Long ago, in the cold days after The Red Wedding, we made An Earnest Attempt to Make You Feel Good About Game of Thrones Again featuring some of our favorite memes, crafts, and all-around cute things fandom had to offer. A fool’s errand, perhaps? Whistling in the grimdark? And yet, as the show becomes even more chokingly, eye-poppingly bleak, we felt called once again to look for the lighter side of Westeros.
Above, deviant artist Sir-Heartsalot depicts a sweet scene of young Tommen Baratheon playing with his kittens—Ser Pounce, Lady Whiskers, and Boots—and dreaming up some romantic narrative for them to playact. Skulking in the background is an adorably deranged version of Balerion, the cat that Arya once chased around King’s Landing in happier times…
Spoilers ahead.
Catching up with The Roots!
We live in hectic times, and not everyone is going to have the ability to read all the “catching up with Game of Thrones” posts. We have just the thing for you! Tariq condenses the most important moments from last season in a high-speed rap for The Tonight Show:
Now you’re ready to dive into some of the highlights of last season! We’ll go ahead and start with the big’un.
Reactions to The Purple Wedding!
So this is actually a fun one—remember all those outraged fan reactions to the Red Wedding? And remember how all the people who had read the books carefully filmed their tv-show-only friends to record their horror at the twist? It sparked a whole conversation about spoilers, pop cultural statutes of limitations, and what book-readers owed to TV-watchers. Well, the fun outcome of this is that a lot of ASOIAF fans decided to film their friends for the Purple Wedding, too. And it inspires a very different reaction. One might even call it unbridled glee.
And we certainly know two other people who were thrilled to learn about the King’s demise, even though they weren’t there to witness it first hand…
Arya and the Hound!
After being hidden in the company of the Night’s Watch, taken prisoner at Harrenhal, and feeling betrayed by the mercenary ambitions of the Brotherhood without Banners, Arya finally got to hang out with someone who understood her—The Hound. And in return, he got to maybe kind of feel something like love for another person. Okay, he’s not our first choice for guardianship over the middle Stark child, but at least their adventuring was always entertaining!
No to mention lucrative. Who could forget their tie-in deal with KFC?
Really, they’re just two friends, traipsing about the countryside, stabbing dudes in the neck. Which explains why Redditor iamahumanhead drew the pair as another famous duo, off in search of a Transmogrifier Gun:
Of course, the chemistry between the actors is really why we love these two so much. Here’s the story behind their original meet cute, in which young Arya googles her new companion, and finds out about the horrors of his past:
It’s really a shame these two have parted ways… Oh, wait, dang it now we’re sad again. Is there anything on this show that we can just enjoy? Just sit back, and take our minds off our own lives?
Hot Pie!
Thank the Old Gods and the New for Hot Pie. Without him, this show would just be like dental surgery. Check out his wolf bread!
The first time he gave wolf bread to Arya, he was a little boy trying to make his friend feel better. The second time, he’s a professional baker, working at an inn far from the world of royal scheming, and he gives us a momentary glimpse of the ordinary world of Westeros. Karyn Booth, the food stylist for Game of Thrones, provided The Official Game of Thrones Food Blog (which obviously exists) with an update of the wolf bread recipe, so you can mirror Hot Pie’s ascent into baking maestery.
Goats of Thrones? Game of Goats? Whatever. GOOOAAATS.
Game of Thrones saved the Icelandic Goat! As we reported earlier this year, the endangered goat species was nearly dealt an irreversible setback when Haafell farm, home to half of Iceland’s goat population, was threatened with foreclosure. But thanks to one goat’s appearance on Game of Thrones—as the victim of Drogon in “The Laws of Gods and Men”—fans of the show organized a fundraiser to save the farm! You can learn more about goat-actor Casanova and his home here at Haafell Farm’s Facebook page.
But Cassanova isn’t the only animal star to come out of Game of Thrones…
Ser Pounce!
Ser Pounce is the only character on the show we like more than Hot Pie, and apparently the internet agreed with us. The day after his well-timed appearance, there were memes, dirty jokes, and a cavalcade of clothing, including the above design from Look Human.
And even though the Margaery Tyrell herself went on record calling him a diva, we still hope for his return to King’s Landing! There are those who would say he deserves the Iron Throne, and at least one suggestion for a different Throne, designed just for him, as drawn by Twitterer @dangerousbeans:
There was an outpouring of Twitter love and theories about his importance to Tommen’s future. Plus, he defeated Maester Pycelle…sort of. So, this is all good, right? We can allow ourselves to love Ser Pounce! Maybe he’ll come back this season! I mean, he was the breakout star…heck, even GRRM loves him!
Oh, shit. Hang on a second. George has noticed Ser Pounce. He’s aware of his existence. He…he knows that we like him.
Furry little guy’s doomed.
Are We Happy Yet?
All right, we’re going to end this piece on a high note, even if we have to call on Pharrell. Let’s dance along with Tyrion and Jaime in this updated clip from the season 4 blooper reel:
