‘Tis a sad Sunday, Gatewatch faithful. This is the first Sunday in a long line of Sundays that won’t be giving us a pop-up map of Westeros when we click over to HBO. Rather, we’ll be flung into Bon Temps, Louisiana, there to bear witness to the another bloody season of vampy goodness. I will be watching—and I will be live-Tweeting the event as well!
But more on that later.
In the meantime, I suggest a diversion, and what better way than a wrap-up podcast dedicated to Game of Thrones episode 10, “Valar Morghulis”—and pretty much all of season two—provided by our friends at A Podcast of Ice and Fire, and featuring not one, but TWO Gatewatch luminaries!
A PODCAST OF ICE AND FIRE, EPISODE 81: VALAR MORGHULIS features Phil (Winter) and FaBio (me), as well as House Manwoody staples Amin, Kyle, and Ashley, and we talk about episode ten and the impact the season has had as a whole. A good time was had by all—despite a shocking lack of Mimi!
Part of the discussion centers around a picture. Here for your perusal: THE PICTURE!
I mentioned True Blood, which some people love and others despise. Well, I intend on seeing exactly how much people love / despise it as I live-Tweet (and re-tweet) the East Coast airing of the show at 9:00 PM EST (6:00 PM PST). Just follow me on @Axechucker on Twitter, as I will be re-tweeting interesting comments hashtagged #TrueBlood! The eventual TB Twitter post will end up being posted by my friends at TVEquals … or my own completely unprofessional and unfinished website, which … still needs a lot of work.
Lastly, a bit of a farewell. I will no longer be a regular contributor to Winter-Is-Coming.net—at least not in the way I have been these past ten weeks. (Because, really, there’s no need for it! There are no Twitter posts to do, no Curtain Calls, no episode reviews…) We are in the dog days of GoT, and so I am going to take some extended time off to work on my own stuff—I have two novels I should have finished writing years ago, as well as other crap that will no doubt bore you to tears.
And that’s not to say I will disappear off the face of the earth. I will still be a part-time contributor, and will probably have (unasked for) opinions to give from time to time… and rest assured, when season 3 hits, I’ll be back for the attack—Rockin’ like Dokken!
I’m easy to contact—just a click away, at axechucker@gmail.com, @Axechucker on Twitter, and Axechucker on Tumblr. A lot of axes being chucked, but that’s sort of what I do! They’re (usually) metaphorical.
Anyway. I ain’t going far. I just won’t be around on a daily basis until next season rises up to punch us all in the collective throat. And won’t that be fun! It’s been great! See y’all on the flip side!
(No, I’ve never understood what that meant. Sounds like something cool people say, right? I always wanted to be cool…)
~FaB~
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62 Comments
I’m sincerely glad to hear that you’ll be able to have much more time to work on your novels. Let us know when you’ve finished?
Thanks for the fun times, and I will look forward to your posts for next season.
ZackQuote Reply
@ FaBio- Thanks for all the great writeups. I will miss your Twitter posts, and look forward to your thoughts on TB. The TB Twitter stuff should be HILARIOUS. Anyway, sad to see you go, but glad you have the time to get to your other writings.
See you around the site!
(runs off to watch TB)
Dark StarQuote Reply
OH, and that picture! Jaqen looks weirdly like a woman. Who is the dark haired man?
Dark StarQuote Reply
FaB, you have just made my night (don’t know if you caught in the Cogman article comment section… made a deal with my sisters; they watched GoT only because of my promise to sit through TB).
Anyway, just wanted to say I truly enjoyed reading your articles. Your stuff is actually the main reason I visit WiC.net, and I’m looking forward to your return. Would love to read your books as well once completed!
trfhmsQuote Reply
I don’t know if it’s good or bad that I know what “Rockin’ like Dokken” means. We’re old dude.
dizzy_34Quote Reply
dizzy_34,
It’s probably a good thing, unless you’re really in to 80s hair metal.
Varamyr FourskinsQuote Reply
Don’t know you that well, but I enjoyed all that you provided on here and can’t wait until next April for your triumphant return here…
You say you’re working on novels…will they be done before Winds of Winter????:)
BTW, WiC, shouldn’t we have a “curtain call” for FaB…as least until next season, or is this pretty much that ;p
KlavonivsQuote Reply
GoT over, Mad Men almost over. Going to be a rough month until Breaking Bad.
