771 – The Last of the Starks | Game of Drones S8 E4

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, and friends beyond the binary, and you patrons, whether you're streaming me or you downloaded me. Hopefully you're dreaming, but I think I could probably do … Hopefully, you're streaming to a dream. Time for Sleep With Me, a podcast you support, and put you to sleep. Thanks, patrons.

Hey. Are you up all night, tossing, turning, mind racing, trouble getting to sleep, trouble staying asleep? Well, welcome. This is Sleep With Me, the podcast that will put you to sleep. We do it with a bedtime story. All you need to do is get in bed and turn out the lights and press play. I'm going to do the rest. What I'm going to attempt to do is create a safe place where you can set aside whatever's keeping you awake. Whether it's thoughts, feelings, stuff behind your mind, something you're feeling physically, like physical or emotions bubbling up or anything. Could be a change in routine, travel, whatever it is that's keeping you awake, I'd like to take your mind off that.

What I'm going to do is I'm going to send my voice across the deep, dark night. I'm going to use lulling, soothing, creaky dulcet tones, pointless meanders, superfluous tangents … What else? Pointless meanders, superfluous tangents, forgetfulness, momentary forgetfulness, more absent-minded professor-ness. I don't know if I'm exactly … I'm more … Not empty-minded. I wouldn't say I'm absent-minded or empty-minded. I would say … Now, this will take some describing, like hollow-minded. What I mean that is like there's things in there, in my mind, but there's also a lot of hollow space, so there's echoes. You know, there's … You'd say, “Well, actually, let's go walk around up … Wow. That's a winding path up there in the hollows of Scoots' mind.”

Carol King, if you want to write a song about me, In The Hollows of Scoots' Mind. It would have a very narrow appeal, I think. Though, yeah, maybe we'd have to think of a new title. I guess I got excited there. But excuse me. If you're new, pardon me. I'm saying, “Excuse me,” to Carol King, and also excusing myself for going off topic so early. That was very hollow-minded of me. I'm sorry. Does that feel like a legitimate equal-to-equal response there? Could you say, “Yeah, how come that feels more natural than absent-minded?” I guess you say, “Well, you know what? That was very absent-minded of me.” Usually, if you'd have it come, you say, “We'll just write it down next time.” I guess when you're hollow-minded, people would say, “Not sure what that means. That probably means there's an echo up there.”

I mean, here's the good thing. There's benefits to being hollow-minded. We're easy. I like echoes, so that's another one. Plenty of head space. You'd say, “Whoa. Look at the ceilings in this … Were we inside your mind? These are very high ceilings.” You'd say, “Yeah. I've been thinking about getting some frescoes in here. But I'm just at the beginning of a podcast intro, Michelangelo, so let me get back to you. Why don't you chat with Carol King? She's on a tour, too.” Okay. Sorry, new listeners. I usually don't go off this topic so quickly. Well, actually, sometimes I do.

If you're new to this podcast, welcome to Sleep With Me. They say, or I say, it's a podcast to put you to sleep. It's more a podcast to be here as you fall asleep. What I'm going to do is I'm going to send my voice across the deep, dark night. I'm going to use lulling, soothing, creaky dulcet tones, pointless meanders, superfluous tangents. I'm going to go off topic, as you've seen already. All to take your mind off whatever's keeping you up and keep you company. Those are really my jobs as … I guess you wouldn't say the … The hollow-minded professor doesn't sound … They'd say, “I paid to go to this school?” Absent-minded professor does sound more collegiate. I don't know. Yeah, I don't think that the hollow-minded professor would work.

But you'd say, “Okay. You're right.” I'm just catching up with some of the echoes that I'm hearing in here. Okay. But if you're new, let me give you a couple other things. As you've probably already noticed, this podcast is a bit different. It's fairly silly and goofy. I tend to go off topic. I tend to circle back around. It's kind of a lightheartedness, but sometimes that can be tough if you're having trouble sleeping. Obviously, if that's why you're here, I'm glad you're here and I hope I can help. But sometimes, it's hard to … This podcast is … I guess you'd have to imagine … We'll have to lean into this. If you were inside of a hollow-minded professor, I mean, first of all, what an adventure. You'd say, “Holy cow. You thought things were cool on Hoth or Bantu or wherever else famous characters have been. Wow. I'm in this hollow mind.”

I already forgot what I was going to talk about. I was trying to make a metaphor for the new listeners. Oh, because I'd say, “Instead of looking at this podcast as like a construct that makes any sense, you kind of look at it like we're on a general tour in my hollow mind.” You say, “Okay. Wow, I can see where you'd put some frescoes up there. That really does seem like … I can see the scaffolding now. They're going up.” You'd say, “Actually, what about me doing some frescoes? Forget Michelangelo.” You say, “Scoots, how come you say it like that?” I say, “I don't know. It seems … Also, by the way, that's someone in a Michelangelo Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle … Yeah, so I'm not 100% sure that's the actual, real Michelangelo.” That might also be another reason why I'm saying it. Well, but look at that. Carol King is petting Michelangelo's shell, so that's probably nice.

Yeah. If you're new, it can be hard not to take this podcast seriously. But kind of see if you could observe it in a passive way. Structurally, what to expect is that the show starts off with business. Then, there's some business between the intro and the episode, because that's how we keep the podcast free for everybody. Then, after the beginning of the business, there's a intro, which we're probably like six minutes into, which is where I try to just get you ready for bed and to ease you into bedtime. Around 12 minutes of me messing around, you know, trying to find my way in my own hollow brain.

Here's a legitimate question. If I was up there, would I have a … I guess I'd have a headlamp. Maybe one of those construction helmets with the lamp on there. You're right. Just in case there's any falling brain matter or brain goop or goo, as I've talked about. They say, “Scoots, are you a sleep guru?” I'd say, “No, I'm more of a sleepy goo-brain.” I say, “Goop-a-goo.” I used to have a band called The Goop-a-Goos. I just thought of that name, actually, right now. You're right. But we only stage concerts in the hollow brain amphitheater. That's a metaphor. It's actually my brain's not hollow. It's just my brain zone is within a hollow space, you know, more hollow than the average hollowness, because this, of course, how … Anyway, you're right. I got to get off topic.

I didn't even mean that pun, but that's the truth. I got to get back on topic here. The intro's a wind down, a slow landing strip for you to ease into bedtime. Then, it'll be some business. Then, we'll be talking tonight about GOT, and so we'll talk about the episode. Then, we'll talk about some facts. Then, we'll talk to Tommen and Pounce. We'll talk to the old gods and the new, so a pretty long episode. If you haven't seen Game of Thrones, good news. You don't need to with my recaps. You'll sleep right through them. If you don't … Or if you do watch Game of Thrones, you'll be like, “No. What's Scoots talking about?” I mean, if you're super listening, it could be spoiled, obviously, because I'm going to talk about the episode. But I try to talk about it in the most vanilla way, because I know you're here trying to sleep.

So, I'm just here to take your mind off stuff and keep you company. Just in case you can't sleep, it's just entertaining enough that you know I'll be here and … I guess I will be prattling on. That was one of our first hits as The Go-Go Goo Brains or whatever I called it. Oh, no. That was my Saturday morning cartoon, when I was a hero. Go, go, goo brain. They said, “Actually, that was already a show. It was called Inspector …” I said, “Okay. Touche.”

I guess that's the main thing, structurally, what to expect. But these episodes are well over an hour, well into almost the two plus hour range. There's no pressure to fall asleep. Even though it's a sleep podcast, I'm more here to keep you company and take your mind off stuff as you drift off. But there's also no pressure to listen, because I'm going to be meandering around and making echoes in my own … You know, enjoying the hallows within my mind. Yeah, hollow-minded. I think I was using brained in the middle. Then, I said, “Well, I don't like that sounded.” That's why I kept trying to move it. I said, “Oh. I forgot I was using hollow-minded.” That's a much more neutral term.

