Game of Groans
by Emily Bateman and Kate Koballa
Emily Bateman, a millennial woman who never got into Game of Thrones, finally sits down to watch and analyze each consecutive episode of the popular HBO show. With the help of her sister, Kate Koballa, and sometimes a guest, Emily tries to figure out what the heck is going on in the show, why it was so popular at the time and who is actually going to win the game of thrones (if there actually is a winner at the end).
Episodes
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SBBCU Holiday Special 2025: The Twitch Stream Present Draft
It's that time of year for the Super Bracket Bros, The Friendly Neighborhood Gamers, Game of Groans, and The Wait For It podcast to gather around the microphone for the holidays. For our sixth anniversary, the gang changes things up and does a Christmas present draft to see who would have the…
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Ep. 97 - HOTD Series and Podcast Wrap-up
This week on Game of Groans, Emily and Kate join together to do a wrap-up of HOTD and the podcast as a whole. They discuss cast interviews, Rotten Tomato scores, a GOT storybook, negronis, fancy dress time, wigs, and nice guys. Additionally, Kate wants thematic symbolism and Emily has feelings...
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Ep. 96 - HOTD S02E08 The Queen Who Ever Was w/ Jay Davis
This week on Game of Groans, Emily and Kate are joined by Jay Davis from Super Bracket Bros to talk about the season finale, Episode 8 of Season 2, The Queen Who Ever Was. They discuss horse-mermaids, a chunky recap, men with blue hair, Larys' Swiss bank account, the Fast and Furious movies, The...
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Ep. 95 - HOTD S02E07 The Red Sowing w/ Dylan Wren
This week on Game of Groans, Emily and Kate are joined by Dylan Wren from Your Friendly Neighborhood Gamers to talk about Episode 7 of Season 2, The Red Sowing. They discuss spoilers for "The Witch" movie, the power of friendship, purebred dogs, the aura of ableism, a dragon arms race, Daemon and...
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Ep. 94 - HOTD S02E06 Smallfolk w/ Jason Edwards
This week on Game of Groans, Emily and Kate are joined by Jason Edwards to talk about Episode 6 of Season 2, Smallfolk. They discuss where lions live in Westeros, Alicent's gentle parenting, fantasy bullshit & deep lore, Aemond not having enough therapy, Dire Hard Goldenbooks, Larys going into…
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Ep. 93 - HOTD S02E05 Regent w/ Eliah Nelson
This week on Game of Groans, Emily and Kate are joined by Eliah Nelson from Super Bracket Bros to talk about Episode 5 of Season 2, Regent. They discuss gay marriage in Dorne, the YA spinoff of GOT, ghost confessionals, overstimulating crowds, angry husband vibes, widow wine moms, and actual…
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Ep. 92 - HOTD S02E04 The Red Dragon and the Gold w/ Sarah Sheppard
This week on Game of Groans, Emily and Kate are joined by Sarah Sheppard to talk about Episode 4 of Season 2, The Red Dragon and the Gold. They discuss the podcast five timers club, The Haunting of Hill House, Sesame Street names, manic pixie dream witches, Jace being bitchy, peak Jim Carrey, the...
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Ep. 91 - HOTD S02E03 The Burning Mill w/ Andrew Kimball
This week on Game of Groans, Emily and Kate are joined by Andrew Kimball from Your Friendly Neighborhood Gamers to talk about Episode 2 of Season 3, The Burning Mill. They discuss time being irrelevant again, a permanent sneer, Joffrey being the middle child, this episode being poorly written,...
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Ep. 90 - HOTD S02E02 Rhaenyra the Cruel w/ Nav
This week on Game of Groans, Emily and Kate are joined by Nav from A Song of Ice and Fire Symposium to talk about Episode 2 of Season 2, Rhaenyra the Cruel. They discuss cathartic arguments, Mark Zuckerberg shark eyes, incredible face acting, too many Aegons, Legos, pop-up video for HOTD, the…
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Ep. 89 - HOTD S02E01 A Son for a Son w/ Mark Metta
This week on Game of Groans, Emily and Kate are joined by Mark Metta talk about Episode 1 of Season 2, A Son for a Son. They discuss Hulu with ads, bad news ravens, all blonde kids look the same, Bruce Willis in Red, more weird little guys, the definition of magnanimous, Larys being an introvert,...
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The One With Big Co-Host Energy - A SBBCU Holiday Special
It's that time of year for the Super Bracket Bros, The Friendly Neighborhood Gamers, Game of Groans, and The Wait For It podcast to gather around a holiday topic and argue about it. For our fifth anniversary, the gang aims to find out what the best Santa Claus of all time is. Follow all of the...
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December Bonus Episode: Last Christmas Movie Review
This week on Game of Groans, Emily and Kate are still taking time away from "canon" episodes and have watched a holiday movie with a Game of Thrones actress in it. We decide to watch Emilia Clarke's movie, "Last Christmas." They discuss modernizing language can be bad, manic pixie dream boys,...
