Have we all recovered from this week’s episode yet? This was the one thing I managed not to spoil for those around me. Do you have any idea how hard it is to discuss something so momentous in vague terminology with half your friends because the other half “don’t want spoilers, waaaah!”

Well, I could write an entire essay on that logic, but I think the Axis of Awesome sums it up pretty well instead:

Winter has indeed been coming for sixteen fucking years. Asshats. Spoilers, pfft.

My goodness, wasn’t Monday just hilarious on my Twitter and Facebook feeds with everyone who hadn’t read the book collectively losing their shit. (Read the Twitter account RedWeddingTears for extra hilarity).

So, how did we all enjoy it? That music was a brilliant touch wasn’t it? If I hadn’t known what was coming that would have knocked my socks right off my feet (no easy task when they’ve been in my gym shoes all day). I have long maintained that as a reader, this is why George RR Martin is the master. When he lopped off poor Ned’s head I was hooked.

Some people have criticised the TV show for being heavy handed with sex and violence, claiming it’s all kinds of vulgar (read: one particular NY Times reviewer who for some reason quoted my Twitter response amongst a sea of famous people’s responses and people who called for her to be burned at the stake). If anything, I think it’s the kind of gritty realism that’s sadly missing from a lot of fiction. Let’s face it, life can really suck sometimes. Fairy tales don’t always happen and I’m really over the Farm-Boy / Chosen One trope (remembering that only David Eddings gets a free pass at that). Were something like that to go down for real, well you need only to turn on the news most days and realise that humanity has an overabundance of power hungry douchebags and skeezy slimeballs (I’m looking at you, Littlefinger).

As long as Tyrion and Arya are still kicking, I’m not going to join the hordes of mouth-frothers calling for his (or HBO’s) demise because of knocking off poor Robb Stark. He was a whiny spoiled brat anyway. I hated him in the books and while I was initially shocked at his beheading (and in the books they sewed his wolf’s head onto his body, just for shits and giggles. Damn, I would have loved to have seen them do that on TV), I got over it pretty quick. I didn’t hate him as much in the show though, although that may be because a) Richard Madden is relatively easy on the eyes (not as hot as Khal Drogo though) and b) Richard Madden is dating my girl Clara. He was still a twerp though.

Here are my favourite memes just for fun:

Seriously. Read the fucking books.