If you feel like you did something that you need to apologize for, because you were being hollow-minded, I think it's okay to test that out as … Don't test it out as a test apology. But if you say … I guess, let's just test it out as … Here's an NSAT question if you're writing any of them. I can only speak for myself, not all hollow-minded people. Sometimes, we can be inconsiderate. Are all hollow-minded people inconsiderate? No. But maybe if you were inconsiderate this week, you could say, “Jeez. That was very hollow-minded of me. I'm sorry that I, you know, left your soda out on the counter and it went to room temperature.” What did I say? No, it was inconsiderate of me. I didn't realize … They'd say, “Well, was that absent-minded?” I'd say, “Well, in this case, it kind of was, because I was just moving it and I put it out. Yeah. I'm sorry, I guess is what I'm saying.”

I don't know how we got into apologies or who I'm apologizing for. Whoever's soda I'm room-warmed, I'm sorry. I didn't even know about it till just now, so maybe that's a self-apology. Here's the thing. I'm glad you're here. I really hope I can help you fall asleep. The show is a lot different. That's my main thing, but I make it because I care and I believe you deserve a good night's sleep. I'm just here to keep you company, to take your mind off stuff, and help. Again, thank you so much for coming by. I work very hard, I strive and I yearn to help you fall asleep. Here's a couple more ways we keep the show a-going.

All right. I was going to say, I finally know that name of that episode just now, when I sit down to record it. This is season eight, episode four, or episode 71 of the entire series. Turns out it's called The Last of the Starks. I just found that out, so I haven't had time to really chew on that, really. But it does have a last time. Then, it has the same opening, I think. But the one thing, I notice, if you really want to watch, is in the middle floors of Winterfell, they look a bit broken down. I don't know if that was new or just something I first noticed. Almost like a car that won't start or an engine that won't start. There's some gears on the floor, and then the thing in the background that's kind of pulsating. I guess I don't remember now, but … I don't know.

Then, the camera pans up, and I said, “I know those splayed feet. I could tell you whose boots those are anywhere.” Except, one thing I noticed is that they're tied up towards the ankle. I don't know if that was a traditional thing on those boots. It would make sense to get your feet in there. But man, that would not keep the water or the pool out. It's Sir Jorah, with good color, taking a big nap in the … You know, he headed off to the farm. He's taking a big nap in the sky. Khaleesi, I don't know if we've seen her in this coat. I guess I would refer to it as coat. She had a very similar coat in red or white with some red in it, almost like a yarn or a wool, maybe, which would make sense. I mean, Khaleesi, not only are her fashion choices, I mean, lovely, but … Well, that's very smart wear for the North and dragon riding.

It's gray with red or maroon or wine. How come Grey doesn't get … I guess Grey does get … You say, “Well, that's a slate, it's a carbon, charcoal …” But this is definitely gray. Then, speaking of gray stone … Is there where … I don't know. I was just trying to fit a joke in there. Couldn't tell if Khaleesi, as she says goodbye to Jorah, whispers to him. Then, we see Theon with cast of the sea-blue tint to him. Sansa gives him a beautiful Stark pin. I did really like this parallel opening. When I first saw it, after a while, I said, “Okay, the parallels are maybe …” But this was a really nice parallel opening of the Khaleesi, then Sansa.

I finally took the time to look up the name of Jon's pet, whose name is Casper. Everyone's watching. A lot of people saying goodbyes. Arya and Bran. There's Casper, the dog. Oh, dear. Is that what that says? Oh, dear, it says, Jon is … Oh, yeah. I said, “Oh, dear. Is Jon about to make a speech?” I said, “What are we in? Highwatch” But he makes a speech. I mean, I like Jon. Don't get me wrong. Not so hot on the speeches. He says, “Hello, Iowa. You know why I'm here.” But he says … I do like the a shield safeguard the realms of people. Tyrion … Oh, what does that say? I don't know if it says Tyrion. But then, I notice, I think Sam was maybe … If you watch in the background, at some point he steps to the side behind Sansa. I think that might say Tyrion. I don't know.

Free folk, we see. This is kind of the camera panning. Arya says goodbye to Beric. Sam says goodbye to Ed. Jon says goodbye to Lyanna or Leanna, shares a look with Khaleesi. Oh, Jon and Khaleesi share a look. Khaleesi's look is both sad and fierce, and then there's some sadness as they float away. Time for the misty eyes in the mist of the big farm. Missandei, [inaudible 00:17:34]. I don't know who that is. She's watching. I think Grey Worm's with her. Arya. There's music. There's the mist. You could say it's SMOK. Jon. I notice Khaleesi's dragon pin, which I'm even looking at more now. It's a three-headed dragon pin. I mean, good, because she really has a lot of layers. But for someone like me, that's always bumping into stuff, would definitely not last this long. I guess I don't imagine myself having my chest against stuff all the time, but it just wouldn't last for me. Not that I need a pin.

Then, there's a big dinner. Already, for me, you want to talk about archetypes from Game of Thrones … Like, I say, “Okay, big dinners. I'm not comfortable with big dinners.” I think that's a thing, because she … Okay. Especially, we don't see Arya. But banquet halls and Game of Thrones do not go … I'll tell you a spoiler. This is the best communal meal in the history of Game of Thrones, probably. I mean, maybe season one. Maybe they can have them at Winterfell. Maybe season one. I can't remember if there was a big dinner. Presumably, there was when Robert got there. Even that one, there probably was a little tension or something. But yeah, there hasn't been a dinner … This was an awkward dinner. I mean, that was just as bad as it got.

Let's see. We have, the seating-wise, at the head table is Bran, Sansa, Jon, and the Khaleesi. I mean, super awkward, but not so much. Everybody's kind of chattering. There's lots of close-ups. This one, coming up here — I think it's here — of … Is Gendry the first one? Yeah. Let me rewind it here. Let's see what our timing is. It's around 10 minutes in. Yeah, here we go. It's at 10:08-ish. Then, there will be another one. I don't know this for a fact, because I'm not that studied in film. But they seem like these Stanley Kubrick style, kind of just off the side close-ups of characters. There's one of Gendry. Then, later, I think there's one of the Khaleesi. Oh, yeah. That's an important moment.

We see Gendry and the Hound are talking. Hey, where's Arya? Have you seen her? He wants to look for her. The Hound sees right through it. As Gendry tries to leave, Khaleesi calls him out. At first, it seems … It was awkward the whole time, but that was part of the Khaleesi's ability to connect and being so … I don't know. But she says, “Oh, are you a son of Robert Baratheon.” Oh, is it trouble? Even Onion Knight gives Jon a look, like uh-oh. She almost has this Oprah moment. She doesn't go full Oprah. She just gives him a title, but she doesn't go, “You get a title. You get a holdfast.” But she gives him whatever that place is called. Storm's End. She goes, “Who's the lord of Storm's End now?”

First, she says it, and even Sam doesn't know if it's a rhetorical question or not. He has a really great look. He says, “That's a good question. I'd have to go over to Oldtown.” In Sam's scene, I think, “Is she being rhetorical or should I start to look into this?” I don't know the three-eyed raven even know. Then, there was another thread through this episode. He goes, “I can't, because …” He says, “Because of my situation, which is similar to Jon's situation, or, you know, the situation …” She goes, “Nope. I just made you lord, yo.” Then, the Onion Knight … It's still tense, because Khaleesi kind of fumbles with it a little. The Onion Knight goes, “To Lord Gendry.” Of all people, the next person we hear shout it out is Brienne. The Hound, he's not having any of it. He's just no thanks.

What does that say? Sam and Sue. Oh, somebody … Sam and Sue neither … Oh, Sam with some dude, some Northern dude. I said, “Who's that Northern dude?” They shake Gendry's hand. Then, Khaleesi says, “You're not the only one who's clever, Tyrion.” Sansa gives Tyrion a look, like, “Gross.” She's just giving out … She goes, “If you're going to give something away, do it like Oprah. Give one to everybody in the audience.” She goes, “Come on. Give out some holdfasts or something.” I didn't look that up, either.

