A deadly dance of dragons on GOT, iZombie fullthrottle finale and waiting for Poldark on PBS

Much happened on the penultimate episode of Game of Thrones, including an event that was shocking even to book readers,  and the end piece was a great expectation fulfilled.

Dany flying off on the back of her dragon Drogon upon being sneak attacked by the Sons of the Harpy was a sight worth seeing, as well as Jorah and Tyrion teaming up with the rest of her crew to battle against the enemy within.

Yes, it was set up different from the books but not by much and having the Mother of Dragons reconnect with her out of the nest serpentine son was actually touching. Too bad certain other parents in this realm don't share her protective instincts:

Speaking of that, we get to the most horrific scene that shocked us all. The sacrifice by fire of Shireen is something that has not yet occurred in the books(apparently, it will happen in one of the next two volumes) and the sheer agony of that rocked many fans greatly indeed.

I know that some folks are saying that this depiction of Stannis's role here(due in part to an excerpt from The Winds of Winter) in this gruesome murder is unfair but I disagree for two reasons: 1) GRRM approved of this addition to the current story line and 2) Stannis has proven himself to be a ruthless son of a bitch empowered in his entitlement by the religious fervor and magic of Melisandre.

 Let's be honest,my fellow fans-this is the same man who had his younger brother murdered by magic in order to clear his own path towards the Iron Throne. Not to mention being willing to torture other relations in order to fuel Melisandre's fire(I so hate that witch and don't think that she's not angling to be Stannis' queen at some point).

 Granted, Renly knew what he was in for in making his own claims to the kingdoms there  but that still wasn't the right or the honorable way to deal with that.  This is all about Stannis' ego, particularly since it was his younger brother Robert who took the Iron Throne in the first place and his first born son privilege was pretty much revoked.

Stannis may feel sorry for doing what he believes is his "destiny" but if I was one of his soldiers, I would be forming a rebellion. Any leader that demands your loyalty ought to protect his people and lands the same way that he/she would protect their own family and if this is what Stannis does to his blood kin, why should anyone follow him anywhere? I never felt that he was the right person to take the Iron Throne and this certainly cements my conviction there as solid as a rock.

With the finale this upcoming Sunday, we should see what comes of this brutal sacrifice and I for one hope that Brienne of Tarth is able to have one good day by getting her chance at regal revenge:

The first season of iZombie wrapped up this week and there were more twists and turns than a roller coaster as the bad guys at Max Rager are looking to up their power drink game, Major finally getting to kick ass(nice touch, having "Der Commissar" as the back ground track for that!) and Liv having to make a lot of hard choices, particularly about Blaine and the cure.

That cure is pretty much the Holy Grail and the Siege Perilous for Liv, as she so wants to return to the land of the living yet the consequences of using it in such an untested and limited amount open up so many doors of dire decision making.

While she has tried to make the best of her extremely bad situation, Liv has to deal with the fact that this dilemma is far greater in scope than herself. She did,of course, see that by the end yet her final choice was a truly harsh one. However, it was the right call to make:

Overall, Liv is in for much more misery and maybe some moments of mirth when season two rolls around and I shall be definitely tuning in for that. If nothing else, this series proves that zombies can be something other than walking menaces and I might give the comics a try as well:

With so many show ending right now, it's good to have some fresh(or refreshed, in this case)fare to look forward to.

Starting on June 21, PBS will air a new mini series version of Poldark, based upon the novels of Winston Graham that were adapted for an earlier BBC/Masterpiece series during the 1970s.

The set-up of the story has our leading man(Aidan Turner) coming home to Cornwell in 1783 to find that his father's estate has fallen into disrepair and the woman he loves is about to marry another man.While trying to get his affairs in order, Poldark sees injustices all around him and steps in when need be, making a good number of friends and foes as he does so.

As someone new to the Poldark experience, this looks like a lot of fun and I think that fans of Jane Austen and Outlander will find this to be rather pleasing summer entertainment. Not to mention a whole new slew of books to explore(more on that soon, stay tuned!):

RANDOM NOTES:

FOOD NETWORK STAR: One episode in and I already have a contender that I want to see gone. Matthew's obnoxious attitude raises arrogance to a new level and makes me want to hashtag him the hell out of here: