Richard Madden has been cast to play the prince in Disney’s upcoming live-action movie “Cinderella.” (Disney; HBO)

Let’s hope that Richard Madden has an easier time wearing a crown in “Cinderella” than he does in “Game of Thrones.”

Madden, who plays King in the North Robb Stark in the hit HBO series, has been cast as the glass slipper gal’s prince in Disney’s upcoming live-action “Cinderella” film, the studio announced Wednesday.

“Cinderella,” slated for a 2014 release, is set to star “Downton Abbey” actress Lily James as the rags-to-riches heroine and Cate Blanchett as Lady Tremaine, her evil stepmother. Kenneth Branagh is directing, and the screenplay was penned by Aline Brosh McKenna (“The Devil Wears Prada”).

Richard Madden, who plays Robb Stark in “Game of Thrones,” and his girlfriend, “Doctor Who” star Jenna-Louise Coleman, attend the HBO show’s Season 3 premiere in Hollywood in March 2013. (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

Simon Kinberg, who was recently recruited to write a stand-alone “Star Wars” spinoff film, is a producer on “Cinderella.” Kinberg and McKenna (the two are friends) hatched the plan for a live-action update of the classic fairy tale.

PHOTOS: ‘Game of Thrones’ Hollywood premiere

“We were thinking of titles and characters that we hadn’t really seen done in a modern, live-action way, and we were kind of stunned that Cinderella hasn’t really been done that way, as a traditional, loyal telling of the story,” Kinberg told Hero Complex. “She’s a great, iconic character, a character that I loved when I was a kid, and I loved the Disney animated movie.”

Kinberg said that people’s familiarity with the story of Cinderella will work in the film’s favor.

“It’s a funny thing ’cause her name, a little bit like Sherlock Holmes or Star Wars or these other franchises, it’s one of those names that people all around the world know the name and intrinsically know the story,” said Kinberg. “It’s just an identifiable, very rootable underdog story.”

Meanwhile, Madden marches steadily on to the end of “Game of Thrones” Season 3, in which Robb Stark’s position as King in the North grows more and more precarious.

“He’s so honest, and he follows his heart so much,” Madden told Hero Complex contributor Patrick Day last year. “He’s in tragic situations, and there’s so much pressure on him, but, my God, he’s so strong.”

The series continues Sunday with the episode “The Bear and the Maiden Fair,” penned by George R. R. Martin, author of the “A Song of Ice and Fire” fantasy book series on which the TV show is based.

Check out Madden and other “Thrones” cast members in the gallery below.

Michelle Fairley plays Catelyn Stark, born Catelyn Tully. Her father is Lord of Riverrun, her husband Ned Stark was Lord of Winterfell, and her son Robb is King in the North. (HBO; Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

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In the hit HBO series “Game of Thrones,” Emilia Clarke plays Daenerys Targaryen, an exiled princess and last remaining heir in a long line of kings and queens of Westeros. Dany is the widow of horselord Khal Drogo and is often called “the mother of dragons,” for her three flying beasts. (HBO; Victoria Will / Associated Press).

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Peter Dinklage plays Tyrion Lannister, often called “the imp.” The youngest and perhaps most cunning of Lord Tywin Lannister’s brood, Tyrion is younger brother to Queen Cersei and kingsguard knight Jaime. (HBO; Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

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Lena Headey plays Cersei Lannister, queen regent and the widow of King Robert Baratheon, who won the Iron Throne by conquest. Cersei’s twin brother Jaime is the true father of her children — a secret she has kept through murder and treachery. (HBO; Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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Nikolaj Coster-Waldau plays Jaime Lannister, Lord Tywin’s eldest son and twin to Queen Cersei. Jaime is a knight in the kingsguard, but is often called “kingslayer” for murdering the mad king Aerys Targaryen. Jaime was taken hostage by Robb Stark’s Northmen, but Catelyn Stark freed him to ransom her daughters. (HBO; Kevin Winter / AFP / Getty Images)

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Gwendoline Christie plays Brienne of Tarth, whose sword skills and unusual strength and size set her apart from other young maids. Brienne swore an oath to Lady Catelyn Stark to deliver hostage Jaime Lannister to King’s Landing in exchange for the safe return of Catelyn’s daughters, Sansa and Arya. (HBO; Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

