GoT Season 8 Episode 3

April 29, 2019April 29, 2019 ~ kristalauren ~ 10 Comments

SPOILER ALERT!!! I probably shouldn’t have to write that, but just in case you didn’t read the header I am going to talk all about last night’s episode.

Here

are

few

words

to separate this alert from the spoilers. Now I’m 100% not responsible for anything you might see beyond this. You’ve been warned.

Before you ask, no I am not disappointed all of the White Walkers died last night. The post I wrote yesterday was a complete joke, and I’m pretty sure everyone who read it just thought I was an idiot. I just think most of us keep hearing the same ideas about what’s going to happen over and over again, so wanted to spice things up a little and add something new to the mix.

Anyway, am I the only one who is a little underwhelmed at this point? One of my blog friends reminded me last episode that beginning in season 7, the show passed the books, so they haven’t been going off of what George R. R. Martin wrote anymore. The problem I have with this is that he is so fantastic at character development, while the writers of GoT are not. They have had several mishaps in the final two seasons where characters go completely against what they would do in reality. Rather than gradually trying to change your mind about a person — like Martin did so beautifully with Jaimie Lannister — the show makes you do a 180 and then desperately tries to find their footing on what to do next. I find it hard to believe that Cersei would have been so quick to give some of her power to Theon’s uncle when he requested her company, and Jon Snow just seems exhausted or something because we don’t see much leadership from him, or a fire in his belly to fight for Winterfell and the rest of humanity. Don’t get me started on the way they made Dany become a heartless robot overnight.

I envy the people who are posting on social media about how great this season has been so far. I don’t know why I can’t get there. After all, the past month I’ve been living for Game of Thrones, and so excited that I’m on the edge of my seat just about every episode. I love the cliffhangers they used to do, and how my opinions changed so drastically about people after I kept getting to know them better. The show just felt so real and authentic, despite being far away in the fantasy world. I talked about characters like I actually knew them, and was always so excited when people wanted to dig deeper about the show with me. Before the premiere, we all speculated what was going to happen, but this battle just wasn’t satisfying for me. Like, what the heck was up with their military strategy?! I need to talk with people in the field further, but it didn’t make sense to me that the dragons weren’t on the frontline to begin with. Instead, Dany and Jon waited until everyone was all mixed in together to start torching the place. It would have possibly been over with much less blood shed had they begun with the dragons going into the dark where the White Walkers were waiting.

Sansa and Tyrion wouldn’t have been hiding out in the back of the crypt when all the dead woke up down there. Did the show forget how much she’s grown? Did they forget that Tyrion has fought in battle before and is actually a really smart man of action? It wasn’t realistic to me that they were just shutting themselves away to have a moment before getting saved by Arya (Who, by the way, was the only person I noticed I was actively cheering for the entire episode). Tyrion was once one of the most beloved characters by almost every single person I talked to, regardless of their upbringing or any kind of life experience, but he isn’t even a B-list character in season 8. He’s fading into the background and hardly has a personality anymore. I miss his jokes and the lightheartedness he added to the show.

The creators of the show have done a wonderful job making images come to life, but the writing is really leaving me wanting so much more. There are gaps in the storyline that need to be filled — some of which I think won’t be by the end of the season — and so much of the story is forced now. I don’t feel like there is as much natural flow this season, and we only have three episodes left to finish it out. All I’m saying is that I really hope the final three episodes (Hopefully in King’s Landing!) will make me feel like all the time, energy, and feelings I’ve invested in the show have been worthwhile. I want a few major cliffhangers next episode because despite hating the pit you get from wondering if your favorite character will be okay or not, that’s why we watch this show. We live for the unknown, and speculation that comes with each episode. We want to be on the edge of our seat the entire time, and I want to feel heartbroken, thrilled, and terrified all at once. This is what we deserve in our final season, and I really hope the show can deliver in the final half of the season.

The White Walkers Are Actually The Protagonists of Game of Thrones

April 28, 2019 ~ kristalauren ~ Leave a comment

I’m so glad I caught up on GoT before season 8 came out. It’s been so much fun speculating what will happen next with all the characters, and none of us having any spoilers whatsoever.

Something we haven’t considered, though, is that the White Walkers are the protagonists of our story. Hear me out. The humans are clearly scared of them because they look different and are difficult to kill. But why do the humans know this? Because they’ve tried to kill the Walkers over and over again. The first time they saw them they judged them for having icy skin and bright blue eyes, and chopped their arms off and shot arrows at them because they were scared of these magical beings. I honestly don’t blame the WW’s for being kind of pissed.

