Maybe we should just stay home; play some Monopoly instead ...

"Lord Snow"

Summary: Lord Ned arrives in King's Landing and must play politics with the King's Council and his daughters. Bran is awake but doesn't remember anything about the fall, the push, or even the incest immediately preceding it. Lady Cat is brought to Littlefinger's brothel, to learn that the knife from Bran's attempted assassination belonged to the Imp, Tyrion Lannister. Jon Snow makes it to the Wall and beats the other trainees, making enemies left and right, before being saved from an attack by the same Tyrion Lannister. (Killing one of Ned's kids, saving the other, let's hope he doesn't get mixed up!) Daenerys and her brother have a conflict that ends badly for him, and she realizes that she is pregnant.

Lord Ned arrives in King's Landing, and is instantly summoned into a meeting of the king's counselors, where he must begin to act as the King's Hand.The King doesn't attend the council, but sends his order for a tournament in honor of Lord Ned's appointment as the Hand. In the process he learns that the crown is deeply in debt to the Lannister family.

The Stark girls are super upset after the ending of the last episode; Sansa at losing her direwolf and Arya at losing her friend. Lord Ned finds Arya with the sword that Jon Snow gave her, and gets her a swordmaster to train with. Top notch parenting that!

Lady Cat is surprised at her entry into King's Landing. She thought - rather foolishly if you ask me - that she could sneak in under the radar to tell Lord Ned about the attempt on Bran's life, but it would appear that Littlefinger and his spies are too well-informed for that. Plus, he still loves her. He takes Lady Cat to his brothel where she learns that the knife she took from the assassin belonged to Tyrion Lannister.

Jon Snow is once again on the Wall, earning himself the nickname Lord Snow, and in the process reminding us all that winter is indeed coming; that the Wall is monumental in size; and that HBO really has flexed its budget regarding the stunning special effects within Game of Thrones.

After an embarrassing defeat, Lord Snow's fellow trainees remain somewhat bitter about it all and decide to repay him by jumping our 'Lord' in the stable. Tyrion Lannister interrupts just in time, and gives Jon some food for thought about the privilege of his upbringing, compared to the poor country boys he's training with. Uncle Benjen heads out of the Wall to look for the Rangers who disappeared in the pilot episode. Good luck with that. Tyrion Lannister is asked to let the Queen know that there are not enough men to man the Wall, and in case you didn't know, winter is coming.

Daenerys rides with the Dothraki hordes. She takes a break from riding to go for a walk, which upsets Viserys to the point that he puts a sword to her throat. Daenerys has the option to have him killed - or maimed - but she settles for shamed. And I think she's beginning to feel some of that power again! Furthermore, she begins to learn the Dothraki language and finds out that she is pregnant. Talk about a hard week!

All in all, Game of Thrones continues to please, keeping up its frantic pace whilst beginning to develop some of its more intrinsic storylines. What's more, the development of Daenery's character has made an empowering statement. While her sexuality may have won over her husband, it is her efforts to learn - and use - the Dothraki language that remain most impressive. If Game of Thrones can continue to develop its characters in such a way, then HBO may well have struck gold with this franchise.

See also:

Game of Thrones S1E2 review

Game of Thrones S1E2 recap

Game Of Thrones s1e1 review

Game of Thrones s1e1 recap

Game of Thrones S2 Renewal

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