A Golden Crown
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"A Golden Crown" is the sixth episode of the HBO medieval fantasy television series Game of Thrones, first aired on May 22, 2011. The teleplay was written by Jane Espenson, David Benioff and D.B. Weiss from a story by Benioff and Weiss, and directed by Daniel Minahan.
The episode's plot depicts the deterioration of the political balance of the seven kingdoms, with Eddard Stark having to deal with the Lannister aggressions while King Robert is away on a hunt. On the Eyrie the Imp is put on trial, and across the Narrow Sea Viserys Targaryen is determined to force Khal Drogo to make him king.
The episode was well-received by critics, who praised aspects of both the King's Landing storyline, as well as the fatal culmination of Visery's storyline.
Plot
Like previous episodes, "A Golden Crown" interweaves action happening in multiple separate locations within and around the Kingdom of Westeros.
In the North
Bran Stark (Isaac Hempstead-Wright) is awakened from one of his recurring dreams of a three-eyed crow with the pleasant surprise that the specially designed saddle that will allow him to ride has been finished. He goes to test it in the forest under the supervision of his brother Robb (Richard Madden) and Theon Greyjoy (Alfie Allen).
While Theon is trying to convince Robb to avenge his father for the Lannister's attack, a small group of wildlings (humans who live north of the wall, outside of "civilized" lands) that have ventured south capture Bran. Robb and Theon manage to kill all the men and capture the woman Osha (Natalia Tena), but despite Theon's help, Robb chastises him for endangering Bran's life when he shot an arrow at the wildling that was holding Bran.
In the Vale
Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) is able to trick Lysa Arryn (Kate Dickie) into summoning a court to listen to his confession, at which he confesses nothing about the attempt on Bran's life or Lysa's husband's death. After Tyrion publicly demands a trial by combat and the mercenary Bronn (Jerome Flynn) volunteers to fight for him, Lysa Arryn is forced to allow it. Bronn defeats Lysa's champion by tiring the heavily armored knight, and Tyrion is allowed to walk free with Bronn as his escort, much to the despair of the Tully sisters.
At King's Landing
Eddard Stark (Sean Bean) awakens in his chambers with Robert (Mark Addy) and Cersei (Lena Headey) watching him. Cersei accuses him of kidnapping her brother, Tyrion, and claims he was drunk and attacked Jaime first, but she is silenced by a slap from Robert. After she leaves, Robert tells Eddard that he cannot rule the kingdoms if the Lannisters and Starks are at war and insists that Eddard remain the Hand of the King, or else he will give the position to Jaime. He also informs Eddard that he will be regent while Robert departs on a hunting trip.
Meanwhile, Arya (Maisie Williams) deals with her father's injury and her loss of Jory during her sword-dance lessons; Syrio (Miltos Yerolemou) tells her it's a perfect opportunity for her to learn to avoid distraction while fighting. In the Stark's common room, Sansa (Sophie Turner) and Septa Mordane are interrupted by Prince Joffrey (Jack Gleeson), who apologizes to Sansa for his earlier behavior and gives her a necklace. Sansa accepts the apology, unaware Joffrey has been forced into it by his mother.
While acting as regent, Eddard learns that Ser Gregor "The Mountain" Clegane was spotted leading brigands and attacking villages in the Riverlands. Realizing this is revenge for Tyrion's arrest, Eddard orders Gregor's arrest, strips him of his lands and titles, and summons his Lord Tywin Lannister to answer for Gregor's actions. Fearing war with the Lannisters and for his daughters' lives, he orders Arya and Sansa to return to Winterfell for their safety. Sansa protests and mentions Joffrey's blond hair; Eddard realizes something and re-reads the book of lineages of the Baratheon family. Doing so, he puts the pieces together: Joffrey does not have black hair like his father, his father's ancestors, and Robert's bastards whom he and Jon Arryn had been researching. Eddard concludes Joffrey is not Robert's real son.
