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Religion & Magic: Part 4 – Night’s King (spoilers)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6h1bV2mmWA

Apart from Night’s King, topics include kinslaying, the blue eyes of the Others & Wights, Night’s Queen, the Lands of Always Winter, Coldhands, Stannis, Bran, Melisandre, Roose Bolton and Jon Snow.

“Some say he was a Bolton,” Old Nan would always end. “Some say a Magnar out of Skagos, some say Umber, Flint, or Norrey. Some would have you think he was a Woodfoot, from them who ruled Bear island before the ironmen came. He never was. He was a Stark, the brother of the man who brought him down.”

“This Nightfort is the place my husband has chosen for our seat, and there we shall abide.”

“This was where the Rat Cook had served the Andal king his prince-and-bacon pie, where the seventy-nine sentinels stood their watch, where brave young Danny Flint had been raped and murdered. This was the castle where King Sherrit had called down his curse on the Andals of old, where the ‘prentice boys had faced the thing that came in the night, where blind Symeon Star-Eyes had seen the hellhounds fighting. Mad Axe had once walked these yards and climbed these towers, butchering his brothers in the dark.”

After his fall, when it was discovered that he had been sacrificing to the Others, all records of him were destroyed and his very name was forbidden.”

 

“The legends say that the Night’s King was a warrior without fear, and when he saw a woman atop the Wall with skin as white as the moon and eyes like blue stars, he chased her and loved her though her skin was cold as ice, and when he gave his seed to her he gave his soul as well.”

 

“The oldest of these tales concern the legendary Night’s King, the thirteenth Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch, who was alleged to have bedded a sorceress pale as a corpse and declared himself a king. For thirteen years the Night’s King and his corpse queen ruled together.”

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Filed Under: Episodes Tagged With: bran stark, coldhands, house stark, jon snow, melisandre, night's king, night's watch, nightfort, nissa nissa, old nan, others, plots, roose bolton, stannis baratheon, the black gate, the lands of always winter, white walker, wights

Book Discussion: World of Ice and Fire Overview

In this discussion episode, we give our first impressions of The World of Ice and Fire. We discuss all of the immediate revelations, and the latter half of the episode contains discoveries more related to the ‘current events’ of the series.

Special attention is paid to the Kingdom of Sarnor, other ancient cultures, and the mysterious oily black stone that keeps popping up. There is, of course, a lot of discussion on House Targaryen as well. We also talk at length about the sections on Dorne. The mystery of Asshai’s children is also debated.

“On the Isle of Toads can be found an ancient idol, a greasy black stone crudely carved into the semblance of a gigantic toad of malignant aspect, some forty feet high. The people of this isle are believed by some to be descended from those who carved the Toad Stone, for there is an unpleasant fishlike aspect to their faces, and many have webbed hands and feet. If so, they are the sole surviving remnant of this forgotten race.”

Such questions abound even to this day. Before the Doom of Valyria, maesters and archmaesters oft traveled to the Freehold in search of answers, but none were ever found. Septon Barth’s claim that the Valyrians came to Westeros because their priests prophesied that the Doom of Man would come out of the land beyond the narrow sea can safely be dismissed as nonsense, as can many of Barth’s queerer beliefs and suppositions.”

“For scholars and students of history, the fall of Sallosh by the Silver Shore was especially tragic, for when that City of Scholars burned, its great library was not spared, and most of the history of the Tall Men and the peoples who had gone before them were lost for all time.”

“Florys the Fox, the cleverest of Garth’s children, who kept three husbands, each ignorant of the existence of the others. (From their sons sprang House Florent, House Ball, and House Peake).”

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Filed Under: Episodes Tagged With: aegon vi targaryen, aerys ii targaryen, aliandra martell, asshai, audio, betha blackwood, brienne of tarth, discussion, duncan the tall, essos, five forts, h.p. lovecraft, hightower, house blackfyre, house greyjoy, house targaryen, hyrkoon, illyrio mopatis, isle of faces, joanna lannister, leng, lomas longstrider, lyanna stark, maegelle targaryen, melisandre, muppet tullys, oily black stone, others, queen nymeria, rhaegar targaryen, saera targaryen, sarnor, seastone chair, septon barth, serra, sothoryos, the rhoynar, the westerlands, the world of ice and fire, twoiaf, tyrion lannister, tywin lannister, ulthos, valyria, video, viserra targaryen, westeros, yeen, yi ti

TV Discussion: Game of Thrones S04E04 Part 2 (spoilers)

Game of Thrones S04E04

Another week, another episode of History of Westeros! Actually, another two episodes of History of Westeros, as Game of Thrones S04E04 had so much to discuss that we released two episodes. This is part 2, we recommend viewing/listening to part 1 first as we reference things we discussed in this episode.

Ashaya and Aziz discuss the exciting events of Game of Thrones S04E04. The discussion revolves around the final scene with the White Walkers, the possible ramifications of the Bran and Jon storyline, and Coldhands. The surprises in this episode allowed us to tackle some longstanding theories regarding some of the series’ central mysteries. As always, we illuminate the backstory and explain the subtleties, keeping you prepared for the next episode and beyond!

Be sure to check out our forum, which is newly launched, and introduce yourself there, as well as discuss podcast and TV show episodes. Please rate and review us on iTunes as well if you have the chance!

Still want more?  Be sure to check out Aziz’s appearance on Zap2it’s Game of Thrones S04E04 Google Hangout recap. It is located here.

Gift for the gods.

Our previous three Season 4 episodes are here: episode 1, episode 2, and episode 3. You can also search “TV Discussion” to find them all.

