History Recap / AGameOfThrones

Sansa, who was present at court, expresses to Jeyne Poole her incredulity that her father did not choose Loras Tyrell, the most {{bishounen}} man in the Seven Kingdoms, and the two proceed to talk about various knights and lords of the court, disagreeing on who is dreamier.

In a Small Council session, Ned hears the complaints of Janos Slynt, Lord Commander of the City Watch (also called the "gold cloaks" for their garments). The Hand's tourney has brought in people from all over the realm, and the peace is suffering for it. After donating twenty of his own guardsmen to Slynt and authorizing the hiring of more still, Ned returns to his chambers, where he contemplates the book Pycelle gave him: ''The Lineages and Histories of the Great Houses of the Seven Kingdoms, [[OverlyLongTitle With Descriptions of Many High Lords and Noble Ladies And Their Children]]'', by Grand Maester Malleon. Ned feels certain that some secret hides within, but can't say what.

Dany is struggling with probably the most unappetizing thing she's ever eaten: the heart of a stallion, served fresh and whole. As part of a Dothraki ritual, she chokes it down bite by bite; her ability to handle the tough, stringy thing will determine whether the child will be weak, deformed, stillborn or -- worst of all -- [[RatedMForManly female]]. With Khal Drogo watching over her, pride slowly kindling in his eyes, she manages to consume the whole thing. The ''dosh khaleen'' proclaim that her child will not only be a son, but a prince who was promised: The Stallion that Mounts the World, the ''khal'' who will unite all ''khalasars'' under his rule. Daenerys has decided to name him Rhaego, after her oldest brother; Drogo approves, once he has heard some of the feats that this man performed.

Unfortunately, Catelyn has some bad news for her husband: Lord Jon Arryn, Ned's foster father and brother-in-law (Jon Arryn wed Cat's sister Lysa), has taken ill and died. Even worse, Lord Arryn was Hand of the King, the NumberTwo of Westeros, and King Robert Baratheon, Ned's surrogate brother, is this very moment traveling north from the capitol of King's Landing to visit Ned. Catelyn is filled with concern: the sigil of House Baratheon is a stag, and she has heard about the direwolf mother and the antler that slew it. Ned, however, who cares little for {{symbolism}}, is excited over the thought of seeing Robert again.

Ned thinks of Lyanna as well, experiencing some internal flashbacks to when he found Lyanna on her deathbed, from where she begged him, "[[ThePromise Promise me, Ned]]." The contents of this promise remain unrevealed, but Ned implies in conversation that she wished to be interred here in the crypts at Winterfell; however, his narration continues to provide {{Cryptic Background Reference}}s to the promise at various other times, including at times that have nothing to do with Lyanna's burial.[[note]]They form some of the textual proof for the R+L=J theory -- the one where '''J'''on Snow is, as he is in the TV series, not actually Ned Stark's child but rather that of his sister '''L'''yanna and '''R'''haegar Targaryen. This may be why very few people were surprised when the revelation dropped in Season 6: GRRM {{foreshadowed}} it 20 years before, in only the ''fifth chapter'' of the entire series.[[/note]]

But soon, talk turns to business. Robert wants Ned to be Hand of the King. He wants Ned as his HypercompetentSidekick, much as Jon Arryn was; Ned can be TheGoodChancellor, running the country while Robert drinks and whores. It's the last thing Ned wants, but Robert sweetens the deal by offering to wed his son Joffrey to Ned's eldest daughter, Sansa.

Jory asks his lord if he has found what he sought, and Ned says that he did. What he cannot explain is why Gendry — whose StrongFamilyResemblance to Robert Baratheon shows him to be one of the king's many {{Literal Bastard}}s — is worth murdering over.

After the court session dissolves, Varys critiques Ned's choices: Ser Loras Tyrell, the Knight of Flowers, volunteered to lead, and since House Tyrell is the second most-powerful house after House Lannister, it would do for Ned to make StrangeBedfellows with them. He also mentions that it was a slight not to send Ser Ilyn Payne, the King's Justice, for, despite being Lord Tywin's former captain of the guard, "he so loves his work."

Dany's other gift of note, given to her by her new husband, is a silver filly, the color of smoke and wind; she and Daenerys take to each other immediately. But after the gifts comes the consummation. Khal Drogo leads Daenerys away on their horses, and the thirteen-year-old girl begins to weep at the thought of this imposing warlord, with whom she shares no common language except for one ''word''--"No"--and the knowledge of what he is about to do to her body. But once they are alone, the khal shows [[HiddenDepths consideration, and even tenderness]], to his bride. He, for all intents and purposes, seduces her, as a lover would and; in the end, Daenerys comes to him willingly: "Yes."

