Ep. 69: The 10-Year Anniversary Special

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It's been a minute, hasn't it? Andrew and Manu are back on the podcast airwaves for the first since, well, a pandemic began to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the premiere of "Game of Thrones" on HBO.

Personal lives have prevented the podcast from returning in full (though we still hope to eventually!), but we had a lot of fun taking 75 minutes to look back on how we first got into "Thrones," and many more topics -- favorite moments, episodes, and castings & characters. We also took some time to discuss how we've reckoned with the most frustrating aspects of the end of the series, and how we hope that audiences don't dismiss so many good memories from the show just because of its conclusion. Not everything's about "sticking the landing."

At the end, we look toward the future and all the prequel possibilities in the works, most notably "House of the Dragon," which will come to a Home Box Office near you in 2022. Wherever there be dragons (or even just Westerosi lore), we will follow.

• Manu has a new Metal Gear Solid podcast, Podcast Sans Frontieres!
• Manu on the Not a Podcast's "Clash of Kings" finale, Bran VII
• Manu's Twitter thread of top 30 "Thrones" moments
• Andrew's baseball writing, and Disney blog that's running through the Disney Animated Classics in order
• Just because: Jaime fookin' Lannister (since we both love the bath confession scene so much)
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Ep. 68: Joffrey Did a Super Bad Thing

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It's a King's Landing party for the latest podcast, as Andrew and Manu continue the season 2 premiere. Tyrion and Shae discuss the dangers of King's Landing, Cersei asserts her power over Littlefinger in trying to locate Arya, and Joffrey subsequently turns the tables on Cersei by threatening her after she smacks him for a rude comment about Robert's affairs.

The worst part comes at the end of the episode, when Joffrey has all of Robert's bastards brutally executed (unlike in the books, where Cersei does it; more on that in the podcast), save for one smith's apprentice, who happens to be traveling with Arya on the way to The Wall. Wuddya know!

Don't worry, Stannis Crew, we have a special episode coming very soon on everything surrounding his introduction to the series.

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Ep. 67: Robb the King

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"The North Remembers" continues with the two eldest remaining Stark men (not counting the AWOL Benjen). Jon and the Night's Watch have arrived at Craster's Keep, and it turns out that dude is a real incestuous shithead! You hate to see it. He gets a tough lesson from Jeor Mormont about why they're working with such a detestable dude, but it leaves us plenty of room to critique.

Further south, Robb and his Northern army are deciding their next best course of action. He sends the Lannister cousin Alton back to King's Landing to give Joffrey & Cersei his terms, which are understandably steep. Then, much to Catelyn's chagrin, he listens to Theon's suggestion of sending him to try to align with his father, Balon Greyjoy. This will not end well.

There are some great nuggets in here about Robb and Jon (to a lesser extent) asserting themselves in leadership roles. Tune in.

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Ep. 66: Follow the Red Comet Road

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Andrew and Manu roll along in their second podcast on "The North Remembers," where the red comet that tracks everyone throughout the episode first seen over Bran, who is presiding as acting lord of Winterfell with Luwin and Osha close by. We see how he's growing and dealing with the new responsibilities, as well as his first exposure to wolf dreams.

A world away, Daenerys and the Dothraki also hover under the red comet, but it's just about the furthest thing from their minds. Survival in the Red Waste is proving to be an arduous task, but an intriguing podcast topic (#congrats to us, I guess). Starvation is a brutal enemy. Dany sends her bloodriders off in different directions to find some hope.

• Emilia Clarke's New Yorker piece on battling brain aneurysms throughout season 2 filming; she is tougher than all of us combined
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Ep. 65: "There is Work to be Done"

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At long last, it's come time for Andrew and Manu to hit the books on Game of Thrones season 2. Expectations were high on the show following a breathtaking initial run that ended in shock with the death of Ned Stark. The sophomore season shows the aftermath of this turn of events, as kings rise and fall throughout the Seven Kingdoms while trying to truly take control of Westeros. The second book of the series is called "A Clash of Kings" for a reason.

We begin in King's Landing, where Joffrey is sadistically enjoying his name day with some casual violence and we see how the captive Sansa to trying to maintain her dignity in this tough situation. Joffrey's smiles turn to unease when Tyrion marches in with Bronn and the Hill Tribes, and he quickly takes the leading seat of the Small Council as Acting Hand of the King, much to Cersei's chagrin.

Thus begins Peter Dinklage's absolute tour de force of this season of Game of Thrones. To paraphrase Michael Jordan, "we're back."

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Ep. 64.6: A Time for Wolves

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Andrew and Manu reach the end of road of one part of their journey. "Game of Thrones" aired its finale, "The Iron Throne" on Sunday, and offered a glimpse at the new future of Westeros. This is definitely a time to reflect on how fascinating characters like Arya, Daenerys, Sansa, Tyrion, Jon, Brienne, and more wrapped up their arcs.

We touched on pretty much every major plot point of the finale before offering some last thoughts. Of course, you're not done with us just yet. (At least we hope you're not!) Soon, we'll jump back in time and begin our normal scene-by-scene coverage of season 2.

We can't wait and we can't thank you enough for joining us in our journeys through the final season.

• Sean Collins and Joanna Robinson on the comparisons between the Iron Throne and the One Ring
• Kim Renfro on Sansa's remarkably detailed Queen in the North coronation dress
• Register with the discount code "Manu" for Con of Thrones (Nashville, July 12-14)
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Ep. 64.5: Burn Them All

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Thrones is almost at an end, and the most recent installment, "The Bells," felt more like a cinematic blockbuster to Andrew and Manu than an episode of television. There are definite positives to that in terms of directing, set design, cinematography, and more!

Unfortunately, we also get some questionable storytelling choices, resulting in huge moments like Dany's heel turn on the innocents of King's Landing feeling rushed. But between that, the Jaime/Cersei storyline, Cleganebowl, Arya's wanderings, and the last stand of Varys, there's so much to talk about!

Next week's finale will be something to behold.

• Lindsey Romain's Nerdist post on the white horse symbolism
• Bookshelfstud's referenced episode recap
• Nathalie Emmanuel's EW interview about Missandei's death and GoT's larger diversity issues
• This GIF of the Cleganebowl step staredown with Drogon in the background is just an incredible shot
• Andrew's post about "Last of the Starks," the previous season 8 episode which we did not have time to podcast about
• Register with the discount code "Manu" for Con of Thrones (Nashville, July 12-14)
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