GoT Series re-watch update!!!
So I'm already on Episode 8 of Season 1 and will finish all of Season 1 today, but I feel like I should go back and watch 2-7 again. This show is so chock full of foreshadowing, and little clues to the future, plus season 1 features a lot of story telling by characters about the history of Westeros.
So I'm going to do my best to remember all of the things I've noticed in episodes 2-7.
Episode 2 - The Kingsroad
Bran is still "asleep", but we found out he's having visions of the 3 Eyed Raven. So Episode 2 already introduces Bran's ability for "green dreams". Then Bran is attacked by some dude with a Valaryan steel knife with a dragon bone handle. He's saved by his direwolf Summer. Catelyn takes this as a declaration of war, and starts off for King's Landing with Ser Rodrik, Winterfell's Man-at-Arms. This is where I start rolling my eyes at Catelyn. I understand her want to protect her family, but why does she personally have to travel to King's Landing? Why couldn't she send an envoy or even a raven? If she didn't trust anyone but Littlefinger, than why didn't she reach out to him at the same time as Ned? Her leaving Winterfell is part of a chain of events that leaves the Stark children orphaned.
Ned's accepted Robert's request to be the new Hand of the King, and possibly wed Sansa to Joffrey; so he takes both Sansa and Arya with him to King's Landing. As they depart, they reach a crossroads, where Jon turns to head North to the Wall with his Uncle Benjen. It's here that Ned and Jon have their last conversation ever, and Ned promises Jon that the next time they meet that Ned will tell him about his mother. Very interesting, especially since we know that their next meeting is probably taking place in the crypts of Winterfell, where Jon could quite possibly make a discovery about his mother.
Tyrion joins Jon on his way North in order to fulfill a personal quest of his own. One that is only briefly talked about in the books. Tyrion always wanted to travel the world and see the Wonders of the World, and the Wall is one of the Wonders. I would totally do the same thing. This journey is where Jon and Tyrion forge a friendship that will prove to be very important in season 7.
Joffrey shows off his true colors by trying to bully Arya and her friend, the Buther's Boy, as well as show off for Sansa. Joffrey really is a total vagina-face. Arya is able to disarm him, then scare him, and then throw his sword into the Trident. I was embarrassed for Joffrey. Then, of course, he wants "justice" and so Cersei orders Robert to order Ned to kill the wolf. Except, Arya has driven off her own wolf Nymeria, after she attacked Joffrey. But the Lannisters don't care about that stuff, only that something must die. So Sansa's wolf is killed instead. Very interesting, considering she kind of turns her back on her family for the next 2 seasons.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, Dany has just married Drogo and Viserys is counting down until he gets his crown. Dany is just starting to wake up to this new world she's in, and starts realizing how ridiculous her brother is.
***See what I mean? That's a ton of shit for 1 episode! And that's just episode 2!
Episode 3 - Lord Snow
Jon continues to learn how difficult it is being the bastard son of Ned Stark. He's clearly a better swordsmen then anyone else he's training with but Ser Alister Thorne is a real dickhead. I remember thinking before that he (Thorne I mean) behaves like that because he's trying to toughen up these green boys. But as the series progresses, we quickly learn that Ser Alister is really just a 6 foot tall human shaped penis.
Tyrion is impressed with Jon nonetheless. I really like how Tyrion gets along with everyone he meets. He befriends Yorrin, Jeor Mormont the Lord Commander, and Maester Aemon. These first few episodes are enough to make anyone fall in love with Peter Dinklage as Tyrion. He's so freaking charming!
With that being said, I forgot how many naked people were in the first season. Haha! BOOBS!
Anyway, Ned gives Sansa a doll and realizes she's too old for such things, and then hires Arya a "dancing instructor". Which actually turns out to be studies in swordsmanship with former First Sword of Braavos, Syrio Forel! If you haven't read the theory about Syrio being a Faceless Man and actually Jaqen in disguise then be sure to check out my post on that RIGHT HERE!
Dany actually stands up to Viserys in this episode. Still a slow burn here though, I love how her best scenes are yet to come and they just get better and better as the series progresses!
