A Golden Crown

"A Golden Crown" is the sixth episode of the first season of Game of Thrones. It is the sixth episode of the series overall. It first aired on May 22, 2011. It was written by Jane Espenson, David Benioff & D.B. Weiss and directed by Daniel Minahan.

Synopsis
In Vaes Dothrak, Viserys' frustrations at the constant delays before he can receive his crown boil over. In King's Landing, while King Robert goes on a hunt, Eddard issues a decree that could splinter the Seven Kingdoms and makes a startling discovery about the heirs to the throne. In the Eyrie, Tyrion Lannister wagers everything on the greed of the sellsword Bronn.

Summary
Lord Eddard Stark wakes up after a long period of unconsciousness, due to the injuries inflicted on him by Jaime Lannister's men. He finds both King Robert and Queen Cersei waiting. Cersei is furious with Eddard's acts in having her brother Tyrion arrested and attacking Jaime in the street. She wants Robert to take action against him, but Robert refuses to condemn him, without hearing Eddard's side, and tells her to be silent. When Cersei protests further, and calls Robert a woman, he hits her. She says that she will wear the bruise with honor. He tells her to be silent, or he will honor her again, and Cersei leaves in anger. Afterwards, Robert restores Eddard to his position as King's Hand, and tells him not to quit again, or he will give the position to Jaime Lannister. He tells Lord Eddard to end the animosity between House Stark and House Lannister, as strife between these two powerful houses could lead them into war. He is leaving on a hunt and wants the realm at peace by the time he returns. In Vaes Dothrak, Daenerys Targaryen is studying her dragon eggs. Despite Illyrio's claim that they are now only stone, she ponders if they might be hatched by extreme heat, and places an egg on a brazier. Nothing happens, to her disappointment. She is removing the egg from the brazier, when Irri comes in and thinks she will scald herself. Irri takes the egg from her, but Daenerys is completely unharmed, and it is Irri who suffers scalding burns on her own hands. In Winterfell, Bran has another dream about the three-eyed raven, in which it flies into the castle's crypts. He wakes up to find that Hodor has brought the finished saddle designed by Tyrion. He goes on a ride with Robb and Theon. They have had word from King's Landing about Eddard's injury, Jory's death and Tyrion's capture. Theon thinks that Robb should prepare the North for war, but Robb is determined to make his own decision for when that time has come, and until then will follow his parents' orders to remain in Winterfell. They note that Bran has wandered off on his horse and go looking for him. They find a bunch of wildlings are threatening Bran and trying to steal his horse. Robb kills one, but another wildling holds Bran with a knife to the throat. Theon shoots him from behind, angering Robb by endangering Bran. The remaining wildling, a woman named Osha, yields and begs for her life. Robb agrees to take her as a prisoner. In the Eyrie, Tyrion almost rolls out of his sky cell in his sleep, to his consternation. He tries to make a bargain with the jailkeeper, Mord, to no avail.

In King's Landing Arya has another "dancing" lesson with Syrio Forel, but isn't in the mood due to Jory's death. Syrio tells her that she may need to fight at any time, not just when she's in the mood. He wisely recalls that in times of sadness fighting is much more of a necessity and being prepared is important, as opposed to in the peaceful times of happiness. In Vaes Dothrak, Daenerys is summoned by the crones who rule the city, the dosh khaleen, the wives of khals slain in battle. She eats a stallion's heart and the crones read the omens. At first it seems Dany won't hold the raw meat down, but, to both her and Drogo's relief, she is able to compose her self. The crones declare Daenerys and Drogo's son will be 'The Stallion That Mounts The World', a great conqueror whose coming is long foretold in Dothraki history. Daenerys says his name will be Rhaego, for her brother Rhaegar, slain by the usurper Robert Baratheon. Viserys is not impressed and rather disgusted by it all. He stands with Ser Jorah who explains the ritual to him. It is only when the Dothraki are chanting Rhaego's name, and Drogo lifts Daenerys up and carries her about the room, that Viserys realizes they love her. He storms out of the tent. Viserys is later discovered in Daenerys' tent by Ser Jorah Mormont, trying to steal Dany's dragon eggs, but Jorah won't let him. Viserys tells Ser Jorah that to rule one must be feared or loved, and he has never been loved as the Dothraki love Dany. He says he knows that Jorah wants Daenerys, he doesn't care. He just wants the eggs so he can hire an army, but he can't get past Ser Jorah and must leave the eggs. Mormont watches him as he leaves. Tyrion convinces Mord to carry a message to Lady Lysa Arryn and, in exchange, he will give Mord the gold he had with him when he was captured. Lysa summons Tyrion, believing that the sky cell has broken his spirit, but all he confesses to is being a liar, a whoremonger, and a player of practical jokes. He maintains his innocence of the crimes of conspiracy to commit murder. However, Tyrion uses the opportunity of his audience in front of Lysa's court to publicly demand his right to justice and a trial, and Lysa is shamed into agreeing. Given that Lysa's son is a young boy and wouldn't make a good judge in a formal trial, Tyrion instead demands a trial by combat, which Lysa also reluctantly agrees is his right. Given that neither Lysa nor her young son can fight in a trial by combat, she asks for a volunteer to be her champion, and Ser Vardis Egen agrees. However, Egen notes that the dwarf is half his size, and it would be shameful to kill such an outmatched opponent. Tyrion points out that he has the same right to name a champion, to which Lysa agrees, but he selects his brother Jaime (arguably the best swordsman in the realm). At this Lysa does object, citing that she does not want to wait for the Kingslayer to come, and demands that he pick a champion from those present. Tyrion desperately asks for volunteers, and after a long pause during which it seems that Tyrion's cause is lost, the sellsword Bronn steps forward and says he will stand for the dwarf.