What does that say? Jon … Oh. Jaime and Brienne drink. The Onion does a quick fill-in, a little bit of exposition, just a teeny, teensy bit on the Red Woman. This was something I was gilding myself for and maybe looking forward to. There really wasn't a lot of exposition in this episode, which I did not think was necessary. But of course, like I said the last or two episodes ago, I could listen to Jaime or Tyrion and Brienne talk for hours about exposition or backstory or world-building or whatever. But anyway, it's just a quick thing, bit, I guess. I don't know what that meant. Oh, a bit, I guess.

Oh, but the Onion Knight really dunks on the Lord of Light. He's not having the Lord of Light. I said, “Buddy, I got a belief system you could believe in. The Lord of Light's not even in my belief system. I mean, I wasn't even aware of the Lord of Light when I came up with it.” Let's see. Yeah. I mean, I don't think I've ever used the term dunk sound in the podcast, like these terms from 2015. But I'm going to use another one soon. [inaudible 00:24:23] still have to contend with … I don't know what that means. You should join me. We still have to contend with us. That's what Tyrion says. We might have taken out the ice people, but … The Hound wants more wine. Tyrion kind of does an awkward compliment on Bran's wheelchair. But Bran says, “Actually, this is the same design that Daeron Targaryen got.”

Sorry. He goes, “I don't really want anymore.” I mean, I guess the only thing I'm going to … I'm going to miss Bran if we don't see him again these next two episodes. I mean, really. Again, could you give a bonus hour episode? Really, that would be my sleep podcast. Not even sleep. I'd probably just chill. I mean, this show has so many good, melodious voices in unique ways. I think Bran's three-eyed raven voices. Obviously, the Onion, Beric Dondarrion, Sir Jorah. Those are probably the top voices. Tormund, no. Tormund's just getting too weird, man.

“You shouldn't envy me,” he says. “Mostly, I live in the past.” Oh, yeah. Because Tormund gets into this bro mode, where he's like, “Yeah, let's pound some drinks, Jon.” I was like, “Is that goat's … Or whatever. Giant's milk?” Which it was not, I don't believe. I mean, I guess you could say … Actually, [inaudible 00:26:05] Scooter. Say thanks. Khaleesi cheers Arya. I think Jon pounds down a drink, or maybe Tormund does. Sansa gives a look to Khaleesi on the cheers to Arya. Sansa's out. Then, we get Pod, Jaime drinking, with Tyrion being a little bit of a BU to the L to the L to the Y on Brienne. Subtle, but aggressively passive or whatever. Maybe Brienne was fake drinking.

Tormund overdoes it when he's doing his little buddy thing with Jon and his second life. Is that fully public information? Says, “Not this one. WTF comes, keep going. WTF [inaudible 00:27:12]?” What does that mean? I think Tormund says something weird, man. Oh, he does say something. He has one line. I guess that was my WTF. I think it's here. He has another weird line in this episode. No, Dany doesn't get any credits. Of course, at 18:16, this is when this Kubrick Dany face. This one was, I felt like, from a Stanley Kubrick movie, because Khaleesi's music. There's a focus pull to Varys. Dany's not feeling comfortable. The audio changes. The viewpoint changes. She says, “I got to get out of here,” and Varys follows her.

Then, all the laughing drunks, they get a little bit not nice. Tyrion gets too much truth out. He does, so Brienne's out. This is where Tormund got weird? Yeah. Oh, yeah. This is where he said something I'm like, “Did you just say that, man?” It was actually. But it was like, “Is that true?” Then, Jaime follows Brienne. Tormund puts the things together. Tyrion tops his drink off. Podrick smiles at … I appreciated this brief moment, because Podrick smiles at Tormund, which kind of bounces this … Oh, no. That was Gendry, actually. Okay, so no. That's wrong. Or Tormund thought Gendry was … He was confused. Tormund walks off. He has wet eyes as he talks to The Hound of his loss of the love of Brienne.

Sansa's watching this. I didn't know if the women delivering wine were hired by Sansa, because then The Hound wants to be alone. But Sansa rolls up. This was, really, one of the high points of the episode, this quick little bird discussion. But again, I don't know. It was a little bit of Sansa saying, “All of it was necessary for me to get here to where I am.” Talk of passing the time. I don't know what that means. Oh, they talk about the passing of time. The Hound says, “Only one thing that'll make me happy.” I don't know if this is a misdirection or not, or if it's just expect the Clegane Bowl, as people have been talking about for a few years now. He says you should have stayed with The Hound. That's when she says, “No.”

Then, the party gets too crazy. Gendry finds Arya, who's doing target practice. This is another, really, high point of the episode. I liked how these were back-to-back. He says, “I'm celebrating,” or, “I'm the lord of Storm's End now. Will you be my lady?” Arya kind of looks, and then she gets down. He's on his knee, and she gets down. She gives him a serious kiss, a deep kiss. She goes, “You'll be a good lord, but I'm not a lady. Never have been. That's not me. Sorry, bro.” I'm like, “Dude, don't you know anything about Arya?” I mean, no offense. I was like, “What are you even asking that for?” But, I guess, for us to see her answer is worth it. I said, “Gendry, man, go back to Storm's End.” “Well, I never been there.” Okay. Why don't you head out there now?

Brienne keeps a good fire. She knows how to really keep it. She explains briefly her fire methodology at Winterfell. We also see her jewel-encrusted sword. Jaime rolls in with some Dornish wine, takes his jacket off. I thought this was a nice subtext, actually, because they talk about keeping a fire going. I said, “Ahem, ahem,” whatever you say when you clear your throat. Because thematically, that'll come to … The subtext is that who's Jaime keeping his fire going for? North grows on. You don't … Things, though. Oh. She says, “The North will grow on you.” Jaime goes, “I don't want things growing on me.” Oh, he's still kind of being a little passive aggro. Jaime needs help getting his shirt off, even though I'm done. There was also … Jaime made a joke. I tried to rewind it a few times. I couldn't tell exactly what it was. I don't know, honest. I said, “Wait a second. What did he say?”

Then, we have Jon, drunk and pensive by his fire. The Khaleesi shows up. She goes, “Are you drunk?” He goes, “No. Yeah, a little bit.” I said, “This is why I can't have you making speeches, Jon.” He goes, “I didn't know Sir Jorah that well.” I said, “What the heck, man?” They talk about love and the love for Jorah. Khaleesi says … What does this say? I don't know. She says, “You know, I didn't love him like I loved you.” What does this say? Is that one right? They say, “Let's kiss on it.” “Was that all right?” maybe she says. They say, “Let's kiss on it,” until Jon, of course, has a moment to think. They do some heavy petting. I mean, these are the scenes I do like, when I don't understand what's happening, the motivations of the characters.

Jon's a little bit more understandable. I said, “Is the Khaleesi … Did Jon pause, because he said, “Well, this is my aunt,” or his Boy Scout type of routine? Or is this an intentional move by the Khaleesi to manipulate Jon, and he detects that?” I don't know. Is Dany there on purpose? Why did you tell … I don't know. I think, really, she was being honest. She goes, “Why did you even tell me?” The next part. I know that look. Oh, she talks about how everybody loves Jon, here. She goes, “I've never gotten that look on this side of the sea.” She goes, “You want to make this work, say nothing.”

The Khaleesi's definitely very concerned about this whole … I mean, understandably … whatever succession. Just started watching season one of that, too. Holy cow. But Jon, of course, he says, “I'm a Boy Scout. I always am the truth.” Then, we have the scene that comes up, I think, three times an episode of begging. Dany actually begs. I did have to WTF it, because he said, “Wait a second.” I don't know. Jon says, “You're my queen. Nothing will change.” But he goes, “Nothing changes with you, but they're my family.” She goes, “I just told you how to fix things, F-O double O-L.

