S2E4 "Garden of Bones": ToB Breakdown Rewatch

Julian Meush February 12, 2019

Robb wins another surprise victory but Sansa pays the price, Tyrion offers Joffrey a belated nameday gift, Littlefinger arrives at Renly’s camp with the Lannister’s terms, Daenerys travels to Qarth, Arya is brought to Harrenhal and quickly adds new names to her list, Talisa chastises the King in the North, Catelyn is reunited with Ned, Tywin chooses a new cupbearer, the Baratheon brothers meet one final time, and Xaro Xoan Daxos invokes Sumai… whatever that is.

S1E5 "The Wolf and the Lion": ToB Breakdown Rewatch

Julian Meush March 14, 2018

Tyrion finds himself on the Eastern Road, Ser Barristan stands vigil for the fallen knight Ser Hugh, after losing to Ser Loras a furious Gregor Clegane goes berserk, forcing the Hound to intervene, Bran attends his world history class, Arya stumbles across ancient Dragon skulls in the dungeon, Yoren warns Ned of Tyrion's abduction, Robert issues an assassination order, Ned abandons his role as Hand, Jaime confronts Ned and Jory outside Littlefinger's brothel, and the first observable blow is struck.

S1E4 " Cripples, Bastards, and Broken Things": ToB Breakdown Rewatch

Julian Meush March 7, 2018

Tyrion visits Bran with a gift, Drogo's Khalasar arrives in Vaes Dothrak, Ned follows Jon Arryn's trail, the Hand's tourney begins, Jon protects a new recruit at the Wall, Ser Hugh rides against the Mountain, Viserys vents his frustration, Sansa hears the story of the Mountain and the Hound, and Catelyn confronts Tyrion at the Inn at the Crossroads.

S1E3 "Lord Snow": ToB Breakdown Rewatch

Julian Meush February 28, 2018

Ned meets the Lords of the Small Council, Bran wakes up with no memory of his "accident", Catelyn and Rodrik try to sneak into the capital, Daenerys learns that she is with child, Jon embarrasses the other recruits, Arya refuses to forgive Sansa for the tragedy on the Kingsroad, Jorah rides for Qohor, Tyrion meets with the Commanders of the Night's Watch, and Arya meets her Dancing Master.

S1E2 "The Kingsroad": ToB Breakdown Rewatch

Julian Meush February 21, 2018

Julian and Dan are back to break down Episode 2: "The Kingsroad" in which: the Royal procession prepares to leave Winterfell, Dany tries to cope with the Dothraki lifestyle, Tyrion decides to visit the Wall, Jon Snow bids farewell to the Starks, Robert and Ned butt heads over the Targaryen threat, and Sansa finally meets her prince, only to see his true colours on the Kingsroad.

S7E2 "Stormborn": ToB Breakdown

Julian Meush July 25, 2017

Game of Thrones really picked up the pace as they set up some exciting character meetings and toss a wrench into the works for Danny. Julian and Daniel dissect the latest episode in which all the major parties prepare for war. Daenerys assembles her commanders, Arya meets an old friend, the Lannister's rally their remaining allies, Jorah receives a prognosis, Jon and Littlefinger visit the Winterfell crypts, Arya meets another old friend, the Greyjoy's sail for Dorne, Cersei faces the Black Dread, and the King in the North prepares to meet the Mother of Dragons.

S7E1 "Dragonstone": ToB Breakdown

Julian Meush July 18, 2017

It's been a long wait but Game of Thrones has finally returned. With that comes the return of the Tower of Babble Breakdowns with Julian and Daniel here to break down every detail. Let's jump right in. This week Arya continues her revenge mission (and chats with a pop star), Cersei and Jaime take stock of their situation, Jon and Sansa prepare for war, Dany reaches Dragonstone, The Hound has a moment of clarity and Sam... washes chamber pots?

S6E1 "The Red Woman": ToB Breakdown

Julian Meush April 25, 2016

It's Game of Thrones season once again, and this year's premiere episode happily lines up with the Tower of Babble's third birthday! Julian and Daniel sit down to quickly get up to date and lay out some expectations before jumping into one of Game of Thrones' best season openers yet.

