A Game of Thrones returned with the families splitting up, some going north to the wall and others south along Kingsroad to King’s Landing. It looks like each week will be jammed packed given the large number of characters and storylines, though some questions remain.
One thing that I don’t understand (perhaps this is better explained in the books), is why the whole Stark family doesn’t move to King’s Landing, perhaps with the exception of Robb to run Winterfell. In the end, it made sense for Catelyn to stay behind to watch over Bran, but she mentioned before he fell that Sansa and Arya would be going with Ned and she would be remaining behind.
Catelyn initially came across as a strong woman, who loved and trusted her husband and her family came first. But, now she seems very needy, though perhaps it is more fear for her and her family than neediness. She doesn’t trust her husband to go serve the King, because last time Ned and Robert were fighting together, Ned brought home an illegitimate son. That was 17 years ago, if Ned has been faithful all that time, why would she be so worried now? Why wouldn’t she have gone with him? At this point, I question her motives for going to King’s Landing regarding the threats to her family. She could have sent someone else, but instead she leaves her young children to warn her husband about the Lannisters.
Oh, the mighty Lannisters, what awful people they are! All of them. They are the most despicable people — evil to the core. Oftentimes, even characters that are meant to be hated have some redeemable qualities. But, so far, I haven’t seen a single one in any of the three Lannister siblings. Even when Cersei talked about losing her son to Catelyn, she seemed more suspicious than heartfelt and honest.
On the opposite side of the spectrum is Jon Snow. I adore him. Even though he is a bastard and treated as such by Catelyn, he cares about his family, especially his half-siblings. He is an honorable and brave man. At this point, I would love to see him become King.
Perhaps, he can marry my other favorite, Daenerys … probably not. She has shown such personal strength and so quickly. She has started a shift from an innocent and naive girl to someone looking at her situation and making the best of it. She’s taking control of her life. That moment when Drogo pulls her close and they look into each others eyes was a huge turning point and I expect their relationship is going to end up much different than it began. I can’t wait to see how her story plays out.
The Starks and the direwolves are now deeply intertwined. Bran’s wolf protected him from the assassination, while Arya’s protected her from Prince Joffrey. Is it a mystical connection or just a man’s best friend protection? I’m leaning toward mystical, since Bran was awakened as the direwolf, Lady, was sacrificed. I’ve been told the relationship between the Starks and the direwolves is better developed in the book. I’m looking forward to delving further into that when I finally do read the book.
One thing is clear from “Kingsroad”: Westeros is a dangerous and unforgiving world. Even child’s play and bullying can end in sacrifice and death. The death of not only a direwolf, but also of a butcher’s boy.
Other tidbits:
Clacked by Carla Day 
on Apr 25, 2011 @ 09:29 EST5EDT
I liked this episode even better thant the first. Ooooh those wicked Lannisters. Cersei’s son reminds me of Malfoy (but worse, really). What awful things came from the pride and arrogance of that kid. ***shivers***
Is the game plan of The Game of Thrones to break our hearts with those faithful wolves?
*POST AUTHOR*
Definitely see the similarity at this point between Joffrey and Malfoy. I hope Sansa makes him pay for lying and ultimately being responsible for Lady’s death.
I think so. The wolves are so faithful (perhaps the only faithful beings on the show).
Sansa’s payment will only be ridiculous unearned devotion, I’m guessing. She’s so impressed with Tigerbeat Lannister.
Definitely keeps getting better. Can’t wait to get to King’s Landing and meet a whole NEW set of characters.
Take heart–the Lannisters are not nearly as one-dimensional or villainous as they first appear.
That would be some trick to make me like Joffrey. :)
LOL! No danger of that. I was meaning more along the lines of Tyrion, Jaime, and Cersei. There’s…really nothing redeemable about Joffrey.
As someone who has read all of the published books, the thing I keep being reminded of about Joffrey is that he (and his siblings) are completely unaware of their true parentage. Joffrey really believes the hard-drinking, wench-loving, order-bellowing, gluttonous King Robert is his father, and that’s who he always looks to as a role model. Is it any wonder that a kid who has that kind of dad and the kind of scheming, plotting, secret-keeping mom like Cersei would be messed up? Oh I detest his character, but you can start to see how his upbringing and environment have shaped him to refine all the worst qualities in him.
I like the dwarf brother, he’s rough but so far seems honest.
Since GoT and The Borgias both air on Sunday, I watch them both on Monday – and I could get these shows mixed up! Seriously! There is a kid named Joffrey on The Borgias too. And the Daenerys situation – in The Borgias, there is a similar situation with Lucrezia being sold into marriage to a brute, and her handmaiden giving her advice about how to deal with him. You should watch the last episode (“The Borgias in Love”) and compare Lucrezia’s situation to that of Daenerys in this episode. Of course, they’re different in a number of ways, but I was struck by the similarities after watching the shows one after the other.