I don't know. Maybe this is like a double flaw scene? I don't know. Sometimes, I mean, I'm not necessarily … You know, probably jealous of Jon. I mean, not in this particular situation. It's complicated. I don't know. Are we seeing Jon's flaws? Because now it's like … I don't know. Jon's playing by the rules has constantly caused him … I don't know. I don't know if it's foreshadowing or what or just [inaudible 00:35:36].

Then, we go to Jaime, who can't sleep. It looks like a real bummerland. I think it's Brienne is sound asleep. Yeah, that's what it says. Half drops out? What does that mean? Talking about a plan. Half drops out. Talking about a plan. I don't know. Cersei will lie. Okay. Oh, this is when they're coming up with a plan. What does that say? I don't know what this one is. I think this is when they're doing their planning. Let me just fast forward here. Believe it or not, I actually got ahead of the episode. We got some kissing going on between Dany and Jon. Now, we get some buffering on a sleep podcast. They really talk to each other at different angles, too, I guess to make it … Jon moves around a lot. Okay. We got Brienne asleep.

Oh, yeah. It's the planning meeting, so they're making their plans. Oh, half troop's out. That's what that says. They also say, “How's everybody going to remember? Cersei's going to lie.” Then, I used my second pop culture reference, so then dunk sound. Khaleesi's on tilt the rest of the episode. We do have Dorne back in. Now, just because Khaleesi's on tilt doesn't mean she can't come back in the next two episodes to not be on tilt. What does tilt mean? We'll talk about that, probably, if we have time, in the facts. It just means she's overwhelmed and she's not thinking clearly, so she's acting against her own best interests. Yeah. It's like an aggression against your own best interest. Maybe that's what being on tilt means to me. Or the opposite, I guess, too. When you're on tilt, everyone can see it but you. That's one of the other features of it. I think it was like a … It's a pinball term, probably a term before that, and then it got used during the great poker renaissance. That was like 15 years ago or whatever.

This looks like it says Starks in Budapest, but I don't know what it means. Starks in the … Until people need to rest and … Oh, the Starks, they say, “We'll help,” but Sansa says, “After everybody rests and recuperates.” Khaleesi says, “No. No way.” Then, Jon bends his knee. I guess, thinking back on it now that I've seen it a few times, it's like Sansa's actually doing what's best, maybe. The Khaleesi and Jon, I guess, are kind of acting against their both best interests, it would seem to me. Because if they just would rest at Winterfell, they could get everybody … They could send out some people to keep an eye on stuff. Also, what happened to all of Varys' eyes and stuff with keeping an eye on things? For much activity he has in this episode, it's like, “Dude, I thought you had birds everywhere.”

Arya and Sansa share a look, but this whole thing is Jon says, “Okay, Khaleesi. We'll do whatever you want.” Jon and Davos and the troops are going to head down the kingsroad. Jaime's going to be a guest of Winterfell. Rightful queen. Khaleesi says that and stares at Sansa. Then, Arya blocks Jon as everybody tries to exit. She goes, “Family talk, buddy.” The poor weirwood tree has to listen in to all this as four Starks … I mean, Jon's still the same amount of Stark. It's just a different Stark parent. Let's see. Sansa, Arya. Oh, it's a little bit of a fake out, which they've done before with Littlefinger, where they kind of act like they're disagreeing, or maybe they do disagree. But Arya says, comes down to, like, “We don't trust your queen. She's not one of us.” Really good dialogue, worth checking out here, because I don't want to go through all of it.

Jon says, “If you don't trust people you grew up with, you're not going to have many allies.” Or if you only trust people you grew up with. Arya says, “I don't need many allies.” They talk about family, and it fumbles in. Jon says, “I'm not …” They say, “You are a Stark. You are a member of our family.” I said, “Maybe I should sit down with Jon and show him. Your mother's a Stark. Your father's Targaryen. You're still 50% Stark.” I mean, maybe … I don't know. Again, whatever the line of succession, but who cares?

But then, there's just another thread in this episode of people making their choices, or some characters making their choices. Not everyone. Have to swarm? Oh, another one. People swearing promises. There's choices, promises, whatever the third I said was, and begging, all will come up in multiple times this episode. Tyrion and Jaime are talking about Brienne. Tyrion's making tall jokes, climbing mountains. I see, “Cheers to climbing mountains.” Again, is that some foreshadowing or what? Bronn rolls in. He talks about their blonde tufts. He's negative. I think that's what that says. He has this unfriendly edge, which, I guess, politically or whatever … I don't know how to describe it. Bronn's had enough of dealing with the rich people. But basically, he asked for double Riverrun, which is Highgarden. He'd be lord of The Reach. Jaime says, “What are you, nuts?”

I don't know. I guess I didn't like this scene, just because as a fan of Bronn being teamed up with Jaime or somebody else. I mean, maybe it'll happen in the next two episodes. I've just been a fan of Bronn to know he's probably … I don't know. He says, “Give me your word.” Second round of pennies. I don't know what that means. I really don't know what that means. Second round of pennies. He says, “I'll find you when the war's done.” Give me your word. Second round of prunes? I don't know.

This one was a little bit, for me, fan service in a good way, because we have The Hound walking. He's on a horse, a Clydesdale horse. Next thing you know, you see Arya. He says, “Oh, jeez.” She goes, “You on your own?” He goes, “Not anymore. What about you?” They say, “Well, I don't like crowds.” “Same here.” “Where are you going?” “Where do you think?” “Got some unfinished business.” “Me too.” “Not planning on coming back.” “Me neither.” Maybe the last of the Starks just means these three and a half Starks? That's what they could have been called. Well, actually, three-eyed raven's not a Stark anymore. I would venture to say Arya is not a Stark anymore. She's a faceless person. I mean, that might be out there. That leaves us with one and a half Starks — Sansa. And I guess by Jon's reasoning, he's not a Stark. He's Targaryen. I don't know. Maybe I'm reaching, or maybe it just meant those four would have a meeting. I mean, but Sansa, excuse me, is the one that stays in the North.

We see Dany and her dragons. Tyrion is watching. He rolls up. “My lady.” She doesn't say nothing. He says, “You're supposed to say, “My lord.”” Sansa says, “Why her? You really think she's being a good queen?” I guess another thing that comes up in this episode is people not looking at one another, and looking … Allies. Your queen, too. Sansa says, “Are you afraid of Khaleesi?” Then, we get this not-a-Stark, what if someone better out there. Eventually, he walks away. She calls him back. She spills the beans, what she had learned from … Oh, Jon has Bran tell Arya and Sansa at the family meeting, you know, everything about the Targaryen stuff.

Then, we see Onion and Jon on a horse. I don't know if Jon was on his horse, he got back off. But says goodbye to Tormund, who has another good line. That is one of the funniest lines of the season. Room to wander. This isn't home. So, this is our goodbye to Tormund, I believe. This one, I can say, out of all of Jon's decisions … You'd say, “Okay. You're not going to get my vote.” He says, “Here, take Casper with you, my dog.” I mean, honestly, these are the things I get outraged about.

What does that say? Hippie up there. I don't know. I think he says we're going to be happy up there with room to roam or room to wander. So new, or so hell? Knew well your … I don't know. But he says, “So long,” or whatever. Farewell. You never know. We might see each other again. We have Sam and Gilly and the future Charlie. Jon says, “I hope it's a girl.” Sam says, “You're the best friend I've ever had.” And Jon says, “You too.” Oh, yeah. I said, “No frigging goodbye for the dog, Casper?” Again, I just didn't like this. I mean, Nymeria, which was Arya's dog, went through the same thing, I guess. Nymeria, I think that's the name of her wolf or dog, you know. [inaudible 00:46:50] I couldn't believe it.

