History Recap / GameOfThronesS2E9Blackwater

* TheEnemyOfMyEnemy: The Tyrells ally themselves with the Lannisters against Stannis.

* LuckilyMyShieldWillProtectMe: Stannis forces improvise a mantlet -- a boat with rib-like supports which they turn upside down so those manning the battering ram are protected from the rocks and arrows being hurled down on them.

* MeaningfulEcho: Tyrion uses "rain fire upon them" -- quoting Cersei from an earlier episode who was in turn quoting Lord Tywin.

'''Down below''', Bronn and the gold cloaks are engaging in some recreation of their own: drinking, singing and wenching. In particular, we are introduced to a song called "The Rains of Castamere," which we will explain in a bit as it is an important {{Leitmotif}} of the series. But for now let us move on to the arrival of the Hound in the tavern. He doesn't seem to like Bronn, possibly because the two of them aren't so different, and the two are nearly at swords before the bells ring the alarm, summoning the defenders to their posts.

'''Cersei''' is unmoved by Lancel's pleas to let Joffrey return to the fight, even though she has quite possibly doomed the city by pulling him in the first place. She punches Lancel right in his arrow and then charges out, Tommen in hand. It's left to Sansa to keep the assembled women calm, and she starts a [[CrowdSong hymn to the Mother]]. While everyone is distracted, Shae sends Sansa back to her room. "Go to your chambers and bar the door. Stannis won't hurt you. This one--" (cut to Ser Ilyn Payne) "--will." Sansa does as she is bade, but her room is already occupied. It's the Hound. He announces his intention to desert, and offers to take Sansa to Winterfell. Even though he's one of the few people who's been nice to her, she declines for reasons that were DummiedOut of the series. (See the Tropes section for more details.)

** There's no explanation of where the hill tribesmen are: In the novel Tyrion sends them off as a guerrilla force to harass Stannis forces who are also advancing by land through the Kingswood.

* AnnoyingArrows: Averted. Hails of arrows are shown cutting down mooks by the score on the battlefield. Lancel not only is prompted to flee the battle after getting injured with one, Cersei pretty much cripples him by just pushing the wound. In episode commentary, Mr. Martin explains that Lancel is walking around with the arrow head still embedded in his chest. They were unable to get it out, and when Cersei pushed Lancel she unknowingly pushed the arrow head. In the books, [[KickThemWhileTheyAreDown there was no "unknowing" about it]].
* ArrowsOnFire: Tyrion gives the specific order, "Rain fire on them," when Stannis is landing his forces before the castle walls in the Battle of Blackwater. There seems no reason to use flaming arrows except psychological (earlier a flaming arrow was used to set off the wildfire explosion), and all it does it cause the Hound to have a HeroicBSOD when he sees a ManOnFire. Tends to stick out as in [[Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire the novels on which its based]], Creator/GeorgeRRMartin avoids HollywoodTactics -- flaming arrows are only used when someone wants to set a building on fire.

* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: Bells always ring for horror, like a dead king, a city under siege and marriage. (Possibly {{foreshadowing}}, given that all the weddings we see in Seasons 3 and 4 are indeed horrific.)

* BetterToDieThanBeKilled: Cersei plans to poison herself and Tommen before Stannis can take them. Lucky for her and Tommen, it's Lancel and Tywin that come through the door.

** Tywin Lannister, Loras Tyrell and TheCavalry ride into battle just in the nick of time, with Tywin entering the throne room and announcing a Lannister victory. Could be VillainousRescue, depending on your perspective.

* BottleEpisode: Subverted; it's entirely in one area rather than the show's usual FourLinesAllWaiting approach, but is easily the most expensive episode so far and required a good deal of the season's budget to be reserved for it.
* BreastPlate: In what may be something of a parody, Cersei wears one built into her clothing, which is probably of no combat value and intended only to raise morale. The costume designers (specifically Michelle Clapton) intended for the metal plating ("armor") in Cersei's dresses to show her increased paranoia; she's essentially armoring herself against enemies, if only psychologically.

** In Season 1 while talking to Theon, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xr39g6hPB_8 Tyrion nonchalantly jokes about the sweet sight of sailors being burned alive]]. During this episode he actually sees it happen, and is obviously horrified by it.

