Joe Satran: Who's Winning The 'Game Of Thrones'
This Week

post from TV on HuffingtonPost.com on 30 April 2012 02:46:51 PM. © TV on HuffingtonPost.com

Note: Do not read on if you have not seen Season 2, Episode 5 of HBO's "Game of Thrones," entitled "The Ghost Of Harrenhall."

"Anyone can be killed." -- Arya Stark

Oh, "Game of Thrones." We love how you start an episode with death, end an episode with death, and for fun, kill a bunch of people in between.

As our happy crew of crown-chasers set off for new lands, scheming, scouting, fighting and more, one piece has been knocked off the board.

"The Ghost of Harrenhal" demonstrates the golden rule, Westeros-style: Blood repaid in blood, death repaid in death. It also reaffirms something we've known since Ned Stark's head was cleaved from his shoulders. Anyone can die. Probably horribly.

Let's get to it.

The Power Rankings
Using a complex algorithm that takes into account each player's wealth, military might and dominion over lands, along with a "bonus" factor that adjusts for unquantifiable assets that could influence events, we've surveyed the lay of the land to figure out who's winning the game of thrones at this point of Season 2.

1. Stannis Baratheon
Last episode ended with a disturbing cliffhanger in the form of Melisandre's shadow baby. And "The Ghost of Harrenhall" wasted no time revealing the Red Woman's intentions: The shadow baby was an assassin, and Renly was its target. And there was no doubt that the main beneficiary of Renly's death was Stannis, who is now Robert Baratheon's one true living heir. Almost all of Renly's bannermen instantly went over to Stannis' side, bolstering his military power tremendously. He was always a strong commander, and now he has a strong army to command as well.

We also now have a better understanding of Melisandre's power. If she can kill Renly, she can assumedly kill Joffrey, Tyrion, Robb and Cersei as well. But Stannis' second-in-command, Davos Seaworth, doesn't want his King relying on Melisandre too heavily.

"You won those bannermen from Renly," he tells Stannis, "So don't lose them to Melisandre."

Stannis sees his advisor's point, and decides not to bring Melisandre any further on the march to King's Landing. A moral move, sure -- but will it end up being prudent?

2. Tyrion & Tywin Lannister
With sellsword Bronn by his side, this dwarf is swaggering strong. While Joff still sits on the Iron Throne, he's not the "demon monkey" pulling the strings. Neither is mother Cersei, who berates Tyrion for shipping off daughter Myrcella to Dorne, in the far south of Westeros.

"Myrcella's a sweet, innocent girl and I don't blame her at all for you," Tyrion tells her.

Cersei tries to withhold Joff's plans, but Tyrion, of course, has a mole. And he also, thanks to that mole, has thousands of pots of wildfire to use against his enemies.

3. Robb & Catelyn Stark
It could be argued that the person hurt most by Renly's death (other than Renly) was Robb. He'd been counting on an alliance with Renly against the Lannisters. Now that the more hostile Stannis commands the might of the Stormlands and the Reach, the Starks find themselves seriously outnumbered. At the same time, their home is being attacked by the Ironborn. In other words, things aren't looking good for the Young Wolf. At least he has a formidable new ally in the gargantuan form of Brienne of Tarth, whose pledge of allegiance to Catelyn Stark was the most touching moment of the episode.

4. Joffrey & Cersei Lannister
According to Lancel (Tyrion's sniveling spy), Joff's got battle plans of his own -- lobbing thousands of pots of "wildfire" onto Stannis' ships and armies. But as Tyrion notes, Stannis' army has doubled in size and money really can't buy everything.

Prostitute abuse aside, Joffrey's got bigger problems than sadistic egomania. It's no surprise that in the streets, beggars stand on platforms and air their grievances. "Are we surprised when the fruit of the incest is rotten?" the man shouts. As Tyrion says, "The king is a lost cause."

The Queen isn't much better off. These days, we don't see her doing much besides drink wine while giving her brother mean, resigned looks of dismay.

5. Margaery Tyrell
While brother Loras sobs over the body of slain lover Renly, swearing vengeance upon Stannis, Margaery's not crying: She's plotting.

"Do you want to be a queen?" Littlefinger asks her.
"I want to be the Queen," Margaery answers.