Hope you have fun during the offseason!
LordStarkingtonQuote Reply
dizzy_34,
It depends…if you’re over or in your mid 30′s it’s ok….if you’re 20 or under, well, you may have issues
KlavonivsQuote Reply
FaBio, you will be missed. I always click on your posts when I see ‘em. Now I have even more reason to look forward to S3… so.. far.. away..
It would be unfair to say I don’t like True Blood, since I’ve never seen it, but vampires aren’t really my thing, so I’m probably going to pass on that.
But, I am a big fan of Boardwalk Empire. So, you should tweet that one as well when it premieres in the Fall (assuming you watch it, of course. If not, that might be a little difficult).
Varamyr FourskinsQuote Reply
A Podcast of Ice and Fire is great. Loved the latest episode with WiC and FaB.
To deal with the GOT withdrawal, I’m currently re-watching Season 1 (despite having already watched it many times, it feels like I’m seeing it in a new light now, after having just watched Season 2. In a strange way, Season 2 has made Season 1 more interesting! And I forgot how much I’ve missed Ned, Robert, Drogo, and Viserys). I’m also re-reading ADWD (and enjoying it quite a bit).
Sad to hear you’re leaving, FaB (even if it’s temporary). I can’t remember how often you posted during the off season last year, but I’m pretty sure you were still providing us with the occasional cast interview, casting thread, etc. Good luck with whatever you get up to.
LexQuote Reply
Lex,
Hey if you want more GoT’s go get the game that came out recently. The gameplay and graphics are ok….but the story will pull you in just like the novels do!!!! Seriously, it will keep you satisfied a little longer until next april, and there’s multiple ending to the game as well!!!
KlavonivsQuote Reply
Couldn’t resist, could you? Despite all those posts of suicidal despair by DH87, you want some of that TB love, don’t you? Don’t tweet Mad Men or some show that makes sense—no! Jump into HBO’s toxic waste dump of GN, Let’s Go To Crazy Town world rules, and LaBrea Tar Pits-sized plot holes! Forget Iceland and Croatia, check out animal actors provided by Hey,We Got Wolves and CGI provided by Domino’s House of Cheap Faeryland Effects!
If you value your future writing career, do not spend 12 hours with a bunch of writers who can’t remember what happened in the episode’s cold open, much less what happened last season.
In summary: I pity you.
DH87Quote Reply
DH87 should be a weekly True Blood recapper here, just so everyone knows how bad Game of Thrones could have turned out. I never watched it but your True Blood rants never cease to amuse.
KnurkQuote Reply
I feel the love.
No curtain calls! I’m not quite dead.
Fire And BloodQuote Reply
Fire And Blood,
:):):):):) I’m totally joking around…seriously, thanks for all the contribution to this site and your podcasts. You’re one of the posters here that keeps me coming to WiC on a daily basis…..so….thanks and see you in April. (sorry I’m not as much a TB fan, do some Boardwalk Empire tweets!!)
KlavonivsQuote Reply
DH87,
It has been very clear for sometime that you don’t like TB. Fine. Why do you have to try and ruin it for others that do? I’ll never understand. How bitter can you be?
Just wish Fab well, and leave it at that.
Dark StarQuote Reply
Knurk,
Watch the first season and then stop!
Shadowcat85Quote Reply
Dark Star,
I have a theory about DH87, that she’s Charlaine Harris, venting her frustration with how an adaptation of her books turned out … Anyway, TB is a great Rifftrax material.
FaB, thanks for the all the good work you’re doing here and we all be waiting for the next season twitter recaps. Good luck with the novels.
Alex DubrovskyQuote Reply
This is how bitter:
http://www.sookieverseblog.com/2012/03/09/the-saga-of-voodoo-bill/
(Alex, I had to out myself. No, I’m not CH.)
More importantly, thanks FaB for all the great posts here.
DH87Quote Reply
Good luck on your novels FaB. I hope to read them some day.
Not really looking forward to True Blood. It can be fun, but not really gripping like the other shows I watch. Still, nice for some distraction.
Fortunately, Burn Notice and Suits come back this week! :)
sunspearQuote Reply
I just want to say that after 20min of watching TB I can see a huge difference in sex scenes. TB has just as many hunks showing buns as chicks showing boobage.