* EnemyEatsYourLunch: Bronn and some gold cloaks and Lannister soldiers are drinking, singing and whoring in a tavern, expecting Stannis's siege. Then the Hound enters with a guy, and he motions to two guys to get out from their table. They don't even blink an eye and go. One of them tries to take his mug of ale with him, but the Hound calmly takes it from his hands, sits and starts drinking.
* TheEnemyOfMyEnemy: The Tyrells ally themselves to the Lannisters against Stannis.
* EveryoneHasStandards: Varys is clearly disturbed by the BlackMagic used by priests of the Lord of Light religion, and the prospect of a worshipper of it sitting on the Iron Throne terrifies him. It's implied this is because he was castrated as part of BlackMagic. Considering that he served under [[OmnicidalManiac King Aerys]] and now is serving [[TheCaligula Joffrey]], that is saying something.

** Varys' joke about the bells ringing for horrible occasions like a wedding foreshadows The Red Wedding, in which the Starks are slaughtered.

** Loras commands the Tyrell cavalry from the front and cuts down many of Stannis's soldiers as he rides towards the Red Keep.

'''Tyrion:''' Of course we are! Just because I pay your for your services doesn't diminish our friendship!\\

* FrontlineGeneral: Tyrion Lannister approves the normally inept King Joffrey's decision to join the troops on the city walls, as "soldiers fight better for a king who's not hiding behind his mother's skirts." Of course Tyrion is the one [[DragonInChief actually running the battle]], so this works well until the [[GodSaveUsFromTheQueen Queen Regent]], [[MyBelovedSmother worried about her son's safety]], orders him brought back to the Red Keep. Joffrey (who likes giving a BadassBoast but is actually a DirtyCoward) fails to stand up to his mother. When his soldiers see the King leaving, [[ScrewThisImOutOfHere they start to falter as well]]. Tyrion (who as an entirely pragmatic dwarf is the least likely person to go into battle) has to lead the sally himself in order to shame them into following him. Opposing him is Stannis Baratheon, who also inspires his men by being the first into the landing boats after wildfire destroys half their fleet, and the first up the ladder on the city walls. Note that in the novels this is actually a trait of his BloodKnight brother Robert Baratheon (Stannis is a more cold-blooded, pragmatic leader who commands from the rear) but is changed for RuleOfDrama. A blood-splattered Lord Tywin is also shown in the forces that break down Cersei's door.

** G.R.R. Martin himself latches onto the fact that no one's wearing a helmet in the commentary for this episode and ''will not let it go.''[[note]] This is for a ''very'' good reason: during the shooting of the first ever TV script Martin wrote, the director insisted the stuntman keep his visor open and the poor man had his nose cut off. Ironically, in the chapters this episode is based on, Tyrion repeatedly scolds Joffrey for opening his helmet's visor, noting what a stupid move it is.[[/note]]
** The only one who wears a helmet during the battle is Loras, who is [[ElCidPloy pretending to be Renly returned from the dead]] to demoralize Renly's former bannermen who went over to Stannis. The books make clear that some even turn on Stannis at the sight of the "ghost".

** Even though Lancel is pulled into the vanguard by Sandor Clegane, he still fights until he is badly wounded by an arrow, and tries to return to the castle walls with an unwilling Joffrey.

-->'''Joffrey:''' I could tell the Hound to cut you in half!\\

** Filled with this trope. While we know Tyrion is a badass, until Stannis's fleet caught fire no-one in Westeros thought he was. Plus volunteering to lead a near doomed counterattack against the attacking forces and succeeding. No wonder the troops were chanting "Halfman! Halfman!" at the end.
** Lancel proves that his knighting was not totally due to his lineage, by displaying that he does in fact have adequate swordfighting abilities. Seriously, for an effeminate-looking, nervous disposition-having, always-dominated lackey, he fights well.

** Joffrey threatens to be this; he certainly seems less dumb this episode and he actually stands around until all seems lost. Unfortunately the one time he needs to ignore his mother, he doesn't.
** Subverted for the Hound, who has a major breakdown during the battle.

