Fire and Blood (Game of Thrones)
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| "Fire and Blood (Game of Thrones)" |
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"Fire and Blood" is the tenth and final episode of season one of the HBO medieval fantasy television series Game of Thrones, first aired on June 19, 2011. It was written by the show creators and executive producers David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, and directed by Alan Taylor.[1]
The title of the episode refers to the motto of House Targaryen.
Plot
In The North
Bran (Isaac Hempstead-Wright) has Osha (Natalia Tena) carry him into the Stark family crypt. There, they encounter his brother Rickon (Art Parkinson) and his direwolf, Shaggydog as both brothers had the same dream about their father Ned (Sean Bean). Osha assures Bran that his dream is nothing more than him missing his father, but Maester Luwin (Donald Sumpter) solemnly arrives to inform them of Ned's death.
At their camp, Catelyn (Michelle Fairley) counsels her son Robb (Richard Madden), who is grieving over his father's death. Robb promises that the Lannisters will pay for what they did, but Catelyn reminds him that they must first rescue Arya (Maisie Williams) and Sansa (Sophie Turner). As the Starks sit in counsel with their bannermen and allies over whether they should support Stannis or Renly, both of whom have challenged Joffrey's (Jack Gleeson) claim to the throne, Lord Greatjon Umber (Clive Mantle) instead suggests the North should secede from the Seven Kingdoms. Theon (Alfie Allen) and the others agree and proclaim Robb as "The King in the North". Later, Catelyn interrogates Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) over why he pushed Bran over the tower, but he refuses to answer.
At King's Landing
Joffrey leads Sansa onto a small wooden bridge at the top of a battlement and forces her to look upon the heads of her father and other members of their household mounted on spikes. When Joffrey tells her his plans to have Robb's head on a spike, Sansa defiantly tells him her brother will kill him instead, for which Joffrey has one of his guards slap her. As Sansa contemplates pushing Joffrey off the bridge, she is stopped by Sandor Clegane (Rory McCann), who gently wipes the blood off her mouth and tells her not to resist Joffrey for her own safety.
Meanwhile, Arya, after being rescued by Yoren (Francis Magee), disguises herself as a boy named "Arry" in order to escape with Yoren and his new recruits for the Night's Watch. After being picked on by two boys who plan to steal her sword, Arya threatens to kill them until Gendry (Joe Dempsie), King Robert's bastard son, chases them off. After a brief talk between the two, Arya and Gendry leave with Yoren's caravan, bound for the Wall.
At the Lannister Camp
Lord Tywin (Charles Dance) and his allies comment on their recent setbacks as they not only lost to the Starks and had Jaime captured by them, they now face a new threat with the Baratheon brothers. Because his grandson's actions destroyed any hope for peace between the Starks and the Lannisters, Tywin orders Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) to go to King's Landing in his stead as Hand of the King so they may keep Joffrey under control if Cersei (Lena Headey) fails. Despite being told not to, Tyrion has Shae (Sibel Kekilli) follow him to King's Landing.
At the Wall
Jon (Kit Harington) attempts to desert the Night's Watch to join Robb and avenge his father, despite Sam (John Bradley) telling him not to. After being pursued by Sam, Pyp (Josef Altin) and Grenn (Mark Stanley), Jon tells them to leave, but they convince Jon to come back by reciting their oath. The next morning, Commander Mormont (James Cosmo) reveals to Jon he knows what he did last night, but nevertheless he wants Jon to join him in leading an expedition over the Wall to deal with the threat of the Wildlings and the White Walkers and find Benjen Stark (Joseph Mawle).
Across the Narrow Sea
Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) awakens, and learns from Ser Jorah (Iain Glen) that her unborn son died, as his life was used in Mirri's (Mia Soteriou) spell to save Khal Drogo's (Jason Momoa) life. However, Drogo has been left in a persistent vegetative state from which he will not recover, leading most of his Khalasar to leave him. Daenerys accuses Mirri of tricking her by not warning her the real price of her blood magic but Mirri retorts that she did it as revenge for her village and its people. Unable to see her husband this way, Daenerys smothers Drogo with a pillow to put him out of his misery.
As Daenerys and her followers build a funeral pyre for Drogo, she places her dragon eggs into the pyre. She then orders Ser Jorah to tie Mirri to the pyre as well. With the pyre burning, Daenerys declares to her followers that they will start a new khalasar with her as their queen. Despite Jorah's worries that Daenerys wants to die with her husband, she tells him not to worry as she steps into the pyre. By the time morning comes, Jorah and the rest of the khalasar are surprised to find that not only does Daenerys survive the fire unharmed, but she is also carrying three baby dragons with her. Amazed to see real dragons, they bow to Daenerys as one of the hatchlings clambers onto her shoulder and lets out a screech.
Production
Writing
The episode was written by the showrunners David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, based on the original book, by George R. R. Martin. The chapters of the book covered in this episode are part of Arya V, Bran VII, Sansa VI, Daenerys IX, Tyrion IX, Jon IX, Catelyn XI and Daenerys X (Chapters 66 to 73). The episode also includes content from A Clash of Kings: Arya I (Chapter 1) and part of Catelyn VII (Chapter 56).[citation needed]
Other
"Fire and Blood" uses a similar opening sequence to that of the second episode. The Twins are removed from the opening credits. Sean Bean's name appears in the opening credits despite the actor not appearing in the episode, with the exception of his head on a spike.[citation needed]
Reception
Ratings
"Fire and Blood" was the most watched episode of the season, receiving 1.4 million viewers 18–49 and 3 million viewers overall.[2]
Critical response
"Fire and Blood" received positive reviews from critics, with much acclaim given to the closing scene. Matt Fowler of IGN stated " 'Fire and Blood' wasn't exactly a powerful roar of an episode, but that book fans would definitely appreciate the small parts of the second book, A Clash of Kings, that got included to help set up season two next year."[3] He gave the episode an 8.5 out of 10, indicating "Great."[3] Todd VanDerWerff of the A.V. Club was highly complimentary of the episode, saying, "The series, especially, has shown that it’s willing to stretch some of these emotional or philosophical moments out, to really get the most out of the actors’ performances and give them scenes where they can expand their characters beyond what’s on the page. In a finale that could have felt too scattered—we drop in on every major character of the season who’s still alive—that sense that cooler heads would rather prevent greater war but were thwarted by hotter, younger heads was what united the story".[This quote needs a citation] He gave the episode an A–.[citation needed] Lauren Pon of Dead Awesome gave this episode a highly positive review, saying, "After an already strong season, 'Fire and Blood' ended on a note that left me breathless. After a season full of betrayal and despair, rather than kicking us while we were down, the finale gave us something to cheer for. It was a perfect end to an overall amazing first season, teasing just enough about events to come and giving viewers just enough resolution to feel satisfied. One more time, everyone, say it with me: 'is it season two yet?'"[citation needed]
References
- ^ "Episode Guide". Winter is Coming.net. Retrieved June 10, 2011.
- ^ Seidman, Robert (June 21, 2011). "Sunday Cable Ratings: 'Falling Skies,' 'Game of Thrones', 'The Killing,' 'In Plain Sight,' 'Law & Order: CI,' 'The Glades' and Much More". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved June 22, 2011.
- ^ a b Fowler, Matt. "Game of Thrones: "Fire and Blood" Review". IGN. Retrieved June 19, 2011.