Then, we have Casper, Tormund, Sam and Gilly. They say goodbye. We see ships at sea. Grey Worm, or Baeworm as Missandei calls him. She calls him that, I mean. Not on the show. Anyway, they have smiles. They're holding hands, which makes the episode more … Varys and Tyrion are down in the cabin. We get this conversation twice in two different forms. They both know now. They say, “Eight people know, so it's not a secret. It's information.” They say, “What should we do?” Khaleesi's on tilt and Jon wants to bend the knee. Varys says, “What he wants does not matter.” Tyrion says, “What about marriage?” He goes, “Is marrying your aunt common in the North?”

What does that say? Does not like having an autumn quadrant. I don't know what that means. Does not like having another … Oh … anyone question her authority. Khaleesi does not like having her authority question. They go, “This is our job. We're her advisors.” Tyrion says, “Well, maybe Cersei will win and that'll solve everything.” I put, “Oh, dear.” Not sure what happens here. Not sure what happens here. Some weird face-off. But Khaleesi … Oh. Yeah. Okay. This is on the boat. Then, there's some weird … Oh, okay.

Let's see. Then, somehow, without Varys' birds, they didn't know that Euron was going to show up and take one of the dragons away and most of their boats. Grey Worm says, “Get to the skiff now.” I saw that they had octopus arms on their launchers. Tyrion jumps in. I thought the episode might end here, because it faded out. But it was just a fake out. Thank goodness, because I was like, “You can't end it now.” But then, I guess, we did wish it just ended there. Tyrion's in the water. No Missandei. All the boats are gone. One of the dragons took a trip to the big farm. Rhaegar or whatever. What does this say?

Then, we go down to King's Landing. We see Cersei, she's letting all the people into the Red Keep. Qyburn and Euron are there. They say, “Queen.” She goes, “Oh, I'll be the queen of the lion and the land, kraken and the sea. We'll rule the sea, and our child will rule them all.” She goes, “Keep this keep open for the innocents to come in here.” She says, “So much for breaker of the chains.” It's revealed that Missandei is with them. I said, “Oh, no.”

Then, we're back at the planning room. Khaleesi tilts over a lion. Something, I don't know what this says. It looks like [inaudible 00:50:28]. I mean, Grey Worm had a lot of faces. But Varys says, “You know, I told you I'd look you in the eye if I disagreed you.” First, he's not looking at her, then he does. He goes, “This is a mistake.” Too many innocents. He goes, “Do not become what you struggled to defeat.” She goes, “Are we here for a reason or what?” This is exactly what a person on tilt would say. “We're here to free the worlds of tyrants via tyranny.” And father? I don't know what that meant. Then, Tyrion says, “Well, let's make an offer, at least.” Khaleesi's right. She goes, “It won't work. Cersei will refuse.”

The drums and looks. Oh, yeah. Everybody shares the looks. Then, we have one more talk with Varys and Tyrion, talking about tyrants and destiny. Some of the same talk as before. But he goes, “Is Jon Snow a solution?” Varys says, “Who's going to be the better ruler?” I put neither. I mean, maybe that's just my bias. Varys says, “Maybe the best ruler is the person who does not want to rule.” Then, Tyrion again. “What about marriage?” Varys says, “She's too strong for him.” Then, he goes, “You're drinking a lot, dude. What the heck? We're supposed to have our A-game.” I mean, Tyrion says, “This is when I have my A-game.” He says, “I believe in our queen. She'll make the right choice.”

Again, if we're seeing it through Tyrion's eyes, you say, “Okay. Okay, let's be patient here.” He says, “With the help of her advisors, of which we are two.” Again, this choice idea comes up. “Each of us has a choice to make.” Varys also lays out that he's for the realm and the people of the realm, kind of the innocents, I guess, which, again, is a callback to other discussions.

Then, we're back at Winterfell. There's work going on. Jaime sees Sansa and Brienne whispering. She goes to see how Rhaegar's out. Missandei's down south. Sansa's kind of a little smug. She goes, “Yeah, I always wanted to be there.” Cersei went bye-bye. Jaime's kind of stunned. We cut to him sitting by a fireplace with his arms crossed. Brienne's asleep. Lots of furs in the bed. Jaime's out. No goodbye. But then, Brienne hears the door close, so she goes out. She goes, “You're not like your sister. You're a good man. Please stay.”

Another round of begging. Again, with a character I don't … I mean, I don't know. I mean, I do know Brienne was in love with Jaime, but I think she would … I don't know. But she begs him to stay. Maybe she's begging him to stay for him, because she doesn't … Yeah. I guess, maybe, that's why it's okay for her to beg. She's not begging for her. She's just saying, “Dude, if you go there …” He goes, “I'm not good. I'm not a good person. All that I did for Cersei. She's hateful, and so am I.” Brienne's … You know, obviously, her heart's very sad.

We're outside the Red Keep, and the scene in the Keep … Scenes look more smug. Okay. Let's see. Outside Red Keep, there's lots of those anti-dragon things. There's lots of shared looks. Everybody up top is smug in the keep, except for Missandei. Yeah. Dragon bows. Stage downs? Oh, stare downs. There's a ton of stare downs. [inaudible 00:54:46] It looks like Cyberman out-surrender. But Qyburn comes out and then Tyrion goes forward for the parlay or whatever. Tyrion says, “You got to surrender,” and Qyburn says, “You got to surrender.” “Nope.” “Nope.”

Tyrion says, “Come on, man.” He goes, “Dude, I'm a mouthpiece.” But he goes, “By the way, we're totally confident.” We also see Missandei's kind of caught in the middle of this negotiation. It does turn out a bunch of … I mean, there is tension in this scene. He goes, “We have a chance here. Help me.” He kind of begs. Is this the last beg of the episode. Yeah, he is now. Tyrion marches on to pitch Cersei decency and survival. He says, “Come on, come on.” She fakes out Tyrion at first. Then, she says, “No dice,” as he kind of begs her to see the sensible side, I guess.

Even Euron, for a quick second, looked unsure. He says, “You're not a monster, Cersei.” She has to look away as he talks about kids and stuff. Yeah. “I beg you.” Third time this episode. Then, we have a series of shots with looks. Cersei makes her choice with her eyes slow. Oh, it's a slow reveal. She makes a choice with her eyes, not with her … You see her face turn as she makes her decision. I think I could only tell that in the second watch, though. The first watch, I was like, “What is she going to do?”

But it's a slow reveal, but Dany and Grey Worm knew on the first watch and on the second watch, because it was the same episode. They step up. She goes, “Anything you got to say, Missandei?” She goes, “Dracarys,” which I thought was … I don't know. This was a tough … Grey Worm's stunned. Tyrion, broken, dire-y, mad, Kubrick. [inaudible 00:57:02] music. Oh. Tyrion is broken. I don't think that's what it says. Daenerys is very mad. There's Kubrick music. I said, “Oh, this sounds like a little bit of Kubrickian cinema here, maybe.”

Dany walks off. Tyrion gives a, “Oh, dear,” look. Cersei has this look like … I don't even know. Like very … Like Jaime said, who she is. Dany walks off. That's the end of the episode. That's how the episode ended. Let's just look at a couple things that came up. Let me close that out. Okay. Last of the Starks here. I'll link to it. There's a article about Dany's pin. I won't bring that up. I'll link to that.

Here's about Daeron Targaryen. I wanted to look that up. It's D-A-E-R-O-N. Actually, there's more than one. He's the son of Aegon III. But there's also Daeron the Good, and Daeron II. This is Daeron, the first of his name. He tried to bring Dorne in, but it was 18 years. He was called The Young Dragon. First king with that name to be on the Iron Throne. Eighth king of the Targaryen dynasty to rule the Seven Kingdoms. Lived about 100 years before the start of this show, before events leading up to the start of the show. Succeeded his father, Aegon III. He kind of stubbornly tried to get into Dorne. Had no heir, so he was succeeded by Baelor the Blessed. I don't know what else is in here. There's a lot in the books, but that's kind of it about him. Maybe that isn't the one. Let's see if there's other Daerons in the book.

