Game of Thrones 6.7: Giveth and Taketh

A great Game of Thrones 6.7 tonight - as it's been all season long - with all  kinds of notable, actually highly important, developments.

The Hound is back, and the destruction of all who have taken him in at the end of the episode promises his unleashing on the rest of this world.   Should be fun times ahead on that score.

But Game of Thrones has always taken as it's giveth, and Arya is now in the worst shape she's been in quite a while.   The fact that she's living at the end of the episode, though badly stabbed, suggests - I guess - that she will survive, but that will require someone's benevolent intervention.  One thing we can know for sure is that it can't the memorable, short-lived character played by Ian McShane - who brought back The Hound from the brink of death - because, well, that character was short-lived, as in now dead.  (I haven't read more than the first novel of the series, so don't know anything useful at all at this point in the grand story.)

In some ways the most interesting development was the turning of Theon Greyjoy by his sister to sailing to that "dragon" woman.   These two will give Daenerys some crucial knowledge to guide her in her plan to retake her rightful crown and homeland.  She's assembling quite a brain trust now, with the two Greyjoys joining Tyrion, Varys, and of course Jorah Mormont.   Or, if you consider Theon, Varys, and the Unsullied, a powerful eunuch fighting force.

But the most endearing moment, for some reason, involved another Mormont - Lyanna - child Lady of Bear Island, and her decision to give her crack fighting force of some 60-whatever armed people to Jon and Sansa.   Should be some powerful scenes ahead on this front, too.

See also Game of Thrones 6.1: Where Are the Dragons ... Game of Thrones 6.2: The Waking ... Game of Thrones 6.5: Origin of a Name ... Game of Thrones 6.6: The Exhortation

And see also Game of Thrones 5.1: Unsetting the Table ... Game of Thrones 5.8: The Power of Frigid Death ... Game of Thrones 5.9: Dragon in Action; Sickening Scene with Stannis ... Game of Thrones Season 5 Finale: Punishment

And see also Games of Thrones Season 4 Premiere: Salient Points ... Game of Thrones 4.2: Whodunnit? ... Game of Thrones 4.3: Who Will Save Tyrion ...Game of Thrones 4.4: Glimpse of the Ultimate Battle ... Game of Thrones 4.6: Tyrion on Trial ... Game of Thrones 4.8: Beetles and Battle ...Game of Thrones 4.9: The Fight for Castle Black ... Games of Thrones Season 4 Finale: Woven Threads

And see also  Game of Thrones Season 3 Premiere ... Game of Thrones 3.3: The Heart of Jaime Lannister ... Game of Thrones 3.6: Extraordinary Cinematography ...Game of Thrones 3.7: Heroic Jaime ...  Game of Thrones 3.9: A Critique 

And see also Game of Thrones Back in Play for Season 2 ... Game of Thrones 2.2: Cersei vs. Tyrion

And see also A Game of Thrones: My 1996 Review of the First Novel ... Game of Thrones Begins Greatly on HBO ... Game of Thrones 1.2: Prince, Wolf, Bastard, Dwarf ... Games of Thrones 1.3: Genuine Demons ... Game of Thrones 1.4: Broken Things  ... Game of Thrones 1.5: Ned Under Seige ... Game of Thrones 1.6: Molten Ever After ... Games of Thrones 1.7: Swiveling Pieces ... Game of Thrones 1.8: Star Wars of the Realms ... Game of Thrones 1.9: Is Ned Really Dead? ... Game of Thrones 1.10 Meets True Blood

And here's a Spanish article in Semana, the leading news magazine in Colombia, in which I'm quoted about explicit sex on television, including on Game of Thrones.

And see "'Game of Thrones': Why the Buzz is So Big" article in The Christian Science Monitor, 8 April 2014, with my quotes.

Also: CNN article, "How 'Game of Thrones' Is Like America," with quote from me

 
"I was here, in Carthage, three months from now." 

#SFWApro

Kings Alternate History Debuts

I caught up with the two-hour debut of Kings on NBC last night (aired on March 15). From my science fictional perspective, the series feels like an alternate history, which is always welcome, especially on television. The kingdom exists in the present - there are cellphones and talk of the Internet - in a country called Gilboa and a city called Shiloh, which looks like a mix of New York and Washington. The history is ours to some unspecified point - Liszt, the 19th century pianist and composer, is explicitly mentioned, as David Shepherd, one of the lead characters, plays his music. All of this detail is enjoyable indeed.

So is the story, which thus far is a retelling of King Saul and his successor David. This puts Kings in the fine tradition of Richard III (real King, Shakespearean historical character, appearing as a circa World War II character in the riveting 1995 movie). King Silas rules like a Biblical king - no parliament - in a state that seems like Israel, in terms of size and proximity to its enemies (Gath, in this case). David is a hero who stands up, literally to a Goliath tank, and saves the King's son. He's brought to the capital, lionized, and is falling in love with the King's daughter Michelle.

Fine acting all around - especially Ian McShane (of Deadwood fame) as King Silas, and Christopher Egan as David, who looks like a young Matt Damon, Leonardo DiCaprio, and a touch of Heath Ledger. Allison Miller as Michelle was also appealing.

So we've got some attractive, compelling ingredients and possibilities in this blend of political intrigue, soap opera, alternate history, not to mention a third major character on television with the last name of Shepherd, joining Dr. Jack on Lost and Derek on Grey's, though David comes by it naturally given that the Biblical David was a shepherd. I'm looking forward to more.

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