* MotivationalLie: After Cersei pulls Joffrey out of the battle and leaves the room, Sansa tells the other ladies one to keep their morale up.

* NegatedMomentOfAwesome: The bells signalling the invasion prevent us from finding out who would win a fight between Bronn and the Hound.

** Davos spotting the wildfire leaking from the ship, followed by Joffrey seeing just how many of Stannis's men survived the attack. And finally Tyrion gets a typically understated one when his forces defeat one group of Baratheon men, only to get all the others charging at them. "Oh, fuck me."

** Tyrion pulls off an excellent one, managing to keep the city defenders from deserting at their darkest moment. He doesn't appeal to gold, glory, or loyalty to their king, but to their desire to protect their homes and families from the RapePillageAndBurn that will probably ensue.

** Awesomely played straight by Stannis, Tyrion (a lord, but it still counts), and Tywin. Averted as expected by Joffrey who does nothing in the battle but whine and then flee.

* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: Sandor abandons the King's cause after seeing the Blackwater on fire and the slaughter at the Mud Gate.

* SparedByTheAdaptation: Ser Imry Florent at least possibly. In the books he's the one who leads the fleet and dies in Tyrion's trap.
* StealthPun: Tyrion, a man afflicted with dwarfism, is given an axe to wield in the fight. Think about it; in most fantasy settings, [[OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame what weapons do dwarves typically favor?]]

* TheUnreveal: Varys teases Tyrion of how he became a eunuch but saves it for a less dire time. Tyrion gets the explanation a season later.
* UriahGambit: It is never confirmed whether this is what Tyrion was hoping for when he put Joffrey on the front lines [[labelnote:in the books]]at least he really is trying to keep morale up, and Joffrey does a decent job of it at first with his own RousingSpeech[[/labelnote]], but it is ''very'' clear that this is what Sansa was hoping for when she suggests that Joffrey lead the vanguard.

** Tyrion is being sorely beset [[DropTheHammer by a soldier's hammer]] when someone [[DivingSave tackles the man]]. Tyrion smiles wryly at Ser Mandon Moore--who promptly tries to kill him, only for Podrick Payne to shove a spear through Moore's face.

* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: Stannis personally leads the fight and cuts down everyone in his way.

* WeHaveReserves: Subverted. Stannis calmly expects thousands of his men will die to put him on the throne. However, he is not one to sugar-coat war and isn't one to shy away from letting his men know just what victory will cost them in such a siege, and unlike typical [[ArmchairMilitary Armchair Generals]] leads from the ''front'', [[AuthorityEqualsAsskicking and most definitely leads by example]]. He speaks the truth and how they perceive it is their own business. All he asks of them was to follow and help him TAKE THE CITY!
** Not to mention that the line could be understood to mean that while Stannis expects many of his troops to die, he also expects to take hundreds of Lannister soldiers down with them.

* AnAxeToGrind: Bronn asks Tyrion if he knows how to use the axe his squire has just given him.
-->'''Tyrion:''' I chopped wood once. No, wait, I watched my ''brother'' chop wood.
:: He does however put it to good use.

%% * {{Foreshadowing}}:
%% ** The Rains of Castamere.
%% ** Varys' joke about the bells ringing for horrible occasions like a wedding.

** Loras commands the Tyrell cavalry from the front, and cuts down many of Stannis's soldiers as he rides towards the Red Keep.

* RuleOfSexy: For a series which prides itself on its grittiness, it's completely unrealistic for Loras to look like he had just stepped out of a Westerosi hair shampoo commercial when he reaches the throne room.

'''Down below''', Bronn and the gold cloaks are engaging in some recreation of their own: drinking, singing and wenching. In particular, we are introduced to a song called "The Rains of Castamere," which we will explain in a bit as it is an important {{Leitmotif}} of the series. But for now let us move on to the arrival of the Hound in the tavern. He doesn't seem to like Bronn, possibly because the two of them are NotSoDifferent, and the two are nearly at swords before the bells ring the alarm, summoning the defenders to their posts.

* NotSoDifferent: The Hound tries this on Bronn. However, Bronn (being an amoral pragmatist) isn't especially perturbed by it.

