Lord Snow
Encyclopedia
"Lord Snow" is the third episode of the HBO medieval fantasy
television series Game of Thrones
. It first aired on May 1, 2011. It was written by the show creators David Benioff
and D. B. Weiss
, and directed by series regular Brian Kirk
. Critical reception was mixed, but viewership was up 10% from the first two episodes of the series.
The plot follows Jon Snow's training at The Wall; Eddard's arrival at King's Landing, followed by Catelyn, looking for Bran's would-be murderer; Arya reveals her desire to learn sword fighting to her father; Joffrey is given a lesson in ruling the Kingdom by Cersei, and Robert longs for the glory of his past. Meanwhile, Daenerys learns she is pregnant. The episode was the first to feature Old Nan, played by Margaret John
who died before the series was broadcast; the episode is dedicated to her memory in the final credit.
) is beginning to gain confidence in her new role as the Khal's wife, and gains the respect of the exiled knight Ser Jorah Mormont (Iain Glen
). But the relationship with her brother Viserys (Harry Lloyd
) becomes strained when he angrily assaults her under the assumption that she is giving him commands. As punishment, he is choked and nearly killed by Daenerys's bloodrider Rakharo (Elyes Gabel
) and forced to walk back to camp after Daenerys intervenes to spare his life.
Irri (Amrita Acharia) notices that Daenerys is pregnant, and shares the news with Jorah and Rakharo. Rather than be pleased, Jorah mysteriously departs for Qohor for supplies. In their tent, Daenerys reveals to Drogo (Jason Momoa
) that their child is a boy.
) tells him a tale of a long-ago endless winter, where the White Walkers first appeared riding their dead horses and raising Wights from the men they slaughtered. Her story is interrupted by Robb (Richard Madden
) who sadly confirms to Bran that his injuries are permanent, and he'll never walk again. Bran, unable to remember anything about his fall, wishes he were dead.
) is immediately summoned to a meeting of the king's Small Council. On his way through the throne room he encounters Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and it is revealed that Jaime killed the Mad King Aerys Targaryen. Jaime reminds Eddard that Aerys killed Eddard's father and brother; Eddard does not consider this grounds for Jaime to break his oath as a knight of the Kingsguard.
Eddard joins the Small Council, consisting of the king's brother, Lord Renly (Gethin Anthony), the eunuch
Lord Varys (Conleth Hill
), Grand Maester Pycelle (Julian Glover
) and the master of Coin Lord Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish (Aidan Gillen
). Littlefinger once dueled Eddard's brother for Catelyn's hand in marriage, and implies that he is still in love with her. Renly announces that Robert plans to hold a great tourney in honor of Eddard's appointment as the hand of the king. Eddard learns that the crown is heavily indebted, primarily to the queen's father, Lord Tywin Lannister.
Catelyn has arrived in King's Landing, supposedly in secret. However, she is taken by a pair of city watchmen to a brothel owned by Littlefinger. He meets her there and tells her that he had her brought there to keep her safe and anonymous. Varys, also present, reveals that he learned of Catelyn's arrival through his spies. The three of them and Ser Rodrick (Ron Donachie) discuss the attempted murder of Bran. Littlefinger shocks them all by admitting that the assassin's dagger was once his own. He claims that he lost it in a bet with Tyrion Lannister; betting on Jaime Lannister to win a previous tourney. Littlefinger arranges a meeting between Eddard and his wife, and Lord Stark reluctantly takes on Littlefinger as an ally who will help them find Bran's assailant.
After Catelyn leaves the capital, Eddard returns to his keep only to find his daughters are arguing. Arya (Maisie Williams
) is furious at Sansa (Sophie Turner
) for lying to protect Joffrey. Ned reminds her that Joffrey is a prince, and will be king one day with Sansa as his wife. Learning that his younger daughter aspires to be a swordsman, and has a sword of her own, he hires a Braavosi "water dancer", Syrio Forel (Miltos Yerolemou) to teach her the art of swordsmanship.
), and easily beats every opponent sent against him. Ser Alliser berates them all for their poor performance, but has no kind words for Jon, dubbing him "Lord Snow" to mock his bastard heritage and telling him "You're the least useless person here." Disheartened, Jon asks Benjen (Joseph Mawle
) to take him in a several-month-long ranging north of the Wall, but his uncle shoots him down telling him, "Here a man gets only what he earns, when he earns it."
