History Recap / GameOfThronesS2E9Blackwater

-->"They say I am half a man -- what does that make all of you?"
* DarkestHour: Over the course of the battle, the Lannisters' military situation slowly gets worse and worse. Lancel is wounded, the Hound deserts, and a drunken Cersei orders Joffrey pulled back from the walls, leaving only Tyrion to command the defense. Tyrion's counterattack [[HopeSpot manages to drive off one wave of Stannis's men]], but is quickly overrun by a second. Tyrion is badly wounded by [[BodyguardBetrayal one of his own men]], and Cersei gives up all hope and prepares to poison herself and Tommen. It's only the last minute arrival of Tywin and the Tyrells that manages to turn the battle in the Lannisters' favor.
* DeadPersonImpersonation[=/=]ElCidPloy: Loras pretends to be Renly.

* DemotedToExtra: Ser Imry Florent. In the books he's the one that leads the fleet, while in the episode he's Stannis' NumberTwo aboard the ''Fury''.

** Joffrey rather unsurprisingly turns out to be all talk when it comes to battle. When Lancel arrives with a message from Cersei demanding his return, he gives into her wishes. To his credit, he's at least self-aware enough to try to milk a good excuse out of Lancel, but Lancel just repeats the message verbatim and Joffrey can only lamely appoint Ser Mandon Moore to handle his kingly duties in his stead.

* DoubleEntendre: Varys asks for Pod's name.

* EnemyEatsYourLunch: Bronn and some gold cloaks and Lannister soldiers are drinking, singing and whoring in a tavern, expecting Stannis' 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.

** Loras commands the Tyrell cavalry from the front, and cuts down many of Stannis' soldiers as he rides towards the Red Keep.
* FriendshipMoment: PlayedForLaughs, naturally when Tyrion calls Bronn his friend on the eve of battle.
-->'''Bronn:''' I've seen you kill a man with a shield; you'll be unstoppable with an axe. ''[They shake hands]'' Don't get killed.\\

* 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. [[spoiler:A blood-splattered Lord Tywin is also shown in the forces that break down Cersei's door.]]
* GrandRomanticGesture: By pretending to be King Renly's ghost, Loras was the only nobleman who fought purely for love, driven solely by the need to get back at Stannis for assassinating his boyfriend. Loras had lost his dream of claiming King's Landing in Renly's name, so the next best thing he could do was don his lover's armour in order to invoke Renly's "spirit" as he charged towards the city. If Renly couldn't have the Iron Throne, then Loras would make bloody sure that the kinslaying Stannis wouldn't get to it, either.

* HelmetsAreHardlyHeroic: The main characters don't bother with them, apart from Tyrion briefly when he leads a charge - though he still keeps his visor open. Mind you, they don't do much good for the mooks anyway.

** The only one who wears a helmet during the battle is Loras who, you would understand if you had read the books, is 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".

** Stannis also proves that he is a class A badass in this episode, rousing his men with a sentence just moments after half his fleet is blown up by a Westerosi equivalent of a Greek Fire/napalm bomb, getting onto the landing boats first, standing on the prow of his boat holding up his glinting sword in the moonlight as if daring for archers to shoot him, landing ashore in the first boat, running through a hail of flaming arrows unscathed and reaching the wall first, as well as being the first man to climb over it and slaughtering many defenders. He then has to be dragged off the battlefield by his men.

* INeedAFreakingDrink: Sandor after watching men burn alive.

In '''the Red Keep''', Tyrion is trying to sleep, but quite understandably having trouble. At least he has Shae on his side. ("You can't fuck your way out everything," he laughs. "I have so far," she reminds him.) Cersei is also not sleeping, though perhaps for another reason: she has Grand Maester Pycelle doddering his way through a speech. As it turns out, he has brought her a vial of "essence of nightshade." [[CyanidePill Why would a queen in a city besieged need poison]]?

'''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}} to 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.

