It's that time of the week! Yes, we're back with another episode of Take the Black, Winter Is Coming's weekly chat show where myself — Daniel Roman, editor of the site — and my co-host Marq Nettles get into the latest updates for all things Westeros, as well as the realms of fantasy and science fiction at large.
That "at large" is doing a lot of heavy lifting lately, because just like last week's episode where we spent most of our time jabbing about Dune: Part Three and Avengers: Doomsday thanks to an especially light news cycle in the Seven Kingdoms, we're in the exact same boat this week. Nary a peep has come out of the productions for A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms (season 2 currently in post-production) or House of the Dragon (season 4 currently in pre-production). George R.R. Martin hasn't posted on his Not A Blog in two months. What else are we to do?
Thankfully, it may be quiet in Westeros but that is not the case elsewhere in the fantasy landscape. The big news at the moment is that Prime Video's Lord of the Rings show, The Rings of Power, is about to launch its third season next week. We go quite deep talking about how best to prepare for the watch, as well as some opinions about the various interviews and teases that have been flying around, including the claims that season 3 is a "soft reboot" of sorts that people can jump right in on. Watch below:
We've quite a lot to talk about where The Lord of the Rings is concerned. I've been following The Rings of Power closely since it first launched in 2022; Marq has never seen it and is debating where best to dive in. It makes for some fun conversation, which is almost certainly a precursor of what's to come in the next few weeks after The Rings of Power season 3 finally makes its debut on November 11.
We didn't only talk about The Rings of Power, of course. We also spent some time discussing the shows and books that have been feeding our imagination lately. Marq has watched all of Peacock's Crystal Lake series, and has some opinions as a Friday the 13th aficionado. Outside of Middle-earth, I've been reading quite a bit, and give some thoughts on The Wolves of War, the latest heroic fantasy novel from The Faithful and the Fallen author John Gwynne.
Indeed, the ravens may be quiet at Castle Black this time of year, but beyond the Wall, other fantastical adventures always await!
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You can catch new episodes of Take the Black weekly on Fridays at all the usual podcast outlets, including our YouTube channel. With The Rings of Power, Blade Runner 2099, and Percy Jackson and the Olympians all premiering new episodes this November, it's going to be a busy month whether those ravens ever arrive from King's Landing or not!
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