Game of Thrones 1/4 Cripples, Bastards and Broken Things

The episode opens with Bran walking through a courtyard, a crow leading him towards some secret. It turns out that this is a dream sequence, and as the boy awakes we are aware that his memory of his fall remains elusive. Will the dreams lead him to the truth of what happened?

Then Tyrion Lannister turns up at Winterfall and seeks an audience with the serving Lord Stark. He is received coldly but thanked for his kindness when he presents the plans for a special saddle that will allow the cripple, Bren to ride a horse.

 We're almost at the mid season point and the makers are laying on twist after twist, as the plot deepens. We also see much more of Jon's involvement with the Night's Watch and he becomes a friend and protector to a useless recruit, Sam Tarly. The provides for some great character moments between the two and we learn a lot about Jon's character from a conversation about women that the two men share.

During all this Ned Stark is starting to dig deeper into the death of the previous King's Hand Jon Arryn and he comes across a book Arryn had requested from the city library shortly before his death. The book is a history of the great families.Later Littlfinger warns Ned to keep the details of  his investigation a secret. Does Littlefinger know what is going on and why Jon Arryn was killed?

The episode ends with Tyrion Lannister captured by Catalyn Stark who is convinced Tyrion is guilty of the attack on her son.

Although we get a lot of info dumps in this episode, the story still manages to move forward and also introduces a few new characters. The climax of the episode is excellent and contains plenty of that, 'WOW' factor that only the best shows have. 9/10 for this one.

Game of Thrones 1/3 - Lord Snow

Lord Snow
Written by D B Weiss and David Benioff

A great episode that adds many layers to an already complicated plot - Jon Snow struggles to fit in with the Night Watch and finds himself unpopular with the other new recruits who envy him his privileged upbringing. The fact that he is a far superior swordsmen than they are only serveS to make him even more of an outsider. We also see Ned Stark and his daughters arriving at King's Landing and as soon as Ned starts his duties as King's Hand he discovers that the realm is heavily in debt to the Lannister family.

The cliffhanger from the previous episode is left hanging as we discover that Bran Stark is indeed awake but can't remember the circumstances of his fall. The boy will be left crippled from the fall and it is expected that he will never walk again. Later we learn that Veserys is pregnant with Khal Drogo's child.

Catelyn Stark and Ser Rodrik arrive at King's Landing and attempt to sneak into the city, but are spotted by one of Littlefinger's men. They are taken to meet Littlefinger at a brothel he owns, and he swears to aid Lady Stark and it becomes apparant  that they have some history and that Littlefinger is still very much in love with her. He then brings Ned to his wife and Catelyn tells Ned that she is convinced the Lannisters are behind their son's fall.

The episode ends in King's Landing, Eddard has contracted a swordmaster, Syrio Forel, the former First Sword of Braavos, to teach Arya how to use her sword properly. - 'I am your dancing master,' he announces.

 Arya is thrilled, and 'the dance' begins. As Eddard watches them practice, he realizes that a conflict between the Starks and Lannisters is now inevitable and that  his daughter may well be training herself for war.

Episode rating 10/10 - the plot thickens and certain characters - notably Tyrion Lannister, the imp - are becoming stand outs, but at this point it is still Ned Stark who we focus upon and identify with, which makes the show all the more exceptional when you consider what will happen a few episodes down the road.

Game of Thrones Episode by Episode - 1/2 The Kingsroad

The Kingsroad
Written by David Benoff and D B Weiss

The pace slows somewhat for the second episode and we learn that Bran survived his fall (he was tossed from a window by Jamie Lannister in the first episode) but lies unconscious. Initially it doesn't look like he will survive the fall but as the days pass it becomes clear that Bran is made of stronger stuff, and although he remains unconscious it does look like he will pull through. This worries Queen Cersei who believes the boy will disclose news of  her incestuous affair with her twin brother, Jamie.And soon she is plotting Bran's death. Another element in this episode sees John Snow, Ned Stark's bastard son, leaving Winterfell to serve at the wall with the Night Watch. Later An assassin is sent to kill you Bren but he is beaten off by Bren's mother, Catelyn and a direwolf cub. The direwolf then takes up position on the unconscious boy's bed, protecting him.

Catelyn decides not to send news of  the plot to her husband, Ned who is on his way to become the Hand of the King - she decides that the information she holds is too dangerous to entrust to a raven, and so she calls together those she can trust, which includes her oldest son Robb Stark. It is decided that Catelyn herself should travel and meet with her husband who is travelling the Kingsroad towards King's Landing where he will assume the duties of Hand of the King.

We also learn more of Prince Geoffrey's character and he really is a cowardly wretch, and a sadistic one at that. A sub-plot here involves Geoffrey as he together with Sansa comes across Arya playing in the woods with a peasant boy. He gets his comeuppance though when Arya bests the prince and then the the girl's direwolf attacks him. Though he gets his revenge when the direwolf's are slaughtered and the peasant boy hunted down and killed by Geoffrey's protector, or hound as he is called here.

