# Game of Thrones, Baelor, 6/12/11 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 12, 2011, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-baelor-6-12-11/585243 "2011-06-12T20:19:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![tingbudong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tingbudong/32/520_2.png) [@tingbudong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tingbudong)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-baelor-6-12-11/585243/41 "2011-06-13T06:10:48Z")
> [@Precambrianmollusc](#): > > Meanwhile back at the Stark camp upon hearing the news of Neds death > > Theon: You okay? > Robb: Nah, man. I’m pretty fucking far from okay. > Theon: What now? > Robb: What now? Let me tell you what now. I’m gonna call a couple of hard, axe-hitting bannermen to go to work on the little freak with a pair of nut crackers and a spoon. [to Joffery as if he were there] You hear me talking, inbred boy? I ain’t through with you by a damn sight. I’m gonna get medieval on your ass. Nice! The Walder Frey actor pulled off the spitting image of the old, slimy, pedo character that I pictured in the books. His “squirting” reference to one of his sons has to be one of the more crude lines of the series (so far). I was really expected the beheading to be much more graphic given the description in the book and the fact that the series isn’t shying away from gore. I wasn’t looking forward to it and quite relieved when it was just a black out. ---
**Author:** ![JCorre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3da27b/32.png) [@JCorre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JCorre)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-baelor-6-12-11/585243/42 "2011-06-13T06:16:34Z")
> [@the lone cashew](#): > > Yes. Shallow. It’s the opposite of depth. What is the point of this show or any show? To see how many whores can get their tits tweaked? or how many people can get killed in gory fashion? There’s got to be some point to the violence. Look at the remaining characters. If all the antagonists were rounded up all at once and done in, it doesn’t justify not just the death of Ned, but his loss of honor at the same time. What a pointless and cheap show this is now. The way I see it, Ned did what he thought he had to do for the safety of his daughters. He didn’t confess just to save his own skin (that would have been a travesty). Ned’s death was a testament to his character. Honor didn’t die with Ned. And this series isn’t made up of ‘good guys and bad guys’. If that’s what you’re looking for you’ve ordered the wrong meal. I imagine that the scales of justice will swing a number of different ways before they finally balance out. I understand your grief though. I was pissed off when Joffrey punched Ned’s ticket too. ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-baelor-6-12-11/585243/43 "2011-06-13T07:18:48Z")
> [@Precambrianmollusc](#): > > Meanwhile back at the Stark camp upon hearing the news of Neds death > > Theon: You okay? > Robb: Nah, man. I’m pretty fucking far from okay. > Theon: What now? > Robb: What now? Let me tell you what now. I’m gonna call a couple of hard, axe-hitting bannermen to go to work on the little freak with a pair of nut crackers and a spoon. [to Joffery as if he were there] You hear me talking, inbred boy? I ain’t through with you by a damn sight. I’m gonna get medieval on your ass. Heh. _“Ned’s dead, baby. Ned’s dead.”_ ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 9:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-baelor-6-12-11/585243/44 "2011-06-13T09:51:16Z")
> [@voltaire](#): > > Heh. _“Ned’s dead, baby. Ned’s dead.”_ Damn it. I wanted to use this joke in my recap next week. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 10:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-baelor-6-12-11/585243/45 "2011-06-13T10:24:41Z")
> [@the lone cashew](#): > > No matter what!? What if we could see a show like Death Wish, but instead of the Bronson character avenging his family, the story centered on hoodlums simply ransacking good folks with no rhyme or reason. There was no main protagonist because they got killed off. Would there be any point in the story? Or would the point be that that is more realistic? Ultimately it’s an entertainment fantasy theme. Gore and whores do not give a story depth, it’s characters like Ned that lend that element - when there is no minimal justice in a story, all you have left is gore and whores. Camelot is on Starz. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-baelor-6-12-11/585243/46 "2011-06-13T12:29:33Z")
Taking back the Camelot snark. Not because I feel bad but because it is inappropriate. Hubby is watching Camelot and they’ve made Merlin into a right bastard, so it might be a non-starter. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-baelor-6-12-11/585243/47 "2011-06-13T12:46:35Z")
It is a pretty bad show, but yeah it doesn’t exactly fit the kind of snark you were going for. King Arthur is a bigger douche than Merlin also. ---
**Author:** ![shamblesmaybe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@shamblesmaybe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shamblesmaybe)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-baelor-6-12-11/585243/48 "2011-06-13T12:47:30Z")
HBO are doing a fantastic job of this imo. I don’t think it’s fair to suggest that HBO are saving money on battle scenes when there are few in the books. The author uses characters to explain the outcomes and HBO rightly does the same. Same with the characters… Ned dies in the book, what else could really happen? If you’re upset about the lack of justice so far I’d stop watching now 'cause it doesn’t get any better! ---
**Author:** ![LVBoPeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/858c86/32.png) [@LVBoPeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LVBoPeep)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-baelor-6-12-11/585243/49 "2011-06-13T13:00:22Z")
The scenes with Arya were heart-rending. I knew what was coming but still almost as traumatic as when I read it. Will miss Sean Bean though…maybe he can do some cameos a la Obi Wan ;). ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-baelor-6-12-11/585243/50 "2011-06-13T13:22:42Z")
> [@Drain\_Bead](#): > > That’s kind of the point. The world Martin created has no clear lines between good and evil, and the bad guys frequently win. If you were expecting standard fantasy tropes, this episode should have gotten you to realize that this isn’t that kind of story. It’s not in the least bit shallow, though. Shallow is freeing Ned through last minute tricks, causing him to be the vanquishing hero. What actually happened is gritty and real. If you don’t like that, this may not be the show for you. So, you’re telling me that Frodo isn’t going to get the ring to Moria and save Middle Earth from Sauron??? It looks to me like they’re setting this up for next season to be only about the kids, since they’re killing off all the (male) main character parents. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-baelor-6-12-11/585243/51 "2011-06-13T13:54:09Z")