Tyrion (Peter Dinklage
) informs Jon that he isn't "better" than any of his new "brothers", but only more fortunate, as he was trained by a master-at-arms, while the others are all orphan boys or criminals, who have likely never held a sword before today. To make amends, Jon decides to teach his fellow recruits proper sword training. Later, Tyrion is beseeched by Lord Commander Mormont and the ancient, blind Maester Aemon (Peter Vaughan
) to ask his sister and brother-in-law for more men for the Night's Watch. Before leaving the Wall, Tyrion fulfills his ambition to urinate off the top of the Wall and says goodbye to Jon, who finally accepts Tyrion as a friend.
and D. B. Weiss
, based on the original book
by George R. R. Martin
. "Lord Snow" includes the chapters 19–23 and parts of 24 and 25 (Catelyn IV, Jon III, Eddard IV, Tyrion III, Arya II, Daenerys III, Bran IV).
The events in the series are notably faithful to the book. In one notable exception, Catelyn and Rodrick arrive in King's Landing via the Kingsroad and after Ned's party, rather than having taken a ship and arrived first as in the book. Some scenes were also created for the series, most notably a conversation between Joffrey and Cersei about what it will mean when he is king, and Ned's confrontation with Jaime in the throne room. There are also scenes that flesh out the characters of Irri and Rakharo.
In the capital city the members of the council are presented. Series regular Aidan Gillen
, known for his roles in Queer as Folk
and The Wire
takes the role of Lord Petyr Baelish, the king's master of coin known as "Littlefinger". Gethin Anthony plays the king's youngest brother Renly Baratheon, and veteran actor Julian Glover
, well know to science fiction and fantasy fans after appearing in films such as The Empire Strikes Back and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
, was cast as Grand Maester Pycelle after actor Roy Dotrice
had to be replaced for medical reasons. Author George R. R. Martin wrote on the casting of Conleth Hill
as spymaster Varys: "Hill, like Varys, is quite a chameleon, an actor who truly disappears inside the characters he portrays, more than capable not only of bringing the slimy, simpering eunuch to life". Ian McElhinney plays Ser Barristan Selmy, the commander of the Kingsguard, and Miltos Yorelemou appears as the fencing instructor Syrio Forel. McElhinney had previously played Gillen's father in Queer as Folk.
The hierarchy of the Wall is introduced with James Cosmo
as commander Jeor Mormont, Peter Vaughan
as the blind maester Aemon, Owen Teale
as the trainer of the new recruits Ser Alliser Thorne, and Francis Magee as the recruiter Yoren.
This episode also marks the first appearance of the Welsh actress Margaret John
as Old Nan. 84 year old Margaret John died on 2 February 2011, few months after having finished recording her scenes in Game of Thrones, which was her last role on television. With a 50-year acting career, she is remembered for her role of Doris on the BBC
television show Gavin and Stacy. Executive producers David Benioff and Dan Weiss issued a statement grieving her passing. The episode "Lord Snow" is dedicated to her, with the last credit being "In the memory of Margaret John".
Finally Robert Sterne, a member of the show Nina Gold's casting team, had a cameo role as the steward that greets Ned when he arrives at King's Landing. Guest star Gethin Anthony praised him for his skill as an actor.
, a few minutes north of Belfast
. The composite set (with both exteriors and interiors) consisted of a large section of Castle Black including the courtyard, the ravenry, the mess hall and the barracks, and used the stone wall of the quarry as the basis for the ice wall that protects Westeros from the dangers that dwell beyond. They also made a real elevator to lift the rangers to the top of the Wall.
For the streets of King's Landing, the production flew to Malta. The gate of Fort Ricasoli doubled as the The King's Gate, shown at the beginning of the episode when the royal entourage enters the city. The entrance of the Red Keep used when Catelyn and Rodrik enter the fortification corresponds to Gate of Mdina
, and also in Mdina the Pjazza Mesquita is the location for the entrance to the brothel owned by Lord Baelish.
are a series of novellas written by author George R. R. Martin, taking place about a hundred year before the events of Game of Thrones.
broke during the West Coast airing of the series.
In the UK the viewership figures were in line with those obtained on the previous week, with around 510,000 viewers. Those figures are in the top end for the network, Sky Atlantic
.