King Robert is out hunting, accompanied by his brother Renly, Ser Barristan Selmy and Lancel Lannister. Robert, being supplied with wine by Lancel, becomes drunk and nostalgic, longing for the days of young knights trying to make a name for themselves and when enemies stood openly in opposition (instead of being hidden schemers). Robert brags about all the women he has bedded, but Renly becomes irate when he begins to question him about his history with women. Renly calls him a fool and remarks that the past had its share of violence that Robert is conveniently ignoring. Renly storms off, leaving Ser Barristan to look on concerned, as Lancel keeps up King Robert's wine supply.

In King's Landing, at a meeting of the small council, a group of refugees come to tell of how their villages have been destroyed. Eddard hears tales of a huge knight ravaging the Riverlands. He realizes that it's Ser Gregor Clegane, "The Mountain", who is likely under Lannister orders to punish the Riverlands - which are held by House Tully, the former House of his wife Catelyn, who now holds Tyrion captive. Even though King Robert told him to make peace with the Lannisters, Lord Eddard could not bring himself to let this injustice stand. Eddard strips Gregor Clegane of his knighthood, land, and titles, and sends Lord Beric Dondarrion with a retinue of one hundred knights to arrest and execute him in the king's name. He also orders Grand Maester Pycelle to send word to Casterly Rock, demanding Lord Tywin Lannister's presence in court to explain his bannerman's actions or be branded an enemy of the crown and a traitor to the realm. 'Littlefinger' Petyr Baelish, and Grand Maester Pycelle are both concerned with the harshness of these orders and Eddard's actions against the Lannisters, but Eddard wants to see justice done. In the Eyrie, Bronn does battle with Lysa's champion, Ser Vardis Egen. Bronn fights defensively, waiting for Vardis to tire, as unlike Bronn he is dressed in full armor. Bronn finally gets his chance; he first wounds and then kills Vardis, sending his body rolling out of the "Moon Door" that leads to a thousand-foot drop. Lysa complains that Bronn did not fight with honor, but the victory stands. Tyrion has proven his innocence in the eyes of the gods. He retrieves his gold from Ser Rodrik and gives it to Mord. When Robin asks if he can make the little man fly now, Tyrion says, "Not this little man." Bronn and Tyrion are allowed to depart.

Prince Joffrey comes to apologize to Sansa for the incident on the Kingsroad. He calls her his lady love and gives her a necklace. Sansa forgives him, and they seem reconciled. Sansa is unaware that the Queen put Joffrey up to the apology some time ago.

Ros, the prostitute that Theon frequently sees, is departing Winterfell for King's Landing on the back of a turnip cart. Theon stops her and unsuccessfully tries to persuade her to stay. He then rides after her wagon for a while. He even throws her a coin to get her to raise her skirt one last time, to give him a look. As she rides off he says that he will miss her. She agrees that he will. In King's Landing, Eddard decides to send his daughters back to Winterfell. Arya is worried that she must leave Syrio. Sansa protests that no one cares about her trivial dancing instructor, they are talking about breaking her betrothal to Joffrey. Lord Eddard says that he will find someone else for her. Sansa refuses, she is going to marry Joffrey and have lots of golden-haired babies. This gives Eddard pause and sends him back to the book that Jon Arryn was looking at before he died. Consulting the book's entry on House Baratheon, Lord Eddard finds that every time a Baratheon has married the children have had black hair...right up to Cersei and Robert's children, who are all blonde. In Vaes Dothrak, a drunk, bitter, and angry Viserys interrupts a feast for Daenerys and Drogo. He angrily demands his payment in return for giving Daenerys to Drogo. Then he draws his sword, which is considered an offense punishable by death in the sacred city, and threatens Dany and the unborn child, while Irri translates to Drogo. Drogo responds that he will give Viserys a golden crown "that men will tremble to behold", and Viserys is pleased until Drogo's bloodrider Qotho breaks his arm, making him drop the sword, and kicks him to the floor. Drogo melts his golden belt in a pot, while Viserys begs Daenerys to help him. Ser Jorah tells her to look away, but she won't. She watches as Khal Drogo "crowns" Viserys pouring molten gold over his head, thus killing him without the drawing of blood, which is forbidden in Vaes Dothrak. As Daenerys watches her brother die, she realizes that, having been killed by fire, he was no true dragon. But she is.