Furthermore, we don’t ever see things from the White Walkers’ perspectives, so we don’t know what their intentions for going to see the humans were in the first place. Maybe they were going to warn them about another big threat. Maybe they wanted some new friends and thought the people on the other end of the wall looked nice and warm, so decided to wander over to socialize. Or maybe it’s just pretty darn fun being a White Walker, so the Night King is trying to help the humans enjoy the life of the Walkers too. The people are always shivering and wandering out in the cold, after all. It must be nice being pre-frozen and just boppin’ around town in light armor or even without a shirt in some cases.

All I’m trying to say is maybe, just maybe, we are rooting for the wrong team tonight. We all know there’s going to be a big battle in episode 3, and sadly everyone has already taken the side of the humans. Whether you’re a Jon Snow kind of guy, or you still love Dany, you’re probably rooting for one of the people to take the iron throne. Nobody has considered that the Night King or one of his hands might deserve to rule. I’m just getting kind of sick of all the same theories going around, and I think we need to open our minds and remember to not judge a book so harshly by it’s cover. The White Walkers can’t help what they look like, and the Night King may have resting bitch face, but this does not by any means make him a bad guy. He’s just misunderstood and tired of living his life beyond the wall.

All I’m saying is that the show made me absolutely hate people like Jaimie Lannister and Theon Greyjoy, and now the J-man is one of my favorite characters and I have pitied Theon ever since he started trying to redeem himself to Sansa Stark. The character development GoT is so wonderful that someone you once hoped would just get kicked from the show sometimes becomes a person you are rooting for, and vice versa. Making us like the White Walkers after being taught by many of the beloved characters on the show that they are the “bad guys” would be difficult, but I certainly wouldn’t say it’s impossible. So, to add a little bit of spice to the Internet, I’ll go ahead and argue that the Night King might need to take the iron throne and bring peace to the world — once and for all.

Disclaimer: I am by no means a GoT expert. I binged the entire series in the span of 3 weeks so that I could enjoy the final season live with everyone, and probably didn’t catch several monumental events when I multitasked by watching at the gym or while taking a shower. I got Podrick mixed up with Ramsay more than once, so I clearly rushed through and missed a few things.

GoT Season 8 Episode 2

April 22, 2019April 22, 2019 ~ kristalauren ~ 6 Comments

Spoiler alert! I guess I’ll write this on every single post, just in case someone doesn’t see the headline is about Game of Thrones.

Okay so this episode was alright. I was a little underwhelmed last week, and this week I’m left feeling just a little anxious. Like, we all knew the episode would end with getting teased with the white walkers, but still… Not happy that I have to wait another week to make more progress. HOW DID YOU GUYS DO IT FOR SEVEN SEASONS?! That is a kind of patience I’m glad I didn’t have to learn. Anyway, I didn’t like that this felt like another “let’s set up all of our storylines” episode, rather than just getting into it. We don’t have that many episodes left, and I want them to be as action-packed as possible!

Everything with Bran and Jaimie went as I expected and I’m not surprised with how things went down with JS and D. I took a poll on my Instagram last week and we all agreed that Jon would believe Sam when he found out about being D’s nephew, but it didn’t cross my mind that D might not believe J. Now that she’s questioned him a little about it, I wonder if she’ll begin to question the legitimacy of Jon’s claim to the throne. I don’t think JS really cares to be king, but D is going to feel threatened and there might be a big blowout because of it. D is someone who has been dead-set on being the queen because she “deserves it” and it’s her “right.” I wonder what she’ll think now that technically Jon is the rightful heir? Her justification the past few seasons has morphed away from wanting to make the world a better place, and gone to the logic of “it’s rightfully mine, so I should have it,” so it’s a little harder working her character into taking the throne and keeping it now that there’s a different rightful heir.

Here are some of my new predictions for the finale:

I am still so rooting for Sansa to be queen. I think it will be her or Jon, and I think that Arya will marry Gendry Baratheon and she will end up being the Lady of Winterfell. I do not think Cersei or Daenerys will be queen by the end of the season. For some reason just last week I thought D had more of a chance than J, but I’m changing my mind on this one. I have a feeling Daenerys is going to die. Jaimie will somehow save Bran in some sort of way, and will probably end up losing his own life to protect him. Brienne will find love! Oh my gosh, I am just obsessed with her. I can’t decide now whether I’d have her end up with the wildling who thinks she hung the moon, or Jaimie because they have just the cutest dynamic (sadly I don’t think either of them see each other that way), but I am happy if Brienne is happy. Speaking of which, can we just talk about the knighting ceremony?! I almost cried; she is just so pure and perfect. Brienne is what a knight should be and so much more. She is too good for the GoT world.

