A lot happens in between episodes 2 and 9 of Game of Thrones. For instance, Robert Baratheon dies, Ned finds out that all of Robert and Cersei’s kids were actually fathered by Jaime, Tyrion gets captured by Catelyn after she finds out it was a Lannister who threw Bran from the window, Robb declares war on the Lannisters, Jon takes his vows as a brother of the Night’s Watch, Ned gets betrayed and captured in King’s Landing, Arya barely escapes King’s Landing, and most importantly, Lady dies and Nymeria runs away. But for this edition of Talking Thrones, I’m going to be going over the penultimate episode of the first season of the show: Baelor.
Baelor is huge for character development, introduction, and ending. We’re introduced to Shae the whore that Tyrion falls in love with, that ultimately betrays him with the help of Tywin and Cersei Lannister. Shae’s character is one that will begin to be loved by fans; however, once we see her dark side, it’s easy to name her as one the bottom 5 characters in the show. Another pivotal character we are introduced to is Walder Frey of the Twins. Being the one thing separating Robb from the Lannister army, Walder Frey becomes very important for this episode, but his importance is multiplied in season 3. Of course, Frey doesn’t seem like he would play that big of a role in the series, based on this episode; however, one could argue that the events that take place at the Twins in season 3 changed the history of Game of Thrones forever.
We see some MAJOR development in the story for Tyrion, first and foremost. While his truce with the hill tribes potentially saved his life, he still has to meet the wrath of his father, Tywin. Tywin forces Tyrion, Bronn, and the hill tribes to fight in the Vanguard against the incoming Stark army. This prompts Bronn to get Tyrion some entertainment for the night before the fight, and Tyrion, Bronn, and Shae play one of Tyrion’s favorite drinking games. However, Tyrion is the one who loses the game and is forced to share the sad story of his first love to a girl named Tysha, whom he wed, that ended up being a whore paid by none other than Tywin Lannister, sent to teach Tyrion a lesson. To see Tyrion recall this story was depressing to say the least. Peter Dinklage did a phenomenal job portraying how it would really feel to be put through a situation like that, and thus, won the Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for this episode, specifically.
We also get to see some changes to Robb Stark and the Northern Army, as the Young Wolf proves his military value and leadership skills. He agrees to the pact, made by his mother, to the Frey’s that will bind him to marry one of Walder’s daughters after the war is over. This is actually a pretty big deal, because, we believe, that Robb is going to give up his chance at love in order to have an advantage against the Lannister army. An advantage that proved to be vital, as the Northern army surprised the Lannister’s, fooling Tywin, and capturing Jaime in the process. He does this by first telling the Lannister spy he’s sending his whole army after Tywin, he then only sends 2,000 men to distract Tywin and his army, while the rest of the Northern army attacks Jaime’s army, defeats them, and hold the Kingslayer prisoner. Of course, Jaime tries to talk his way out of the cell by challenging Robb to a one on one fight, to which Robb shows his restraint and self control by turning Jaime down and locking him up. I think this really shows that Robb is not only being smart on the battlefield, but also in actuality, he’s growing up and becoming more and more of a leader, something Catelyn realizes as well.
At the wall, following Jon saving Lord Commander Mormont’s life from the wight, Mormont gifts Jon Longclaw, the Valyrian steel sword that has been a part of House Mormont for centuries. The sword was originally intended for his son, Jorah, but after Jorah dishonored the house, he lost his right to the iconic sword.
Longclaw would play a huge role in the story, and could play a bigger one in season 8 as Valyrian steel is the only metal that can defeat White Walkers and wights…and possibly the Night King. However, Longclaw isn’t the only Valyrian steel sword we see on the show. Ice, the sword that belonged to Ned Stark, was a Valyrian steel sword; however, Tywin melted it and made it into two different swords: Oathkeeper and Widow’s Wail, one being wielded by Brienne of Tarth, the other being wielded by Jaime Lannister. There’s also Heartsbane, which was the sword of House Tarley, belonging to Randyll before Samwell took it with him when he went to the Citadel, so it’s currently in Winterfell with Oathkeeper, and Widow’s Wail and Longclaw on their way back. There’s also the mysterious dagger that was meant to kill Bran earlier in season 1. The dagger belonged to Littlefinger, who tried to gift it to Bran, who then gave it to Arya because he had no use for it, who proceeded to cut Littlefinger’s neck with it in the season 7 finale.
