The Pointy End
Encyclopedia
"The Pointy End" is the eighth episode of the HBO medieval fantasy
television series Game of Thrones
, first aired on June 5, 2011. The episode is significant in that it was written by George R. R. Martin
, the author of the book series
the tv show is based on. It was directed by Daniel Minahan.
The plot deals with the aftermath of Eddard Stark's capture. While the Lannisters are going after his daughters, his son and heir Robb raises an army to give battle. Meanwhile, Daenerys witnesses a Dothraki raid to a peaceful village and Jon Snow faces a new threat at the Wall.
The episode's title recalls the first lesson about sword fighting that Jon gave to Arya before their farewell: "stick them with the pointy end".
) downfall and imprisonment following his failed attempt to arrest Joffrey (Jack Gleeson) and Cersei (Lena Headley), the Lannisters move against the rest of his household. While they manage to capture Sansa (Sophie Turner
), Arya (Maisie Williams
) is able to escape thanks to her fencing teacher Syrio (Miltos Yerolemou) who holds off the Lannister men. As Arya runs outside looking for her sword, Needle, a stable boy sees her and tries to capture her, but she inadvertently stabs him in self-defense before fleeing the castle walls.
Cersei convinces Sansa that in order to save her father's life, she has to write a letter to her brother Robb and tell him to come to King's Landing and swear his fealty to Joffrey. Later, court is held by the new king, where Joffrey and Cersei reward Janos Slynt, the Captain of the City Watch, with the title of Lordship while Tywin Lannister (Charles Dance
) is named the new Hand of the King. However, Joffrey forces Ser Barristan Selmy (Ian McElhinney) into early retirement as Lord Commander of the Kingsguard and gives his post to Jaime, much to Barristan's anger since the Kingsguard are meant to serve for life; furious, Selmy throws his sword at Joffrey's feet and storms out in disgust. Sansa takes the opportunity to plead mercy for her father's life publicly, and Joffrey agrees to spare him if Ned accepts him as the rightful king.
) and Bronn (Jerome Flynn
) head towards Tywin Lannister's camp, they are surrounded by a barbarian hill tribe. Tyrion manages to convince them to spare them and be his escorts after promising them gold, weapons and an army to help them attack the Eyrie, the tribe's longtime enemy. Tywin is displeased, but agrees to keep Tyrion's promises if the hill tribes join them against the Starks. The tribesmen agree, but want Tyrion to follow their group as insurance, much to Tyrion's displeasure.
) confronts her sister Lysa (Kate Dickie
) about the letter sent over the recent events at King's Landing. After failing to convince Lysa to send her knights to help the Starks against the Lannisters (as she only cares for the safety of her son Robin (Lino Facioli
)), Catelyn leaves the Eyrie.
) knows that Cersei is manipulating Sansa, so he calls all of his family's bannermen to go to war with the Lannisters, much to Theon Greyjoy's (Alfie Allen) pleasure. After gaining the respect of bannerman Lord Greatjon Umber (Clive Mantle
) and saying goodbye to Bran and leaving him in charge of Winterfell, Robb and his army marches South and is later joined by his mother Catelyn. During a war council where Robb is pondering whether to attack Tywin's forces or Jaime's forces, his men capture a Lannister scout who Robb decides to let go but with a message to Tywin that he and the Northerners are coming for him.
), Samwell Tarly (John Bradley) and their party return to the Wall after finding two dead bodies, which Commander Mormont (James Cosmo
) recognizes as Benjen's fellow rangers who followed him and wants their bodies examined, despite Sam's worries that, despite both men having been dead for weeks, there is no sign of decay on their corpses. Later, Mormont informs Jon over the recent events happening outside of the Wall and warns him not to lose his cool as he still has a commitment to the Night's Watch. However, Jon loses his temper after Ser Alliser (Owen Teale
) mocks Jon about his father being a traitor; enraged. Jon tries to attack Thorne with a knife, only to be held back by his companions. Disappointed, Mormont orders Jon to be confined to his quarters.