I have an idea of how the entire series is going to end. I do think they’ll fight together to beat the white walkers. I think they’ll actually pull through and win. I think, though, after that’s all over with, that they’ll all go back to fighting for the insignificant title you get with the iron throne. Instead of going their separate ways and having several peaceful nations, they’ll continue fighting for the rest of their lives for things that don’t matter in reality, like who is the ruler of all the nations. I don’t think everyone will have learned their lessons by the end of it all, and I think it will be George R. R. Martin’s way of reminding us that humans can do amazing things if we work together, but greed often gets in the way and completely clouds our lives. Apparently, though, the end of the season is so wild none of the cast members guessed it, and I’m pretty sure they know a whole lot more than the fans. Like, it must be kind of crazy if the million characters who are on the show didn’t get the ending right, so I definitely won’t with this simple prediction. I’m going to keep sharing my thoughts though, even when my husband tells me that some of my ideas aren’t even possible because I still don’t have a firm grasp on everything in the GoT world. I think I’ll need to watch the series another time through to really catch on to everything.

Tyrion’s Steak Dinner (Filet Mignon with Homemade Garlic Butter)

April 18, 2019April 18, 2019 ~ kristalauren ~ 2 Comments

No, this is not going to be a normal recipe post like I had been getting into before. I am linking it to Game of Thrones, once again, because I just crammed so much in to such a short period of time that I’m probably going to be overly-obsessed for a little while.

Anyway, I really wanted to make a fun dinner for the night of the premiere, but I was catching up on season 7 until the very last minute, so that was an unrealistic goal. It was too late to order anything GoT related, and I’ve looked all over for the themed Oreos with no success. On Monday, though, I did make a new steak dish, and it reminded me of something the Lannister’s might have had. I cooked some filet mignon with garlic butter, roasted potatoes, and carrots. It was so easy but tasted even better than filet I’ve had in restaurants, so I figured I would share. As always, I’m not going to give amounts of what I used, but I’ll describe it well enough that you can just make everything accordingly with how much food you’d like to make.

Garlic Butter Filet Mignon with Roasted Carrots and Potatoes
I got all of my ingredients at Trader Joe’s. You will need:
Steak filets – I like organic grassfed beef.
Butter
EVOO
Salt
Pepper
Garlic cloves
Fresh rosemary
Fresh thyme
Red potatoes
Carrots

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 415°F. I found a bunch of different temperatures to make your steak at, but settled in the middle at this. Take out the steak and butter from the fridge, and bring it to room temperature for 20-30 minutes.

Step 2: Chop the carrots and red potatoes and put them on a cookie sheet. Drizzle with EVOO, salt, and pepper, then stick them in the oven to begin roasting while you prepare the butter and steak.

Step 3: Chop the rosemary and thyme finely, and mince a few cloves of garlic. Mix it all together with the butter until you’re happy with the proportions, then stick the butter back in the fridge to firm a little.

Step 4: Dry the steak with paper towels, then put a generous amount of salt and pepper on each side. Note: Apparently the smell that hits you when you open a container of raw steak is normal. I was not prepared and thought we might be getting a legit medieval experience. YIKES.

Step 5: Drizzle some EVOO and melt butter in a frying pan, or, preferably on a cast iron skillet. I did the frying pan because we don’t have an iron skillet to use, but plan on investing in one now!

Step 6: Sear the filets for about 3 minutes on each side, until they have browned a bit.

Step 7: Move the iron skillet to the oven, or put the steaks on foil on the cookie sheet with the veggies. I poured the excess juice over top of the steaks so they’d be nice and juicy.

Step 8: Google how long to cook your steak in the oven. I am not a professional, and I know it’s a crime, but I like my steak medium-well. I cooked it for about 6 minutes in the oven, but it will obviously depend on the thickness of your steak and your preference for how red you like it. I think a Lannister would likely just eat it after searing lightly in the pan, but Joffrey might have just gone for the raw meat.

Step 9: Take out your steak and vegetables when you’re happy with the way they look, put them on a plate, and top the steak with the garlic butter. Sprinkle a little salt and pepper on it all and enjoy! If you really want to feel like Tyrian, you should help yourself to a glass of red wine — or maybe three.

GoT Season 8 Predictions

April 17, 2019April 17, 2019 ~ kristalauren ~ 4 Comments

Lots of spoilers from seasons 1-7, and from season 8, episode 1.