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November Bonus Episode: Blind Rankings
This week on Game of Groans, Emily and Kate are taking time away from "canon" episodes and just play some games this month in a bonus episode. Emily has created some lists that Kate has to "blind rank" and it gets quite interesting. They discuss actors being hotter than their characters…
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Ep. 88 - HOTD S01E10 The Black Queen (Season Finale)
This week on Game of Groans, Emily and Kate talk about the season finale Episode 10 of Season 1, The Black Queen. They discuss the infamous war table, the Olsen twins, a Dragonstone Hotel, Breath of the Wild, symbolism, how dragon bonding works, jade eggs, and Viserys as a Force ghost....
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Ep. 87 - HOTD S01E09 The Green Council w/ Eliah Nelson
This week on Game of Groans, Emily and Kate are joined by Eliah Nelson from Super Bracket Bros to talk about Episode 9 of Season 1, The Green Council They discuss the series was leading up to this episode, all characters are morally grey, the return of weird little guys, Criston's dumb hat, an…
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Ep. 86 - HOTD S01E08 The Lord of Tides w/ Nav
This week on Game of Groans, Emily and Kate are joined by Nav from A Song of Ice and Fire Symposium to talk about Episode 8 of Season 1, The Lord of Tides. They discuss the heavy Season 2 marketing, the war room table, too many swords, Aegon's dream, that there's only one drug in Westeros…
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Ep. 85 - HOTD S01E07 Driftmark w/ Dylan Wren
This week on Game of Groans, Emily and Kate are joined by Dylan Wren from Your Friendly Neighborhood Gamers to talk about Episode 7 of Season 1, Driftmark. They discuss Daemon's unknown age, the very bad night filter, good costume design, questions actually being answered, The Greens sounds like…
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Ep. 84 - HOTD S01E06 The Princess and the Queen
This week on Game of Groans, Emily and Kate talk about Episode 6 of Season 1, The Princess and the Queen. They discuss the Book of Mormon musical, GOT genetics, plain-featured children, female writers, that Alicent is still naive, that Criston Cole is the ultimate nice guy, and that Aegon sucks....
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Ep. 83 - HOTD S01E05 We Light the Way w/ Jay Davis
This week on Game of Groans, Emily and Kate are joined by Jay Davis from Super Bracket Bros to talk about Episode 5 of Season 1, We Light the Way. They discuss hibiscus flowers, giant braid crowns, The Witcher series, naive characters, Barbie lore, resting smug face, and intentionally confusing...
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Ep. 82 - HOTD S01E04 King of the Narrow Sea w/ Sarah Sheppard
This week on Game of Groans, Emily and Kate are joined by Sarah Sheppard to talk about Episode 4 of Season 1, King of the Narrow Sea. They discuss Gay Westeros, costume consistencies, small writers rooms, Dragon Riders of Perth series, sexual harassment in the workplace and big Jasmine energy....
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Ep. 81 - HOTD S01E03 Second of His Name
This week on Game of Groans, Emily and Kate talk about Episode 3 of Season 1, Second of His Name. They discuss the confusing title, The Mummy, that a pug would not survive in Westeros, poor communication, hunting trip red flags, dragon genetics and The Wicker Man. Additionally, Emily still finds...
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Ep. 80 - HOTD S01E02 The Rogue Prince w/ Andrew Kimball
This week on Game of Groans, Emily and Kate are joined by Andrew Kimball from Your Friendly Neighborhood Gamers to talk about Episode 2 of Season 1, The Rogue Prince. They discuss Westeros small claims court, sea carnage, too many council meetings, the movie adaptation Rampage, and the confusing...
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Ep. 79 - HOTD S01E01 The Heirs of the Dragon w/ Eliah Nelson
This week on Game of Groans, Emily and Kate are joined by Eliah Nelson from Super Bracket Bros to talk about House of the Dragon Episode 1 of Season 1, The Heirs of the Dragon. They discuss weird vibes, good CGI dragons, too many council meetings, really bad communicators, GOT nostalgia, big…
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Ep. 78 - Current House of the Dragon Knowledge
This week on Game of Groans, Emily and Kate list everything they collectively know about House of the Dragon before starting to watch the series. They discuss the Aryan race of Game of Thrones, Hot Fuzz, British actors and incest. Additionally, Kate explains why she didn't want to watch HOTD...
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Ep. 77 - Voicemails and Quizzes
This week on Game of Groans, Emily and Kate react to listener voicemails and then take some Game of Thrones character quizzes. They discuss bad acting from Bran, Vin Diesel, that chapter books should have numbered chapters, love gets everyone killed in GOT, an Olenna Tyrell backstory would be…
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Ep. 76 - The Last Watch Documentary
This week on Game of Groans, Emily and Kate talk about The Last Watch, the HBO Max Documentary. They discuss spoilers for Frozen 2, table read politics, actors on Cameo, the heroes of the documentary, the dope wrap jackets, the sad looking Ghost head and how stressed everyone was. Additionally,...