Plus it’s a lot more simple to follow. Well, maybe D&D can take note, get rid of Ros/Whore stuff and make the nudity on equal settings so it attracts more female viewers and not just AD&D/WoW male geeks like myself.
Problem may be this is a Westeros world we are talking about but they have some POV characters with women now. Robb, Jon, Tyrion. Soon Dany will have Daario…
Hopefully the whole boobcount quota can be delivered to the TV viewer in a much more erotic and less misogynistic manner. while at the sametime giving the female viewer a lil show of male goodies.
ArthurQuote Reply
I’m watching TB, and it’s SOOO mediocre, relative to the last ten weeks of GOT. And my expectations for this show were low to begin with. Tara being turned is the only part that holds any potential interest, otherwise, I could care less about any of it.
BGAPQuote Reply
BGAP,
Yeah I also just watched TB. GoTs is so much better. Only thing TB has over GoT is the sex scenes are a lot better. That’s probably because the entire male cast are straight up models.
But yeah TB is no where near as entertaining as GoTs. Only thing it has is sex scenes that are erotic and made to please both male and female viewers.
ArthurQuote Reply
Can’t get into APOIAF… tried several times, and still not sure why but it’s just not my thing. Cast of thrones, on the other hand, I could listen to twice in a row! Oh well.
Restore The DayQuote Reply
Restore The Day,
I really enjoy the podcast called “The Nights Watch”. I also listen to Simone’s “Afterbuzz” podcast and I also enjoy “Game of Owns”.
The rest aren’t my thing…
ArthurQuote Reply
FaBio,
I feel a little bereft. Good luck with the writing..will you make is wait as long as GRRM
NJQuote Reply
…..make us wait as long as GRRM for your book? Or has it been? Anyway, tipping you’ll have some avid readers with ‘advice/complaints/compliments’ etc
NJQuote Reply
FaB you scared the crap out of me there for a second! But have a good vacation, I look forward to hearing from you in a little less than a year from now again!
John-Michael LelievreQuote Reply
Fare thee well, homey, you shall be missed. May you always find water and shade.
I look forward to the day we can all see your smug, satisfied face once again. Gonna go ahead and pass on the bath scene, tho.
the goatQuote Reply
A woman will miss FaBio here, hope you stop by on occasion to say “Hi” and let us know when your books come out! Cheers!
Mrs. H’gharQuote Reply
OT: I posted this in the funnies thread, but its pretty late for that, so:
http://www.collegehumor.com/article/6780269/game-of-thrones-house-sigils-for-other-tv-families
Only 39(-ish, I guess) more Sundays to go!
the goatQuote Reply
Sounds like a funeral, FaB. A sort of.
Hopefully we would have some cutting characters post by you in near future.
The_Rabbit01Quote Reply
Hey man,
Good luck with your other projects! This doesn’t count as leaving anyway, you will be back soon enough with more posts. Besides, you have done so much work during the season time you more than deserve a GoT-sabbatical :)
And people, do go listen to that podcast, good stuff! Even if the Gatewatch squire was not around ;)
Hear Me RoarQuote Reply
I’m eagerly waiting for Treme … Spring (AU) can’t come fast enough
Jordan HealeyQuote Reply
Exit music (for the episode Edmure agrees to marry Roslin) Let the kings of winter have their cold crypt under the earth, Caetlyn thought.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bX66iW-jO4I
I didn’t care, but now I see
That there’s a way out
That there’s a way out
That there’s a way out
That there’s a way out
That there’s a way out
the goatQuote Reply
Well, apparently its only 8 months or so until the Feb date reported on… so i can handle that. And I like True Blood so that, along with Madmen, Borgias and some other crap will tide me over until then.
Damryn of DorneQuote Reply
Oh, noes, FaB! Now who will be responsible for my frequent and poorly supressed in-office giggles and/or straight-out laughing fits? (“Oh, nothing, the website conversion report is just a riot this week.”)
I just know you’ll whip up those novels in no time – just be careful about taking advice from GRRM about that.
Ena KobentarQuote Reply
About that – this is still unconfirmed, right?
sjweningsQuote Reply
I’ll miss you! Summer really suck for tv watching. Can’t wait till Oct/ Nov for the walking dead! FaB, you need to tweet for that too! Have a good vaycay!
HildaQuote Reply
Oh, it’s just a break then. I won’t be too sad.
I guess that if any of the cast shows up in LA you’ll be back in your role as WiCnet reporter?
