WATCH ALONG: Game of Thrones S1 E4

You keep saying "I don't know if I can trust..." Uh, general rule. Unless their last name is Stark, you probably can't, usually (Although there are times when untrustworthy characters can, for reasons, be trusted due to their personal motivations and only in that very limited circumstance). The show's title (Game of Thrones), refers to the game behind the scenes of the throne, with the various people trying to gain and use their power to their own advantage.

So, to help you out a bit, since there are DOZENS of named characters, and it's easy to lose track. Jon Snow is the half-brother Robb, Sansa, Arya, Bran, and Rickon Stark. Theon Greyjoy, the snide-looking guy who got into it with Tyrion Lannister (the dwarf) is not related to them at all. He is politely called Ned's ward, was raised with the others and treated quite well as befitting a nobleman's son, but he's technically more of a hostage to ensure his father, Lord Greyjoy, doesn't do another rebellion against the crown. Lord Arryn, the former hand of the king whose murder got all this started, never said "Burn them all." That was actually Aerys, the previous king, who is known as the mad king. Aerys killed Ned's father and brother, because, well, he was cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs. So, the timeline is basically Aerys went batshit, killed a bunch of people including Ned's father and brother. Meanwhile, Ned and Robert led a rebellion because Aerys's son, Prince Rhaegar abducted Ned's sister, Lyanna, whom Robert was in love with. The Targaryens all died, except Viserys and Daenerys (Khaleesi), who fled across the Narrow Sea. Robert takes the throne and marries Cersei Lannister because Lyanna died before they could rescue her. Then a few years later, Lord Greyjoy of the Iron Islands decides to rebel against the new king and gets his ass handed to him, his sons killed, and his only remaining son taken as a hostage/guest of Winterfell to ensure his good behavior. It's a lot, I know. But when you can sort it all out, it's a really great story.

In ep 3 you heard from Tyrion, "They say the winter of my birth was 3 years long," and Maester Aemon says, "This summer has lasted nine!" It's not some kind of curse. It's just a different world, and the seasons are WEIRD. Any season can last several years; rarely less than a year I believe. People pray to the gods for short winters of course, and never-ending summers; but the Stark words are always true: Winter is coming. Now if anyone here calls you (like old Nana did to Bran), "My sweet Summer child," it means you're being naive about... something (as though you've never yet experienced a winter in your life). No spoilers please!

Now, to really save you from some confusion. It's Bran, short for Brandon Stark...lmao

Hi Ashleigh, are you still going to post the early access version of GoT Ep 3&4?

I recently discovered that Dolly Parton was an uncredited producer on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She was typical Dolly sending cast and crew Christmas presents. She was uniquely one of a kind.

Ashleigh, i've noticed that during the watch alongs , it doesn't look like you're paying too much visual attention to the opening credits. I bring this up because when you were doing episode.One you mentioned that you didn't know how well you would be able to remember the names of the different locations that would be taking place in this series. Maybe I'm wrong, but I thought it might be helpful to point out.The opening credits are not static.They actually change from episode to episode. As you open credits, roll, the map shows only the places\nThat are relevant to the episode. For example in episode one Daenerys Targaryen in her brother were in a city.\nThat , after episode , one was never featured again. In episode 2 and further\nThe mapThey always showed the horse people's town instead. So watching the map bring the open credits is a really great way to learn the different location names.