The Ghosts of Harrenhal: A Song of Ice and Fire Podcast (ASOIAF)

Send us Fan Mail Join us, as we venture chapter-by-chapter through the books in the "A Song of Ice and Fire" series, by George R.R. Martin. We will discuss the details of a chapter, provide insights, give background information, and hit you with other tidbits that we find interesting. However, one thing we won't do is give spoilers! So come, let us be your guides on this epic journe...

Send us Fan Mail Sansa is having a magical day filled first with jousting followed by feasting with her betrothed Joffrey. It isn't until she is escorted home by the Hound that things go sour, starting with an odd revelation and ending in a death threat. We take you step-by-step through her day at the Hand's Tourney. Chapter Review: Sansa Stark is enchanted by the spectacle of the tourne...

Send us Fan Mail Cat and Ser Rodrik are resting their weary bones at the Inn at the Crossroads, when in walks Tyrion Lannister. Cat goes from insisting they not let war breakout in the realm to possibly firing the first shot, when she takes Tyrion captive. We talk about why she did it and what it means, along with covering other topics of interest in the chapter. Chapter Review: While Catelyn Star...

Send us Fan Mail Ned has received info from the remaining Arryn household staff about Jon Arryn's final days. Following one tip leads to a shocking discovery, in the shape of a young blacksmith's apprentice who looks an awful lot like a certain king. However, we don't stop there. We comb through all of the information he's gotten and consider ways that the dots might connect. C...

Send us Fan Mail Jon befriends a brand new recruit, who is very different from most of the brothers of the Night's Watch. Sam Tarly is a large, soft, admitted coward, and Jon can't understand why he's joined the Black Brothers. When we hear his sad story, we get that he didn't have much of a choice. Chapter Review Jon Snow and the other recruits are training in the armory when...

Send us Fan Mail Eddard sits with Grand Maester Pycelle and learns of Jon Arryn's final days. Was Pycelle acting sketchy during that time or doing what he thought best? Jon Arryn shared cryptic parting words and perused an unlikely book. Later Littlefinger gives Ned a gift and shares a revelation that leaves Ned shocked. We jump head-first into it all, and wonder why poison wasn't consid...

Send us Fan Mail Bran's feeling abandoned by his family, gets a special gift from Tyrion Lannister, and hears unsettling news of his uncle. We're hear to dissect it all and pepper in some opinions and insights along the way. Chapter Review: Bran Stark sullenly watches Rickon play with the wolves in the yard. He feels like he's died and been forgotten. Old Nan scares him with a tale...

Send us Fan Mail Daenerys Targaryen is embracing her role as khaleesi of the Dothraki khalasar. Her brother Viserys isn't fitting in so well. When she gives a command that applies to him, she Wakes the Dragon. Only it's Viserys who ends up sobbing in the dirt. Chapter Review: In chapter 23 of "A Game of Thrones", from the "A Song of Ice and Fire" book series, Daenerys...

Send us Fan Mail Arya has made it to King's Landing, but she hasn't forgotten the awfulness that occurred on the way there. She's angry at the world over it. The guys discuss each affront as well as her terrible guilt. We also provide a possibly more apt nickname alternative for Fat Tom. Chapter Review: Arya Stark and the rest of the Stark household are living in the Tower of the Ha...

Send us Fan Mail Tyrion's time at Castle Black has come to an end. But before he leaves Jeor Mormont has a big favor to ask of him. One that Tyrion says he'll do, but think it won't do much good. He also spends some time with Jon, forging a final bond between the pair. On top of examining that, the guys delve into some specifics of the Long Night, and Simon explains how a male bodil...

Send us Fan Mail Ned has arrived in King's Landing to start his new job. He's met the other members of his Small Council, and echos King Robert's statement that they're all flatters and fools. He makes several discoveries: the crown is in enormous debt, there is to be a tourney held in his name, and his wife is hiding in a brothel. Thankfully the guys are here to make sense of...

Send us Fan Mail Jon has made it to Castle Black, and he's not exactly loving life. He's the best fighter of the recruit class but he has no friends and really just wants to pack it in and leave. To top it all off, he's made a dangerous enemy. We look at why he's having such a tough time adjusting, why his uncle Benjen isn't any help, and the impact of this new-found enemy...

Send us Fan Mail Catelyn Stark and Ser Rodrik have made it to King's Landing. They pulled an end-around on Ned and the Royal wheelhouse by taking a ship. However, their secret spy mission stayed a secret for a few hours at most. By then all of the Small Council left in King's Landing knew of their presence. We have fun discussing two great characters, Lord Varys and Petyr Littlefinger Ba...

