Tag Archives: Varley

VoK 211: DragonCast – “The Gift” (S05E07 Review)


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DragonCast is back to discuss the latest Game of Thrones episode, “The Gift”, and how the show is doing gearing up for the final stretch of season 5.

Join Alex (LuckyCharms), Adam (drownedsnow), Paul (Pod’s Plight), Matt (Varley),  Greg (claudiusthefool), Bing (Shoeshiner), Steven (SJLee), and Zach (Alias) for another Game of Thrones review.

Warning: Contains spoilers for all aired episodes of HBO’s Game of Thrones (including Season 5 promotional material), as well as all published books in George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series.

Credits:
Edited by Alias
Music: The Dornishman’s Wife by Yunck

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VoK 208: DragonCast – “Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken” (S05E06 Review)


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DragonCast returns to give their thoughts on the latest Game of Thrones episode. Stay for the aftershow, where we unwind as only the dragons can. #Greg

Join Greg (claudiusthefool) , Matt (Varley), Bing (Shoeshiner), Steven (SJLee), Adam (drownedsnow), Michal (inkasrain),  Paul (Pod’s Plight), and Zach (Alias) for yet another Game of Thrones review.

Warning: Contains spoilers for all aired episodes of HBO’s Game of Thrones (including Season 5 promotional material), as well as all published books in George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series.

00:38 – Introduction and Ratings
10:40 – Braavos
21:50 – Essos
31:13 – King’s Landing
57:32 – Dorne
1:07:45 – Winterfell
2:01:10 – Aftershow

Credits:
Edited by Alias
Music: Kellen the Undying by Drumurboy

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Links
S.S. Abandoned Plotlines
Game of Thrones S5E6 – Atlantic Roundtable
Alyssa Rosenberg on S5E6

VoK 205: DragonCast – “Kill the Boy” (S05E05 Review)


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DragonCast leaps from the ruins the Rhoyne, or Valyria, or wherever, to discuss episode 5 of season 5 of Game of Thrones, “Kill the Boy.” Join Michal (inkasrain), Matt (Varley), Greg (claudiusthefool), Bing (Shoeshiner), Paul (Pod’s Plight), and Adam (drownedsnow) for a not-quite-raucous, but undoubtedly VoK review.

Warning: Contains spoilers for all aired episodes of HBO’s Game of Thrones (including Season 5 promotional material), as well as all published books in George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series, ABC’s LOST, The Princess Bride, and Scientology.

Credits:
Edited by inkasrain

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VoK 201: DragonCast – “The Sons of the Harpy” (S05E04 Review)


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DragonCast rises again, back to review the fourth episode of Game of Thrones Season 5, “The Sons of the Harpy”.

Join Adam (drownedsnow), Matt (Varley), Bing (Shoeshiner), Paul (Pod’s Plight), Alex (LuckyCharms), and Zach (Alias) for a not-quite-raucous, but undoubtedly VoK review.

Warning: Contains spoilers for all aired episodes of HBO’s Game of Thrones (including Season 5 promotional material), as well as all published books in George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series.

Credits:
Edited by Alias
Music: The Hero of Willowbrook by Drumurboy

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VoK 198: DragonCast – “High Sparrow” (S05E03 Review)


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DragonCast is back to review the third episode of Game of Thrones Season 5, “High Sparrow”.

Join Greg (claudiusthefool), Zach (Alias), Matt (Varley), Bing (Shoeshiner), Paul (Pod’s Plight), Adam (drownedsnow), Michal (inkasrain), Steven (SJLee), & defector from WolfCast Patrick (Ser Patrick the Tall) for an in depth and highly intelligent review and analysis in traditional VOK style.

Warning: Contains spoilers for all aired episodes of HBO’s Game of Thrones (including Season 5 promotional material), as well as all published books in George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series.

Credits:
Edited by Greg

Episode image created by Zach

Music: “Baby Elephant Walk” by Lawrence Welk

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VoK 196: DragonCast – “The House of Black and White” (S05E02 Review)


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DragonCast is back to review the second episode of Game of Thrones Season 5, “The House of Black and White”.

Join Greg (claudiusthefool), Matt (Varley), Bing (Shoeshiner), Paul (Pod’s Plight), Adam (drownedsnow), Michal (inkasrain), Steven (SJLee), Brett (White Raven), and Zach (Alias) for another show review that’s not offensive in the slightest.

Warning: Contains spoilers for all aired episodes of HBO’s Game of Thrones (including Season 5 promotional material), as well as all published books in George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series.