Episode 4 - Cripples, Bastards, and Broken Things
Ned investigates the death of Jon Arryn, the last Hand of the King. We get a look at Gregor Clegane aka the Mountain for the first time, as well as the Hound. Then we see an interesting scene between Littlefinger and Sansa, where Baelish tells the story of the Mountain and the Hound. It's the telling of how the Hound got his face scars. Terrible story, but it's a telling of the world they live in. Which is what I tell everyone who argues that GoT is too violent.
At the Wall, Jon meets Samwell Tarley, and learns that he must protect all of his brothers. This is the first example of Jon's leadership, and how people are so willing to follow him. He emits an air of strength, pride, and power without realizing it himself. You can see this during the scene where Sam is sparring with Rast and Grenn and neither will strike Sam because of Jon's decision.
Tyrion left the Wall for King's Landing, but makes a stop at Winterfell where he notices that Lady Stark is not there. Here Tyrion also presents the now crippled Bran with a design for a customized saddle, so that Bran may ride a horse again. This is important for 2 reasons;
1. It showcases Tyrion's wits and ingenuity.
2. Reveals Tyrion's compassion for other people and creatures. Something that separates him from the rest of his family.
He can't catch a break though. Towards the end of the episode, he's captured by Catelyn at an inn on her way from King's Landing. The only notation I want to make about this is this:
IF YOU COMPLAINED ABOUT HOW QUICKLY PEOPLE TRAVELED THROUGH WESTEROS LAST SEASON, GET OVER IT NOW. Seriously, it's supposed to take over a month to travel from Winterfell to King's Landing. Ned and the girls plus the entire entourage of the King make it in an episode, then shit goes down at Winterfell, and Catelyn CATCHES UP by arriving in King's Landing like a day after he does or something. So, if you were one of the dopes criticizing the show last year for that, I'm sorry but you are dumb.
Lastly there's an interesting scene with Viserys and Dany. Viserys really is an over-entitled POS. And I love that he gets his privilege checked hardcore here. He goes after Dany, who is then defended by one of her Dothraki Blood Riders. Viserys orders Jorah to kill them, and Jorah just looks at Dany and asks what the Khaleesi would like to do. Showing Viserys that he ain't the boss no mo'.
Episode 5 - The Wolf and the Lion
There's that awesome fight scene that we were hoping for since episode 1. Jamie Lannister vs. Ned Stark. Jamie totally cheats though, injures Ned, and kills all of the Stark men. Kind of foreshadowing the fate of a lot of the Stark faithful.
What really interests me in this episode is that Ned quits being Hand of the King in defiance of Robert's order to assassinate Daenarys Targaryan. We learn that Varys has spies in Essos and is working with Jorah Mormont too. Although it seems that Jorah is playing both sides now, as he accepts a pardon by King Robert but also protects Dany from Robert's assassination attempt. Robert wants to kill ALL Targaryans and this is the SECOND time Ned has spoken against such a thing.
We meet weird Lysa Arryn and her super weirdo son Robin with her boob in his mouth. What an introduction that is to a character. He's like 11 and he's still breastfeeding. I don't care what their reasons are, it's fucking strange and also brilliant storytelling.
Also another interesting scene is when we see the Knight of Flowers, Ser Loras Tyrell defeat the Mountain in a joust. Sansa is easily charmed by Loras (whom we already know is gay and in a serious relationship with Renly Baratheon), but doesn't realize that Loras kind of cheats his way to victory. The Mountain rides a big black male horse, while Loras rides a lady horse who also happens to be in heat. This, in turn, affects the Mountain's horse, who freaks out during the joust and gives Loras the victory. Then the Mountain throws a temper tantrum and cuts off his horse's head with one might swing of his great sword. Loras is saved from the same fate by the Hound, who proves to be strong enough to fight off his brother. A tease to another possible Clegane Bros. showdown? I really hope so! The Hound became a very interesting and really cool character after season 1.