But later that night, Jon's direwolf, Ghost, detects something outside which Jon investigates and head towards Mormont's quarters. As he enters, Jon is attacked by one of the dead rangers he found, now resurrected as a wight
. The undead creature proves immune to Jon's sword; it continues to attack even after losing one of its arms and being run through. As Mormont enters, Jon grabs his lantern and throws it at the wight, finally killing it. The next morning, Mormont and the Night's Watch burn the two bodies, and Sam tells them that he read that corpses touched by the White Walkers are reanimated, and can only be killed by fire.
) horde sack a village in order to fund the ships they need to invade the Seven Kingdoms, and Daenerys (Emilia Clarke
) is shocked by their brutality. After witnessing a group of Dothraki raiders gathering several village women to be sold into slavery, Daenerys orders Ser Jorah (Iain Glen
) and her bodyguards to claim those women as hers. When one of the raiders complains to Drogo, she defends her actions as her right as khaleesi and if the raiders want the women, they take them as wives, not slaves. Impressed, Drogo sides with his wife which displeases the raider who challenges the Khal to a duel, in which Drogo quickly kills him while receiving only a minor wound. Daenerys is worried about Drogo's wound. Drogo reluctantly allows one of the spared villagers, a healer by the name of Mirri Maz Duur, to treat his wounds.
's author George R. R. Martin
.
Martin had extensive experience in scripting for television after spending many years working in Hollywood, but it had been a decade since he had produced a teleplay. He claimed that he found writing this episode very easy because he was very familiar with the characters and the story, and that the hardest part was "getting used to the new screenwriting software that I had to use".
He delivered the first draft of the script to the show's executive producers David Benioff
and D. B. Weiss
on May 1, 2010, admitting that it was probably "too long and too expensive". Actually, the scene that Martin wrote with Robb Stark calling his father's Northern bannermen, with a montage depicting the eight different castles receiving the letters and riding out, was deemed impossible to film.
The chapters of the book covered in this episode are Tyrion VI, Arya IV, Sansa IV, Jon VII, Bran VI, Catelyn VIII, Tyrion VII, Sansa V, Eddard XV and Daenerys VII (43, 51 to 54, 56 to 59 and 62). Among the new scenes created for the show are Robb's decision to call the banners, the confrontation at the Eyrie between Catelyn and her sister Lysa, and the subplot of the captured Lannister spy. Other changes from the books include making Arya's killing of the stableboy more of an accident than a deliberate murder (although fear driven), the reduction of most of the bannermen of the North (Rickard Karstark, Roose Bolton, the Manderlys and the Glovers are not introduced), and Drogo receiving a wound not fighting another khalasar but one of his men that resents Daenerys' influence over him.
The first scenes that depict Tyrion descending with Bronn from the Mountains of the Moon and encountering the clansmen were intended to belong to episode 7
. Therefore they were not written by Martin, but by episode seven's authors David Benioff and D. B. Weiss. As is commonplace in television series, the scene was moved from one episode to another during editing.
takes the role of the Northern bannerman Lord Jon Umber, known as the Greatjon for his size, and Ian Gelder
enters the scene as Lord Tywin's brother and right-hand man Ser Kevan Lannister.
Exterior filming of both the Stark and Lannister war camps was shot on location in the Castle Ward
estate, near the village of Strangford
. Within the estate there is Audley's Castle
, which doubled as the ruined remains of one of Moat Cailin's towers seen when Catelyn and Rodrik join Robb's army.
The scenes at the village of the Lamb Men that is sacked by the Dothraki were filmed towards the end of October 2010 in Malta
, at the farming town of Manikata. And for the exteriors of the Red Keep where Arya recovers Needle the production used San Anton Palace
.
, who claimed it was the best episode yet, and that she was "extremely impressed with how many moving parts were deployed smoothly and how the hour just flowed", which was even more impressive when "considering all the varied things it had to do". IGN
's Matt Fowler remarked that this mostly Ned-less episode was very busy and enjoyed the fact that Robb got to share in the spotlight as we witnessed a bit of his "maturation."
