Baelor

"Baelor"

"Baelor" is the ninth, Emmy Award winning, episode of the HBO medieval fantasy television series Game of Thrones. First aired on June 12, 2011, it was written by the show's creators and executive producers David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, and directed by Alan Taylor.

The plot depicts Eddard Stark, imprisoned and accused of high treason, struggling with the decision whether to falsely confess to save his daughters. His wife Catelyn negotiates with Lord Walder Frey for the use of a strategic river crossing and his son Robb fights his first battle in the war against the Lannisters. Meanwhile, Jon Snow discovers a secret about Maester Aemon, and Daenerys stands up to Qotho and challenges Dothraki traditions to care for Khal Drogo.

The episode matched the previous week's season-high viewership and was well received by critics, many of whom called it the best episode of the season. The episode was nominated for two Emmy Awards: dramatic writing and Peter Dinklage as best supporting actor in a drama series. Dinklage won in the latter category for the first Emmy Award of his career.

Plot

Like previous episodes, "Baelor" interweaves action in multiple separate locations in and around the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros.

At the Lannister Camp

Lord Tywin (Charles Dance) tells his son Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) at dinner that he and his barbarian allies will fight in the vanguard of the army. Tyrion is less than pleased and leaves the table. He returns to his camp and finds the prostitute Shae (Sibel Kekilli) whom Bronn (Jerome Flynn) found for him at his request. As the three of them swap stories, Tyrion reveals that when he was sixteen, he married a woman named Tysha that Jaime and he had rescued. When his father Tywin learned of this, he made Jaime confess that she was actually a hired prostitute. Tywin then made Tyrion watch as Lannister guardsmen gang-raped her, each paying her one silver coin provided by Lord Tywin.

Later, Tyrion is awakened by Bronn as a Stark force approaches. He leaves his tent dressed in armor and orders the hill tribes to combat, but is trampled by them as they rush to war. By the time he regains consciousness, the entire battle has been played out, and Lord Tywin reveals that the Stark host was only 2,000 men, leaving them to wonder where the other 18,000 went.

At the Twins

The Stark army arrives at The Twins, a fortified bridge controlled by the cranky Lord Walder Frey (David Bradley), who is nominally sworn to Catelyn's (Michelle Fairley) father. However, Lord Frey has sealed off the bridge and refuses to let the army cross, so Catelyn negotiates on her son Robb's behalf. After some hard bargaining, Frey agrees to allow the Stark army to cross through The Twins and commit some of his troops to the conflict with the Lannisters, but in return he wants Robb (Richard Madden) and his sister Arya (Maisie Williams) to marry two of his children, to which Robb reluctantly agrees.

After crossing the river, Robb divides his forces, sending the aforementioned 2,000 men to distract Lord Tywin's army. Due to the false information Robb gave to a Lannister scout, Lord Tywin's force believes it is the whole Stark army. The remainder of Robb's men sneak up on Jaime Lannister's (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) army, defeating them and capturing Jaime.

At the Wall

Lord Commander Mormont (James Cosmo) gives Jon (Kit Harington) a sword of Valyrian steel named Longclaw, which was originally meant for his son Ser Jorah (Iain Glen) before his exile, as a reward from saving his life from the undead ranger. Jon is upset, however, when Sam (John Bradley) tells him about Robb's war against the Lannisters, feeling that he should be there to help Robb.

Maester Aemon summons Jon and explains to him the reason why members of the Night's Watch do not marry: it would force them to choose between their duty to the order or loyalty to their loved ones. Aemon knows this very well as he is actually Aemon Targaryen, the Mad King Aerys Targaryen's uncle and Daenerys' (Emilia Clarke) granduncle, who dutifully and reluctantly stayed at the Wall while his family members were killed or exiled when the Targaryens were overthrown. Aemon advises Jon that he must choose either his duty to the Night's Watch or his family, but also warns that the consequences of his choice will haunt him for the rest of his life.

