Game of Thrones/Recap/S1/E06 A Golden Crown: Difference between revisions

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Eddard Stark stirs fitfully in his bed, his leg broken from the events of the previous episode. He awakens to find King Robert Baratheon and Queen Cersei Lannister looming above him, each angry for their own reasons--Cersei for her brother's kidnapping, Robert for the disruption of the peace. It isn't long before the two of them are bickering... and not long after that before Robert slaps her across the face. Jaime has fled the city, of course, and Robert denies Ned the chance to bring him to justice, declaring the feud over. He then gives Ned the silver-hand badge, officially refusing to accept Ned's resignation. It will be Ned's job to handle things whilst Robert hunts in the kingswood.

 

Daenerys is eating a horse's heart. Seriously. It's part of a Dothraki ritual which gets a lot more explanation <ref>How Dany handles that chewy lump of muscle will foretell whether she has a strong healthy boy, or a fool, a cripple, or (worst of all) a girl</ref>, but suffice it to say that her child is to be "The Stallion that Mounts the World," some form of ultra-awesome Dothraki superman. The TV show also adds Viserys to the mix. He sees how Dany has become integrated into the Dothraki culture and, in a jealous rage, tries to steal her dragon eggs. He's stopped by Jorah Mormont, who all but declares outright that his allegiance is to the princess now. We also get the first intimations of Ser Jorah's [[Bodyguard Crush]] on Daenerys, which is likely to prove important later.

 

 

Ned sits the Iron Throne for the first time in his life, passing judgment on the petitions of riverlanders who have come to King's Landing for justice. They were attacked in the night by a band of raving rapers, led by a man who chopped the head off a horse in anger. "That sounds like someone we know," [[Captain Obvious|Littlefinger]] whispers to Ned. "''[[Don't Explain the Joke|The Mountain]]''." They also left behind a bunch of fish, which Littlefinger observes is the sigil of House Tully. "Can you think of ''any'' reason the Lannisters might ''possibly'' have for being angry with your wife?" Ned commissions a force to bring Clegane to justice, led by Lord Beric Dondarrion, and then passes a royal decree stripping Clegane of his lands, titles and knighthood. He also summons The Mountain's master, Tywin Lannister, to court; he must either declare his loyalty or face the same fate. [[This Means War|It's on now, kids]].

More check-ins: Joffrey visits Sansa, interrupting a pretty serious snark-fest between her and Septa Mordane. He gives her a necklace (and a kiss!) and promises never to mistreat her again. Meanwhile, Theon finds his favorite whore Ros on the kingsroad, heading to the greener (fleshier?) pastures of the capitol. She gives him one more flash of her cooter. That's the only appropriate word for the circumstances.

 

 

It's Vaes Dothrak, and there's a feast. Things are going pretty well for Drogo and Dany until Viserys stumbles in, either drunk or more insane than usual. (He was drunk in the book, but the TV show doesn't say anything either way.) When the Dothraki shame him, he draws his sword, threatening to spill blood in the sacred city. He demands the [[Title Drop|golden crown]] he was promised in exchange for his sister keeping her skin intact. Khal Drogo agrees. He pulls off his medallion-encrusted belt and tosses it into a pot over the cookfire, where the gold begins to melt. To quote the book, "Viserys began to scream the high, wordless scream of the coward facing death." In a moment, he's got his golden crown... but he doesn't seem to enjoy it very much. He hits the ground with clanking finality and stays there.

=== Tropes in this episode include: ===

* [[Alas, Poor Villain]]: {{spoiler|Viserys'}} death could almost come off as this, given how sympathetically he's played in that scene.

* [[A Real Man Is a Killer]]: "In the Iron Islands, you're not a man until you've killed your first enemy."

* [[As You Know]]: Littlefinger lets Ned know exactly what's going on as he hears the report of Gregor Clegane's atrocities, including the sigil of his own wife's family. Justified as subtly insulting Ned with how little he's prepared for this.

** Littlefinger may also have been trying to provoke Ned into doing something ill-considered. He wasn't especially subtle or quiet about pointing out the symbolism of the fish.

* [[Awesome Moment of Crowning]]: {{spoiler|So very, very subverted.}}

* [[Berserk Button]]: {{spoiler|Viserys}} managed to push Khal Drogo's by threatening Daenerys and her unborn son.

* [[Combat Pragmatist]]: Bronn fights Vardis Egan by being evasive and tiring out the heavily-armored knight. Lysa criticizes Bronn for fighting without honor, which he readily admits.

* [[Cruel and Unusual Death]]: {{spoiler|Viserys}}.

* [[Disproportionate Retribution]]: In response to Catelyn's vigilante arrest of his son, Tywin Lannister sends out an army to kill, rape, and burn their way across villages under the king's protection, leaving behind dead fish as a symbol of which family is to blame.

* [[Domestic Abuse]]: Robert slaps Cersei hard enough to draw blood after she insults his masculinity. And note that he doesn't know anything about her adultery or other possible crimes against him. He regrets his actions moments later.

* [[Papa Wolf]]: You '''don't''' threaten Khal Drogo's wife and son. Unless, of course, you wanna have {{spoiler|[[High Octane Nightmare Fuel|a nice crown]]}}.

* [[Schiff One-Liner]] (also [[Foreshadowing]]):

* [[That Came Out Wrong]]: Sansa describing her desire to marry Joffrey over a hypothetical lord put forward by her father--"I don't want someone brave and gentle and strong, I want him!" Arya snickers in response.

 

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[[Category:Recap]]