory, and this is what it's gotten him. When his sister attempted to rescue him, he practically turned into Gollum, refusing to come out of the cage, and she was unwilling to risk dragging him out. Why she didn't just knock him out and carry him out of the keep is beyond me. This most recent episode, Theon has to "win" a keep for Ramsay Snow, by convincing his own people to surrender and leave. The guy he's talking to balks, and Theon starts muttering about his name being "Reek" and it looks like he's going to have a complete breakdown right then and there. One of the others kills the leader, who is already obviously ill, just on the promise that they'll be allowed safe passage home. These guys all end up flayed, Roose praising "Reek", and winning his father's "love" as well as being recognized as a Bolton. I'd say he rather won it by default given that Roose has no other living children, and so, no other heir to his name. Theon, though, is becoming harder to watch with each passing episode, and I keep waiting for that moment when he cracks and goes apeshit, kills Ramsay all the while shouting "MY NAME IS THEON FUCKING GREYJOY!" Regardless of the things he's done, no one deserves the hells that have been visited on him.

That brings us now to Tyrion's discussion with Jaime about their beetle-smashing simpleton cousin. For two weeks now, we have dealt with previews and buildup to this trial by combat, and 40 minutes into the show we have to stop and yammer on for almost 10 minutes about someone smashing beetles? I was annoyed to say the least, but there has been no scene in 4 seasons now that has not had some kind of poignancy to it. This one is no different. I won't profess to know what the point of it was, whether it was drawing parallels between Tyrion's cousin and George R. R. Martin, or whether it was to illustrate the blessing of being a simpleton. Given how Joffrey turned out, and the fact that the Lannisters are, by definition, ruthless, this child was dropped on his head and rendered simple... imagine what he might have smashed had he had full mental capacity. I shudder to think. And then there's the obviousness of it once you look back on the full episode: Oberyn's skull-crushing moment. Perhaps it's foreshadowing that ultimately everyone on the show are bugs, and Tyrion will be the only one left standing out of the current storyline. Who knows.

The Trial by Combat: This is probably the moment I've most dreaded throughout the entirety of this season. Why? Because Tyrion is my absolute favorite character (I love many of them, but he will always be the most favorite). The results of this trial determines if he lives or dies. I had hoped that Oberyn would get to avenge his sister, because the Mountain has brought too much pain into the lives of others and well, he's had it coming. There is not one single redeeming quality about this character who's appeared in maybe 3 episodes (I'm including the recasting.. it's about the character not the actor).

Oberyn comes into the scene pretty much like Inigo Montoya.. "You killed her children, you raped her, then you killed her". He might as well have said "Hello... My name is Oberyn Martell.. You killed my sister. Prepare to die". He fights with alot of flair, but it's pretty obvious that he is a skilled combatant. For a minute, it looks like he's going to win it, and then..... he gets too cocky, too sure that he has this whole thing in the bag. He should have simply finished off the Mountain, but no... no that would be too easy. The Mountain ends the life of the much smaller Oberyn, popping his head like a grape, and presumably passing out dead himself. I'm not going to lie and say I loved Oberyn, he was never really more than means to an end. The big deal that was made over him being brought into the show said to me that he had an important part to play, so I presumed it would last much longer than it did. When he wasn't engaging in various sexual exploits, he was actually a rather charismatic character, and would have been a good addition to the show in a long-term fashion. But the thing I keep thinking is "Thank the old gods and the new that it wasn't Jaime.. or Bronn". 

Now, it's pretty obvious they're not actually going to execute Tyrion, I mean he IS one of the most popular characters on the show, but after the Red Wedding last season, and The Walking Dead's beheading of Hershel, I trust nothing when it comes to shows I watch. Without reading the books, it's hard to really imagine where they might go with this, how they might save Tyrion from execution. I suppose they -could- opt to send him to the wall, allow him to take the Black and live out the rest of his life in the Night's Watch, but he's far too clever to allow that to happen.

Next week's episode should be rather interesting, as we haven't heard anything out of Stannis Baratheon in awhile, and at last count he was busy borrowing money from the Iron Bank. I don't foresee him and his armies reaching the Wall in time to face the initial onslaught at Castle Black. I'm still curious as to what happened to Benjen Stark as well, since it was never determined whether he'd been killed or what. All I can say is I rather hope Thorne gets it, he's beginning to get on my nerves.