The Wolf and the Lion

The Knight of Flowers ambles past the gallery and throws a discreet glance at Renly Baratheon.  Very subtle.  It plants a seed in the mind of the uninitiated viewer, while also nodding its head at the diehard fans who know the true nature of the relationship between these two men.  What better way to convey the concealed intimacy between two illicit lovers? Oh, I know: a scene where two men shave each other's armpits and some tasteful off-screen slurping!

Most Surprising Character

I started reading Game of Thrones knowing beforehand that the novel contained some significant deaths.  I did not know specifically who was going to die, but I was warned that it was going to be devastating.  So when Jory Cassel was cut down by Jamie Lannister's men, I assumed the big moment had arrived.  My inaccurate assumption made the deaths that followed all the more poignant and shocking.

I liked Jory.  He wasn't given a great deal of characterization and we never got to see the world through his eyes, but there was something very appealing about his character.  When I first saw a promotional picture of Jamie Sives, I knew instinctively that he was Jory.  But how?

Peter Dinklage's Portrayal of Tyrion Lannister

Witty, acerbic, downtrodden, dogged, and conflicted.  These are five adjectives that spring to mind when I think of Tyrion Lannister.  The reader is first introduced to Tyrion through the eyes of Eddard Stark.  As the Lord of Winterfell surveys the royal procession streaming through his castle gates, three individuals stand out against the crowd.  The three people are not identified by name.  Instead, we are given the following descriptions: beaten gold hair, a terrible burned face, and a stunted little man.