'''Outside the city walls''', Clegane is doing a bang-up job of staying alive, carving up mooks left right and centre. But the reality of his phobia begins to get to him, and he loses his nerve. A Baratheon man-at-arms who is drenched in flames makes an attack run at him ([[MadeOfIron ?!]]), and the Hound is too unnerved to defend himself; instead, someone shoots the flaming man in the eye: Bronn. However, [[WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes everything is still blazing away]], and Sandor staggers back inside the city walls, his remaining defenders falling in around him. The ladders go up, and Stannis himself is the first man on the wall, laying about him with his sword and butchering fools like the boss he is.

In '''the Throneroom''', Joffrey strides forth with Lancel Lannister, the Hound and three more members of the Kingsguard--only Ser Mandon Moore and Ser Boros Blount are identified by name; the third was Ser Balon Swann in the book, but he's never been identified onscreen whereas Meryn Trant has--in tow. Both he and Lancel look desperately out of place on a battlefield, far more so than Tyrion, who is striding about purposefully. As they gain '''the battlements''', they see Blackwater Bay empty: no Stannis-fleet, and no Joffrey-fleet either. And here we discover why the defense of King's Landing has been so desperate: Bureaucracy.

[[INeedAFreakingDrink "Someone, bring me a drink... Fuck the water. Bring me wine!"]] Sandor declares. Neither Tyrion's scorn nor Joffrey's petulance can compel him to go back out there while the Blackwater is on fire. He deserts the battle, leaving the Kingslanders without a battle commander. (This is a bit of a sop to Kingsguard knight Ser Balon Swann, who by repute is all a knight should be; but then he hasn't even been identified on screen yet.) As Baratheon forces bring a ram, and turtle to protect it, up to the Mud Gate, Lancel arrives with Cersei's orders. Though he hesitates, Joffrey seems to have finally realized that he [[IDontKnowMortalKombat does NOT know Mortal Kombat]] and has no business leading from the front. Of course, it's still the worst timing possible. He departs in full view of his forces, and morale plummets.

* WhamEpisode

Ladies and Gentlemen, for today's episode, we give you: '''the Battle of the Blackwater''', a pivotal engagement in the War of Five Kings between Stannis Baratheon and Joffrey Baratheon over control of '''King's Landing'''. The action takes place entirely on and around '''Blackwater Bay''', and no characters anywhere else in the world appear. It was also written by series scribe Creator/GeorgeRRMartin, and much of the season's increase in budget was devoted solely to it. We're in for a hell of a ride.

The battle surges back and forth, Kingslanders against Stormlanders, with Tyrion ducking blows as best he can. His assailant is knocked away to reveal Ser Mandon Moore of the Kingsguard, and Tyrion smiles with relief and strides towards him. [[HolyShitQuotient Moore raises his sword]] [[CavalryBetrayal and slices Tyrion across the face.]] Blood begins to seep from the cut as Tyrion flops to his knees. Moore advances to deliver the ''coup de grace'', but then a spearpoint erupts through his skull, and he falls--revealing Podrick Payne, protecting his master as a good squire should. Pod cradles Tyrion as the dwarf gasps in pain.

* BeautyIsNeverTarnished[=/=]HairFlip: A rare example with a male character. When Loras removes his helm, his curly hair looks perfect despite having fought a battle. There doesn't appear to be a single scratch or bruise on him. [[http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m4qbcj850i1qk4ih5o1_500.gif A popular animated gif on tumblr]] pokes fun at this improbable moment.

** Filled with this trope. While we know Tyrion is a badass, until Stannis's fleet caught fire no-one in Westeros thought he was. Plus volunteering to lead a near doomed counterattack against the attacking forces and succeeding. No wonder the troops were chanting "Halfman!" "Halfman!" at the end.
** Lancel proves that his knighting was not totally due to his lineage, by displaying that he did in fact have adequate swordfighting abilities. Seriously, for an effeminate-looking, nervous disposition-having, always-dominated lackey, he fought well.

** Joffrey threatened to be this; he certainly seemed less dumb this episode and he actually stood around until all seemed lost. Unfortunately the one time he needs to ignore his mother, he doesn't.
** Subverted for the Hound who had a major breakdown during the battle.
* LoudOfWar: The city bells sound to signal Stannis' invasion. In response: ''"DRUMS!"''

