And the Fandom Rejoiced/Game of Thrones


 * Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister. Sean Bean as Ned Stark was almost met with as much praise, and most of the other casting is also loved by fans. Ian Mc Neice as Illyrio and Rory Mc Cann as The Hound were two where the fans rejoiced but the characters weren't as important.
 * Ronan Dex as Khal Drogo anyone?
 * Harry Lloyd being cast as Viserys also caused a bit of squee for those who saw him being awesomely insane and creepy as a possessed Jerk Jock in Doctor Who.
 * Charles Dance, yet another fan favorite, cast as Tywin Lannister.
 * And then the second teaser and behind-the-scenes peek happened. Oh god. Early reactions are comparable to that original Fellowship-over-the-ridge teaser for the Lord of the Rings movies.
 * Fans of The Wire rejoice! Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish will be played by Aidan Gillen, who played Tommy Carcetti in season three onwards. The man knows how to do despicable-yet-convincing!
 * And, after the release of the Artisans video with Maisie Williams, the young actress set to play Arya, the fandom rejoiced yet again.
 * The announcment that Natalie Dormer has been cast as as Margaery Tyrell elicited much rejoicing from the fandom. Of course, YMMV, as this is also a bit of a Base Breaker between those who think a 29 year old actress is too old to play a character which is 16 in the books and should be about 19 in the show, versus those who do not care because they think she is a good actress.
 * Gwendoline Christie was a longtime fan favourite for the role of Brienne, so when she was announced as having been cast in the role it made a large number of people very happy.
 * Hannah Murray (of Skins) will be Gilly!
 * The episode that GRRM will be writing in Season Two? The provisional title is "Blackwater". According to George R. R. Martin's blog, the episode will be directed by Neil Marshall, who is famous for directing Dog Soldiers, The Descent, Doomsday and Centurion.
 * The producers also got HBO to give the whole season a 15% budget increase, raising hopes even further about how big the battle could be. And then came the epic tease of it in the Seven Devils trailer.
 * Roose Bolton mentioning his "bastard at the Dreadfort."
 * "You know nothing, Jon Snow" is finally uttered in "A Man Without Honor."
 * We get to hear Bronn and a barracks of Lannister soldiers sing "The Rains of Castamere" in "Blackwater." It also repeats at the end of the episode during the credits, performed by The National.
 * Double if you are book fan and know the implications of that song. That end credit song was for us.
 * The news that Shireen Baratheon, Beric Dondarrion (re-cast), Thoros of Myr, Olenna Redwyne aka the Queen of Thorns, Meera Reed, Jojen Reed, and of course Ser Brynden Tully aka the BLACKFISH will be cast for Season 3.
 * Tyrion using a battleaxe and finally being seen fighting in battle.