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.

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?

Bonus Episode - Game of Thrones Spin-offs: ToB Breakdown

Julian Meush May 13, 2017

Surprise! Julian and Daniel are back for another off-season ToB Breakdown episode. HBO just announced that it was going forward with a Game of Thrones spin-off (probably a prequel). Four different writers plus George RR Martin himself are involved in putting together speck scripts for four different possible shows. The guys discuss possible time periods for these spin-offs and debate the value of exploring past events and characters.

Season 7 Preview: ToB Breakdown

Julian Meush April 8, 2017

This time last year we were gearing up for another season of Game of Thrones. Looking back, we didn't know how good we had it, because a year later we're still waiting until July before we get back to Westeros. We've been feeling the withdraw like a milk of the poppy addict and we're sure you are too so we sat down to preview the coming season to ease the pain. We discuss everything we know about season seven, dissect the teaser trailer and then make some story predictions. To close out the show we lay out our plans for our season seven GoFundMe campaign and come hat in hand asking for your patronage. If you've been enjoying all of our Game of Thrones Breakdowns for the last several years and have been aching to give back, here's your chance!

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!

Support the Show

Become a Patron!

Donate

REcent Episodes

Featured

May 22, 2025

SSSW/ToB Film Club - Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

May 22, 2025

It's hard to believe that 'Rogue One' premiered nearly a decade ago. At the time, it was fairly well received, considered to be a decent first step into the standalone Star Wars movies, if not a bit messy. As the years passed, we learned more about the production. Gareth Edwards, who retained sole directing credit, was assisted by Tony Gilroy to "fix" the project. Tony went so far as to call it a "corpse" when he came aboard for rewrites and reshoots. It was Tony's inclusion that brought us some of the movies most memorable moments, and ultimately led him to leading the charge on 'Andor', a prequel project that flew under the radar as hits like 'The Mandalorian' hogged the spotlight. With 'Andor' now complete, considered by many to be a masterpiece in storytelling, not just in Star Wars but on television in general, now is the most appropriate time to reexamine the movie that spawned the Cassian-centered prequel series with fresh eyes. 'Andor', which leads directly into the events of 'Rogue One' recontextualizes much of the film, creating a unique viewing experience that pays off a multitude of threads that are brilliantly laid over the two seasons of 'Andor'. It takes the movie, which was already pretty good, and makes it great. Now existing as part of a whole that weaves a cohesive narrative from the nascent moments of the Rebellion all the way through to the destruction of the Death Star in 1977 (the seed that begat ALL Star Wars, and what we appropriately align our Star Wars BBY calendars to). It all feels wholistic and considered when viewed from the broader perspective - an accomplishment that should set a shining example of what Star Wars can and should aspire to.

May 22, 2025

May 15, 2025

SSSW - Andor S2 Finale

May 15, 2025

After only 4 weeks - the blink of an eye - it's all over. The best Star Wars story since the Original Trilogy has graced our screens and left us in awe. These final three episodes weren't able to reach the emotional highs of last week's arc, but that wasn't the goal. Instead, it provides time to look back at what brought us here, and sets the stage for the climax of the story to take place not in this moment, but within the now recontextualized film that birthed all of this in the first place, 'Rogue One'. And while the show may carry Cassian's name on the title screen, it's been the cast of characters we've met along the way that truly elevated this experience. Not to pick favourites, but in particular, Luthen and Kleya, who get an episode all to themselves this week are the standouts. And what an episode it was, as their story which shepherded much of the series came to an end, as we all expected it would have to. Embracing those feelings of closure, in the final moments of the series, as Cassian flies off into 'Rogue One', we are treated to our last glimpses of our heroes and villains. From Dedra to Vel and even Perrin, we are left to consider their fates as the story marches with inevitability into what begat all of this way back in 1977. Will we ever see Kleya, Vel, Wilmon, or Bix again? One can only hope - and rebellions? Well, they're built on hope.

May 15, 2025

May 9, 2025

SSSW - Andor S2 E7 - 9

May 9, 2025

When dealing in the world of prequels, it’s impossible to escape the inevitable - Anakin will fall, Han will win the Falcon, Cassian will die on Scarif. Somehow, in the midst of some of the most thrilling episodes of television ever put to screen, Tony Gilroy and his team found a way to address that impending doom and weaponize it against the audience to induce some of the most gut wrenching and heart breaking moments we’ve yet to see on ‘Andor’ - “There’s some place he needs to be”. At a larger scale, the show continues to outdo itself on a weekly basis, proving that the Star Wars galaxy provides a colour pallet of some of the richest hues from which to paint bold and personal stories. Proving you can go beyond the larger than life stories of heroics and grandeur to human stories of loss and pain and everything in between. That’s without mentioning the deft touch in pulling in themes that resonates with the contemporary while remaining timeless - a feeling that is a staple of Star Wars. Every detail is considered, every character is deep and interesting. There isn’t much more that can be said about such a powerful piece of art, except that not even the audience can escape the inevitable - only one week remains of this masterpiece.

May 9, 2025

May 2, 2025

SSSW - Andor S2 E4 - 6

May 2, 2025

I'm sorry to tell you all, but we're already halfway through this final season of 'Andor'. Fortunately, the quality hasn't dipped one bit as we accelerate into the finish. Join Julian and Rachel as they savour every minute of this 3-episode arch that takes us to Ghorman for the first time on screen. Tony Gilroy and the team at Lucasfilm outdid themselves yet again in crafting every detail. The size of the set alone is impressive, but they take it a step further by developing a unique culture and even language different from anything we've seen in Star Wars before. It all fits seamlessly into this next chapter of the story that has a heavy emphasis on spycraft as the pressure ramps up for both the Rebellion and the Empire.

May 2, 2025

Tower of Babble Podcast