Game of Thrones Season One Ultimate Unofficial Guide: The Game of Thrones Season 1

protects Arya after Ned’s death.
    The newer recruits include Samwell Tarly, who is branded a coward due to his lack of fighting skills, and Pyp, who was a singer before being forced to choose life at The Wall. These two have proven to be faithful and true to their vows and friendship to Jon Snow.

Episode 4: Cripples, Bastards, and Broken Things
    In this episode, Bran wakes from a dream in which he follows a three eyed crow to the family crypt. At first, it appears to the audience that Bran is walking again until the crow turns its head and three eyes are visible. Bran is still in bed unable to walk. On his return from The Wall, Tyrion visits Winterfell to give Bran a saddle design that he can use to ride a horse despite his new disability. Robb does not offer much hospitality to Tyrion, but is grateful and a little suspicious for the kindness shown his brother. Tyrion simply states that he has a “soft spot in his heart for cripples, bastards, and broken things.” Tyrion asks for Lady Stark and is told she is ill, a lie Tyrion does not believe.
    Samwise arrives at The Wall and is branded a coward because he cannot fight. He tells Jon the story of how he ended up there and Jon takes pity on him and befriends him. By the end of the episode Jon is opening up to Sam about his virginity and life story.
    We learn that Jorah was driven from his home by Ned because he was caught selling slaves, a crime punishable by death. Jorah had also done something to betray his own father and it is not clear whether it was the selling of slaves or something else. Viserys makes sure to point out to Jorah that his actions would not have gone unpunished under his rule. Next we find Viserys in the bath tub with his sister’s servant while he talks about the dragons and what he remembers of life in the castle when his father was king. His ego is boosted once again by the servant’s admiration, only to be knocked down by Daenerys. She physically defends herself against him for the first time when he strikes her down because he is angry at having to obey her. She is beginning to realize that the son she carries will be the one to rule, not her brother. Knowing she has an entire people to defend her gives her the strength she needs to stand up to him.
    Back at King’s Landing, Ned is carefully attempting to uncover what John Arryn had discovered before his death. He speaks with the old man, Grand Maester Pycelle, and gets a hold of the book in which Arryn had shown interest; a book of the lineages of all the ruling houses in the kingdom. He retraces the steps Arryn had taken around King’s Landing before dying and finds himself talking to Robert’s bastard son, who is the armorer’s apprentice. While Jaime Lannister and the captain of Ned’s guard talk, we learn about the Greyjoy family and how they had led a failed revolt against the newly crowned King Robert. Theon Greyjoy has been Ned’s ward since the age of eight and serves as Robb’s right hand man.
    Despite Ned’s refusal to endorse it, a joust tournament begins in honor of Ned’s appointment as the King’s Hand. The first match is Gregor Clegane, or “The Mountain,” and Ser Hugh of the Vale, who used to be John Arryn’s squire. Ser Hugh dies a gruesome death in what is an obviously mismatched duel. Petyr Baelish tells Sansa the story of the brothers, “The Mountain” and “The Hound,” then scares her to secrecy by saying that only a select few know the story.
    At the end of the plot, Cat is traveling back to Winterfell when she finds herself and Tyrion Lannister at the same inn. She calls upon the patrons’ loyalty to her father and seizes Tyrion for the attempted murder of her son. He surrenders to being taken by Cat. At this point, it is hard to tell by his actions and demeanor whether or not he is guilty.
What We Learn
     Bran is having ominous dreams involving a three-eyed crow and the family crypt, leaving us to ponder what this means.
     Tyrion seems to have a kind heart when he wants to.
     Jon is a virgin because he could not stomach the thought of bringing a bastard into the world to live with the same stigma he has experienced, allowing us to see how much this stigma has shaped his personality.
     Jorah was sentenced to death by Ned and escaped execution by fleeing to Essos.
     Robert has a grown bastard son working as an armorer’s apprentice. Jon Arryn had discovered this bastard and was researching the kingdom’s family bloodlines