Credits:
Edited by Alias
Music: Kellan the Undying by Drumurboy

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Links:
Emilia Clarke Body Double
Dragons
Pizza (Mhysa)
Tumblr Thing

VoK 192: DragonCast – “The Wars to Come” (S05E01 Review)


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DragonCast has broken free of its chains, returned to review the first episode of Game of Thrones Season 5, “The Wars to Come”.

Join Greg (claudiusthefool), Adam (drownedsnow), Michal (inkasrain), Julia (No True Lady), Matt (Varley), and Zach (Alias) as they jump back into the world of Game of Thrones in classic VOK fashion.

Warning: Contains spoilers for all aired episodes of HBO’s Game of Thrones (including Season 5 promotional material), as well as all published books in George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series.

Credits:
Edited by Alias
Music: Bearheart by Drumurboy

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Links:
Et tu, Edmure?
“I’m going to light the biggest fire the North has ever seen.”
Season 5, Episode 1 with Captions
MLB Teams as Game of Thrones Characters

VoK 190: The World of Ice and Fire – The North and The Wall & Beyond


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The Vassals of Kingsgrave continue their ongoing discussion series covering George R.R. Martin’s “The World of Ice and Fire”.  We discuss “The North” & “The Wall and Beyond” (pages 134 to 149 in the book).

Join hosts Greg (claudiusthefool), Alex (Lucky Charms), Dan (witless chum), Matt (Varley), Michal (inkasrain), Patrick (Ser Patrick the Tall) & Peter (Shellfish) as they dare to put into words the awesomeness of the Manderlys, the super-civilized Skagosi, Bear Island Wrestlemania, the pros and cons of punching narwhals in the face as well as unicorns.  Did we mention the unicorns?  Also unicorns.

Warning: Contains spoilers for all published and unpublished books in George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire, as well as all aired episodes of HBO’s Game of Thrones.

  • 1:49 – The North
  • 29:23 – The Kings of Winter
  • 51:26 – Mountain Clans/Stoneborn of Skagos/Crannogmen
  • 1:10:35 – The Lords of Winterfell
  • 1:26:12 – Winterfell
  • 1:35:44 – The Night’s Watch
  • 1:53:46 – The Wildlings
  • 2:10:45 – Aftershow
  • 2:24:00 – Peter’s Medley

This podcast is part of series of in-depth discussions covering all of the various sections of The World of Ice and Fire (by George R. R. Martin, Elio Garcia & Linda Antonsson). Stay tuned to VOK for lots more installments!

Credits: Edited by Greg

  • Image Artist: Ted Nasmith
  • Music Credits
    • “Only a Northern Song” – The Beatles
    • “Kings” – Steely Dan
    • “In the Hall of the Mountain King” – Edvard Grieg, Performed by The Who
    • “Run Away!” – Spamalot Cast
    • Winterfell Theme – Ramin Djawadi, performed by Scott McKenzie
    • The Last of the Giants – George R.R. Martin, performed by Karliene
    • Walk on the Wild Side (Lou Reed)

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VoK 189: Alayne (The Winds of Winter – Sample Chapter)


AlayneStone

The Vassals assemble at the Gates of the Moon to review and dissect the latest sample chapter from George R. R. Martin’s The Winds of Winter, entitled “Alayne.”

Join Michal (inkasrain), Zach (Alias), Greg (claudiusthefool), Duncan (Valkyrist), Julia (No True Lady), Shane (easttexasdirewolf), Matt (Varley) and Nadia as they ponder the evolution of Sansa Stark, courtly politics in the Vale, the master plan of Petyr Baelish, and the treachery of hedge mice.

Warning: Contains spoilers for all published and unpublished books in George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire, as well as all aired episodes of HBO’s Game of Thrones (including Season 5 promotional material).

Credits:
Edited by Valkyrist

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Links:
Alayne (chapter text)
VoK 61: The Winds of Winter (Preview Chapters)
VoK 79: Mercy (The Winds of Winter – Sample Chapter)

VoK 182: The Silmarillion ReRead (Part 5) – Beren and Luthien


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The Vassals of Kingsgrave celebrate Valentine’s Day by discussing Chapter 19 of the Quenta Silmarillion: Of Beren and Luthien.  Star-crossed lovers or doomed from the start?