Part of what I like so much about Game of Thrones is how they go against all the rules in regular television and are totally fine with having unhappy endings. Ned Stark started off as my favorite character. This is funny because I actually realized I probably would have hated him, had Robert not given me one little spoiler — he was not Jon Snow’s father. He told me this as I began the first season because he knew I’d hate someone I thought was a cheater, so I was actually really glad to have this tidbit of information, because I was able to like Ned for who he was. Anyway, I was shocked and disappointed when he was killed in the very first season. Then, I began rooting for his son Robb. I loved his relationship with Talisa and thought he was a very grounded leader. I liked that he didn’t seem super power hungry, and that he kept both feet on the ground while he led. He was smart, brave, and courageous, but also valued his family enough to be smart and protect them. His only downfall was being lulled into a false sense of security, and possibly being too blinded by his love for his wife, and died in the ninth episode of season 3. Darn. My two favorite Starks were gone. By this time, though, I was a fan of Arya and Sansa was starting to get better. Joffrey died early in season 4, which was around the time I really took a liking to both Sansa and Margaery. So, I still had a few Stark’s left.

Anyway, I have kind of gotten a grip on realizing that George R. R. Martin, the author of the series, does not care about our hearts. He is fine with killing people off for shock value, and possibly to remain a little more realistic. Realistically, bad things happen to good people, but we don’t enjoy seeing that in entertainment, so typically don’t have a ton of that.

Here are a few things I think might happen in season 8. Now that I am caught up with y’all, there is absolutely no way for me to know spoilers, so we’ll see just how far off I am with some of these as the season goes by:

I think we’ll see some familiar faces as white walkers. I am thinking that some of these people could be, but are not limited to: Margaery, Joffrey (yikes!), Lady Stark, and Ned Stark. If either of the last two are actually white walkers, I don’t think they’ll kill their children. I do think there’s a great chance Joffrey will be a white walker and will be way to into his role of being a zombie.
I think Daenerys’ white walker dragon will cross paths with her again and stop blowing ice at people when he sees her for the first time. From the little we saw of her dragon who died and became a white walker, it looks like it blows ice instead of fire. Which makes a whole lot of sense since the GoT series is also kind of called A Song of Ice and Fire. So, I think the bad zombie dragon will actually become good when he sees his mother, Daenerys, fighting for the other team.
I think Bran will forgive Jaimie for pushing him out the window. This is a small prediction, but it’s one we could potentially see come to fruition next week. I think this for a few reasons. First, I think Bran is a wise character without a bad temper, so I think he realizes that without Jaimie doing that, he likely wouldn’t have the powers he does that might end up saving humanity. I also think he’s had a long time to process all of this, as I’m sure he’s had some visions with Jaimie involved. The main reason I think he’s going to be forgiving, though, is because I think it’s not Jaimie’s time yet. I think he will definitely die this season, but I believe he’ll be around for one or two episodes beyond the second.
I do not think Jon Snow will become king before Daenarys. I am actually kind of leaning toward Sansa being queen, because I wouldn’t be shocked if J and D died in battle. I don’t think D will give up her dream of being queen, because she’s so gung ho about it and dying to sit on the iron throne, but this whole twist of Jon being the rightful heir has really thrown a wrench in things. I think if either of them becomes ruler, they will do it side by side. So maybe he’ll be the king, and Daenarys will be the queen. I am predicting, though, that by the end of the series Sansa will be the ruler of the seven kingdoms. I think she’s being groomed for the part by being the Lady of Winterfell, and will learn to be even stronger as Daenarys demands she “bend the knee” to her and tries to boss her family around.
I think there’s a chance everyone will die and become a white walker. I am about 50/50 on this one. Part of me thinks Martin would choose to do this to make an unheard of ending to his series. The other part wonders if he’d really want evil to win, though. From what I’ve heard, Martin is a pacifist, which means he actually is opposed to war. This feels ironic because of how gory the series has been so far, but it also makes a whole lot of sense when you realize that he is showing how gruesome and depressing war actually is. Rather than glorifying it with seeing how “the good guys always win,” Martin shows that really good people die in terrible ways when people become too thirsty for power. He doesn’t sugar coat anything, and has broken our hearts more than once with having favorites, and even the innocent, be taken away from us. So, as a big middle finger to war, I could see him killing off every last person to show that power and gold mean absolutely nothing when you are dead.

These are just a few thoughts I’ve had so far this season, and I’m sure I’ll have plenty of others. My two big predictions that came true were that Margaery’s grandmother killed Joffrey, and Arya Stark beheaded Lord Baelish. Both of those I called well in advance, and I’ll be curious to see what happens this seasons now that I don’t have anyone talking to me that could possibly hint at anything that might happen. I’d love to hear your thoughts and predictions — as long as they’re not backed by anything on the Internet. I have blocked Google from showing me GoT articles, because I have seen headlines saying things like, “Kit Harington tells us what to expect in this season of GoT,” and even if they’re not true I don’t want anything at all to be spoiled.