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Kit Harington plays Jon Snow, the illegitimate son of Ned Stark, Lord of Winterfell. Jon is a brother of the Night’s Watch, sworn to protect the realm from the dangers that lie beyond the Wall. (HBO; Tim Whitby / Getty Images)

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Rose Leslie plays Ygritte, a wildling woman from beyond the Wall who sets her eye on Jon Snow after he fails to kill her in an attack on a camp of wildling scouts. (HBO; Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

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Ciaran Hinds plays Mance Rayder, the “king beyond the Wall.” Rayder was once a brother of the Night’s Watch, but he broke his oath and deserted. Now, he leads an army of wildlings and giants. (HBO; Jennifer S. Altman / For The Times)

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Richard Madden plays Robb Stark, the eldest trueborn son of Ned Stark, Lord of Winterfell. After the death of his father, Robb was crowned King in the North. The “Young Wolf” and his bannermen are warring against the Lannisters. (HBO; Matt Sayles / Associated Press)

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Oona Chaplin plays Talisa Maegyr, a healer from Volantis and Robb Stark’s wife. In marrying Talisa, Robb broke his agreement with Lord Walder Frey to marry one of his daughters in exchange for his support in the war. (HBO; Jason Merritt / AFP/ Getty Images)

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Sophie Turner plays Sansa Stark, the eldest of Ned and Catelyn Stark’s daughters and a hostage at King’s Landing. Sansa was betrothed to Prince Joffrey, but was put aside after the Battle of Blackwater Bay. (HBO; Jason Merritt / Getty Images)

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Maisie Williams plays Arya Stark, Sansa’s sword-wielding little sister. Arya escaped King’s Landing after her father was killed, disguising herself as a boy. She’s been on the run ever since. (HBO; Jason Merritt / Getty Images)

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Isaac Hempstead Wright plays Bran Stark, who lost the ability to walk after Jaime Lannister pushed him from a tower in Winterfell. Bran, whose family presumes he is dead, is making his way North after Theon Greyjoy sacked Winterfell. (HBO; Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

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Carice van Houten plays Melisandre, the “red priestess.” Melisandre’s god is R’hllor, the Lord of Light, and she believes Stannis Baratheon is the subject of an ancient prophecy as well as King Robert Baratheon’s true heir. (HBO; Jason Merritt / Getty Images)

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Natalie Dormer plays Margaery Tyrell, a young lady from Highgarden betrothed to marry King Joffrey Baratheon, Cersei’s eldest son, after the Tyrells came to the Lannisters’ aid in the Battle of Blackwater Bay. Margaery is the widow of the self-styled King Renley Baratheon (King Robert’s youngest brother). (HBO; Jason Merritt / Getty Images)

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Aidan Gillen plays Petyr “Littlefinger” Baelish, a childhood friend of Catelyn Tully and her sister. As the Master of Coin at King’s Landing, scheming Littlefinger is on the king’s small council. (HBO; Jason Merritt / Getty Images)

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Alfie Allen plays Theon Greyjoy, the son of Lord Balon Greyjoy, who rules the Iron Islands. Theon grew up among Ned Stark’s children as his ward, taken hostage after Balon’s Rebellion was quelled. Though he was well treated by the Starks, he longed to rule the Iron Islands as his father’s heir, and he ultimately betrayed Robb and sacked Winterfell to prove his mettle. (HBO; Jason Merritt / AFP/ Getty Images)

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Sean Bean plays Eddard “Ned” Stark, the honest and honorable Lord of Winterfell. Ned left his Northern home for King’s Landing after Robert Baratheon recruited him to be the Hand of the King. But after Robert died, Ned met an unfortunate end under the young King Joffrey. (HBO; Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)

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Jason Momoa plays Khal Drogo, a Dothraki warlord and husband to Daenerys Targaryen. They grew to love each other, and Dany became pregnant with Drogo’s son, prophesied to be a great leader. But Drogo and the unborn child died, and it was on Drogo’s funeral pyre that Dany’s dragons were hatched. (HBO; Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

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– Noelene Clark | @NoeleneClark

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A weekly feature in which we spotlight shining stars

THE PERFORMER | Nikolaj Coster-Waldau

THE SHOW | Game of Thrones

THE EPISODE | “Kissed by Fire”

THE AIRDATE | April 28, 2013

RELATED | HBO Renews Game of Thrones for Season 4

THE PERFORMANCE | In the span of just a few episodes, Game of Thrones‘ Jaime lost a hand and grew a conscience – a rough go in anyone’s book. In last Sunday’s outing, for the first time in his Lannister life, the Kingslayer was laid so low that a warm bath and a semi-sympathetic ear was all it took to undo him. Portrayer Nikolaj Coster-Waldau artfully nailed Jaime’s despair – and made his character far more sympathetic — as he revealed the real story behind the Mad King’s murder.

