Baelor
Encyclopedia
"Baelor" is the ninth episode of the HBO medieval fantasy
television series Game of Thrones
, first aired on June 12, 2011. It was written by the show creators and executive producers David Benioff
and D. B. Weiss
, and directed by Alan Taylor
.
The plot of the episode depicts how Eddard Stark, imprisoned and accused of high treason, takes a fateful decision. His wife Catelyn negotiates with slippery Lord Walder Frey, and his son Robb fights his first battle in the war against the Lannisters. Meanwhile, Jon discovers a secret about Maester Aemon, and Daenerys stands up against Qotho.
The title of the episode refers to the Great Sept of Baelor, the main religious building in King's Landing where the episode's pivotal scene takes place. In the world created by George R. R. Martin
, Baelor was a Targaryen king of old that is revered as a patron and supporter of the Faith of the Seven.
) tells Tyrion (Peter Dinklage
) at dinner that he and his barbarian allies will fight in the vanguard of the army. Tyrion is less than pleased and leaves the table. He returns to his camp and finds the prostitute Shae (Sibel Kekilli) whom Bronn (Jerome Flynn
) found for him at his request. As the three of them swap stories, Tyrion reveals that when he was sixteen, he had married a woman named Tysha that Jaime and he had rescued. When his father Tywin had discovered it, he had made Jaime confess that she was actually a hired prostitute and Tywin then made Tyrion watch as he gave her to his guards, paying her one silver for each man who had their way with her.
Later, Tyrion is awakened by Bronn as a Stark force approaches. He leaves his tent dressed in armor and orders the hill tribes to combat, but is trampled by them as they rush to war. By the time he regains consciousness, the entire battle has been played out, and Lord Tywin reveals that the Stark host was only 2,000 men, leaving them to wonder where the other 18,000 went.
), a bannerman of Catelyn's (Michelle Fairley
) father. However, Walder has sealed off the bridge and refuses to let the army cross, so Catelyn leaves to negotiate with Lord Walder personally. After some hard bargaining, Walder agrees to allow the Starks to enter The Twins and join them against the Lannisters, but in return he wants Robb (Richard Madden
) and Arya (Maisie Williams
) to marry two of his children, to which Robb reluctantly agrees.
After crossing the river, Robb divides his forces, sending the aforementioned 2,000 men to distract Lord Tywin's army who believe it's the whole Stark army due to the false information he gave to the Lannister scout, while the remainder sneaks up on Jaime Lannister's (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) army, defeating them and capturing Jaime himself.
) gives Jon (Kit Harington
) a sword of Valyrian steel named Longclaw, a sword originally meant for his son Ser Jorah (Iain Glen
) before his exile, as a reward from saving his life from the undead ranger. However, Jon is upset when Sam (John Bradley) tells him about Robb's war against the Lannisters, feeling that he should be there to help Robb.
Maester Aemon summons Jon and explains to him that the reason why members of the Night's Watch do not marry as it will only cause a rift which forces them to choose their loyalties between their duty or their loved ones. Aemon knows this very well as he is actually Aemon Targaryen, the Mad King Aerys Targaryen's uncle and Daenerys' (Emilia Clarke
) granduncle, and dutifully and reluctantly stayed at the Wall while his family members were killed or exiled when the Targaryens were overthrown. Aemon advises Jon that he must choose either his duty to the Night's Watch or his family.
), delirious from an infection caused by the wound on his chest from before, falls from his saddle. Daenerys takes Drogo into her tent and sends for Mirri Maz Duur (Mia Soteriou) to help him. However, Ser Jorah advises Daenerys that they should leave now because the Dothraki only respect the powerful and once Drogo dies, Qotho (Dar Salim) and the other bloodriders will fight amongst themselves to be his successor; whoever wins will kill her and her unborn child, rather than risk Drogo's son growing up to be a rival. But Daenerys refuses to abandon her husband even when Mirri tells she cannot save him and she should just give Drogo a quick, clean death. In desperation, Daenerys allows Mirri to use a blood magic spell despite the latter warning about the consequences that only death can pay for life. Mirri brings Drogo's horse into the tent and slit the horse's throat and orders everyone to leave and not enter. Qotho, shocked over what Daenerys has done, tries to stop the spell but he is stopped and killed by Jorah. However, Qotho earlier pushed Danaerys to the ground, bringing on premature labor and with none of the Dothraki midwives willing to attend her, believing Danaerys is cursed, Jorah carries Daenerys into Drogo's tent to seek Mirri's help.