Enough about swords though, let’s get back to the Wall. After Jon and Mormont talk, Jon receives word that Robb is going to war, and immediately wants to join him. However, it’s Maester Aemon who talks Jon out of it revealing that whatever choice Jon makes will haunt him for the rest of his life, as he can’t serve the Night’s Watch and still go to war with his family…he must choose one. Aemon also drops a HUGE fact while talking to Jon, letting him know that Aemon knows exactly how Jon feels because he had to make the same choice earlier in his life. He reveals that he is Aemon Targaryen, aka the Mad King’s uncle and Daenerys’ great uncle, who chose to stay stay at the Night’s Watch and do his duty while the rest of his family was either killed or exiled. This persuades Jon to stay at the Wall and do his duty.
Now we get to sad parts of the episode. First, in Lhazar, Khal Drogo falls off his horse, a sign of weakness among the Dothraki tribe. Daenerys takes Drogo to her tent, sending for help; however, Jorah advises her that they need to leave because the Dothraki will not follow Drogo anymore, instead they’ll fight among themselves in order to find a new Khal, then kill Daenerys and her unborn baby to make sure there is no dispute to the new Khal’s claim. However, Daenerys proves her loyalty to Khal Drogo and refuses to leave him to die alone. This is one of my favorite qualities about Dany is her loyalty to whoever she loves. In this case, she knows that her life is at risk while she is in the Dothraki camp and Khal Drogo is weak, but she still stays with Drogo and refuses to leave him, which is something I find very admirable. However, the downfall of Dany could be that she encourages Mirri Maz Duur to use blood magic to save Drogo, to which Duur replies that it will take a sacrifice, a life for a life. Dany brings in her horse that Drogo gave her, they sacrifice it, and Mirri kicks everyone out and says none can enter until she is done. After a little skirmish between Jorah and Qotho, Dany goes into premature labor, but none of the Dothraki midwives want to help her because they believe she is curse, leaving Jorah no option but to take Dany into the tent and back to Mirri Maz Duur for help. Something that will end up costing both of them in the long run.
And finally, we arrive at King’s Landing. Ned is still in a cell, but he gets a visitor in the form of Varys, who lets him know that he will be shown mercy if he lies and swears loyalty to King Joffrey. At first, Ned abides to his honor and refuses, but Varys informs him that not only is his life at stake, but so is his daughter Sansa’s life, which persuades Ned to change his mind and agree to the terms. Since Ned has been captured, Arya has been living a beggar, trying to blend in with the crowd and not stand out. In the town, Arya sees there’s a gathering in the Sept of Baelor, and goes to look, when she sees Ned being dragged out to stand his trial. Sansa, Joffrey, Cersei, and the small council are all there, along with Illyn Payne, the executioner. Ned spots Yoren, the scout from the Night’s Watch, and says the word “Baelor” signifying that Arya is at the statue of Baelor the Brave, and Yoren heads in that direction to protect Arya. Ned lies and says Joffrey is the rightful King, and the crowd seems pleased; however, Joffrey breaks his word and orders Ned to be executed. Cersei, Varys, and the small council try to persuade Joffrey to change his mind, but we are being shown exactly the kind of ruthless king Joffrey will be as he doesn’t listen to them. I think it’s interesting that Cersei tried to save Ned though. Here’s someone who just threatened Ned with his life earlier in the season, and someone who knows that Ned knows her and Jamie’s secret; yet, here she is trying to save Ned’s life. I think the reasoning behind this is she knows that keeping Ned alive makes it a lot easier to get Jaime back, and will make it a lot easier for Joffrey to rule if all the Realm agrees with what he does. Nonetheless, Joffrey doesn’t care and moves forward with the execution, and just like that, Ned Stark, arguably one of the most popular characters on the show dies.
I think this really set a precedent for the show, letting the audience that nobody is really safe. We already knew the showrunners were very capable of leaving the audience with some great cliffhangers, but I can honestly say I didn’t expect Ned Stark to die. One of my favorite things about Thrones is getting to experience things that I’ve already seen with people who are binge watching the show in order to catch up, and Baelor is easily the second most talked about episode after my friends watch it. I really don’t think there was anyone who honestly thought Ned was going to die. Being one of the most honorable characters, and most popular characters of the show, you would think Ned would be safe; but that’s exactly what the writers wanted us to think. It made Ned’s death much more emotional, and let us know something that has been true over the last 7 seasons, and I’m sure will be true in season 8: expect the unexpected, and nobody is safe.
Be sure to be on the lookout for the season 1 wrap up post where myself and Tia will give our thoughts on season 1 and what it means for the rest of the show going forward!
A few of my favorite things include my pet dragon (Drogon), Game of Thrones, Disney movies and theme parks, the MCU, DC movies, Star Wars, sports, and my rather large Funko Pop collection. Daenerys Targaryen is my queen, Robert Downey Jr is my man crush, and Simba is my spirit animal.
