Game Of Thrones "A Golden Crown" Review

Game Of Thrones has so many characters that it's difficult to spend much time with any for an extended period of time in any individual episode. Jon Snow, Sam and his buddies at The Wall haven't appeared in two weeks. The Targaryan siblings returned in "A Golden Crown" after a one week absence. Other important characters such as Ned, Catelyn, Cersei, Robert, Arya and Tyrion had only one or two or three scenes in the sixth episode of the season. The observation isn't a criticism of the show. With only 55+ minutes each episode, Benioff, Weiss, Cogman and whoever helps with a screeplay (Jane Espenson and, soon, George RR Martin himself) need to make each scene count. And holy moly do the writers make the scenes count in Game Of Thrones.

The title, "A Golden Crown," deals with the idea of power as symbolized through the crown a king or queen wears. The first scene breathes life into the theme as Cersei attacks her husband's authority as the king of Westeros by telling him that she's more fit to wear the crown and he the gown. The final scene puts a button on the theme as Khal pours a golden crown of fire over the head of Viscerys. In between, Sirio tells Arya that only one God exists and he is death. One who wears the golden crown in Westeros invariably ends up dead. One who doesn't wear the crown usually dies in pursuit of the crown. "The Wolf and the Lion" introduced the many aspiring usurpers--these men had an idealized vision of the crown and the throne. The thought of absolute power's certainly seductive but the idea and the reality's different as Robert vocalizes before he leaves for his hunt. It's a rotten job with conspirators lurking in the shadows of the dungeons, in the brothels, and in the very same bed the king sleeps in. Robert's miserable, in debt to a man he loathes, married to a woman he despises, and surrounded by a family he'd rather see dead but he needs them.

Viscerys attempted to cultivate a similar thing with the Dothraki clan without foreseeing the power his sister would have as the Khaleesi of the Dothraki, especially with Drogo's son growing in her womb. The shift drove Viscerys insane. He tried to flee the land with Dany's dragon eggs. When that failed, he stupidly threatened the Khaleesi's life in front of the Khal--so certain that he'd become the king he felt destined to be ever since his family was ousted. Khal melted gold and poured it on Viscerys' head as his sister watched. He wanted a crown so Drogo gave him one. Dany observed that "a true dragon would never burn." Earlier in the episode, she experimented with one of her eggs. She placed one on a bed of coals, picked the egg up and didn't burn herself--the most powerful image thus far in Dany's arc. The true dragon in the Targaryan family is Daenerys. King's Landing plan to kill her but they have no idea how powerful a queen she's become in her short time with the Dothraki's.

Gold's a powerful symbol and image throughout the episode. For some, gold means everything--riches and power. For others, gold's used to kill a naive boy with delusions of grandeur. The golden crown's significance isn't lost on me. The two objects are mutually exclusive. Tyrion bribes the guard in the Sky Cell with gold to meet with Lysa and confess his crimes. Tyrion pays his debts and, once free, throws the bag of gold to the guard. For some, it's everything. For others, it's nothing. The thieves who attempt to rob Bran in the forest before Robb and Theon intervene want Bran's horse and silver. Silver's not quite gold but it's valuable and it represents power and wealth. I'd write another "for some, for others" sentence; however, it'd be beating the reader over the head with a not-too-difficult theme.

The best part of the episode involves Ned Stark. The character had just three scenes but holy moly did Benioff, Weiss and Espenson make the most of those three scenes. Ned occupies the throne while Robert's away hunting because the king needs to clear his head. The Lannisters accused Ned of drunkenly starting a fight with Jaime. As temporary king, Ned takes advantage of the power he possesses. First, he strips The Mountain of his titles, property and power as a knight. He orders his death because The Mountain terrorized a group of blue collar workers in King's Landing. Following that order, he orders that the patriarch of the Lannister family answer for the crimes committed by his family. And then he learns what Jon Arryn tried to discover before someone hired Ser Hugh to kill him. Last week, Varys told Ned that Arryn died because he started asking questions. What questions, I wondered. Well, Arryn tracked down Robert's bastard to prove that Joffrey is Cersei's bastard. OH SHIT. What a moment in the episode when the realization washed across Ned's face. All it took was Sansa whining about how she wants babies with bright, blonde hair. Robert told Ned that he can't rule the kingdom with the Starks and the Lannisters at each other's throats. Well, the families want each other dead. Game on.

The Eyrie remained one of the most bizarre settings I've witnessed and experienced. Tyrion confessed his crimes, which turned into punchline after punchline that further solidified Peter Dinklage as the best actor in the series. Tyrion masterfully planned his freedom. He demanded a trial-by-combat which Lady Arryn granted. The man who fought for Tyrion (I apologize that I missed his name) fought without honor that shocked Lady Arryn. In an episode that broke rules in every story, the two lines between the champion and the Lady summed it up--"You don't fight with honor." "No. He did." Tyrion smiled. Catelyn had a worried expression across her face. Uh-oh.

Arya had two scenes in the episode. In her first, she and Sirio practiced though she didn't feel like it because she feared for her father's life, especially after his wound. Sirio told her that she musn't carry her troubles with her into a fight because her troubles will weaken her. Arya told Sirio that she didn't see the point of using wooden swords when real trouble surrounds her. Sirio asked her if she prayed, and she does to both the old and new gods. Sirio corrected her: only one god exists and he is death. The dancers must always dance around that god. In her second and final scene, Ned told she and Sansa that they'll return to Winterfell because King's Landing isn't safe. Arya briefly protested before she decided to heed her father's words. Sansa whined because Joffrey declared his love for her. My favorite part of the scene was when Arya and Ned shared a look as Sansa whined. Sean Bean and Maisie Williams are great together.

Robert's hunt only had one scene but it was significant. Robert told his brother what it took to be a man in Westeros, and that's having sex with one girl from all seven kingdoms. Renly disagreed and pissed Robert off. The scene added some history between the brothers and showed why he might conspire against his brother with his lover.

The seventh episode's available to watch on HBO Go and HBO promises that everyone will be talking about the episode after it airs next Sunday. Naturally, I'm going to watch it before Sunday but I won't post a review until 10PM Sunday. The last two episode have been terrific and a great deal of fun. I love the characters and the show. "A Golden Crown" is so rich in meaning and thematic imagery, which I what I love most about any kind of story whether it be novels, short stories, television or film.

Jane Espenson (Whedonverse alum who wrote an episode for every Joss Whedon series--I don't think any other Whedonverse writer besides Joss accomplished such a feat) co-wrote the episode with David Benioff and D.B. Weiss. Daniel Minahan directed it.

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