The episode's multiple perspectives were touched upon by commenters: James Hibberd wrote for Entertainment Weekly
that "for a show that can often seem disjointed due by having so many storylines unfolding in different locations, this was the most cohesive episode we've seen yet, as the entire realm was impacted by Ned Stark being arrested for treason". At HitFix
Alan Sepinwall called it "by far the busiest episode of the series to date", remarking that not only moved "pieces around the chess board to set things up for the season's final two episodes" but also included "some crackling dialogue, a few good character moments and some of the best action the show has featured to date." David Sims, from the A.V. Club
, said the episode "masterfully kept us abreast of everything going on, while sticking to the point-of-view style the show has held from the start." In Cultural Learning's reviewer Myles McNutt found the episode "filled with moments where much is done with very little. We don't really spend a sustained period in any one location, with only brief scenes possible to establish some pretty substantial story developments."
Many critics considered that a great part of the episode's merits were due to the writing of George R. R. Martin. Sepinwall felt that "Martin didn't get the easiest draw when he wound up having to dramatize the events depicted in "The Pointy End"", but still loved the results. Mo Ryan concluded that anyone who was doubting whether Martin had forgotten about writing television scripts should put now their doubts to rest. The "expert" review from the A.V. club by Todd VanDerWerff noted "a definite sense of Martin's hand at work here. Characters that have never quite worked onscreen—like Sansa—suddenly feel much more alive. Characters that have been working—like Tyrion and Arya—get lots of fun stuff to play that never once feels labored."
The scenes with Sansa Stark becoming a Lannister hostage were also reviewed. According to Elio Garcia, from westeros.org, "Sophie Turner
really shines in her scenes. There are a lot of people out there who judge Sansa very harshly, but you would have to have a heart of stone not to sympathize with her plight in this episode" Many reviewers agreed with this sentiment, commenting on the transition from a "spoiled brat" to a young and confused, but still courageous teenager.
Time's James Poniewozik emphasized the growth of Robb Stark's character, praising both Martin's writing and Richard Madden's acting. Ryan highlighted the scene where Syrio Forel confronts the Lannister men to allow Arya to escape, which in her opinion had been masterfully staged by all actors and director Daniel Minahan.
Vicinanza was the literary agent that handled George R. R. Martin foreign language rights, and one of the co-founders of the management company Created By aimed to develop feature films and television shows based on the works of Ralph's clients (with his partner Vince Gerardis). He was instrumental in bringing Martin's work to the screen, bringing the books to David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, and leading the negotiations with HBO. He died only a few days after HBO greenlighted the series.
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 5, 2011. The episode is significant in that it was written 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...
, the author of the book series
A Song of Ice and Fire
A Song of Ice and Fire is a series of epic fantasy novels by American novelist and screenwriter George R. R. Martin. Martin began writing the series in 1991 and the first volume was published in 1996. Originally planned as a trilogy, the series now consists of five published volumes; a further two...
the tv show is based on. It was directed by Daniel Minahan.
The plot deals with the aftermath of Eddard Stark's capture. While the Lannisters are going after his daughters, his son and heir Robb raises an army to give battle. Meanwhile, Daenerys witnesses a Dothraki raid to a peaceful village and Jon Snow faces a new threat at the Wall.
The episode's title recalls the first lesson about sword fighting that Jon gave to Arya before their farewell: "stick them with the pointy end".
At King's Landing
After Ned's (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...
) downfall and imprisonment following his failed attempt to arrest Joffrey (Jack Gleeson) and Cersei (Lena Headley), the Lannisters move against the rest of his household. While they manage to capture 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...
), 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 able to escape thanks to her fencing teacher Syrio (Miltos Yerolemou) who holds off the Lannister men. As Arya runs outside looking for her sword, Needle, a stable boy sees her and tries to capture her, but she inadvertently stabs him in self-defense before fleeing the castle walls.
Cersei convinces Sansa that in order to save her father's life, she has to write a letter to her brother Robb and tell him to come to King's Landing and swear his fealty to Joffrey. Later, court is held by the new king, where Joffrey and Cersei reward Janos Slynt, the Captain of the City Watch, with the title of Lordship while Tywin Lannister (Charles Dance
Charles 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 ,...
