Episode: Game of Thrones 1.03 - "Lord Snow"
Original Air Date: May 1, 2011
Shortly after arriving at King`s Landing, Ned discovers that the Crown has been seriously wasteful with its resources from his new set of advisors. At the Wall and Castle Black, Jon Snow takes his anger from what being of the Night`s Watch really means out on the greener recruits.
Catelyn makes good on her son and covertly follows her husband to King`s Landing. Once there, she is intercepted by Petyr Baelish ("Littlefinger"), a shrewd longtime friend and one of the Hand`s advisors. At the postulation of her father, Arya gets a dance instructor. On the route to Vaes Dothrak, Daenerys finds herself at increasing odds with her brother, Viserys.
Ned and the girls have it to King`s Landing, and right off the bat he`s called into business. I liked when the pageboy asked him if Ned wanted to convert into something else, and Ned just looks at him like he`s just said the most preposterous thing in the world. He is so not into the whole showiness of this place. What also becomes apparent rather quickly is that Ned is really often out of his depth when he eventually meets with the advisors (Robert`s youngest brother Renly, Petyr Baelish, Varys the eunuch, and Grand Maester Pycelle). Robert decrees by letter that there should be a tourney in respect of Ned being the new Deal of the King. This doesn`t sit comfortably with Ned for a pair of reasons: 1. He thinks it`s a blow of time to do this for him because he doesn`t need it; 2. When Baelish tells him the Top is a crap load of money in debt (mostly to the Lannisters), he flips out at the opinion of going still further into debt for this. He says he will talk Robert out of it, but the ease of the advisors don`t appear too convinced. It felt like this was a wake up call for Ned to what has been passing on with the Queen he serves so loyally. It`s all very opposite to what goes on up in the North, and not merely is he appalled that Robert is squandering the money of the land away but besides that it doesn`t appear that his advisors have attempted to reason with him or discontinue him. Though, with the sort of guy Robert is, I suppose that would hardly be a Sisyphus-like task that at best would only aggravate you and at worse would probably end your head up on a spike.
We likewise got to see Ned and the girls settling into the Tower of the Pass at the Red Keep, and things aren`t going so good after the events on the route to King`s Landing. Fortunately or unfortunately (depending on which characters you wish and if you`ve read the book), Ned seems to concentrate more on making Arya understand what`s going on and how she needs to do instead of having the conversation with the older daughter or both together. While he buys Sansa a present (a finely crafted doll), it fails to attain the reply he had hoped for. Having been a teenage girl for a list of years, I can say that while it`s irritating to watch, this has been a perfect portrait of a teenaged girl. They are moody, snotty, insolent toward their parents and siblings when they really shouldn`t be, they`re stuck in that level of wanting to be more adult than they are or may be set for, and will sometimes side irrationally with the target of their affections despite everything else saying they shouldn`t.
Add all that to Lady being killed, and she`s bound to be excessive in things. Ned has more luck with Arya, and that power be because Arya is much younger and besides not into growing up to be a lady and is more of a tomboy. He explains to her why Sansa had to hesitate in presence of the King, and that the word "Winter is coming" means more than simply the season. She is told that they are in danger, no doubt, and it`s release to get even worse in the times ahead. While she may be wild with Sansa now, he reminds her they are sisters and family has to get together in order to survive this. He finds out about Needle and let`s her hold it, even tells her that she should be taught how to use it properly. Ending the sequence with Syrio Forel giving Arya her first "dancing" lesson was wonderful for me. I`m not certain how to excuse it, but there is so often that I refer to with Arya, and beholding her get to see how to do "boy" things like wield a sword from Syrio just makes me smile. I enjoy it. There are so many awesome and howling and devastating things that occur in these stories that would be big to see on screen, but those two training is come one for me. The evidence could be off now, and it would suck, but I`d be glad that I got to see that.
Over at Castle Black, Jon isn`t doing so good to start with. He`s a little angry, you might say, with what the Night`s Watch and Castle Black turned out to be. Basically, the site is in shambles and the View itself is made up of castaways, rapists, thieves, and the care and all of them are either old men or very young men with no training. Being the only raise with actual training, Jon takes his frustration out on the faces of his soon-to-be brothers. Which leads to him about getting gutted by them in the armory. Tyrion intercedes and fills him in on the background on some of those recruits he was humiliating in the yard, and as it turns out, they had it rough before coming to Castle Black, but it doesn`t appear to pass in with Jon just yet. Later, he gets his first look beyond the Wall and has a mouth with Benjen. Benjen tells him that out here, you`re better than no one and "a man gets what he earns when he earns it". Before heading off to get set for his ride beyond the Wall, he promises to speak more with Jon when he gets back. The future we see Jon, he`s training the recruits he was beating up previously. Biggest disappointment here again is the want of Ghost. I`m starting to inquire if the multitude making this show forgot that Touch is essentially a piece of Jon. All the dire wolves are a voice of the Stark child they go to. It`s frustrating they are not being represented hardly at all when they are a vast piece of these characters` stories and are hugely symbolic.
