Assassin's Creed: Westeros...

"The Wolf and the Lion"

Summary: Lord Ned and King Robert have a major falling out, over the fact that the King wants to assassinate the now-pregnant (so now-dangerous) Daenerys Targaryen. It ain't easy, being the moral center of the show. Tyrion the Imp is the captive of Lady Cat, who takes him to her sister's home in the Eyrie ... and it is ... eerie! Cat believes that Tyrion sent the assassin after Bran ... her sister Lysa jumps on the blame train (her crazy train left the station ages ago) and accuses Tyrion of killing Jon Arryn. Arya, still training with her dancing master, overhears a disturbing conversation...but not as disturbing as the kid in the Eyrie. (Make him fly? Make him shut up! He's freaking me out.) Jaime Lannister hears about Tyrion's capture and imprisonment and decides to take action himself. In the words of It's Always Sunny, someone gets fork-stabbed.

On day two of the Hand's tourney, the Knight of the Flowers gives Sansa a red rose right before he jousts with Gregor Clegane ... but he gives the King's younger brother Renly a longing look, which does not go unnoticed by Littlefinger. Gregor loses, kills his horse, tries to kill the Knight and is stopped only by his brother Sandor (the Hound). Lord Ned also discusses the death of Jon Arryn with Varys the Eunuch. Arryn was poisoned by the Tears of Lys, put in his wine by the recently jousted-to-death Prior Squire.

Tyrion is on the road with Lady Cat and the men from the inn who helped her take him prisoner; heading to the Eyrie to see Cat's sister, Lysa. On the road, Tyrion fights with the company when they are attacked by Lothar, of the Hill People. Tyrion kills a man in the ensuing fight, brutally, with a shield. Lady Lysa is the widow of the previous Hand Jon Arryn, killed by Cersei and/or Jaime back in the pilot. She's breast-feeding a six year old kid. Weird. Lysa then accuses Tyrion of killing Jon Arryn too. Tyrion threatens everyone with the wrath of Jaime, setting off the child who "wants to see the bad man fly!"

Tyrion is thrown in what is undoubtedly the worst prison ever - the fourth wall is open to a thousand-foot drop. It's like Oz in that you never want to sleep, or bend down to grab the soap, because if either of those things happen you fall to your death.

Arya goes chasing cats. Instead of a cat, though, she finds the dragon skulls and overhears Varys and another man talking about Khal Drogo, and the war that is coming, and the fact that they intend to kill her father. She finds a secret passage out of the vastle and heads back in to tell Lord Ned about what she heard, but they are interrupted by a visit from Yoren of the Night Watch.

The King calls a small council meeting to discuss the assassination of Daenerys Targaryen - now that she's pregnant with Khal Drogo's child she's a genuine threat (in a way that Viserys apparently never was? Interesting. Don't tell him though, it might Wake The Dragon.) Lord Ned calls the King a coward for killing a child; then they have the medieval version of the 'You're fired!' 'You can't fire me, I quit!' conversation. Lord Ned stomps off, takes Littlefinger up on his offer to visit a whorehouse (to see another King Robert bastard, not for the sex, he's the moral center, remember?) and makes plans to return to Winterfell. Leaving the whorehouse, Jaime Lannister confronts Lord Ned about his wife's capture of Tyrion. Jaime gets another great eff-off line, on par with, "The things I do for love." When Lord Ned points out that his death means Tyrion's death as well, he says, "Very well. Take him alive. Kill his men." And they DO. They kill his right-hand guy, Jory, with a dagger to the eye; and fell Lord Ned with a spear to the knee. Lion v. Wolf? Lion wins!!!

So here we are, at episode five of a ten-episode season. Halfway through, I have to give HBO credit for covering a ton of ground, here. A Song of Ice and Fire, the seven-part series of which Game of Thrones is only part one, is an epic story, packed with action and more characters than I ever thought possible. So in the first season, they have to set up the world of Westeros, the primary characters and all their interactions. I think they've done a spectacular job in balancing all of these requirements, while still advancing the story. They aren't skimping on the sets, or the production - the Eyrie looked amazing. They aren't skimping on the blood or brutality either. Gregor killing the horse, Tyrion killing Lothar of the Hill People with his shield, and the fight between Jaime and Lord Ned - all gruesome, all the time. I did miss Daenerys and Viserys though, I wonder what those crazy kids are getting up to?

See also:

Game of Thrones S1E5 review

9 potential new epochs for the Assassin's Creed franchise

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