History Recap / GameOfThronesS1E3LordSnow

* AudibleSharpness: Used with ''wooden'' swords during Arya's first lesson; justified, as Ned is flashing back to the war he fought in and imagining his daughter in combat while he watches.

* AdaptationalAttractiveness: Averted with Renly Baratheon. The character on the show is a good-looking guy, but the actor playing him is not an Adonis like his book counterpart.

-->'''Ned:''' "Very handsome armor. Not a scratch on it." [[hottip: *: You're all show.]]
-->'''Jaime:''' "I know. People have been swinging at me for years, but they always seem to miss. [[hottip: *: Actually, I'm a BadAss.]]
-->'''Ned:''' "You've chosen your opponents wisely, then." [[hottip: *: You're a DirtyCoward and only fight people you know you can beat.]]
-->'''Jaime:''' "I have a knack for it." [[hottip: *:You, for instance?]]

Khal Drogo's khalasar travels the Dothraki sea, which is an endless plain of grasses, and Daenerys listens to an InfoDump from Ser Jorah. After she gets bored, she commands the entire khalasar to stop so that she can experience the serenity of the plain undisturbed. But disturbance is what she gets: Viserys comes crashing through the greenery, furious over Dany giving orders to the khalasar--and, by proxy, him. It looks like he's about to do something violent when, out of nowhere, Rakharo and his whip show up and yank him to the ground. Rakharo suggests taking an ear for insolence, but Daenerys, translating through her handmaid Irri, orders that her brother not be harmed. (Rakharo does a DoubleTake. Irri's expression suggests she doesn't get it either.) Once Viserys can breathe, he screams for Mormont to kill his attackers... but Mormont looks to his ''khaleesi'', not his king, for instructions. As a final humiliation, Rakharo takes Viserys's horse.[[hottip:*:This is an even bigger HumiliationConga than it sounds: among the Dothraki, a man who cannot ride is no man at all.]]

** [[hottip:In the books...: In the books, the death of Ned Stark's father wasn't just a murder - it was a trial by combat. Lord Rickard was expecting to show up and fight the champion the king had named. Turned out the champion the king had named was FIRE.]]
** [[hottip:Also in the books: When Rhaegar lost the climactic battle and it became clear the Targaryens were going to lose the war, Aerys had wildfire (the same stuff you see in Season 2, Episode 9) planted all over the city, intending to burn the entire city to the ground and murder all its people rather than let Robert win and rule there. The reason Kings Landing, (a city of more than 1 million people) isn't a heap of ashes and cooked bodies is because Jaime killed Aerys and the men who were going to start the fire first.]]

* ReplacementGoldfish: It's a custom in Westeros that if you cannot fulfill an ArrangedMarriage contract, a family member must stand in your stead. This is how Eddard ended up married to his older brother's fiancee. (Is this trope Invoked? Subverted? Inverted? Zigzagged? Inquiring minds wish they knew.)

In Winterfell, Bran is awake, but he's paralyzed from the waist down, and is largely despondent. His nurse tells him a scary story about the White Walkers, who ride on dead horses and hunt with spiders as big as hounds, but it's interrupted when Robb comes in to visit him. Bran confirms that he doesn't remember why he fell, and that he'll never walk again. "I'd rather be dead," he decides, and again when Robb protests: "''[[TearJerker/GameOfThrones I'd rather be dead]].''"

* ReplacementGoldfish: it's a custom in Westeros that if you cannot fulfill an ArrangedMarriage contract, a family member must stand in your stead. This is how Eddard ended up married to his older brother's fiancee. (Is this trope Invoked? Subverted? Inverted? Zigzagged? Inquiring minds wish they knew.)

-->'''Ned:''' "Very handsome armour. Not a scratch on it." [[hottip: *: You're all show.]]

Jaime also brings up the deaths of Ned's father Rickard and older brother Brandon, which happened right here in this throne room, at the orders of the Mad King. From the sounds of it, [[KillItWithFire it wasn't pleasant]]. Jaime tries to suggest that the Mad King's horrific treatment of the elder Starks justified Jaime killing him later, but Ned isn't buying it. He finally leaves Jaime in the throne room with some food for thought and gets to the small-council meeting. He greets Lord Varys politely, and his best friend's younger brother with some warmth; finally we get to Littlefinger, who presents an InfoDump about being an UnluckyChildhoodFriend to Catelyn Tully, even fighting a duel against her fiancé Brandon Stark for her. He comes across as [[StalkerWithACrush rather creepy]].

