The Winds of Westeros

Filming has been underway for some time now in Spain and in Croatia. The controversial scene with Cersei has been filming, but under the strictest of schedules.

DB Weiss and David Benioff have also made sure that a skeleton crew are around to film a certain scene in which Cersei is forced to walk through the streets of King's Landing. The producers and directors of the show have made sure that only a handful of extras are around for the scene, in order to shoot the scene as quickly as possible and to also protect the actresses' modesty.

Book readers know that a major showdown will take place between Cersei Lannister and Margaery Tyrell.

This is going to be one hell of a catfight!

I didn't really like this character in the books, to be in honest. I found him creepy. I liked him better in the HBO series. But there was something almost 'too good to be true' about him - yes, he was poor and he was starving, so he had to scratch, claw and fight for everything that he had. He was fabulously wealthy but....how did he amass all that wealth?

He certainly didn't hide his desire for Daenerys Targaryen, when she came to his city for help and refuge. I can't say I blame him. She is, after all, beautiful, with that silvery hair and lavender coloured eyes. I'm glad that Ser Jorah Mormont kept cautioning her to not do anything rash. After everything they had been through, it would've been very easy to accept Xaro Xhoan Doxos' marriage proposal and stay in Qarth and rule as his Queen.

But then....we wouldn't have as an exciting storyline for the last surviving Targaryen! That would be no fun and boring! Besides, after a while, I kept thinking that this guy was putting the moves on Dany way too often for my liking. Hm. Was he attracted to her because she was gorgeous? Was it because she was the mother of dragons? Or that she was the last Targaryen alive? Or perhaps it was a combination of all those factors?

Whatever it was, he showed his true colours, once her dragons had been abducted and the coup of the Thirteen had taken place. It seems that Ser Jorah Mormont was right all along. Of course, we know that the second book differed from the second season (there were some changes to the storyline) but all in all, I'm glad that Dany and company kicked Xaro Xhoan Doxos to the curb! Dude, you messed with the wrong woman! So long!

Can't wait to see how powerful Daenerys Targaryen becomes in A Storm of Swords!

He is often called the "Master of Whispers." Some call him "Varys the Spider."

If you've watched the series and read the books, you'll know that Varys is a man who's business is information and he has all sorts of little birds and spies scattered across Westeros and Essos.

I like Varys. Not too many people do. He does have a bit of a creepy appearance but really, when you look at the variety of people that make up the general population of Westeros, I think he fits right in. What I am interested in finding out is to whom Varys is loyal to. It seems he is opaque; there are times where I'm certain I know who he works for and then there are times where I am completely wrong. He doesn't come out and say who he supports and that just adds to his secrecy.

He is on the Small Council, alongside Grand Maester Pycelle and Lord Petyr Baelish. I always got the feeling that he really couldn't stand Baelish and just puts up with him, for the sake of the realm and the Small Council. The exchanges they've had are laced with sarcasm and subtle threats.

Having access to information from a great many sources makes Varys a powerful man. There's a saying - "Knowledge is power." Varys is indeed one of the most powerful people in King's Landing because of his ability to amass a wealth of information - near and far - and use it to his advantage, both personally and professionally.

It is said that Varys was able to master all of the secret tunnels and passageways in the Red Keep, therefore being able to move in and out of the area without being noticed and at the same time listening in on a great deal of secret conversations that contained highly sensitive material. He also employs many "little birds" - orphaned children that he takes in, teaches them how to read and write and procure information without arousing suspicion. Smart man, indeed.

Look at the relationships Varys has with the people in King's Landing: I don't think he respects or likes Pycelle and Baelish. Can't say I blame him one bit, because I really don't like those two, either. Although Varys provides information for the incorrigible King Joffrey, it almost appears as if Varys is dealing with a petulant child (also, feel free to add sociopath, while we're at it). Surprisingly enough, the one alliance I do like is between Tyrion and Varys. They are both equally wary of the way the Game of Thrones is played and understand that loyalty can get you killed but also weeding out potential traitors from allies will strengthen your perspective and help your survive a little longer.

Can you really trust Varys and all the information that he claims to have? I really want to believe that he is trying to help the realm for the greater good....and yet I have this sense of foreboding. I am about the start "A Dance for Dragons." *spoiler alert* I haven't heard or read anything about Varys for the length of an entire book. Will he make another appearance in Dragons? Will he do anything shocking? Will it be revealed to fans where the heck he was hiding out?

Just because you are a Queen doesn't necessarily give you absolute power.

Just look at Cersei Lannister. She yearns to sit on the Iron Throne and rule over Westeros with a vicious grip. Not bloody likely. Not while she is Queen Regent. Which, for all of her scheming and calculations, it more or less backfired in her face. Placing Joffrey on the thrones was like unleashing a swarm of angry bees after someone has knocked over their hive. Not pleasant for anyone involved.

