Fantasy football strategy, rankings, and podcasts

For some strange reason, I really love the fact that we're getting lots of reading lessons on Game of Thrones. This time, we get Missandei teaching Grey Worm how to speak the 'common' language. Unfortunately, they do not take this time to read boring old history books to sneak back story into the scene, damn! Hopefully next week we get another installment of Reading Rainbow Westeros.

Cut to Mereen and Daenerys the unstoppable manages to take a city while only showing a grand total of 2 deaths on the screen, (well, 4 if you count the guards, 5 the horse). Once she has the city, she wants to pay the masters back for the children they nailed on the road to Mereen. (Side note on that, shouldn't a city as ruthless as that stand up to something more than killing their champion and a bunch of slaves with swords?) Anyways, Ser Barristan councils that she have mercy, but her Targaryen fire burns bright and she must have her revenge. You can see him flinch just a little, maybe remembering her father...remember him? The Mad King? Yep, flip a coin they say.

Now we go to CSI: Westeros. I say this because I couldn't think of a more clever Sherlock related name. We are in the boat with Sansa and Littlefinger and we are shown, almost step by step, the conspiracy to kill Joffrey the Shit. I really hope that's how he's remembered in history books. It's a shame that the other big player in this, the Queen of Thorns (Margaery's Grandmother), is leaving town. She's shown some clever wit and quick hands, especially with people's necklaces.

After a quick training session of foreshadowing at the Wall, we join Cersei and Jaime having a chat about Jaime's vows. Jaime has probably had the most misunderstood life in Westeros, and despite his bitchin' duster, his part time rapey, incestuous behavior is still frowned upon by most people. Jaime is trying to find a few shreds of his own dignity, trying to rebuild his life and he won't just bow to his sister and stands up for Tyrion. This of course, enrages Cersei, and their relationship has become almost formal, calling each other "Your Majesty" and "Lord Commander". I guess they never had the most functional relationship.

I'd like to think that currently, the story of Margaery is a lesson on the dangers of drinking too much. Cersei sits around and drinks all day and her life is falling apart, meanwhile Margaery stays sober and is "Improving her lot remarkably" as her grandmother put it. She's sneaking around at night, sharing secrets with the new King Tommen and meeting fan favorite Ser Pounce.

We join Jon Snow back at the wall, discussing his brother with Sam. We're also shown that maybe Jon has another motivation behind heading north of the wall. He hopes to find his brother in addition to getting rid of the mutineers.

Now remember that this season there are a lot of dots to connect, so please notice that Locke, the new recruit who can really fight at Castle Black, is the same guy who Roose Bolton sent to hunt down the living Stark boys. Locke overhears Sam and Jon talking about Bran, so of course when Jon makes his plea for volunteers to go north, Locke joins in.

Jon Snow's speech about getting the mutineers is a great transition to check in on what's going on north of the wall. Karl, the guy who stabbed Lord Commander Mormont is in charge, currently drinking wine out of said Lord Commander's skull. He's basically gone native, as they say. In keeping with tradition, they decide that Craster's last son has to be given to the gods, as the rest of them have. Leaving the baby out leads to Bran and company hearing it and getting captured at Crasters keep, where a very drunk Karl finds out just who Bran is. This is definitely leading to a very interesting confrontation.

Finally, we learn something that is just mind blowing. Feeling like something that you might see as a big reveal at the end of the season, and certainly pointing the needle towards the supernatural. we actually see how the White Walkers are made. The implications of this definitely reach back a ways, as we know that Craster has been giving his sons to the White Walkers for some time, this has to help account for their increased activity, which lead to the Wildlings all teaming up to attack the wall. I guess when you connect the dots, whether north or south, the main lesson is that incest is bad, m'kay.