) visits Ned (Sean Bean
) in the dungeons and tells him if he makes a false confession and swear loyalty to King Joffrey (Jack Gleeson), Cersei (Lena Headey
) will spare him and let him serve the Night's Watch as his exile. Ned refuses but finally relents after Varys tells him that his daughter, Sansa's (Sophie Turner
) life is also at stake.
Arya, who has been living as a beggar in the streets of King's Landing since her escape from the Lannisters, learns a crowd is gathering at the Great Sept of Baelor, where her father will be judged before the gods. With Sansa, Cersei, Joffrey and the Small Council looking over him, Ned confesses to treason and swears fealty to Joffrey in front of the crowd. Satisfied, Sansa and Cersei ask Joffrey to spare Ned as promised, but Joffrey breaks his promise and orders Ned beheaded. As Sansa watches in grief, and Arya tries to rescue Ned only to be stopped by Yoren (Francis Magee
) to prevent her from seeing her father's execution, Ned accepts his death peacefully.
and D. B. Weiss
, based on the original book
by George R. R. Martin
. "Baelor" includes the content of the book's chapters Eddard XV, Catelyn IX, Jon VIII, Tyrion VIII, Catelyn X, Daenerys VIII and Arya V (59 to 61 and 63 to 66).
The scene with the drinking game between Tyrion, Bronn and Shae was added to the plot, although the story of Tyrion's ill-fated marriage with Tysha was taken from a previous chapter of the books. Also, Shae's background was changed from Westerosi to foreign to accommodate Kekilli's accent. Other notable divergence from the books include the modification of the whole strategy of Robb Stark when dividing his forces, and a change to the Targaryen genealogy as explained by Maester Aemon: in the TV adaptation the Mad King is described as the son, rather than the grandson, of Aegon V (thus eliminating Jaehaerys II from the succession of kings).
Also introduced in this episode was the English actor David Bradley
, playing the role of the Lord of the Crossing "Late" Walder Frey, a character twenty years his senior.
estate, also in Northern Ireland, was used to film on location the Stark and Lannister camps, and the battlefields of the Green Fork and the Whispering Woods.
The climactic scene before the Great Sept of Baelor was shot at Fort Manoel
, in the Maltese
town of Gżira
. The filming took place in the last week of October 2010.
, said Baelor had been "without a doubt, my favorite episode of the season so far. Everything came together in a glorious hour of television: great writing, exceptional acting, a score that suddenly came alive in a way it hadn't before, the consummate direction of one of television's best directors." From the reviewers of the A.V. Club
, where it was rated with an A, Todd VanDerWerff called it "unquestionably the finest episode of Game Of Thrones yet", and David Sims found it "terrific" and with a conclusion "sure to blow the minds (and break the hearts)" of the watchers.
The focus of most reviews was in the climactic final scene, whose directing and acting is universally acclaimed by critics. Writing for Cultural Learnings Myles McNutt stated: "the final shot, with Arya looking to the sky as everything goes to silence and all she sees is the birds flying was just wonderfully haunting. Alan Taylor's direction sold both the chaos and the resignation of that moment". HitFix
's Alan Sepinwall felt that "That final scene was so gorgeously shot, and the weariness of Bean's performance and the horror of Maisie Williams' so perfectly conveyed the emotions of it, even as things seemed so chaotic."
The emotional charge of the scene hit home many reviewers: The Atlantic's Scott Meslow called it "an absolutely nightmarish scene" and labelled Eddard's death "horrific in its indignity". Both Jace Lacob from Televisionary
and Maureen Ryan from AOL TV
admitted having shed tears at the episode's dramatic conclusion. The latter found the scene "masterful" and felt that the visual medium and Alan Taylor's excellent work had made it more powerful than the book's original version.
