I won't watch this episode. I read a review to find out what happened to Talisa and that's enough. So, I'm a coward.

Lots of premieres and other events building up to the third season of Game of Thrones starting the end of this month. A heck of a lot of premieres in the US already; it must get quite boring for the cast. The women must have had to pack a lot of clothes.  The actors have mostly been fun and enthusiastic in their many interviews. Sophie Turner looks so sophisticated but is still a sweet young girl, Maisie Williams is engaging, I always enjoy Michelle Fairley's interviews and of course, Richard Madden!


(Source: http://princesselaenatargaryen.tumblr.com)

I've decided to like Oona Chaplin a lot too because she not only declared Richard the best kisser but described him as "the lovely and adorable and wonderful Richard Madden."


(Source: Wicnet interview)

I'm looking forward to the third series with trepidation because of you-know-what. I don't think I'll be able to watch.

There's lots of good new stuff on websites and tumblr on Game of Thrones with the release of the first season DVDs. I was good and ordered mine from a local supplier, but that means I have to wait for early April. There's some animated histories of Westeros and the Houses narrated by members of the cast that may only be on the Blue-rays. I hope not because I've seen a couple of the videos on tumblr and they're good. There's one with Richard Madden as Robb Stark doing about a third of one. I wish he'd narrated the whole video because he has a wonderful voice and his tone and gravitas is just right for the subject matter. I've ordered a short British tv series Richard was in called Sirens. It was only released on the 12th so I don't understand how come there's stacks of pics and gifs all over tumblr already. Someone's posted the blooper reel, which is fun. Richard also had a supporting role in another tv series, Birdsong, that's now out on DVD. The lead is Eddie Redmayne who irritates me so I probably won't buy it.

I recently bought the fourth and fifth series of Babylon 5. I am disappointed and find several of the episodes boring. Claudia Christian as Commander Ivanova is only in two episodes of the fifth series. Bruce Boxleitner doesn't look good with really short hair and one of those icky round-the-mouth beard thingies!

I was disappointed with the Merlin finale. I thought the writing was lazy and the plot too similar to the last series finale, which was stronger. I was particularly disappointed that Arthur couldn't pull Excalibur from the rock without magical help from Merlin. The sword is supposed to have power of its own and be wielded only by Arthur. With such a powerful sword Arthur should have been able to defeat Helios easily. How did the dragon get all the knights and people together without scaring them all to death?  I disliked Isolde dying as a plot device to bring Arthur and Gwen together. The confrontation between Arthur and Morgana was too short. I'm so tired of Morgana!  Once again Merlin's magic consisted mostly of throwing people around, though it was good to see him using it fatally against Agravaine.

I suppose I hoped for too much from this series and maybe watching again will make me like it more. For me the best episode was His Father's Son because in it Arthur behaved like a king. One sees little of the king in Arthur in the rest of the episodes. Like so many people I find the Arthur and Gwen romance unconvincing. I think Lancelot should not have been disposed of so quickly. He would have made a stronger leader of the knights than Leon and a worthy champion of Camelot. I don't think Arthur would continue to treat Merlin so off-handed once Arthur has openly shown his affection for Merlin, although Arthur might step back again.

I finished watching Game of Thrones. It was awesome: a believable world, good scripts and an excellent cast. I think I should read the next novel before the next series so I don't get any unpleasant surprises with major character deaths. My favourite characters after Ned Stark are Arya and Rob Stark. I think Rob is convincing as a leader that the other nobles would proclaim as "King of the North." It was good to see Clive Mantle making an appearance.

I also watched Camelot. I didn't expect too much so I wasn't disappointed. It was entertaining.The world created was believable and lush. I like the detail down to Igraine's Celtic-style earrings.There are some interesting, different takes on the legend such as the beginnings of Camelot and the Arthur/Guinevere and Leontes story. Gawain, as with Gwaine in Merlin, is a different person to the noble Gawain, son of King Lot, of legend. I liked Kay. I'd like Jamie Campbell Bower more if he didn't gawp with his mouth open so much. His speeches are unconvincing. Merlin is irritating. The nun with Morgan is suitably creepy. Eva Green is a much better actress than Katie McGrath and has better material to work with, but I have massive Morgana/Morgan fatigue!

There's been so much hype about this series. I hope it lives up to expectations. It's airing in the USA and the UK early in April. It's been made by HBO - who are they? I suppose it will be shown here on the pay channels only.

I came across the publicity through a Sean Bean site. He plays one of the main roles.

I then found the book by George R.R. Martin, which I enjoyed.