* MolotovTruck: Tyrion has a single ship loaded with their entire supply of wildfire, pokes a few holes in the back to leave a slow-leaking trail of the stuff, then has it set towards Stannis' fleet without crew so they won't fire upon it until it's dead-center of their formation, whereupon he has Bronn ignite the trail to detonate the entire cargo and most of Stannis' fleet with it.

* MotivationalLie: Sansa tells the other ladies one after Cersei pulls of Joffrey out of the battle and leaves the room to keep their morale up.

** Bronn reassures Tyrion that he'll be "unstoppable with an axe". He should know; in the books, he's the one who gave Tyrion his axe in the first place.

* NegatedMomentOfAwesome: The bells signalling the invasion preventing us from finding out who would win a fight between Bronn and the Hound.

-->"You like fucking, and drinking, and singing. But killing... killing's the thing you love. You're just like me. [[BackhandedCompliment Only smaller.]]"

** Davos spotting the wildfire leaking from the ship, followed by Joffrey seeing just how many of Stannis' men survived the attack. And finally Tyrion gets a typically understated one when his forces defeat one group of Baratheon men, only to get all the others charging at them. "Oh, fuck me."

* OneManArmy: Stannis Baratheon cuts his way through Lannister soldiers on the walls of King's Landing. Sandor Clegane also slices through every man he encounters, and its his withdrawal that causes the vanguard to fall back.
* TheOnlyOne: Varys tells Tyrion that he's the only man who can stop Stannis tonight from seizing the Iron Throne.

* [[PetTheDog Petted By The Dog]]: Sandor offering to take Sansa with him when he flees the city and to take her home.
* PragmaticAdaptation: The battle takes place at night unlike in the novel, to make the CGI more convincing and to make the fire look more impressive.

** Stannis has a plain semi-subversion, fitting his socially awkward personality. Instead of a speech, all his troops get is "Come with me and TAKE THIS CITY!" It seems to work on them though, as they're inspired by his example and bravery since he's the first to board a transport boat.

-->'''Sandor Clegane:''' [[ClusterFBomb Fuck the king's guard. Fuck the city.]] ''(Looks at Joffrey)'' [[PrecisionFStrike Fuck the King]].
* ShamingTheMob: How Tyrion starts his RousingSpeech- if his troops aren't braver than a dwarf, then they may as well not be men.

* StuffBlowingUp

* TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth: Implied by inversion in how Sansa says that "the worst ones always live".

-->'''Varys''': I've always hated the bells. They ring for horror: a dead king, a city under siege--\\
'''Tyrion''': A wedding?\\
'''Varys''': Exactly.

* UndyingLoyalty: While the Tyrells joined the Lannisters out of a desire to gain more political power, Loras himself only wanted to avenge Renly's murder. Commanding a cavalry charge while wearing his deceased lover's armour is quite a GrandRomanticGesture, as it was Loras' way of honouring the vow he had made to Renly in Season 1.

* UriahGambit: It is never confirmed whether this is what Tyrion was hoping for when he put Joffrey on the front lines [[labelnote:in the books]]at least he really is trying to keep morale up, and Joffrey a decent job of it at first with his own RousingSpeech[[/labelnote]], but it is ''very'' clear that this is what Sansa was hoping for when she suggests that Joffrey lead the vanguard.
-->'''Sansa''': They say my brother Robb goes where the fighting is thickest, but he is only a pretender...

* WeHaveReserves: Subverted. Stannis calmly expects thousands of his men will die to put him on the throne. However, he is not one to sugar-coat war and isn't one to shy away from letting his men know just what victory will cost them in such a siege, and unlike typical [[ArmchairMilitary Armchair Generals]] leads from the ''front'', [[AuthorityEqualsAsskicking and most definitely leads by example.]] He spoke the truth and how they'd perceive it was their own business. All he asked of them was to follow and help him TAKE THE CITY!

* WhiteStallion: Loras charged into battle on Renly's white horse (which was seen in "Garden of Bones") to better enhance the illusion that he is King Renly's ghost.