Game of Thrones Season 2 Rewatch

The premiere date for the new season of Game of Thrones approaches....so that means it was time for a new Maggie Cats tradition: the Game of Thrones rewatch!

I started this tradition last year; invite a bunch of people over to my house, indulge in some themed crafts and baking, and run an entire season of HBO's Game of Thrones all day long to catch up before the new episodes start. The rules are simple: the first episode starts at 11 in the morning and we run them straight through, no breaks. People are free to come and go as they like, so there is usually a crowd throughout the day.

One of the things I love most about the rewatch (other than having a chance to cook some awesome themed snacks) is the mix of people. Some of us are big fans of the books, have read them all, and also really love the show. Others only track the show and have no idea of what lies in store for their favorite characters (mwahahahaha). And finally, there are always some noobs....who have no idea how the world of Game of Thrones works....or how truly fucked up some of the characters are.

"Oh my God! He really is as big a douchebag as the internet says he is!" --Monkey Sri, new to the show.

Running all the episodes back to back also is the best way to catch up. The story flows, you catch things you missed with a week break between episodes, and the season seems to fit together like a puzzle. Of course, it also means that some of the flaws become more obvious. Did Dany really do anything except wander around the desert and ask rich person after rich person for money? And "where are my dragons??" totally became the new "Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaalt!"

But perhaps the slowest plotline was Jon Snow. There was a lot of tramping through the snow and snarking with Ygritte. Tramping. Snark. Tramping. Snark. Sure, we got some movement at the end of the season when he arrived at the camp of the King Beyond the Wall, but it was kind of a slog to get there.

"Sure, living in the wilderness is fun and all, but what I really want to do is take a typing correspondence course and become a secretary." That's a Downton Abbey joke in case you aren't in the know. 

So I am declaring this year's Game of Thrones rewatch a success! We ended up with probably about 20 people, 3 dogs, 50 chicken wings, and lots of other yummy treats. And I absolutely cannot WAIT until the season 3 premiere. There is so much great stuff coming up...and I don't just mean things from the third book, Storm of Swords. The changes that the writers have made to the story have been almost universally positive (remember all those awesome scenes with Arya and Tywin?). Which means I am super excited for the surprises that lie in store!

Oh, and here are the House Sandwiches that I "made." I used the heraldic banners from Inn at the Crossroads to indicate the types of sandwiches....and printed up a banquet menu. Example: House Targaryen was Spiced Italian. Because those Targaryens are certainly spicy.