Elsewhere, across the Narrow Sea in the continent of Essos, the exiled, arrogant Viserys Targaryen , son of the former king whose throne was usurped, believes he still has the rightful claim to the throne. In the previous episode he  married off his younger sister, Daenerys Targaryen to  Khal Drogo, he leader of the Dothraki warrior tribe, in an exchange for an army to return to Westeros and take the throne. In this episode it becomes apparent that Daenerys is going to play a big part in the story ahead.

The episode ends with Bren suddenly opening his eyes, which sets up the cliffhanger for the next episode. I'd rate this episode 9/10, as it does drag in places but then given the incredible pace of the first episode this may have been inevitable as the world is further expanded. To sum up then an excellent episode which whilst not as thrilling as the pilot it does lay down a lot of much needed exposition.

Next 1/3 Lord Snow
Written by David Benioff and D B Weiss

The Game of Thrones - Episode by episode

The end of this month will see Game of Thrones returning for a third season, and in anticipation I picked up the season two box set which came out in the UK this week. Yesterday I started on the first season which I've already seen twice (once when it was televised and then again when the box set came out) and after that I'm gonna' continue through the second season which I've only ever seen the once.

I plan to get through the two seasons before season three kicks off, which should refresh me on the happenings in the land of Winterfell and beyond, and allow me to provide a recap episode by episode here on the Archive before the third season kicks off.

Thanks to the TV series I am a true Game of Thrones addict, and have also started reading the books - if you think the TV series is good then you should try the original books. I've read the first three books and although I found the first one a little slow to start I was soon lost in the remarkable fantasy world created by George R. R. Martin, and this world's been brought to vivid life in the TV series, which may in time come to be recognized as the best TV series ever made.

 This isn't silly fantasy but an epic adult story that just happens to take place in one of the most realistic fantasy worlds ever created -I use the word realistic which may seem strange when we're often dealing with dragons and magic, but the series does strive for realism and if there was a world where dragons existed and magic was practiced then this is what that world would look like. It comes across as more medieval than made up.

I've just re-watched the first episode and so here's a recap-

The episode opens in a snowy landscape and we learn a little something about the white walkers, called the others in the books, before we cut to the Winterfell where Sean Bean rules as Eddard ‘Ned’ Stark . We learn that Ned is a close friend of King Robert Baratheon who is palyed by the Full Monty's Mark Addy. When the Hand of the King, a kind of protector of the realm, dues King Robert makes the journey to Winterfell to ask his old friend Ned to become the new Hand. It is here that that story starts to flush out and we learn a little of the four houses of Baratheon, Stark, Targaryen and Lannister and the political struggles and intrigues that go on between them. When the show first aired it was hyped as being The Sopranos meet Lord of the Rings and that's not far from the truth, but where in The Sopranos we had the four families of New York, here we have the four houses and the interplay between them provides for  compelling viewing.

We learn that the Hand of the King was in fact murdered but this only makes Ned Stark determined to take the position offered and protect his king from the unknown schemers who plot against him. We soon learn that it is the Lannisters, or rather the queen and her brother Jamie who are the chief plotters against the throne, and this first episode ends with a shock when the incredibly handsome Jame Lannister (think Shrek's Prince Charming given flesh) tosses Ned Stark's ten year old son out of a tower window after the boy witnessed Jamie making love to his own twin sister who just happens to be married to King Robert. This incestuous affair is just one of many shocks in this excellent episode that sets up the world of intrigue the viewer is asked to journey through.

Despite the constraints of a TV budget no expense has been spared in terms of location shooting , giving the series a cinematic feel. Filming took place in Northern Ireland and Malta to recreate the gloom of Winterfell and the Mediterranean feel of Essos, with a variety of other locations in Northern Ireland and Scotland.


"It’s difficult to single out the most accomplished parts of Thrones. The ambition is immense, the fantasy world exceptionally well-conceived, the writing and acting elevating the entire series beyond contemporaries like The Borgias and Camelot, and the visual appeal continues to surprise with each episode." The Hollywood Reporter.

My rating for episode 1.1 - 10/10

How could I give it any less? In the duration of a single episode it manages to introduce so many different plot elements and yet never once does it lose the viewer. Sean Bean's character is set up as the lead,the character we will all identify with and Bean's performance was wonderfully nuanced. Ned Stark is a compassionate man who nevertheless can be brutally hard when his duties dictate. The scene in this episode where Ned passes judgement on a deserter from the wall chopping his head off  is awesome- he who passes sentence should swing the sword, Ned Stark tells his young son, Bren. The lovable character who, so full of boyish mischief, is tossed to almost certain death at the end of this episode.

Next episode 1.2 - The Kingsroad.