The actor started out in familiar territory, carelessly tossing mean-spirited barbs at a discomfited Brienne as he slipped, naked, into her bathing pool. His jab about Renly’s death was nothing unusual, but his reaction to her ire was. Head bowed, Coster-Waldau showed us a new angle to his alter ego as he tiredly apologized. “I’m sick of fighting,” he admitted, sick and covered in filth, his stump held just above the water’s surface and his head bowed. As he proposed a truce and acknowledged his trust in his unlikely protector sitting a few paces away, Coster-Waldau softened Jaime into a defeated warrior completely sapped of strength.

The elder Lannister brother related the true story behind the Aerys II Targaryen’s death, which turned out to be more about preventing thousands of innocent deaths and less about gaining fame and glory. “Would you have kept your oath then?” he wearily demanded of Brienne, Coster-Waldau using a matter-of-fact tone to relate the terrible details of the act that earned Jaime his nickname. But at the mention of “the honorable Ned Stark,” the actor leapt forward on a surge of anger that left the knight trembling in Brienne’s sturdy arms – the best swordsman in Westeros reduced to swooning invalid. Jaime’s never had it worse, and Coster-Waldau’s never been better.

What performance knocked your socks off this week?

A weekly feature in which we spotlight shining stars

THE PERFORMER | Nikolaj Coster-Waldau

THE SHOW | Game of Thrones

THE EPISODE | “Kissed by Fire”

THE AIRDATE | April 28, 2013

RELATED | HBO Renews Game of Thrones for Season 4

THE PERFORMANCE | In the span of just a few episodes, Game of Thrones‘ Jaime lost a hand and grew a conscience – a rough go in anyone’s book. In last Sunday’s outing, for the first time in his Lannister life, the Kingslayer was laid so low that a warm bath and a semi-sympathetic ear was all it took to undo him. Portrayer Nikolaj Coster-Waldau artfully nailed Jaime’s despair – and made his character far more sympathetic — as he revealed the real story behind the Mad King’s murder.

The actor started out in familiar territory, carelessly tossing mean-spirited barbs at a discomfited Brienne as he slipped, naked, into her bathing pool. His jab about Renly’s death was nothing unusual, but his reaction to her ire was. Head bowed, Coster-Waldau showed us a new angle to his alter ego as he tiredly apologized. “I’m sick of fighting,” he admitted, sick and covered in filth, his stump held just above the water’s surface and his head bowed. As he proposed a truce and acknowledged his trust in his unlikely protector sitting a few paces away, Coster-Waldau softened Jaime into a defeated warrior completely sapped of strength.

The elder Lannister brother related the true story behind the Aerys II Targaryen’s death, which turned out to be more about preventing thousands of innocent deaths and less about gaining fame and glory. “Would you have kept your oath then?” he wearily demanded of Brienne, Coster-Waldau using a matter-of-fact tone to relate the terrible details of the act that earned Jaime his nickname. But at the mention of “the honorable Ned Stark,” the actor leapt forward on a surge of anger that left the knight trembling in Brienne’s sturdy arms – the best swordsman in Westeros reduced to swooning invalid. Jaime’s never had it worse, and Coster-Waldau’s never been better.

What performance knocked your socks off this week?

HBO

Every week for the third season of HBO’s fantasy series Game of Thrones, our roundtable of Ross Douthat (columnist, The New York Times), Spencer Kornhaber (entertainment editor, TheAtlantic.com), and Christopher Orr (senior editor and film critic, The Atlantic) will discuss the latest happenings in Westeros.

Game of Thrones Season 3, Episode 3: Finally, Something Happens

Kornhaber: Talk about captive audience: In this good but often hard-to-watch episode, it was almost too easy to relate to the many literally and figuratively shackled characters. Take Brienne, squirming at the horrors inflicted upon a guy she didn’t even like. Or Arya, hauled blindly into the middle of a verbal battle full of proper nouns and backstory. Or Margaery, forced to look upon the macabre by a juvenile tyrant who expects her to find it entertaining.