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Ep. 75 - Recap and Review
This week on Game of Groans, Emily and Kate talk about Game of Thrones as an entire series, Emily's prior "knowledge" of GOT, as well as some links and videos pertaining to GOT. They discuss Kit Harrington and Rose Leslie's wedding, the Coldplay Game of Thrones Musical, practical effects and…
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Ep. 74 - S08E06 The Iron Throne (Series Finale)
This week on Game of Groans, Emily and Kate talk about the series finale Episode 6 of Season 8, The Iron Throne. They discuss the short recap, the happiest Dany has ever looked, red flags, dramatic irony, evil dictator vibes, democracy, Tyrion’s joke from season 1, what happened to Arya’s horse,...
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Ep. 73 - S08E05 The Bells w/ Jay Davis
This week on Game of Groans, Emily and Kate are joined by Jay Davis from Super Bracket Bros to talk about Episode 5 of Season 8, The Bells. They discuss Hunchback of Notre Dame, the reserve Dothrakis, aggressive dog breeds, Arya’s concussion count, Rotten Tomatoes scores, unnecessary scenes,...
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Ep. 72 - S08E04 The Last of the Starks w/ Andrew Kimball
This week on Game of Groans, Emily and Kate are joined by Andrew Kimball from Your Friendly Neighborhood Gamers to talk about Episode 4 of Season 8, The Last of the Starks. They discuss that winter has ended, Mean Girls, loose ends that don’t need to be wrapped up, giant horses, how Jon would be…
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Ep. 71 - S08E03 The Long Night w/ Nav
This week on Game of Groans, Emily and Kate are joined by Nav from A Song of Ice and Fire Symposium to talk about Episode 3 of Season 8, The Long Night. They discuss the lack of dialogue, if GOT were a horror movie, Breaking Bad, sad piano music, Beric's crucifixion pose, Marvel's Endgame, and…
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Ep. 70 - S08E02 A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms w/ Sarah Sheppard
This week on Game of Groans, Emily and Kate are joined by close friend Sarah Sheppard to talk about Episode 2 of Season 8, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. They discuss how people respond when doom is inevitable, fast travel, "peak" Cersei, Bridgerton, closure for Jorah, Tiktok fan edits, Jaime...
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Ep. 69 - S08E01 Winterfell
This week on Game of Groans, Emily and Kate talk about Episode 1 of Season 8, Winterfell. They discuss episode length for the final season, the Fast and Furious movies, a well-done recap, Euron's manic confidence, Jon not knowing how to talk to girls again, the Saw movies, all of Bran's weird eye...
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Ep. 68 - S07E07 The Dragon and the Wolf w/ Andrew Kimball
This week on Game of Groans, Emily and Kate are joined by Andrew Kimball from Your Friendly Neighborhood Gamers to talk about Episode 7 of Season 7, The Dragon and the Wolf. They discuss this being the longest episode to date, Jaime's puppy-dog eyes, Godzilla's atomic breath, beautiful music...
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The Unforgiving Wheel of Christmas Songs - A SBBCU Holiday Special
It's time once again for the Super Bracket Bros, The Friendly Neighborhood Gamers, Game of Groans, and The Wait For It podcast to gather around a holiday topic and argue about it. This year the gang aims to find out what the best Christmas song of all time is. It goes about as well as you would...
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Ep. 67 - S07E06 Beyond the Wall w/ Dylan Wren
This week on Game of Groans, Emily and Kate are joined by Dylan Wren from Your Friendly Neighborhood Gamers podcast to talk about Episode 6 of Season 7, Beyond the Wall. They discuss inconsistent body-counts, a lovestruck Tormund, how fast ravens can fly, Dany's second amendment rights, Arya…
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Ep. 66 - S07E05 Eastwatch w/ Eliah Stokes
This week on Game of Groans, Emily and Kate are joined by Eliah Stokes from Super Bracket Bros to talk about Episode 5 of Season 7, Eastwatch. They discuss weird little guys, fast travel, the goth season, Robin Hood: Men in Tights, fantasy tropes, wholesome dude energy, operation zombie drop…
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Ep. 65 - S07E04 The Spoils of War w/ Allison
This week on Game of Groans, Emily and Kate are joined by Allison to talk about Episode 4 of Season 7, The Spoils of War. They discuss Stranger Things, Dany's pride, that this show still hates horses, Sansa can't fight her own battles, Davos correcting grammar, Stark kid reunions, murder daggers,...
