‘Game of Thrones’ Has Big Balls
06.13.11Last night’s episode of “Game of Thrones” (S1E9, “Baelor”) ended with a daring twist that shocked viewers who haven’t read the novel. I won’t go into details (though there are spoilers in this reaction video and the comments), but suffice to 
say that many critics are calling the event historic in terms of series television, and I’m inclined to agree. I’m not a huge fan of genre fiction, but I enjoyed George R.R. Martin’s first book in the series precisely because the plot turns are so ballsy and unsentimental. David Benioff and D.B. Weiss have really done an incredible job of adapting the source material for HBO.
Anyway, because there’s a surplus of animosity towards the boy-king Joffrey today, here’s ten minutes of Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) slapping the piss out of him — set to Led Zeppelin’s “Achilles Last Stand.” I find it very cathartic.
(Hat tip for the videos: @XmasApe and boohoonedstark. GIF by aryastarks)
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This was the first time watching any movie or TV show that I literally sat and stared slack jawed at the screen. Fucking unreal.
So now I get to spend all day trying to not say “dey killed my n*gga Ned” out loud. Thanks for that.
I read the books and I literally re-read that scene 4 times. I couldn’t believe he killed off Ned like that. When I started watching GoT I still had this hope in the back of my mind they wouldn’t kill Ned, I mean it’s TV, happy endings right? Nope. Pretty much the same feeling as it was reading the book. The show is awesome.
And fuck Joffrey.
Everyone’s flippin’ out about the beheading of Ned Stark. No one cares about the poor horse who had his neck slit by the witch.
Oh I forgot to mention I almost felt the post should have been titled “GAME OF THRONES AIN’T CARE.”
From the 4-5-11 Weekend Preview post: “I could nit-pick a lot of things about George R.R. Martin’s first novel in the series, but I’ll give him this: dude has BALLS when it comes to killing off characters. Don’t get too attached to anyone.”
Matt warned us. I figured Ned would still be executed because Joffry is a fucking turd and it sets up the bad ass vengeance that Lady Stark and the Stark kids are going to unleash on the Lanisters.
My wife and I said we can’t remember if we’ve ever hated a character more than Joffrey.
Also, before the witch killed Drago’s horse, it would have been cool if she said “nice shoes asshole”
I have seen the movie GoldenEye, this dude has a penchant for faking his own death…just saying.
Oh sorry SPOILER ALERT for you gay LOST fans out there who have not seen this movie made in 1995.
Freedom Chipmunk,
Who cares? The horse in the story was not even a named character. Lots of unnamed characters die, regardless of their species. The horse who played the part is doing fine.
I knew it was coming and still got misty eyed like a Bosh
Whose chair is this?
It’s a throne baby.
Whose throne is this?
It’s Ned’s. Whose Ned?
Ned’s dead baby, Ned’s dead.
Or something.
Also, Ned deciding to lie and call himself in order to protect his daughters and then both of them having to watch their dad get beheaded was heart wrenching.
All I could think of was Ned’s quote from the first episode when he beheads the member of the Knights Watch, “The man who passes the sentence should swing the sword.”
The fact they used Ice, Ned’s trusty battle partner for ages, to kill him was the final insult goddamn
I love seeing the non-readers reactions. I can’t wait to see how everyone reacts to next season. It’s gonna blow your minds.
Tell you what, Ned would rather be suckin’ on some titties
season 3 would be the ballbusting jaw dropper if it continues hopefully
Ned Stark died as he lived… an idiot. An extremely likable idiot, one I didn’t want to see die, but c’mon now.
“Fuck the blond man, and fuck books” is now my go-to excuse for anything, ever.
I actually cried. Not full-out bawled, but there were tears, and I was shocked. I was like, “Oh, sweet! Arya’s gonna save him with her skills! Right? …RIGHT? OH SWEET FUCK NO THEY’RE DOING THE SLOW MOTION EMOTIONAL CLOSE-UP! DON’T TELL ME THEY’RE GOING TO–”
It reminded of the ending of No Country For Old Men, except people instead bitched about No Country’s ending and complained because they wanted a happy ending.
Here’s what I’m talking about
I think the whole theme of the show so far has been “Honor is nice but it’s for the dumb,” with the most blatant example being Bronn being accused of not fighting with honor and then pointing to the guy he just dispatched saying “He did.”
They probably thought Deadwood was about Wild Bill Hicock. What are you gonna’ do…
Yeah, Joffrey is a dick beyond measure BUT SANSA!!! WTF SANSA, gahhhh I hate her so much. She’s such a fucking twit I almost stopped reading the books. She can be so one dimensional in her twitterdom.
@UU – That was my first thought. Well, after being completely shocked it was my first thought.
Amazing fucking show man. I just sat there looking at the credits in disbelief for what seemed forever. I cant remember the last show that made me have the emotional reaction that Game of Thrones does.