Good luck with your projects! (But I’ll have to admit that I turned off retweets from you during the night…)
Johan SporreQuote Reply
FaB was Fab! It is known!
Good luck with your novels and other projects (as well as any time left to spare).
Looking forward to your witty and informative insights next season (can it be tomorrow?)
UdiQuote Reply
sjwenings,
to be honest i dont know. I will just put it in hibernation mode for now… 8 or 10 months doesnt make a huge difference.
Damryn of DorneQuote Reply
Yesterday night was teh first in 11 weeks without my GOT
I was like a junkie waiting for my fix…that never came !
So I picked up my well read copy of ASOS and read till I was sated.
You just make do I guess….
Daddy TywinQuote Reply
FaB is fab. Gonna miss.
Ser LurkalotQuote Reply
As an aspiring novelist myself (what’s your genre by the way?) best of luck on your new enterprise FaB. I will continue to check out your website but I hope you can weigh in with us here at WiC ever now and then especially during casting announcements; my fingers are crossed that Henry Ian Cusick will audition for Mance!
In a season full of fan rage and internecine strife between ‘Purists’ and ‘Apologists’ yours was the voice of tolerance, reason and humility (nothing on this site was a great equalizer between loving and hating the series than your tweets). Ergo: all the best to you on all your future endeavors.
Joshua TaylorQuote Reply
I <3 House Manwoody! The podcast is great.
HyacinthGirlQuote Reply
Elvis has left the building…….:)
Two FeathersQuote Reply
Best of luck Fab, i already miss the weekly twitcap.
Unrelated : very good day for Game of Thrones i thought we would have to wait a bit longer to get good award news, i was wrong.
- Game of Thrones won Best Foreign drama on the Monte Carlo press awards (other nominated were Homeland, Southland,Downtown Abbey and The Good Wife).
- GoT was nominated 9 times in the portal awards :
Best Actor : Peter Dinklage
Best Actress : Lena Headey
Best supporting actor : Aiden Gillen
Best supporting Actress : Michelle Fairley AND Maisie Williams
Best Episode : Ghost of Harrenhal
Best Series : Game of Thrones
Best Young Actor : Maisie Williams AND Jack Gleeson
And, as the icing on the cake, GRRM is nominated for the Gene Roddenberry award for lifetime achievement.
I’m really glad that Maisie and Jack get some more recognition.
If every monday bring so much good news, the wait for S3 should be a bit easier.
ASOIAF FanQuote Reply
Good luck with your projects FaB! I’ll miss your wicked sense of humor, but I’m glad you’ll be coming back for Season 3. I’ll have to check out your TB tweets. If they’re anything like the GOT ones, they’ll be funny as hell.
TB is soooo different than GOT. I feel like a genius when I watch TB, which is great for my self esteem. ;) I think I’m glad I never read the books, cuz I can enjoy the vampy cheese to the fullest. I just gotta say, Pam rocks my TB world. She’s hilarious! I have a new fav word… fucktarded. lol
MimsyQuote Reply
I hate TB and kind of love it at the same time. Me and my friends have made it a “audience participation” type show where we kind of treat it as a joke. We even had a fantasy football style draft with all the characters.. which is just as inane as it sounds.
5 minutes in we were already laughing about how they
A) Totally wimped out on actually killing Tara. I swear the cliffhangers in True Blood are such a yawnfest. You know that they’ll be resolved within the first 5 minutes of the next episode.
and
B) The glaring plot hole that Tara is alive enough to be turned into a Vampire, but not alive enough to just use vampire blood.
And thats just the first five minutes.
True Blood is not very good television, but it can be fun if you don’t take it too seriously.
VanderhookQuote Reply
Vanderhook,
As I stated before all TB is to me is Twilight for adults. It is not very good television I agree, but the soft porn element of “Sookie in the love triangle” makes it get ratings. All of Sookie’s male co-stars come right out of GQ male model magazines and they show buns. So you know the female viewer is going to watch. And there are a lot of hottie female actresses that bare all, so you got the male viewers attention.
TB is basically a formula series; “Nudity + Vampires + Gore = Ratings”. It is easy to follow and has a lot of really quick payoffs that even the braindead can enjoy.
GoTs on the other hand takes a much more sophisticated audence and payoffs come after 2 or more episode buildups… TB and GoTs are 2 totally different types of TV shows.
