Ep. 33.7: Snow's Landing

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The last episode of season 7 is here! Andrew and Manu go through "The Dragon and the Wolf." There's the case for Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as season MVP for his outstanding work as Jaime Lannister (particularly as he left Cersei), Tyrion's brilliant showdown with Cersei, his reaction to Jon & Dany's likely doomed pairing, the converging of sides at the Dragonpit, Sansa & Arya bringing Littlefinger down at Winterfell, Bran & Sam discussing the monumental "Aejon" reveal, Lord of the Rings comps, and more.

Thoughts on season 8 possibilities are also sprinkled in throughout as we try to get a sense of where Thrones might go next. The long night is coming. Thanks for following along with us throughout season 7!

• Manu's "Dragon and the Wolf" review at DRaysBay
• Manu's season 7 roundtable at Screenfellows
• iTunes link

Ep. 33.6: Winter Wonderland of Hell

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Andrew and Manu experience the rollercoaster penultimate episode of season 7, "Beyond the Wall." There's banter and character beats between the Wall's Magnificent 7 (specifically Jon and Tormund, and Jon and Jorah), the horror of the ice bear battle, Beric's future, the concept of siring, the group's desperation to survive on the frozen island, Benjen's role, and Jon's decision to bend the knee.

Also discussed: The complications behind Dany's potential successor, the frustrating Winterfell plot, Sansa's intentions with Brienne, and the Night King raising Viserion. It's a trip.

• Manu's "Beyond the Wall" review at DRaysBay
• Joanna Robinson's article on magic at Vanity Fair
• iTunes link

Ep. 33.5: Jon's Magnificent Seven

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In "Eastwatch," Jon assembles his Magnificent Seven Dream Team and bonds with Drogon, Tyrion hatches a crazy-ass plan, Gendry returns, Jaime suffers wayward travels and sibling troubles, Gilly makes a stunning discovery in Oldtown, Sam's frustrations with the maesters mirror real-world comparisons, and Sansa and Arya have a disconcerting spat.

There's a ton of table-setting here, but Andrew and Manu are ready to tackle it.

• Manu's "Eastwatch" review at DRaysBay
• Emmett Booth's "cowboys" article at Deadspin
• iTunes link

Ep. 33.4: Field of Flame Emojis

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Andrew and Manu watch "The Spoils of War" and talk about all the conflicts on Drogon's field of fire -- namely the gradually building pay-offs, Tyrion's anguish, and the camera following compelling characters like Jaime and Bronn throughout. Then, they go up to Winterfell, where they deal with the repercussions of Arya's long-awaited return, Bran's odd interactions with Littlefinger and Meera, and the subsequent familial reunions, before wrapping up with Jon and Dany's discoveries at Dragonstone.

• Manu's "Field of Flame Emojis" review at DRaysBay
• Joanna Robinson's Arya article at Vanity Fair
• Jon Snow's slick moves
• iTunes link

Ep. 33.3: A Meeting of Ice and Fire

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Andrew and Manu review "The Queen's Justice," as Tyrion coordinates Jon and Dany's long-awaited meeting, the show expertly misdirects with the Casterly Rock and Highgarden battles, and if the effects of Cersei's victory mean Operation: Engage Dragons. They also discuss Jon and Dany's supernatural elements, Jaime's internal conflict, Bran's unsettling reaction to Sansa at Winterfell, theories about Sam and Jorah, and... #LittlefingerShowerthoughts (the less creepy ones, anyway).

• Manu's "Queen's Justice" review at DRaysBay
• iTunes link

Ep. 33.2: The Dread Pirate Euron

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It's time to talk the second episode of season 7, so Andrew and Manu discuss Euron's manic sea battle (specifically Theon's trauma and Yara's reaction), Dany and Tyrion's decision-making regarding invasion strategy, Jaime's efforts to convince Randyll Tarly to join Cersei's side, Arya's interactions with Hot Pie and Nymeria, Sam's attempts to cure Jorah, political infighting in the North, and Melisandre's surprising meet-up with Dany and company.

Needless to say, Euron wasn't being subtle when he told his brother, "I am the storm."

• Manu's "Stormborn" review at DRaysBay
• iTunes link

Ep. 33.1: Dragonglass on Dragonstone??

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The seventh season of Game of Thrones has arrived! Andrew and Manu review the episode with thoughts on various parts, like Arya's show-stealing cold open and its implications, Sam's conversation with the Archmaester at the Citadel, the Jon/Sansa Karstark-Umber debate, the Hound's soul-search with the Brotherhood at the home of the family he left to die in season 4, the #rebranded Euron, Jaime coming to terms with Cersei's growing delusion (what dynasty??), and Dany's silent entrance to Dragonstone.

They also discussed Bran's vision of the undead army and his arrival at the Wall, as well as episode 2 hype (NYMERIA?!). Yes, Ed Sheeran briefly came up, too. We have very tepid takes.

• Manu's "Dragonstone" review at DRaysBay
• iTunes link

Ep. 30.5: The Pack Survives

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The Game of Thrones crew dropped a second trailer for season 7, so Manu and Andrew had to talk about it. As the hashtags say, winter is here. Exult in the fire of Beric Dondarrion's flaming sword with us.

• Season 7 trailer No. 2
• iTunes link

Ep. 27.5: Westeros Map Decor

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Season seven will come far down the line for this podcast, but since the trailer just came out, we had to talk about it a little bit! This was originally going to be attached to a full podcast episode, but for convenience's sake, we made it its own thing.

Bring on the chaos of the Great War.

• Season 7 trailer
• iTunes link

Ep. 23: WAR STORIES

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In the words of Robert Baratheon, "WE'RE TELLING WAR STORIES." Robert, Jaime, and the newly-introduced Ser Barristan Selmy talk about their first kills, and Andrew and Manu delve into how their tales reflect their personal histories. Then Viserys oversteps his boundaries on the Dothraki Sea, resulting in him getting owned. Normal day.

HBO recently released photos from season 7 too, so we briefly touched on them.

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