You Win or You Die 

Robert has been injured while hunting and is dying. Jon and the others finally take their vows to the Night's Watch. A man, sent by Robert, is captured for trying to poison Daenerys. Furious, Drogo vows to attack the Seven Kingdoms.

Director:

Daniel Minahan

Writers:

David Benioff (created by), D.B. Weiss (created by)

Stars:

Sean Bean, Mark Addy, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Sean Bean	...	Eddard 'Ned' Stark
Mark Addy	...	Robert Baratheon
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau	...	Jaime Lannister
Lena Headey	...	Cersei Lannister
Emilia Clarke	...	Daenerys Targaryen
Iain Glen	...	Jorah Mormont
Aidan Gillen	...	Petyr 'Littlefinger' Baelish
Kit Harington	...	Jon Snow
Alfie Allen	...	Theon Greyjoy
Jack Gleeson	...	Joffrey Baratheon
Rory McCann	...	Sandor 'The Hound' Clegane
Donald Sumpter	...	Maester Luwin
Conleth Hill	...	Lord Varys
James Cosmo	...	Jeor Mormont
Owen Teale	...	Alliser Thorne

Storyline

Ned confronts Cersei about her children but she dismisses his allegations. The head of the Lannister clan tells his son Jaime to be a leader and sends him to rescue Tyrion. Ros, the prostitute from Winterfell begins working for Littlefinger in King's Landing. At the wall, a riderless horse belonging to Jon Snow's uncle Benjen returns to the wall. Jon takes his vows as a Night's Watchman but is disappointed to not having been named a Ranger but Sam sees it differently. King Robert is injured while out boar hunting with his brother. He knows he will not survive and names Ned Lord Regent until Joffrey comes of age. Knowing that Joffrey is not Robert's son, he feels Robert's brother should succeed him but Littlefinger counsel's otherwise. A wine vendor tries to poison Daenerys and Drogo promises to put their son on the throne of the Seven Kingdoms.

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Plot Keywords:

succession to the throne | death of king | cage elevator | bloody wound | fealty | 

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Fantasy | Romance

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Certificate:

TV-MA

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 May 2011 (USA)

Also Known As:

You Win or You Die

Box Office

Budget:

£6,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Television 360, Grok! Studio, Generator Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

58 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Dolby Atmos (Blu-ray release)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jorah says that Aegon the Conquerer seized six of the Seven Kingdoms. Indeed, the seventh kingdom, Dorne, successfully resisted the invasion during the First Dornish War. It peacefully joined the Iron Throne's rule two centuries later through marriage.

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Goofs

When Tywin Lannister is speaking to his son Jaime while butchering a deer carcass, it's obvious that the carcass has already been prepped. This is especially noticeable when he begins skinning it, as the hide around the foot of the animal is seen to peel back a little bit when he grabs hold of it and has a clean edge, showing that it's already been cut before he ever puts his knife to it.

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Quotes

Eddard Stark: What you suggest is treason.
Petyr 'Littlefinger' Baelish: Only if we lose.

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Crazy Credits

The cities and places featured in the opening credits change as the series progresses. For example, in the first episode, Pentos is shown whereas in later episodes, because it is not pertinent to the episode's narrative, it is not.

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Connections

Featured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Game of Thrones Betrayals (2017)

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Soundtracks

Main Title
(uncredited)
Written and Performed by Ramin Djawadi

User Reviews

Snakes revealed as pace quickens as we get to the business end of the season

Finally we go back to the wall after two episodes away, we see our young hero, Jon Snow, take his vows. After being mentioned so much, Charles Dance finally appears on screen as Lord Tywin Lannister and we get some more good scenes with Daenerys (not sure if it's me, but Emilia Clarke seems to be getting more attractive with each episode. She has a gorgeous smile) and Drogo (Jason Momoa) then there is the noble Ned Stark.... Oh Ned....

For me this episode suffers from it's a complete lack of Tyrion and Arya. (Two of my favourite characters) but it's still gripping TV none the less.

And of course once again.... What an ending. I seem to say that after every episode, buy this show just makes you need to watch the next episode.