On an unrelated note, who else thought it was hilarious that Cersei was so obsessed with having elephants on her team? I kind of loved this whole scene, but I’m also glad she didn’t get any of the elephants she wanted. They don’t stand a chance against dragons, so they’re a lot safer being over a body of water.

GoT Season 8 Premiere

April 15, 2019April 15, 2019 ~ kristalauren ~ 3 Comments

Guys, I used to be “that person” who said things like, “Oh, I don’t watch Game of Thrones,” or, “I guess it looks like ‘Winter is Coming'” when everyone else was freaking out about the premiere of a new season or finale of another. I went years and years not understanding what the obsession was all about and completely ignoring just about everything GoT related, other than picking up that people love Jon Snow and he’s obsessed with the colder months of the year.

Now, within a few short weeks, all of that has changed. I dedicated much of my free time — and other time that probably should have been spent being more productive — catching up on all 7 seasons to watch last night’s premiere, and it was all worth it. I am so excited to be able to chat with anyone and everyone about this final season now that I’m so invested in it and the characters. I love that we’ve all been talking on Instagram so much about the upcoming season, and it’s been quite the journey I feel like I’ve taken with many friends now. The only thing that absolutely sucks, is that I have to wait a week until the next episode. This is going to drive me nuts! I was so spoiled being able to unearth every cliffhanger right after it happened, and although it would have been nice not being so incredibly rushed with the first 7 seasons, I took for granted the fact that if I really wanted to know something, I could Google it or find the answer in the next episode. Now I will experience GoT in all its glory the final season.

I’m going to talk about last night’s episode now, so if you haven’t watched yet, SPOILER ALERT!!!!!

First, I have decided that I officially do not like Daenerys Targaryen. I was surprised with how much I posted about her on Instagram this episode, but honestly she gets on my last nerve. I loved her the first few seasons when she was coming into her own, but I feel like she’s become so hungry for power and for every person alive to “bend the knee” that I can’t root for her any more. I don’t want her to be the queen because I think she just makes decisions based on whether or not someone will accept her as being the most powerful person alive, and kills anyone who gets in her way in the slightest. A good ruler who wants what she initially wanted — to let people be free — would be able to take some criticism and not be so obsessed with their own image and title. The scene with Sam made my heart hurt for him. She just doesn’t have any empathy left and I am d-o-n-e.

I like Jon Snow a little better again, though. His conversation with Sam made me remember that he isn’t obsessed with being recognized as having more power than everyone else, and is merciful when it comes to punishing people. He takes each situation as it comes to him, and often airs on the side of being generous and giving people the benefit of the doubt, more often than not. I still would prefer the Stark girls taking the throne, but he’s not a bad option. I just think Sansa as queen, Bran as the hand, and Arya as an advisor/possibly a knight would make for a really awesome kingdom. We shall see what happens, though.

My favorite moment of all time was with Brienne’s wildling. When they were searching an abandoned castle and came across other people in the army and someone shouted, “HE HAS BLUE EYES!!!!!” thinking that the wildling was a white walker, I DIED. I was crying I was laughing so hard. I need to find a clip on YouTube to add to this later, because it seriously was so funny.

I am still so invested in his love story with Brienne, and I think it’s funny how many people have agreed with me in my Insta stories that this is one of the funnest story lines to follow. I was shocked to wake up to a few tags this morning, only to find that Mindy Kaling must feel the exact same way I do about their budding relationship! Please tell me there’s a wedding at the end of all of this.

Anyway, I don’t know how in the world y’all waited over a year for the final season. I’m glad I started when I did and didn’t have to do a bunch of these crazy waiting stints. Even just waiting a week now to find out what Bran will say to Jaimie is going to be so tough! I have had so much catching up to do that it’ll be weird to have the full week off of GoT now. I might rewatch the last two episodes of season 7 since I had to rush through it to be done by 9 last night, but other than that I will have to find something new to post about on my Instagram stories, because I loved having so much to talk about. Please message me with any and all thoughts you have! I’m always game to chat in depth about this series now.

GoT Season 6

April 14, 2019 ~ kristalauren ~ 4 Comments

Guys, I’m almost there! I have season 7 to finish today, then I can watch the premiere tonight! I’ll definitely have to rewatch the series one day because I’ve been rushing a little the more I am running out of time, but I’m so glad I’ve been able to get this far. I am currently watching the start of the most recent season as I am writing this, so I have faith I’ll finish it up.

