Baelor

Baelor is the ninth episode of Season 1 of Game of Thrones. It is the 9th episode of the series overall.

Overview
With Sansaʼs life in danger, Ned makes a fateful decision. Catelyn brokers an unsavory deal with the slippery Walder Frey. Tyrion acquires a mistress and is forced by his father to fight on the front lines. Robb wins his first major victory and captures a prized prisoner. Jon is rewarded for his valor and discovers a dark secret about Maester Aemon. As Drogoʼs wound festers, Daenerys defies her bloodrider Qotho and puts her trust in the enslaved witch Mirri Maz Duur.

Plot
Varys visits Eddard Stark in the dungeons under the Red Keep. Varys tells Eddard that Sansa begged for his life before the whole court and that Robb is leading an army from the North. In addition, the Queen is concerned over the intentions of King Robert's brother, Stannis, a proven battle commander known to be without mercy. For the sake of Sansa's life, Varys urges Eddard to confess to treason. In return, Cersei will let him take the black and join his bastard son Jon Snow on the Wall. Eddard is angered by the suggestion that he would trade in his honesty and honor for his life.

Robb's army has reached the Twins, the heavily-fortified crossing over the Green Fork of the River Trident. Though held by House Frey, bannermen to Catelyn Stark's father, Lord Walder Frey wants a reward for helping Robb and taking up arms against the king. After some hard bargaining between Catelyn and Walder, they strike a deal: the Freys will join Robb's cause, allow him to cross and commit troops to his army, but in return both Robb and Arya must each marry one of Walder's own children. Robb agrees, though noting that Arya won't like it. Robb must also take Olyvar Frey as a squire. At Castle Black, Lord Commander Jeor Mormont gives Jon Snow a Valyrian steel sword, Longclaw, in thanks for saving his life. Mormont also reinstates Jon to his former position and tells him he has dispatched Ser Alliser Thorne to King's Landing to lay the hand of the wight they found at the feet of the King and ask for aid. Mormont explains to Jon that Longclaw was meant for his own son, Ser Jorah Mormont, but he disgraced himself and fled in exile to Essos. Sam tells Jon about Robb leading an army to war. Jon ponders that he should be with him, but Maester Aemon tells him their duty to the Night's Watch comes first. To Jon's surprise, Aemon reveals that his full name is Aemon Targaryen, the son of a king, brother to another, the uncle of the Mad King. Aemon had to stand aside and do nothing whilst his entire family was butchered or exiled during Robert's Rebellion. It is not an easy life they have chosen.

Far to the east, Daenerys Targaryen is concerned that the wound her husband Khal Drogo took fighting Mago has festered and become infected. He falls from his horse, a grave sign of weakness amongst the Dothraki. Daenerys sends for Mirri Maz Duur to help him. Drogo's bloodrider Qotho is unhappy with entrusting Drogo's care to the woman, whom he calls a maegi or witch, but relents.

The Lannister armies prepare for battle. Tywin tells his son Tyrion that he means to use the hill tribe forces to give them an edge against the Stark forces, essentially to be used as cannon fodder. He orders Tyrion to lead them from the front of the vanguard. Tyrion angrily accuses his father of trying to kill him. He storms back to his tent to find that Bronn has found him a present: a whore named Shae. Tyrion takes an immediate liking to her. At Daenerys's request, Ser Jorah armors himself. Mirri Maz Duur promises to save Drogo's life, but she needs to sacrifice a life to save his own. She takes Drogo's horse into his tent and starts the ceremony. Some of Drogo's warriors become enraged at what they see as Daenerys's attempts to interfere with the natural way of things and Qotho tries to attack her, but Ser Jorah kills him. Daenerys starts to go into labor, but none of the Dothraki midwives will help her, thinking her cursed. With no choice, Jorah takes Daenerys into the tent as the ceremony continues.

Tyrion, Bronn and Shae swap stories the night before the battle. Tyrion reveals that when he was very young, he and Jaime found a young common girl in distress from bandits. Whilst Jaime chased the bandits off, Tyrion comforted the girl. They ended up getting married, but when Tywin found out he was furious and got Jaime to reveal the truth: the girl was a prostitute and Jaime set the situation up to do something nice for his little brother. Tywin had his guards rape the girl and forced Tyrion to watch.