Besides the final scene, other aspects were discussed: Garcia noted the acting of Richard Madden and how the Freys had been introduced. Mo Ryan praised the wide range of emotions used by Emilia Clarke while playing Daenerys, and how Peter Dinklage played Tyrion's frustration and confusion during the episode Both she and McNutt were glad that the Imp's exposition scene in the tent with Bronn and Shae did not use sex to keep viewers as many past episodes have tried to do.
There was a debate on the producer's decision to avoid depicting the two battles between Starks and Lannisters. Ryan criticized it and confessed being "a little disappointed that many of the major characters are caught up in a war and we're not seeing it." Sims regretted not seeing the fight, and although he claimed to understand the budget constrictions, he felt that "all this off-screen fighting is just getting my blood rushing for some on-screen fighting". Sepinwall concludes: "Ideally, we'd get a few epic, "Braveheart"-level battle scenes at some point, but I also respect the demands of time and budget here. Those kinds of sequences cost a fortune, and they eat up a lot of screen time, and I think ultimately I'd have rather had the time, say, that we spent in Tyrion's tent the night before the battle, with the mortifying story of his ex-wife, and then whatever it cost to make the execution sequence look as good as it did, than for the episode to have given us one or two long fight scenes."
Matt Fowler of IGN TV gave the episode a perfect "10" saying that it was a "clean and epic entry with a daring, tragic finish" that had "an admirable undercurrent of audience contempt."
Medieval fantasy
Medieval fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy that encompasses medieval era high fantasy and sometimes simply represents fictitious versions of historic events. This subgenre is common among role-playing games, text-based roleplaying, and high-fantasy literature....
television series Game of Thrones
Game of Thrones (TV series)
Game of Thrones is an American medieval fantasy television series created for HBO by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss. Based on author George R. R. Martin's best-selling A Song of Ice and Fire series of fantasy novels, the first of which is called A Game of Thrones, the television series debuted in...
, first aired on June 12, 2011. It was written by the show creators and executive producers David Benioff
David Benioff
-Early life:Born David Friedman in New York City, he changed his name to David Benioff, his mother's maiden name. He is the youngest of three children....
and D. B. Weiss
D. B. Weiss
Daniel B. Weiss is an American author. His debut novel Lucky Wander Boy was themed around video games and has since been linked with the screen adaptations of various science-fiction and fantasy stories...
, and directed by Alan Taylor
Alan Taylor (director)
Alan Taylor is an American television and film director, television producer, and screenwriter. Taylor has directed for numerous programs on both network television and premium cable, most notably on HBO...
.
The plot of the episode depicts how Eddard Stark, imprisoned and accused of high treason, takes a fateful decision. His wife Catelyn negotiates with slippery Lord Walder Frey, and his son Robb fights his first battle in the war against the Lannisters. Meanwhile, Jon discovers a secret about Maester Aemon, and Daenerys stands up against Qotho.
The title of the episode refers to the Great Sept of Baelor, the main religious building in King's Landing where the episode's pivotal scene takes place. In the world created by George R. R. Martin
George R. R. Martin
George Raymond Richard Martin , sometimes referred to as GRRM, is an American author and screenwriter of fantasy, horror, and science fiction. He is best known for A Song of Ice and Fire, his bestselling series of epic fantasy novels that HBO adapted for their dramatic pay-cable series Game of...
, Baelor was a Targaryen king of old that is revered as a patron and supporter of the Faith of the Seven.
At the Lannister Camp
Lord Tywin (Charles DanceCharles Dance
Walter Charles Dance, OBE is an English actor, screenwriter and director. Dance typically plays assertive bureaucrats or villains. His most famous roles are Guy Perron in The Jewel in the Crown , Dr Clemens, the doctor of penitentiary Fury 161, who becomes Ellen Ripley's confidante in Alien 3 ,...
) tells Tyrion (Peter Dinklage
Peter Dinklage
Peter Dinklage is an American film, television and theater actor. Since his breakout role in the 2003 film The Station Agent, he has acted in Elf, Underdog, Find Me Guilty, the 2007 film Death at a Funeral and its 2010 remake, and The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian...
