Welcome back to the Watchers on the Wall/Game of Thrones 50 day countdown to the Season 6 premiere (also known as the 49 day countdown to the Season 6 trailer).
*Edit: Season 6 trailer joke redacted.
A man has been chosen by the powers to take you down the lane of memories to relive episode 105, which just so happens to be the first time that “batshit crazy” Lysa Arryn ever graced our screens. And while that intro was enough to stir up the most uncultivated of unsuspecting viewers, this 54 minutes was chock full of details, quotes, and info that kept the fandom deliberating even to the present day.
Fetch the breastplate stretchers, boys and girls…
Episode 5 of Season 1 originally aired on May 15, 2011 (time doth fly, just like Robin wished for the bad man) and was written by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss. The episode was once again directed by Brian Kirk.
As viewers were still trying to grasp the complexity of this new television world, the show continued to build on character development while strategically including a geographical picture as well as some historical background.
In the episode, Robert tells Ned about dialogue with Jon Arryn advising him to take Cersei as a bride for the sake of having the backing of Tywin Lannister. Maester Luwin quizzed Bran on the Houses of Westeros and their respective sigils and words, naming families that we as viewers had no idea existed.
Varys warned Ned of Robert being doomed just like Jon Arryn and determined the poison used to kill him. The guilty party was identified as the deceased Ser Hugh of the Vale, which also helped explain how Hugh had gone from squire to a knight with brand new armor in such a short amount of time. The question then became, who would pay him to do such a thing?
Arya chases a cat into the dungeon and hides in a dragon skull as she overhears Varys and Illyrio Mopatis conversing about Ned and Khal Drogo. This exchange provided an early link to Varys and the Targaryens that many show-only viewers admittedly missed upon the initial viewing, myself included. It was at this point that I realized that the vast majority of dialogue contained in the show held some type of significance, even situations that might seem to be a position for filler conversation.
At a small council meeting, Robert would order that Dany and her baby bump be killed to avoid the child’s claim to the throne. Ned would refuse, temporarily relinquishing his title as “Hand.”
We got the intro of Loras Tyrell, the Knight of Flowers and his quite elaborate, gleaming armor. You could see the Hound attempt to hide the crack of a smile as Loras jousted the Mountain off of his steed. Eventually, the two brothers would spar until drunken Robert yelled for an end to the melee.
Later, we would see the King and Queen sit down for a candid conversation about their 17 years of marriage and viewers received confirmation on how Robert never really got over Lyanna Stark.
Then came our first look at Lysa Arryn, and the world would never be the same…
The majority of you know about my affinity for the Lady Arryn (and even more so of my respect for the lovely Kate Dickie). I’ll spare you the recapitulation. But I’ll include this snippet of the interview I did with Ms. Kate as it directly relates to this episode…
Oz: I understand that a prosthetic was used, but even so how did you and Lino Facioli (Robin Arryn) prepare for what I presume was a very uncomfortable scene?
Kate Dickie: Yes we used prosthetic breasts, I hope people know this! Lino who plays Robin was absolutely brilliant in dealing with the breastfeeding scene. We rehearsed it with Brian Kirk the director long before we filmed it and just made sure that we were as comfortable with it as we could be. On the actual day of filming I remember us getting the giggles at first a couple of times in between takes as it was such a bizarre thing to be doing, but on the whole we just treated it like any other scene as much as we could and tried not to get too hung up about it. Lino’s mum was always around on set and Lino would read his book in between shots or we would just chat, so it was all good.
You can read the entire interview here.
Tyrion continued to claim his innocence to Catelyn while surviving an attack from the Hill Tribesman, only to be thrown into a Vale chateau sky cell by the maladroit Mord.
Finally, Ned is confronted by Jaime Lannister regarding the capture of his brother, Tyrion (a fact that Ned learns earlier in the episode by Yoren). Ned tells Jaime that he ordered the arrest, which leads to a battle and Jory getting the business in his eye. As Ned and Jaime go at it, Ned is speared in the back of the leg by a guardsman consequently ending the encounter, as well as the episode.