TB = garbage television that sticks to the winning formula.
GoTs = Experimental television that isn’t affraid to take chances and develop charaters/plots in a much more sophisticated manner.
Unfortunately because GoTs is more advanced and takes a few braincells to follow, it may never get the huge ratings TB gets. But that doesn’t mean TB is better…
ArthurQuote Reply
FaB,
You are/were *sniff* the closest thing to “appointment internet”. I HAD to have those Thursday retweets or someone was goin’ down. Kinda like crack, only with far less call for spoons.
Thanks for all the laughs. And thanks for putting in that you are coming back with a vengeance for next season. I almost had an anyeurism until I read that.
AssuntaQuote Reply
I’m so happy. Looking forward to reading the True Blood Retweet! Does anyone have a True Blood blog we can hang at for the summer?
True Blood is a campy, silly soap opera to me. It’s hilarious and I love it for being that way. DH and I joke that they have a standard nudity clause in all the TB people’s contracts. Everyone who comes on that show and is over 18 should know they will be full frontal and full rear’ing it sooner or later!
And see, people here thought I was a prude because I was complaining about nudity and sex and GOT! How can I be a prude if I watch True Blood with no problems?? LOL
purplejillyQuote Reply
I’m going to draw the line if they require the viewers to get buck nekkid, too, however.
DH87Quote Reply
I’m listening to the Podcast – it sounds fun!
And FaB, only two unfinished novels? Pshaw, what sort of procrastinating writer are you?? Talk to me when you get around seven! ;)
purplejillyQuote Reply
That’s usually after the show! :P
purplejillyQuote Reply
Game of Thrones is DEFINITELY superior, when it comes to True Blood. But the thing is, True Blood tries to pander to everyone (lesbians, gays, straight men/women), that’s why the show gets good ratings. I love it, like a guilty pleasure. And because even though it’s BAD, it’s better than Vampire Diaries and every other vampire/supernatural crap other studios try to pull. I guess Game of Thrones is for the “intellectual” part of us, while True Blood is more fun, sexy. And there’s the fact that, TB’s sex scenes are more “visually satisfying” and not as misogynistic. Most GOT full on sex scenes are very sad for the female part of the audience. The women are always prostitutes getting “fucked” or raped (even if they are not really prostitutes), and RARELY scenes where the woman has power in the sex part (like Robb and Talissa) is filmed. Even Dany/Doreah, that had no nudity but was sensual, APPEALED to women (just look at the demographics in Youtube, it’s not even funny), but what was the scene about? How to please a man. When GOT starts pandering to EVERY part of their demographics like True Blood does, the ratings will be super high. The fact that at least 40% of the audience is women (lesbians and straights) and they pander to ONLY the “straight men” part of the audience, is really disappointing. That article about that man (executive, producer? I don’t know…) representing the “pervy part of the audience”, proves my point.
BiiaCXQuote Reply
hey
Dark StarQuote Reply
Thanks again FaB for all the work you did on GoT, and although 10 months is a long time, it will get here sooner or later and we’ll all be happy to bask in your presence again! :-)
Thanks to all the staff of WiC.net, I don’t say it often enough. Such a great site and a good community of fans (book or show) to bring us all together.
Say – where did the idea of gathering the tweets come from? Has that been done for other shows? (I don’t follow other shows blogs, so I’m clueless). Regardless, it is a brilliant idea and your narrative is always fun to read.
Take care until next year!
David The GreyQuote Reply
purplejilly,
I’ve enjoyed True Blood for the goofy characters. For example, you just know Jason is going to screw something up – he can’t stay out of trouble. Where else can you get lines like “I killed my fairy godmother!!!” I find most of them to be endearing and yep, just like a soap, I gotta tune in each week to see what happens to ‘em.
I ended up buying the first 8 or so books, but they’re still down quite far in the stack to read.
I haven’t tried Boardwalk Empire yet, so that leaves me with just two HBO shows to watch during the year (GoT and TB). But I feel like those two shows alone justify paying for the HBO sub. Don’t regret a penny of it.
David The GreyQuote Reply
David The Grey,
Jason Stackhouse is just hilarious. I love his character! I heard the actor talk on a behind the scenes thing, and he was sort of a refined Australian guy, and it was funny, he sounded so different from “Jason”.
purplejillyQuote Reply
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