It's ambigious what Joff was doing, but you can be sure it was unpleasant.

Both parties can die in a duel if they do it just right.

I took it as "Your Howland's kids, right? Not like a nephew or a cousin twice-frog removed?"

I read that the cut scene with the Mad King in the throne room was not a flashback, but a dream Ned was having. I think he dreams himself in Brandon's place (getting choked trying to reach a sword). Haven't seen it myself, though.

If @avclub-92561f21446e017dd6b68b94b23ad5b7:disqus is the ghost of Christoper Hitchens, his comment takes on an entirely new meaning.

Yeah, exactly. She recognizes that it's wrong to have treated Jon like she did, but can't help herself. It's not actually inconsistent with the books' Cat.

Cat's decision to grab Tyrion is genius if he's guilty and/or if Lysa is saner, two things Cat believes to be true at the time. She also does it partly in self-defense, confronted with Tyrion recognizing her while she's on the road, protected by only one admittedly awesome-whiskered knight. For all she knows, Tyrion…

I don't think Robb is at all motivated by Cat's feelings toward Jon. He always treats Jon well, after all. Robb marries Jeyne because it's the right thing to do and he's Ned Stark's son. It's the honorable thing to do whether she's pregnant or not, in their version of honor.

Fucking internet manatees. I'll flay your flippers, you sea cows!

They showed Vaes Dothrak a bunch of times in season 1 when he didn't get scenes there. Same for Pyke and Dragonstone in Season 2, I think.

@avclub-7caf72c610757b2ddae9b3f21a7169a9:disqus The guys from History of Westeros podcast pointed out that in Dance, Theon talks about after one has a finger flayed, it hurts so bad it seems better to bite it off. They surmised that's what happened with Donella Hornwood and Ser Rodrik's CSI was a little off.

He gets talked about by (I think) Jory and Jaime, pre knife to the eye.

Well, it's the evidence presented plus 'who benefits the most' that equals the Tyrells as being behind the Purple Wedding. They get to still have Margaery as queen, have her not married to a cruel little fucker and have the years until Tommen's majority to turn him into their puppet.

Stannis is secretly hilarious, so I figure he lets Patchface hang out just to troll his family and court. 

I think Gregor is really supposed to be as big as he is. Nobody ever sees him and comments "I thought he was supposed to be bigger?"

I don't think we're supposed to take it as people not believing that Tyrion took the actions he did, it's more like they're denying the importance of them. Which is sorta understandable, he got upstaged by Tywin and the Tyrells there at the end.

I would generally advise everyone to read the books rather than waiting for the show, as I think it's a better fantasy novel series than it is a TV show.

Presuming you missed a word there in the first sentence, brother or sister.

Mindy has the advantage, for me, of making me laugh. Ben and Kate gets held up as this great comedy by people, but it ain't for me. I laughed exactly twice at the three episodes I stuck it out through.

It seems real weird to get uncomfortable about the writers when Mindy Kaling is presumably the boss of them.