Personal Awards
Favorite Quotes (dominated by Mark Addy zingers)
“Your mother was a dumb whore with a fat ass. Did you know that?” -Robert
“Go find the breastplate stretcher. Now!” -Robert
“An inspiring sight for the people, aye? Come bow before your King. Bow, you shits.” -Robert
“I don’t want to pay for it.” –Theon “Get yourself a wife.” –Ros
“North or south, they sing no song for spiders.” –Varys
“Give me ten good men and some climbing spikes. I’ll impregnate the bitch.” -Bronn
“Mummy, I want to see the bad man fly.” -Robin Arryn
Deaths:
Jory Cassel, a couple of minor characters defending Catelyn Stark en route to the Vale, a shitload of Hill Tribesman, and a horse whose head would be cryogenically frozen and later used as a prop in The Godfather.
First sightings:
Loras Tyrell, Lysa Arryn, Robin Arryn, Mord, a few other minor roles, and Theon’s soon to be famous, still attached penis.
Other Firsts: The episode included a couple of important mentions that viewers would not grasp the importance of until later in the series including that of Stannis Baratheon (during the Loras and Renly shave scene) and House Martell. It also included the first depiction of the Vale during the opening theme.
Memes, Art, and Fake Publications
As you can imagine, the breastfeeding of Robin set off an exploding nipple of memes.
And even a few a few faux publications on the dedication of mothers…
One for Robert.
And the Beautiful Death for Jory Cassel.
Thank you for strolling with a man down GoT memoir lane, even in the wake of the S6 trailer.
Don’t forget to check out Sue’s excellent review of 104: Cripples, Bastards and Broken Things from yesterday.
Tomorrow, the Notorious Nate Dogg brings you the remembrance of 106 as our march to the S6 premiere continues. Enjoy the ride, and may there always be peace in your realm.
“Unbowed. Unbent. Unsullied.”
Follow Oz on Twitter.
Hodor
Now we’re getting to business. Season 1 really starts its breakneck descent into chaos with this one.
“Fetch me the breastplate stretcher!” King Robert was hilarious!
SSSSUUUGGGGAAAAAAAHHHHHH
The best part of re-watching the episodes is noticing just how much almost every single line of dialogue has significance and foreshadowing to future events.
Jory – you were gone way too soon!!
OZZZZZZZZZ
<3
I’ve really been enjoying these retrospectives. I’ve particularly enjoyed the extra memes, because I haven’t seen many of them before. The Beautiful Death posters, in particular, are fantastic, and I’m really looking forward to seeing more of them, but I’m going to wait until you cover each episode.
Nice to see that Oz is still in awe of the crazy Lysa.
King Robert was taken from us too soon. Stannis and Renly never had a chance to live up to his legacy
I do miss King Robert. Maybe he was a shit king, but he was a great character. And in fact, upon rereads and rewatches, I even feel sorry for the guy.
Completely agree. The guy was a charismatic brute who loved a woman that didn’t love him back so he had to settle for a crazy brother fucker
So Jory Cassel is related to Ser Rodrick Cassel? How do we know this?
Rodrick’s last name was dropped by Roose Bolton when he was telling Robb about the taking of Winterfel by Theon, but I don’t think that Jory’s last name was ever mentioned.
Why does it say 49 day countdown to the trailer (which I know was edited because it came out yesterday), but the timing is still off. The countdown is at 46 days.
Regarding anything related to “batshit crazy” Lysa, Oz is always lurking nearby! Great episode for you to review, ser! Enjoyed the recap.
The best moment in Robert and Cersei’s conversation was when he confessed he doesn’t even remember what Lyanna looked like anymore. It makes you wonder what the real story was (which we’ll probably find out in S6).
If only Robert and Cersei had that serious talk earlier, they might have avoided 17 years of resentment, misery and drinking. Things could have been different.