I haven’t read the books, but I wonder about Cersei’s reaction to Joffrey’s decision to have Ned killed.
Wouldn’t surprise me if she and Joffrey planned it all along, and she played the dissenter to make Joffrey seem more powerful and royal in the eyes of his people.
Ned knew that he was going to be killed, right? His friend didn’t attempt to move Arya until after Ned made his speech.
Anyway, I was shocked because Bean was the face of all the advertising for this show. Like Matt says, ballsy.
@smegga they showed Cersei trying to plead with Joffery not to do it. She looked upset, probably because she knows that killing Ned is a seriously horrible political move.
No, Cersei legitimately thought Joffrey would make Ned take the black, but she created a monster and is now living with it. I think her reaction was real.
She was kind of pissed about it in the books. Cersei is a cunt but she’s not a stupid cunt. She knew that killing Ned would lead to war and she ultimately wants the reign of the Lannisters to be secured.
@No Heddard Stark: you’re right, I was mixing up the books.
I turned into a complete moron when that sword was coming down on him in slow motion. These were the thoughts that were going through my head.
“Okay now is the part where a good witch turns him into a bird and he flies away, right? Or maybe he uses his super duper king strength to block the sword and he grabs his daughters and then turns into a bird and flies away. Or maybe Arya finally learns to dance with the sword and saves her father.”
And then I was crushed.
I hope next week Robb Stark gets a crew in to go medieval on Jaime Lannister’s ass.
Wow. Joffery can die in a fire, but TH is right.
That Zep link seems to be down, but Guile’s theme should do:
[www.youtube.com]
@Smegga: Wrong.
I knew it was coming and it still upset me. Just like it did when I read the books. I f’ing hate Joffery so much.
I think we can all agree that Bronn walking out when Shae mounts Tyrion was pretty amazing though.
I had advanced warning from book-readin’ folk that “favorite characters die unexpectedly”. Still, that is one that I would have banked on living quite a long while.
Love the clip. [Throws up the devil horns and bangs head in time]
For those who have not read the books,
Wait till the undead zombie Lady Stark comes back and opens serious woopass on her enemies, this will all seem like a fairy tale by then.
@Lance – I am wrong about so many things.
Thanks guys, I was just wondering about Cersei’s plans for Joffrey. Maybe it was the actor, but when he dismissed Sansa and Cersei’s pleas because “they are soft hearted women”, it just seemed a bit forced to me. Maybe he planned to kill Ned all along, and start his reign off with a bang. I just assumed his mother would be behind it.
So… another one of the good characters dies soon too.
But I swear on my mother, if they kill the fucking midget… I’ll turn this show off.
Long time WG reader/lurker… First time I’ve ever felt the need to comment.
I’m one of them “readin’ folk” referenced above and I still remember the visceral reaction I had when I read that chapter. Like everyone else, it was the, “Ok, something is going to happen to save him, it always does. Wait a minute, did I read that right? Let me read that again… Holy sh*t, Ned is really f’in dead. How in the hell is he going to go on without the main character?”
Kudos to GRRM that he has not only managed to go on but that it just get s better. Hopefully HBO will keep up the good work because “A Clash of Kings” was my favorite book and I really just want to see the head-smashing awesomeness in crystal clear HD…
I love this show but the lack of a sense of scale is beginning to distract. Oh look, there’s the Dothraki horde again, all 20 of them. Show me some armies and some fucking battles, I don’t care how much it’ll cost, after all I’m not paying.
@AEVC The really huge battles really don’t start happening until the next book/season to be honest (a little something called the War of the Five Kings) so hopefully they expand the scope a bit going forward.
However, I actually think they are making a concerted effort to follow the method of the books. Each chapter is written from a single person’s POV, which severely limits the scope of what is seen “on screen”.
I’m not necessarily disagreeing with you, but I think they are using a device from the books rather than trying to cheap out.
Yeah, I was wondering if the show was piously following the books in having an abundance of “off screen” action.
I’d have liked to have been given a better idea of Robb’s plan by seeing the two thousand strong decoy force get overwhelmed whilst the major force surprised Jaime’s army – of which, again, we saw nothing but Jaime – or seen Jaime cut down ten men before getting captured rather than have Basil Exposition tell us about it.
Granted this would take up chunks of screen time for something that might be dealt with in one paragraph (or one sentence?) in the book, but it would further enhance a great show, for me anyway.
@AEVC I know what you mean, but as Fully said, the books are focused on single characters. Don’t worry; you’ll get what you want soon enough. Like, next season. I’m kinda over epic battles, though.
FYI: Tyrion was awesome with a shield; he’s even more badass with an axe.
Also a first time commenter. I think that they’re avoiding large battles, and focusing more on the fights to make it even more of an impact when the main characters are killed off.
