Game of Thrones and the "Rains of Castamere"

***MAJOR SPOILERS ahead if you haven't seen Game of Thrones ep. 9 of season 3 or if you haven't read the 3rd Game of Thrones book***

Let me start by saying I loved last night's Game Of Thrones.  I hated it too.  But I loved that I hated it.  When I watched the first season of Game Of Thrones a few months after it had already aired, I was already aware that Ned Stark was going to die.  Not because I read the books or because I had some super natural sixth sense, I knew because everybody and their brother posted about it online.  So that blow came with a little bit of cushioning.  However, nothing prepared me for what happened last night.  Let me just break it down:

1.  Robb Stark dies by getting shot in the chest with arrows then stabbed in the heart.
2.  Robb Starks pregnant wife dies by getting stabbed repeatedly in the stomach no less.
3.  Catelyn Stark dies by getting her throat slit after watching her son and pregnant daughter in law get murdered. 
4.  Robb's direwolf gets shot with 4 arrows with no way to defend itself because it is confined.
5.  Hundreds, if not thousands? (IDK, this part was a little unclear) of Robb's men are slaughtered.
6.  Arya was this close, THIS CLOSE, to being reunited with part of her family. 
7.  Frey's wife (possibly a child?) gets her throat slit by Catelyn Stark as revenge for the death of her son.

Did I get it all? 

This "Red Wedding" scene was both invigorating and frustrating.  It was interesting to me that something didn't feel right about the whole wedding situation from the get-go.  Which I think should be a credit to the show-runners and director.  They shrouded every scene at The Twins with unease.  Subconsciously I think we all knew something bad was going to happen.  Also, some credit should be given to whoever cast Argus Filch as Frey.  I wouldn't have trusted that guy with a turd.  So while I think the intensity of those last few moments add some drama and fuel to an already great show, it is also extremely disappointing to see such great characters go.  These were characters I was rooting for.  Robb and Catelyn aren't supposed to die.  The Lannisters are the ones who need to die.  And that just isn't happening...yet.  While I haven't read all of the books, there is no doubt in my mind that every family in the world of Westeros will eventually get their comeuppance.  But the structure of the show, and narrative, have us all rooting for the Starks.  So why do we have to keep watching them die!?  To be fair though, Robb Stark did screw himself.  Not only by marrying that nurse girl and betraying the Frey agreement, but also by beheading that dude a couple episodes ago causing him to have to depend on Frey for more men.  The irony of the situation is that Robb beheaded that dude because he killed the Lannister boys, causing him to have to depend on someone who was covertly working with the Lannisters.  Then he gets stabbed in the heart because of his blind trust. 

Alright, with that all being said, let us not give up on Game of Thrones.  There are still plenty of awesome characters to root for.  Particularly:

Tyrion Lannister: Yes, he's a Lannister.  But he's sort of the anti-Lannister.  And he's awesome.  That scene in the bedroom with Sansa last week was one of the best scenes of the series so far. 

Bran Stark:  One of my favorite characters, even though his storyline has been a snooze-fest this season.  Now he apparently has some supernatural ability to turn his eyeballs completely white and enter the minds of anything with a brain.  He's got a bright future...I hope.  I would say Rickon Stark is worth rooting for too.  But the dude has had like 5 lines in the whole series.

Daenerys Targaryen: Wow, spell check does not like her name.  Anyways, she can be pretty awesome, right?  Sure she was super annoying in season 2.  But she found some retribution in season 3.  She frees all the slaves.  Plus she's got some awesome dragons.  She's hot.  And she's smart.  Granted, she can be a little manipulative at times.  But that's how she gets what she wants.  And she never manipulates someone who doesn't deserve it in the first place.  The irony of her character though is that she would probably slaughter the entire Stark family if she had the choice.  So we are rooting for someone who wants to kill someone we are rooting for.  Mind blowing.    

Jon Snow:  I'm not into his character as much as the other three.  Possibly because I feel like he has been on the outside for so long.  He's a good guy though (subjectively speaking).  So that's worth something.

Tywin Lannister: For those of you rooting for the villain.  Shame on you!  But he is pretty cool at being evil.  

One last thing, can we talk about how harrowing Catelyn's position was last night?  That look on her face when Robb was killed was so powerful.  She had died inside before her throat was even slit.  She died thinking her whole family was dead.  She may have believed Sansa to be alive but she knew Sansa's life was not a happy one.  In the back of my head I keep thinking, "Robb can't have died!  He was supposed to avenge his father's death and rise to power!"  But unfortunately that is obviously not going to happen.  This plot twist just reminds us that nobody is safe in Game of Thrones.  It's unpredictable, and I respect that.  Now, let's kill Joffrey to make up for last night and all is forgiven.     

10 Things I found wrong with last nights season finale of Walking Dead. WARNING: SPOILERS!

10.  Why would you be dumb enough to corner yourself in a jail when you are in battle with the people who know the ins and outs of said jail?

9.  Ugh, do we really need to make Carl any more unlikeable by making him rebellious?  He's a child on a TV show, he's already got a lot going against him. 

8.  Um, that guy is going to die and turn into a zombie in like 2 minutes.  Do you really think it's wise to sit there and have a conversation with him instead of trying to free yourself? 

7.  Speaking of, when that guy died and turned into a zombie why didn't Andrea just kick him back?  Her legs were free.  Then take the pair of pliers and stab him in the head with her one free hand.  I don't know, I just didn't buy that she got bit.  Sorry.

6.  Why did that group of people all turn around and run from the governor instead of using their guns to counter attack?  The show is making the governor invincible.  He's not.

5.  Can the governor really see well enough to nail a first shot to a guys head?  He has one eye.  No peripheral vision.  Again, he's not invincible.  He's not a super hero.  He's just a jerk. 

4.  Wow, that battle scene was just...wow.  LAME!  Anticlimactic!  I was like, wait, it's over?

3.  Can you possibly make Michonne any lamer?  She's supposed to be awesome, but she has about 4 lines an episode and no epic fighting scenes with anyone. 

2.  They brought back people from Woodbury?  Did they interrogate these people?  Weren't these the same people who weeks prior were having primitive fighting ceremonies in their town square where people fought to the death and/or were fed to zombies?  There is just something inconsistent about the way the people of Woodbury think vs. they way they act. 

1.  The Governor lived!  This is what I like to call pulling a Damien Lewis.  You know you need to off a character but the writers/producers/whoevers don't because the character/actor is popular.  So they sacrifice the integrity of the storytelling just to keep someone around.  It's always a brutal mistake.  The season was leading up to a showdown between the Governor and Rick (or whoever) and that didn't happen.  The season built up to a battle which turned out to be LAME-O.  It was just all around a let down of a finale and a season as a whole.  Here's hoping season 4 improves. 

One final note: The Game of Thrones premiere was awesome.