Across the Narrow Sea

Khal Drogo (Jason Momoa), delirious from an infection caused by the chest wound he suffered in a fight depicted in the previous episode, falls from his saddle. Daenerys takes Drogo into her tent and sends for Mirri Maz Duur (Mia Soteriou) to help him. However, Ser Jorah Mormont advises Daenerys that they should leave now because the Dothraki only respect the powerful and once Drogo dies, Qotho (Dar Salim) and the other bloodriders will fight amongst themselves to be his successor; whoever wins will kill her and her unborn child to prevent Drogo's son from growing up to be a rival. Daenerys refuses to abandon her husband even when Mirri tells she cannot save him and instead advises giving Drogo a quick, clean death. In desperation, Daenerys encourages Mirri to use blood magic despite her warning about the consequences of such a spell, that only death can pay for life. Mirri brings Drogo's horse into the tent, slits its throat, and orders everyone to leave and warns that none must enter during the spell. Qotho, shocked over what Daenerys has done, tries to stop the spell but Mormont kills him to prevent interference. Danerys then goes into premature labor, and none of the Dothraki midwives will help her, owing to their belief that she is be cursed. In desperation, Mormont carries Daenerys into Drogo's tent to seek Mirri's help.

At King's Landing

Varys (Conleth Hill) visits Ned (Sean Bean) in the dungeons and tells him that if he makes a false confession and swears loyalty to King Joffrey (Jack Gleeson), Cersei (Lena Headey) will spare him and let him serve the Night's Watch as his exile. Ned initially refuses but relents after Varys tells him that his daughter Sansa's (Sophie Turner) life is also at stake.

Arya, who has been living as a beggar in the streets of King's Landing since her escape from the Lannisters, learns a crowd is gathering at the Great Sept of Baelor, where her father will be judged before the gods. With Sansa, Cersei, Joffrey and the Small Council looking over him, Ned confesses to treason and swears fealty to Joffrey in front of the crowd. Satisfied, Sansa and Cersei ask Joffrey to spare Ned as promised, but Joffrey breaks his promise and orders Ned beheaded. As Sansa watches in grief, Cersei, Varys and the Small Council attempt to intervene, and Arya tries to rescue Ned only to be stopped by Night's Watch recruiter Yoren (Francis Magee), who prevents her from seeing her father's execution. Ned accepts his death peacefully.

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. "Baelor" includes the content of the book's chapters Eddard XV, Catelyn IX, Jon VIII, Tyrion VIII, Catelyn X, Daenerys VIII and Arya V (59 to 61 and 63 to 66).

The scene with the drinking game between Tyrion, Bronn and Shae was added to the plot, and the story of Tyrion's ill-fated marriage with Tysha was taken from a previous chapter of the books. Also, Shae's background was changed from Westerosi to foreign to accommodate Kekilli's accent. Other notable divergence from the books include the modification of the whole strategy of Robb Stark when dividing his forces, and a change to the Targaryen genealogy as explained by Maester Aemon: in the TV adaptation the Mad King is described as the son, rather than the grandson, of Aegon V (thus eliminating Jaehaerys II from the succession of kings).

The title of the episode refers to the Great Sept of Baelor, the main religious building in King's Landing, where the episode's pivotal scene takes place. In the world created by George R. R. Martin, Baelor was a Targaryen king of old, revered as a patron and supporter of the Faith of the Seven.

Casting

Sibel Kekilli plays the role of "camp follower" Shae.

"Baelor" marks the first appearance of the German actress Sibel Kekilli, in the role of the prostitute Shae. Executive producer George R. R. Martin commented that she was extraordinary in her audition, in which she read the scene where Shae meets Tyrion in a tent the night before the battle of the Green Fork. According to Martin, "a lot of beautiful young women read for Shae. [...] But there's another dimension to Shae as well. She's not as practiced and hardened at this as a more seasoned pro. There's still a girl next door quality to her, a sense of vulnerability, playfulness, and, yes, innocence. [...] All of our Shaes were hot as hell. But only a handful of them captured that other quality, maybe three out of twenty, and Sibel was the standout. [...] Watching those auditions, any red-blooded male would want to take every one of our Shae candidates to bed. But Sibel made you fall in love with her as well."

Also introduced in this episode was the English actor David Bradley, playing the role of the Lord of the Crossing "Late" Walder Frey.

The scenes at the Great Sept of Baelor were filmed at Fort Manoel, in Malta.

Filming locations

The interiors of the episode were filmed at the Paint Hall studios, close to Belfast. The area of the Castle Ward estate, also in Northern Ireland, was used to film on location the Stark and Lannister camps, and the battlefields of the Green Fork and the Whispering Woods.