) is named the new Hand of the King. However, Joffrey forces Ser Barristan Selmy (Ian McElhinney) into early retirement as Lord Commander of the Kingsguard and gives his post to Jaime, much to Barristan's anger since the Kingsguard are meant to serve for life; furious, Selmy throws his sword at Joffrey's feet and storms out in disgust. Sansa takes the opportunity to plead mercy for her father's life publicly, and Joffrey agrees to spare him if Ned accepts him as the rightful king.
At the Lannister Camp
As Tyrion (Peter DinklagePeter 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...
) and 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....
) head towards Tywin Lannister's camp, they are surrounded by a barbarian hill tribe. Tyrion manages to convince them to spare them and be his escorts after promising them gold, weapons and an army to help them attack the Eyrie, the tribe's longtime enemy. Tywin is displeased, but agrees to keep Tyrion's promises if the hill tribes join them against the Starks. The tribesmen agree, but want Tyrion to follow their group as insurance, much to Tyrion's displeasure.
In the Vale
Catelyn (Michelle FairleyMichelle 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,...
) confronts her sister Lysa (Kate Dickie
Kate Dickie
Kate Dickie is a Scottish actress who has appeared in television series, stage plays and films. She is best-known for her portrayal as the security camera operative Jackie in her starring debut Red Road, directed by Andrea Arnold, and for which she was given several awards as best actress, among...
) about the letter sent over the recent events at King's Landing. After failing to convince Lysa to send her knights to help the Starks against the Lannisters (as she only cares for the safety of her son Robin (Lino Facioli
Lino Facioli
Lino Schmidek Facioli is a Brazilian child actor, who lives in London since 2005. He is known for his roles as Naples in Get Him to the Greek , Lino in the Daniel Florencio short film 'Awfully Deep' and...
)), Catelyn leaves the Eyrie.
In the North
After receiving his sister's letter, Robb (Richard MaddenRichard 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 :...
) knows that Cersei is manipulating Sansa, so he calls all of his family's bannermen to go to war with the Lannisters, much to Theon Greyjoy's (Alfie Allen) pleasure. After gaining the respect of bannerman Lord Greatjon Umber (Clive Mantle
Clive Mantle
-Early life and education:Mantle was born in Barnet, Hertfordshire. He was a pupil at Kimbolton School, Cambridgeshire and a chorister in St John's College Choir for four years...
) and saying goodbye to Bran and leaving him in charge of Winterfell, Robb and his army marches South and is later joined by his mother Catelyn. During a war council where Robb is pondering whether to attack Tywin's forces or Jaime's forces, his men capture a Lannister scout who Robb decides to let go but with a message to Tywin that he and the Northerners are coming for him.
At the Wall
Jon Snow (Kit HaringtonKit 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...
), Samwell Tarly (John Bradley) and their party return to the Wall after finding two dead bodies, which Commander Mormont (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...
) recognizes as Benjen's fellow rangers who followed him and wants their bodies examined, despite Sam's worries that, despite both men having been dead for weeks, there is no sign of decay on their corpses. Later, Mormont informs Jon over the recent events happening outside of the Wall and warns him not to lose his cool as he still has a commitment to the Night's Watch. However, Jon loses his temper after Ser Alliser (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...
) mocks Jon about his father being a traitor; enraged. Jon tries to attack Thorne with a knife, only to be held back by his companions. Disappointed, Mormont orders Jon to be confined to his quarters.
But later that night, Jon's direwolf, Ghost, detects something outside which Jon investigates and head towards Mormont's quarters. As he enters, Jon is attacked by one of the dead rangers he found, now resurrected as a wight
Wight
Wight is a Middle English word, from Old English wiht, and used to describe a creature or living sentient being. It is akin to Old High German wiht, meaning a creature or thing.In its original usage the word wight described a living human being...