As he and Littlefinger ride home through the rain, he remembers when Lyanna became betrothed to Robert, and how realistic she was about the fact that he would never stay loyal to her. When he brings up the subject to Littlefinger, and his suspicions that this hunt for Robert's bastards was what led to Jon Arryn's death, Baelish points out that the children's existence is too TriviallyObvious to be worth killing for. Ned thinks of Rhaegar Targaryen, the man who probably would be king right now if not for Robert's Rebellion, and has a hunch that he would not have left so many illegitimate children lying around.[[note]]This fact is pivotal to R+L=J. Robert is certain Rhaegar abducted Lyanna against her will... but if that's the case, then why would Lyanna, who by all accounts was able to fight and protect herself, ask Ned to look after Jon?--as opposed to having him toss the unwanted ChildByRape off the nearest cliff. The answer lies here. Robert's hatred of Rhaegar is a VocalMinority; basically ''every other character in the series'', across all five extant books, regards Rhaegar as a NiceGuy and AllLovingHero. And if we're trying to figure out why a Nice Guy and All-Loving Hero would kidnap and rape a girl against her will, the answer is simple: '''he didn't.''' Lyanna went ''willingly''. Regardless of whether this extends to the "MyOwnPrivateIDo" depicted in the show, it paints Jon as a ChildOfForbiddenLove, it explains why Lyanna would beg ThePromise of Ned that he look after Jon, and it explains why Ned would agree to do so despite the catastrophic consequences to his own marriage.[[/note]]

Ned was one of the seven. The three were knights of the Kingsguard, FamedInStory: Ser Oswell Whent, the [[BlackHumor Black Bat]] of Harrenhal; Ser Arthur Dayne, called "[[TheyCallHimSword the Sword of the Morning]]" for his AncestralWeapon, a {{BFS}} made of ThunderboltIron named "Dawn"; and the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard himself: Ser Gerold Hightower, called "the White Bull."[[note]]Of the other four white swords: Ser Jonothor Darry, Prince Lewyn of Dorne, and Ser Barristan Selmy fought alongside Prince Rhaegar at the ruby ford, which only Selmy survived; and the most junior member, Ser Jaime Lannister, was left at the capitol, where he would earn [[TheKingslayer a name]] for himself. Also, if you're wondering why the three greatest members of the PraetorianGuard were left to look after some northern chit of no consequence (other than that Rhaegar was fucking her on the side) when they could have been doing something more important: congratulations, you've stumbled upon the ''other'' main pieces of texual evidence of the R+L=J theory![[/note]]

After she has left the room, Robert criticizes his own actions: "That was not ... that was not ''kingly''." “I was always strong ... no one could stand before me, no one. How do you fight someone if you can’t hit them?” "Rhaegar ... Rhaegar ''won'', damn him. ... He has Lyanna now, and I have ''her''." He officially refuses to accept Ned's resignation and bids him rule while Robert takes a hunting trip to the kingswood. "And if you ever throw it in my face again, I swear to you, I’ll pin the damned thing on Jaime Lannister.”

Dany's other gift of note is a silver filly, the color of smoke and wind; she and Daenerys take to each other immediately. But after the gifts comes the consummation. Khal Drogo leads Daenerys away on their horses, and the thirteen-year-old girl begins to weep at the thought of this imposing warlord, with whom she shares no common language except for one ''word''--"No"--and the knowledge of what he is about to do to her body. But once they are alone, the khal shows [[HiddenDepths consideration, and even tenderness]], to his bride. He, for all intents and purposes, seduces her, as a lover would and; in the end, Daenerys comes to him willingly: "Yes."

Ned, on the kingsroad heading south, is rousted from his bed by the king. Robert is looking back on his life, envying the carefree days of his youth, joking about all the bastards he's sired over the years (he knows of at least two). Since Ned has only one youthful indiscretion to be teased about, Robert asks him about Jon Snow's mother, a woman so beautiful that she could make Eddard "HonorBeforeReason UpToEleven" Stark forget that he was already married. Ned refuses to rise to the bait and becomes cold, giving up only the name "Wylla."

Wyl, Heward, and Jory Cassel are hideously outnumbered; [[RealityEnsues it does not go well]]. In the confusion, Ned's horse slips and lands on his leg. Littlefinger arrives to find him cradling Jory's body.

Ned is interviewing Grand Maester Pycelle, trying to learn of the nature of Lord Jon Arryn's passing. Pycelle reports that Jon Arryn had asked about a particular book -- a {{doorstopper}} chronicling the family trees of the Great Houses -- and that the next day he took ill. Pycelle is unwilling to grant that the illness itself was unusual, and does not think that anyone should put stock in FamousLastWords (Lord Arryn's were "The seed is strong"). Ned suspects poison, and Pycelle admits that poison is the tool of weak women ... and eunuchs. [[AsYouKnow Was Ned aware]], by the way, that Lord Varys is a eunuch? Ned thanks him, asks to have the book sent to him, and departs.