The Tyrells have enough money, men and influence to win Margaery a spot on our Power Rankings, even after the death of her would-be king of a husband. But whose claim will they support going forward? The answer could sway the balance of the board.

Wildcards

Petyr 'Littlefinger' Baelish
Baelish is wheeling and dealing as much as ever. In "The Ghost of Harrenhall," his principle purpose seemed to be encouraging Margaery to pursue power for herself. It's not clear what is in the Tyrell ascendancy for him, but there must be something. Littlefinger is not known for his charity.

Daenarys Targaeryn
The Mother of Dragons is now safely ensconced at the home of the extremely wealthy Xaro Xhoan Daxos in Qarth. Marrying her host might let her pay her way to an invasion of Westeros -- but advisor Jorah Mormont wants her to be patient.

Theon Greyjoy
The traitor decides to shift course at the urging of his second-in-command, Dagmer Cleftjaw. Instead of raiding fishing villages on the Stony Shore, he invades Torrhen's Square, just 40 leagues south of Winterfell. The Stark's castellan, Rodrik Cassel, marches on the city to try and take it back -- leaving the capital of the North almost undefended.

Arya Stark
Arya seems to be thriving as the cupbearer to Tywin Lannister. There's a tense moment when he figures out she's a northerner, but she parries it fairly well. Her most impressive asset, though, is her friendship with the mysterious Jaqen H'Ghar, who became a Lannister soldier after she saved him from a fire. He tells Arya that she can ask him to kill three men in exchange for her actions. Her first pick, "The Tickler," is dead by the end of the episode. Will she decide to turn her power on her brother's enemies?

Sansa Stark
Not much on the pretty princess front this episode.

Bran & Rickon Stark
Bran is still having scary dreams, which concerns the wildling Osha more than it does Maester Luwin. Meanwhile, Rickon is turning into a feral varmint in his parents' absence. Which is fine by us ... that scene of him cracking walnuts in the great hall at Winterfell is hilarious!

Jon Snow
Snow and the rest of the men of the Night's Watch are now deep into the icy regions beyond the Wall. But Snow decides to go even deeper when he volunteers on a special ops mission with Qhorin Halfhand. His old boss, Jorah Mormont, approves. "I hope you make a better ranger than you did a steward," he says.

Differences From The Book
This episode was more faithful than some of the others this season. Still, there were a few small changes:

Negotiations between Renly and Catelyn seemed to have been going better than they did in the books, which made Renly's death even sadder for the Stark cause.
Arya's position as Tywin's cupbearer is, as we've said before, a departure from the books. It feels like a stretch now that we've seen it start to play out.
The scene in which Margaery and Littlefinger interact wasn't in the book because neither is a point-of-view character, but it felt basically authentic to the books.
Snow doesn't volunteer for the mission with Qhorin in the books; he's commissioned for it, on account of his superior climbing abilities.

"Game of Thrones" airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO.

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On TV Tonight: Monday April 30, 2012

post from the TV addict on 30 April 2012 02:46:24 PM. © the TV addict

NET 8PM 8:30PM 9PM 9:30PM 10PM 10:30PM ABC Dancing with the Stars Castle CBS How I Met Your Mother[...]

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Who's the Hottest Guy in The Avengers

post from BuzzSugar on 30 April 2012 02:45:41 PM. © BuzzSugar

As the May 4 release date of The Avengers inches steadily closer, we've been eating up all of the pictures and new peeks at the film. Recently we got a glimpse of Scarlett Johansson kicking butt as Black Widow, and while we love a badass female superhero, we can't help but appreciate all the genetically gifted guys in this movie as well. Sure they've got superpowers, but the super good looks are just an added bonus (if you need more convincing, check out all of these pictures from The Avengers). Once you've perused the options, tell us - who do you think is the hottest guy in the movie?

Photos courtesy of Disney

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WATCH: Aubrey Plaza Re-Enacts Famous 'Buffy'
Scene

post from TV on HuffingtonPost.com on 30 April 2012 02:30:04 PM. © TV on HuffingtonPost.com

Remember when Angel (David Boreanaz) got sick on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer' and the only cure was to drink the slayer's (Sarah Michelle Gellar) blood?

Well, even if you don't remember that classic "Buffy" scene, fear not, Aubrey Plaza will re-enact it for you!

