The Game of Thrones Round Table returns today with a new type of panelist: TV Fanatic veteran Dan Forcella.  While Dan is no stranger to Round Tables, he is to the George R. R. Martin novels.

Dan comes to join our fans of the book as he offers a unique perspective as a regular viewer.  So let's go head down the "The Kingsroad" and discuss last night's episode!

1. Favorite Game of Thrones quote from the episode?

Carissa P: "There's great honor serving in the Night's Watch. The Starks have manned the wall for thousands of years, and you are a Stark. You may not have my name, but you have my blood."

Dan F: "Give my regards to the Night's Watch. I'm sure it will be thrilling. And if it's not, it's only for life."

Jim G: Jon: "First lesson, stick em with the pointy end. Arya: "I know which end to use."  With the pace change from the book to the show, we didn't get to learn how close Jon and Arya are. I thought the exchange this came from was awesome as it took the time let us know how close they were.

Eric H: Almost everything out of Tyrion's mouth.  "And go celibate? The whores would go begging from Casterly Rock. I just want to stand on the edge and piss off the end of the world."

2. Which was hotter: Dany with Khal Drogo or with her handmaid?

Carissa P: Definitely with Khal. The way he looked at her, as if for the first time, was so sexy. I was so glad she asked for help from her handmaid. God knows she needed something to spark things up. Something tells me Khal will be looking for more where that came from.

Jim G: I am going with Khal Drogo, about 1/3 the way into it, you can see she wasn't performing just for Drogo anymore. I think Drogo saw this as well. I think interesting things will come from their now truly consummated union.

Dan F: With all due respect to Carissa and Jim, I'm going with Dany and the handmaid.  Always something about the mentor/mentee relationship that will get ya.

Eric H: As the resident TV Fanatic creep, I'll also go with Dany and her handmaid.  Nothing like some girl-on-girl.

3. Do you feel sorry for Sansa that she lost Lady, or do you hate her for betraying Arya?

Carissa P: I feel sorry for Lady for dying because her owner was unwilling to tell the truth to protect her (or her sister Nymeria) or her actual family. Thinking of what happened to Lady breaks my heart, and Nymeria, too. I always side with the animals. What Sansa did borders on unforgivable, but I'll give her a pass only because she's a silly, dimwitted teenage girl with the words "future queen" hanging in front of her. She's a girly girl. Don't they all want to be princesses? Arya is more my type. No silly crown for her, just her Needle and a bad attitude.

Dan F: Definitely the second.  Although it was obvious that she wasn't going to protect her sister, I still wanted to slap her across the face when she didn't stay loyal to the Family Stark.  Ned killing Lady was truly sad.  As a guy who hasn't read the books, how awesome are these wolves?!.

Jim G: I feel for Ned, he is so loyal to Robert that he would kill the sigil of his house without any thoughts of alternate actions. That type of blind devotion can be good, but can also lead you into places that it is hard to come back from!

Eric H: I see where you're coming from Carissa in that she is just a teenage girl with a dream of being Queen so close to her, but yuck.  Never betray family.

4. Especially for Dan, did you think it was obvious or confusing that Ned, Sansa, Arya and the King's men were on their journey to King' s Landing as events took place?

Dan F: Yeah I thought it was obvious enough.  I knew that it took months to get their because of how long the King and Queen said they were riding for in the premiere.  What was interesting to me was how long it had been since the end of the premiere.  When it was mentioned that Cat had been at Bran's side for over a month, I thought "that was quick."

Carissa P: Even when reading the book I had a difficult time with the two month ride back to King's Landing. Geographically speaking, I wonder how far it is? Or if it just takes two months because they're all too high born to ride more than two hours or so a day.

Jim G: I think they could have made a point that they had stopped in a small town to rest. It was hinted at with the reference to the butcher and the butchers boy, but, it could have easily been the outskirts of Kings Landing.

Eric H: I guess it just stuck out to me because, like Carissa, I had a hard time picturing the long journey back to King's Landing while reading the book.  Now, in the series, it felt even more bizarre as they were just kind of thrown on this long road with so many adventures happening during daylight while they should be moving!  Two friggin' months without a King or Hand back at King's Landing!?

5. Especially for non-Dans, what did you think about the differences from the book?

Dan F: You tell me people.

Carissa P:  I think they work really well. In a book, you can't look to nuances (with Catelyn and Jon for instance) to express feelings. On screen that works great. I also loved the scene between Jaime and Jon. It fit as if it should have been in the book, and I was lucky enough to share my opinion on that very topic with George R. R. Martin. He was happy to hear it.

Jim G: So far the only thing I am really sad we are missing from the book was the discussion between Ned and Cat about Jon Snow and why they let him take the black. I think that missing discussion explains a lot about her venom towards him above and beyond the comment she made to Ned about coming back with another woman's child. But, given how well they have paced the show, I can forgive a few little things.

Eric H: I was more than okay with the addition of Jon and Jaime's new scene and cutting out so many of the boring scenes between Catelyn and Bran.  I feel like the pacing of this episode was a lot closer to the book than the first episode, which seemed rushed to get to the cliffhanger of Bran's fall.  Oh and kudos for the brilliant ending of episode two on Bran waking up.  It's like George R.R. Martin wrote this book with these transitions in mind :)

Eric Hochberger is the programmer of TV Fanatic, so please forgive his mediocre writing. His programming is far better. Follow him on Twitter and/or email him. Just don't request threaded comments. They're coming.