''The Rains of Castamere'' is, InUniverse, Tywin Lannister's TheVillainSucksSong. You will recall, if you've paid attention to the series, that Tywin's father, Tytos Lannister, while he was considered a kind lord and a good man, he was also viewed as a weak and ineffectual ruler; his bannermen mocked him in their cups, and his mistress stole jewels from his wife. Some of House Lannister's bannermen, the Tarbecks of Tarbeck Hall and the Reynes of Castamere, decided to try to overthrow them. Well, Tywin took the Lannister armies against the "Red Lion of Castamere" and Lady Tarbeck and they lost: Tywin [[FinalSolution slew every Tarbeck or Reyne there ever was]] and tore down their castles. Keep in mind that by this point Tywin wasn't even the Lord of Casterly Rock yet.

''The Rains of Castamere'' is a song some bard crafted to commemorate the event; note the pun of "rains" vs "Reynes." Summarized it in one sentence, the song's meaning is, "A Lannister always wins." It can be considered DisproportionateRetribution that Tywin wiped out all the Reynes and Tarbecks, and perhaps it was, but note that House Lannister would have likely faced the same fate had they lost. But they didn't, and [[MightMakesRight that's the point]]. Once Lord Farman of Faircastle was also feeling big for his britches and beginning to make rebellious noises, all Lord Tywin did was send a bard to play this song. Lord Farman shut up quick as you please.

-->''And who are you, the proud lord said,\\

'''Podrick Payne girds Tyrion for war''' while Varys presents him with a much-desired map: it shows all the tunnels and secret passageways beneath King's Landing. He also mentions that, according to his little birds, Stannis has devoted himself to the Lord of Light and the red priesthood. Varys has never mentioned precisely how he was castrated, but the... [[TheUnreveal Well. Perhaps some other time.]] (In the book he ''does'' explain it; see the trope section below for what was left out.) But suffice it to say, Varys hates any practitioner of magic and will stop at nothing to keep one (IE Stannis) from the Iron Throne.

'''Aboardship''', Davos hears the ringing bells and orders his ships forward. The drummers beat the rhythm and the rowers begin their work. Tyrion, meanwhile, briefs Bronn on his duties, and then bids a [[HeterosexualLifePartner surprisingly heartfelt farewell]] to him. He also stops to pass his wishes to Sansa and her handmaiden, Shae, who will be joining Queen Cersei in Maegor's Holdfast (a castle within the Red Keep itself). "I will pray for your safe return, my lord," Sansa tells Tyrion. "[[FalseReassurance Just as I pray for the king's]]." Of course, Joffrey then summons Sansa to ''kiss his new sword'' ([[ICallItVera Hearteater]]), and promises she'll kiss it after the battle and taste Stannis's blood, so one can hardly blame half that sentiment. She asks if he'll be in the vanguard: "They say my brother Robb always goes where the fighting is thickest, and he is only a pretender." It would sure be a shame if [[WimpFight Joffrey]] listened to her and [[UriahGambit somehow got killed]] in the fight, huh?

-->'''Lancel:''' "Where's our fleet?"\\
'''Tyrion:''' "Away."\\
'''Joffrey:''' "Why isn't it here now, they're coming!!"[[note]]Incidentally, this is a plot hole. The book explains it, but the TV battle plays out differently and can't account for the missing fleet. See "CompressedAdaptation" in the trope list for more details.[[/note]]\\
'''Tyrion:''' *pays attention to the bay; doesn't answer*\\
'''Joffrey:''' "Hound, tell the Hand that his ''king'' has asked him a question.\\
'''The Hound:''' ([[YouHaveGotToBeKiddingMe *exasperated*]]) "The king has asked you a question."\\
'''Tyrion:''' *not looking up* "Ser Lancel, [[DelegationRelay tell the Hound to tell the King]] that the Hand is ''extremely'' busy."\\
'''Lancel:''' "The Hand of the King would like me to tell ''you'' to tell the ''King'' that--"