Not that she fared any better as Robert Baratheon's Queen. She did her duty: she married him, united two powerful Houses in the Seven Kingdoms and produced three children (whom we all know are not legitimate children borne of that union, but products of incest).

Sansa Stark was betrothed to Prince Joffrey Baratheon in Season I. She would've been his Queen, once the late King passed on and perhaps things may have had a nicer turn out, had Eddard Stark not been accused of treason and Joffrey didn't turn out to be the vile sociopath that he really was. In Season II, Sansa should thank her lucky stars that she did not wed Joffrey. Her physical and mental abuse at his hands (or his henchmen's hands) was a real nice preview of what a 'blissful' married life they would've had together. (note my sarcasm)

Next candidate for Queen: there are two potential women who vie for the title and all it's privileges: Lady Talisa Migear and Lady Margaery Tyrell. (in the book we know that Robb Stark ends up marrying a character named Jeyne Westerling, from an impoverished House)

Lady Talisa is a field nurse, tending to wounds, cuts, amputations and dead bodies, no matter what House they serve. Lady Margaery has been trained by birth in the finer arts of women's studies, castellan management and court politics and etiquette by her grandmother, Lady Olenna Redwyne. Who is more worthy of the title? Who will be able to play the game better, outwit and outlast people longer and live to see another year in the Seven Kingdoms?

The tides have now turned and people's fortunes rise and fall just like the sun and the moon in the Seven Kingdoms. By the end of Season II, we see that Lady Margaery Tyrell has now been betrothed to King Joffrey Baratheon. Where Sansa cowered and put on a mask to conceal her true feelings, Margaery looks like she's able to use her looks and her sexuality to manipulate Joffrey. She doesn't look like she's afraid of Cersei, either. And you wonder why I like Margaery Tyrell.

Season III is going to place the women of Westeros on a whole different playing field!

Here is one of my favourite female characters: Margaery Tyrell. The lovely Natalie Dormer portrays her in HBO's Game of Thrones.

Margaery is the only daughter from House Tyrell. She has three older brothers - Willas, Lord Garlan and Ser Loras. As a female, she is destined to marry into a great house and unite two families, securing wealth, political ties and forging new alliances.

In A Clash of Kings, we see that Margaery Tyrell has married Renly Baratheon and by rights, has become his Queen. We all know that Loras and Renly are having a secret relationship. This does not bother Margaery, as she has married her King, knowing what she was getting into and what was expected of her in this political arrangement.

For a female in Westeros, she is very well educated and pretty shrewd. I like to think that she gets that blunt and shrewd streak from her grandmother, Lady Olenna Redwyne. Margaery possesses looks and wit and understands the necessity of deception, especially to those in the court. What would've been a strategic marriage soon comes undone, as Renly is murdered by his brother and the red priestess from Asshai.

Margaery understands that being in the right position at the right time means that unrivalled power could be in her grasp. We see her pleading her case to King Joffrey, that she has become enamored of him and all his feats. Just watching Natalie Dormer state her intentions to Joffrey with that seductive twinkle in her eye and her regal wardrobe, well Joffrey pretty much likes what he sees and discards Sansa Stark in favour of Lady Margaery Tyrell.

Season III looks pretty exciting and I cannot wait to see how Margaery's character begins to show some real teeth and some edge. Margaery is savvy enough to know that she wants to be aligned with the most powerful man in Westeros, because it means prestige for her family and a secure position for her in court and for any future heirs. I don't think she will buckle under Joffrey the way Sansa did.

Perhaps she will use her sultry wiles on Joffrey to get what she wants. I say whatever she needs to do to get ahead, do it. The men of Westeros never flinch at having to wage weapons, threats and seize opportunities, when presented.

So if a woman chooses to make love instead of war to obtain power, it doesn't make her weaker. Pen is mightier than the sword. No man alive can withstand the alluring, tantalizing siren call from a woman. Especially Natalie Dormer's Margaery Tyrell. Watch her in the Tudors. Then you'll know exactly what I mean.

Cersei Lannister. Queen. Shrewd. Calculating. Angry. Power hungry. These are just some of the terms that come to mind when describing the Queen Regent.

It just occurred to me: George R. R. Martin wrote the first three books of "A Song of Fire and Ice" in the late 1990's and early 2000s. Which means that when book number four and five came out, people began to flock to those ones just as quick! Of course, with HBO creating and producing the hit series "Game of Thrones" in April 2011 and 2012, the audience for his literary works has now doubled, or perhaps tripled. I am a fan, no doubt.

Soon, there will be a new member in my family, a nephew (who is due anyday now) and you know what that means, don't you? I'm going to have to purchase his first Game of Thrones t-shirt, lunchbox, bottle, etc. When I was little, both my older brothers and I were major "Star Wars" fans. We had the bedsheets, the toys, the lego and the lunchboxes. Three cheers for "Star Wars" & "Game of Thrones!" May the fans carry on all the funny and silly traditions that go along with popular films and book series!