James Hibberd also thought that it was his least favorite episode of the first six, due to too much character development. However, Alan Sepinwall from HitFix
, liked the "more rambling quality of "Lord Snow", and while admitting it is heavy on exposition he felt it worked "because the stories are being told with such passion". IGN's Matt Fowler wrote that "Lord Snow" was "dense and filled with tons of exposition and backstory, which may or may not have interested those new to this story - but I found myself hanging on every precious word."
Some of the scenes were highly praised by reviewers. The closing scene with Arya taking her first lesson from the Braavosi Syrio Forel was highlighted. Maureen Ryan from Aol TV stated that it was her favorite scene of the series so far, and James Hibberd remarked upon the quality of all the child actors of the show and stated that Maisie Williams owned her role in this episode. Other scenes that were noted by the critics were the father-daughter dialogue with Eddard Stark and Arya, King Robert remembering with the members of his Kingsguard their first killings, and Eddard attending his first session of the closed council.
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...
. It first aired on May 1, 2011. It was written by the show creators 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 series regular Brian Kirk
Brian Kirk
Brian Kirk is an Irish television director who has most recently directed episodes of Game of Thrones, FX's The Riches and Showtime's Brotherhood and The Tudors...
. Critical reception was mixed, but viewership was up 10% from the first two episodes of the series.
The plot follows Jon Snow's training at The Wall; Eddard's arrival at King's Landing, followed by Catelyn, looking for Bran's would-be murderer; Arya reveals her desire to learn sword fighting to her father; Joffrey is given a lesson in ruling the Kingdom by Cersei, and Robert longs for the glory of his past. Meanwhile, Daenerys learns she is pregnant. The episode was the first to feature Old Nan, played by Margaret John
Margaret John
Margaret John was a Welsh, BAFTA award-winning actress, best known for her role as Doris in Gavin & Stacey. She has been described, by fellow actress Ruth Jones, as "an absolute national treasure".-Early life:...
who died before the series was broadcast; the episode is dedicated to her memory in the final credit.
Across the Narrow Sea
Daenerys (Emilia ClarkeEmilia 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:...
) is beginning to gain confidence in her new role as the Khal's wife, and gains the respect of the exiled knight Ser Jorah Mormont (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...
). But the relationship with her brother Viserys (Harry Lloyd
Harry Lloyd
Harry Lloyd is an English actor. He played Will Scarlet in the first two seasons of the BBC drama Robin Hood which began in 2006...
) becomes strained when he angrily assaults her under the assumption that she is giving him commands. As punishment, he is choked and nearly killed by Daenerys's bloodrider Rakharo (Elyes Gabel
Elyes Gabel
Elyes Gabel is a British Asian actor who played Dr Gupreet "Guppy" Sandhu in the BBC medical drama, Casualty. He starred as PE teacher Rob Cleaver in BBC drama, Waterloo Road and appeared in the ITV Drama Identity...
) and forced to walk back to camp after Daenerys intervenes to spare his life.
Irri (Amrita Acharia) notices that Daenerys is pregnant, and shares the news with Jorah and Rakharo. Rather than be pleased, Jorah mysteriously departs for Qohor for supplies. In their tent, Daenerys reveals to Drogo (Jason Momoa
Jason 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...
) that their child is a boy.
In the North
With Bran (Isaac Hempstead-Wright) now awake, Old Nan (Margaret JohnMargaret John
Margaret John was a Welsh, BAFTA award-winning actress, best known for her role as Doris in Gavin & Stacey. She has been described, by fellow actress Ruth Jones, as "an absolute national treasure".-Early life:...
) tells him a tale of a long-ago endless winter, where the White Walkers first appeared riding their dead horses and raising Wights from the men they slaughtered. Her story is interrupted by 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 :...
) who sadly confirms to Bran that his injuries are permanent, and he'll never walk again. Bran, unable to remember anything about his fall, wishes he were dead.
At King's Landing
Eddard's party arrives at King's Landing. Eddard (Sean BeanSean 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...
) is immediately summoned to a meeting of the king's Small Council. On his way through the throne room he encounters Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and it is revealed that Jaime killed the Mad King Aerys Targaryen. Jaime reminds Eddard that Aerys killed Eddard's father and brother; Eddard does not consider this grounds for Jaime to break his oath as a knight of the Kingsguard.
Eddard joins the Small Council, consisting of the king's brother, Lord Renly (Gethin Anthony), the eunuch
Eunuch
A eunuch is a person born male most commonly castrated, typically early enough in his life for this change to have major hormonal consequences...
