Man, I haven't reread the series in a few years. I didn't even remember that detail but it is a great one. Time for a reread!

Yeah the stuff that really sticks out to me is some of the more horrifying stuff that the Capitol and District 13 do in the books. Off the top of my head: The mutts at the end of Katniss's first Hunger Games are much darker in the books than in the movies. The avoxes are more fleshed out in the books, and speak to just how far the Capitol will go to oppress people. The imprisonment and torture of Octavia, Venus and Flavia in District 13 was completely left out of the movies, to terrible effect I think because in the books that's a huge signifier that Coin should not become President. And just in general the suffering of people in the outer districts is a lot clearer in the books. The movies kinda take a lot of that out and replace it with an emphasis on a love triangle that barely even exists in the books.

I honestly think they are the darkest books I've ever read. I don't understand when they are criticized for a lack of darkness, that doesn't resonate with my experience of reading those books. The movies glossed over or removed a lot of the darkest stuff but the books have some truly dark stuff.

I think there's room for criticism in any book. But I do think with Hunger Games there is a bit of an odd mixture of both the movies influencing people's perceptions of the books and inherent bias against YA books.

I've seen it from a handful of brands. Not sure about Hellmans.

I still see it sold in bottles sometimes here in Canada.

Perhaps this varies regionally but where I live dijonnaise is very specifically a sauce made of mayo + dijon mustard.

Dijon added to hollandaise isn't uncommon. But this is the first time I've ever seen that called dijonnaise.

Kinda relieved to hear that's a hollandaise, though. That looked like a lot of mayo on that asparagus. Lol.

That looks amazing. I haven't had gyros in so long. Thee Burger Dude just posted a recipe video for it, I can't wait to try.

It sounds like you should, yeah. I thought the show was excellent from start to finish. There was a decline in the writing in the final season, and the show changes with time, but I thought even at the end it was significantly better than the grand majority of TV shows.

But if you're not enjoying it, why put yourself through it? It doesn't return the same vibes of seasons 1 through 4, so if I were you I'd probably stop watching.

I've heard great stuff about Aunty Em's. I used to live in Toronto. That sounds really good.

Nice! What was on it? Tough to tell from the picture. All I can really see is some seitan.

The first two episodes are good, I'm curious where they are bringing all the stuff they've introduced.

But they weren't as strong as season 1, which isn't a surprise but it a shame.

It's an uneven show. But on the balance, I really like it. There is some weak acting that I find distracting. Dialogue could have been written better in places. And the special effects are not as strong as in the more expensive fantasy shows.

But the story of season 1 was fantastic. The characters are generally well fleshed out. The world is fascinating and somewhat unique. The music is wonderful. The visuals of the show (apart from some special effects stuff) really draw you in. The politics of the world feel real. The whole thing is very engaging.

Everyone keeps saying this but has it been confirmed? The cancellation announcement was made well after the second season finished filming. I wasn't so sure that the writers were given the head's up necessary to tie up loose ends.

I actually thought Cara Delevigne improved significantly this season. Her acting was the low point of the show for me in season 1. I didn't notice it taking me out of the story nearly as much with these first two episodes of season 2.

The first episode also starts with a pretty decent recap.

Pasta in gorgonzola cream sauce is my favourite dish. Delish!

Nice. I recently discovered Korean rice dogs. These look a lot like those.

That looks like a special dish! Do you remember what the different preparations of squash were?

That looks incredible.

Yeah any family that thinks they have a birthright to monarchy sucks. But I don't think there are many folks advocating for democracy in Westeros - the major houses who aren't currently the ruling family all seem to wish they were the ruling family.

There's a real ickiness to "keeping the bloodlines strong" and all that aspect that the Targaryens and Velaryons talk about.

So maybe it's lesa about incest and more about a general distaste for the Targaryens/desire to see other families gain control?

I'd be curious for you to explain that further. It's not a topic I've given much thought to. But off the top of my head, both the greens and blacks are headed by a Targaryen sovereign claimant who is married to another Targaryen. At least Rhaenyra and Daemon wanted to marry each other, whereas Aegon and Helaena were forced into it for political reasons.

Interesting. What gives you the impression that the greens are less about Targaryen incest?

Personally for me I'll hate the greens so long as they are propping up that rapist creep King. I find Rhaenyra a lot easier to support than Aegon.

It wouldn't be Game of Thrones if everyone didn't suck at least a little bit. Haha.

I have a hard time imagining myself cheering for the greens at this point, but things change!