There's Daeron the Daring, Daeron I, Daeron the Sick, twelfth king on the Iron Throne. Prince Daeron, firstborn of Maekar. I don't know which one … Was one of them the three-eyed raven? I don't know. Let's see what Daeron … Daeron the Drunken, one of them was. That was Maekar's son. Let's see. Daeron II brought Dorne peacefully into the realm, uniting all the lands. Maybe this is him. This is from the book. He was after Baelor the Blessed and Daeron the Young Dragon. He arranged the marriage of Daeron to Mariah Martell of Dorne. Prince of Dragonstone. I don't know. I don't see anything about it, though. Oh. He was involved in the Blackfyre Rebellion. I thought I remember something about that. Yeah. That's a little bit about it. I'll link to that.

This is a movie review of an '80s movie that I don't … There's a big movie that either I may have seen and not paid … I never saw it in a movie theater. I remember it was a really beloved movie. It has iconic movie moments. But honestly, I don't know if I ever saw the movie. Or if I did, I wasn't paying attention. I feel like kids in my class were always playing it. This is Roger Ebert's review from February 17, 2002, of Say Anything.

It's actually a Cameron Crowe movie. I can't believe I didn't know that. The first time Lloyd Dobler calls Diane Court to ask her out on a date, he dials every number but one, and then brushes his hair before dialing. He wants to look his best. He gets her father on the phone. He talks to her father about how great she is. This scene, early in Cameron Crowe's Say Anything reflects many of the virtues of the movie. In a lesser film, Lloyd would have gotten Diane on the phone with the first try. But it's important to establish her father is a major player in the story. This movie's about honesty and dishonesty.

Lloyd is tall, loyal, and true — tells the truth and is especially frank about the fact he has no future. His career plans do not include college, maybe kickboxing. But he kind of only is a teacher right now. But Diane is a class valedictorian and a winner of scholarship to England. This is kind of a plot. I don't want to go through the plot. I just wanted to see what the review was. Say Anything depends above all on the human qualities of its actors. Cusack and Skye must have been cast for their clear-eyed frankness or their ability to embody the burning intensity of young idealism. A movie like this is possible because the maker believes in its young characters and in doing the right thing, staying true to oneself. That was a little bit about it.

I'll link to the Rotten Tomatoes on it. Let's see what Wikipedia has on it. Let's see. It came out in 1989. It's on a lot of lists. It's 100 minutes long. Its budget was $16 million. It did $21 million at the box office. I'm presuming it did more. I guess it had a popular soundtrack. I'm familiar with some of the songs. I'm not exactly sure. I mean, there's one scene that cultural impact … Yeah. Culturally recognizable scenes in American music history. Oh, wow. James L. Brook was a producer. James L. Brooks, I'm sorry. You know, I don't want to mess up for anybody. But, yeah. That's just a little … I forgot why Say Something or something came up.

Let's talk about the term tilt in poker, just because I wanted to dig into that. It's a poker term for a state of mental or emotional confusion or frustration when a player adopts a less than optimal strategy, usually resulting in the player becoming overly aggressive. It's also closely associated with another term, steam. Placing someone else on tilt's an important aspect, which, again, it kind of calls back, this episode, to the episode at the start of a battle of the pinball or pool players. It is a relatively frequent occurrence due to frustration or bad luck. It's important to recognize if you're experiencing it or if other people are. One origin of the word is a reference to tilting a pinball machine, which [inaudible 01:05:11] the player's [inaudible 01:05:12], like when you lose the ball. It would cause people to [inaudible 01:05:16]. It was originally talked about people winning other games and titles. I don't know. That's just a little bit about it. I thought it was interesting, because the Khaleesi's clearly on it.

I just wanted to link to an article on the Game of Thrones wiki about Dorne, because I think that's … I don't know. I always find Dorne interesting, just because it didn't get a ton of screen time. Maybe it will. A couple other links in there, but this is … We got two more episodes left. I think they're both super-sized. Of course, we still have more time with Tommen and Pounce and the old gods and the new coming up here. I don't know why I like saying that the Onion Knight dunked on the Lord of Light, but I just get a kick out of that. All right. Here we go.

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, and friends beyond the binary, this is K-Pounce Radio. We interrupt your regular scheduled program or, actually, for regular scheduled program. It's time for another episode about best friendship, about a boy and a cat, about a best friend and a best friend. Tails, [inaudible 01:06:32] of best friends and of best friends. Two hard-boiled detectives in the big city. It's time for Tommen and Pounce in the world of Noir Chardonnay. K-Pounce Radio, the radio of cats and best friends everywhere. Meow.

It was a day just like any other day that I talk about with … Well, not like any other day, because some days, I just, you know … It was a day. Pounce and I went in our office in the back of Noir Chardonnay's club. Pounce is taking a bath on my desk. Luckily, I had a desk set, a gift from Noir Chardonnay. Pounce, you like taking a desk on my desk blotter, don't you? Meow. That's right. Noir Chardonnay giving me a bespoke desk set, bought at a store. Then, a team of artists that hang at the club … I was sitting there, so Pounce was taking a bath. The clock was ticking. We had an analog clock. Originally, we had one from a submarine that Noir Chardonnay had given me, but it had to be wound. Despite talking it out with multiple adult figures in my life at the time, when I would … You would wind the clock with a key. I would wear the key around my neck. It was a source of pride.

I guess I'm going off topic, Sir Pounce. Right, I'm supposed to talk it out to let the feelings go free. I was constantly thinking … It brought me pleasure to wind the clock. It brought me too much pleasure, so I ended up winding it too much, because I just couldn't … And so I learned a valuable lesson. Get a clock with a battery. That's what we had now. Also, get a winding clock. You say, “Well, that's my pleasure clock. I wind it for pleasure, not for keeping time.” That is another lesson I learned through Noir Chardonnay, who said, “Maybe this could be your pleasure clock.” I said, “A crock? What? I don't understand.” “Pleasure clock.” I said, “Oh, okay. Okay.” But then, someone else explained it to me and Sir Pounce. Now, I wind the clocks for pleasure.

Also, sometimes when I shout that, people giggle, which I haven't learned why. That's what I do. I have my key, still. Lesson learned. But there I was sitting there, pleasure on my mind, when in the office walked in someone who took my breath away. Just to be clear. She was cool. She was confident. Her eyes were like the color of an ice wall with the spring sunlight on it. She said, “Why, hello. I'm looking for Tommen.” She looked at me like she didn't know what to say. It was like we were two strangers meeting for the umpteenth time and the first time all together. Also had a ceiling fan that was dramatically spinning with a shadow that would fall across my face as I watched her with my collar upturned. I had nothing to say, so I said nothing, to quote one of the [inaudible 01:10:26] books.

She was thinking what to say when Sir Pounce … Because Sir Pounce was kind of hidden behind the pens of the desk set. So, Pounce hopped up from Sir Pounce's bath and she said, “Well, my. Who's this little fellow?” She was standing, so Sir Pounce couldn't have naturally hop into her lap. But I said, “Well, that's Sir Pounce, my best friend, my business partner, my best friend. Sir Pounce.” She said, “Oh, Sir Pounce. Pleased to meet you. I've been looking for the two of you.” I said, “Well, we're here. We're here to take your case. I can tell you're looking for something. You're trying to figure something out. It's out there in the big city, the answers, so let's go.”

She almost said something, but then Sir Pounce walked out the door, tail in the air. Usually, when Sir Pounce's tail's high in the air, you just instinctively close your mouth anyway, because you're seeing the back of Sir Pounce. Say it politely. Also, Sir Pounce's posture. You know, other than looking at the back of Sir Pounce, other than that direct straight-on view with the tail up … When you're not looking directly at that with the eye, I guess you'd say, “Sir Pounce cuts a pose.” She followed Sir Pounce up the stairs, out of the office, and into the streets. I was there behind her.