. The undead creature proves immune to Jon's sword; it continues to attack even after losing one of its arms and being run through. As Mormont enters, Jon grabs his lantern and throws it at the wight, finally killing it. The next morning, Mormont and the Night's Watch burn the two bodies, and Sam tells them that he read that corpses touched by the White Walkers are reanimated, and can only be killed by fire.
Across the Narrow Sea
Khal Drogo's (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...
) horde sack a village in order to fund the ships they need to invade the Seven Kingdoms, 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:...
) is shocked by their brutality. After witnessing a group of Dothraki raiders gathering several village women to be sold into slavery, Daenerys orders 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...
) and her bodyguards to claim those women as hers. When one of the raiders complains to Drogo, she defends her actions as her right as khaleesi and if the raiders want the women, they take them as wives, not slaves. Impressed, Drogo sides with his wife which displeases the raider who challenges the Khal to a duel, in which Drogo quickly kills him while receiving only a minor wound. Daenerys is worried about Drogo's wound. Drogo reluctantly allows one of the spared villagers, a healer by the name of Mirri Maz Duur, to treat his wounds.
Writing
This episode was written by the original bookA 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...
's author 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...
.
Martin had extensive experience in scripting for television after spending many years working in Hollywood, but it had been a decade since he had produced a teleplay. He claimed that he found writing this episode very easy because he was very familiar with the characters and the story, and that the hardest part was "getting used to the new screenwriting software that I had to use".
He delivered the first draft of the script to the show's 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...
on May 1, 2010, admitting that it was probably "too long and too expensive". Actually, the scene that Martin wrote with Robb Stark calling his father's Northern bannermen, with a montage depicting the eight different castles receiving the letters and riding out, was deemed impossible to film.
The chapters of the book covered in this episode are Tyrion VI, Arya IV, Sansa IV, Jon VII, Bran VI, Catelyn VIII, Tyrion VII, Sansa V, Eddard XV and Daenerys VII (43, 51 to 54, 56 to 59 and 62). Among the new scenes created for the show are Robb's decision to call the banners, the confrontation at the Eyrie between Catelyn and her sister Lysa, and the subplot of the captured Lannister spy. Other changes from the books include making Arya's killing of the stableboy more of an accident than a deliberate murder (although fear driven), the reduction of most of the bannermen of the North (Rickard Karstark, Roose Bolton, the Manderlys and the Glovers are not introduced), and Drogo receiving a wound not fighting another khalasar but one of his men that resents Daenerys' influence over him.
The first scenes that depict Tyrion descending with Bronn from the Mountains of the Moon and encountering the clansmen were intended to belong to episode 7
You Win or You Die
"You Win or You Die" is the seventh episode of the HBO medieval fantasy television series Game of Thrones, written by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss and directed by Daniel Minahan...
. Therefore they were not written by Martin, but by episode seven's authors David Benioff and D. B. Weiss. As is commonplace in television series, the scene was moved from one episode to another during editing.
Casting
"The Pointy End" marks the first appearances of two significant recurrent characters in the book series: Clive MantleClive Mantle
-Early life and education:Mantle was born in Barnet, Hertfordshire. He was a pupil at Kimbolton School, Cambridgeshire and a chorister in St John's College Choir for four years...
takes the role of the Northern bannerman Lord Jon Umber, known as the Greatjon for his size, and Ian Gelder
Ian Gelder
Ian Gelder is an English actor who appeared in the TV movie of Rumpole of the Bailey as his university lecturer son. He has also played many other roles on stage and screen. His partner is actor Ben Daniels...
enters the scene as Lord Tywin's brother and right-hand man Ser Kevan Lannister.
Filming locations
The episode's interiors were filmed at The Paint Hall studio, in Belfast, including all the Red Keep and Winterfell sets.Exterior filming of both the Stark and Lannister war camps was shot on location in the Castle Ward
Castle 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, near the village of Strangford
Strangford
Strangford is a small village at the mouth of Strangford Lough in County Down, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 475 people at the 2001 Census.On the other side of the lough is Portaferry and there is a ferry service between the two villages...
