[Re-Watch Project 8/13] Season 1 - Episode 9

And Aemon asking Jon what would happen if Ned had to choose between honor and family when Varys gave him those choices earlier.

Theon's a dick to ravens.

Ah the old make-it-look-like-there's-a-lot-of-horsemen-by-having-one-small-group-of-horseman-riding-single-file-in-the-foreground-and-one-small-group-riding-single-file-in-the-background trick. I'm so glad the budget's increased since s1.

And of course Arya's a dick to pigeons. Generally this episode's a dick to birds.

This is a rough episode, knowing everything that happens. In fact, all earlier seasons are tough knowing what happens.

I think primarily this is an episode of choices. Ned, Dany, Jon, Robb, the choices they make will have far reaching reprocussions. The last scene the camera focuses on Arya primarily but this tie I thought of Sansa. That must have been the most horrific for her to experience, she couldn't run, she couldn't do anything, but watch her father having his head cut off. People pile on Sansa but she in the end had the roughest time in King's Landing.

I love how the Dothraki are all like, we don't take orders from a woman and Dany is all like do as I say and the Dothraki FINE! But I don't want to and rides off.

This is one of those amazing parallels I'd completely missed all these years, thanks for spotting it! Would love if you'd add it to the Symbolism / Foreshadowing / Parellels thread I'll start today! I seriously need help with it this week as huge as Baelor was in terms of the overall story arc and impact for so many characters. It was a huge moment for Jon when Aemon revealed who he was and even moreso now that we finally have confirmation that R+L=J is real ... so long I waited for that to be confirmed to finally breathe a sigh of relief and actually see all the clues that were so obvious in both the show and the books. I think there's always that tiny voice in the back of your mind that keeps the doubt just barely niggling at you even when you are 99% sure the theories and evidence are right. Re-watching this scene made me cry for completely different reasons and feelings I never had back in Season 1!

I had to wait until Sunday night to watch this episode but then put it off until this morning which is my day off. The reason I put it off is because I wanted my emotions fresh from it right afterwards. I knew this one would move me again even though I already knew almost every scene line for line. 

I already went into detail on many of those moments in the post I put in the rate-the-episode thread but I'll say that re-watching made this episode more moving for the parallels and symbolism that was loaded in and would not play out until season 5 or 6 on how enormous they really were. 

I even felt a lot more emotion for Tyrion in this episode. The drinking game story of Tysha ... again, I think it's the Mother in me that felt so much more pain for all of the characters who were wronged somehow. Tyrion's life of cynicism, drinking and whoring really began when he was only 15 and had to endure such a horrible event caused entirely by his own Father's cruelty. 

This episode was such a huge gut twisting turning point for all the characters in this story. I love it so much.