'''Maegor's Holdfast''' is a cramped and dreary place; there isn't even music, just some guy juggling (Ser Dontos Hollard, that guy Sansa saves in the first episode, now the new court fool). Cersei walks in wearing a BreastPlate, either as a LampshadeHanging or as further evidence of her vanity, and Tommen in tow. She immediately summons Sansa and the two have a rather stilted conversation. Sansa can't help but be distracted by the presence of Ser Ilyn Payne, the King's Justice (read: executioner), but Cersei claims he's there for everyone's protection. This is somewhat undermined by a Kingsguard knight reporting that several servants are trying to escape out a postern door with horses and gold cups: Cersei orders Payne to "see to" them. Like Theon before her, Cersei subscribes to Machiavelli.

Wisdom Hallyne hands Tyrion a torch, and he flings it: the signal. Bronn, heeding it, nocks an arrow and [[ArrowsOnFire sets it alight]]. It arcs out into Blackwater Bay and lands amidst the wildfire. "''Matthos!!''" Ser Davos yells. "''Get down!!''"

-->''Then he heard a short sharp ''woof'', as if someone had blown in his ear. Half a heartbeat later came the roar. The deck vanished beneath him, and black water smashed him across the face, filling his nose and mouth. He was choking, drowning. Unsure which way was up, Davos wrestled the river in blind panic until suddenly he broke the surface. He spat out water, sucked in air, grabbed hold of the nearest chunk of debris, and held on.\\
''Swordfish'' and the hulk were gone, blackened bodies were floating downstream beside him, and choking men clinging to bits of wood. Fifty feet high, a swirling demon of green flame danced upon the river. It had a dozen hands, in each a whip, and whatever they touched burst into fire.''
-->--Creator/GeorgeRRMartin, ''A Clash of Kings'', pg.835 (paperback)

Bronn, Tyrion, The Hound and (on his flagship) Stannis look on, horrified. [[PyroManiac Wisdom Hallyne looks pleased.]] So does Joffery. The Hound [[WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes looks terrified]], seeming to whisper "Oh my gods". But to Stannis's credit, he does not give up--and nor should he, as he still has enough ships and men to commit to an amphibious landing. As TV!Stannis leads from the front, unlike his pagebound counterpart, he and his men board the boats and begin to row out to the city.

In '''Maegor's Holdfast''', Sansa is praying with several other noblewomen when Cersei summons her again. "You're perfect, aren't you," Cersei marvels, seemingly in earnest. Sansa, praying to the gods to have mercy? On everyone? "Even me? Even Joffrey?" And Sansa's fledgling liar skills can't get her through that one. Cersei starts making mock of the gods, and then of her guests, whom she was obliged to invite but clearly has little use for. Sansa asks what will happen if the city falls, and Cersei declares she will surrender. "If it were anyone else outside those gates, I might have hoped for a private audience, but this is [[PrinciplesZealot Stannis Baratheon]]. I'd have a better chance seducing his horse." Then, "Have I shocked you, little dove? Tears aren't a woman's ''only'' weapon. The best one's between your legs. Learn how to use it." Clearly inebriated, Cersei then goes on to shatter any and all of Sansa's remaining chivalric notions when she states how all of the women, (especially virginal Lady Stark,) will be taken by force and raped by the blood-lusting Stormlanders when the castle is breached. [[INeedAFreakingDrink Sansa drinks hurriedly]].

The oars churn as Stannis's forces close up to '''the beach'''; there are enough of them to reach the lee of the walls, and Baratheon archers begin to return fire, knocking out some of the Lannister defenders. Pod is sent to the King's Gate to muster up any spare men, whilst The Hound leads a sortie to clear the first wave heading for the Mud Gate, dragging Lancel in with him. "Any man dies with a clean sword, '''I'll rape his fucking corpse!!!"''' Lancel, to his credit, holds his own, but someone manages to tag him with an arrow, and he scarpers back inside.

