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Even when Robb Stark’s campaign for the throne is going poorly, as a whole, the Starks are still probably the most likable family on Game of Thrones. They’re family-oriented, fiercely loyal and, at times, endearingly sassy. Of all the Starks though, badass youngest daughter Arya (Maisie Williams) is undoubtedly the coolest Stark, and a general fan favorite in both her book and TV series incarnations, even at her most bloodthirsty.

The third season of Game of Thrones is well underway, and in this week's episode, things started to get real. We won't give away spoilers, but there was quite a bit of mood whiplash thanks to the choice of end credits tune, the aforementioned Hold Steady cover of "The Bear and the Maiden Fair." After a rather intense installment of the show, Craig Finn took to the "boisterous tavern song" written by A Song of Ice and Fire scribe George R.R. Martin and the show's composer, Ramin Djawadi.

It’s finally here! You did it! There is now less than a week to go until the new season of Game of Thrones is here, now with 100% more dragons, deception and trying to predict which member of the warring noble houses gets whacked next. If actually watching the show isn’t enough for you, HBO’s immersive international exhibition on the show is coming to New York this week, the only U.S. stop on the tour. No, there won’t be dragons, and you won’t be able to drink too much mead or whatever party with Tyrion and Ros like you have always dreamed, but you’ll be able to see some costumes and props and stuff, if you’re into that.

The land of Westeros has bloodthirsty, backstabbing nobles, sadistic madmen, direwolves, dragons and White Walkers. But there is another world where corruption, manipulation and pure brutality rule that even George R.R. Martin couldn’t conjure, and that is high school. So it seems only natural that the drama of Game of Thrones would fit quite well in the world of warring cliques and prom dates, and of course, someone would think to put the two together in a weird but entertaining visual fanservice kind of way. Over the weekend, Zach Grafton and Matthew Mercer launched their new web series, “School of Thrones,” in which the younger generations of Martin’s houses must survive daily life in Westeros High.

It’s that time again—time for some Game of Thrones news to tide you over until Season 3 begins (It’s so soon, you guys! You’re all doing so great.). Following up on The National’s performance of George R.R. Martin’s original House Lannister conquest anthem “The Rains of Castamere” last season, the show is embracing even more rock musicians, including Coldplay drummer Will Champion and Snow Patrol frontman Gary Lightbody, who both have cameo roles this season.

The Academy Awards happened last night, and you're probably still feeling a lot of things about them, and most of those feelings are probably disappointment of some variety. If you're concerned with the state of entertainment, at least there's one thing to look forward to—Game of Thrones is coming back in less than a month! And over the weekend, HBO released the trailer for the third season, where everything gets real and everyone is out for blood and once again, fans will roll the dice and pray their favorite characters don't get killed off (spoiler alert unless you've read the books: they probably do). 

In terms of fantasy shows that take place in alternate universes, Game of Thrones is a surprisingly accurate depiction of the American political climate. This is a point the geniuses in Mother Jones's video department made during the 2012 election with their Westeros-themed attack ads like "Joffrey Baratheon: Where Is the Birth Certificate?" and "Danaerys Targaryen: Wrong for Dragons, Wrong for the Realm." Now, the election is over and we stil have a little under two sad, wintry months to go before Game of Thrones returns for its third season, which is too long.

On HBO's Game of Thrones, the family members of House Stark of Winterfell have many skills, among them hanging out with direwolves, inspiring weird Tumblr fanfiction and admiring blogs, dating their onscreen love interests IRL (or at least spurring rumors thereof), brooding, seething and generally being total sass-cats and amazing. One skill in which they are lacking, however, is freestyle rapping, but gosh darn if they don't give it their best shot. 

The members of the principal warring houses of Game of Thrones love to get their drink on—whether it's Cersei Lannister demanding more wine, King Robert downing the mead at a large feast of some kind or Tyrion drinking and snarking his way into Fan Favoritedom, there are many libations to be had. And HBO loves a good marketing tie-in (see the squab-slingin' food trucks that descended upon America's cities ahead of the show's first season, or the actual Tru Blood beverage from the show of the same name). 

Pacific Rim looks like any other major monsters-and-robots film from the past decade or so. There are Transformers-esque hybrid weapon-bot things, bridges being turned into heaps of twisted scrap metal, explosions and visions of a dark, post-apocalyptic America.