A few thoughts on Season Three of Game of Thrones (from a girl who has NOT read the books!)

**Warning! Season 3 spoiler alert. Do not continue past this if you have yet to watch it. You have been warned.**

I was very...how should I say this...underwhelmed by the Red Wedding. The War of the Five Kings had been dragging on for a substantial amount of time, so it was obvious that towards the end of season three this conflict would need to be resolved. And boy it was. Although there were originally five kings competing for rule (Greyjoy, Lannister, Renly, Stannis, and Stark), the focus was on the Lannisters versus the Starks. (Side note:I am still sad that Melisandre's baby demon killed my Renly. What kind of freaky magic shit is she into anyways? We will discuss this later in a different.) However, it pissed me off that Roose Bolton who had pledged allegiance to House Stark was the one to betray Robb. The line "The Lannisters send their regards" was pretty badass though. I just hate that he was the one to stab Robb through the heart. And what about the gruesome scene where Talisa's belly is stabbed repeatedly? Too much for this gal.

However, the redeeming grace of the Red Wedding was Michelle Fairley's performance. From the time she heard the Lannister music playing until one of the Frey men slit her throat, she was phenomenal. Catelyn Stark knew she would not make it out alive, and the fear of her death was not what had stricken her. It was the death of all of those she had loved in her- Eddard, her father, her son and wife, along with believing the fate of her children not at the wedding had been sealed by the Greyjoys. Too bad she didn't know Arya that is beginning to become a kickass fighter, and Sansa has Tyrion, Shae, and the Tyrells to look after them. Bran is a waug, and Rickon is protected by Osha. I don't think she cared much about Jon Snow although the scene from earlier in season three with her speech about her not loving him was what brought pain to her family was touching. Plus- Seeing Catelyn finally get some violent retribution, even if it was only Walder Frey's wife, was fabulous.

I have not read the books yet, but I am expecting that season four will bring about the emergence of the adolescents of Games of Thrones. Arya, Sansa, Daenerys, Bran, Joffrey. The Stark children will once again have to reevaluate who they can trust and what the future looks like for them. One interesting development I have found so far has been the formation of Joffrey's sexual identity. There has been no other character in the show that even comes close to intertwining sexual desire and violence like a Jack and Coke. Thus far, we have seen him force one prostitute named Ros to beat another prostitute with a scepter decorated with staghorns. All while Joffery is aiming his crossbow at them. That alone was disturbing. THEN as if that is not enough... Littlefinger gives Ros to Joffrey, and he ties her up naked and aims at her like a damned target with his crossbow, leaving her dead. The crossbow has been used three times in the series. The two mentioned above along with the scene where he shows Margarey Tyrell how to shoot it. It is my impression that the crossbow is symbolic of his budding sexuality. Also, it has been referenced by characters such as Jamie and the Hound that those that use crossbows are cowards and less skilled fighters, which would definitely describes him.

On a different note, I am still awe-struck of the Mother of Dragons aka Daenerys Targaryen aka Breaker of Chains aka Khaleesi aka Stormborn aka Mhysa. That isn't excessive or anything. Anywho, she is my absolute favorite character on the entire show. I have loved watching the transformation from a young, quiet puppeteer under her evil brother to a strong yet gentle leader of many groups of diverse people.

All in all I am trying to patiently wait for Season 4, but I am getting a little antsy. I do have a bad feeling that Khaleesi will experience some hardships which will not make me a happy girl. However, my curiosity has been piqued by the Tyrells and the Red god which does make me a happy girl.  :)

Game of Thrones Girl Crush

Photo credit: Adoring Emilia Clarke

Othello Project

10 Ways To Know Your Wife Is Cheating On You (as told by Othello)

Othello, the Moor of Venice, tells readers the ten signs to watch for when you believe you are a cuckold and are suspicious of your wife.

Bradford Veley / Cartoonstock.com

 

1.Your wife loses the embroidered handkerchief you gave her. (Act III, Scene IV)

2.Your best friend hears a man crying out for your wife in his sleep and then kisses him. (Act III, Scene III)

3.Your best friend thinks your wife is promiscuous. (All of Othello)

4. Your wife betrayed her father to marry you. (Act I)

5. Your wife goes looking for your second in command. (Act III, Scene IV)

6. The man you believe to be sleeping with your wife is a drunk and starts brawls with other men. (Act II, Scene III)

7. Men that meet with your wife run off when they see you approaching. (Act III, Scene III)

8. Your wife's best friend fervently defends her actions to act as a cover-up. (Act V, Scene II)

M. Barltrop / http://8bitlovechild.blogspot.com/

9. Other men hold your wife's hand when you are at sea. (Act II, Scene III)

10. Your wife campaigns for other men to you. (Act III, Scene III)

Exegesis

            For my Othello project, I knew I wanted to incorporate humor. One of the most critical aspects of a highly engaging teacher is the ability to form a marriage between course content and interest, and I believe humor to be a means to do this. After I decided the tone for my project, I decided on the means I would use to complete it. My interest in blogging caused me to create a blog post because I try to write when I have the time. I also considered that a technological project would have zero cost while a project involving arts and crafts supplies would require the use of money. My blog post is written in a BuzzFeed format. I titled the post “10 Ways To Know Your Wife Is Cheating On You (as told by Othello)”. The most interesting thing about my project is that as I was searching the text for ways that Othello was deceived into believing that Desdemona cheated on him I realized that the underlying reason remained the same. Even though Shakespeare wrote this in the early 15^th century, some of the reasons included are still applicable today. I was certain to make sure the ten ways came straight from the text. I included the Act and Scene along with each way to discover your wife is cheating on you. Although this is a humorous project, it assures that the project was grounded in the text. The pictures I included in my blog post were primarily “memes” and comic illustrations of scenes from the play. After putting the images into Google Image search, I was only able to find authors of two of the pictures. I included those credits underneath the pictures. This can be accounted for as most of the pictures were “memes” which can easily be created by using a meme generator.  Overall, my main goal was to have the pictures make my audience, my fellow classmates, laugh, but still be able to recall where in the text the picture was depicting.