All microcosms of the Thrones­-watching experience, no?

Sorry—that sounds harsh. It’s just this installment focused on the agony of imprisonment and the ecstasy of freedom… and, as is typical for Thrones, agony got more screen time. For starters: Jaime’s interminable piss-soaked mud bath, during which the writers demonstrated, for the zillionth time, that humans are cruel and good guys/bad guys distinctions mean nothing. Fine goals, but executed with a little too much relish for my taste.

Then again, that over-the-topness could make whatever comeuppance that may eventually befall House Bolton all the more sweet. Because if this episode made anything clear, it’s that mistreating your hostages comes at a price. Buy a boy for ritual castration? Years later, you’ll end up in a crate, mouth sewn, awaiting awful revenge. Capture the very house that raised you as a son, not a prisoner? Torture, a mirage of salvation, and more torture awaits. During Deliciously Awkward Lannister Father/Child Bonding Time Part 3, Tywin pointed out to Cersei that he went to war to liberate his least-loved progeny. Just imagine what he might do to Kingslayer’s limbslicer.

Daenerys’s episode-closing coup was one of the greatest moments yet in the series, ending an hour centered on people held against their will with the fearsome image of an army whose loyalty has been earned—not stolen, not captured, not bought, not extorted.

In the realm of more theoretical, but equally grim, conflicts over captivity was the mutiny at Craster’s Keep. An ugly orgy of literal backstabbing, the scene, to its credit, made clear how trapped the crows felt, how flimsy the vows that ostensibly govern Westeros are, and how much the Night’s Watch attracts sociopaths. The totality of the carnage shocked me, though not as much as Theon’s return to the crucifix did. The Greyjoy’s speech about Robb Stark not condescending to him (“He didn’t have to. All he had to do was… be.”) re-emphasized Theon’s shitheadedness, but seeing the betrayer betrayed felt more like sadism than justice. That’s probably the point, though. Chris and Ross, you’ve hinted that this storyline has held back on revealing an important, intriguing character from the novels. Blink twice if it’s that black-haired, double-crossing sicko supposedly from the Iron Islands.

Speaking of the books, I’m wondering how closely Varys’s sorcerer-in-a-box monologue hewed to the text. After all, it’s a bit improbable that Tyrion would want to talk revenge at the exact same moment the Spider makes good on a lifelong vendetta. But Conleth Hill’s delivery transfixed as always, it was good to hear the eunuch’s origin story, and I can’t wait for the Imp to get whatever long-awaited vindication that the scene presumably foreshadowed.

Now to the ecstasy of freedom, or the dream of freedom. Margaery flinging open the doors of the Red Keep and introducing Joffrey to the plebs drove home how powerful this supposedly kept woman is, and how the Tyrells are subtly loosening Cersei’s grip over the kingdoms. I also loved the queen-to-be breezily befriending then betrothing Sansa: Here’s a rare Thrones example of someone plotting an escape that (ideally, so far) doesn’t involve bloodshed.

Most exhilarating of all was Daenerys’s episode-closing coup, one of the greatest moments yet in the series. Thoughts: A) I saw it coming—no way was the Khaleesi giving up any of her dragons. B) I laughed in glee at that one totally Rambo shot where Dany stood looking out of the frame as flames roared behind her. C) Thematically, it was genius to end to an hour centered on people held against their will by freeing 8,000 slaves, butchering the slavers, and presenting the fearsome image of an army whose loyalty has been earned—not stolen, not captured, not bought, not extorted.

Chris, last week you floated the idea that Thrones is never worse than when its characters are questing. I agree with that, which is part of why “Dracarys!” was such a gratifying moment. After two+ seasons of shuffling through the desert, accomplishing not all that much, the Mother of Dragons finally has the fighting force she’s been asking for. Here’s hoping she doesn’t spend the rest of the season marching it in circles.

Chris and Ross, were you as alternately icked-out and hopped up by that episode as I was?

Orr: [Blink.]

[Blink.]

Got that, Spencer? I’ll have more to say about Theon’s tormenter—well, when the show has more to say about him.

