Posts Tagged ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’
The Boiled Leather Audio Moment #21!
June 5, 2018
From HBO’s dreams to BLAM’s reality! It’s a crossover between the concepts of two of TV’s biggest shows on this edition of our Patreon-exclusive mini-podcast, courtesy of subscriber Chris Schera, who asks what storylines we’d want to take part in if a Westeros-themed Westworld-style android theme park existed. This was a fun one — click here to subscribe and listen for just $2 a month!
The Boiled Leather Audio Moment #20!
May 1, 2018
Tywin Lannister only has two sons, one of whom is sworn to the Kingsguard and the other of whom he hates. Why has he never attempted to father more heirs? That’s the question facing Sean & Stefan in the latest BLAM mini-podcast, available exclusively for our $2-and-up Patreon subscribers. The answers involve both in-story considerations and the meta-quirks of writing. Sean is also forced to say the words “the old Tywin two-pump,” so there’s that to look forward to. Click here, subscribe, and enjoy!
The Boiled Leather Audio Hour Episode 74!
April 30, 2018
Monsters
Unleash the kraken! And the dragon, and the Other, and the wight, and the giant, and the direwolf, and the FrankenGregor, and the giant turtle, et cetera. Sean and Stefan tackle the monsters of Ice and Fire — the ones that aren’t human, we mean — and their roles in the setting, the narrative, and the overall project of ASoIaF. Consider it our Walpurgisnacht Special!
Additional links:
Our Patreon page at patreon.com/boiledleatheraudiohour.
Our PayPal donation page (also accessible via boiledleather.com).
The Boiled Leather Audio Moment #19!
March 30, 2018Moment 19 | Arya’s Needle, Arya’s Fate
What lies in store for the wolf child? We’re taking our best guesses in this episode of our Patreon-exclusive mini-podcast, in which we answer subscriber TheWorkingDead’s questions about the fate of Arya Stark. Did Jon’s joke about finding her after the snow thaws, frozen to death with a needle in her hand, augur something more serious? What about Ned’s maxim that the lone wolf dies but the pack survives? Will she reconnect with Nymeria or her siblings again, and what will happen if so? Pledge $2/month to our Patreon to listen in and see what you think!
The Boiled Leather Audio Moment #18!
March 14, 2018The Boiled Leather Audio Hour Episode 72!
March 1, 2018Books vs. Show
They said it would never be done! Your illustrious cohosts do the one thing they never do and spend an entire episode comparing and contrasting A Song of Ice and Fire with its TV adaptation, Game of Thrones. The casting, the writing, the plot, the effects, the sense of scale, the themes, the changes: We’re going all in, baby, and we’re unlikely to do this kind of thing again for a long long time, so enjoy!
Our Patreon page at patreon.com/boiledleatheraudiohour.
Our PayPal donation page (also accessible via boiledleather.com).
The Boiled Leather Audio Moment #17!
January 25, 2018The Boiled Leather Audio Moment #15!
December 31, 2017Moment 15 | Tinfoil
It’s our final BLAM of 2017, and man is it a juicy one! This episode of our subscriber-exclusive mini-podcast concerns a question pitched to us by subscriber Björn Mark Helgoe, who’d like to know which tinfoil-hat theories we believe in that the majority of the fandom doesn’t, and why. Strap on your thinking cap, subscribe to our Patreon for just $2/month or more, and listen in to Sean’s “Oberyn poisoned Tywin” theory and beyond. Thanks to you all for subscribing and listening! Happy New Year!
The Boiled Leather Audio Hour Episode 70!
December 31, 2017The Impact of Ice and Fire
For our very special 70th episode of the podcast, and our lucky 13th installment of 2017, BLAH is going big! In this freewheeling, wide-ranging episode, Sean & Stefan trace the effects of A Song of Ice and Fire (and Game of Thrones) on our lives, our minds, and our world. How has ASoIaF shaped your illustrious co-hosts’ thinking on art and literature? How can it help us understand the simultaneous rise of the New Golden Age of Television and nerd culture, including nerd culture’s toxic elements as well as its positive ones? Where would each of us be without it? The answers to all these questions and many more await you in the grand finale of our three-part holiday special!
Additional links:
Our Patreon page at patreon.com/boiledleatheraudiohour.