Jon Snow takes a lift up to the Wall (yes, they have a lift) to meet with his uncle Benjen and look off the top for the first time. Benjen, the First Ranger of the Night's Watch, is to ride out and investigate disturbing reports from the wildlings. Jon, of course, wants to go, but it is the First Ranger he is speaking to, not his uncle, and Jon has not even taken his vows yet. Down at the bottom of the hall, Tyrion is making friends with Yoren, a recruiter who scours the Seven Kingdoms for willng candidates (and not-so-willing criminals); his next trip will be to King's Landing. Benjen wanders in and takes offense at Tyrion's jovial treatment of the Watch. Tyrion explains that, while he believes the wildlings to be as dangerous as the next man, he doesn't think that the White Walkers actually exist. He and Benjen AgreeToDisagree, more or less, and and Tyrion makes plans to accompany Yoren on his pilgrimage south, finding his company congenial.

The final scene of the episode concerns Arya, who arrives at the dining hall of the Tower of the Hand to find an eccentric man with a vaguely Italian accent and two wooden swords. He calls himself her "dancing master, Syrio Forel," and begins to tutor her in the ways of "water dancing." "Nine years Syrio Forel was First Sword to the Sealord of Braavos, he knows these things." "This is not the iron dance of the Westeros we are learning, the knight's dance. ''Hacking'' and ''hammering''!" He is a LargeHam to end all Large Hams, but [[RefugeInCool nobody holds it against him]]. "This is the bravo's dance, the water dance. It is swift... and sudden. All men are made of water, do you know this? If you pierce them, the water leaks out and they die.

* FishOutOfWater: [[RichInDollarsPoorInSense Jon Snow and Tyrion Lannister at the Wall]]; Tyrion realises the reality faster than Jon, despite being the one who ''hasn't'' pledged his life to it. There's also [[CountryMouse the Starks in King's Landing.]]

* FromACertainPointOfView: Cersei teaches Joffrey to reframe events to show him in a more favourable light.

* IncomingHam: In the final scene we meet Syrio Forel, Arya's swordfighting, er, ''dancing'' instructor. He's '''glorious'''.

* KillItWithFire: Apparently a favourite method of the Mad King; it's mentioned his last words were "Burn them all."

* ReplacementGoldfish: it's a custom in Westeros that if you cannot fulfill an ArrangedMarriage contract, a family member must stand in your stead. This is how Eddard ended up married to his older brother's fiancée. (Is this trope Invoked? Subverted? Inverted? Zigzagged? Inquiring minds wish they knew.)

* UnusualEuphemism: Water dancing, for swordfighting in the Braavos style, though it makes more sense once it is explained:

** [[hottip:In the books...: In the books, that wasn't just a murder - it was a trial by combat. Lord Rickard was expecting to show up and fight the champion the king had named. Turned out the champion the king had named was FIRE.]]

In Winterfell, Bran is awake, but he's paralyzed from the waist down, and is largely despondant. His nurse tells him a scary story about the White Walkers, who ride on dead horses and hunt with spiders as big as hounds, but it's interrupted when Robb comes in to visit him. Bran confirms that he doesn't remember why he fell, and that he'll never walk again. "I'd rather be dead," he decides, and again when Robb protests: "''[[TearJerker/GameOfThrones I'd rather be dead]].''"

Jon is cornered in the armory by several of his fellow recruits--Pyp, Grenn and Rast. They seem quite prepared to beat the snow out of him when Tyrion happens to wander in. He convinces the others to back up with a few not too subtle threats, and then takes Jon down a peg too: "It's a lucky thing none of them were trained by a master-at-arms like your Ser Rodrik. I don't imagine any of them have ever ''held'' a real sword before they came here." And, as Jon starts to mull over his "victories," Tyrion drops the finishing stroke: the letter from Winterfell. "Your brother Bran: he's woken up."

