Looking Forward Ep. 29 and Traditions

Oz of Thrones: Has it been a long two weeks, or is it just me?  And how exactly do we manage to make it through forty some-odd weeks in between seasons?  We will all be enduring soon enough as there are only two episodes left before we send the crews off again to do more filming, and the countdown clock will reappear on WiC.

So, please forgive a man up front today for a shorter than normal post.  I am still recovering from a Prediction hangover from earlier in the week.  By the way, I really appreciate all the great feedback received from the Unsullied Prediction post.  If you missed it, check it out.  I also need to recognize WiC, OitF, FaB, and HmR for being charged with the arduous task of moderating and the keeping the Unsullied safe from spoilery.  You guys and gals make this site the best one out there.  The fact is that neither they, nor you the Sullied readers, have to put up with us non’s.  But you do, and the vast majority of you do your best to not give away what is to come.  For that, I am quite thankful.

Since I have written about what I think might be upcoming for the next episode in the prediction post, humor me on this for a moment if you will…….

Tradition.  House Oz is located in a city where many locals claim the word “Tradition” was born.  In my part of the world, the word envelopes many aspects of life including, but not limited to, the following: family, friends, food, faith, and above all else….. football.  At least some of these have a strong influence on most of our lives, whether it’s the annual family reunion, or gathering at Grandma’s for Thanksgiving, or the annual beach trip with the girls or the guys.  We all have some type of tradition.  Some of them are great.  Some of them are goofy.  And some of them are just damned annoying.

Every now and then, we are lucky enough as a human race to get to experience something that is just so full of awesomeness, that we strive to be able to relive that feeling again and again.  Sometimes that quest falls flat and the original occurrence becomes nothing more than a fond memory.  But occasionally, the goal is attained and a tradition is started.

When Ozzette and I watched the first episode of GoT the very first night it aired, we knew nothing about anything.  We did not know what Game of Thrones was about.  We did not know it was based on a series of books.  We did not know that there was an author named GRRM.  All we really knew was that the previews looked cool and HBO had been giving us great television experiences in the past.

So we bit.  And then Bran got pushed out of a tower.  And we kept biting.

Then the Mountain cut the head off of a horse.  And we wanted more.

Then Dany’s brother got a golden crown from Drogo.  And we couldn’t get enough.

Then King Robert died, and we knew the drama was about reach a new level….

Oh, feed us!  Give us more!  This is awesome!

But we knew nothing.  And of all unlikely things that could happen, a new tradition was about to be born.

The Epic 9’s

Episode 9: Baelor:  The episode where the jaw hit the floor and the shit hit the fan.  We all know how it went down:  Ned is in the dungeon.  Varys comes to visit and urges him to think about his daughters’ futures.  Ned takes the advice to heart and admits his treason.  Joffrey had promised to be merciful if he did so.  But it was not to be, and with one swift swing of Ilyn Payne’s massive sword, Ned was gone.

I’m pretty sure I didn’t sleep much that night.  I remember laying in the bed thinking, “What the hell did I just watch?” and “How do you kill off a lead character in the first season of a show?”.    The rules of television had somehow been broken and instead of being disheartened and confused, I was captivated and entranced.  In one night I went from being a fan to being a fanatic.  It was indeed the beginning.

Roughly a year later, this happened…..

Episode 19: Blackwater:  Unlike the death of Ned, we knew there was a battle coming.  What most of us did not know was the grand scale of how this epic battle was about to be depicted on screen.

One of the scenes that will always be embedded in my mind is the wildfire explosion.  The sound.  The green.  The mass.  The destruction.  I was like a kid seeing an extravagant 4^th of July fireworks display for the first time.  I will never forget Ned’s head.  I will never forget Blackwater Bay.

And roughly another year later, we are here……

Episode 29: The Rains of Castamere:  Over on the Prediction post, the following question was posed and I never got a chance to respond.  Here it is:

From: Douglas

I really like your predictions! Just out of curiosity, are you 100% unsullied as of right now or have some spoilers slipped past these nets? I was unsullied once, and I remember how hard it was to avoid spoilers, cause, you know, the internet is dark and full of spoilers!

The answer is 100% yes.  The only tidbit of information that slipped past me this season was that something was going to happen between Tyrion and Sansa, and even then I didn’t know what it was.

I included this Q&A to simply state this:  I have no freakin idea what is about to happen.  The Unsullied know that there is likely to be at least one more wedding this season, and that Arya and the Hound are trying to get there.  We know that Bran and Rickon are getting closer to the wall and possibly finding Jon Snow.  We know that Sam and Gilly are also on their way to the Wall from the other side.  We know that there may be a battle at Yunkai.  And we know that Robb is planning his taking of Casterly Rock.

We know all of this and yet, once again, we know nothing.

However, if the tradition of Epic 9’s holds firm, we know that we may be in for something quite special on Sunday night.  The beauty is in the frustration of the unknown.  In a way, the non-book readers are sitting in the same spot we were two years ago when the unthinkable happened to Ned.  Will there be another climax that will forever be etched into my brain?  Which story line will it come from?  How will it escalate into something no one saw coming?  Dammit…. Where are you Sunday night??

I believe in tradition.  I have no reason to believe that the Epic 9 tradition will be broken, and I don’t know if I have ever been more ready for an Episode than this one.  Are you ready?

Ok awesome WiC readers…… Oz is out.  Hope this post fired you up!  Time to go grill some Stag and have some ale.  Work has been hell this week.  Anyone know where you can find GoT Beer?

Please excuse any grammatical errors…. A man had to bang this one out rather quickly.

Remember, good Sullied folk…. Noooo spoilers in the commentary.

I will see you all Monday morning for the Newbie Recap of Ep. 29.  Hope you and yours have a great weekend, and as always, may there be peace in your realm.  -Oz

• Published on 05/31/2013 at 2:24 PM CDT
• Last updated on 10/21/2016 at 12:02 PM CDT