Across the Narrow Sea
Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) takes one of the dragon eggs and places it on a glowing-hot brazier. She reaches in and picks the blisteringly hot egg up. Her handmaiden rushes in to take the hot egg from her hands, burning herself in the process. Daenerys' hands are unscathed.
In Vaes Dothrak, Daenerys begins the ritual with the Khaleen by eating a raw heart of a stallion. After some struggle, she completes the task and stands up to proclaim her unborn son as the Khal who will unite the entire world under one banner, and she names him Rhaego. Viserys (Harry Lloyd) grows angry at his sister's popularity among the Dothraki, but Jorah Mormont (Iain Glen) urges patience. Viserys will have none of it, though, and sneaks away to Daenerys' tent to steal the dragon eggs to fund his army. However, Jorah confronts him and forces him to leave the eggs behind, and Viserys storms off after a tense exchange of barbed words between the two men.
Later, at a feast for Daenerys and Khal Drogo, a drunken Viserys draws his sword on his sister, threatening that if the Khal does not give him an army to take back the Seven Kingdoms, he will take back Daenerys and cut out her child. Khal Drogo agrees to give him the "Golden Crown" that he wants. But to Viserys' horror, the "Golden Crown" is actually molten gold, poured on his head. Daenerys watches her brother's death calmly and coldly replies: "He was no dragon. Fire cannot kill a dragon."
Production
Writing
The teleplay for "A Golden Crown" was written by Jane Espenson, David Benioff and D. B. Weiss from a story by Benioff and Weiss, based on A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin.[1] The episode includes the book's chapters 38 to 41, 44 to 45, and 47 of the book (Bran V, Tyrion V, Eddard X, Catelyn VII, Eddard XI, Sansa III, and Daenerys V). Chapter 42 (Jon V), dealing with Jon convincing Maester Aemon to allow Samwell join the Watch as a steward, was removed from the series,[2] and chapter 43 was moved to episode 8.
Among the scenes created specifically for the show were another training session between Arya and Syrio, an attempt by Viserys to steal Daenerys' eggs that is prevented by Ser Jorah Mormont, an apology from Joffrey to Sansa, and the Northern whore Ros leaving Winterfell.[3]
Casting
The episode introduces the recurring character of the wildling Osha. The writer of the original books, George R. R. Martin, admitted that this casting was different from his vision of the character. As he explains, he was surprised to see that actress Natalia Tena was being considered for the role since Osha had been conceived as a hard-bitten older woman and the actress was "too young and too hot".[4] However, when he saw the audition tapes he was convinced with the new approach: "she was sensational, and I said, 'It's gotta be her.'"[5][4]
Reception
Ratings
For the first time since the premiere of the show the ratings decreased in relation to the previous weeks. The first airing brought 2.4 million viewers, compared to the 2.6 million gathered by the previous episode. With the second airing the differences shrank, bringing the total of the night to 3.2 million, one hundred thousand viewers below the previous week's 3.3.[6]
Critical response
"A Golden Crown" received positive reviews from critics. Todd VanDerWerff from the A.V. Club gave it an A-,[7] and Maureen Ryan from AOL TV rated it with a 70 out of 100.[8] HitFix's Alan Sepinwall titled his review "The rules get upended in a terrific episode".[9] Both Elio Garcia from westeros.org and Jace Lacob from Televisionary considered it the best episode of the series so far.[10][3] In the words of reviewer Jace Lacob, the episode "revolves around changes both great and small, about the way the scales can fall from our eyes and we can see the truth that has been standing in front of us for so long. For Eddard, it's a realization of just why Jon Arryn died, of the terrible secret he had gleaned from the book of royal lineages, and just what this could mean for the throne... and for the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros. For Dany, it's the brutal truth of her brother's real nature, of his insatiable thirst for power and the twisted quality of his rampant heart."[10]