Lord Varys (Conleth Hill
Conleth 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....
), Grand Maester Pycelle (Julian Glover
Julian Glover
Julian Wyatt Glover is a British actor best known for such roles as General Maximilian Veers in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, the Bond villain Aristotle Kristatos in For Your Eyes Only, and Walter Donovan in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.-Personal life:Glover was born in...
) and the master of Coin Lord Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish (Aidan Gillen
Aidan Gillen
Aidan Gillen is an Irish stage and screen actor and television presenter. He is known in Ireland for his role in Love/Hate, in the UK for his role in Queer as Folk and in the US for his role in HBO's television series The Wire in which he plays Tommy Carcetti and for his role in Game of Thrones as...
). Littlefinger once dueled Eddard's brother for Catelyn's hand in marriage, and implies that he is still in love with her. Renly announces that Robert plans to hold a great tourney in honor of Eddard's appointment as the hand of the king. Eddard learns that the crown is heavily indebted, primarily to the queen's father, Lord Tywin Lannister.
Catelyn has arrived in King's Landing, supposedly in secret. However, she is taken by a pair of city watchmen to a brothel owned by Littlefinger. He meets her there and tells her that he had her brought there to keep her safe and anonymous. Varys, also present, reveals that he learned of Catelyn's arrival through his spies. The three of them and Ser Rodrick (Ron Donachie) discuss the attempted murder of Bran. Littlefinger shocks them all by admitting that the assassin's dagger was once his own. He claims that he lost it in a bet with Tyrion Lannister; betting on Jaime Lannister to win a previous tourney. Littlefinger arranges a meeting between Eddard and his wife, and Lord Stark reluctantly takes on Littlefinger as an ally who will help them find Bran's assailant.
After Catelyn leaves the capital, Eddard returns to his keep only to find his daughters are arguing. 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...
) is furious at Sansa (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...
) for lying to protect Joffrey. Ned reminds her that Joffrey is a prince, and will be king one day with Sansa as his wife. Learning that his younger daughter aspires to be a swordsman, and has a sword of her own, he hires a Braavosi "water dancer", Syrio Forel (Miltos Yerolemou) to teach her the art of swordsmanship.
At the Wall
Jon has joined the other recruits under the firm hand of Ser Alliser Thorne (Owen TealeOwen Teale
Owen Teale is a Welsh actor.Trained at the Guildford School of Acting, Teale made his television debut in The Mimosa Boys in 1984. He later appeared in Knights of God , Great Expectations , Waterfront Beat and Boon before being cast as Will Scarlet in the 1991 TV movie Robin Hood...
), and easily beats every opponent sent against him. Ser Alliser berates them all for their poor performance, but has no kind words for Jon, dubbing him "Lord Snow" to mock his bastard heritage and telling him "You're the least useless person here." Disheartened, Jon asks Benjen (Joseph Mawle
Joseph Mawle
-Biography:Mawle graduated from Bristol Old Vic Theatre School in 2002 in the same year he appeared in the Irish Hurling TV adverts for Guinness. He began work in the theatre prior to training at Bristol mainly for Box Clever Theatre Company and in his own production of 'Solo Hamlet'He landed his...
) to take him in a several-month-long ranging north of the Wall, but his uncle shoots him down telling him, "Here a man gets only what he earns, when he earns it."
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...
) informs Jon that he isn't "better" than any of his new "brothers", but only more fortunate, as he was trained by a master-at-arms, while the others are all orphan boys or criminals, who have likely never held a sword before today. To make amends, Jon decides to teach his fellow recruits proper sword training. Later, Tyrion is beseeched by Lord Commander Mormont and the ancient, blind Maester Aemon (Peter Vaughan
Peter Vaughan
Peter Vaughan is an English character actor, known for many supporting roles in a variety of British film and television productions. He has worked extensively on the stage, becoming known for roles such as police inspectors, Soviet agents and similar parts...
) to ask his sister and brother-in-law for more men for the Night's Watch. Before leaving the Wall, Tyrion fulfills his ambition to urinate off the top of the Wall and says goodbye to Jon, who finally accepts Tyrion as a friend.
Writing
"Lord Snow" was written by the show creators and executive producers 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...
. "Lord Snow" includes the chapters 19–23 and parts of 24 and 25 (Catelyn IV, Jon III, Eddard IV, Tyrion III, Arya II, Daenerys III, Bran IV).
