HOTD - A House of the Dragon Podcast - 806 – The Iron Throne

Winter came and went, an evil queen was overthrown, and it was so nice we had to do it twice. “The Iron Throne” is Game of Thrones attempt to hurry up and tie up all those loose ends. Was it satisfying? That depends on how you’ve felt about the show for the past two seasons. Ultimately, this show’s final moments and it’s place in the pantheon of television will be a matter of hot debate for years to come, to say nothing of the novels and prequels and sequels we’ll be getting, and how that may change and influence how we feel. Here, we’re content to just talk about our personal thoughts on the only definitive finale of The Song and Ice and Fire. We’ll be back Friday for more SpoiLore talk, and next week we’ll have a look back at the season, and series, as a whole as we wrap things up for now.

HOTD - A House of the Dragon Podcast - 805 – The Bells – SpoiLore Edition

Jim and I try to sort through everyone’s reactions and feelings about “The Bells”, as well as people’s reactions to our reactions! In a wide ranging podcast, we discuss what we’re still hoping to see in next week’s finale episode, what Dany’s descent to madness means in the context of portrayals of heroic women, thoughts on capital punishment and vengeance, and defenses and deconstructions of Arya and Jaime’s arcs. All this plus a ton of great feedback from you, the listener. Just one more episode left, we’ll see you Sunday night to discuss!

Bald Move Pulp - Chernobyl – Episode 2 – Please Remain Calm

Jim and I strap on our lead shielding and check our dosimeters before doing a deep dive into the second installment of Chernobyl, the HBO miniseries about the doomed nuclear facility. In “Please Remain Calm”, the stakes increase as the lives of over 60 million Europeans are threatened by the crisis, and decisions are made that will lead to the deaths of individuals to potentially save millions. 

HOTD - A House of the Dragon Podcast - 804 – The Last of the Starks

As we announced last week, we’ve declared #FanBankruptcy, and are along for the ride on this saddleless dragon we call Game of Thrones. Keeping this in mind, it was nice to see this episode, “The Last of the Starks”, run back to their roots in setting up some classic court politics and intrigue, with multiple betrayals and backstabbing in the offing! Jaime and Brienne hooked up! Pod is still very much the Rod! The Stark girls won grim smiles from the Hound! On the other hand, they’re still struggling with the way they are telling the story they want to tell; characters die in unbelievable ways, and crucially characters then later live in completely unbelievable ways. With just two more episodes left, hopefully the Double D’s haven’t declared creative bankruptcy and we’ll get a few twists and turns that manage to please most.