Oppressive atmosphere

It's that time of the year again where the haze from Indonesia reaches Malaysian shores. A few days ago, the haze reached the southern part of the peninsula and Singapore. Yesterday morning, the haze reached Kuala Lumpur. I felt so uncomfortable yesterday, the combination of the heat and the haze makes for a depressing day. You can't go out, you can't do anything. You even feel weird. I'm taking care by drinking lots of water and I hope I don't fall sick but tomorrow is the start of another working week and there'll be no way of avoiding the haze.

Game of Thrones, Season Three, Episode Nine

Social media network exploded with fans' reaction to the dreaded Red Wedding weeks ago but in Malaysia, the episode was only broadcast last night. I was very tense from the beginning of last night's episode because although I wanted to watch that episode, I did not want to watch that particular scene. I managed to avoid the scene but because I was so careful to avoid it, I also missed a few scenes before it. So I watched it again today but of course, without watching that scene.

Some shocked viewers have voiced out their dismay by saying they will no longer watch the series or read the book. I would feel the same way too but I've already read what happens after the Red Wedding. While at the moment, it appears that only the good people suffer and die, there will be more casualties in the future and it involves the not-so-good people as well. Yes, the Red Wedding was painful to read but the author is just portraying the reality of the time, which is also relevant to this day. Sometimes, bad things happen to good people. "Life is not a song," to quote a phrase from the book.

For this episode, I particularly liked the scene with Bran and how he used his powers to help Jon who happened to be there with the wildlings. Even though they didn't meet, it was heartening to see that they were in the same place at the same time. By this time, a lot of the Stark family members have succumbed to the ruthless game of thrones but I'm still hoping that Bran, Rickon, Jon, Arya and Sansa will survive.