TPG's Game Time: Episode 5 "The Wolf & The Lion"

Dayuuummmmmmmmmmm. In one single episode "Game of Thrones" delivered on everything that I had hoped it would be. Sword fights, intrigue, castles, dragons, SWORD FIGHTS, Eunich jokes...uhh what...demented children, and more! Titled "The Wolf and the Lion" this was one epic night of television, let's get the swords out and start slashing


Beheadings: 1 (1/2 point for horse, 1/2 point for eye poke)

Incest Count: .85 (Breastfeeding 8 year old)

1. Finally we get to see Ned Stark regulate like the Boromir we know he is. While I love a good sword fight, I find the character of Stark, expertly played by Sean Bean to be one of the most interesting on television. By having the show follow so many families we get a sense of Stark's convictions...even when they're wrong. I think back to the first episode where Stark lops off a guy's head for talking about the white walkers. The dead man was right. Now Stark leaves his position because he doesn't believe the Targaryen is with child. The king is right, an army is coming to destroy them. And finally his entire Stark brood thinks that Tyrion is responsible for Bram's injury, but in reality he could be their only ally. What are we to make of this when our protagonist is wrong most of the time? I'm not sure, but it sure is interesting.

2. Two words - Horse Chop! I've seen some crazy things on TV including but not limited to Jack Bauer biting off a terrorist's head, Jimmy Darmody shooting off people's faces, and Ron Swanson dancing, but wow, "The Mountain" chopping off that horses head was just bananas.

3. "Family, Duty, Honor!" This is the motto of the House of Stark and while watching this episode I was struck by how it repeatedly applies to everyone, not just the Starks. Tyrion Lannister went medieval on some raider with a shield out of honor, not because of family. Jaime Lannister takes down Stark because he's trying to find his brother. As for duty, look to the endless amounts of knights on every side that serve tirelessly and loyally even if it means taking a dagger to the eyeball!

4. Finally we got our first images of dragons. I was getting tired of seeing those damn eggs and hearing stories, so seeing their skulls was a real treat. If Game of Thrones gets cancelled before I get to see HBO do a CGI dragon I am going to have to petition hard for them to appear in Eastbound & Down.

5. Besides the over abundance of castles in this episode, let's talk about this Lysa Arryn woman for a second. Talk about a crazy bitch. Not only does she have the whole demented queen thing going on but he demonic little nine-year old is still being breast fed and wants to see the short man "fly." The whole scene was terrifying and it made me wonder if Worm Tongue had taken the throne

6. This episode really was the one where it all clicked. Sometimes this show can be pretty damn confusing with family trees, ancient legends, and a complicated network of alliances, but in this episode everything just fell into place gloriously. I cannot wait to see what happens next to Ned Stark but I anticipate he won't take getting a spear through the leg lightly. Also I was slightly bothered by the lack of Jon Snow in this episode, but I know he's gonna team up with his Pops and take care of business.