Last time Ned told Cersei to beat it, because when Robert gets back from hunting, she’s going to be in a world of hurt (for fucking her brother and having incest bastard children, in case you forgot). Cersei thanks him for letting her know what his plans are. Thinks look bad for Cersei until Robert gets back, and is mortally wounded from a boar. He makes Ned protector of the realm until his heir comes of age. Ned doesn’t want to hurt his friend’s feelings on his deathbed, so doesn’t tell him that Joffrey isn’t his heir. Renly and Littlefinger both have plans for taking power, but they’re not honorable enough for Ned.
At the Wall Jon and the rest of them are assigned jobs. Jon’s angsty about being a steward and not a ranger like he wanted. Sam lets him know he’s being a jackass and likely being groomed for command. He and Sam take their oaths (which are fucking badass) north of the Wall in front of a heart tree, when Ghost finds a severed human hand.
Dany is rebuffed when trying to convince Drogo to invade Westeros and goes shopping to blow off steam. While at the market Jorah foils an assassination attempt by a wine merchant. Drogo goes apeshit, promises the Iron Throne to his son, and go full “salting the earth” on everyone across the sea.
Back in King’s Landing Joffrey is proclaimed king and Ned confronts him, saying he’s not the true ruler. Ned realizes he’s totally fucked when Littlefinger and his hired help betray him. The episode ends with Littlefinger pressing a knife to Ned’s throat.
This episode was written by GRRM. I’m really excited.
I was listening to a podcast that reviewed episode 7. One of the people was complaining about that scene. “It doesn’t add anything! We get it, Benjen is missing!”
I was thinking “uh… isn’t this the first we hear of it?”
Two more episodes to go. No way can they tie up all these threads.
Zombie fights, Drago flexing his chest muscles, not today! and the one image that sticks with me: the big doofus that carries Bran around had a big wang.
Good episode, but I think I’d rather take the lesbian sex scene from the previous episode, make it about a hundred times longer and five times more graphic and watch it with my parents than see more naked Hodor ass.
I don’t recall that part. Can someone refresh my memory how that went down? Why did Dany, pre-assassination attempt, want to invade Westeros and why didn’t Drogo want to?
Drogo doesn’t want to because ‘the world’ for Dothraki ends at the shoreline - they are not a seagoing race, as Ned pointed out way back in the first or second episode, and Jorah mentioned it to Dany when she was talking about it. (The claim is made that they fear the ocean, but from Drogo’s actual words and actions, they just seem to have no use for whatever’s on the other side.)
And Dany wants it for the same reason Viserys did (albeit with a bit less delusion and megalomania) - it’s her birthright, and that of her son.
I think this must have been a good episode, but the stupid HBO Comcast bay area feed had totally messed up audio that kept cutting in and out. May have to watch it again On Demand and hope it’s better. Grr. Too angry about that to comment on anything else.
I wonder if Drogo siding with his wife over his men might come back to bite him in the ass. Doesn’t he know that sexy foreign queens are one of the leading causes of death for great military commanders?
It kind of already has… I mean, now Drogo’s holding the other fella’s tongue, because he wouldn’t, but still…he clearly lost the respect of at least some of his khallasar.
I’ve come newly to the series and just finished catching up… Was this the first episode without some gratuitous whore-shagging? I thought that was mandatory (along with the king getting drunk, but that’s kinda moot now)…
But anyway, great series, even though I have a feeling I’m not supposed to root for the Khal razing the Westeros because they’re for the most part a bunch of tossers there… I also think I’m supposed to care for John Snow, but he just seems like all that ever goes on between his ears is white noise, perhaps appropriately. Seriously, is he meant to appear that stupid, or is it just the actor’s slack-jawed portrayal?
Oh, and is the swordplay teacher dead? A shame if so, he was an entertaining character. And what’s this about two more episodes? It’s not already cancelled, is it?
So, unless all the Stark males suffer from a form of congenital retardation that forces them to give the Lannisters a heads up before any move the Starks make against them, Robb going for the bridge.