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Ep. 64 - S07E03 The Queen's Justice w/ Sarah Sheppard
This week on Game of Groans, Emily and Kate are joined by Sarah Sheppard to talk about Episode 3 of Season 7, The Queen’s Justice. They discuss Dragon House comparisons, Varys's comfy coat, Ocean's Eleven, the goth season of GOT, fast travel, post-murder blowjobs, Cersei friend-zoning Euron, the...
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Ep. 63 - S07E02 Stormborn w/ Chase Bateman
This week on Game of Groans, Emily and Kate are joined by Emily’s husband Chase Bateman to talk about Episode 2 of Season 7, Stormborn. They discuss Melisandre’s prophecy, who the Warden of the South is, Chase not taking notes, a giant crossbow, Euron embodying chaotic evil, Umbrella Academy…
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Ep. 62 - S07E01 Dragonstone
This week on Game of Groans, Emily and Kate about Episode 1 of Season 7, Dragonstone. They discuss Season 7 hype, the Barbie movie, ED SHEERAN, Sam and Gilly’s rent, shaved heads, Little Caesar’s Pizza, Breath of the Wild, Jim Broadbent’s acting career and zombie movie logic. Additionally, Emily…
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Ep. 61 - S06E10 The Winds of Winter w/ Nav
This week on Game of Groans, Emily and Kate are joined by Nav from A Song of Ice and Fire Symposium to talk about Episode 10 of Season 6, The Winds of Winter. They discuss the amazing soundtrack, Cersei being a bad mom, Sweeney Todd, the Targaryen flag, Broadchurch, Dany’s breakup and Emily’s…
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Ep. 60 - S06E09 Battle of the Bastards w/ Eric Silver
This week on Game of Groans, Emily and Kate are joined by Eric Silver from Join the Party, Games and Feelings and Tell Me About It to talk about Episode 9 of Season 6, Battle of the Bastards. They discuss GOT at the height of its popularity, Jon's motley crew, the Bechdel test, rebirth, show…
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Ep. 59 - S06E08 No One
This week on Game of Groans, Emily and Kate talk about Episode 8 of Season 6, No One. They discuss whether the world of Westeros is flat, The Hound as John Wick, Mission Impossible, the business model of the House of Black and White, the Cabbage Guy, Tommen doing his best, the height of the…
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Ep. 58 - S06E07 The Broken Man
This week on Game of Groans, Emily and Kate talk about Episode 7 of Season 6, The Broken Man. They discuss American Gods the tv show, the fact that Cersei is the drama, Davos has girl-dad vibes, the best outlook on religion and that Jaime is hot when he is in charge. Additionally, Emily didn't...
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Ep. 57 - S06E06 Blood of My Blood
This week on Game of Groans, Emily and Kate talk about Episode 6 of Season 6, Blood of My Blood. They discuss that drifting a dragon would be dope, Podrick would be a good wingman, Walder Frey’s reappearance, and that most of the show is Bran’s fault. Additionally, Emily is disappointed in Sam,...
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Ep. 56 - S06E05 The Door w/ Andrew Kimball and Dylan Wren
This week on Game of Groans, Emily and Kate are joined by Andrew Kimball and Dylan Wren from Your Friendly Neighborhood Gamers to talk about Episode 5 of Season 6, The Door. They discuss the face library, honest portrayals of theater people, sick mutton chops, the Mystery Men movie, driftwood...
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Ep. 55 - S06E04 Book of the Stranger
This week on Game of Groans, Emily and Kate talk about Episode 4 of Season 6, Book of the Stranger. They discuss fantasy Australia, crafting, Carrie Underwood vibes, Jorah being a sloppy bitch, the Lion King and Bluey. Additionally, Emily loves that Grey Worm and Missandei are voicing their...
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Ep. 54 - S06E03 Oathbreaker
This week on Game of Groans, Emily and Kate talk about Episode 3 of Season 6, Oathbreaker. They discuss clunky swordplay, tree Jesus, fortune cookie truths, weaponized mint, the Terminator, Arya joining a cult, business casual Jaime, and the one acceptable penis joke. Additionally, Emily declares...
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Ep. 53 - S06E02 Home w/ Eliah Stokes
This week on Game of Groans, Emily and Kate are joined by Eliah Stokes from Super Bracket Bros to talk about Episode 2 of Season 6, Home. They discuss the movie Airplane, that Bran feels irrelevant, big man smashes small man, the gang fight from Anchorman, Men in Black, Arya's toxic relationship,...
About this show
Emily Bateman, a millennial woman who never got into Game of Thrones, finally sits down to watch and analyze each consecutive episode of the popular HBO show. With the help of her sister, Kate Koballa, and sometimes a guest, Emily tries to figure out what the heck is going on in the show, why it was so popular at the time and who is actually going to win the game of thrones (if there actually is a winner at the end).
Hosted by
Emily Bateman and Kate Koballa