Everyone has been really active about messaging me on Instagram, which has been so much fun and a good way to get all the necessary information for the premiere tonight. Instead of recapping everything I learned or water in this post, I’ll share one of my Instagram highlight reels about Game of Thrones. Surprisingly people have said they’ve been a good refresher of the earlier seasons, but I feel like I put a lot of unnecessary information in there. Like my excitement about Brienne’s love story.

Screen Shot 2019-04-14 at 10.12.06 AM.png

Currently, I have a lot of favorite characters. The biggest ones are Arya and Sansa Stark, Tyrian, though we haven’t seen a ton of him lately, and Brienne because I am so invested in her budding love story with the wildling. I was disappointed that Margaery died, and the way the youngest Stark boy died was really upsetting. I’m glad Ramsay is gone, though, despite not wanting to watch a lot of that episode. Cersei is literally the most terrifying person I can think of to be on the throne, but I had a feeling she’d take over for awhile at some point. I am fully invested in all the battles that are about to happen, and I’m hoping a Stark will be next to rule, though if I had to make a prediction, I’d say Daenerys Targaryen will be the next person to take it.

I’m not a huge fan of Jon Snow or Daenerys right now. I wrote out why, but I want to wait to share my opinions until I am a little more sure of them. It looks like they’ll be working together some in season 7, and I hope they become my favorites once again because they started out being in my top 3. I just don’t feel like they’ve been as dynamic as some of the others, and have both become a little too blinded by power.

I would love to see one of the Stark girls as the next queens because I think they’ve had so many hurdles they’ve had to jump over and they’ve grown so much. I never liked Sansa when Joffrey was around, but now she’s one of my favorite characters. It’s crazy how this can happen in this show. Same goes for Jaimie Lannister; I really didn’t like him when he pushed Bran out of the window and was all creepy with Cersei, but now I think he’s hilarious and a pretty decent guy. I’m hoping he won’t die this season, but I have a kind of bad feeling season 7 is going to be his last. Anyway, I feel like Arya and Sansa would be an incredible team. Sansa has become fair and just, and knows what kind of ruling can completely ruin a kingdom. She isn’t full of herself and is firm in her beliefs but willing to listen to others, not just hear what they’re saying. I don’t know, but I kind of think she and Arya would make a great team. The beginning to season 7 was so badass and Arya is honestly one of the coolest characters. She literally has no one backing her but has made it so far all on her own. She’s met every kind of person along the way, and I think she’s learning how to read others really well.

Okay, I should really start paying attention so I can be ready for tonight.

GoT Season 5

April 12, 2019April 12, 2019 ~ kristalauren ~ 8 Comments

Oh my gosh. I am on season five of Game of Thrones. This has been quite a wild ride, but I’m powering through and think I’ll make it by Sunday. I don’t think you can catch up in time if you haven’t started already, but if you’re only a few seasons behind — like I am now — I’m kind of an expert on how to get it all done in time for the final season’s premiere on Sunday. I didn’t think I could do it, but based on how fast I’m getting through now I think I’ll be all caught up and able to enjoy season 8 with all the people who have been fans for almost a decade now.

Here are my secrets:

Download HBO Now and learn to multitask. They have a free week trial and that’s all you need, then you can switch to any other HBO source or watch parties for the rest of season 8. I like watching on my phone, and this has been key to catching up efficiently. Here are the places I have watched GoT:

In bed. I watch it when I wake up or when I go to sleep. Basically whenever I can; I’m all for cramming any chance I get.
In the kitchen while I’m making dinner, eating cereal, and when I’m cleaning up.
I watch in the shower. I take my iPhone and turn the volume up full blast, and tilt the screen so I can watch it while I shampoo and condition. This is a crucial step, because it shows just how important it is to watch literally every chance you get. Just because you’re taking a shower does not excuse you from the throne.
At the gym. Thanks for making me feel right at home, Planet Fitness! Your lax attitude towards us working out makes me feel less weird about spending 50 minutes biking and watching people fight with swords.
Any errands you run can be made into a GoT session. For instance, I went to Giant to go grocery shopping and put my phone on the little seat in the cart to watch as I picked out vegetables for dinner. Granted, I came home with onions instead of carrots, but I still consider it a win, because I got through the rest of the episode while I was out.
You can even just listen to some of the slower parts of the show. This is good for activities that require a little more attention, but when you aren’t using too much brainpower.

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Recruit someone to watch with you. It’s been nice having a husband who is also invested enough in the show to watch the older seasons with me, but I also have a big group of friends who like chatting about it. Talking all about the show and nothing else has helped me catch up quickly because I have a duty to fulfill. I have to be able to keep up with everyone else in season 8 so we can all talk about it. Life isn’t just all about me anymore. I have people counting on me, and I don’t intend to let them down.