This episode picks up almost immediately where last season ended and catches us up with Jon's remaining brothers at Castle Black, the aftermath of the battle for Winterfell and Sansa and Theon/Reek's escape, Jaime returning to King's Landing, as well as turmoil in both Dorne and Meereen, Daenerys' long walk to Vaes Dothrak, and a little Red Woman magic to give the episode its name.

Happy Anniversary ToB fans! Thanks for listening!

Apr 30, 2026

SSSW - Maul: Shadow Lord - Chapter 7 & 8

There's two of them now?! With the arrival of another Inquisitor things really start to escalate on Janyx. We see Maul at his lowest since probably his spider-leg days (he goes on a self-guided therapy session/vision quest that results in something quite inspiring actually!), providing us a deeper understanding of his motivations, beyond simply "revenge!". Meanwhile, Devon continues to be the most interesting character on the show as she takes two steps forward, one step back, flirting with the dark side (though bonus points for the slick ride she acquires for their getaway). On the action side, the show continues to bring the goods, with dynamic, large scale battles (heavy on LAATs which is always a treat), intimate lightsaber combat, and a special shout out to the speeder chase this week that included a new Star Wars techno track (get outta here Niamos!), which combined for a chef's kiss of a sequence. The finale is next week, dropping on Star Wars Day (May the 4th), so stay tuned to see how much the show wants to tie up and how much it wants to leave dangling ahead of season 2!

Apr 25, 2026

Episode 205 - CinemaCon 2026 + News Roundup

It's been a minute since Matt and Julian sat down to cover the latest in film and TV news. Some might say it's been dearly missed. Well wait no more folks because this week it's all news and nothing but the news so help me god! If the last few weeks (months?) of stories weren't enough, CinemaCon 2026 also just concluded which had it's own news deluge. The guys unpack it all (well most of it anyway)! Of utmost priority is the news of Michael B Jordan and Austin Butler's reboot of 'Miami Vice', which is close to Matt's heart. Plus 'Spaceballs 2' gets a title and release date, trailers for 'Dune 3', 'Clayface' and 'Street Fighter' all surprise (in a good way), and a new 'Lord of the Rings' movie is announced (and you won't guess who's writing it!). Plus, a 'Game of Thrones' movie, more 'Transformers' and is 'Avatar' over? All this and so much more on this week's Tower of Babble Podcast!

Apr 23, 2026

SSSW - Maul: Shadow Lord - Chapter 5 & 6

We’ve reached the halfway point of the season and with it comes a tonal shift back to the roots of Star Wars animation - 'The Clone Wars'. With the arrival of the Empire, the focus shifts away from Maul and his dealings and toward the pair of Jedi as they are now in the crosshairs. The noire tone takes a back seat, next to Maul, as things become more pulpy, mixed with an impending doom that is reminiscent of the final season of 'The Clone Wars'. The set-piece action sequences get an injection of scale and danger, which is exciting, and some of the early seeding of characters like Rylee start to pay off. While maybe a bit different from the previous 4 episodes, the quality and the stakes remain high (well... for every character except Maul I suppose). Join Julian and Rachel as the unpack it all in excruciating detail.

Apr 15, 2026

SSSW - Maul: Shadow Lord - Chapter 3 & 4

Now that the premiere is out of the way, the team at Lucasfilm Animation can focus on driving the story forward with authority. The pacing is much improved this week as time feel more evenly dispersed across the characters. There's a greater concentration on characters who can wield a lightsaber and it's appreciated. No shade to the crime syndicate storyline, but we've kind of seen all that already (it was quite literally a 'Clone Wars' arc). The action remains strong while taking another step forward with lightsaber duels joining the mix. Plus, the fast cutting from last week seems to have been dialed back, which is appreciated as it provides more clarity in action scenes. For example, Devon's engagements with Maul are gripping, and with the additional time provided to Master Daki, the stakes feel ratcheted up. Kevin Kinner's music remains a highlight, the illusions to the Anakin vs Obi-Wan Mustafar theme was a particular highlight. In general, there is still room for more character growth, especially with characters not named Maul, who really can't/won't change - but happy to proven wrong! This show feels like it's in full swing already, which is good because next week things look to be really heating up as we hit the half way mark. Julian and Rachel unpack it all!