I hadn’t considered the episode in terms of captivity and freedom, but I think you’re onto something there, especially when it comes to the twin rebellions at the climax: the crows at Craster’s and the slaves at Astapor. On the surface, one scene is tragic and the other exultant, but they’re not nearly as different as we’d perhaps like them to be. Given that the two scenes aren’t adjacent in the novel, we presumably have showrunners Benioff and Weiss to thank for the dark irony of their juxtaposition.

Getting back down in the weeds, I too didn’t much like the first scene of the episode, in which the newly left-handed Jaime falls from his mount, drinks horse piss, etc., etc. My complaints from last week stand: There’s simply no way that his captor, an underling of House Bolton—a knight presumably, or minor lord himself—would pointlessly abuse a supremely high-value prisoner without a stronger rationale than some vague sense of class envy. (What if Jaime died from infection? Or broke his neck in the fall?) Hostages are the premier coin of the realm in Westeros, and those who treat them carelessly (see: Stark, Catelyn) are likely to regret it.

I wasn’t a fan of the second scene either, in which—as you note, Spencer—Varys just happens to be unpacking a Useful Visual Aid at the exact moment he offers Tyrion his disquisition on the importance of patience to revenge. (It didn’t help that the crated sorcerer reminded me of the exotic-leg-lamp delivery in A Christmas Story: “Frah-jee-lay? It must be Italian!”) Given good material to work with, Conleth Hill, who plays Varys, is as good as anyone on the show. (See, for example, his scene in the dungeons with Ned Stark in Season One or his disquisition on the origins of power with Tyrion in Season Two.) And while he does better than most at transcending middling material such as this, it’s a shame to see him have to try.

I wasn’t a fan of scene in which Varys just happens to be unpacking a Useful Visual Aid at the exact moment he offers Tyrion his disquisition on the importance of patience to revenge.

Things improve after the episode’s bumpy start, however, in particular with a nice duet of scenes about women and power. In the first, Lady Olenna (an again-excellent Diana Rigg) explains to Cersei (the always-excellent Lena Headey) her theory that while men may have all the authority, women have all the brains. And even as she speaks, her granddaughter Margaery is putting that theory into practice, playing Cersei’s son Joffrey like a lute: “Sometimes severity is the price we pay for greatness,” she coos to the easily flattered little sadist.

Alas, when Cersei takes Lady Olenna’s feminist blandishments to heart, and suggests to her father Tywin that she is his true and worthy heir—bad move! Didn’t you see what that got Tyrion in Episode 1?—his response is brutally meritocratic: “I don’t distrust you because you’re a woman. I distrust you because you’re not as smart as you think you are.” Ouch. And just to prove that he’s as unsentimental a grandpa as he is a dad, Tywin follows up with a delightful promise to curb young Joffrey’s excesses. Can’t wait for that.

At the start of the season, Ross, you noted how the Tyrells were outmaneuvering the Lannisters politically, and it’s nice to see that theme continue (especially after the dunderheaded nobility of—rest in peace—Ned Stark). Olenna plots with the resolutely jaded Varys; Margaery cajoles the impenetrably innocent Sansa; and the young queen-to-be shows Joffrey that, contra Machiavelli, it is sometimes better to be loved than feared.

In the previous recap, I wrote that I hoped the revelation of Podrick’s precocious mastery of the art of love (which is not in the books) was a one-time gag. But it came up again this week in the conversation between Varys and Ros. If it really is just a joke, then I think it’s worn out its welcome. But a few commenters last week raised the intriguing possibility that there may be more to this mini-plot than meets the eye—specifically, that Tyrion, having paid the whores in advance, told them to return Pod’s gold with the explanation that the gratification he’d given them was payment enough. Given Tyrion’s own sexual backstory (and self-evident affection for Pod) this would be a canny twist: Tyrion grants his squire not only carnal knowledge but also carnal confidence, and, as an added bonus, receives confirmation of Pod’s loyalty when the boy returns the gold to him. Now, I have no idea whether this is what’s going on. But if so, kudos to Benioff and Weiss—and to those commenters who divined their intent.

I have a few other quibbles here and there: As you note, Spencer, Arya (and, by extension, we) are subjected to some pretty hasty exposition when she reaches the Brotherhood’s hideout. Had they even mentioned before now that Thoros is a priest of the Lord of Light? (If not, it’s a pretty substantial oversight.) And a better setup of Beric Dondarrion—whom I expect will have a good scene or two in the next episode—would have been nice as well. Will viewers of the show even remember his tiny role (played by another actor) in Season One?