I am such a dum-dum. Last week, when Robb sent the Lannister scout back to tell Tywin he and his men were coming for him, I thought it was just a threat - 'get out your chamber pot, you’re going to need it when you see us coming down on you! - this week, I thought no more of it… Until 5 minutes ago, when I realized - he _wasn’t_ just threatening him, he was _feeding him false intelligence_. Should have realized that when Tywin was telling Tyrion how the battle had gone. But…nope, not until just this moment. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Lakai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de0a6/32.png) [@Lakai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lakai)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-baelor-6-12-11/585243/52 "2011-06-13T14:13:34Z")
> [@JCorre](#): > > The way I see it, Ned did what he thought he had to do for the safety of his daughters. He didn’t confess just to save his own skin (that would have been a travesty). Ned’s death was a testament to his character. > > Honor didn’t die with Ned. And this series isn’t made up of ‘good guys and bad guys’. If that’s what you’re looking for you’ve ordered the wrong meal. I imagine that the scales of justice will swing a number of different ways before they finally balance out. > > I understand your grief though. I was pissed off when Joffrey punched Ned’s ticket too. Isn’t that what John Snow said to the old blind man? The old guy asked whether Ned Stark would chose honor or family, and Snow said he would do whatever was right. For once I think Ned made the right decision, a little too late perhaps. > [@John\_Mace](#): > > So, you’re telling me that Frodo isn’t going to get the ring to Moria and save Middle Earth from Sauron??? > > It looks to me like they’re setting this up for next season to be only about the kids, since they’re killing off all the (male) main character parents. That would be pretty cool from a story telling perspective. Usually the story starts out with the tragic death of a parent, or we hear a heartfelt story midway through the movie. Game of Thrones gets to devote a whole season to it. It would make the child characters of next season a lot more relatable, since the audience felt the impact of Ned’s death almost as much as his children. It would add a new dimension to the regular motivated-by-the-death-of-a-good-parent story trope. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-baelor-6-12-11/585243/53 "2011-06-13T14:15:26Z")
> [@Tengu](#): > > to tell Tywin he and his men were coming for him, I thought it was just a threat - 'get out your chamber pot, you’re going to need it when you see us coming down on you! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-baelor-6-12-11/585243/54 "2011-06-13T15:32:51Z")
Ned \*had \*to die. I have read the books but I realized this even before I read any of the others. If Ned doesn’t die the whole series becomes Ned’s story. He is too good for it to be avoided, and the series isn’t and shouldn’t be about Ned. It’s about Westros and the Seven Kingdoms and the whole of the world. The most important line in the series so far (IMO) is Vary’s line “I serve the realm”. That’s this story, it’s the story of the realm, not any one particular player. Ned was too big to live in that world. He is a product of an era long since gone by and the story can’t move on to tell the story of this new era without first killing off the last of the old one. The story so far is all prologue. It’s the Hobbit to the rest of the story’s Lord of the Rings. ---
**Author:** ![Time\_Stranger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5fc32e/32.png) [@Time\_Stranger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Time_Stranger)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-baelor-6-12-11/585243/55 "2011-06-13T15:33:51Z")
There was a part of me that was still expecting Arya to ninja-flip onto the steps, stab the obnoxious boy king in the throat, kick Sansa for good measure, sling her dad on her shoulder, and then fly off into the sunset for cooler climes. I’m still not sure I understand how Robb captured Jamie. I understand he split his forces, but how was Jamie caught? ---
**Author:** ![HazelNutCoffee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@HazelNutCoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HazelNutCoffee)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-baelor-6-12-11/585243/56 "2011-06-13T15:36:38Z")
Jamie was taken unawares, and even then he killed 10 men before they subdued him. I cried a little when Ned died, even though I knew it was coming. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![shiftless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@shiftless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shiftless)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-baelor-6-12-11/585243/57 "2011-06-13T16:11:08Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > For non book readers that are regular internet users: if you managed to make it this long without being spoilered about Ned, Congratulations. I’m reading and watching at the same time and hadn’t gotten to this … until now. At the end of this episode it was not 100% clear that the execution had actually taken place. Am I the only one who was getting tired of Ned’s failure to do anything useful, ever, except for make speechs about honor? He was just as crappy a Hand of the King as Robert was a King. I guess he was “the good guy” but he was also the most boring character IMO and I was getting tired of him continually making the worst possible choices in every case. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-baelor-6-12-11/585243/58 "2011-06-13T16:25:58Z")
> [@shiftless](#): > > I’m reading and watching at the same time and hadn’t gotten to this … until now. At the end of this episode it was not 100% clear that the execution had actually taken place. Not true… You see the sword coming down right against his neck for a split second before it cuts away. That + the crowd reaction made it pretty clear what the outcome was. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-baelor-6-12-11/585243/59 "2011-06-13T16:43:46Z")
There was also a clear “head chopped off” sound effect. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-baelor-6-12-11/585243/60 "2011-06-13T16:45:28Z")
Did anyone else notice all the Freys were wearing some kind of goofy looking hats? what was up with that? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-baelor-6-12-11/585243.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-baelor-6-12-11/585243.md?page=4)