As he and Littlefinger ride home through the rain, he remembers when Lyanna became betrothed to Robert, and how realistic she was about the fact that he would never stay loyal to her. When he brings up the subject to Littlefinger, and his suspicions that this hunt for Robert's bastards was what led to Jon Arryn's death, Baelish points out that the children's existence is too TriviallyObvious to be worth killing for. Ned thinks of Rhaegar Targaryen, the man who probably would be king right now if not for Robert's Rebellion, and has a hunch that he would not have left so many illegitimate children lying around.[[note]]This fact is pivotal to R+L=J. Robert is certain Rhaegar abducted Lyanna against her will... but if that's the case, then why would Lyanna, who by all accounts was an ActionGirl, ask Ned to look after Jon?--as opposed to having him toss the unwanted ChildByRape off the nearest cliff. The answer lies here. Robert's hatred of Rhaegar is a VocalMinority; basically ''every other character in the series'', across all five extant books, regards Rhaegar as a NiceGuy and AllLovingHero. And if we're trying to figure out why a Nice Guy and All-Loving Hero would kidnap and rape a girl against her will, the answer is simple: '''he didn't.''' Lyanna went ''willingly''. Regardless of whether this extends to the "MyOwnPrivateIDo" depicted in the show, it paints Jon as a ChildOfForbiddenLove, it explains why Lyanna would beg ThePromise of Ned that he look after Jon, and it explains why Ned would agree to do so despite the catastrophic consequences to his own marriage.[[/note]]

On the third, Ser Boros Blount comes to take Sansa to meet the small council: Cersei, Littlefinger, Pycelle, and Varys, all done up in mourning colors. Sansa wants to know what's going on, pointing out that [[TheMole she told Cersei about Ned's plans to flee]] and that this must surely prove her loyalty. Cersei offers to ease Sansa's day-to-day ills by remanding Jeyne Poole to Littlefinger's care; Sansa is confused as to why Littlefinger needs to look after Jeyne, but says nothing.

Jon, Sam and the other members of the Night's Watch have brought back the corpse which formerly owned the hand. It's Jafer Flowers, and with him Othor -- two of the men last seen riding north with Benjen Stark. The corpses seem fresh, but Sam -- stuttering, blubbering, almost unmanned by the bodies -- points out that there's no blood flowing from where Ghost tore off the hand, nor any scattered around the area (which there ought to be, as both men were cut to ribbons). Additionally, the corpses are neither rotting nor despoiled by any wild animal. And did either Jafer Flowers ''or'' Othor have blue eyes when they set out?

Lord Commander Mormont orders the bodies brought back to Castle Black for study, and compliments Sam on his wits. All the excitement is wiped away by the news Jon receives when he gets back to the castle though: not only is King Robert dead, but his father has been imprisoned for treason. (Mormont intends to request that Ned be spared and sent north to take the black instead.) Jon is stunned and distressed upon hearing the news of his father, worrying about his father and sisters, Sansa and Arya, and needs to know more. Mormont gives him all the news he has and tries to assure Jon that his sisters will be well treated.

That night, Jon is awakened by Ghost scrabbling at the door; without, the guard has suffered such a NeckSnap that his head is now on backwards. Jon arms himself with the slain brother's sword and follows Ghost to the Lord Commander's tower, where a cloaked figure is attempting to break in -- Othor, his eyes glowing blue. Jon hacks off an arm, but the arm keeps attacking, as does Othor. The Old Bear, awakened by the commotion, bursts out with an oil lamp. Jon grabs it from him, sets the drapes on fire, grabs the burning drapes heedless of injury, and hurls them at the wight.

In Maester Luwin's tower, Osha helps the maester bind his wolfbites, and Maester Luwin provides an InfoDump about basic Westerosi history, particularly the now-extinct children of the forest.[[note]]These magic-using creatures were the first sentient beings to dwell in Westeros. They were eventually met by the First Men, who had bronze weapons and fire, and the two races waged a long and fierce war before managing a truce; as part of the peace agreement, the First Men converted to the children's religion, worshipping the nameless gods carved into the weirwood trees. Later came a second migration of Andals, fair-haired steel-users from the Essosian hills of Andalos with their ''Seven-Pointed Star'' and seven-faced god; they eventually settled south of the Neck, populating the six kingdoms found there, while the First Men retained dominion over the North. (This is why it's funny that the Dothraki call Jorah Mormont, a Northerner descended from the First Men, "Jorah the Andal.") The children, though, retreated to their forests, and have not been seen by man in thousands of years.[[/note]] Osha insists that there are still children of the forest in the lands north of the Wall, but her argument with Maester Luwin is interrupted by the howling of the direwolves. A raven arrives, and Bran is fill with a dread certainty of what the message contains. Osha reaches out with a sympathetic hand as Rickon begins to cry.