Synopsis:
A man of the night's watch finds some dead people on display but when he goes to show his friends they've buggered off. Then they appear and kill two of them. The third man runs like hell only to be tracked down several hundred miles south.
At Winterfell a young boy failing at archery is being hazed by his older brothers as the adults watch on. A girl, tired of needlework, shoots an arrow from behind everyone and hits the bulls-eye instead of the back of somebody's head, which is fortunate.
Ned takes the little boy to watch him behead the Night's Watch bloke and on the way home they find some puppies.
In King's Landing Jaime and Cersei have a secret that the king would kill them over but we are too freaked out by the eye stones on the dead guy to really pay attention.
Catelyn finds Ned in the Godswood cleaning Night Watchman blood off his big ass sword and tells him Jon Arryn is dead and the King rides north with a cast of thousands.
The house preps. The thousands arrive. The blonde kid makes eyes at the redheaded girl. Robert wants to go to the crypt and we learn he was meant to marry Ned's sister. Instead they arrange to marry their children. Robert names Ned as hand of the king.
Tyrion is found in the whore house. This will be a repeating theme.
Viserys gives his sister a dress but you can still tell he is a jerk. Illaryo presents Dany to Momoa (and the blog author drools on her notes so they cannot be read further)
Winterfell feast yadda yadda, Benjen arrives while Jon is beating on a dummy with a sword. It's clear they are close and Jon resents his exclusion. When Benjen goes in, Tyrion talks to Jon... Not kind words, but feasibly wise words.
Cat and Ned have some pillow talk then the Maester comes in to join them. (talking, not on the pillow)--a raven from Cat's sister that her husband was murdered. They decide the only thing to do is send Ned to get murdered too.
There is a Dothraki wedding which is more like a fraternity party.
Ned and Robert go out with a hunting party. Bran climbs a wall to find Cersei and Jaime in a compromising position, and Jaime pushes Bran out the window.
Locations and characters this Episode
North of the Wall: Three unnamed brothers of the Night's watch and a couple spooky zombie things
Winterfell: The full cast of the Stark household and the visiting members of the Baratheon Court
King's Landing (Sept of Baylor): Dead John Arryn and Cersei and Jaime
Pentos (House of Illaryo Mopatis and the sea where the wedding occurs): Daenarys, Viserys, Illario, then the Dothraki people and Ser Jorah
Easter Eggs
Ser Waymar Royce is the arrogant ass of a Night's Watchman who is leading the ranging. It is him who Sansa refers to in Season 4 when she confesses her identity to Ser Yonn Royce: “I met you once, at Winterfell, when you were taking your son up to the Night's Watch.”
Robert leaves Lyanna a feather that Sansa picks up in season 5 when she an Littlefinger are discussing Lyanna
I don't know if this qualifies as an easter egg, but when Viserys suggests the Dothraki lay with horses and Illaryo says "I wouldn't ask them that." Viserys says, "Do you take me for a fool?" to which Illaryo replies "I took you for a king. King's often lack the caution of other men." This struck me as Illaryo encouraging Viserys's hot-headedness--making him think it is kingly... I think Illaryo knows (after a year) Viserys is trouble and is giving him the tools to hang himself faster.
Best Lines
Benjen: "Direwolves south of the wall. Whitewalker spotted in the north. And my brother may be the next hand of the king. Winter is coming."
Tyrion: "Never forget what you are. The rest of the world won't. Wear it like armor and it can never be used to hurt you." (to Jon on his bastardy)
First line by a named character:
From Jon. “Father is watching. And your mother.” (to Bran) The very first thing we learn about any characters we care about is that Jon Snow is different from his brother and sisters. In fact this is emphasized several times this episode. With Tyrion. With the wolf pups.
In fact one thing I missed here that the book has is this is all from Bran's PoV—and Bran KNOWS how much it costs Jon to use “Lord Stark” and exclude himself when noting there is the perfect number of pups for the Stark children. Bran loves Jon for that—for the sacrifice he knows this is.
Arya also gets perfect characterization with nearly no lines. Grumbling about needlework, then shooting from behind Bran for a bulls eye, then running through people (Arya Underfoot) to see (Bran has climbed—ever the adventurer). It is clear Arya is a tomboy, not following the lady's rules.
Ned and Cat, serious but loving, True confidants and keeping their humor only for their most intimate moments. They hold their duty seriously, but the show shows it is a very intimate relationship that both of them hold dear. The beheading establishes northern traditions—he who passes the sentence must carry it out. And that it isn't without compassion. Bran asks “So he was lying” and Ned said, “A mad man sees what he sees.”
Sansa and Joffrey—idiots liking shiny things. At this point it is sweet. Nobody knows yet the monster Joffrey will be. But it also has the sappy infatuation of 13-year old love. It is perfectly suited to their ages.
Mysteries Established
Why did Robert “Kill him?” (with such hatred he does it every night) and what does it have to do with Lyanna?
What did Jaime and Cersei do that Robert would kill them for?
Was John Arryn murdered?
And the SUPER strength, in my opinion...
This show keeps people coming back with a trick of WTF bookends. The first was when the Night's watchman turns around and sees the girl corpse he saw earlier, but now walking and blue-eyed... dead coming to life. The last was Bran stumbling (climbing) onto the scene of Jaime and Cersei (in the books this was also Bran narrated—he thought they were wrestling—it's adorable) and then Jaime pushes him out the window. Those things tell the watcher this is unlike any other show.
No comments:
Post a Comment