'''Cersei is holding out a conversation with Sansa'''--she's been doing most of the talking ever since everyone entered the room, actually--whilst Tommen drowses in his chair beside her. Unexpectedly, Cersei's eye alights on Shae, who rises to pay her respects. Cersei gives what may actually be a genuine laugh: "That's the worst curtsey I've ever seen. Here, it's not difficult, I mastered it when I was four." Shae gets it right the second time. Of course, now Cersei is interested in her, and begins to ask about her past--particularly how she managed to get from Lorath to the Red Keep in ten years without ever learning to curtsey. Fortunately, Lancel swings to her rescue ([[ButtMonkey ?!]]), barging in wounded to give his report. Cersei immediately orders Joffrey recalled, despite the importance of his remaining at his post. Lancel rushes off to obey, and Cersei returns her attention to Sansa and admits Ser Ilyn Payne's ''real'' motivation: "He's here for us. Stannis may take the city, he may take the throne, but he will not take us alive."

'''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 him 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.

'''Tyrion''', wearing a Lannister helm with the visor open, conducts a short, fierce skirmish against the Baratheon men operating the ram, repulsing them entirely. The Kingslanders chant his name: "''Halfman! Halfman! Halfman!''" But Tyrion turns to look down the beach, and as his men turn too, their exultation dies. There is a ''huge'' attack wave of Stormlanders charging into battle. "[[OhCrap Oh, fuck me]]," Tyrion groans.

Cersei has taken the last moments of her life to do the thing she has always, always wanted to do: '''sit the Iron Throne'''. Tommen is cradled in her arms. She tells him a bedtime story about a mother lion and her cub. "She loved him very much... but there were other things that lived in the woods, evil things. [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotDidactic Like stags.]]" ("Stags aren't evil, they only eat grass," Tommen protests.) Tyrion, sprawled upon '''the battlefield outside of the Mud Gate''', gives us a slow-motion shot of TheCavalry--literally, a line of charging horses. Stannis looks up as well. Whose horses? Where did these come from? They cleave through the battle lines, swords flashing, laying waste to Stannis' men-at-arms. One of them, if his armor is any indication, is Renly Baratheon. Tyrion slumps to the ground unconscious or worse. Hey, remember how this show killed off their first-billed character in Episode 9 ''last'' season?

The ending credits play to Music/TheNational's rendition of "The Rains of Castamere"

!!Tropes in this episode:

** Joffrey asks where his fleet went, and no (InUniverse) explanation for their absence is provided. In the book, they were used as bait for Stannis's fleet; see the entry for "CompressedAdaptation" for more details.

* AnArmAndALeg: Tyrion kills the battering ram commander by first cutting off his leg and slicing open his back.

-->"I chopped wood once. No, wait, I watched my ''brother'' chop wood."
** He does however put it to good use.

* 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.
** There is, at least, one technical reason out-of-universe to use flaming arrows in this battle; the lighting. It's very dark in every shot, as the battle is at night. The flaming arrows allow the audience to really get an idea of how many are being fired, whereas they might very well miss (nor in some cases, not even see) how many of those killer things are flying in the air.

* BigBadassBattleSequence
* BigBudgetBeefUp: Most of season 2's increase budget was spent on this episode

* 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 the first episode of Season 2, a drunken knight--the aforementioned Ser Dontos Hollard--is almost killed before Sansa proposes that he be made a court Fool. In the scene directly after Stannis declares "Come with me and take this city!" we see him juggling to entertain the Queen.

* CallThatAFormation: Justified: the assault on the Mud Gate follows a beach landing while already in range of arrows, and while there is a semblance of basic organization and military discipline, the nature of war with men-at-arms needing room to swing their swords and axes doesn't really allow for tight formations during the counter-attacks. Despite this, the various forces, for the most part, manage to maintain some degree of cohesion, however loose. The combined Lannister/Tyrell force that comes in to save the day at the tail end charge home in loose, but clear formations as well.
* CapitalOffensive: The climax of Stannis' bid for the Iron Throne is his spectacular attempt to seize the capital.
* TheCavalry: The combined Lannister-Tyrell army is a literal example.