And of course who can forget Lady Lysa? 🙂
Hi Oz! (waves) 🙂
house stork,
Jory’s father died at the tower of joy defending Ned, and was also Ser Rodrick’s brother I believe.
Darjan,
Ah, book stuff. Thanks.
Thank you for all these wonderful memes and other materials. Never saw them before.
Jack Bauer 24,
The point of the joke was that HBO would probably debut the trailer the day before the show premieres.
I just love the re-watch articles. I was not part of the fandom at that time, so thanks for all the background information.
Poor Lancel’s wig.
serum,
“How long until he figures it out?” -Robert
Might be one the funniest exchanges in the show.
Deesensfan,
Flora Linden,
(Waves back) 🙂
Hodors Bastard,
Many thanks, Bastard!
One of my favorite things about this episode is that 3 scene chunk-o-Varys, especially the interaction with Littlefinger. We not only get to see him playing very different aspects of the game in each scene, but we get a feeling for the power differentials between someone like Varys and someone like Petyr.
So scrumptious!
Hi, guys!
Thanks for reminding us of this episode and for reminding us about the need to get more reviews (and looking ahead, please!) from Oz. It is always a lot of fun to read those.
I wish I could also go through one episode a day but despite having started much earlier I still have not made it even through watching season 1 again. Well, at least I have the time to read through WotW’s daily memory lanes…
Totally agree
Surprised HBO is doing this now. The countdown seems like it would be something reserved to lead into the final season.
In Robert’s perspective, Lyanna was killed and he had to settle for a bride Jon Arryn chose.
In Cersei’s perspective, Rhaegar was killed and she had to settle for a drunken brute who called her Lyanna in the wedding night.
In Jaime’s perspective, the Starks were insane and arrested Tyrion for absolute no reason, since he wasn’t involved in absolutely anything against them.
I really like rewatching the first seasons after the Lannisters were more fleshed out. But they were always my favourites. As my Italian literature professor says, characters who are good are useless ; )
Thanks for this trip down memory lane… I am enjoying it a lot! And the memes and the beautiful death artwork is amazing.
Hodors Bastard,
“Batshit crazy” is so appropriate for Lysa, a descendant of the Whents. In “Lord Snow,” Catelyn noted the black bat of Harrenhal and called for Lady Whent’s men to arrest Tyrion. All of this leads me to suspect that one of the Stark girls will end up with Harrenhal.
As always, Oz’s eternal enthusiasm for Lysa and staunch admiration for the woman who plays her is a joy to read. May it never fade.
(I’ve heard that Kate Dickie is excellent in The Witch, although I haven’t yet had the opportunity to see the film myself. I may have to make the trip to the cinema alone – not many horror fans in my family.)
I don’t have a lot of strong memories about the first airing of “The Wolf and the Lion”. However, it’s a fantastic episode, and seems to be widely acknowledged, then and now, as the point in which Game of Thrones kicked into a higher gear and became the series that we know and love today. The conversation between Robert and Cersei in which they discuss marriage, lost love, war, and what might have been is just stellar. It’s one of the very best scenes in the first season, if not the series, and a tremendous showcase for both Mark Addy and Lena Headey.
Varys and Littlefinger also have the first of their numerous sparring sessions in sight of the Iron Throne, which are always a treat and perfectly illustrate the virtues of being able to spend time with non-POV characters. Finally, I love Ned and Jaime’s duel outside Littlefinger’s brothel, which was impeccably foreshadowed in the series premiere. No more tourneys for these two warriors – war is coming, and this is the opening salvo.
On a lighter note, that fight also led to the creation of one of my favorite YouTube videos ever – one that I’ll still watch whenever I need a quick pick-me-up. Star Wars + Game of Thrones will always add up to happiness in my book! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17W4QMNwm-c
Oz – Did you happen to catch London Spy on BBCAmerica? Kate Dickie appeared in a few episodes (& it was excellent).
The thing to savour here is the fight with Jamie & Ned….its is the last time we see Jamie in his pomp fighting.