The next morning the Lannister army finds that the Starks have stolen a march on them, and have to hastily prepare for battle. The two armies engage, but Tyrion is almost immediately wounded by a blow to the head. When he recovers, he learns that the Lannisters won the battle...but it was a feint. Robb only sent a small part of his army to confront Tywin's army. The rest marched on Riverrun to attack Jaime's army. Catelyn and Ser Rodrik Cassel are waiting in woodlands as they hear sounds of battle. Suddenly Robb returns with his guards and a prisoner, Jaime himself. Jaime suggests they end the war now with a bout of single combat between himself and Robb, but Robb refuses and has him imprisoned. He tells his army they have won a great victory, but the war is far from over. In King's Landing Arya is living rough on the streets of the city. She catches a pigeon and tries to trade it for a slice of bread, to no avail. She sees crowds moving through the streets and is told that the Hand of the King is being brought before the Great Sept of Baelor, the centre of religious worship in the city. Puzzled, she joins the crowd and gets a leg-up on a statue of Baelor (a previous Targaryen king) for a better view. She sees her father being brought in chains to the steps of the temple. He sees not only Arya, but also Yoren of the Night's Watch in the crowd, and says, "Baelor," puzzling the crowd. Yoren understands, however, and moves towards the statue where Arya is hiding.

Eddard is given a chance to confess his 'crimes'. He weighs up his choices as he sees both Arya and Sansa present, and chooses to save them by making a false confession. He says that Joffrey is the true King on the Iron Throne, pleasing him. Grand Maester Pycelle extolls the virtues of mercy and Joffrey agrees that he could be merciful and send Eddard to the Night's Watch as his mother has suggested and as Sansa has begged... but they are soft women and treason must never go unpunished. He commands Ser Ilyn Payne to bring him the traitor's head.

The crowd goes into an uproar. Arya tries to make her way through the crowd to Eddard, but Yoren grabs and stops her. Cersei, shocked, tries to countermand Joffrey's order, as does Varys, but there is no time. Ser Ilyn draws Eddard's own sword, Ice and cuts his head off with a single blow. But before he dies, Eddard looks at the statue and sees that Arya has been rescued by Yoren.

Memorable quotes

 * Eddard Stark: "You think my life is such a precious thing to me, that I would trade my honor for a few more years...of what?"


 * Eddard: "I grew up with soldiers. I learned how to die a long time ago."


 * Walder Frey: "Stark, Tully, Lannister, Baratheon. Give me one good reason why I should waste a single thought on any of you?"


 * Daenerys Targaryen: "I am the blood of the dragon."
 * Qotho: "The dragons are all dead, khaleesi."


 * Mirri Maz Duur: "The dead will dance here tonight."


 * Robb Stark: "I sent two thousand men to their graves today."
 * Theon Greyjoy: "The bards will sing songs of their sacrifice."
 * Robb: "Aye, but the dead won't hear them."

First appearances

 * Shae
 * Lord Walder Frey
 * Lady Joyeuse Frey
 * Edwyn Frey
 * Walder Rivers

Deaths

 * Lord Eddard Stark
 * Qotho

Starring

 * Sean Bean as Lord Eddard Stark
 * Michelle Fairley as Lady Catelyn Stark
 * Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Ser Jaime Lannister
 * Lena Headey as Queen Cersei Lannister
 * Emilia Clarke as Princess Daenerys Targaryen
 * Iain Glen as Ser Jorah Mormont
 * Aidan Gillen as Petyr 'Littlefinger' Baelish
 * Kit Harington as Jon Snow
 * Richard Madden as Robb Stark
 * Sophie Turner as Sansa Stark
 * Maisie Williams as Arya Stark
 * Alfie Allen as Theon Greyjoy
 * Jack Gleeson as King Joffrey Baratheon
 * Rory McCann as Sandor Clegane
 * and Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister

Guest starring

 * Jason Momoa as Khal Drogo

Co-starring

 * Conleth Hill as Varys
 * Jerome Flynn as Bronn
 * James Cosmo as Lord Commander Jeor Mormont
 * Ron Donachie as Ser Rodrik Cassel
 * Charles Dance as Lord Tywin Lannister
 * Francis Magee as Yoren
 * John Bradley-West as Samwell Tarly
 * Julian Glover as Grand Maester Pycelle
 * Peter Vaughan as Maester Aemon
 * Sibel Kekilli as Shae
 * David Bradley as Lord Walder Frey
 * Clive Mantle as Lord Greatjon Umber
 * Wilko Johnson as Ser Ilyn Payne
 * Mark Stanley as Grenn
 * Josef Altin as Pypar
 * Luke McEwan as Rast
 * Mark Lewis Jones as Shagga
 * Mia Soteriou as Mirri Maz Duur
 * Amrita Acharia as Irri
 * Roxanne McKee as Doreah
 * Elyes Gabel as Rakharo
 * Dar Salim as Qotho
 * Ian Gelder as Ser Kevan Lannister
 * Edward Mercieca as King's Landing baker
 * Marcus Lamb as Night's Watchman
 * Colin Carnegie
 * Bryan McCaugherty
 * Stephen Grech