* CleanCut: The Hound cuts several men in half (it's not mentioned if has a [[AbsurdlySharpBlade Valaryan blade]], but he's certainly strong). Stannis slices the top off another soldier's head.

** Loras fulfills his brother Garlan's role in the Battle of the Blackwater (i.e. pretending to be Renly to spook Stannis's army). This doubles as PragmaticAdaptation: Loras is only 17 years old in ''A Clash of Kings''; he tries to put on Renly's armor, but it is too big for him, as Renly is built like Robert in his youth, so he has to settle for his elder brother Garlan wearing it. On the show, Loras is an adult man and about the same size as Renly, thus rendering Garlan's role pointless.

* CompressedAdaptation: In the book, Tyrion arrays Joffrey's tiny fleet as TheBait for the unmanned wildfire hulk, sacrificing it to the green god of wildfire. Tyrion also commissions a giant chain across the mouth of the Blackwater: he waits until Stannis's fleet is committed and then gives Bronn "the signal" to raise the chain, blocking the river and preventing any of Stannis's ships or men from escaping the holocaust. However, Stannis is not aboard his ships: his army is drawn up on the other side of the Blackwater river, and enough shipwrecks pile up at the chain that some of those men can begin to cross via their decks. ("Those are some brave men out there. Let's go kill them.") Much of the final phase of the battle takes place towards and eventually on this bridge of ships, but Stannis himself remains in the rear, where the Lannister-Tyrells sweep him from the field; Salladhor Saan's ships, remaining back as a contingency force, are his army's only escape. Obviously, the televised version of the battle is much more simplified, and doesn't suffer much for its reduction in scope.

** 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.

* CurbStompBattle: Mostly off-screen, but the Tyrell-Lannister alliance utterly devastates Stannis's forces and forces them to retreat. We later find out that his losses effectively removed him from contention for the Iron Throne.

* VomitIndiscretionShot: A soldier on one of Stannis' ships throws up into a barrel already full to the brim with vomit.

* EnemyEatsYourLunch: Bronn and some gold cloaks and Lannister soldiers are drinking, singing and whoring in a tavern, expecting Stannis' 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 calmy takes it from his hands, sits and starts drinking.

* 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 her 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. [[spoiler:A blood-splattered Lord Tywin is also shown in the forces that break down Cersei's door.]]

-->'''Sandor Clegane:''' [[ClusterFBomb Fuck the king's guard. Fuck the city]]. [Looks at Joffrey] [[PrecisionFStrike Fuck the King]].

* IncrediblyLamePun: 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?]]

* MadeOfPlasticine: My god. Sandor slices a man in two, and Stannis cuts the top of a man's head clean off.

* MilesGlorious: To no one's surprise, Joffrey can't back up his boasting and flees before the enemy gets anywhere near him.

* VillainousBreakdown: Cersei

* AnnoyingArrows: Averted. 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]].

* 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.

* EvenEvilHasStandards: It might be a stretch to call Varys evil, but he 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 [[TheCaligula Joffrey]] that is saying something.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: The Rains of Castamere.
** Not to mention Varys' joke about the bells ringing for horrible occasions like a wedding.

%%* HoldTheLine

* 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 [[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 Season 3 are indeed horrific.)

** Contrasted by Sansa and Cersei. Sansa spends the night praying and leading the others present in song. Cersei is busy getting drunk and insulting them in the same room.

* CoolHelmet: Loras wears Renly's antlered helm at the Battle of Blackwater as part of his elaborate disguise.

** 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.

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

* IncrediblyLamePun:
-->'''Joffrey:''' I could tell the Hound to cut you in half!\\
'''Tyrion:''' That would make me a quarter-man. Just doesn't have the same ring to it.