Post about it. A lot. If you follow my Instagram you’ve maybe seen my 30+ posts a day about the show. I’ve asked questions and made goofy observations, and talking to everyone about it helps me absorb more information in a short amount of time. I can’t pay complete attention to the screen while I’m multitasking, so asking things like, “How is someone going to be worse than Joffrey?” (Oh, Krista, you had a lot to learn) or, “What the heck is a stone man?” I still don’t know the significance of stone men, but I have a feeling we’ll barely ever see them again.

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This story got a lot of laughs for some reason. I think because this dude is barely in it? I do have confirmation that he will not fall in love with Brienne, though.

Don’t prioritize anything above watching. Sure you’ll be invited to social events and maybe you even have an important appointment. Any free time you have, though, has to be dedicated to Game of Thrones. Have a first date on the books? Cancel it. Or, see if he wants to watch with you — as long as you didn’t meet him online and he could be potentially a major creep. Your excuse is that you have to go to the dentist? Reschedule. They’ll understand; after all, winter is coming, and you have to prepare.

GoT Season 4

April 10, 2019 ~ kristalauren ~ Leave a comment

Spoiler alert: don’t read this if you don’t want to know anything that happens in Game of Thrones.

Okay, I’m almost at season 5, so only 3 seasons to go until the premiere on Sunday! Do you think it’s at all possible for me to blow through the rest to be caught up? I’m certainly going to try. I just have a hard time watching that much TV. Luckily I can slap it on my phone now and listen while I’m doing chores and doing my workouts.

Right now I am on season 4, episode 7. I am almost at the trial by combat for Tyrion, and I heard that’s pretty awful. When I posted on Instagram the other day, I was upset that I accidentally watched a pretty gross, quick death in a sword fight. Someone said that it was nothing compared to something that was coming up. I chatted with a few people so I could figure out when I really need to close my eyes, and I guess it’s during this scene. I can see why now that I’ve been introduced to the huge dude who Cersei found to fight against Tyrion’s swordsman. I really hope Tyrion doesn’t choose Jaimie, but I have a really bad feeling J might fight to spite C and protect his brother. I’ve gone back and forth about whether or not I like Jaimie. On one hand, he’s kind of a creep (i.e.: the way he treats his sister). He’s proud and kind of a jerk to people sometimes. On the other — ironically enough he lost his hand while he was held prisoner — he is witty, funny, and seems to have a soft heart sometimes. That’s saying a lot for someone has power in this series. He was humbled when he lost his right hand, and seems to care more about people now. I really don’t want him to die, but that hasn’t worked out for me in the past.

Ned Stark was my first favorite character. He was beheaded. Then I moved on to Robb Stark. He got killed, as did his wife, another one of my favorites. Currently, I think Arya Stark is one of my favorites. She’s a really underrated character. She doesn’t have dragons and powers that give her the numbers to back her up like Daenerys. She doesn’t have a ton of formal training in swordsmanship and warfare like Jon. She doesn’t have money and power like the Lannisters. I like all the adversity she’s had to face and how she has courage and bravery despite not having any advantages. I am excited to see her in the eighth season, and hope she remains one of my top characters throughout. Sadly, I remember her from the seventh season, but I also think this is good because I think I kind of liked her when I watched those episodes too!

This is a cool show because they’re amazing at character development. I like how you can go from absolutely hating someone to growing to like them, and I like how you can kind of predict some of the actions of characters because they remind you of real life. Daenerys and I have a similar heart for people, so I’ve been able to predict a lot of what she is going to do in the series so far. Lord Baelish, on the other hand, is an untrustworthy man and known for upsetting people. He reminds me of a politician and is the kind of person you can never predict. The author of this series is very consistent with his characters, but gives them room to grow. He is realistic about showing how big events can really change people, but also realizes that someone’s heart takes a whole lot to be changed.

I’m going to wrap this post up with a few predictions:

Tyrion is going to live. Whoever fights for him will do him justice. I know this because I remember him in the seventh season, so he won’t die in the trial by combat. I think maybe Jaimie will fight on his behalf, but like I said, I hope he doesn’t. Maybe that other guy who fought for him last time will come through for him? I’m still bad with some of the names.

Apparently Ramsey is going to be worse than Joffrey ever was. I don’t know how that’s possible, but after a few episodes with R, I can kind of see it. I hope Ramsey isn’t in too much more. I can’t take the people who are obsessed with being so terrible.

I think Sansa and Arya will reunite soon. I think whenever they do, it will be in Winterfell. Could one of them be the Queen of Winterfell? Please actually answer this for me, I’m curious. Many of the Stark’s have been killed now, so I wonder who’s next in line.