Ned, Catelyn and Littlefinger plan their strategy, with Littlefinger offering Ned his assistance in finding proof about Tyrion's assassination plot, whilst Cersei frets to Jaime about Bran's recovery. Jaime is not concerned about Bran--"I think we can outfox a ten-year-old"--or about Robert either: "I'll go to war with him if I have to. They can write a ballad about us! The War for Cersei's Cunt." (Cersei herself is singularly unamused.) Ned and Catelyn share a tender farewell before she returns to the north. And King Robert has a discussion with first Ser Barristan and then Jaime about first times. It sounds like something else until Barristan mentions a lance through the heart, at which point we figure out that they're talking about their first kills. We're also introduced to Lancel Lannister, a squire in Robert's employ and cousin to Jaime and Cersei, whose primary duty seems to be providing Robert with wine and being a general ButtMonkey. "Who named you, some halfwit with a stutter?" Jaime, who is standing guard outside, is invited into the conversation, and claims his first kill as one of the outlaws of the Kingswood Brotherhood. (This creates an instant bonding session with Ser Barristan, who fought in the same action.) When asked about King Aerys's last words, Jaime relates that they were the same ones he'd been repeating for a while: "Burn them all." [[MomentKiller The mood kind of dies after that.]]

Jaime also brings up the deaths of Ned's father Rickard and older brother Brandon, which happened right here in this throne room, at the orders of the Mad King. From the sounds of it, [[KillItWithFire it wasn't pleasant]]. Jaime tries to suggest that the Mad King's horrific treatment of the elder Starks justified Jaime killing him later, but Ned isn't buying it. He finally
leaves Jaime in the throne room with some food for thought and gets to the small-council meeting. He greets Lord Varys politely, and his best friend's younger brother with some warmth; finally we get to Littlefinger, who presents an InfoDump about being an UnluckyChildhoodFriend to Catelyn Tully, even fighting a duel against her fiancé Brandon Stark for her. He comes across as [[StalkerWithACrush rather creepy]].

* WhatTheHellHero: Tyrion delivers a relatively gentle one to Jon Snow, pointing out that none of the boys on the Wall have never had a master-at-arms like Ser Rodrik to teach them, and few had ever even held a sword before.

Catelyn and Ser Rodrik Cassel have arrived in King's Landing. They sneak in through a back way to avoid detection... but are immediately found by some mounted guards, who "ask" them to follow quietly. They arrive in a brothel, where Littlefinger and Varys are waiting for them. Catelyn is furious about the locale, but Littlefinger points out that this is the last place anyone is likely to search for a Catelyn Stark. Varys [[BeyondTheImpossible knows about the dagger]], but cannot identify it. Littlefinger can: it used to be his, until he lost it betting on the Kingslayer to win a joust with the [[{{Foreshadowing}} Knight of the Flowers]]. Its new owner? Tyrion Lannister.

We have entered that WretchedHive we call a capitol: King's Landing. After a month of travel, the new King's Hand, Eddard Stark, has arrived. Almost before he can jump down off his horse, he's been summoned to a meeting of the "[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabinet_%28government%29 small council]]," consisting of King Robert's most trusted ministers: Grand Maester of The Citadel [[AbsentMindedProfessor Pycelle]]; Master of Laws [[SleazyPolitician Renly Baratheon]], Robert's younger brother; Master of Coin [[TheCharmer Petyr Baelish]], called "[[RagsToRiches Littlefinger]]"; and Master of Whisperers [[KnowledgeBroker Varys the eunuch]]. Of course, Robert rarely attends these meetings, so the Hand of the King tends to chair them.

Jaime also brings up the deaths of Ned's father Rickard and older brother Brandon, which happened right here in this throne room, at the orders of the Mad King. From the sounds of it, [[KillItWithFire it wasn't pleasant]]. Jaime tries to suggest that the Mad King's horrific treatment of the elder Starks justified Jaime killing him later, but Ned isn't buying it. He finally leaves Jaime in the throne room with some food for thought and gets to the small-council meeting, which is simplified even further by Selmy's absence. He greets Lord Varys politely, and his best friend's younger brother with some warmth; finally we get to Littlefinger, who presents an InfoDump about being an UnluckyChildhoodFriend to Catelyn Tully, even fighting a duel against her fiancé Brandon Stark for her. He comes across as [[StalkerWithACrush rather creepy]].

