Game of Thrones has been kissed by fire in Season 3 – ratings are at a series high, and it’s easy to see why. The escalation all year has been almost out of control – new characters almost every week, new fantasy elements (to some viewers’ dismay), and new plots that aren’t in line with expectations.

The fifth episode’s title, “Kissed By Fire” is culled from a quote from red-headed wildling Ygritte, in reference to the boy that deflowered her. Red on red, as it were.

It’s a phrase very easily applied to half of Westeros, as well. The country is ravaged by war, farmlands are on fire, the religion of the Lord of Light and its affinity with fire are slowly creeping into all parts of the land, and Dany and her dragons have charred a city, and are marching to another.

And then there’s Beric Dondarrion.

This fool has had less than ten minutes of screen time and already reach maximum swagger allotment. It may have something to do with his pocket priest, Thoros of Myr – a red priest, not unlike Melisandre, Westeros’s resident shadow baby factory.

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Daenerys Targaryen has quickly captured the imagination and hopes of every viewer of HBO’s Thrones. Small wonder then, that the episodes are frequently titled after her story, and focus heavily on her story, even if it’s a story that’s been mostly divorced from the war in Westeros for over two years.

The “walk of punishment” is blatantly reminiscent of the crucifixion-executions of the Roman Empire. The condemned were forced to hang, nailed to wooden crosses, in rows lining the roads surrounding Rome (historians can correct me if needed).

This walk of punishment doesn’t seem to instill fear in Dany, as intended, but instead, compassion and fury.

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Welcome back to one of the most exciting and visually-astounding shows on television. The third season of Game of Thrones, based (mostly) on Martin’s third novel in the Song of Ice and Fire fantasy series, A Storm of Swords, began last night on HBO.

The cinematographers on the show have a lot of fun with framing, shot direction and imagery; why shouldn’t we as well?  The film student in me from a decade ago still likes to assert itself, and Thrones is a show worth recapping through its powerful imagery. There are enough recaps on the net doing blow-by-blows, so hopefully, we can dig a little deeper here and tackle things from a different angle.

Let’s do it.

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This is the image Season 2 left us with last year; a horde of White Walkers and wights marching on the Wall.

The third book in Martin’s fantasy saga, A Storm of Swords, opens with this scene. It was moved to the end of the second season of Game of Thrones to up the cliffhanger quotient for a finale, and that was probably a very smart decision judging by its reception.

Before Season 3 kicks off this Sunday on HBO, let me remind us all where we left off, and guide us back with some potent imagery from “Valar Morghulis”.

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Does everyone remember this moment? Explosive, practically living wildfire punctuating the climax of the Clash of Kings. Half of HBO’s budget for season two of Game of Thrones blown in one orgiastic fell swoop.

When I popped the disc for Season 2 in for a replay this month, I realized how much the last two episodes work together as two halves of one finale that complement each other in surprising ways. They couldn’t be two more different episodes from one another.

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It’s eerie to waltz around a world I’ve seen in trailers on and off since 2011. Eerie and awe-inspiring. Columbia is another City 17; avid gamers will hopefully feel happy to hear me draw the comparison.

There’s been so much said about the game, both from two years’ worth of previews and advance (groan) exclusive reviews over the past week. I won’t waste your time with fluff; here are some (spoiler-free) thoughts from my five-hour foray into Columbia so far.

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Sony has unveiled their next-generation platform at today’s much anticipated Playstation meeting event.  You can guess the name they went with.

In a two-hour event live-streamed through every major media outlet, the new console, its UI, its core features and its first games were shown off to the world for the first time.  Let’s get to all the meat unveiled today.

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Summer 2012 has blown through the nerd universe with a thunderous fury, and OL rode the wave to its first major convention appearance.  We rocked FanExpo Canada in Toronto, home of yours truly, and generated some fantastic buzz on the show floor.

The essential blow-by-blow follows.  Brace yourselves.

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There’s a story behind every line, but maybe the imagination can cook up funnier shit than the truth (this will be difficult, I assure you).  It was a pleasure to host OL in Toronto, and I’m already looking forward to the next con weekend that OL tears up.

Although the numbers say otherwise!  Millions are still rompin’ around Azeroth, even if their numbers have dwindled.  Blizzard will pre-empt the busier holiday season with a September release of Mists of Pandaria  (the previous two expansions both launched later, in November and December).

The highlights of today’s news include a digital deluxe edition for the game (as opposed to just the big bulky retail deluxe box, that and I and fifty thousand other nerds will still be buying), and the usual promo tie-ins with other Blizzard properties, Diablo III and Starcraft 2.

Thanks to Spaceship OL, I’ve been playing the beta of Pandaria (never going to accept that tragic name), and I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the all-round quality-of-life improvements to the UI and the game in general, as well as how the game engine and art design have held up and kept the game looking fresh after nearly eight years.

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