Margaery will become the queen in King’s Landing. I forgot about her until now, but she’s one of my possible favorite characters too. I hear she gets better, and I can see that she’s a strong young lady who is a force to be reckoned with. I think Joffrey’s little brother will be a lot more normal than he was, but I think it’s super weird if he ends up marrying M.

I don’t really care about Jon Snow’s storyline right now, nor do I Bran’s or any of the wildlings. Currently, I like watching anything with the Lannister’s or Stark family best. I think they’re all the most dynamic characters, and am dying to know what season 4 is going to finish with! Also, does one of Daenerys’ dragons die soon? I think I only remember two in season 7, but I could be wrong. I’m thinking one of them will die fairly soon while they’re still little teenager dragons.

Okay so that’s all I’ve got for now. I really hope I can keep powering through and catch up in time for the premiere on Sunday! I will probably be doing more writing about it, in hopes of feeling a little more productive while watching TV. Is anyone else just now getting into the show and trying to catch up before this weekend?

Game of Thrones Season 3

April 8, 2019April 8, 2019 ~ kristalauren ~ 9 Comments

Spoiler alert: don’t read this if you don’t want to know anything that happens in the series.

I am currently on season 3 of GoT, and I have a million different thoughts about it. I will save why I think this series is also problematic for another post, but today I want to just enjoy it and talk about why I like it so much so far.

It’s difficult trying to get caught up before the final season’s premiere. It’s almost like being given an enormous chocolate cake and being told, “Here, you have 24 hours to eat as much as you want, then we’re going to throw it out and you’ll never have a cake quite as good again.” I don’t want to completely binge and gorge myself, but at the same time I want to be able to watch it while it’s still unspoiled. I want to be able to enjoy the premiere the way everyone else will, and absolutely cannot jump ahead and then go back to watching. Too much happens in this show, and I already regret watching part of season 7 when it was premiering. I watched a couple of episodes of season 7 when it was going on, so I already have a hunch about a few things I can remember from that. It ruined some of the giant surprises like at the end of season 1 when Daenerys holds her baby dragons. Everyone was shocked when they initially saw this, but I saw the giant dragons in season 7, so the babies really aren’t that impressive. Same goes for seeing the white walkers for the first time. I think I remember Jon Snow, Arya, Daenerys, and Tyrion are in the seventh season, so I don’t believe any of them are going to die. I could be wrong, as I forget a lot from television shows, but I’m pretty confident about this at least. I really don’t remember Jamie Lannister or Robb Stark, my favorite character, so I think they might not make it. Those are the only guesses about people, but still — I know GoT is notorious for getting rid of really big characters, so it’s a pretty big spoil if I know 4 of the main characters do make it.

Photo Credit: HBO – Robb and Talisa are literally the cutest and I’m obsessed with them.

Here are some of my predictions of things that are going on right now:

First, I think Margaery is going to kill Joffrey. Towards the beginning of this episode she said to him, “Would you like to see me kill someone?” If this isn’t foreshadowing, I don’t know what is. One spoiler I got was that I’ll be able to watch Joffrey’s death. I close my eyes or put my hands up to the television any time there is fighting, so I never watch when people get killed (When I can help it). I think he’ll be poisoned. I speculate it will be Margaery, and I think it will be because Joffrey mistreats Sansa. If that’s not what happens, I think Sansa kills Joffrey for mistreating Margaery. I don’t know if it’s their slight resemblance or if it’s because they both seemed to get along well when they ate lemon cakes together, but something tells me they’re going to be unlikely allies. My final theory is that Margaery’s grandmother is the one who poisons Joffrey, but that’s the third likely one in my mind. We shall see; please don’t spoil it for me! I have already been told this king does die at some point, so I don’t want the entire thing to be ruined.

I was also told that there would be a character I will dislike more than I dislike Joffrey. I think I met that man today. He kidnapped Theon, and something is really off about him. Edit: I watched more after writing this post, and it’s definitely Ramsay. He SUCKS.

Throughout all of this, I’ve been texting my dear friend Danielle. She’s seen the series many times before and thinks a lot of my theories are funny (I am really good at predicting some things, but also have some really terrible predictions). I’ve been shocked at how almost everyone I talk to about this show has seen it. For something that’s not on regular programming, almost everyone I know watches — and loves — the series. For many reasons, I can see why, but that doesn’t mean I love every single thing about the show. The story line is amazing, but I think a lot could be cut and it would still have the kind of flow a show like this needs. I’ll probably do a few posts about my thoughts as the seasons go on, so feel free to check back in if you’re a fan and want to see some bad predictions and theories. In the meantime, I need to get ready for all the different weddings that are coming up!