Recap

 * "Main: A Golden Crown Recap"

A detailed recap of the episode, scene by scene.

Commentary
The Blu-Ray and DVD releases of this episode feature a commentary by director Daniel Minahan and actor Peter Dinklage in New York City, and Harry Lloyd and Emilia Clarke in London.


 * The scene where Robert forces Eddard to become the Hand again was Mark Addy's last scene shot for the series.
 * Peter Dinklage points out that Mark Addy is not as big as Robert in the books, but Mark's larger-than-life performance sells the role.
 * The costume and make-up designers worked hard not to make Harry Lloyd look like Legolas from the Lord of the Rings movies.
 * Emilia Clarke was charmed when Isaac Hempstead-Wright gave her half his Fudge bar.
 * Harry Lloyd is a fan of Natalia Tena's band.
 * There was some debate about using CGI breath for the really cold scenes filmed in warmer weather, but it was decided it looked too fake.
 * Peter Dinklage was unaware that Maisie Williams used her off-hand for the sword-fighting scenes to match Arya in the books, and was impressed. Maisie cried on cue during the read-through of the scene where she has to drive Nymeria away, impressing Harry Lloyd.
 * Peter Dinklage said that the scene where Daenerys eats the horse's heart is his wife's favorite scene of the entire series.
 * Emilia Clarke has a fondness for Gummi bears so was happy to hear that the horse's heart was made of a similar substance. Unfortunately, it tasted disgusting and the retching required no acting.
 * The scene between Viserys and Jorah was discussed between the two actors and David Benioff to get the right tone to the scene.
 * Peter Dinklage had no padding for the scenes where Mord beats him in the sky cell, so ended up with some bruises at the end of the day.
 * Some actors were given prosthetic scars whilst others had real scars that were highlighted with make-up.
 * The throne dais in the Eyrie had no safety rail, so actress Kate Dickie was directed to keep hold of Lino Facioli when he stood up as a safety precaution.
 * The Moon Door actually led to a pit filled with cardboard boxes.
 * Harry Lloyd likens the Vale to Wales, so finds the fact that Ser Vardis Egen has a Welsh accent very appropriate.
 * Peter Dinklage was a fan of Kate Dickie from some of her British film work and was looking forwards to meeting her.
 * Originally the episode opened with Ser Gregor Clegane sacking a village in the Riverlands, but this was cut for time and budget reasons.
 * Peter Dinklage and Emilia Clarke only read the books once they have finished filming, so as to be surprised by the process as it goes along. Bryan Cogman also tracked down scenes from later books that gave more info about the characters and their motivations and recommended them to the actors.
 * Harry Lloyd looks at fan art online, and particularly enjoyed a fan map of Braavos that he found on the Internet.
 * Emilia Clarke was disappointed that the elaborate and lengthy climb to the Eyrie was not in the TV series.
 * Peter Dinklage noted the name similarity between Jack Gleeson and comedian Jackie Gleason and found it amusing.
 * Peter Dinklage debated with his wife whether it was realistic for there to be only one prostitute in Winterfell. However, she pointed out in a small community there was only likely to be one, or at least one popular one.
 * The coin Ros catches from the back of the cart was CGI. (Harry Lloyd mishears the comment, however, and momentarily thinks they said Ros's "flash" was CGI).
 * According to Peter Dinklage, the CGI budget for Season 2 will be 'huge'.
 * Harry Lloyd studied a lot of 'drunk walking' videos on YouTube for his final scene.
 * The sword Harry Lloyd used in the final scene was very sharp and had to be handled carefully.
 * Drogo's gold belt melted far too quickly. Lloyd deadpans this is because it is 'Dothraki hybrid gold' that melts much more quickly than normal and then solidifies again.
 * The final shot of Daenerys required multiple takes as it was tricky to keep the camera in focus as it zoomed in close on her face.
 * The raw horse's heart Daenerys has to eat was actually a gelatinous construct which the crew told actress Emilia Clarke would taste like gummy bears. However, the foodstuff was extremely unpleasant to eat, especially as the crew had to keep injecting it with moisture for it to keep its gelatinous look. Emilia Clarke did not have to fake her scenes of disgust in this scene.
 * For the scene where Viserys is 'crowned', the prop department attached smoke machines to Harry Lloyd's back and front and placed a bald cap over his head to make it look like his hair and skin was being burned. They also created a gold-looking (but cold) liquid to pour over his head. Due to the complexity of the scene, the scene had to be nailed in one take, which was successfully achieved.
 * For the scene where Eddard Stark was lying wounded in bed, Sean Bean was actually suffering from the flu, which added to the effect of him being wounded and ill.