The half-Puerto Rican actress, who stars as April, Amy Poehler's deadpan intern on NBC's "Parks and Recreation," recently appeared on TV writer Michael Ausiello's web series, "Spoiler Alert," and ventured back in time to re-enact a seminal Buffy scene in "Spoiler Alert Theater."

Plaza, who's known for her monotone delivery on "Parks and Recreation" (check out her dead-on impersonation of comedian Sarah Silverman) was paired up with fellow deadpan expert, Zach Woods of"The Office" who did an equally hilarious portrayal of the vampire with a soul, Angel.

Watch the hilarious scene at 4:03 in the video above.

CHECK OUT THIS SLIDESHOW OF LATINOS ON THE HOLLYWOOD WALK OF FAME

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Smashs Megan Hiltys advice for never giving up on
ones art

post from Danielle Turchiano's feed on 30 April 2012 02:27:19 PM. © Danielle Turchiano's feed

Veteran theater performer Megan Hilty and current star of NBC’s Smash may have gotten her starring Broadway role at an extremely young age, but for a woman who knew this is what she wanted to do from age...

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Kelly Osbourne Says Something Nice About
Christina Aguilera

post from TV on HuffingtonPost.com on 30 April 2012 02:21:46 PM. © TV on HuffingtonPost.com

It's no secret that Kelly Osbourne and Christina Aguilera aren't fans of each other, but for the first time, Osbourne chose to take the high road.

Osbourne was a guest on "Watch What Happens Live" on Sunday night and had to answer to the show's host and Christina supporter, Andy Cohen.

During the "Plead the Fifth" segment, in which Cohen asks his guests tough questions, the talk show host had some demands for Osbourne: "You and my girl Christina Aguilera have been in something of a feud -- say three nice things about Christina Aguilera."

Keeping calm, the 27-year-old "Fashion Police" co-host responded, " I think she's looking way better right now, she's got a great voice and she's got a beautiful son."

That's definitely the nicest thing Osbourne has said about the singer in a long time. Most recently, the former reality star brought up her longstanding fight with Aguilera in a column about body image she penned for Glamourmagazine:

[Christina Aguilera] called me fat for years. One night on Fashion Police I said, ?F?k you. Now you're fat too.? I didn't say I wasn't fat. I said, ?Now you know how it feels.? And I'm sorry, but I stand by that. I make a point on the show never to say anything about anybody that I wouldn't say directly to their face. I'm famous, and she's famous; it doesn't mean I can't stand up for myself. I took it for 10 years and finally decided to be like, ?You know what? I'm done.? And that's the last thing I will ever say about it.

With her decision to stop talking about the feud and the kind words Cohen managed to pry from her about Aguilera, perhaps the two women can finally bury the hatchet. Now, if only Christina could convince boy band The Wanted that she's not a "total b*tch" ....

Check out Kelly's ever-changing look throughout the years:

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'Good Morning America' Beats 'Today' for Second
Time in 16 Years

post from Hollywood Reporter - Live Feed on 30 April 2012 02:20:58 PM. © Hollywood Reporter - Live Feed

Marisa Guthrie
The ABC program bested NBC's morning show by 166,000 viewers for the week ending April 27.

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Denette Wilford: 'The Good Wife': Guest Stars
Make It Great

Let me slam on the brakes for a second. "The Good Wife" is great because of its cast, the crew, the writing, the direction -- but there's something about its guest stars that make the CBS drama extra-special. It's reminscent of the days of "Ally McBeal," whenever the lawyers of Cage & Fish had to try their cases in front of a special-guest judge or attorney, but "The Good Wife" takes it to a whole other level.

Last night's season three finale, directed by co-creator Robert King, was aptly titled "The Dream Team" -- which is what Louis Canning (Michael J. Fox) and Patti Nyholm (Martha Plimpton) christened themselves when suing the firm for $50 million for fraud and malicious prosecution. Wait ... let's backtrack here. The episode began with Diane (Christine Baranski) and Alicia (Julianna Marguiles) winning a flabbergasting $25 million settlement ($7 million more than they were asking) against a pharmaceutical company, which meant Lockhart/Gardner could finally pay off their balloon payment.