Our PayPal donation page (also accessible via boiledleather.com).
The Boiled Leather Audio Moment #14!
December 18, 2017Moment 14 | Believing in the Big Prophecies
That’s right, folks — Sean & Stefan are going back to back with two new BLAMs in a single night! The topic for our latest subscriber-only mini-podcast comes from $5/month patron Steve Shapiro, who asks why everyone’s so certain that the major story-ending prophecies involving Azor Ahai Reborn and “the dragon has three heads” will come to pass given Marwyn the Mage’s memorably profane line, “Prophecy will bite your prick off every time.” We love prophecy questions here at BLAM because they exist right in the venn-diagram overlap between theories and theme, so we really dig into this one. Keep your night of hot Boiled Leather content going strong by subscribing for just $2 a month at our Patreon and listening in!
The Boiled Leather Audio Moment #13!
December 18, 2017Moment 13 | Re-Adapting A Song of Ice and Fire
When George R.R. Martin finally sends A Dream of Spring off to the printer, will a Game of Thrones redux be on the way? That’s the question posed by $10/month subscriber Tom Berman in the latest episode of the BLAM mini-podcast, exclusive to our $2-and-up patrons! Sean & Stefan discuss the likelihood of a second film or television adaptation of ASoIaF, wonder who might be suited to do one should it happen, and compare it to recent developments in the re-adaptation front, like Watchmen and The Lord of the Rings (kinda). Subscribe for the low low price of $2 a month and enjoy!
Programming note
November 30, 2017Due to illness on Sean’s part (yes, again 🙁 ), the next episode of the Boiled Leather Audio Hour has been postponed from our usual launch time around the end of the month until, most likely, some time in the next couple of days. But we plan to crank out the content throughout December to make up for this delay. Thank you for your patience!
The Boiled Leather Audio Hour Episode 67!
October 30, 2017The Sons of the Dragon
Sean & Stefan review George R.R. Martin’s latest historical novella set in the world of Ice and Fire, “The Sons of the Dragon”! Found in The Book of Swords, the latest (and allegedly, until The Winds of Winter is published, the last) genre anthology co-edited by GRRM and Gardner Dozois, “TSotD” chronicles the lives of Aegon “The Conqueror” Targaryen’s two large adult sons, Aenys and Maegor. Being named “anus” and “meager” wound up being the least of their problems, as we soon learn. Sean & Stefan discuss the most striking aspects of the failsons’ stories, as well as the political and supernatural status quo of the era in which they take place; debate the quality and merit of this and other faux-historical texts in the setting; and end with commentary on Martin’s writerly priorities. Enjoy!
Additional links:
Stefan’s review of “The Sons of the Dragon” at the Tower of the Hand.
Our Patreon page at patreon.com/boiledleatheraudiohour.
Our PayPal donation page (also accessible via boiledleather.com).
The Boiled Leather Audio Moment #11!
October 30, 2017Moment 11 | Chekhov’s Wildfire
Welcome to an explosive edition of our subscriber-only mini-podcast! This time around BLAM is truly living up to its onomatopoeic acronym with a question from Matthew, a subscriber at the $5 level, who writes: “What do you think of the Chekhov’s Wildfire theory; that King’s Landing will be destroyed by Dany, Cersei, or someone else?” It’s a cool question, because it lets Stefan & Sean answer in ways that are fundamentally the same but with very different details. Pledge $2 a month, tune in, and find out what they are! And don’t forget: If you want us to answer your question on-air, pledge $5 a month to go in the queue, or $10 a month to go to the front of the line!
31 October T-Shirts by Julia Gfrörer, Day 08: The Boiled Leather Audio Hour
October 8, 2017
The Boiled Leather Audio Moment #10!
September 29, 2017Which characters’ heads are we hoping hardest to get inside of for the first time in The Winds of Winter? That’s the simple question posed by listener/subscriber Pascal, and the answers lead to a short but sweet episode of BLAM, our Patreon-exclusive mini-podcast. Note that we’ve exhausted all of our $10-level questions, so if you wanna move to the front of the line for our next episode, up your ante to ten bucks a month and ask away! And if you’re not a subscriber yet, pledge $2 a month and listen in!
The Boiled Leather Audio Hour Episode 66!
