Entertainment News - TV

THIS ISSUE: Game of Thrones, Preacher, Fear the Walking Dead, Billboard Music Awards TOP MOMENT OF THE NIGHT Games of Thrones Shuts the Door HBO BECAUSE: HO(LD THE )DOOOOOOR! Sunday night's Game of Thrones saw Bran become a little too big for his tree-traveling britches, getting himself marked by the Night's King in the process, and exposing his crew's current whereabouts. But it was poor Hodor who suffered the consequences... in two different timelines. While Bran took one last mind trip to Winterfell, the White Walkers attacked in the present; Bran simultaneously warged into Hodor to help them escape, but also stayed in the Winterfell past, rupturing nearby young Hodor/Willis' mind with Meera's repeated command to "Hold the door!" And as it's been the only thing he's said for decades -- Hodor-the-hero doeshold-the-door, and in the process of sacrificing his life for Bran's, is attacked and killed by a swarm of wights. Game of Thrones HBO WHAT HAPPENED: This must be our comeuppance for all of last week's happiness -- not only did Bran get Hodor killed with his loosey-goosey time travel, but the White Walkers also killed the Three-Eyed-Raven in their attack (plus, we learn it was Bran's little pals, the Children of the Forest, who -- whoops! -- created the White Walkers in the first place). So yeah, Bran and Meera escaped, but now they're on their own, marked by the Night's King, with only two working legs between them. Also dealing with a newly weakened position is Yara; at the long-awaited Kingsmoot on the Iron Islands, it briefly seemed like the position of Queen would be hers with the surprisingly ardent backing of little bro Theon... that is until rakish Uncle Euron showed up and claimed the throne for himself. First task as King: kill his niece and nephew. Too bad they just escaped with all your best ships while you were getting your ceremonial drowning, pal. Flexing her own newly instated power, Sansa, when faced with Littlefinger, forces him to admit whether or not he "knew about Ramsay" and audibly acknowledge what he thinks the monster did to her. She rejects his offer of help from the Vale army and tells him she never wants to see him again. Because new Sansa kicks ass... WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING: And technically, so does her sister Arya, but the Waif and her ass-kicking staff are two fearsome opponents. Luckily, Jaqen offers Arya some reprieve in Sunday's episode, tasking her with bringing death to an actress... who just so happens to be performing in a Shakespeare-esque farce of her father's death at King's Landing -- how fun! Indeed, Sunday's episode was all about being forced into new perspectives of the past, and none so tragic as finally learning the source of Hodor's hodor-ing, only to have the character, a longtime source of joy on this particularly tragic series, taken away from us. And worse, from Bran. Dealing with his own heartbreak over Hodor's death -- actor Isaac Hempstead Wright told EW, "It incapsulates theGame of Thrones world -- the nice guys who deserve looking after don't always get it." He added, "It's going to be mortifying when it airs. Bran would literally be nowhere without him." Absolutely -- may we all Hodor to Hodor another Hodor. Preacher AMC WHAT HAPPENED: Based on the comic book series by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon, Preacher comes out of the AMC gate guns blazing, surprising laughs flowing, and with weird supernatural stuff coming out of its every crevice. The new series starring the charming Dominic West opens withsomething from "OUTER SPACE" -- yes, it's just that mysterious -- coming down to possess and occasionally explode religious leaders across the globe. Enter Jesse Custer, the prodigal preacher who returned to Annville, Texas, bringing with him with a shady past and a desire to turn over a new leaf. That's going to be easier said than done after he runs into former flame and current badass extraordinaire Priscilla Jean Henrietta O'Hare, a.k.a., Tulip. For now though, Jesse teams up with Irish vampire flight attendant (oh, sure) Cassidy to break a fella's arm who's been abusing his wife. And with that, Jesse thinks maybe he's not the best preacher for this town anymore... that is until he's hit by that invisible outer space force and inspired to stick around, unknowingly now possessing the power to make his congregants do exactly -- and we meanexactly -- as he tells them to: "This is why I've come home, to save you." WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING: In its review of Preacher's pilot, HitFix helpfully sums up critics' musings on the new series after AMC screened it back at the January press tour: For critics who'd read the comics, it was something like, "That was almost nothing like the comic, but I think I liked it?" and for those who hadn't, it was more, "I think I liked it, but I have no idea what the hell I just saw." So, either way, you're in good, if not a little confused, hands when stepping into this new show. HitFix also remarks that in the pilot, "There's a confidence to the visual style and tone from the opening shot ... This isn't a show apologizing for the fact that it's not a mega-budget summer movie; it's one that's leaning into its more modest resources as part of its aesthetic." Go on and lean in, Preacher... this is one bumpy ride we want to be a part of. Fear the Walking Dead AMC WHAT HAPPENED: Fear the Walking Dead's midseason finale had a lot -- and we mean, a lot, especially by FTWD standards -- going on, so let's keep this simple, shall we? Madison straight up zombie-murdered their reluctant host Celia because she wasn't enjoying the creepy connection Celia had made with Nick. Travis headed out into the wild to track down Chris, and when he did, he found Chris holding a young boy at gunpoint in an attempt to avoid being found. Needless to say, Travis thinks they need a little more bonding time in the woods before he can take his son back to the rest of the crew... the rest of the crew, where everyone else is pretty much equally going crazy. Daniel, spurred on by more visions, including ones of his dead wife Griselda, grabs some gasoline, douses the compound, lights a match, and burns down the entire damn thing. Strand grabs Madison, Alicia, and Ofelia on his way out of dodge, but Nick refuses to join the escape, opting to walk out into the land of the dead instead. WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING: So the last we see of Daniel, he's surrounded by flames of his own making -- but you know what they say about not actually seeing a character die, especially if that character is on a Walking-Dead-adjacent show. Take it from the FTWD showrunner himself, Dave Erickson: "We don't see Daniel burn, and that's intentional. I think what's important at the end of the midseason is that it's the impact on Ofelia and the rest of the characters that Daniel's gone. ... From my perspective, in terms of the arc of the show, this is not the last we see of Daniel Salazar. He will be done for the season. We won't be seeing Daniel in the back half, but my hope is we will see the return of Daniel in season 3." Well that was just... a lot more specific than we were expecting -- and we'll take it! One More Thing... The Billboard Music Awards Got the Beat ABC QUEEN CELINE: There were a number of huge moments at this year's Billboard Music Awards -- The Go-Go's reuniting, for instance -- but you simply must see Celine Dion sing Queen's "The Show Must Go On" shortly before dedicating her ICON Award to her late husband: "Rene, this one's for you. The show must go on."