Sunday, March 31, 2013

20 favorite Game of Thrones scenes (part 2)


To see part 1 - click here.

10. I am yours. And you are mine (2x10 Valar Morghulis)
After Blackwater battle Tyrion is completely abandoned. Though he was the one who was the hero, all the credit goes to his father. His face is scarred after the attempt on his life. His friend, Bronn left. He is no longer the Hand of the King. Varys, who admired his efforts gives him a bit of happiness and hope - he brings Shae, Tyrion's companion whom he loves. She tells him they should leave but he tells her he can't do that. He then asks if she will leave him. She says - You have a shit memory. I am yours and you are mine - and the two embrace as Ramin Djawadi's beautiful track named after these words plays in the background..

9. A Crown for the King (1x06 A Golden Crown)
At the beginning of the show Viserys Targaryen, the heir to the Throne, offers his sister Daenerys's hand in marriage to the mighty Khal Drogo. He wants Drogo's help and his army to reclaim the Iron Throne. As the siblings travel with khalasar, it's Daenerys that wins their hearts by taking an interest in their culture and showing them kindness. Her husband comes to genuinely love her, as do her people. Viserys keeps calling them savages and grows increasingly impatient, bitter and foolish. During the feast he comes to the tent and threatens Daenerys and her unborn child, yelling that he will take her away from Drogo if he won't give him the crown he promised. He even says he will curve out her baby and leave it for Drogo. It's then that Daenerys sees that her brother is a lost cause. Drogo tells him he will give him the crown. He orders his men to capture Viserys and throws golden chains into a pot. When the gold is melted he pours it over Viserys's head, crowning him and killing him, as Daenerys looks upon, unmoved.
8. Until the sun rises in the west and sets in the east.
Until the rivers run dry, and the mountains blow in the wind like leaves... (2x10 Valar Morghulis)
After Daenerys walks into The House of Undying she is tested - she hears the screams of her stolen children - dragons, but she keeps being tempted by the things she desires. First she sees the Iron Throne of Westeros and almost touches it. Then she leaves the Throne room and walks into blizzard. There she sees a tent. She walks in and she sees her beloved khal Drogo with their son - they both died in season 1 finale. Daenerys wonders if it's the afterlife but than she decides she has to move on - she tells Drogo the exact same words she said before she laid the last kiss on his lips and she leaves. It's an extremely beautiful and heartbreaking scene.
7. Treason must never go unpunished! (1x09 Baelor)
If someone was in doubt that all bets are off in this series in the first season, their doubts ended there. Ned Stark, honorable hero, was beheaded. Joffrey promised Ned's daughter Sansa he will pardon him but to her horror as well as his mother's, who knows executing the lord of Winterfell will cause the war with the North, he orders the execution. Sansa cries out, Cersei pleads for her son to stop it and Arya looks on as she is grabbed by one of her father's allies who makes sure she doesn't see the carnage. In his last breaths Ned looks on at the statue Arya was holding on to to make sure his youngest, beloved daughter won't see him die. And then the sword falls, ending his life and starting the war.
6. Khal Drogo pledges to take the Throne (1x07 You Win or You Die)
When king Robert hears that the Targaryen girl is pregnant he sends assassins after her. Daenerys is rescued by ser Jorah and her guards capture the assassin. He is tied to the pale and khal Drogo walks in. He sets the fire and goes to Daenerys asking if she was harmed. He expresses his gratitude towards Jorah and then he gives the speech in Dothraki language in which he pledges the Iron Throne to his wife and his unborn son. Daenerys, who listens, is very moved by his words. Ironically it took an attempt on her life to convince Drogo to want to take back the Iron Throne for the Targaryens.
5. The wildfire hits (2x09 Blackwater)
During the siege of King's Landing by Stannis Baratheon fleet, it's Tyrion who is leading the defense. He has a plan though - sent just one ship in Stannis'a direction. The trick is - the ship is filled with Wildfire, mysterious substance that when lit, burns everything around it. Tyrion gives Bronn the sign and he shoots a single, lit arrow - and when that arrow hits Wildfire it's the most epic moment I saw on TV.

4. I am Khaleesi of the Dothraki (1x04 Cripples, Bastards and Broken Things)
This is my favorite moment when it comes to Emilia Clarke's performance as Daenerys. Here her brother brings in her servant girl whom he hit after being convinced Daenerys sent her there to spy on him. Daenerys tells him she just wanted to invite him for dinner and give him a gift. He strikes her and she retaliates, hitting him with a chain. And then, for the first time in her life, she stands up to him showing that she has a dragon inside her too:

3. The battle is over (2x09 Blackwater)
During the Blackwater battle it seems that the city will be conquered by Stannis. Cersei sits with her son on the Iron Throne and tells him the story of the little lion (lion is in the sigil of Lannisters) and all the other animals who bow to him because he is their king. Cersei intends to kill her son and herself by drinking the poison, so they wouldn't be executed by Stannis. Just as she is about to give the poison to her beloved child, the door opens and she sees her father, Tywin Lannister walk in with his soldiers. She drops the bottle and as Tywin approaches he tells her that they won the battle. The whole scene is a beautiful ending to the show's most thrilling episode - as Cersei tells her story we see the door to the throne room many times, nervous as to who will walk in. We see the shots of soldiers on the horses, hoping it's Tywin and that he will arrive there just in time to stop Cersei from poisoning her son. Something also worth noting is the music - the melody of Rains of Castemere, song written about Lord Tywin Lannister's crushing victory over rebellious House Reyne of Castamere, is prominently featured in the episode and during end title we hear the rendition of it recorded by terrific band The National.
2. Catelyn takes Tyrion hostage (1x04 Cripples, Bastards and Broken Things)
At that point Catelyn Stark is convinced that Tyrion Lannister is the one who tried to kill her son. Their paths cross in an inn. Catelyn stands up and starts off a small charade - she greets many men there, asking them if their lords are still her loyal alias, showing Tyrion how many friends she has. When he tells her he doesn't understand what she is doing, she announces that Tyrion tried to kill her son and calls upon the men to seize him in the name of the king and the lords they serve. They take out their swords in front of stunned Tyrion.
1. The pyre / Blood of my Blood... (1x10 Fire and Blood)
This right here is the show's finest moment though I suspect it will be easily overshadowed with one particular Jaime/Brienne moment to come in season 3 and with crushing imagery of upcoming 3x09. On the other hand that whole sequence is probably the most memorable thing that happened so far - After Daenerys loses her child and her husband because of the local woman's dark magic she instructs her men to build a pyre. Drogo's body is there and so are the three fossilized Dragon eggs. Daenerys orders Jorah to bind the woman to the pyre and tells her she doesn't want her screams - just her life. She then walks into the pyre as her people kneel. The next morning Jorah approaches now extinguished area and sees Daenerys naked and unharmed. Something moves next to her legs and her shoulder. Jorah notices, shocked, it's three dragons that hatched from the eggs after three centuries of being gone. He kneels before Daenerys, as do others, and profoundly moved he says 'Blood of my blood..." (Glen's delivery of that line sends chills down my spine whenever I watch it) referring to Targaryen bond with the dragons. Daeanrys stands up and the dragon on her shoulder spreads out its wings and starts shrieking.

23 comments:

  1. Thanks a lot for this great post! Have been waiting for it for several days... Now I'm gonna go enjoy it!

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    1. Thank you for the comment! Glad you liked it!

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  2. A little bit strange for me is that you didn't include the giving birth scene of Melisandre. I thought this is almost the dragon birth moment of the second season.

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    1. A great scene for sure but the birth of the dragons is monumental both in terms of the story and the history of Westeros.

      Shadow baby moment was really well made but it doesn't make my heart beat as fast as these scenes on the list.

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  3. Awesome post! That scene between Tyrion and Shae is so heartbreaking and beautiful. But yes, nothing we've seen in the series so far tops your #1.

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    1. Thank you! I was so speechless when I saw that dragon. I didn't even focus on the fact she was breastfeeding one of them which was messed up.

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  4. Great moments! I really liked #8. I know a lot of people were pissed because they left out a lot of important things Dani saw in the House of Dust, but I thought the scene was really sweet with Drogo and the baby.

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    1. I wasn't a fan of the scene as a whole as an adaptation as they really didn't even touch on many important things but this moment was beyond lovely!

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  5. My favourite scene is probably the wildfire one because it was just too awesome but I love all these scenes.
    God I cried so much for #10.

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    1. It was such a moving scene. Tyrion is the best <33

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  6. That Charles Dance scene in which he announces that the Battle is over, is awesome. It's such a minor scene, yet his voice makes the required impact.

    This is a great list, and I can see the sheer amount of hard work you have put in. It's deserving of this epic series. And Wildfire is just great
    !

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    1. It really is! Dance is just superb in the show.

      Thank you so much, we are finally here about to witness season 3, God it was such a long wait :)

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  7. the way you love & adore the series " game of thrones " . . . is just making me speechless :) . . . Hats off . Nirav / India .

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  8. I knew this was the first one but in all fairness, it is the greatest moment of all! So much symbolism and so much everything in that scene. All the top 5 ones are still very much in my head not just from the show but hopefully from the books as well, when the time comes.
    8 and 7 made me tear up just by reading about it and seeing the images.

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    1. For me it's Glen that made the scene with his expression and his reaction. And the whole editing and music angle, it's such a dynamic scene and Daenerys triumphantly standing up as everyone kneels is one of the best cliffhangers I've ever seen. In all fairness I think season 3 will have at least 5 scenes as awesome as this one :)

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    2. It better, I've never been so excited for its upcoming season than this time - I don't know what (or who) managed to do this to me. :D

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    3. Haha, trust me I cannot overhype this one :)

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  9. I'll take a look when I find the time for sure.

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  10. Bad. Ass.

    Man this show is so good. Not sure I can pick a favorite scene, but Blackwater is definitely up there. Strong choice for #1, too -- I can't wait to see what happens now that those dragons are getting even bigger.

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    1. Dragons are going to be quite useful this season :) Love their flight over the ship in the premiere, exquisite CGI.

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  11. Anyway keep up the excellent quality writing, it is rare to see a great blog like this one today.

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