S5E2 "The House of Black and White": ToB Breakdown

Julian Meush April 20, 2015

In this weeks episode we discuss the arrival of Aria to Bravos, Cerci trying to consolidate power, Jamie's plans for Dorne, Dorne's plans for the Lannisters, Jon's new job and Danny's continued challenges.

S5E1 "The Wars to Come": ToB Breakdown

Julian Meush April 14, 2015

Following what seems to be a Game of Thrones trend, the season opener serves as a sort of refresher; catching us up on all the major plot lines (minus Arya). The Lannister twins mourn their father, Tyrion arrives in Pentos, Daenerys faces the trials of leadership, Varys outlines his plans for Tyrion, and Jon tries to reason with two would-be kings.

S4E10 "The Children": ToB Breakdown

Julian Meush June 17, 2014

Season 4 ended off with a bang. Following last weeks battle at The Wall we catch up with almost all the key players before they all take a ten month break. Jon meets Mance, Stannis makes an appearance, Bran reaches his goal, Danni makes a tough choice, Brienne meets The Hound, Cersei makes a stand, Jamie helps his brother and Tyrion confronts his father.

S4E9 "The Watchers on the Wall": ToB Breakdown

Julian Meush June 10, 2014

Traditionally the ninth episode of every Game of Thrones season delivers something epic. Season 4 does not disappoint with "Watchers on the Wall". Even with all the other amazing moments we've already seen this season. We see giants riding mammoths as the wildling army finally reaches The Wall. This episode never leaves The Wall as Jon learns some lessons in leadership, Sam becomes more of a man and Ygritt sharpens her arrows.

S4E8 "The Mountain and the Viper": ToB Breakdown

Julian Meush June 3, 2014

In an episode featuring the amazing showdown between Oberyn and the Mountain its disappointing that the rest of the episode didn't live up to those heights. Full points go to the big fight with Tyrion's life in the balance, meanwhile Littlefinger continues to scheme, Sansa grows up, Arya reaches the Eyrie and Daenerys looses an adviser.

S4E7 "Mockingbird": ToB Breakdown

Julian Meush May 20, 2014

Tyrion finds a champion, Aria gets more revenge, Jon suggests a radical plan and Littlefinger uses the Moon Door.

S4E6 "The Laws of Gods and Men": ToB Breakdown

Julian Meush May 13, 2014

As is usually the case with Game of Thrones, they followed last weeks plotting episode with one that marks another change to the status quo . Tyrion's trial is really the show stopper this week but we also get some great scenes with Danny, Stannis and finally catch up with Yarra and her attempt to save Theon/Reek.

S4E5 "The First of His Name": ToB Breakdown

Julian Meush May 5, 2014

This weeks episode didnt have a lot of plot development but we did get some great character work. Tommen gets crowned, Cersei pines for her daughter, Aria water dances, Sansa meets her aunt and Jon takes on the mutineers.

S4E4 "Oathkeeper": ToB Breakdown

Julian Meush April 29, 2014

Jaime pays his brother a visit, Margaery learns the truth of Joffrey's murder, Brienne is given a new mission, Jon recruits a ranging party and Craster's final son is born.

S4E3 "Breaker of Chains": ToB Breakdown

Julian Meush April 22, 2014

One week after the royal murder we aren't much closer to finding the truth. Margery laments her luck with husbands, Tywin gets his hooks in Tommen, Oberyn is brought into the fold, the Hound is still a bad guy and the Nights Watch get a new mission. Everything is discussed in this weeks Tower of Babble Game of Thrones breakdown.

May 27, 2026

SSSW - The Mandalorian and Grogu

It's hard to believe it's been so long since the last Star Wars movie hit theatres. After years of announcements, failed projects, and even a change in leadership at Lucasfilm, the first movie in nearly a decade is a follow-up to the first ever live action Star Wars show. Maybe that's fitting for a new era, under new management. The film itself is a fast paced, action-packed, adventure that hails back to the old serials that George Lucas loved. While it is certainly a fun time at the movies, with exciting set-pieces, characters inclusions from across the lore, all of which set on planets with diverse biomes (i.e. some of the things Star Wars does best). Unfortunately, the movie lacks compelling stakes, character depth (where's Din's arc?), much of any plot to speak of, or even a sense of real "importance" - and while that may be a bit intangible, it prompts the question: why was THIS movie the first to bring Star Wars back to feature films in almost a decade? Julian and Rachel try to answer that question and dive deep into all the nerdy details.

May 6, 2026

SSSW - Maul: Shadow Lord - Chapter 9 & 10 / Season Finale

There it is, folks - the season finale to the latest creation from Lucasfilm Animation. It was certainly gorgeous to look at, with the new painterly stylings, and there was no shortage of thrilling action to sink your teeth into, nor did they skimp on the stakes. But while the season started off on a welcomed unfamiliar foot, by the end of this season, and certainly in these final two episodes, the hallmarks of what we've come to know from Star Wars animation showed their head. Early on, the admitted inspirations from films such as 'Heat' and 'The Dark Knight', provided a needed grit to a show which was ostensibly following a villain. This provided the show with a fresh personality - distinguishing itself from it's predecessors in animation. Unfortunately, the creatives couldn't seem to maintain that tone, as by this two-part season finale the old tropes and predictable beats of 'Clone Wars' rose into prominence. And while the appearance of a certain fan favourite character adds some very cool action, the unoriginality from a narrative perspective robbed the final moments of the needed pathos and drama required to land the plane in the most satisfying of ways.

April 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!

April 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!