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Filed Under: Episodes Tagged With: alys karstark, audio, benjen stark, bran stark, coldhands, davos seaworth, jojen reed, jon snow, locke, meera reed, night's king, others, rickon stark, sansa stark, sigorn thenn, stannis baratheon, video, white walkers

TV Discussion: Game of Thrones S04E04 (spoiler free)

S04E04

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuRT6FNGAP0

Another week, another episode of History of Westeros! Actually, another two episodes of History of Westeros, as we have a separate spoiler filled episode this week due to how much we had to talk about! View part 2 here.

Ashaya, Aziz and Sean discuss the exciting events of S04E04 of Game of Thrones.  As always, we illuminate the backstory and explain the subtleties, keeping you prepared for the next episode and beyond!

Sean is an Unsullied TV viewer whose unspoiled perceptions are quite the contrast to HoW’s thorough Game of Thrones education, and this makes the review unique. Sean is an insightful reviewer who first joined us in our Red Wedding discussion episode, and has been our previous three Season 4 episodes: episode 1, episode 2, and episode 3.

I will answer injustice with justice.

 

That was me knocking your ass to the dirt with your own hand.

 

Goodbye Brienne.

Every scene (and there were a lot) of S04E04 is discussed, what we liked and didn’t like, noting interesting but non-spoiler comparisons to the books. As usual there is special attention paid to hidden detail and backstory.

Be sure to check out our forum, which is newly launched, and introduce yourself there, as well as discuss podcast and TV show episodes. Please rate and review us on iTunes as well if you have the chance!

If I have to take one more leisurely stroll through these gardens, I’ll fling myself from the cliffs.

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Filed Under: Episodes Tagged With: alliser thorne, audio, barristan selmy, bran stark, brienne of tarth, bronn, burn gorman, cersei lannister, daenerys targaryen, ghost, grenn, grey worm, hodor, jaime lannister, janos slynt, jojen reed, jon snow, jorah mormont, karl tanner, littlefinger, locke, margaery tyrell, meera reed, meereen, missandei, night's king, olenna redwyne, olenna tyrell, others, petyr baelish, podrick payne, queen of thorns, rast, roose bolton, samwell tarly, sansa stark, ser pounce, tommen baratheon, tyrion lannister, video, white walker

Plots: Religion & Magic Part 3 – Weirwood Tour (spoilers)

Weirwood Tour

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hzc0Qy229Kk

This episode gives detail on every weirwood in Westeros while adding new theories and background. Apart from the Heart Trees, there’s a lot on Ravens, the Others, the magic of genetics and the weather, the Children of the Forest and the Nightfort. Throughout the tour, Ashaya and Aziz make several predictions and point out some eerie parallels. Be sure to watch our first episode on weirwoods.

The episode features themes of blood and ancestry, as weirwoods tend to be inextricably tied to the surrounding area, both physically and culturally. Given the broad scope of this topic, quite a variety of related subjects come up. Heart tree-murdering Melisandre makes an appearance or two, the Wall is discussed as well as several members of House Stark and some very out of the way places you’ve barely heard of.

We go from Beyond the Wall to the far south, considering not just where the weirwoods are, but where they might have been in the past. Given that there are so many places left unseen in the story, we make educated guesses where other trees might be. This isn’t just about where the trees are, though…the absence of weirwoods can be as conspicuous as the most grotesque Heart Tree face.

When they died, they went into the wood, into leaf and limb and root, and the trees remembered. All their songs and spells, their histories and prayers, everything they knew about this world.

 

Men live their lives trapped in an eternal present, between the mists of memory and the sea of shadow that is all we know of the days to come. Certain moths live their whole lives in a day, yet to them that little span of time must seem as long as years and decades do to us. An oak may live three hundred years, a redwood tree three thousand. A weirwood will live forever if left undisturbed. To them seasons pass in the flutter of a moth’s wing, and past, present, and future are one.

 

There were nine, all roughly of the same age and size. Each one had a face carved into it, and no two faces were alike. Some were smiling, some were screaming, some were shouting at him. In the deepening glow their eyes looked black, but in daylight they would be blood-red, Jon knew. Eyes like Ghost’s.

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Filed Under: Episodes Tagged With: arya stark, audio, bloodraven, bran stark, castle black, children of the forest, godswood, heart tree, house stark, jon snow, melisandre, night's king, nightfort, others, stannis baratheon, storm's end, three eyed crow, video, weirwood, white harbor, white walkers, winterfell, wyman manderly

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Aziz & Ashaya’s Recommendations!

The Dunk & Egg Collection
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms

Other Short Stories in Westeros
The Rogue Prince (Prince Daemon)
The Princess & The Queen
The Book of Swords (Sons of the Dragon)

Maesters' Hotlist
The World of Ice & Fire (Kindle)
The Lands of Ice & Fire
ASOIAF Boxed Set
A Hymn for Spring (Tower of the Hand, includes an essay on Harrenhal by us!)

Art
ASOIAF 2020 Calendar
ASOIAF 2021 Calendar
The Art of A Song of Ice and Fire
The Art of A Song of Ice & Fire: Vol. 2

Games!
Risk: Game of Thrones Board Game
AGoT: The Board Game 2nd Edition
Monopoly: Game of Thrones
Crusader Kings II
4D Game of Thrones: Westeros Puzzle

Game of Thrones on TV
Seasons 1-7 Blu-Ray Box Set
Season 7 Blu-Ray
Season 6 Blu-Ray
Get Someone Started With S1
Start Your Free Trial of HBO with Prime Video Channels

Non-ASOIAF Books Recommended by GRRM & us!
The Last Wish - Book 1 of The Witcher
The Last Kingdom - Book 1
The Accursed Kings - Book 1
The Expanse - Book 1

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