September 20, 2017The ‘Game of Thrones’ Season Seven Post-Game Show
You wanted it, you got it. Sean & Stefan vs. Game of Thrones Season 7. ’Nuff said! NOTE: Since a lengthy illness on Sean’s part prevented us from getting this episode out in a timely fashion, we’re rushing it to you with minimal editing. Ooh baby we like it raw!
Additional links:
Sean’s Game of Thrones tag at seantcollins.com, featuring links to all his work on this season for Rolling Stone, Vulture, In These Times, and more.
Our Patreon page at patreon.com/boiledleatheraudiohour.
Our PayPal donation page (also accessible via boiledleather.com).
Game of Thrones’ Kristofer Hivju on Tormund’s Fate, That Huge Cliffhanger, and His Wish List for Season 8
September 2, 2017One of the big themes of the show is putting aside differences to fight the common threat. As the wildling who made peace with the Night’s Watch, Tormund lives the values that Jon and Davos are preaching.
Yeah, exactly. It’s something my mother said to me today, actually: “Forgiveness is the most difficult way to go forward, but it’s still the only way.” You have to turn the page and let bygones be bygones. It’s nice to play a character who has that ability, because there’s so much revenge and the wish to kill each other in this show. It’s nice to have a character that’s able to turn the page and get the overall view. And it’s a skill of necessity, because you have to adapt or else you’re lost.
Your mom makes a great point. Revenge is a major plot driver for a huge number of story lines, but it’s not on Tormund’s mind at all.
No. His mentor and father figure was Mance Rayder, who gathered all the Free Folk for the reason of taking down the Night’s Watch and secure his people — but by war. That didn’t work, and I think, hopefully, that Tormund has learned from his mentor’s mistakes. I’m reflecting on the line [about Mance] that really surprised me when I came to it, in episode six, when Tormund says to Jon, “How many died for his pride because he didn’t kneel?” That’s a perspective I didn’t see coming from him.
“Game of Thrones”’ Isaac Hempstead Wright Debunks the Night King Theory
August 30, 2017Congratulations on creeping everybody out this season.
[Laughs.] Yeah, sorry about that. There were some cool bits to get to play, less so that creepy moment with Sansa. That was weird. I don’t think Bran meant that in a weird way; I don’t think he’s trying to freak his sister out by going, “Yeah, I know everything. Don’t fuck with me.” It’s more like Bran is processing everything he’s seen, like, “I’ve seen you there. That happened to you. I’m sorry for what happened to you.” Bran has lost that emotional connection. He just states what he sees in an almost autistic way, not really connecting with things but just saying how they are.
Saying “chaos is a ladder” to Littlefinger was so cool, though. I felt so badass in that scene, like, “Chaos is a ladder … yeeaaaah. How do you like that, Littlefinger?”
“Game of Thrones” Director Jeremy Podeswa on Shooting That Gigantic Season Finale
August 30, 2017Beyond Sansa and Arya’s rapprochement, the episode ends with Dany and Jon’s love scene and the fall of the Wall.
Yeah. It’s what the whole show is talking about, really, and why there is a summit at the Dragonpit in the first place. The show is so much about people fighting for power and one-upmanship and control, but at the end of the day, it’s a metaphor for life. Whatever we try — to be rich, to be happy — death is unavoidable. It doesn’t matter how much money you have, it doesn’t matter how much love you have. At the end of the day, it’s all heading that way. It puts all this gamesmanship and fight for power in relief, and it’s a big part of what this show is about.
Coming so hot on the heels of the Jon and Dany scene, which was about life and love and all those powerful forces, I was really struck by the shot you did of the zombies just watching as the Night King and the dragon destroy the Wall. There was an awful sense of violation about that.
Something that Game of Thrones always does successfully is that action sequences are never just action sequences. There’s always a point of view, and you’re always identifying with one person or one group of people. I think in this case, it’s not that you identify with the White Walkers, but there is a strange consciousness among them. It’s not spectacle just for the sake of spectacle. There’s actually a human drama that’s being played out here, and in this case this is the implacable enemy. It’s the forces of death over the forces of life. You have to believe in them as a kind of real, living, breathing, sentient mass.
The way to create drama in a sequence like this is by making it about these figures, not just about a Wall coming down. It’s really about the forces of good versus evil, and evil has a face.