I was more pissed that Drogo might die than Stark. I had a strong feeling Ned was going to die last week, but Drogo just can’t die. He has to help his son mount the world…
I love seeing theories and reactions from people who haven’t read the books. I’m glad they’re having a good time.
@Alcoholics Gratuitous
I’m not pissed that Khal Drogo is on his deathbed. I’m pissed that he’s on his deathbed over a fucking infection rather than suffering a lance wound after taking out 40 Lannister soldiers by himself.
/not really pissed
//great show, no need to bitch about characters
///dick joke
////shows self out
I’m reminded of the scene in the Life Aquatic where Willam Dafoe tells Owen Wilson it’s “not the Ned show” and then slaps him in the face. Now replace Willam Dafoe with George R. R. Martin and Owen Wilson with TV viewers.
I’m reminded of Dex season 3 finale – it was as shocking the next day as if someone I knew had died.
I don’t think I’ve ever been this surprised by a TV show. Or hate one character so much. I need to go contemplate…things are different now.
@ AEVC again:
“I’d have liked to have been given a better idea of Robb’s plan by seeing the two thousand strong decoy force get overwhelmed whilst the major force surprised Jaime’s army . . . ”
The one hint they give isn’t super obvious. When Robb lets the Lannister spy go with info about the Northmen going one way, then takes the majority of his force the other way. However, I agree, a quick, 5-minute scene of Jamie’s force gettin overrun and him cutting down 10 guys before they can get a handle on him would have been nice.
I was pretty shocked at the ending. The one thing that bugged me was that, fine, Ned knows he’s about to get killed off, why didn’t he retract his confession and reveal that Joffrey’s an inbred freak baby who probably has webbed toes?
Everyone thinking that Ned knew he was going to die have to look at other events in the show. Maester Aemon talking to Jon Snow about choosing between love and honor. Varys asking Ned about his daughters in the dungeon. Ned, even though he’s a man of honor, tried to survive in order to save his daughters from who knows what kind of fate at the hands of the Lannisters. He thought that admitting treason and taking the black would have saved his own life so he could save his family. Of course, he was wrong, because he was dealing with a prick like Joffrey, who has no clue what is smart politically.
That shit was like if they would have killed Jack on LOST. It was unreal.
I will be reading the books post-haste. I was told by someone who had read all of them about the time episode 3 aired that I shouldn’t get too attached to anyone, that one of Martin’s signature moves was killing off his main characters mercilessly, and that this person sometimes feared turning the page not knowing what might happen to another of them.
Having said that, two things: As mentioned above, there were signs everywhere. What pissed me off the most was that Ned blindly followed his honor to get himself into this mess, yet forsake it at the one and only moment where holding fast truly meant something. If he’s willing to confess to being a traitor, what about when Renly went to him first after Robert died and suggested a coup? Of course it was so that Renly could assume the throne, but it was the same premise. And that time, Ned said no and got dicked over by Littlefinger (which he *really* should have seen coming). So to be put in the same circumstances and reverse your decision and go against honor, knowing that you were dicked over the last time when you held fast, and what an intolerable shitstain Joffrey is, and that this time you’re likely to die no matter what, is more than I could take. That said, as soon as Ned started his speech, I predicted the next five minutes.
Secondly, in terms of this being historic in series television, (SPOILER ALERT) isn’t this about the same as when “Treme” did it? David Simon killed off a main character, played by a big-name actor (probably the biggest name among the cast at the time) in the penultimate episode of the first season, and with a suicide to boot. And without having a book or author’s style to build off of. I’d say it’s at least equal.
@ Stark Ending: Except that Treme sucks, and everyone thought John Goodman’s character was annoying.
@Alcoholics Gratuitous
“I was more pissed that Drogo might die than Stark. I had a strong feeling Ned was going to die last week, but Drogo just can’t die. He has to help his son mount the world…”
Heh. You’d better hold on tight next week, brother!
@Forte Knox: This opinion does not refute the facts, sir.
Hey guys, I made that video of Tyrion slapping Joffrey for 10 minutes to Achilles Last Stand! I’ve never had a video go viral before with any of my YouTube Channels! THANKS for the props, Warming Glow!!!! Feel free to contact me via my YouTube page of via WesterosTales@Gmail.Com. I promise more videos to come soon!!! All the best!!
-Westeros Tales
THEY KILLED MY NIGGA NED!
I haven’t actually seen any of the shows because I am a broke piece of shit and can’t afford cable or even friends who have cable, but I got very interested in and bought the first book. Sweet Christ on a crutch, I IMMEDIATELY re-read the book two more times. It’s so thorough. Fuck Joffrey.
Last time I stared blank-eyed in shock at a tv screen like that was when Lem got grenaded in The Shield. And I knew it should have been coming as I had read the book, just did not know if the show would bottle it….alas poor Ned!
roflmao all these people upset about Ned…hope they post their reaction to season 5