It was the city. It was the afternoon, but it was a foggy afternoon when we walked outside. See? It was that city, that city with a clock on every wall. Very few of the clocks kept the same time, but they all moved at the same pace. All of them, even the ones that had been pleasurely over-wound or weren't working. At twice a day, those clocks were right. See? We walked through the city full of clocks everywhere. I'd look at a clock. I guess I'm getting distracted. I said to her, “My, back there, you took my breath away. There's something about you, something confident, something comfortable. But a confidence that is underlined by some sort of kindness and gentleness. But if that gave you all the answers, you wouldn't be here looking for Sir Pounce and I, would you now?”

She sighed. I could tell that we had work to do. I took her down to one of my favorite spots in the city, the bespoke district where things are made by hand, things are made by craft, where barbell mustaches are a dime a dozen if you buy them. But there's also lots of people with barbell mustaches and many other things. Top hats galore. One of the things I found that, when I couldn't wind a clock that relaxes me, that helps me think on cases, is churning butter. We sat there. We watched bespoke butter churners churn butter. Not far from the cheesemonger and the cheese maker, not far from the person who made candles for the candlestick seller.

They were all working, but it was a steady movement, the steady churn of the butter that I found similar in some way to some part of me as the winding of clocks. As ceaseless, as Mother would say, if she was there when I was winding the clocks. We didn't have clocks where I grew up, but I could see Mother would not be pleased with me, constantly saying, “Can I wind the clock now, Sir Pounce?” Meow, meow. No. So, we watched the butter churning. We didn't speak. We sat side by side, our full arms touching. Every once in a while, we'd look at each other then look away. She had this smile. But again, I was sure there was something I could help with.

I thought the butter churning was a place to start, because then we moved on. Butter churning's one of those things you don't need to talk about or ask. I mean, I don't understand it, either, but you know they're churning butter. You could smell the butter. Also, they brought over some butter. They were doing a salted mix and a regular mix. They explained it to us and what made this, where it was sourced. Hudson Valley, I believe, or something. [inaudible 01:15:36] salt. It was old. We enjoyed the butter, then we moved on.

What I'm saying is butter churning and clock, you don't have to overthink those things. Our next stop was farther away into the city, to a district with pipes and steam and things, leaky valves, off-gassing and those things. Went to this place called a factory. We went inside the factory, and there was nothing bespoke about it. It was mass. It was churning something out. We were there at the end of the product line, when it came out, and it looked like butter. It tasted like butter. Some people would say they couldn't believe it was not butter. But I knew, because I had known this was where we were going all along. This was a margarine factory.

I said to her, “You know what this is?” She goes, “It's like the butter churning, but without any of …” I said, “It's a margarine factory. That word reminds me of you, margarine.” She nodded knowingly. I said, “It's like butter, but it's not butter at all.” She said, “Huh.” I said, “Let's go to one more stop.” We headed to a park, a park full of birds, full of people, and a park well known for its popcorn, of all things. Old-fashioned popcorn in a machine. It's another spot I go to sit with Sir Pounce. Sir Pounce watches the birds, leaves them alone, just watches them. I watch the popcorn and people with popcorn and the popcorn being popped and made.

We sat there again. Totally different part of me that needs to watch the popping of popcorn, and the part of me that enjoys butter churning. Just to check in. When I was a boy, I never had these things to learn these pastimes — watching butter churning, watching popcorn and popcorn eaters. Normally, I would try to emulate those things instead of enjoy them. I would just cover myself in butter and corn. You know, I did do that. My mother, she never … We were sitting there. This was really warming her. But she still couldn't put all the pieces of the puzzle together.

You know, it was complicated for me, you see, because I had feelings, but I was also working. I had feelings from the past. I had feelings from the present. And I had feelings wondering about the future, but this was no time for my feelings. See? I said that to myself out loud, and she kind of gave me a quizzical smile. She said, “Tommen, you're such an unexpected … This whole thing is unexpected.” I said, “You seem to be enjoying yourself. Wonder if you've ever had that opportunity. I may not seem like the most confident or the least confident person, but I've become who I am.” Mikey, Tommen. Sir Tommen, Your Grace, which, you know, you would have probably been calling me that for a while. But I became the person I am. I don't know of anyone that was born confident or had a coolness. Maybe there are people that do that. But sometimes, maybe people have to do that, you know? They do it so well that it is real or it's almost real. But then, maybe they miss out on things.

She said, “Like the margarine. If you only had margarine, or you're a buffoon that thinks it tastes like butter, you're missing out on the real thing.” I said, “Well, well, well. That's a loaded word there.” I say, “Margarine's real. It's just margarine, but it's based on something else. You know, there's bad butter. Believe me.” Then, we got some popcorn. We fought some more. She said, “I wonder how margarine feels about being margarine.” I said, “Well, you know, it's different. I don't know if it's a condiment, but people are different than the things you would keep in your refrigerator, your icebox. See?” I said, “You know, margarine is just margarine. It doesn't even have a choice. It's made and manufactured.”

She said, “Butter's churned. Butter goes on a journey.” I said, “It continues on that journey, but we won't talk about that. We already saw the backside of Sir Pounce, and that's enough of that for one afternoon.” She said, “I think I understand. Margarine is constructed. It's confident that it's almost like butter.” She said, “It's formed in a bar.” She goes, “Huh. It works. But it might not always be easy.” You say, “Wow, that margarine's really confident in its ability to be almost like butter.” I said, “It would become more complicated if we were talking about a margarine family, right? And the expectations of a margarine child to live up to the expectations of not having someone believe that they're butter. But they're not butter.” What if they said, “You could make margarine, the whole game margarine, baby margarine, if you just did things right. You just listened to our wise council.”

Maybe the wise council was wise. They say, “Well, margarine's better, man. It's easier to manufacture. We got a lot of good things going. We margarines love each other.” It'd be tough, you know. That's a seductive thing, to be … Then, we ate the popcorn. She patted my knee, and she said, “This is nice. This is nice here, sitting on the bench.” Sir Pounce was in her lap at this point. She was actually petting Sir Pounce with a kernel of popcorn, which I had done before as well. Dry. This was non-buttered popcorn, even though we did have some buttered popcorn, real butter, and another stuff that's oil. But we didn't get into that discussion.

She put a piece of popcorn in her mouth. Not the one she was petting Sir Pounce with. She gave that to a bird. I said, “Oh, boy. I'm not sure if …” I said, “Those birds will eat anything.” She kissed me on my cheek. She said, “I think I'd like to be butter.” I said, “You could be butter or you could be anything you want to be now. Unlike margarine, you have a choice. You have the whole city. It's yours. It's yours.” She said, “I'm excited to be margarine and see what I become.” She said, “Where would I find you?” I said, “I'll be in Noir Chardonnay, see?” Just a spoiler. She works there, now. She's famous. She goes by the name Margarine, but she's butter to me and popcorn.

There was another tale, and the case was solved by nightfall. Then, Sir Pounce and I went back to our [inaudible 01:24:16] and ate out of a tin can. That's the end of this episode. Good night. Good time for praying to the old gods and the new. Crone, sweet, sweet Crone, Miller, Smith, Barky, Jester, Hounddog God. I'm calling on the prayer phone. When you need some praise, that's me, calling in, praying across the universe to all of you, to check in and just see the updates on our summer camp. You know, we have to think of a name. Past summer camp names have been problematic, so thinking about a name that represents us. Think about what jobs you would … One, I guess, I'm making assumption, you know, A-double S and you and me.

Would you please work at the summer camp? Could I ask that of you? Because the whole purpose of the summer camp was designed so I'd spend time praising you, so we don't lose touch. Then, when we lose touch, because we don't have Game of Thrones to go back to, you say, “Well, at least we'll have Camp Crone-y Poo-poo.” But that's problematic, I know, Crone, because I'm using you and poo-poo. I was using the complimentary poo-poo, but that was an example of why it's hard to come up with a camp name.