** Stannis also proves that he is a class A BadAss in this episode, rousing his men with a sentence just moments after half his fleet is blown up by a Westerosi equivalent of a Greek Fire/napalm bomb, getting onto the landing boats first, standing on the prow of his boat holding up his glinting sword in the moonlight as if daring for archers to shoot him, landing ashore in the first boat, running through a hail of flaming arrows unscathed and reaching the wall first, as well as being the first man to climb over it and slaughtering many defenders. He then has to be dragged off the battlefield by his men.

* BadAss: This episode shows off the credentials of Sandor Clegane, Bronn, Tyrion and Stannis excellently.

-->--GeorgeRRMartin, ''A Clash of Kings'', pg.835 (paperback)

* 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 [[ASongOfIceAndFire the novels on which its based]], GeorgeRRMartin avoids HollywoodTactics -- flaming arrows are only used when someone wants to set a building on fire.

** The costume designers (specifically Michelle Clapton) intended for the metal plating ("armor") in Cersei's dresses is to show her increased paranoia; she's essentially armoring herself against enemies, if only psychologically.

Bronn, Tyrion, The Hound and (on his flagship) Stannis look on, horrified. [[PyroManiac Wisdom Hallyne looks pleased.]] So does Joffrey. But to Stannis's credit, he does not give up--and nor should he, as he still has enough ships and men to commit to an amphibious landing. As TV!Stannis leads from the front, unlike his pagebound counterpart, he and his men board the boats and begin to row out to the city.

* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Tyron shows shades of this on his face when seeing, and hearing, the hundreds of men on dozens of boats burning and drowning in Blackwater Bay after his plan with the Wildfire plays out successfully.

** In the book, Sansa is only so comfortable about the Hound's company. He intimidates her physically and emotionally, is a JerkAss to her if he feels like it, and has made her uncomfortable by expressing sexual attraction to her (in fact, we find out later that he was contemplating raping her at this very moment). Additionally, she has eggs in another basket: that of Dontos Hollard, the knight she convinced Joffrey to spare back at the top of the season, who has since offered to demonstrate his gratitude by helping her escape. ''All this was DummiedOut'': the Hound has undergone AdaptationalHeroism and Hollard is PutOnABus until Season 4. Consequently, the televised Sansa has no viewer-apparent reason to stay in King's Landing.

* AnnoyingArrows: Averted. 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]].

* BetterToDieThanBeKilled: Cersei's point of view.

** Loras fulfills his brother Garlan's role in the Battle of the Blackwater (i.e. pretending to be Renly to spook Stannis's army).
*** PragmaticAdaptation: Loras is only 17 years old in ''A Clash of Kings''; he tries to put on Renly's armor, but it is too big for him, as Renly is built like Robert in his youth, so he has to settle for his elder brother Garlan wearing it. On the show, Loras is an adult man and about the same size as Renly, thus rendering Garlan's role pointless.

* ConvenientlyTimedAttackFromBehind: Bronn saving the Hound. 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.

** Joffrey rather unsurprisingly turns out to be all talk when it comes to battle. However, to give him his due, he did at least seem to realize that it was a bad idea to withdraw from battle, and seemed unsure about it. Considering how stupid and blinkered he usually is, even hesitating to withdraw is a big moment for him.
*** Though in the commentary, George R.R. Martin explains Joffrey's real problem with leaving is that Lancel is refusing to give him an honorable reason for it beyond "Your mother is making you."

-->'''Tyrion:''' As if you don't know the name of every boy in town.
-->'''Varys:''' I'm not entirely sure what you're suggesting.
-->'''Tyrion:''' [[IKnowYouKnowIKnow I'm entirely sure you're entirely sure what I'm suggesting.]]

