Dramatic television series keeps viewers on edge

Television this semester has included a riveting slew of episodes, from the powerful flapping of Daenerys’ dragons’ wings in “Game of Thrones” to Peggy Olson taking over the stereotypical “Don Draper” role in “Mad Men.”

Through all of the drama, viewers have stood by their favorite television stars, eagerly waiting for upcoming episodes.

“Game of Thrones”

With each revolution of the metal crank, stabbing pain courses through Theon Greyjoy’s body, causing him to scream. His captor reveals little about his whereabouts, leaving Greyjoy just as confused and anxious for answers as the audience at the end of the second episode of the third season of HBO’s hit series “Game of Thrones.”

As most season finales do, last season’s cliffhanger left viewers with questions. Will Robb Stark find continued success on the battlefield? Will Daenerys Targaryen’s dragons provide enough firepower to land her a seat on the Iron Throne? Will the looming army of White Walkers — or King Mance Rayder’s wildlings — make it past the wall and into the heartland of Westeros?

So far, season three has given us little solace, presenting the audience with more characters and closely interwoven plot lines rather than providing answers. The war has largely taken a backseat, as Khaleesi — the name the Dothraki gave to Daenerys — attempts to buy her army and Stark attempts to deal with the distractions Greyjoy caused in the north and the difficulties of having a new wife. Lady Stark’s bold move to send the King Slayer back to King’s Landing has presented us with the most bloodshed thus far, as the fearless female knight Brienne of Tarth continues her escort mission.

Though the first two episodes of this season have been fairly dull, they have laid the groundwork for an exciting season, one which already has its fair share of new characters and plot twists. There’s Margaery Tyrell, who has seemingly won King Joffrey’s cold heart as part of her secret attempt to gain power.

Arya Stark’s attempt at moving in secret was foiled by the mysterious Brotherhood without Banners, which has put her face-to-face with Sandor “The Hound” Clegane, who has abandoned King’s Landing and Joffrey’s service. And let’s not forget the newest additions to Bran Stark’s moving clan: a brother-sister duo that came out of nowhere to provide one of the most intriguing developments yet, which is saying something for a show such as “Game of Thrones.”

Things are just heating up in Westeros (and beyond the Narrow Sea), but for now, audiences worldwide will have to wait for the various players to make their respective moves.

“Arrested Development”

In late May, TV’s most endearingly sociopathic family is set to return to television sets and computer screens in an effort to wrap up what has become an often binge-watched case study of depravity and blue body paint.

The “Arrested Development” cult following will receive its reward for seven years of patience when the show’s fourth season is released in its straight-to-Netflix format. At 12:01 a.m. on May 26, 15 episodes will become available for streaming.

The fourth season picks up chronicling the times and tribulations of the Bluth family. “Arrested Development” will uphold its authentic sheen, as creator Mitchell Hurwitz is still in charge of telling the story of the Bluth’s half-baked efforts to avoid prison time, or worse — poverty.

At the end of season three as his family is implicated in accounting and finance fraud charges, Michael Bluth, played by Jason Bateman, chooses to flee to Mexico with little more than half a million dollars in cashier’s checks, his brother’s yacht and his ever-awkward son, George Michael.

The series has seen George Michael, played by Michael Cera, go through his fair share of neurotic insecurity and tabooed attraction to his cousin, Maeby. But as the Bluths celebrate the discovery that the family’s patriarch, George Michael Sr., built mini mansions in Iraq for the CIA to use for covert information gathering, thereby annulling some of the charges brought against him, it comes to light that Maeby’s mother was adopted.

But before the two youngsters can appropriately relish the discovery that they aren’t actually blood relatives, the recently adopted Korean son of Lucille Bluth, the family’s mother, dramatically announces that he has blown the lid off the family’s illicit monetary actions. This is all an act of retribution, as he says that the Bluth family stole his grandfather’s idea for a frozen-banana stand.

As Michael Sr. and George Michael head to the Baja Peninsula and leave the rest of the show’s characters to their own devices, the end of season three leaves much of the show’s mainstays in a state of flux.

Season four, however, looks to change that, with each episode focusing on one character at a time, all in a simultaneous time frame. The episodes are not necessarily in chronological order because the events of each episode will technically occur at the same time, though it can’t be determined if that invalidates the traditional chronological approach to watching episodes.

The promotional material available has proved reticent, and it’s still somewhat difficult to determine exactly what will happen in the fourth season. The season has been marketed as an after-the-fact rundown of where the characters are now.

Despite being somewhat shrouded in mystery, the fourth season of “Arrested Development” represents a monumental win for its fan base, which was unsure of the series’ future for a long time.

Most promising is season four’s important role in bridging the gap between the television series and a full-length movie that is also on the horizon.

Details are fuzzy on that future project, but season four’s connecting role will make it that much more beloved, especially after depriving the world of Will Arnett and David Cross’ signature characters — Gob and Tobias — for so long.

“Mad Men”

The immaculately dressed and impossibly masculine men of AMC’s award-winning ’60s-era drama “Mad Men” returned for their sixth season this summer.

Last season left off with some gruesome surprises and the heartbreaking departure of Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce’s shining lead copywriter, Peggy Olson. Meanwhile, the newly married candidate for man of the millennium, Don Draper, continues to battle the demons viewers have been subtly led to believe were gone.

The sixth season’s cinematic two-hour premiere is a jump cut of sorts, showing the characters a few months from the last season’s end. The office now has a new floor, Joan Harris is morbidly stoic after the backroom deal that made her a partner, and Roger Sterling is airing out his issues with a therapist after receiving news of two deaths in a short span of time.

It has been announced that the seventh season of “Mad Men” will be its last, making this current season the primer for what surely will be a fantastic conclusion. And if there are any cues audiences should take from the latest episode, someone is going to die.

From Draper’s accidental evocation of suicide in an advertising pitch and Roger Sterling’s obsession with his own mortality, viewers this season can be sure to expect another shocking demise.