The Dothraki scenes that culminate with the "crowning" of Viserys Targaryen were acclaimed by the critics. Writing for Time, James Poniewozik highlighted an acting of "touching self-recognition by Harry Lloyd, who did an outstanding job humanizing a villain",[11] and Maureen Ryan congratulated the actor for his "excellent job of showing the human side of this impetuous, cruel aristocrat" and "keeping Viserys just this side of sane in all his scenes.[12] The acting of Emilia Clarke, closing her arc initiated in the first episode from a frightened girl to an empowered woman was also praised. VanDerWerff commented on the difficulty to adapt such an evolution from page to screen, but concluded that "Clarke and Lloyd more than seal the deal here."[7] IGN's Matt Fowler also praised Clarke and noted that Daenerys choice to watch Viserys die was "powerful" and an important shift in her character.[13]
Another aspect of the show that was widely discussed among commentators was the moral dilemma presented in the episode between a pragmatic approach to ruling or remaining true to the ideals of justice and honor, exemplified in the scene where Eddard summons Tywin Lannister to the court to answer for the crimes of his bannerman Gregor Clegane. Poniewozik states that Eddard "doesn't seem to consider that he has options: he is left to rule in the king's place, an injustice has been committed, the law requires one path to justice and he chooses it. This makes his decision easy, but it may make his life, and others', difficult".[11] According to The Atlantic's Scott Meslow, "Ned's principles are, as always, admirable, and he's clearly interested in justice. But the sad truth is that the lack of guile that makes him honorable also makes him a pretty poor king. It's a terrible idea to order the arrest of the man who is single-handedly financing your kingdom." [14] Myles McNutt, writing for Cultural Learnings, agrees with him and concludes that "The only thing more dangerous than a reckless man asserting their power in Westeros is an honorable man doing the same, as it threatens the delicate framework which has propped up King Robert for so long."[15]
References
- ^ "Episode Guide". Winter is Coming.net. Retrieved May 16, 2011.
- ^ Garcia, Elio. "Game of Thrones: You Win or You Die". Suvudu. Retrieved May 31, 2011.
- ^ a b Garcia, Elio. "EP106: A Golden Crown". Westeros.org. Retrieved May 24, 2011.
- ^ a b Martin, George R.R. "Actors, Actors Everywhere". Not a Blog. Retrieved May 24, 2011.
- ^ "Roundtable discussion with GRRM". Winter is Coming.net. Retrieved May 24, 2011.
- ^ Hibberd, James. "Game of Thrones' ratings dip". Enterntainment Weekly. Retrieved May 25, 2011.
- ^ a b VanDerWerff, Todd. "A Golden Crown" (for experts)". A.V. Club. Retrieved May 24, 2011.
- ^ Ryan, Maureen. "Review: With 'Game of Thrones,' HBO Attempts to Live the Fantasy". TV Squad. Retrieved May 24, 2011.
- ^ Sepinwall, Alan. "Review: 'Game of Thrones' - 'A Golden Crown': You are the last dragon". HitFix. Retrieved May 24, 2011.
- ^ a b Lacob, Jace. "As the Crow Flies, As the Lion Roars: A Golden Crown on Game of Thrones". Televisionary. Retrieved May 24, 2011.
- ^ a b Poniewozik, James (May 23, 2011). "Game of Thrones Watch: Talk to the Hand". Time. Retrieved May 24, 2011.
- ^ Ryan, Maureen. "'Game of Thrones' Season 1, Episode 6 Recap". Aol TV. Retrieved May 24, 2011.
- ^ Fowler, Matt. "Game of Thrones: "A Golden Crown" Review". IGN. Retrieved May 22, 2011.
- ^ Meslow, Scott. "'Game of Thrones': Crowns No One Wants to Wear". The Atlantic. Retrieved May 24, 2011.
- ^ McNutt, Myles. "Game of Thrones – "A Golden Crown"". Cultural Learnings. Retrieved May 24, 2011.