. Within the estate there is Audley's Castle
Audley's Castle
Audley's Castle, is a 15th century castle located 1 mile north-east of Strangford, County Down, Northern Ireland, on a rocky height overlooking Strangford Lough. It is a three-storey Tower house named after its 16th century owner, John Audley...
, which doubled as the ruined remains of one of Moat Cailin's towers seen when Catelyn and Rodrik join Robb's army.
The scenes at the village of the Lamb Men that is sacked by the Dothraki were filmed towards the end of October 2010 in Malta
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...
, at the farming town of Manikata. And for the exteriors of the Red Keep where Arya recovers Needle the production used San Anton Palace
San Anton Palace
San Anton Palace is a palace located in Attard, Malta. It is the official residence of the President of Malta, and is surrounded by both private and public gardens.-History:...
.
Ratings
This episode reached a season high of 2.7 million viewers for the first airing, with another additional 900,000 for the repeat thus gathering a total viewership of 3.6 million for the night.Critical response
"The Pointy End" received very favorable reviews by the critics. Among the most enthusiastic was Maureen Ryan from AOL TVAOL 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....
, who claimed it was the best episode yet, and that she was "extremely impressed with how many moving parts were deployed smoothly and how the hour just flowed", which was even more impressive when "considering all the varied things it had to do". IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
's Matt Fowler remarked that this mostly Ned-less episode was very busy and enjoyed the fact that Robb got to share in the spotlight as we witnessed a bit of his "maturation."
The episode's multiple perspectives were touched upon by commenters: James Hibberd wrote for Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
that "for a show that can often seem disjointed due by having so many storylines unfolding in different locations, this was the most cohesive episode we've seen yet, as the entire realm was impacted by Ned Stark being arrested for treason". At 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...
Alan Sepinwall called it "by far the busiest episode of the series to date", remarking that not only moved "pieces around the chess board to set things up for the season's final two episodes" but also included "some crackling dialogue, a few good character moments and some of the best action the show has featured to date." David Sims, from 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...
, said the episode "masterfully kept us abreast of everything going on, while sticking to the point-of-view style the show has held from the start." In Cultural Learning's reviewer Myles McNutt found the episode "filled with moments where much is done with very little. We don't really spend a sustained period in any one location, with only brief scenes possible to establish some pretty substantial story developments."
Many critics considered that a great part of the episode's merits were due to the writing of George R. R. Martin. Sepinwall felt that "Martin didn't get the easiest draw when he wound up having to dramatize the events depicted in "The Pointy End"", but still loved the results. Mo Ryan concluded that anyone who was doubting whether Martin had forgotten about writing television scripts should put now their doubts to rest. The "expert" review from the A.V. club by Todd VanDerWerff noted "a definite sense of Martin's hand at work here. Characters that have never quite worked onscreen—like Sansa—suddenly feel much more alive. Characters that have been working—like Tyrion and Arya—get lots of fun stuff to play that never once feels labored."
The scenes with Sansa Stark becoming a Lannister hostage were also reviewed. According to Elio Garcia, from westeros.org, "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...
really shines in her scenes. There are a lot of people out there who judge Sansa very harshly, but you would have to have a heart of stone not to sympathize with her plight in this episode" Many reviewers agreed with this sentiment, commenting on the transition from a "spoiled brat" to a young and confused, but still courageous teenager.
Time's James Poniewozik emphasized the growth of Robb Stark's character, praising both Martin's writing and Richard Madden's acting. Ryan highlighted the scene where Syrio Forel confronts the Lannister men to allow Arya to escape, which in her opinion had been masterfully staged by all actors and director Daniel Minahan.
Dedication
The episode is dedicated to the memory of Ralph Vicinanza. He had been one of the co-executive producers attached to Game of Thrones, and died in his sleep from a cerebral aneurysm on September 25, 2010.Vicinanza was the literary agent that handled George R. R. Martin foreign language rights, and one of the co-founders of the management company Created By aimed to develop feature films and television shows based on the works of Ralph's clients (with his partner Vince Gerardis). He was instrumental in bringing Martin's work to the screen, bringing the books to David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, and leading the negotiations with HBO. He died only a few days after HBO greenlighted the series.