Do you feel threatened by nukes at this moment? The threat is there, the threat is very real, but we really don't think about it that much -- unlike the '60s or the '80s.

A more apt analogy would be if the entire world agreed to disarm all nukes, destroy all centrifuges, shut down all nuclear reactors and launch all the current radioactive material into the sun. Then you wait for 300 years before asking a person if they feel threatened by nukes.

But nukes need to be maintained to be operational -- for all we know they could be as useful as the dragon skulls resting in the vaults below the Red Keep.

OK, so non-rhetorical...I want to make sure I follow. No book spoilers please, but if I'm missing something from the show let me know.
Wight - Dead person who's come back to life. Appears to be supernaturally strong and powerful, but no brain activity (zombie). Can only be killed by fire. Unsure why they come back to life, only seems to happen North of the Wall.
White Walker - Mysterious large creatures with blue eyes. Very powerful, feared, and the subject of legends and stories. Nobody knows what they are, what their origin is, or what their purpose is.
Wildlings - People living north of the Wall.
Mance Rayder - Former brother of the Night's Watch. Abandoned his post and now proclaims himself King Beyond the Wall. Has an army of wildlings. No known connection between he and the weird creatures of the North.

Correct?

Osha was the one who stated that, to Bran and (I think) Maester Lewin.

I'm pretty sure you've fully summed up all the information the show has given us except for the detail that the White Walkers (and Wights too I suppose) haven't been seen for thousands of years before now. Not sure if it has been outright stated or just implied that the Wights are brought back to life by the White Walkers.

It was stated by Sam in season 1 when they were burning them after they attacked the commander. (He read it in a book.)

That would be, "Roast Boy Without Hodor."

Thanks for the confirmation.

Pretty much. Dont forget the Giant Spiders and Dead horses.

Old Nan speaking to Bran.

"Oh, my sweet summer child.
What do you know about fear?
Fear is for the winter when the snows fall a hundred feet deep.
Fear is for the long night, when the sun hides for years and children are born and live and die, all in darkness. That is the time for fear, my little lord, when the white walkers move through the woods.

Thousands of years ago there came a night that lasted a generation.
Kings froze to death in their castles,
same as the shepherds in their huts. And women smothered their babies
rather than see them starve,
and wept and felt the tears freeze on their cheeks.
So is this the sort of story that you like?
In that darkness, the White Walkers came for the first time.
They swept through cities and kingdoms,
riding their dead horses,
hunting with their packs of pale spiders big as hounds…"

I can do without ever seeing a spider that big, thank you. Even if it's just on TV.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/LgfPYetWWJw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

^^^ Holy fuck! This is my new favorite thing ever.

God I love the Internet.

Sweet dreams

LOL. I have these in my back yard in Virginia. Freaked my wife out!

Ha! That's not nearly as big as a hound!

episode 9 is gonna be epic

HBO upped their budget for it and Neil Marshall directing it

Lol, everytime I see this thread, I read "A Man Without Hodor."

Someone needs to fashion one of these: into a Bran/Hodor costume. It would replace the Boardwalk Empire "Richard w/Phantom mask" outfit as the hottest costume in town.

I am totally expecting Exodus PII to be replaced on top of the 'the most hellish TV episode of all time' list.

Utterly brilliant.

^ ^ ^

Shame that they only got paid union scale for session work.