) at dinner that he and his barbarian allies will fight in the vanguard of the army. Tyrion is less than pleased and leaves the table. He returns to his camp and finds the prostitute Shae (Sibel Kekilli) whom Bronn (Jerome Flynn
Jerome Flynn
Jerome Flynn is an English actor best known for his role as Corporal Paddy Garvey of the King's Fusiliers in the ITV series Soldier Soldier....
) found for him at his request. As the three of them swap stories, Tyrion reveals that when he was sixteen, he had married a woman named Tysha that Jaime and he had rescued. When his father Tywin had discovered it, he had made Jaime confess that she was actually a hired prostitute and Tywin then made Tyrion watch as he gave her to his guards, paying her one silver for each man who had their way with her.
Later, Tyrion is awakened by Bronn as a Stark force approaches. He leaves his tent dressed in armor and orders the hill tribes to combat, but is trampled by them as they rush to war. By the time he regains consciousness, the entire battle has been played out, and Lord Tywin reveals that the Stark host was only 2,000 men, leaving them to wonder where the other 18,000 went.
At the Twins
The Stark army arrives at The Twins, a fortified bridge controlled by the cranky Lord Walder Frey (David BradleyDavid Bradley (actor)
David Bradley is an English character actor. He has recently become known for playing the caretaker of Hogwarts, Argus Filch, in the Harry Potter film franchise.-Life and career :...
), a bannerman of Catelyn's (Michelle Fairley
Michelle Fairley
Michelle Fairley is an Northern Irish actress of film, stage and television.-Life and career:Born in Coleraine, Northern Ireland to well known publicans Teresa and Brian Fairley, she grew up in Ballycastle, Northern Ireland she appeared in a range of British television shows including The Bill,...
) father. However, Walder has sealed off the bridge and refuses to let the army cross, so Catelyn leaves to negotiate with Lord Walder personally. After some hard bargaining, Walder agrees to allow the Starks to enter The Twins and join them against the Lannisters, but in return he wants Robb (Richard Madden
Richard Madden
Richard Madden is a Scottish stage, film, and television actor, known for his work in theatre and for his roles in both film and television.- Background :...
) and Arya (Maisie Williams
Maisie Williams
Maisie Williams is a British child actress.Her first and so far only role is that of Arya Stark, a tomboyish young girl from a noble family, in the 2011 HBO fantasy TV series Game of Thrones. Williams received acclaim for her performance in the supporting role, with Zap2it calling her...
) to marry two of his children, to which Robb reluctantly agrees.
After crossing the river, Robb divides his forces, sending the aforementioned 2,000 men to distract Lord Tywin's army who believe it's the whole Stark army due to the false information he gave to the Lannister scout, while the remainder sneaks up on Jaime Lannister's (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) army, defeating them and capturing Jaime himself.
At the Wall
Lord Commander Mormont (James CosmoJames Cosmo
James Cosmo is a prolific Scottish actor, with numerous credits in film and television since the late 1960s and Cosmo is still currently acting. Cosmo was born in Clydebank, Scotland, the son of actor James Copeland...
) gives Jon (Kit Harington
Kit Harington
Christopher "Kit" Harington is an English film, television and theatre actor.-Early life and education:Harington attended Southfield Primary School between 1992 and 1998. Harington then went on to attend the Chantry High School, in Martley between 1998 and 2003...
) a sword of Valyrian steel named Longclaw, a sword originally meant for his son Ser Jorah (Iain Glen
Iain Glen
Iain Glen is a Scottish film and stage actor.Iain Glen was born in Edinburgh, Scotland and trained at RADA where he won the Bancroft Gold Medal. He was married to Susannah Harker from 1993 to 2004; they have one son, Finlay...
) before his exile, as a reward from saving his life from the undead ranger. However, Jon is upset when Sam (John Bradley) tells him about Robb's war against the Lannisters, feeling that he should be there to help Robb.
Maester Aemon summons Jon and explains to him that the reason why members of the Night's Watch do not marry as it will only cause a rift which forces them to choose their loyalties between their duty or their loved ones. Aemon knows this very well as he is actually Aemon Targaryen, the Mad King Aerys Targaryen's uncle and Daenerys' (Emilia Clarke
Emilia Clarke
Emilia Clarke is an English actress best known for the role of Daenerys Targaryen in the HBO medieval-fantasy series Game of Thrones.-Biography:...