The events in the series are notably faithful to the book. In one notable exception, Catelyn and Rodrick arrive in King's Landing via the Kingsroad and after Ned's party, rather than having taken a ship and arrived first as in the book. Some scenes were also created for the series, most notably a conversation between Joffrey and Cersei about what it will mean when he is king, and Ned's confrontation with Jaime in the throne room. There are also scenes that flesh out the characters of Irri and Rakharo.
Casting
The third episode introduces a lot of new characters to the story, due to the expansion of the story to the new locales of King's Landing and the Wall.In the capital city the members of the council are presented. Series regular Aidan Gillen
Aidan Gillen
Aidan Gillen is an Irish stage and screen actor and television presenter. He is known in Ireland for his role in Love/Hate, in the UK for his role in Queer as Folk and in the US for his role in HBO's television series The Wire in which he plays Tommy Carcetti and for his role in Game of Thrones as...
, known for his roles in Queer as Folk
Queer as Folk (UK TV series)
Queer as Folk is a 1999 British television series that chronicles the lives of three gay men living in Manchester's gay village around Canal Street. Both Queer as Folk and Queer as Folk 2 were written by Russell T Davies...
and The Wire
The WIRE
the WIRE is the student-run College radio station at the University of Oklahoma, broadcasting in a freeform format. The WIRE serves the University of Oklahoma and surrounding communities, and is staffed by student DJs. The WIRE broadcasts at 1710 kHz AM in Norman, Oklahoma...
takes the role of Lord Petyr Baelish, the king's master of coin known as "Littlefinger". Gethin Anthony plays the king's youngest brother Renly Baratheon, and veteran actor Julian Glover
Julian Glover
Julian Wyatt Glover is a British actor best known for such roles as General Maximilian Veers in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, the Bond villain Aristotle Kristatos in For Your Eyes Only, and Walter Donovan in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.-Personal life:Glover was born in...
, well know to science fiction and fantasy fans after appearing in films such as The Empire Strikes Back and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is a 1989 American adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg, from a story co-written by executive producer George Lucas. It is the third film in the Indiana Jones franchise. Harrison Ford reprises the title role and Sean Connery plays Indiana's father, Henry...
, was cast as Grand Maester Pycelle after actor Roy Dotrice
Roy Dotrice
Roy Dotrice, OBE is a British actor known for his Tony Award-winning Broadway performance in the revival of A Moon for the Misbegotten.-Life and career:...
had to be replaced for medical reasons. Author George R. R. Martin wrote on the casting of Conleth Hill
Conleth 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....
as spymaster Varys: "Hill, like Varys, is quite a chameleon, an actor who truly disappears inside the characters he portrays, more than capable not only of bringing the slimy, simpering eunuch to life". Ian McElhinney plays Ser Barristan Selmy, the commander of the Kingsguard, and Miltos Yorelemou appears as the fencing instructor Syrio Forel. McElhinney had previously played Gillen's father in Queer as Folk.
The hierarchy of the Wall is introduced with James Cosmo
James 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...
as commander Jeor Mormont, Peter Vaughan
Peter Vaughan
Peter Vaughan is an English character actor, known for many supporting roles in a variety of British film and television productions. He has worked extensively on the stage, becoming known for roles such as police inspectors, Soviet agents and similar parts...
as the blind maester Aemon, Owen Teale
Owen Teale
Owen Teale is a Welsh actor.Trained at the Guildford School of Acting, Teale made his television debut in The Mimosa Boys in 1984. He later appeared in Knights of God , Great Expectations , Waterfront Beat and Boon before being cast as Will Scarlet in the 1991 TV movie Robin Hood...
as the trainer of the new recruits Ser Alliser Thorne, and Francis Magee as the recruiter Yoren.
This episode also marks the first appearance of the Welsh actress Margaret John
Margaret John
Margaret John was a Welsh, BAFTA award-winning actress, best known for her role as Doris in Gavin & Stacey. She has been described, by fellow actress Ruth Jones, as "an absolute national treasure".-Early life:...
as Old Nan. 84 year old Margaret John died on 2 February 2011, few months after having finished recording her scenes in Game of Thrones, which was her last role on television. With a 50-year acting career, she is remembered for her role of Doris on the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
television show Gavin and Stacy. Executive producers David Benioff and Dan Weiss issued a statement grieving her passing. The episode "Lord Snow" is dedicated to her, with the last credit being "In the memory of Margaret John".