The death of Jory is so brutal. And I was reminded with yesterday’s recap that Jaime and Jory actually share some dialogue previously (about Theon), which somehow makes it doubly brutal on Jaime’s part.
Thanks for doing these, very enjoyable. This was the first ‘WOW’ episode since episode one. 100% hooked from this point.
Stargaryen,
Very nice saying! GRRM’s characters are so interesting because most of them are grey, and the really white ones pay for being good guys.
Ramsay needs 20 good men, Bronn only 10, therefore Bronn is twice as good as Ramsay (or maybe half as bad?) 😉
Lightsabers make every fight scene better. It is known. 🙂
I would love to see Kit, Richard Madden, Maisie, Nikolaj, Iain Glen or Pedro Pascal duel with lightsabers. It’s too bad Gwen didn’t get the chance in The Force Awakens.
Thanks for the link – I didn’t know about this video. Sam Jackson won’t be happy though; it looks like Ned stole Mace Windu’s purple lightsaber. 😉
Here are three other lightsabered versions:
Brienne vs. Jaime from S3
Brienne vs. The Hound from S4
Oberyn vs. The Mountain from S4
Enjoy! 🙂
I must say, I very enjoy this series. as I am re watching the show myself during the 50 day countdown, this fits perfectly 😀
Lulus Mum,
I thought exactly the same when i re watched the episode 😀
Mark Addy was good as Robert, for sure, but his casting was by FAR the BIGGEST mistake in the whole series.
Robert should have been 6’4″ or so, enormous and handsome and dashing – he who inspired blind loyalty, killed Rhaegar, was an unparalleled warrior. Mark Addy was not handsome or tall or big enough.
Renly is a mirror image of Robert, but younger, just as tall and huge, just as magnetic, but with a softness about him, a caring quality.
They should have gotten two brothers or cousins to play the roles, two huge similar-looking actors – it’s such a shame….
I hate to be the Gendry to your Hot Pie Oz, but I don’t think the Ned vs. Jaime fight counts as a battle. They didn’t even have armor on! 😉
Now that I’ve finally stopped watching the trailer, I can resume this stroll down memory lane.
When I first watched the scene between Robert & Cersei and they reminisce about Lyanna, I remember thinking “WTH are they wasting time talking about some long-dead woman??”. LOL, I was so clueless back then.
Ned’s refusal to have any part in killing Dany hits me right in the feels everytime. Knowing his history and the why of it makes me love poor dead Ned all the more. I never noticed until recently that Renly was all for killing Dany & Viserys.
After this episode, my hate for Jaime was near Cersei levels. He was such a smug little bastard backed by his daddy’s soldiers as he confronted Ned. And the way he killed poor Jory. Ugh, I still cringe. It would take a long time for me to change my opinion of Jaime Lannister.
Things that I thought were clunky exposition back then are things that I adore now. Like Bran’s lesson with Maester Luwin about the house sigils and their words, and Luwin’s snarky comment to Theon about his house’s history of ‘failed rebellions’.
There will never be enough brain bleach to get the image of Lysa and Robin out of my head. Tyrion’s and Cat’s expressions in that scene are comedy gold. He did warn Cat that her sister had changed.
Ah, Yoren. I love that he gave Ned a heads-up about Cat’s fuck up and that he mistook Arya for a boy. I didn’t think much of him back then (I confused him with Bronn a lot) but I grew to love him later on.
OZ!!! I’m finally getting a chance to catch up with the other posts here after slogging my way through the comments sections of the trailer posts. Whew! Always so glad to read anything from you, good Ser, as you are always very entertaining! Looking forward to more Looking Forwards soon. Time is ticking away pretty quickly with all of the great posts here at The Wall. Thanks and keep it going! This is one of my all-time favorite episodes for all of the great foreshadowing. It was damn hard to keep my trap shut while watching with my Unsullied family, but watching their enjoyment as shit started getting real in Westeros was priceless. No more foreknowledge of this coming season. It’s like starting the show all over again! So exciting!
Hope all is well in your realm, Oz. Greetings to Ozette and the Ozlings! 🙂