) granduncle, and dutifully and reluctantly stayed at the Wall while his family members were killed or exiled when the Targaryens were overthrown. Aemon advises Jon that he must choose either his duty to the Night's Watch or his family.
Across the Narrow Sea
Khal Drogo (Jason MomoaJason Momoa
Jason Momoa is an American actor and model.He is known for his role as Ronon Dex on military science fiction television series Stargate: Atlantis . Most recently, he became recognized for his role as the title character in the sword and sorcery film Conan the Barbarian...
), delirious from an infection caused by the wound on his chest from before, falls from his saddle. Daenerys takes Drogo into her tent and sends for Mirri Maz Duur (Mia Soteriou) to help him. However, Ser Jorah advises Daenerys that they should leave now because the Dothraki only respect the powerful and once Drogo dies, Qotho (Dar Salim) and the other bloodriders will fight amongst themselves to be his successor; whoever wins will kill her and her unborn child, rather than risk Drogo's son growing up to be a rival. But Daenerys refuses to abandon her husband even when Mirri tells she cannot save him and she should just give Drogo a quick, clean death. In desperation, Daenerys allows Mirri to use a blood magic spell despite the latter warning about the consequences that only death can pay for life. Mirri brings Drogo's horse into the tent and slit the horse's throat and orders everyone to leave and not enter. Qotho, shocked over what Daenerys has done, tries to stop the spell but he is stopped and killed by Jorah. However, Qotho earlier pushed Danaerys to the ground, bringing on premature labor and with none of the Dothraki midwives willing to attend her, believing Danaerys is cursed, Jorah carries Daenerys into Drogo's tent to seek Mirri's help.
At King's Landing
Varys (Conleth HillConleth Hill
Conleth Hill is a Northern Irish film, stage and television actor.Born in Ballycastle, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, Hill made his Broadway debut in Marie Jones' Stones in His Pockets....
) visits Ned (Sean Bean
Sean Bean
Shaun Mark "Sean" Bean is an English film and stage actor. Bean is best known for playing Boromir in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy and, previously, British Colonel Richard Sharpe in the ITV television series Sharpe...
) in the dungeons and tells him if he makes a false confession and swear loyalty to King Joffrey (Jack Gleeson), Cersei (Lena Headey
Lena Headey
Lena Headey is an English actress. Headey's performance in a one-off show when she was 17 caught the attention of a casting agent, who took a photo and asked her to audition and eventually she got a supporting role alongside Jeremy Irons and Ethan Hawke in the 1992 British drama film Waterland and...
) will spare him and let him serve the Night's Watch as his exile. Ned refuses but finally relents after Varys tells him that his daughter, Sansa's (Sophie Turner
Sophie Turner (actress)
Sophie Turner is a British child actress.For her first role in front of the camera, Turner currently stars as Sansa Stark, the eldest daughter of House Stark in the 2011 HBO fantasy TV series Game of Thrones. The natural blonde actress dyes her hair red for the role, which she says lets her avoid...
) life is also at stake.
Arya, who has been living as a beggar in the streets of King's Landing since her escape from the Lannisters, learns a crowd is gathering at the Great Sept of Baelor, where her father will be judged before the gods. With Sansa, Cersei, Joffrey and the Small Council looking over him, Ned confesses to treason and swears fealty to Joffrey in front of the crowd. Satisfied, Sansa and Cersei ask Joffrey to spare Ned as promised, but Joffrey breaks his promise and orders Ned beheaded. As Sansa watches in grief, and Arya tries to rescue Ned only to be stopped by Yoren (Francis Magee
Francis Magee
Francis Magee is an Irish actor best known for his portrayal of Liam Tyler in the long-running British soap opera EastEnders from 1993 to 1995. He has also appeared in numerous television shows and feature films, including Sahara , Layer Cake and The Calling...
) to prevent her from seeing her father's execution, Ned accepts his death peacefully.
