{"id":5285,"date":"2013-10-09T00:00:21","date_gmt":"2013-10-09T05:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.walkingwithcake.com\/?p=5285"},"modified":"2013-10-07T22:58:35","modified_gmt":"2013-10-08T03:58:35","slug":"game-of-thrones","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.walkingwithcake.com\/?p=5285","title":{"rendered":"Game of Thrones"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Walking<\/a>

(Game of Thrones<\/em> publicity photo via Entertainment Weekly<\/a>.)<\/p><\/div>\n

With apologies to my friends and family, I am just not into fantasy.\u00a0 Lord of the Rings<\/em> makes me sleepy and Harry Potter<\/em> just depresses me.\u00a0 I can’t do elves with pointy ears and tiny creatures with hairy feet.\u00a0 I just can’t.<\/p>\n

But Ryan asked me to try one episode of Game of Thrones, <\/em>and somehow (magically?) I was hooked.\u00a0 We don’t have cable, so we’re watching via Amazon Instant and we’re halfway through the second season now.\u00a0 After this, we’ll have to wait until next year for the release of the third season’s already aired episodes, and I’m really sad about that.\u00a0 I never thought I’d get caught up in some ancient battle for an imaginary kingdom, but here I am.\u00a0 Seriously, it’s a problem.<\/p>\n

I can’t wait to watch the episodes at night after the boys go to bed, and I think about them during the day, too.\u00a0 Ryan has the first book in the series by George R.R. Martin, and I’ve actually found myself pulling it off the shelf to scan every now and then.\u00a0 What is wrong with me?<\/p>\n

The show is incredibly violent and gratuitous, typical for HBO, but it’s also simply incredible.\u00a0 After I watched the first episode, I told Ryan it reminded me of The Sopranos<\/em> set in a time that never really existed.\u00a0 Then, I was reading about the series on Wikipedia<\/a>, and David Benioff, one of the show’s creators, called it “The Sopranos <\/em>in Middle-Earth.”\u00a0 I guess he had me pegged for a possible viewer.<\/p>\n

There’s literally something for everyone in this series, and while it does have elements of fantasy in it, they aren’t completely in your face.\u00a0 Yes, there are dragons and a creepy killer shadow thing, but they aren’t featured in every episode.\u00a0 Plus, all of the characters are actual humans, at least so far.<\/p>\n

I’m a big fan of Daenerys Targaryen<\/a>, though I wish her blonde wig was better looking.\u00a0 Check out this amazing tutorial<\/a> to get her natural look.\u00a0 And I’m loving the budding romance between Jon Snow<\/a> and Ygritte<\/a>, too.\u00a0 It’s adorable and hilarious, and Ryan gets frustrated when I pause the show to laugh at some ridiculous scene, like when they huddle together<\/a> for, um, warmth.<\/p>\n

Since the first three seasons have aired, it’s hard to avoid spoilers, and I know tragic things are coming soon.\u00a0 But I’m really enjoying the show, and I’m so incredibly impressed with it.<\/p>\n

Are you watching Game of Thrones<\/em>?\u00a0 Who’s your favorite character?<\/p>\n

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