One and a Half Man

If there’s going to be a Game of Thrones spin-off, let it be this — Bronn and Tyrion, running around Westeros, getting into trouble, enjoying prostitutes, and having wacky adventures. God, this video is just so perfect. I did a spit-take when the record scratch sounded, and I wasn’t even drinking anything! Thanks to Topless Roboteer Matze Neinderandere for the tip.

And we might as well make this the official Game of Thrones season 1 discussion article, since it ended last night. As a guy who loves the books, I guess it’s not much of a surprise that I loved the show, but what did surprise me is how into the show I got, despite knowing everything that was going to happen. I was tense, I was moved, I was emotional — and while that’s surely a credit to the story, making me feel it all over again is certainly a testament to the show’s direction, as well as the terrific actors they hired. When the final episode finished last night, I was desperate for season 2 to start — and I know what happens in that, too. Obviously, someone is doing something very right. Anyways, I’d be interested to know what you guys think/thought. And I have one more thought, but it’s about the major twist from last week’s episode, so I’m putting it after the jump. Pretty much everyone has talked about it this week, but better safe than sorry.

So my mom, who is by no means a fantasy fan, ended up watching Game of Thrones partially because of the buzz and partially because she loves a lot of HBO shows in general. I was eagerly awaiting her shocked call when Ned died last week, and she did not disappoint me. But she pointed out something that I hadn’t noticed, and that’s that somehow, everyone who knew what was going to happen — and there were a lot of people — stayed utterly quiet and didn’t spoil it for the TV audience.

Seriously, it’s like everyone who read the book made an unspoken agreement to not tell anyone that Ned was going to die for the entirety of the TV season, and that’s amazing. I mean, I know the twist blew our minds, and surely most of us wanted TV viewers to be as shocked as we were, but it’s still impressive that seemingly no one spoiled it for the Game of Thrones TV crowd. And more impressive is that the media didn’t spoil it, either. Looking back, I don’t know how all the articles and buzz even from before the first episode aired didn’t allude to Ned’s death, or even outright say “Sean Bean joins for one season” or something. Hell, Ned’s death is such a major part of the entire saga, something that sets these books apart from other fantasy series, so it’s technically a selling point. But HBO stayed mum, and the media went with it. I’m infinitely glad this happened, but I’m also totally stunned. I wonder if we can do it again for book 3.