* HoldTheLine

* IncrediblyLamePun

* MolotovTruck

* MythologyGag: Part of Tyrion's armor is a chain made up of hands clasping one another. In the books, this, rather than the pin, is the Hand's symbol of office.

* NayTheist: Cersei gives virtually the dictionary definition of one when talking about her father: "He believes in [the gods], he just doesn't like them very much"

* NotSoDifferent: The Hound tries this on Bronn:

** However, Bronn (being an amoral pragmatist) isn't especially perturbed by it.
* OhCrap: 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."

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

The ending credits play to TheNational's rendition of "The Rains of Castamere"

** Sansa's decision to not link up with the Hound seems inexplicable: he's obviously a fearsome warrior, and aside from Tyrion he's basically the only person in King's Landing who's ever nice to her. In the books, she was also counting on help from Dontos Hollard, who in the show wouldn't express a desire to help her until the fourth season. Additionally, the Hound was much more of a JerkAss toward her and often physically intimidates her, largely because he can (in fact, we find out later that he was contemplating raping her at that very moment).
** Joffrey asks where his fleet went, and no (InUniverse) explanation for their absence is provided. In the book, they were used as bait for Stannis fleet, which was AdaptedOut for budgetary reasons.

** In the first episode of Season 2, a drunken knight is almost killed before Sansa proposes that he be made a court Fool. In the scene directly after Stannis declares "Come with me and take this city!" we see the former knight juggling to entertain the Queen.

* CompressedAdaptation: In the book, Tyrion arrays Joffrey's tiny fleet as TheBait for the unmanned wildfire hulk, sacrificing it to the green god of wildfire. Tyrion also commissions a giant chain across the mouth of the Blackwater: he waits until Stannis's fleet is committed and then gives Bronn "the signal" to raise the chain, blocking the river and preventing any of Stannis's ships or men from escaping the holocaust. However, Stannis is not aboard his ships: his army is drawn up on the other side of the Blackwater river, and enough shipwrecks pile up at the chain that some of those men can begin to cross via their decks. ("Those are some brave men out there. Let's go kill them.") Much of the final charge takes place towards and eventually on this bridge of ships, but Stannis himself remains in the rear, where the Lannister-Tyrells sweep him from the field; Salladhor Saan's ships, remaining back as a contingency force, are his army's only escape. With all this in mind, it's quite obvious why the TV version discards the chain: [[PragmaticAdaptation budget concerns]].

** [[spoiler:Not to mention Varys' joke about the bells ringing for horrible occasions like a wedding.]]

* CompressedAdaptation: In the book, Tyrion arrays Joffrey's tiny fleet as TheBait for the unmanned wildfire hulk, sacrificing it to the green god of wildfire. Tyrion also commissions a giant chain across the mouth of the Blackwater: he waits until Stannis's fleet is committed and then gives Bronn "the signal" to raise the chain, blocking the river and preventing any of Stannis's ships or men from escaping the holocaust. However, Stannis is not aboard his ships: his army is drawn up on the other side of the Blackwater river, and enough shipwrecks pile up at the chain that some of those men can begin to cross via their decks. ("Those are some brave men out there. Let's go kill them.") Much of the final charge takes place towards and eventually on this bridge of ships, but Stannis himself remains in the rear, where the Lannister-Tyrells sweep him from the field; Salladhor Saan's ships, remaining back as a contingency force, are his army's only escape. With all this in mind, it's quite obvious why the TV version discards the chain: [[PragmaticAdpatation budget concerns]].

** In season 1 while talking to Theon, [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KT2LAXLshTA 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.

And so on. Joffrey, for once in his life sensible, threatens to cut it all short by cutting ''the Hand'' short, but Tyrion points out that he needs to give "the signal" upon which the city's defense rests. So evidently he has something up his sleeve. Out to sea, [[GenreSavvy Ser Davos is also concerned over the missing fleet,]] but has no choice but to press on.

* GenreSavvy: Sansa predicting that Joffrey will survive the battle, because "the worst ones always [come back]."