That's when Louis and Patti came in, informing Diane and Will (Josh Charles) of their goal to bankrupt the firm and take Lockhart/Gardner down. Dun-dun-duuuuuuun. Every hour of "The Good Wife" features a deluge of big-name -- or, at the very least, recognizable -- actors, and last night was that much more magnificent. Fox shines in every episode he's been a part of, and it was priceless to watch him try and fail to use his disability to influence wheelchair-bound Judge Linden (Mark-Linn Baker -- Cousin Larry!). And what can I say about Plimpton? I can't believe the actress playing cunning, conniving Patti (whose personality switches from cutthroat to cuddly whenever her kids are around) is also the dim-witted Virginia on "Raising Hope," whose constant use of malapropisms still make her smarter than husband Burt and son Jimmy. But back to Ms. Nyholm.

It was a sight to behold watching Patti use her kids as unwitting, rolling pawns, pint-sized distractions in baby walkers. The shot of the the attack-dog lawyer and Andrew Wiley (Tim Guinee) walking toward Kalinda (Archie Panjabi) at the playground was classic. Kalinda, who was first spotted on her knees next to sidewalk chalk, should've been the one out of place, but since we know all the players, it was the parents who were the "villains" this time around -- armed with nothing but their diaper bags and strollers.

There were so many twists and turns to last night's brilliant finale, from Alicia facing her conflicted feelings for Peter (Chris Noth), after her moment in the elevator with Will, to the past catching up with Kalinda; Panjabi's unique ability to play both bad-ass (just who was going to be on the receiving end of that sledgehammer?) and scared (the look on her face when she told Alicia she would take care of it, but you could see it in her eyes that she wasn't sure how) marked another fantastic hour. (Side note: was anyone else watching Alicia's final scene from behind a pillow, nervous that Kalinda's husband would be there to pounce? Thank goodness -- not for Ms. Sharma -- for that sinister knock on her door.)

Thankfully, it wasn't all ominous. Aside from the playground scene, there was the exchange between Eli (Alan Cumming) and Jackie (Mary Beth Peil), Alicia joking around, looking cozy with Zach (Graham Phillips) and Grace (Makenzie Vega), and any time Howard (Jerry Adler) opened his mouth, but the episode's clincher was the awkward elevator scene between Will and Peter, which only grew more farcical when Alicia met them, and Eli and Cary (Matt Czuchry) happened upon them.

The Dream Team/Super Posse soon told Will and Diane that their scheme to destroy Lockhart/Gardner was, in fact, not quite true. Rather, the lawsuit was simply a ploy to keep them distracted from their true intentions -- stealing away the firm's top client, Patrick Edelstein. "A sleight of hand," said Louis. "You were watching the right. You should have been watching the left." Afterwards, all Will could muster to Diane was, "Oops."

The core of the firm is where the heart of the show is, and the guest stars just give us more reason to root for the good guys. Next season likely means more Louis and Patti (yay!), and even though he has yet to be cast, we will undoubtedly meet the man behind the menacing voice in Alicia's ear -- and at Kalinda's (or is it Leela's?) door. Now, if the show can guarantee the returns of Elsbeth Tascioni (Carrie Preston), Judge Abernathy (Denis O'Hare), Mike Kresteva (Matthew Perry), Judge Murphy Wicks (Stephen Root) and Nancy Crozier (Mamie Gummer), I won't stay mad at CBS for ending "The Good Wife" third season so early.

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'Suburgatory' Boss Calls Alicia Silverstone's
Storyline 'Fun,' Yet 'Heartbreaking' (Exclusive Video)

Jethro Nededog
The "Clueless" reunion continues on the ABC comedy, but series creator Emily Kapanek says Eden's arrival does become complicated for several of the characters.

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The Brand-New PopSugar Shop

Want to shop the best deals online and in your city? Then you'll love the new PopSugar Shop. We're bringing you insider access to today's hottest must haves, can't-miss sales, and coolest finds, all curated by our editors. To get in on the action, sign up for PopSugar Shop, a daily email bringing you the best national discounts - hand selected just for you. We'll be sorting through hundreds of offers on shopping, fitness, travel, home, beauty, and more to deliver only the ones you'll absolutely love. And, if you live in San Francisco, Chicago, New York, or Los Angeles, we'll have our favorite local offer picks too. Sign up today to shop, explore, and be inspired. Plus, you'll just happen to save a little money doing it.

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