S6E2 "Home": ToB Breakdown

Daniel D'Souza May 2, 2016

Season 6 Episode 2 continues with the fast pace that episode one introduced and, in true Game of Thrones fashion, incites more questions than it answers, although it answers some pretty big ones. Julian and Dan sit down for a full breakdown of the events, their potential outcomes, and some wild speculation over where these story lines might take us next.

Bran dreams of his home, while Cersei is held prisoner in her own, the loyalist's hold their ground at Castle Black, Tyrion braves the dragonpit, Ramsay assumes power in the North, Sansa and Theon part ways, Balon Greyjoy is surprised by a rude homecoming, and the Lord Commander of the Night's Watch comes home at last.

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!

S5E10 "Mother's Mercy": ToB Breakdown

Julian Meush June 17, 2015

It has come to that time once again, another season finale for Game of Thrones. Season five has seen its ups and downs but the tenth episode really left us with a sour taste in our mouths. Julian and Daniel sit down to discuss all the major plot points this week as well as give our take on what we think might come in season six. The show left enough loose ends that the speculating and theorizing for the next ten months will be excruciating. Last but not least, we delve deep into the major event that concluded the season and talk about how it effected us as viewers (or in Daniel's case, a reader) and whether it was the right note to end a season on.

S5E9 "The Dance of Dragons": ToB Breakdown

Julian Meush June 10, 2015

Julian and Daniel sit down to discuss the penultimate episode of the season. Typically Game of Thrones saves some big moments for their ninth episodes but did they do enough to top last weeks snowy showdown beyond the wall?

S5E8 "Hardhome": ToB Breakdown

Julian Meush June 1, 2015

Tyrion and Jorrah make their case to Dany, Arya becomes someone else, Sansa learns a secret, the Boltons strategize, Cersei is asked to confess and Jon arrives to Hardhome just in time to face off against the army of the dead.

S5E7 "The Gift": ToB Breakdown

Julian Meush May 28, 2015

This week Jon leaves for Hardhome, Sam grieves a death of a friend, Stannis weighs a tough decision, Sansa asks for help, Bron and Jamie are caged, Jorrah and Tyrion reach their destination, Dani indures the fighting pits, Ollena and Littlefinger do some more scheming and Cersei gets some comunpance.

S5E6 "Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken": ToB Breakdown

Julian Meush May 19, 2015

Game of Thrones brought some controversy this week, and as is typically the case with any controversy, made for a great discussion. Julian and Daniel sit down to discuss all the outrage and vitriol as well as the rest of the events of the episode, which included; Arya delving deeper into the world of the Faceless Men, Tyrion and Jorrah running into a bit more trouble, Jamie and Bronn reaching Myrcella, Cersei's schemes in Kings Landing and Sansa's wedding in Winterfell.

S5E5 "Kill the Boy": ToB Breakdown

Julian Meush May 12, 2015

This week Julian and Daniel discuss how Daenerys' deals with the attack on Grey Worm and Ser Barristan, Jon's plans for the Wildlings, Stannis finally leaving Castle Black, Sana's old/new home and Jorrah and Tyrion's voyage into Old Valeria

S5E4 "Sons of the Harpy": ToB Breakdown

Julian Meush May 5, 2015

This week Daniel and Julian discuss Cersei's power grabbing, Tommon's innocence, Jon's temptations, Stannis' humanity, Bronn and Jamie's voyage to Dorne and unrest in Meereen. Some popular fan theories are also discussed (in a non-spoiler fashion of course) and much more in the weeks Game of Thrones: Tower of Babble Breakdown.

S5E3 "High Sparrow": ToB Breakdown

Daniel D'Souza April 27, 2015

The Bolton's arrive in their new home, Arya sweeps the floor, Cersei meets the High Sparrow, Jon faces his first challenge as Lord Commander, Arya sweeps the floor, Margaery enjoys her new power, Littlefinger forms a new allaince, Tyrion reaches Volantis... and Arya sweeps the floor.

Nov 28, 2025

Bonus Episode - ToB Film Club - Dark City (1998)

The term often used to describe the 1998 Alex Proyas film, 'Dark City' is "Proto-Matrix" given the many similarities between the two movies. Fair or not, they do have a lot in common but I think the comparison does a disservice to what is still a very clever and well made genre-film that largely holds up today (minus some questionable early CG effects). The 4K re-release gives it a fresh coat of paint, looking extremely sharp on modern televisions, accentuating the mostly dark and moody imagery of this sci-fi film noir, and given it's title this is all very fitting. Alex Proyas has some bid ideas here; what is the human soul? Are we the sum of our memories? Can memories be distilled into chemistry? Is love transcendent? Many of these themes are explored with depth, with answers to many of the films mysteries being laid bare in mostly satisfying way. Performances are strong, with everyone seemingly understanding the assignment, though there isn't much for the female characters to do here. Which is unfortunate as what we do get from Jennifer Connelly is intriguing, if lacking depth. On the whole, despite being pretty weird, this is still a very fun movie, if a bit silly at times, that was unfortunately overshadowed by the phenomenon that was 'The Matrix' dropping the following year.

Nov 17, 2025

Episode 201 - Bond Turmoil and Goldeneye Retrospective

Julian and Matt start getting into the swing of thigs as they tackle the latest in film and TV news, with the hot story being about the turmoil surrounding the new Bond film. Fortunately, 'Goldeneye' turns 30, providing a positive 007 topic to dig into in an effort to balance things out. A new 'The Mummy' starring Brendan Fraser is in the works with Rachel Weis also set to return. To Matt's chagrin, more 'Jurassic World' is on the way as well with the 5th film in the franchise in development with Gareth Edwards looking to return to direct (say what you will but 'Jurassic World: Rebirth' was pretty fun). Lastly, the guys dive into what they've been watching, including 'Predator: Badlands', 'One Battle After Another', 'Pluribus' and for some reason, 'Dexter'. All that and so much more on this week's Tower of Babble Podcast!

Oct 19, 2025

Bonus Episode - ToB Film Club - Kingpin (1996)

Before Matt officially joined the show as a co-host he was invited on as guest to talk about one of his favourite movies of all time, ‘Swingers’. Now returning in an official capacity to the ToB Film Club, he brings with him another film from his top-3, another comedy, ‘Kingpin’. A Farrelly brothers film that followed up their smash hit breakout, ‘Dumb and Dumber’, and you can see the through lines. Like ‘Dumb and Dumber’ we follow two guys who are down on their luck as they head out on the road where chaos and hilarity ensue. Unfortunately it wasn’t the hit they hoped despite a killer cast, including legends Bill Murray, Randy Quaid and Woody Harrelson and as a result it didn't leave as large of a cultural footprint as some of the other Farrelly brothers films from this era. It's been nearly 30 years so now seems as good a time as any to revisit this sleeper and see what everyone was missing back then.

Oct 9, 2025

Episode 200 - Meet Matt!

After an extended hiatus, ToB returns with a fresh voice on the second chair. Julian is joined by long-time friend of the show, Matt Tworek. We spend this first episode of the "new" ToB getting to know him and setting up what else is to come.