Send us Fan Mail Bran is falling... and falling... and falling. A crow with three eyes accompanies him on his fall. He sees a lot of the happenings around the known world, from dragons stirring in the far east to something terrifying in the far north. Then he does what everyone has been waiting for. He names his wolf! Oh, and he wakes. The guys do what they do: take it all apart, examine the piece...

Send us Fan Mail The inexorable progress to King’s Landing of Robert and his new Hand Ned is further delayed while the two of them try their hardest to keep a lid on the powder keg caused by Joffrey and Arya’s confrontation. They’d have managed it too but for Cersei and her thirst for vengeance at any cost. No relationship escapes unscathed and we break it all down.  Chapter Review  Arya is found...

Send us Fan Mail Sansa spends a glorious day with her betrothed Joffrey, only to have it end in disaster when they come across Arya and her friend. The confrontation ends with two bloody heads, a bloody arm, and a sword thrown into the river. Sansa also meets three knights that leave varying impressions on her. We dive into it all. Plus, we make conjectures about the suspicious look Joff gives his...

Send us Fan Mail Cat fends off an assassin long enough for Bran’s direwolf to finish the job. Bran, would you just hurry up and name that thing? Cat concludes that the Lannisters are to blame and decides to head south to warn Ned of their perfidy. The boys discuss the ramifications and how long one should wait in a stable before springing your assassination plot.  Chapter Review  Robb tries to con...

Send us Fan Mail Tyrion, Jon, and Benjen are headed north. Leaving behind Winterfell and its Stark hospitality, in favor of the true north with its stark emptiness. Jon’s trying not to have second thoughts. Tyrion’s more than happy to voice those thoughts. We worry at it, like a dog with a bone.  Chapter Review  Jon and Tyrion have a long chat while heading north to the Wall. Tyrion’s reading a hi...

Send us Fan Mail Ned and Robert ride out from the rest of the king’s travelling circus, just the two of them. We get a second contender for Jon Snow’s mysterious mother and get to be a fly on the wall while they discuss a lot of other interesting topics. We examine it all from every angle, and Mac does his best to poke holes in the usefulness of the title of Warden.  Chapter Review  Ned and compan...

Send us Fan Mail Daenerys completes phase 1 of her protracted marriage to Khal Drogo. Receives some pretty rocking wedding presents. The chaps discuss it all in light of the #metoo movement. Mackelly rashly insults Jason Momoa. And a special guest contributes to a new crop of outtakes.  Chapter Review: Daenerys Targaryen marries Khal Drogo in Pentos in a wild Dothraki ceremony. She receives gifts...

Send us Fan Mail Jon gets ready to leave Winterfell forever to join the Night’s Watch. He has some sweet (and some sour) goodbyes. The boys break it down giving their sympathy to poor Jon, while wishing that they could give him some fatherly advice. Mackelly confronts Simon with accusations of dream-plagiarism.  Chapter Review:  Jon Snow visits Bran and Catelyn. He says a very sad farewell to his...

Send us Fan Mail Tyrion makes his way to breakfast, first stopping to reprimand Joffrey for his negligence. At breakfast he has an interesting conversation about Bran's fate with his siblings. The guys question whether Tyrion suspected Jamie and Cersei of foul play. If so, how and why? As well, they discuss the paradox that is Tyrion Lannister. Chapter Review: Tyrion and family have been held...

Send us Fan Mail Bran scales the towers of Winterfell and overhears the Lannister twins discuss incriminating topics and then perform some unexpectedly taboo deeds. We examine the accusations Jamie and Cersei claim Lysa Arryn has made, why Ned being Hand of the King could be trouble for them, why the queen is hoping her husband dies soon, and why Mac had to rush home for a shower emergency.  Chapt...

Send us Fan Mail We get to properly meet Arya Stark. Horse-faced, blacksmith-handed scourge of Winterfell septas and straight hems. She’s not great at needlework, singing, being regal, or pretty much anything expected of a lady. But we love her not in spite of it, but because of it. Sansa is a lot more lady like, and a lot less likeable. Jon’s a good old soul. Prince Joffrey might be a perfect mat...

Send us Fan Mail The guys discuss the first serious contender for the role of Jon Snow’s mother and debate why Ned refuses to tell Catelyn who the woman is. We also get insight into Ned's feelings of inadequacy toward his older brother Brandon, who was supposed to marry Catelyn and be the Lord of Winterfell before he was killed by King Aerys. Chapter Review: The chapter sees Ned and Catelyn d...