The Mummer's Farce

Oh so season six is where Game of Thrones actually starts to go a bit sideways. I see now. To be fair, not every scene is a mess, but Jon Snow is dead. The Brienne and Sansa scenes are solid and there's the promise of a kingsmoot. Jon Snow is dead. on the other hand, Tyrion workshops his worst material in Dany's absence, Bran is back, and Dorne is done. Also Jon Snow is dead. No wait...

It's season 5 finale time and boy howdy is there a lot happening. It's rare in this show that so many key character arcs settle into satisfying conclusions at the end of a season that it's almost like the showrunners ran out of books to adapt... Anyway, Stannis will not be attending this year's father-daughter dinner and neither will Jaime for that matter. Elsewhere, Cersei takes a walk, Dany goes for a ride, and Jon takes a nap.

Game of Thrones gifteth and Game of Thrones taketh away this week on The Mummer's Farce. The television show journeys further afield of adapted source material than ever before, and the result is a hodgepodge of wit and propulsion with gratuity and illogic. It's a big prison party as Cersei, Margaery, Loras, Bronn, The Sand Snakes, Jorah, and Tyrion all find themselves in chains or jail cells. Meanwhile Dany hates wheels, Jon's sword is magic, and Arya is having a blast at assassin camp.

Kate and Dan wade into the Smoking Sea this episode, and things do get murky in the middle of season 5. Dany roasts a unwise master, things in Winterfell go from bad to worse, and the plot in Dorne unravels before our eyes. On the lighter side, Littlefinger has some new leather clad companions and Arya makes new friends at the House of Black and White. Well, ok maybe not "friends" exactly, but that thing about Littlefinger's guards is true.

We are still meeting new characters and arriving at new locations in the 3rd and 4th episodes of season 5 on Game of Thrones. Turns out adapting two giant books into one season of TV means you have to pile it on and press it down. This week it's the Sand Snakes as Jaime and Bronn have a goofy fight on the beach, and Cersei wades through dank alleys to locate the High Sparrow. At the Wall, Jon says "no" to any funny business and in Meereen, Barristan and Grey Worm are...aw well look at the time. To be continued, I guess!

Kate and Dan venture into stormier production waters in the 5th season of Game of Thrones. Luckily, the show still provides a ton to talk about (this is one of our longest episodes yet). There's a lot of table setting as pieces fall into place to make way for new plots and character arcs to emerge. Dany hires a demolition crew, Tyrion is unboxed and reboxed again, and Lancel has been doing whatever exercises make your neck look like that.

It's Season 4 finale time this week on The Mummer's Farce and parents just don't understand. Neil Marshall returns to direct another self-contained action block, but can it stack up next to "Blackwater," Kate and Dan's favorite episode from the first 3 seasons? You'll have to listen and find out! Then in episode 410 there's the mixed bag of crying dragons, a slugfest in the mountains, elven hand grenades, and much more.

The Mummer's Farce returns from holiday refreshed and ready for 2018! It's time to start the new year with a pair of rollicking episodes full of character trials from season 4 of Game of Thrones. Kate and Dan discuss Sansa's brief turn to the dark side, Dany's role reversals, and unlikely sympathies for (am I reading this right?) Ramsay Snow.

For the final podcast episode of 2017, Kate and Dan wrap up the holiday specials by chatting about their favorite couples from the first 3 seasons of Game of Thrones, and speculate about some fantasy relationships in the time beyond. Obviously Jaime x Brienne and Jon x Ygritte are in here, but many more that you'll just have to listen to find out for yourself. Maybe we'll even find someone for Stannis, bless his (burning) heart.

It wouldn't be the holidays without a grim reminder of our own mortality, so for the second holiday special mini-episode Kate and Dan chat about the most memorable deaths from the first 3 seasons of Game of Thrones. The obvious ones like Ned Stark and the Red Wedding are on the docket, but so are plenty of smaller yet still noteworthy passings. And how bout that time Stannis cut the top of that guy's head off? Pretty crazy!