Cersei tends the wounds Joffrey picked up last episode. Joffrey thinks the scars are ugly; Cersei thinks a king should have scars, to mark him as a warrior. When Joffrey points out that he's ''not'' a warrior, Cersei gives him a lesson in [[WrittenbytheWinners editing reality]]: when Aerys Targaryen was on the throne, Joffrey's father was a rebel and a traitor, but when Robert became King, he was a [[TheRevolutionWillNotBeVilified noble rebel]]. After a meandering conversation on statecraft, they come to one conclusion: "The Starks ''are'' our enemies." Cersei agrees, with a brittle smile: "Everyone who isn't us is the enemy."

Arya and Sansa squabble at the dinner table, and Arya is sent to her room for daydreaming about stabbing Prince Joffrey. Ned tries to make amends with Sansa by giving her a doll, but Sansa is still deeply depressed over Lady's death. Besides, "I haven't played with dolls since I was eight." Ned, grumbling ("War was easier than daughters"), goes to see Arya, and finds her playing with Needle. Arya is mad at Sansa for lying, but mostly because that's easier than admitting her own feelings of guilt over Mycah's death. Ned points out that Sansa, as Joffrey's betrothed, must stand by him even when he is wrong, and Arya not unreasonably asks him why he wants Sansa to marry Joffrey then. Ned doesn't really know how to answer that, so he concentrates on the weapon: "If you're going to own a sword, you'd better know how to use it."

Catelyn and Ser Rodrik Cassel have arrived in King's Landing. They sneak in through a back way to avoid detection... but are immediately found by some mounted guards, who "ask" them to follow quietly. They arrive in a brothel, where Littlefinger and Varys are waiting for them. Catelyn is furious about the locale, but Littlefinger points out (correctly) that this is the last place anyone is likely to search for a Catelyn Stark. Varys [[BeyondTheImpossible knows about the dagger]], but cannot identify it. Littlefinger can: it used to be his, until he lost it betting on the Kingslayer to win a joust with the [[{{Foreshadowing}} Knight of the Flowers]]. Its new owner? Tyrion Lannister.

Speaking of the Imp, he's up at the Wall, watching Jon be trained by Castle Black's master-at-arms, Ser Alliser Thorne. It's not very good training, consisting mostly of Thorne telling other recruits to spar with Jon, and Jon handing out CurbStompBattle defeats. Jon wins an ironic nickname, "[[TitleDrop Lord Snow]]," while Tyrion trades quips with the Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, Jeor Mormont, called "the Old Bear," about Ser Alliser's (lack of) efficancy as a trainer. Mormont also mentions that a raven arrived for Jon from Winterfell that morning. In King's Landing, Ned has received the same message, and Littlefinger, happening by, asks if he'd like to share the news with his wife. When Ned realizes they are heading to a brothel, he manhandles Littlefinger, suspecting a not-too-veiled insult; luckily, Catelyn manages to intervene in time.

Ned, Catelyn and Littlefinger plan their strategy, with Littlefinger offering Ned his assistance in finding proof about Tyrion's assassination plot, whilst Cersei frets to Jaime about Bran's recovery. Jaime is not concerned about Bran--"I think we can outfox a ten-year-old"--or about Robert either: "I'll go to war with him if I have to. They can write a ballad about us! The War for Cersei's Cunt." (Cersei herself is singularly unamused.) Ned and Catelyn share a tender farewell before she returns to the north. And King Robert has a discussion with first Ser Barristan and then Jaime about first times. It sounds like something else until Barristan mentions a lance through the heart, at which point we figure out that they're talking about their first kills. We're also introduced to Lancel Lannister, a squire in Robert's employ and cousin to Jaime and Cersei, whose primary duty seems to be providing Robert with wine and being a general ButtMonkey. "Who named you, some halfwit with a stutter?" Jaime, who is standing guard outside, is invited into the conversation, and claims his first kill as one of the outlaws of the Kingswood Brotherhood. (This creates an instant bonding session with Ser Barristan, who fought in the same attack.) When asked about King Aerys's last words, Jaime relates that they were the same ones he'd been repeating for a while: "Burn them all." [[MomentKiller The mood kind of dies after that.]]