Writing
The episode was written by the showrunners David BenioffDavid Benioff
-Early life:Born David Friedman in New York City, he changed his name to David Benioff, his mother's maiden name. He is the youngest of three children....
and D. B. Weiss
D. B. Weiss
Daniel B. Weiss is an American author. His debut novel Lucky Wander Boy was themed around video games and has since been linked with the screen adaptations of various science-fiction and fantasy stories...
, based on the original book
A Game of Thrones
A Game of Thrones is the first book in A Song of Ice and Fire, a series of epic fantasy novels by American author George R. R. Martin. It was first published on 6 August 1996. The novel won the 1997 Locus Award, and was nominated for both the 1998 Nebula Award and the 1997 World Fantasy Award...
by George R. R. Martin
George R. R. Martin
George Raymond Richard Martin , sometimes referred to as GRRM, is an American author and screenwriter of fantasy, horror, and science fiction. He is best known for A Song of Ice and Fire, his bestselling series of epic fantasy novels that HBO adapted for their dramatic pay-cable series Game of...
. "Baelor" includes the content of the book's chapters Eddard XV, Catelyn IX, Jon VIII, Tyrion VIII, Catelyn X, Daenerys VIII and Arya V (59 to 61 and 63 to 66).
The scene with the drinking game between Tyrion, Bronn and Shae was added to the plot, although the story of Tyrion's ill-fated marriage with Tysha was taken from a previous chapter of the books. Also, Shae's background was changed from Westerosi to foreign to accommodate Kekilli's accent. Other notable divergence from the books include the modification of the whole strategy of Robb Stark when dividing his forces, and a change to the Targaryen genealogy as explained by Maester Aemon: in the TV adaptation the Mad King is described as the son, rather than the grandson, of Aegon V (thus eliminating Jaehaerys II from the succession of kings).
Casting
"Baelor" marks the first appearance of the German actress Sibel Kekilli, in the role of the prostitute Shae. Executive producer George R. R. Martin commented that she was extraordinary in her audition, in which she read a scene included in this episode with Shae meeting Tyrion in a tent the night before the battle of the Green Fork. According to Martin, "a lot of beautiful young women read for Shae. [...] But there's another dimension to Shae as well. She's not as practiced and hardened at this as a more seasoned pro. There's still a girl next door quality to her, a sense of vulnerability, playfulness, and, yes, innocence.[...] All of our Shaes were hot as hell. But only a handful of them captured that other quality, maybe three out of twenty, and Sibel was the standout. [...] Watching those auditions, any red-blooded male would want to take every one of our Shae candidates to bed. But Sibel made you fall in love with her as well."Also introduced in this episode was the English actor David Bradley
David Bradley (actor)
David Bradley is an English character actor. He has recently become known for playing the caretaker of Hogwarts, Argus Filch, in the Harry Potter film franchise.-Life and career :...
, playing the role of the Lord of the Crossing "Late" Walder Frey, a character twenty years his senior.
Filming locations
The interiors of the episode were filmed at the Paint Hall studios, close to Belfast. The area of the Castle WardCastle Ward
Castle Ward is an 18th century National Trust property located near the village of Strangford, in County Down, Northern Ireland. It overlooks Strangford Lough and is 7 miles from Downpatrick and 1.5 miles from Strangford....
estate, also in Northern Ireland, was used to film on location the Stark and Lannister camps, and the battlefields of the Green Fork and the Whispering Woods.
The climactic scene before the Great Sept of Baelor was shot at Fort Manoel
Fort Manoel
Fort Manoel is a fortification on the island of Malta. It stands on Manoel Island in Marsamxett Harbour to the north west of Valletta and commands the entrance to Marsamxett Harbour and the anchorage of Sliema Creek...
, in the Maltese
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
town of Gżira
Gzira
Gżira is a town in the north-eastern coast of Malta between Msida & Sliema, and bordering on Ta' Xbiex, with its famed yacht marina and Embassy Row. The population is approximately 7,100 . The word Gżira means "island" in Maltese, and the town is named after Manoel Island which lies just adjacent...
. The filming took place in the last week of October 2010.