One more interesting scene worth noting. Arya is doing her waterdancer homework and chasing cats through the Red Keep. One (Black Tom as he's known as in the books) makes her chase him into the dungeons underneath the Red Keep, where we get a look at the dragon skulls that are kept there. Arya then overhears two men conspiring, and sounding like they are looking to kill Ned Stark. Arya doesn't know who the men are, but we can see that it's Varys and Illario Mopatis. What's really interesting here is that we now know Illario traveled all this way to talk about this, so whatever the final goal is for these two, it's very important. Also, we later find out that Littlefinger knows of Varys' meeting with Illario, which makes me wonder who actually has the better spy network? And if Littlefinger knows of that meeting, could he also know a bit more of Varys' plot?
Episode 6 - A Golden Crown
Ned is reinstated as Hand of the King and sits on the Iron Throne for Robert, who's out on a fateful hunt. While in session, Ned decrees that Ser Gregor Clegane is now an enemy of the crown and orders Thoros of Myr and Ser Beric Dondarrion to ride out and arrest the Mountain. Thus essentially creating the Brotherhood Without Banners.
Tyrion confesses to his "crimes" in a way only Tyrion can. And we get to see how awesome Bronn can be. We've met Bronn a couple episodes back, and he makes his presence known just before the party arrives at the Eyrie; but then really makes a splash when he volunteers to be Tyrion's champion in his Trial By Combat.
Then, in what is one of my favorite scenes of this season. The Dothraki are celebrating the coming birth of Dany and Drogo's first born son, Rhaego. So, everyone is excited and dancing and whatnot. Then Viserys, who has clearly been pre-gaming, shows up. But he's armed, which is a big no no in Vaes Dothrak. It's one of their biggest rules, no weapons within the sacred city. Jorah attempts to talk Viserys down, but Viserys instead draws his sword. Another big no no. Jorah knows that by even drawing his sword, Viserys has given the Dothraki reason to kill all of them, Jorah and Dany included. Viserys claims that he's paid his side of the bargain that was made with Khal Drogo. Drogo got a Queen, now Viserys needs a crown; and he wasn't leaving until he got one. So, Drogo crowns him. But melting gold in a pot and dumping over Viserys' head! I love this scene! The brutal death of a terrible person, the cool demeanor of Drogo as he decides what to do, and the confidence Dany has that her husband, the great Khal, will set things right. I think this is the very first episode where I exclaimed, "I LOVE THIS SHOW!" When the credits rolled. I would repeat this phrase many many more times.
Episode 7 - You Win or You Die
The title is part of one of my favorite lines from this show.
Cersei: When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die.
I love it. A perfect summation.
Ned has figured out how and why Jon Arryn died and confronts Cersei. A big mistake as it turns out, but now that I know how the story goes, this is a great glimpse into just how great of a character Cersei is. A couple of episodes before, she has a scene with Joffrey, where she asks him what he would do if he were king and had to deal with the Starks. Joffrey says that he would double their taxes, remove the Starks from Winterfell and replace them with someone loyal to the crown. Then suggests his Uncle Kevyn. Then we get to hear a little bit of how smart and conniving Cersei is. She explains to Joffrey that the North is too difficult for a Southern house to hold. The North is just too vast, and their people are too loyal. She explains to him what would happen if he were to do those things and we see that she is 100% right. This is our first look at Cersei's ambitions. She wants to be Queen, and believes herself to be a better ruler than Robert or any man for that matter. We also get to see how shitty of a king Joffrey will be.
Jon takes his vows in front of a weirwood tree just North of the Wall. His dreams of being a ranger are dashed though, as Jeor announces their assignments and Jon is made the Lord Commander's personal steward. Sam is the only one that sees the benefits of this. Jeor clearly has ideas for Jon.
Finally, Drogo gets his Khalasar all pumped up and vows to take them across the "poisoned water" aka the Narrow Sea and conquer Westeros so that his son, Rhaego the Stallion Who Mounts the World, will rule! I forgot how cool Drogo is, except for the rapes of course.
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Ok, that's all I can remember for these episodes. I'm gonna go ahead with the next couple of episodes, but I'll be taking notes this time so it won't seem so jumbled. I love how there's just so much good shit in each episode that it's actually difficult to connect to everything! God I love this show!
See ya later, nerds.
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