It was a pop-up mom I swear!

For Cynthia Addai-Robinson, how was it re-uniting with half the cast of Spartacus again? Did you influence them being hired or was it a case of getting every Aussie/Kiwi actor currently working on deck?

Halbrand identified the Elven tower as a potential target on the ship (it was the thing that Miriel’s magnifying glass was resting on). The village is nearby, and presumably they just followed the big orc trail.

People also have to remember that not everywhere is the US.

I think it is one of the better Halloween TV staples for a ‘family’ audience, mostly because it got a Disney budget but without the usual Disney content restrictions. It was way more risque than just about any other Disney stuff at the time, with overt horniness and more violence than you’d expect, which made it seem…

People have been saying how touching it was that Laena’s dragon hesitated before incinerating her, but I definitely got “Jeez, ok lady. Whatever, I just work here.” vibes from it.

Everyone seems very caught up on the idea of the Thrones universe being an absolute monarchy where connected people can do what they like, but as the original show demonstrates, in real life the Monarch was in a very precarious position most of the time - and balancing the complex web of allegiances and alliances was…

Stardew Valley? It’s basically about seasons!

Next you’re going to tell me that Oprah never read the books with her sticker on them!

Well, it had the death penalty for one thing and pitched battles were a thing that happened every couple of decades. It had a mostly rural population, so not as much of the kind of random urban crime that came after the industrial revolution but certainly more acceptable serious violence.

Sure, I’m not denying that all kinds of skulduggery and manoeuvring went on, which was ably depicted in the original Game of Thrones series. There are lots of examples of ‘hunting accidents’, ‘death in battle’ and ‘death in childbirth’ as you say.

It might be pedantic if the relationships between the great houses and the king weren’t the entire point of the show. The Game of Thrones in an absolute monarchy would just be a series of arguments between the king and the treasurer.

Sure, but knights were often the heirs or second sons to minor Lords. Or at least wealthy scions to a lord's banners. Not the kind of people you can casually murder without answer.

Littlefinger: My King, I have lured your hated rival into a fiendish trap, in which he will support a lost heir’s claim to the throne with his armies. But little does he know it’s a ruse! The heir is really three badgers in a long coat, and when he tries to join their forces off the coast he will be intercepted by his…

It’s complicated, he also said he considers himself English now given how long he’s lived in London.

You completely mess up the distinction between Scotland, England and Britain. It was the English that stole the stone, because ‘British’ includes Scotland, so using that term implies they stole their own stone. It wasn’t returned for the simple reason that the kings of Scotland became the kings of Britain and moved to…

Indeed - it was a huge plot point in the northern rebellion, when Robb Stark’s decision to execute the two Karstarks after they killed the Lannister prisoner led to the rebellion fracturing. 

Yeah, it stretches credibility a little that the nobles of Westeros are happy to put up with so much random violence against them. I don’t think any ruler who just let his supporters’ heirs and retinue get murdered by his own household for no reason would last long.

Obviously it’s not a straight re-skinning of the Wars of the Roses, but you do have a few common elements: The Starks and Lannisters as you say, Daenerys is Henry VII in waiting, Cersei is Margaret of Anjou, the Freys are the brothers Stanley, Tywin Lannister is the Earl of Warwick

I’m generally pro-Thrones, but I did have to roll my eyes at the depictions of violence in the show. Sure, Medieval Britain was more violent than it currently is, but straight-up murder at a Royal wedding or at a Royal tournament just wouldn’t happen, any more than it would today.