Other
"Baelor" changes the show opening for the first time since episode five as the Eyrie is removed and replaced instead by the Twins.Ratings
"Baelor" gathered 2.7 million viewers in its premiere telecast, keeping with the season's high reached with last week's episode. The total for the night, including the repeat, was slightly lower, with 3.4 million viewers.Critical Response
The episode received great acclaim among the critics. Elio Garcia, writing for SuvuduSuvudu
Suvudu is a genre site created by Random House, Inc., to provide additional content, such as author interviews, chats, chapter previews, reviews, previews, and news around science fiction, fantasy, comics, graphic novels, and video game guides and books published by Random House, Inc., across all...
, said Baelor had been "without a doubt, my favorite episode of the season so far. Everything came together in a glorious hour of television: great writing, exceptional acting, a score that suddenly came alive in a way it hadn't before, the consummate direction of one of television's best directors." From the reviewers of the A.V. Club
The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club is an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion. Its features include reviews of new films, music, television, books, games and DVDs, as well as interviews and other regular offerings examining both new and classic media and other elements of pop culture. Unlike its...
, where it was rated with an A, Todd VanDerWerff called it "unquestionably the finest episode of Game Of Thrones yet", and David Sims found it "terrific" and with a conclusion "sure to blow the minds (and break the hearts)" of the watchers.
The focus of most reviews was in the climactic final scene, whose directing and acting is universally acclaimed by critics. Writing for Cultural Learnings Myles McNutt stated: "the final shot, with Arya looking to the sky as everything goes to silence and all she sees is the birds flying was just wonderfully haunting. Alan Taylor's direction sold both the chaos and the resignation of that moment". HitFix
HitFix
HitFix, or the HitFix.com is an entertainment news website that launched in December 2008 specializing in breaking entertainment news, insider information and providing reviews and critiques of film, music and television...
's Alan Sepinwall felt that "That final scene was so gorgeously shot, and the weariness of Bean's performance and the horror of Maisie Williams' so perfectly conveyed the emotions of it, even as things seemed so chaotic."
The emotional charge of the scene hit home many reviewers: The Atlantic's Scott Meslow called it "an absolutely nightmarish scene" and labelled Eddard's death "horrific in its indignity". Both Jace Lacob from Televisionary
Televisionary
The concept of a ‘Televisionary’ is being used to describe television and communications network operators who are developing services that provide consumers with more control over when, where and how they consume video and other multimedia content...
and Maureen Ryan from AOL TV
AOL TV
AOL TV was the name of both a thin client which uses a television for display , and the online service that supports it, both of which were launched in June 2000 to compete with WebTV....
admitted having shed tears at the episode's dramatic conclusion. The latter found the scene "masterful" and felt that the visual medium and Alan Taylor's excellent work had made it more powerful than the book's original version.
Besides the final scene, other aspects were discussed: Garcia noted the acting of Richard Madden and how the Freys had been introduced. Mo Ryan praised the wide range of emotions used by Emilia Clarke while playing Daenerys, and how Peter Dinklage played Tyrion's frustration and confusion during the episode Both she and McNutt were glad that the Imp's exposition scene in the tent with Bronn and Shae did not use sex to keep viewers as many past episodes have tried to do.
There was a debate on the producer's decision to avoid depicting the two battles between Starks and Lannisters. Ryan criticized it and confessed being "a little disappointed that many of the major characters are caught up in a war and we're not seeing it." Sims regretted not seeing the fight, and although he claimed to understand the budget constrictions, he felt that "all this off-screen fighting is just getting my blood rushing for some on-screen fighting". Sepinwall concludes: "Ideally, we'd get a few epic, "Braveheart"-level battle scenes at some point, but I also respect the demands of time and budget here. Those kinds of sequences cost a fortune, and they eat up a lot of screen time, and I think ultimately I'd have rather had the time, say, that we spent in Tyrion's tent the night before the battle, with the mortifying story of his ex-wife, and then whatever it cost to make the execution sequence look as good as it did, than for the episode to have given us one or two long fight scenes."
Matt Fowler of IGN TV gave the episode a perfect "10" saying that it was a "clean and epic entry with a daring, tragic finish" that had "an admirable undercurrent of audience contempt."