The climactic scene before the Great Sept of Baelor was shot at Fort Manoel, in the Maltese town of Gżira. The filming took place in the last week of October 2010.

Reception

Ratings

"Baelor" gathered 2.7 million viewers in its premiere telecast, equaling the season high reached with the previous week's episode. The total for the night, including the repeat, was slightly lower, with 3.4 million viewers.

Critical response

The episode received great acclaim among the critics. Elio Garcia, writing for Suvudu, said "Baelor" had been "without a doubt, my favorite episode of the season so far. Everything came together in a glorious hour of television: great writing, exceptional acting, a score that suddenly came alive in a way it hadn't before, the consummate direction of one of television's best directors." From the reviewers of the A.V. Club, where it was rated with an A, Todd VanDerWerff called it "unquestionably the finest episode of Game Of Thrones yet", and David Sims found it "terrific" and with a conclusion that would be "sure to blow the minds (and break the hearts)" of the watchers Matt Fowler of IGN TV gave the episode a perfect "10" saying that it was a "clean and epic entry with a daring, tragic finish" that had "an admirable undercurrent of audience contempt."

...how masterfully directed—by Alan Taylor—that last scene was. The slow dolly in on Arya's face when Ned spots her. The careful establishment of the geography of the area. The way he lays out just who's where, so when shit hits the fan, you know what to expect. It's the biggest setpiece of book one, and he nails it, taking a scene that felt slightly distant and clinical on the page and making it visceral and real.

 —Todd VanDerWerff, The A.V. Club

The focus of most reviews was in the climactic final scene, whose directing and acting is universally acclaimed by critics. Writing for Cultural Learnings, Myles McNutt stated: "the final shot, with Arya looking to the sky as everything goes to silence and all she sees is the birds flying was just wonderfully haunting. Alan Taylor's direction sold both the chaos and the resignation of that moment". HitFix's Alan Sepinwall felt that "That final scene was so gorgeously shot, and the weariness of Bean's performance and the horror of Maisie Williams' so perfectly conveyed the emotions of it, even as things seemed so chaotic."

The emotional charge of the scene hit home many reviewers: Scott Meslow of The Atlantic called it "an absolutely nightmarish scene" and labelled Eddard's death "horrific in its indignity". Jace Lacob from Televisionary and Maureen Ryan from AOL TV admitted having shed tears at the episode's dramatic conclusion. The latter found the scene "masterful" and felt that the visual medium and Alan Taylor's excellent work had made it more powerful than the book's original version.

Besides the final scene, other aspects were discussed: Garcia noted the acting of Richard Madden and how the Freys had been introduced. Ryan praised the wide range of emotions used by Emilia Clarke while playing Daenerys, and how Peter Dinklage played Tyrion's frustration and confusion during the episode. Both she and McNutt were glad that the Imp's exposition scene in the tent with Bronn and Shae did not use sex to keep viewers, as was done in past episodes.

There was debate about the merits of the producer's decision to avoid depicting the two battles between the Starks and Lannisters. Ryan criticized it and confessed being "a little disappointed that many of the major characters are caught up in a war and we're not seeing it." Sims regretted not seeing the fight, and although he claimed to understand the budget constrictions, he felt that "all this off-screen fighting is just getting my blood rushing for some on-screen fighting". Sepinwall concludes: "Ideally, we'd get a few epic, 'Braveheart'-level battle scenes at some point, but I also respect the demands of time and budget here. Those kinds of sequences cost a fortune, and they eat up a lot of screen time, and I think ultimately I'd have rather had the time, say, that we spent in Tyrion's tent the night before the battle, with the mortifying story of his ex-wife, and then whatever it cost to make the execution sequence look as good as it did, than for the episode to have given us one or two long fight scenes."

Emmy nominations and win

Peter Dinklage chose "Baelor" as the episode named in his candidacy for the 2011 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. Spenser Davis, writing for entertainment industry awards website GoldDerby, noted that the choice was curious because while the episode itself was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series (which it lost to Friday Night Lights' "Always"), Dinklage's screen time in the episode was rather limited. Davis noted that Dinklage's nomination was the only acting Emmy nomination among the 13 received by the show, and opined that "A Golden Crown" better showcased Dinklage's contributions to the series. Dinklage's win was the only major award received by the series and the first Emmy of his career.

External links

• "Baelor" at IMDb
• Template:Tv.com episode