Memorable quotes
Syrio Forel: "There is only one god. And his name is Death. And there is only one thing we say to Death: not today."

Bronn: "I'll stand for the dwarf."

Sansa Stark:(about Joffrey) "I don't want someone brave and gentle and strong. I want him."

Daenerys Targaryen:(about her brother) "He was no dragon. Fire cannot kill a dragon."

First Appearances

 * Osha
 * Lord Beric Dondarrion
 * Stiv
 * Wallen
 * Lord Eon Hunter

Deaths

 * Viserys Targaryen
 * Ser Vardis Egen
 * Stiv
 * Wallen

Cast
Starring
 * Sean Bean as Lord Eddard Stark
 * Mark Addy as King Robert Baratheon
 * Michelle Fairley as Lady Catelyn Stark
 * Lena Headey as Queen Cersei Lannister
 * Emilia Clarke as Princess Daenerys Targaryen
 * Iain Glen as Ser Jorah Mormont
 * Aidan Gillen as Petyr Baelish
 * Harry Lloyd as Prince Viserys Targaryen
 * Richard Madden as Robb Stark
 * Sophie Turner as Sansa Stark
 * Maisie Williams as Arya Stark
 * Alfie Allen as Theon Greyjoy
 * Isaac Hempstead-Wright as Bran Stark
 * Jack Gleeson as Prince Joffrey Baratheon
 * and Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister

Also starring
 * Jason Momoa as Khal Drogo

Guest starring
 * Jerome Flynn as Bronn
 * Ron Donachie as Ser Rodrik Cassel
 * Ian McElhinney as Lord Commander Barristan Selmy
 * Finn Jones as Ser Loras Tyrell (credit only)
 * Kate Dickie as Lady Lysa Arryn
 * Julian Glover as as Grand Maester Pycelle
 * Gethin Anthony as Lord Renly Baratheon
 * Emun Elliott as Marillion
 * Miltos Yerolemou as Syrio Forel
 * Ciaran Birmingham as Mord
 * Susan Brown as Septa Mordane
 * Natalia Tena as Osha
 * Lino Facioli as Lord Robin Arryn
 * Esme Bianco as Ros
 * Amrita Acharia as Irri
 * Roxanne McKee as Doreah
 * Kristian Nairn as Hodor
 * Brendan McCormack as Ser Vardis Egen
 * Elyes Gabel as Rakharo
 * Dar Salim as Qotho
 * Eugene Simon as Lancel Lannister
 * Amira Ghazella as Dothraki crone
 * Niall Cusack as Riverlands refugee
 * Stephen Don as Stiv
 * Patrick Rocks as Knight of House Lynderly
 * Barrington Cullen as Lord Eon Hunter
 * Barry O'Connor as Wallen
 * David Michael Scott as Lord Beric Dondarrion

Cast Notes

 * Starring cast members Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Jaime Lannister), Kit Harington (Jon Snow) and Rory McCann (Sandor Clegane) are not credited and do not appear.
 * Jason Momoa (Khal Drogo) is credited as 'also starring' in the closing credits of the episodes.
 * Richard Madden is credited before Sophie Turner and Maisie Williams having being credited after them in the previous five episodes.
 * Natalia Tena is notably younger than her character, Osha, is in the books. George R.R. Martin was skeptical when seeing her casting tape, but was impressed and convinced by her performance, saying it may affect how he writes Osha in future novels.
 * This episode is the final appearance of starring cast member Harry Lloyd (Viserys Targaryen) due to the death of his character.
 * Although credited Finn Jones does not appear in this episode.
 * Patrick Rocks is credited as a guest star, but no name is given for his character. His book counterpart, the first one to offer himself as a champion to Lady Lysa, is identified as a member of House Lynderly, but his name is not revealed.
 * Barrington Cullen is credited as a guest star, but no name is given for his character. His book counterpart is Lord Eon Hunter, who speaks the exact same lines, but is described as being older than Jon Arryn and half-crippled by gout. He's also one of the many suitors that seek Lady Lysa's hand.