Khal Drogo's khalasar travels the Dothraki sea, which is an endless plain of grasses, and Daenerys listens to an InfoDump from Ser Jorah. After she gets bored, she commands the entire khalasar to stop so that she can experience the serenity of the plain undisturbed. But disturbance is what she gets: Viserys comes crashing through the greenery, furious over Dany giving orders to the khalasar--and, by proxy, him. It looks like he's about to do something violent when, out of nowhere, Rakharo and his whip show up and yank him to the ground. Rakharo suggests taking an ear for insolence, but Daenerys, translating through her handmaid Irri, orders that her brother not be harmed. (Rakharo does a DoubleTake. Irri's expression suggests she doesn't get it either.) Once Viserys can breathe, he screams for Mormont to kill his attackers... but Mormont looks to Daenerys for instructions. As a final humiliation, Rakharo takes Viserys's horse.[[hottip:*:This is an even bigger HumiliationConga than it sounds: among the Dothraki, a man who cannot ride is no man at all.]]

Daenerys is pregnant. The Dothraki call it "a blessing from the Great Stallion," and Dany and Drogo seem very happy together [[HappilyMarried canoodling in bed]], but when Ser Jorah hears about it, he interrupts a debate with Rakharo (over whether ArmorIsUseless, and whether the increased protection is worth the decrease in agility) to ride to Qohor. Hmm, that's not mysterious at all.

"Now you will try to strike me." As Arya charges in time and time again, getting nowhere with her {{Flynning}} but clearly having the time of her life, Ned steps in to watch. As the wasters clack again and again, the smile slides from his face, and the sounds of swords and war begin to overtake the soundtrack.

Catelyn and Ser Rodrik Cassel have arrived in King's Landing. They sneak in through a back way to avoid detection... but are immediately found by some mounted guards, who "ask" them to follow quietly. They arrive in a brothel, where Littlefinger and Varys are waiting for them. Catelyn is furious about the locale, but Littlefinger points out (correctly) that this is the last place anyone is likely to search for a Catelyn Stark. Varys [[BeyondTheImpossible knows about the dagger]], but cannot identify it. Littlefinger can: it used to be his, until he lost it betting on the Kingslayer to win a joust with the [[Foreshadowing Knight of the Flowers]]. Its new owner? Tyrion Lannister.

Jaime also brings up the deaths of Ned's father Rickard and older brother Brandon, which happened right here in this throne room, at the orders of the Mad King. From the sounds of it, [[KillItWithFire it wasn't pleasant]]. Jaime tries to suggest that the Mad King's horrific treatment of the elder Starks justified Jaime killing him later, but Ned isn't buying it. He finally escapes and gets to the small-council meeting, which is simplified even further by Selmy's absence. He greets Lord Varys politely, and his best friend's younger brother with some warmth; finally we get to Littlefinger, who presents an InfoDump about being an UnluckyChildhoodFriend to Catelyn Tully, even fighting a duel against her fiancé Brandon Stark for her. He comes across as [[StalkerWithACrush rather creepy]].

Ned, Catelyn and Littlefinger plan their strategy, with Littlefinger offering Ned his assistance in finding proof about Tyrion's assassination plot, whilst Cersei frets to Jaime about Bran's recovery. Jaime is not concerned about Bran--"I think we can outfox a ten-year-old"--or about Robert either: "I'll go to war with him if I have to. They can write a ballad about us! The War for Cersei's Cunt." (Cersei herself is singularly unamused.) Ned and Catelyn share a tender farewell before she returns to the north. And King Robert has a discussion with first Ser Barristan and then Jaime about first times. It sounds like [[IfYouKnowWhatIMean something else]] until Barristan mentions a lance through the heart, at which point we figure out that they're talking about their first kills. We're also introduced to Lancel Lannister, a squire in Robert's employ and cousin to Jaime and Cersei, whose primary duty seems to be providing Robert with wine and being a general ButtMonkey. "Who named you, some halfwit with a stutter?" Jaime, who is standing guard outside, is invited into the conversation, and claims his first kill as one of the outlaws of the Kingswood Brotherhood. (This creates an instant bonding session with Ser Barristan, who fought in the same attack.) When asked about King Aerys's last words, Jaime relates that they were the same ones he'd been repeating for a while: "Burn them all." [[MomentKiller The mood kind of dies after that.]]