Such concerns are pretty much washed away, though, by the episode’s Big Dracarys Finish, which nailed one of the most striking scenes in Martin’s third book. You’re exactly right, Spencer, that Daenerys is the character who benefits most from having clear, strong story arcs (her evolution from Viserys’s timid little sister to Drogo’s proud khaleesi in Season One; the turning-the-tables-on-the-slavers sequence we just witnessed), and suffers most when wandering vaguely around the Eastern kingdoms. How her character will develop in the coming episodes (and seasons) will depend a great deal on whether Benioff and Weiss learned their lessons in the narrative quagmire of Qarth last season. (Compress! Keep the focus on Westeros!)

That said, Spencer, you’re somewhere between less-right and dead wrong in your eager expectation of House Bolton’s eventual “comeuppance.” Now, I don’t know exactly where the showrunners intend to take this particular family’s storyline, which has already been altered considerably from the books. But: Really? You think that this is a world in which you can count on evil acts being punished?

You know nothing, Jon Snow.

Douthat: You’ve both done a great job of covering the episode as a whole, and so I’m just going to piggyback on some of your thoughts and then zero in on the episode’s two biggest moments. Varys’s bound wizard? I agree; an implausibly-timed, overly on-the-nose embellishment. Arya’s introduction to Beric Dondarrion? I agree again; too much exposition crammed into too little space, and a good example of why a 12-episode season sometimes seems like a better fit for material this sprawling than a 10-episode sprint. Theon’s re-introduction to his torture chamber, courtesy of his “rescuer”? Well, it’s nice that non-book-readers are finally, finally getting acquainted with one of the saga’s most sinister figures (“sicko” is precisely the right word, Spencer), but there’s a reason that Martin kept Theon’s torture offstage in the book: It’s far removed from the rest of the action, and (as the luckless princeling learned this week) it doesn’t really offer to much to viewers who don’t share our nameless’s taste for sadism. The Tyrell-Lannister-Stark action in the capital, with Margaery playing the game of thrones like a champion? Liked it all, and especially liked seeing the show’s budget stretch a bit to give us a little Lord of the Rings-style grandeur with the Great Sept of Baelor.

This is the happiest I’ve been with the show, I think, since the blade came down on Sean Bean’s neck.

Now down to the most important stuff: The bloody maelstrom in Craster’s Keep and the fiery finale in Astapor. Fans of Martin’s novels live for these kind of “game changer” sequences, where rising action climaxes in a scene that feels inevitable in hindsight but that still leaves the reader catching his breath. For show-watchers, the prime examples to date have been Ned Stark’s execution and the death of Drogo/birth of Daenerys’ dragons sequence, which set a standard that nothing in Season 2 quite matched. This week’s game changers didn’t match those first season moments, either (though the game changer awaiting at the end of this season might), but they both packed a wallop. Lord Commander Mormont is no Ned Stark, sure, but as the Lord Commander of the Watch and Jon Snow’s mentor he’s one of the weightier figures in the story and the manner of his passing—gutted by his own mutinous men, leaving the Wall exposed to invaders both human and Other—makes it the show’s most significant death since Ned and King Robert met their makers. (Renly’s assassination had more immediate political implications, but in hindsight everyone understands that he wasn’t going to be king anyway.) And the hard bargain Daenerys drove in Astapor changed her position more completely than any character’s has really changed since, again, the bloody end of Season 1. A week ago, she was famous only because of her name and dangerous only because of her dragons: Now she’s a conqueror, with an army at her back.

I suppose I could have done with a few more of those special effects dollars funneled into the sacking of Astapor: I loved that Rambo shot, too, Spencer, but everything was either close-up or the view from 10,000 feet, so you didn’t get a sense of how big and bloody a deal it would be to have an army of slaves unleashed in a city run by slavers. But that’s just a quibble. Overall, the sequence met my expectations, and the claustrophobic denouement under Craster’s roof exceeded them (thanks in no small part to Robert Pugh, who played the “godly” bastard to perfection). This is the happiest I’ve been with the show, I think, since the blade came down on Sean Bean’s neck.

Dracarys!