Beren the mortal falls in love with Luthien, the most beautiful elf that has ever lived.  Before they can marry Beren must complete the impossible task of cutting a Silmaril from the crown of Morgoth.  As we follow Beren on his journey we touch on the continued dickishness of the Sons of Feanor, the possibility of Morgoth babies, the epic awesomeness that is Huan the Hound of Valinor as well as the Epic Rap Battles of the First Age and Luthien’s ability to make everyone simultaneously fall in love with her and fall asleep.

Hosts Greg, Matt, Alix, Matthieu, & Eddie discuss all this and more in the fifth part of our continued Silmarillion re-read series.  The previous episodes in this series are VOK Episodes 147, 155, 163 & 172.

Credits:
Edited by Greg

Image art: “Carcharoth” by Justin Gerard

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VoK 172: The Silmarillion ReRead (Part 4) – The Beginning of the End


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The Vassals of Kingsgrave continue our Silmarillion re-read in which we cover chapters 13-18 of the Quenta Silmarillion; “Of the Return of the Noldor” through “Of the Ruin of Beleriand and the Fall of Fingolfin”.

The Noldor have a few bright spots and shining moments before everything starts to go downhill in their ceaseless war against Morgoth.  We visit the hidden city of Gondolin and follow Maeglin the clinically depressed Elf as he tackles his daddy issues and falls in love with his cousin.  Men finally show up on the scene and join the fight; and we get one of the most awesome and bittersweet scenes in the book in which Fingolfin challenges Morgoth to single combat with the expected results.

Hosts Greg, Matt, Alix, Shane, Brett & Matthieu explore all this and various tangents including having several lessons on pronunciation, debate the wingspan of the great eagles, who would win in a fight; Gimli or The Mountain, and why didn’t the eagles just fly the damn ring right to Mount Doom in the Lord of the Rings.

Credits:
Edited by Greg

Image art of Fingolfin and Morgoth by artist unknown

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VoK 163: The Silmarillion ReRead (Part 3) – Oaths Before Bros


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Join the Vassals of Kingsgrave for the third part of the ongoing Silmarillion re-read project.  Today we recap chapters 7-12 of the Quenta Silmarillion which covers “The Silmarils and the Unrest of the Noldor” through “Of Men”.

The action picks up in earnest as the light of the Two Trees are extinguished by Melkor and his giant spider, the Noldor swear a terrible oath, the Valar create the Sun and Moon, and the Dwarves (Stunted People) and Men (The Sickly) finally come into the story.

Hosts Greg, Matt, Shane, Brett & Matthieu debate the dickishness of Feanor, the haughtiness of Elves in general and the unintended consequences of unbreakable oaths made in haste.

Credits:
Edited by Greg

Image art of the “Kinslaying at Alqualonde” by Ted Nasmith

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VoK 155: The Silmarillion ReRead (Part 2) – Dwarves Still Gonna Need Wood


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The Vassals of Kingsgrave continue their Silmarillion re-read series.  Today we discuss the first six chapters of the Quenta Silmarillion.  We finally meet the first Elves and follow them as they make their way West and along the way many adventures and hijinks ensue.  The Dwarves make a brief appearance, there is some bickering between married gods, a lovely island ferry, mighty eagles, Ents and Orcs.

We also learn the twelve different names the Elves have for themselves (Quendi, Eldar, Avari, Falmari, Eldalie, Calaquendi, Umanyar, Moriquendi, Nandor, Sindar, Falathrim & Eglath) in case you were wondering.

Join hosts Greg, Brett, Shane, Alix, Matt & first time podcaster Matthieu as they attempt to keep all the names straight while at the same time try to understand why Tulkas likes wrestling so much.

Credits:
Edited by Greg

Image art by Ted Nasmith

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VoK 147: The Silmarillion ReRead (Part 1) – Meet the Valar


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The Vassals of Kingsgrave kick off their Silmarillion Re-read series.  Before discussing the book itself we break down the troubled history of the publication and the development of the text of what eventually became The Silmarillion as it was published in 1977, four years after the death of J.R.R. Tolkien.  We also analyze the letter that Tolkien wrote in 1950 to a friend in which he explained his reasoning behind writing The Silmarillion and what he hoped it would mean to England.

Join hosts Greg, Brett, Shane, Alix & Matt as they try to get into the head of Eru Iluvatar and his musical selections.

Put on your finest raiment and hearken to the tales of the Music of the Ainur and the Valaquenta.

Credits:
Edited by Greg

Image from the Melkor Was Here Tumblr from March 12, 2014.

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