What was the camp I did, Crone? Do you remember? You should remember. But I know I should remember, Crone. Oh, [inaudible 01:25:54]. I was saying I'd like you to think about taking roles at the camp and maybe roles that maybe would take you outside of your god box and you step into a new role. Because it'd be easy, you know, the Crone, for you to be the … You could even have a house on the hill overlooking the whole camp, where your brow's furrowed and you're creaking in a chair and checking things on boxes and saying things over. Maybe you could play both roles, old Crone. That could just be a method role you were playing for fun. The camp Crone.

Hear me out, Crone. Hear me out, because I want to go beyond the tropes. But picturing this, this could serve a role to keep kids behaving. Maybe the camp's story base, like the Camp Crone's … Maybe we have an adventure camp. You're right, Crone. Oh, Crone. So, you're saying like not an escape room, but something like that the whole week. That would be like adventure week, I think. That would be a themed week. But I hear you. Then, yeah, Ren Fair week. Oh, boy, Crone. I can't wait for this camp now. Yeah. On those weeks, you would sit up there. I'd say, “Well, that's the camp crone. She knows all. She watches all. That's why you do your best here at whatever this camp's going to be called. Poo-poo.”

But then what role would you be where you would feel flourishing at camp, Crone? I mean, that's a role you've been put in before. Also, just putting this out. I didn't mention this last episode, Maiden, but if you want to … I don't know. Maybe this could be summer camp for grownups. Anyway, think about it, Maiden. Maybe we could take on the roles of camp counselors. It'd be just an idea. But The Mother, Father, and the Warrior? Nada. They can drop campers off. That's it.

Crone, that would be your stereotypical role, just you get prayed to as an old god and the new. What if you could be the camp jester, like the cornball Crone? I mean, I know that's just your name, so I got to work with that. Connie. Cornball Connie. You could be the camp counselors always joking around and always good for a smile or a cry. Connie cheers you up, but you can cry on her shoulder. You do these roles that we're saying, “Well, the jester might be the magic show.” Maybe you run the talent show. That's another thing they usually have. They have twin week, where you try to be the twin. I couldn't find anybody to let me be their twin when I was at camp. I guess I was always who I was, because I couldn't even … I had social interaction, even back then, trouble.

What was I saying? So, you could be the fun camp counselor, too. One day, if it was story adventure week or story week, we'd find out that you're really living among us. You're a goddess living among us, here with us as Connie the Cornball. But you're also the Crone up on the hill. Miller, that would put us in a position where you'd be the camp cook if you were fitting into your Westerosi type of limited role, even though you weren't originally a god and I said, “You should be.” So, what would you be if you weren't just the camp cook? Which in most movies is an important role. I don't know about in the regular ones. I don't know if there's a camp caretaker or if all the counselors have to take turns cooking.

Usually, each cabin has to do some chores, so they'd have to do cleanup or serving breakfast. What other role would you be good at, Miller? Grinding of grains, you'd get tired with that. Chilling. Okay, I like that. Instead of working, you could be the beach bum, the bro. You'd say, “Come on down to the beach, bro, and hang with me. I'm the beach bro.” You could just chill at the sand. You swim, but you're not in charge of swimming lessons. Some counselor that's certified is. [inaudible 01:31:12]. I like it. I like that for a role for you.

There could be quiet time every day. Oh, boy. You're tuned into me, Miller. Yeah, I like that quiet time. Maybe two or 3:00, everybody has to be quiet. You could take a nap or chill in a hammock. Bro, chill at the beach. You could have a floating dock, I like that, where people relax. Sounds great. Maiden, that would probably be a good time for me and you to hang, maybe go for a walk in the woods.

Anyway, okay. I got to get Smith. Last episode, I think we'd came up … You'd be in charge of maintenance and your forge and doing all that. I think that would be your typical roles. Those are important ones, even in the movies. That character can be developed in usually only a few ways. But so if you were a forge, you have to be hard as iron. Crafts. Okay. Well, that's pretty … Okay. Soft crafts, I'd say you have to be, because you're so hard that we'd have to put you in soft crafts. Only things with googly eyes or smiley faces, poof balls, plush, puppets. Okay. I like it now. I think that's it. You're crafty. I grew up with a crafty lady. She did all of hers with craft glue and tongue depressors or Popsicle sticks.

Okay. That was pretty easy, Smith. It makes sense, though. I mean, soft crafts. What about some watercolors? Okay. Yeah, I like it. Could we do some paper boats on the creek or the river? Great. Floating lanterns? Oh my goodness. Where can I put the deposit on right now? Miller, Smith, Barky. Barky, so you'd be the trees. You'd be the tree house. You'd be the leadership of the ropes course. The shade, the swing, also the counselor that everybody can count on, that's really tall. They say, “Well, just ask Jenny. She gets it done.” Whatever. When you can count on somebody, you can count on Barky.

What would you be if you weren't that, Barky? Usually, you're fun-loving. Okay. I like it. Movie night, because you like movies, even though you don't return them. Movies under the stars. Star watching, okay. Star watching. Oh, like watching the stars and pretending they're a movie. Cloud watching. Barky, I like it. Theater. Okay, like the kids can put on a play. Oh, boy, Barky. Drama. Okay. Shakespeare. Okay, I like it. Yeah, you'd kind of be the camp thespian, maybe. Oh wow. I like that. That really cuts down on the jester's jobs. Jester, I guess you'd be Barky's assistant if you were in your normal role. Jester, you'd have a larger role. That's just how it seems at first, but there's also all the other activities.

In your typical role, you'd be in charge of all those things. Not just the jesting, but anything recreational, which is what summer camp really is. You got different games, different sporting activities. Archery, of course. I don't know if there's horseback … I mean, I guess we should have horseback riding, because we're going to have horseshoes, horseshoes tournament. Four Square. Dodgeball, maybe. I don't know how we'd feel about that. All that other stuff. So yeah, you'd be activities coordinator. Whistle, for sure. A cap, if you like it.

What would you do if you weren't overseeing all of the activities and making sure everybody's engaged and having fun? Ooh. Solitary. I like it, Jester. Like someone like me that needs time alone. You would start to teach people how to cultivate some alone and private time. You'd encourage introverts to spend some time alone, but also extroverts. Encourage it as an esteem-building, healthy … Sorry, Jester. This is why I know you're a god whose name I forgot. You'd cultivate some down time, a little bit different than chill time. But you could coordinate those things. Alone hikes. Okay. Silent thinking. Oh, so maybe you two are kind of working together. Okay, I like this. Well, that's how camps work. It's interdependent, right? But some positive solitary time, I got you. I got you. I'm tapping my chest because I get it. That's the Jester.

Finally, Hounddog God. Now, Hounddog God, first of all, you'd be the one … I mean, your stereotypical role's easy. You know, you seem like you're always hungover. You're always in a grouchy mood. You seem like you don't like kids, but you really do love them, or camp residents. I think it falls into you being in charge of homesickness, right? Oh boy. Because you got such a tough exterior, which means you have a big heart. Oh, maybe you'd even be the camp counselor. Well, you'd need certifications for all that. We don't do any faux counseling. But you could be professionally a counselor. That's something that's optional. A therapist.

But you could also be in charge of learning skills to help people cope with homesickness. Okay. You'd be in charge of letter writing. I like that. Postcard sending. Okay, dealing with those feelings of missing home for the first time or not the first time. I don't know if they still have payphones, but you could be in charge of payphones if that was a thing. Okay. Working with other camp counselors, sending crafts home. Okay. I like it. Different skills building around those things. I really think you'd be good at … There should be someone in charge of homesickness. I really believe that. I think you'd be the perfect one, because people wouldn't suspect you would be able to … But maybe, you've always been homesick, huh? No? Okay. Well, it makes sense in your case.

Okay. Well, gods, that went good. We don't have a name for the camp, but we'll think about that for next week. Crone, sweet, sweet Crone, Miller, Smith, Barky, Jester, Hounddog God, thank you for your time. I'm looking forward to having this summer camp with you forever and ever. The end. Good night.