Tyrion, meanwhile, is taking it all in, the stories of the place, the people, everything. He even thinks the Wall and everything is a bit of a joke, and yet tells Benjen that he has great respect for the men here but he just doesn`t believe there are giants and grumpkins and white walkers out there. Benjen tries to make him a reality check, but I don`t believe it actually took. I do enjoy Tyrion so often and his ready wit and his jests, but I see it difficult to think that someone who`s mind is their weapon would seemingly dismiss what Benjen had to say. Before he heads back to King`s Landing with Yoren (who`s going to garner more recruits), he stops to actually pee off the face of the Wall like he said he would, talks to Jon, and hears from Lord Commander Mormont and Maester Aemon that things are terrible at Castle Black and is asked to speak to Cersei about getting some real help out there. The mouth he had with Jon was short, but he asks Tyrion to check in on Bran for him and I look like these two make an agreement of sorts if not a friendship.
Catelyn and Ser Rodrik make it into King`s Landing but not as stealthy as they thinking they had because they are taken directly to see Lord Baelish. At his brothel. We already know that Littlefinger had eyes for Catelyn many days ago, but you can say that he`s still carrying that torch. Varys is really the one who knew Catelyn was coming (this guy has "little birds" everywhere and knows practically everything), and eve knew about the knife. Turns out the knife used to go to Littlefinger, but he missed it in a bet to Tyrion. Later on, Littlefinger brings Ned to Catelyn and convinces them both not to act on their charge against Tyrion just yet as they haven`t any material proof, which is true. Catelyn claims that Littlefinger will serve them and that she trusts him, but I`m not sure why. Plain as day on that case that he would go on you in a heartbeat. At this point, I don`t think Ned trusts him as far as he could make him.
Across the Narrow Sea, Daenerys is start to get more like a khaleesi and less like the timid, scared girl she was. Up until she orders the khalasar to check for a second and Viserys takes that as her ordering him to do something. Which is a horrendous act in his head because he`s the Power of Westeros and she`s just someone he`s whoring out to get an army. He attempts to physically bully her (grabbing her by the pharynx and pointing his blade at her face), and that doesn`t end well for him. Rakharo, the Dothraki warrior assigned to guard Daenerys, disables him and tells her that he can pop him now if she wants. Daenerys pleads, then commands them not to defeat him. Rakharo does what he is told, but shames Viserys by making him walk behind the khalasar instead of riding his horse. Wake up claim to Viserys as he finds out that he may have bought an army with his sister, but he did not buy their loyalty. Not even Jorah Mormont is firm to him at this point. After they make camp, Irri (Daenerys`s handmaiden) notices that Daenerys is pregnant. When Jorah hears this, he now sets off for Qohor, telling Rakharo that he will catch up with the khalasar on its way to Vaes Dothraki. Curious thing to do. The instancy of his actions make me wonder what he needs to get at Qohor or who he`s telling of the pregnancy.
There were so many other things that happened in this episode, that I could go on forever. All the scenes with Jamie were add-ons/not in the word and all of them were wild and really dropped hints at his character. I particularly liked the war stories with Robert scene. Having him allude to the "fire them all" phrase the Mad King was saying before he killed him was an interesting choice for a picture that, at the time, hadn`t been green lit for more than one season. The prospect with Cersei and Joffery said A LOT about each character, and none of it well in my opinion. We also rule out that Bran doesn`t think anything about his fall. Still no credit to the ambition that woke him up, but he is a little philosophical when Robb mentions a story Nan told him near the sky being downcast because they lived in the blue eye of a giant. He`s also feel like waking up alive is more savage than being dead. After this little scene, I cannot even believe this is Isaac Hempstead-Wright`s first major tv role. This kid was amazing with the way he delivered, "I`d sooner be idle" to Robb. Can`t wait until he starts to get support in the story more.
Rating: 4 / 5 Stars
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