Finally Robert Sterne, a member of the show Nina Gold's casting team, had a cameo role as the steward that greets Ned when he arrives at King's Landing. Guest star Gethin Anthony praised him for his skill as an actor.
Filming locations
To film the scenes at the Wall the production built a set on the abandoned quarry of MagheramorneMagheramorne
Magheramorne is a hamlet in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is about 5 miles south of Larne on the shores of Larne Lough. It had a population of 75 people in the 2001 Census. It is within the Larne Borough Council area....
, a few minutes north of Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
. The composite set (with both exteriors and interiors) consisted of a large section of Castle Black including the courtyard, the ravenry, the mess hall and the barracks, and used the stone wall of the quarry as the basis for the ice wall that protects Westeros from the dangers that dwell beyond. They also made a real elevator to lift the rangers to the top of the Wall.
For the streets of King's Landing, the production flew to Malta. The gate of Fort Ricasoli doubled as the The King's Gate, shown at the beginning of the episode when the royal entourage enters the city. The entrance of the Red Keep used when Catelyn and Rodrik enter the fortification corresponds to Gate of Mdina
Mdina
Mdina, Città Vecchia, or Città Notabile, is the old capital of Malta. Mdina is a medieval walled town situated on a hill in the centre of the island. Punic remains uncovered beyond the city’s walls suggest the importance of the general region to Malta’s Phoenician settlers. Mdina is commonly...
, and also in Mdina the Pjazza Mesquita is the location for the entrance to the brothel owned by Lord Baelish.
Other
On the scene where Old Nan offers to tell Bran stories, she claims that his favorites are the ones about Ser Duncan the Tall. The tales of Duncan and his squire EggTales of Dunk and Egg
The Tales of Dunk and Egg is a series of novellas written by George R. R. Martin, set in the world of his Song of Ice and Fire cycle. Three novellas have appeared so far: The Hedge Knight, The Sworn Sword and The Mystery Knight...
are a series of novellas written by author George R. R. Martin, taking place about a hundred year before the events of Game of Thrones.
Ratings
"Lord Snow"'s first airing was seen by 2.4 million viewers, which represented a 10% increase in the ratings from the two previous episodes. Combined with the second airing it reached 3.1 million viewers, which were considered good results especially considering that the news of Bin Laden's deathDeath of Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden, then head of the Islamist militant group al-Qaeda, was killed in Pakistan on May 2, 2011, shortly after 1 a.m. local time by a United States special forces military unit....
broke during the West Coast airing of the series.
In the UK the viewership figures were in line with those obtained on the previous week, with around 510,000 viewers. Those figures are in the top end for the network, Sky Atlantic
Sky Atlantic
Sky Atlantic is a television channel owned by British Sky Broadcasting, which launched on 1 February 2011 on Sky in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland....
.
Critical response
While the majority of the critics gave "Lord Snow" a positive review, many suggested that it suffered from having to introduce many new characters and locations. Therefore, while having many very good moments on their own, it felt like a collection of loosely connected scenes that did not build up to a climax. Myles McNutt wrote at Cultural Learnings that it was "perhaps the most narratively uninteresting episode of the first six", although he highlighted that it was "hardly a bad episode of television, filled as it is with satisfying sequences that capture many themes key to the series", and added that many issues introduced in this episode had a payoff in future installments. Entertainment WeeklyEntertainment Weekly
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James Hibberd also thought that it was his least favorite episode of the first six, due to too much character development. However, Alan Sepinwall from HitFix
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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...
, liked the "more rambling quality of "Lord Snow", and while admitting it is heavy on exposition he felt it worked "because the stories are being told with such passion". IGN's Matt Fowler wrote that "Lord Snow" was "dense and filled with tons of exposition and backstory, which may or may not have interested those new to this story - but I found myself hanging on every precious word."
Some of the scenes were highly praised by reviewers. The closing scene with Arya taking her first lesson from the Braavosi Syrio Forel was highlighted. Maureen Ryan from Aol TV stated that it was her favorite scene of the series so far, and James Hibberd remarked upon the quality of all the child actors of the show and stated that Maisie Williams owned her role in this episode. Other scenes that were noted by the critics were the father-daughter dialogue with Eddard Stark and Arya, King Robert remembering with the members of his Kingsguard their first killings, and Eddard attending his first session of the closed council.