'Game of Thrones' 17 Emmy Nominations Dissected

It's no surprise that he's been nominated; Dinklage has been killing the role of Tyrion since season one. But he already won an Emmy for the role in 2011, and the only show that the Emmys like to shower repeat awards on is Modern Family, so it's not a safe bet.

The Khaleesi is up against some pretty big names in this category -- Christina Hendricks, Christine Baranski, Maggie Smith (who practically eats Emmys for breakfast as the Dowager Countess on Downton Abbey). Personally, I think Clarke was definitely snubbed in season one, in which the actress deftly handled some of Daenerys' biggest character transformations. Also, homegirl responded to her nomination in Dothraki.

So much yes. Rigg plays The Queen of Thorns (a.k.a Olenna Redwyne a.k.a Margery's grandmother a.k.a The Queen of Sass) on the series, and not only does she carry out her stinging one-liners perfectly, she's given even more great lines than the ones she has in the book.

This is Game of Throne's moment to shine. It's the episode that caused hearts to be broken around the world, but more importantly, it's the most important moment in the series. The show pulled this moment off with just the right amount of tension (although I wish we could've seen the part where Catelyn basically hallucinates from grief), and receiving an Emmy would be a testament to George Martin's realistic sensibility.

I mean, it's cool that Sansa's fab braids can get an award, but I won't exactly be glued to my television for these moments: Outstanding Interactive Program, Outstanding Art Direction For A Single-Camera Series, Outstanding Casting For A Drama Series, Outstanding Cinematography For A Single-Camera Series, Outstanding Costumes For A Series, Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing For A Drama Series, Outstanding Hairstyling For A Single-Camera Series, Outstanding Makeup For A Single-Camera Series (Non-Prosthetic), Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup For A Series, Miniseries, Movie Or A Special, Outstanding Sound Editing For A Series, Outstanding Sound Mixing For A Comedy Or Drama Series (One Hour), Outstanding Special Visual Effects.

Oh, I don't know ... maybe the woman who had to lose her son and have her throat cut in the span of one episode? I mean, Michelle Fairley was the spitting image of Cat already — tough, but feminine, moral, but not above being unreasonable. And her performance in "The Rains of Castamere" was so good, people were already predicting an Emmy win for her. So what gives?